Properly planning your estate takes teamwork. During our retirement years most of us will deal with several professionals for different purposes, including a financial advisor, an accountant, and an attorney. The most effect estate plans are those in which those professionals work together. That being said, there are several important…
By Lane V. Erickson, Attorney I’ve seen countless clients breathe a sigh of relief once they have completed their Estate Planning. It’s almost as if a physical weight has been lifted from their shoulders. I understand why my clients feel this way. For those who have never done it, Estate…
By Lane V. Erickson, Attorney Estate planning involves not only tangible assets such as houses, cars, and similar things. It also includes any intangible assets you own. What are intangible assets? These include things that you can’t physically touch, but that have value. For example, we live in a digital…
By Lane V. Erickson, Attorney Society is consumer driven. Home mortgages, student loans, car loans, credit cards and other debt are a normal part of society and our lives. I am often asked by my clients about what happens to their debt when they die. In most circumstances, I have…
Recently I represented individuals in a family that became disgruntle with their sibling who was named as the personal representative of their parents’ Wills. The individuals believed that the personal representative was mismanaging the estate. The parties decided to litigate the matter and ended up spending more money on their…
There are 4 reasons every person should prepare a written Will. A Will empowers you to direct your affairs after your death. A Will allows you to give specific property to your family and friends. Even those of us with little or no property will want to designate a guardian for…
I had a recent case where an individual obtained a divorce from his wife, but did not remove her as primary beneficiary of his life insurance policy. The man’s Will stated that everything should go to his children. When the man passed away, the issue arose, “Who gets the life…
Most trusts do not protect assets from a grantor’s creditors. Contact an experienced estate planning attorney to review your trust documents for answers regarding the creditor protection your trust may provide. The overwhelming majority of trusts in place today are known as revocable living trusts (RLT). Most RLTs provide benefits,…
Losing a loved one is difficult. Grieving with your loss while trying to navigate the probate process alone is more than most people can cope with. As a result, most people hire an attorney to help them complete a probate. Probate is the name given to the process of collecting…
Most clients I work with on their Estate Planning are shocked to learn that everyone has an Estate Plan, even when they have done nothing. There really are no exceptions to this. In Idaho, like most every other state, written statutes create a default Estate Plan for anyone who has…