At American Wills & Estates our attorneys understand that the process of creating an effective estate plan or carrying out the timely and appropriate administration of a loved one’s estate can...
If you’ve been paying attention, you probably already know that Congress passed a tax compromise that, to a large degree, has averted the so called fiscal cliff and makes permanent the federal...
Here are some classic examples that you can avoid.1. Jimi Hendrix’s Critical Error: Doing NothingStory: Music legend Jimi Hendrix died at age 27 in 1970 without a will. Under state law, his dad, Al,...
As an attorney who has practiced exclusively in the areas of estate planning and probate estate administration for the past twenty years I have heard people make every excuse under the sun why they...
The two seminal legal cases that led to the development of what we know of today as Living Wills or Advance Health Care Directives were the Karen Ann Quinlan and Terri Schiavo right-to-die cases....
An Executor’s duties and responsibilities for handling the administration of a Decedent’s estate can include many different things. The Executor may be responsible for arranging the Funeral, taking...
For most of us, a Durable Power of Attorney is one of the most important estate planning documents that we will ever put in place. Whereas a Last Will and Testament addresses what will happen to...
The understanding that we will eventually die is one of the things that sets us apart from other living beings. Nevertheless, none of us likes to contemplate our own mortality. However, if we simply...
A bipartisan tax agreement recently unveiled by the Senate would be generous to taxpayers who die leaving large estates. The agreement would add to the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance...
The mere idea of having a talk with our elderly parents about their finances and estate planning is enough to make most of us run in the opposite direction. Won’t they think we’re just making a grab...