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avoid probate Tag

The Law Office of Libby Banks > Posts tagged "avoid probate"

A Personal Look at the Estate Planning Journey

The past year was amazing for my family. Two notable highlights are starting a new job with the Law Office of Libby Banks and my wife and I welcoming our first child in July. As I reflect on the need to update my Trust to plan for our new baby, I look back at my original experience creating an estate plan with Libby and why I joined her firm as an associate attorney. When I first thought about estate planning for myself and my wife, I realized I did not know much more than what I learned in law school. I...

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Estate Planning – Who Needs It?

Who Needs Estate Planning? Many people, when they hear the words “estate planning,” don’t think it applies to them. “I don’t have an estate to plan!” they may say. I think this comes about from the use of the word “estate.” The word is often used to refer to the mansions and real estate holdings of the rich and famous. But the definition of an estate is “all of the things that a person owns.” In other words, your estate is the sum of your stuff: your home, your bank accounts, your stocks and bonds, your retirement account, your cars and boat, and...

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Estate Planning – Who Needs It?

Who Needs Estate Planning? Many people, when they hear the words “estate planning,” don’t think it applies to them. “I don’t have an estate to plan!” they may say. I think this comes about from the use of the word “estate.” The word is often used to refer to the mansions and real estate holdings of the rich and famous. But the definition of an estate is “all of the things that a person owns.” In other words, your estate is the sum of your stuff: your home, your bank accounts, your stocks and bonds, your retirement account, your cars and boat, and...

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Out With the Old, In With the New

As we start the New Year, I wanted to talk about older methods of estate planning versus newer, more efficient and cost-effective means of planning. Your estate is simply what you own. For most reading this article, that at least includes a home, a retirement account, bank accounts and maybe a brokerage account. In the not-so-distant past, planning for your estate at death meant preparing a Last Will and Testament. Today, we use the Revocable Living Trust more often. There are many benefits to using the Revocable Living Trust, but often people think that only the wealthy need a Trust. I think...

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Estate Planning during the pandemic

The need for Estate planning has become more apparent than ever due to COVID-19. People who have not considered what might happen if they become seriously ill or incapacitated are appreciating the benefits of an estate plan. An estate plan can provide significant peace of mind by ensuring someone can take care of you – and your finances – if you become ill. It also ensures your assets are protected and passed on according to your wishes. Estate planning is often a difficult topic to broach, as it brings the unpleasant topics of illness and death to the forefront of our minds....

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What’s the Best Valentine’s Gift for Your Family?

Best Valentine’s Gift for Your Family

With Valentine’s Day here, I’ve been wondering how to show my family I love them. Of course, estate planning was one of my first thoughts (right after chocolate)! Estate planning truly is a gift to your family and loved ones. A proper estate plan makes it easier on your loved ones if you become incapacitated and when you are no longer here. Without a cohesive and thoughtful estate plan, you may leave a gigantic mess that your family may have to spend huge sums of money and lots of time and effort to clean up. If you are incapacitated, they will have...

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Who Will Be in Charge of Your Estate?

Someone is going to step in to take charge of your estate. If you are incapacitated, that person will step in to manage it to care for you (hopefully), and on your death they will be the one to wrap up your estate and distribute it. If you put an estate plan in place, via a Will or Trust, you decide who that person will be. If you don’t, the State of Arizona, via the legislature, has decided who that will be. Will the State’s choice be one you are happy with? When you establish a Revocable Living Trust, the person...

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Avoiding the Pain of Probate

Probate is a court proceeding used to settle the estate of someone who has no Will. However, a person that has a Will may also end up in probate court. That’s because a Will doesn’t transfer a person’s assets to his or her heirs automatically – it only states who should receive those assets. Probate is time consuming and expensive for a personal representative (or executor, as it’s named in many states). It can be an agonizing and long drawn out procedure. But it is avoidable – with the right estate planning tools, and specifically with the Revocable Living Trust. Couples often...

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Avoiding the Pain of Probate

Avoid Probate by using a Revocable Living Trust as your primary estate planning tool. Many people have big misconceptions of how a Last Will and Testament works. They assume that if they have a Will, their heirs will not have to go to court and file a probate. Instead, for the person who only has a Will, we do have to file a probate with the court at death. That’s because a Will does not transfer a person’s assets to his or her heirs automatically – it only states who should receive those assets. I often tell clients a Will is...

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