When it comes to putting off or refusing to create an estate plan, your mind can concoct all sorts of rationalizations: “I won’t care because I’ll be dead,” “I’m too young,” “That won’t happen to me,” or “My family will know what to do.” But these thoughts all come from a mix of pride, denial, and above all, a lack of real education about estate planning and the consequences to your family of not planning. Once Read More

When you create your estate plan, the idea that one of your adult children would ever use their inheritance to bankroll a cult is probably something you’d never dream of, much less anticipate.  Yet that’s exactly what 40-year-old Clare Bronfman, heiress to the multi-billion-dollar Seagram’s fortune, did with hers.  In the end, with her inheritance—and the power that came with it—she was led her down a dark path Read More

Anyone who has seen the hit Netflix documentary Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness can attest that it’s one of the most outlandish stories to come out in a year full of outlandish stories. And while Tiger King’s sordid tale of big cats, murder-for-hire, polygamy, and a missing millionaire may seem too outrageous to have any relevance to your own life, the series actually sheds light on a number of critical Read More

Anyone who has seen the hit Netflix documentary Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness can attest that it’s one of the most outlandish stories to come out in a year full of outlandish stories. And while Tiger King’s sordid tale of big cats, murder-for-hire, polygamy, and a missing millionaire may seem too outrageous to have any relevance to your own life, the series actually sheds light on a number of critical Read More

In the first part of this blog series, we discussed the vital importance of having updated Advance Health Care Directives in place in light of COVID-19. In this post, we’ll look at several additional provisions you should consider adding to your Directives to address potential contingencies related to the pandemic.  With new cases of COVID-19 currently surging in dozens of states, doctors across the country are Read More

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the country, doctors across the nation are joining lawyers in urging Americans to create the proper estate planning documents, so medical providers can better coordinate their care should they become hospitalized with the virus.  The most critical planning tools for this purpose are Advance Health Care Directives that describe your wishes for medical treatment and Read More

While various types of insurance can protect your business from lawsuits and other liabilities, perhaps the greatest liability of all—especially if you’re the sole owner of your business—is what could happen to your company when you die or if you should become incapacitated by accident or illness.  To ensure your business—and the income it provides your family—is protected if you’re no longer in the picture, you’ll Read More