A will is one of the most basic estate planning tools. While relying solely on a will is rarely a suitable option for most people, just about every estate plan includes this key document in one form or another.   A will is used to designate how you want your assets distributed to your surviving loved ones upon your death. If you die without a will, state law governs how your assets are distributed, which may or Read More

You will have at least one person (if not multiple people) involved in the disposition of your assets in your estate plan. This could be the executor of your Last Will and Testament, Health Care Directive agent, or trustee. The job of a trustee is multifaceted and is not for everyone, but the position is vital for countless estate planners and beneficiaries. Without an effective trustee, your assets might not go to Read More

If you use Facebook to share, track, and report on important life events, it can provide an  intimate snapshot of your life, and it can also serve as a key part of your legacy—and one you’ll likely want to protect following your death. With this in mind, as with any other digital asset you own, you should include your Facebook profile as part of your estate plan. While you’ll want to include your Facebook profile Read More

If you own a business, you almost certainly have intellectual property. However, because your intellectual property is intangible, it can be invisible to you and those who aren’t familiar with the nature of intellectual property and its value, so it often gets overlooked, especially when it comes to estate planning. Yet, if you fail to properly document your intellectual property, your estate plan will likely not Read More

In part one of this series, we discussed how Tony Hsieh became an Internet pioneer, starting two wildly successful companies, LinkExchange and Zappos, the latter of which he sold to Amazon for $1.2 billion. It was as CEO of the online shoe brand Zappos where Hsieh developed his vision for life and business: delivering happiness.  A Double Life Hsieh outlined this mission in the 2010 book, Delivering Happiness: Read More

For all the usefulness of a living trust (revocable and irrevocable) in the context of estate planning, many planners, unfortunately, fail to transfer the title of their assets to the trust after they create it. Living trusts allow property and assets to be distributed to beneficiaries in an efficient manner (outside of probate court) when the trustor passes away or becomes incapacitated.  What can you do if a Read More

On November 27th, nine days after being pulled unconscious from a house fire in a beachfront home in New London, Connecticut, Tony Hsieh, the former CEO of the online shoe retailer Zappos, died due to complications of smoke inhalation.  Hsieh, who was single and had no children, was just 46. Although the cause of the fire is still under investigation, law enforcement ruled his death accidental. At the time of Read More

Today, we’re seeing more and more people getting divorced in middle age and beyond. Indeed, the trend of couples getting divorced after age 50 has grown so common, it’s even garnered its own nickname: “gray divorce.”  Today, roughly one in four divorces involve those over 50, and divorce rates for this demographic have doubled in the past 30 years, according to the study Gray Divorce Revolution. For those over age Read More

No matter who you vote for on November 3rd, you may want to start considering the potential legal, financial, and tax impacts a change of leadership might have on your family’s planning. As you’ll learn here, there are a number of reasons why you may want to start strategizing now if you could be impacted, because if you wait, it could be too late. In terms of financial, tax, and estate planning, it’s almost Read More