Life can change in an instant. Getting your affairs in order while you are healthy helps protect your children, preserve your wishes and give your family clarity during a crisis. Learn why guardianship nominations, beneficiary designations, life insurance, trusts, powers of attorney and advance healthcare directives should be addressed before they are urgently needed.
Malcolm-Jamal Warner, best known as Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show, died in 2025. One year later, his widow alleges $1.2 million in unfulfilled premarital obligations: a life insurance policy never purchased, a Roth IRA never funded, and anniversary payments never made. A nine-year-old daughter is at the center of the dispute. Here’s what more thorough follow-through on the planning could have helped prevent.
Your Prenup Promises Protection. But Will It Actually Deliver? Read More »
August is Make-A-Will Month, and if you’ve been meaning to get your affairs in order, this is your reminder. But before you assume that getting a will means your family is protected, there’s something most people don’t know about what a will actually does and doesn’t do.
Make-A-Will Month Is Here. But a Will Isn’t a Plan. Read More »
You’ve heard the phrase: “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk.” The same logic applies to estate planning. According to Caring.com, only 24 percent of Americans have a will. For some of the people you love most, you may be the only person in their life who will ever bring this up. Here’s how to do it without making it weird, and what to tell them about what real planning looks like.
August is National Make a Will Month, which means this is exactly the right time.
Friends Don’t Let Friends Go Without an Estate Plan Read More »
The federal government is depositing $1,000 into savings accounts for every baby born between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2028. The account is called a Trump Account, contributions opened July 4, 2026, and most families have not yet taken the step to claim it. Here is what it is, how to open one, and what it means for your family’s plan.
Trump Accounts: What Every Parent of a Baby Born 2025–2028 Needs to Know Read More »
You’ve raised it before. Your spouse keeps saying “not now.” But every week that passes without a plan is a week your family’s future depends on chance instead of intention. Here’s what to do when you’re not on the same page, and what you can start doing today.
When Your Spouse Won’t Get on Board with Estate Planning: What to Do Now Read More »
Most families believe they will inherit their loved one’s debt. Most debt collectors count on that fear. Your debt does not automatically transfer to your heirs, but it shapes how much they receive and what the estate must pay before they get anything. Here is exactly what happens and what your family needs to know before the collectors call.
What Happens to Debt When You Die: What Families Must Know Read More »
The One Big Beautiful Bill raised the estate tax exemption to $15 million per person. That provision made headlines everywhere. A second one didn’t: a deduction limitation buried in a Congressional footnote that tax lawyers say may create double taxation inside family trusts, including special needs trusts with as little as $400,000 in assets. Here is what families with trusts need to know right now.
The New Tax Law and Your Family’s Trust: What to Know Now Read More »
Most families assume that a list of passwords will be enough to access accounts after a death. That assumption is wrong, and the problem is not the list. The problem is a layer of security most accounts now require that no password can bypass. Here is what actually keeps families locked out, and what a real digital estate plan looks like.
Digital Estate Planning: Why Passwords Aren’t Enough Read More »
Whether you had an estate plan going into your marriage or not, your divorce changed everything. The settlement resolved custody and assets. It did not address what happens to your children if you die. For divorced and separated fathers, that gap almost always exists, even when it feels like the plan is in place. Here is what actually needs to be updated.
Divorce Doesn’t Update Your Estate Plan: Here’s What Does Read More »
