What Is an Executor of an Estate?
What Does an Executor Do? The responsibilities of an Executor can vary by state and by the particular estate at issue, but some common tasks include: Communication with the court…
Transfer on Death Tax Implications
What Is a Transfer on Death (TOD) Deed? A Transfer on Death Deed (TOD), also known as a “beneficiary Deed” is a way to title real estate to your loved…
How Are Special Needs Trusts Taxed?
First-Party and Third-Party Trusts When speaking of special needs trusts (SNT), there are basically two types: A “self-settled” or “first-party” trust; andA “third-party” or “third-party supplemental needs” trust. A “first-party”…
Grounds for Contesting a Will
What Is Contesting a Will? The process of disputing the validity of someone's last will and testament after the testator (the creator of the will) has died is the definition…
Estate Planning Strategies To Reduce Estate Taxes
What Is the Estate Tax? Estate tax is a specific federal law that, if applicable, determines at time of death, a certain amount of tax owed on any estate valued…
How Does a Trust End?
What Is a Trust? A trust is an arrangement for your property consisting of an original owner (also known as a grantor, trustor, or settlor) of a property (i.e. bank…
What Is a Probate Lawyer?
What Does a Probate Attorney Do? Probate attorneys can take on the role of administrators, representatives, or executors of estates and if an executor of a will is already appointed,…
How To Change a Will
How To Make Changes to Your Will Changing your will is not complicated. There are two options to consider if you want to make changes to your will after you…
Are Estate Planning Fees Tax Deductible?
As of five years ago, estate planning fees used to be tax deductible. Unfortunately, due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA), fees you pay for estate…
Estate Tax vs. Inheritance Tax: What’s the Difference?
Two of the most important types of taxes to be aware of when estate planning are the estate tax and the inheritance tax. These two types of tax are sometimes…