Choosing a Trustee: Navigating the Complexities and Key Considerations
Law School Toolbox Podcast Episode 509: Listen and Learn -- Third-Party Rights in Contracts (Part 2 - Beneficiaries)
Law School Toolbox Podcast Episode 508: Listen and Learn -- Third-Party Rights in Contracts (Part 1 - Rules)
Mamma Mia!: Common Estate Planning Issues for Blended Families
Once Removed Episode 38: The Legacy Mindset: What It Is and How to Build It
John Wick - What You Need To Know about the Corporate Transparency Act
Once Removed Episode 24: Expressing Goals and Intent for the Trust
Once Removed Episode 23: Naming Guardians for Minor Children
Once Removed Episode 22: Building Flexibility into the Estate Plan
Once Removed Episode 20: Helping a Beneficiary Purchase a Home
Life After Love Gone Wrong Podcast: Season 3, Episode 6 - Reshaping Your Legacy: Estate Planning After Your Divorce
Charitable Planning With Guest Stephanie Hood: Navigating Complex Rules and Traps for the Unwary
A Primer On Trusts - A Podcast with Janathan Allen
Once Removed Episode 13: It’s 5 o’Clock: Do You Know Where Your Will Is? A Lesson From Aretha Franklin
Once Removed Episode 12: SLATs and the Case of McKim vs. McKim
Once Removed Episode 11: Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts, or SLATs
Digital Planning Podcast Episode: Family Office Technology Solutions
Digital Planning Podcast Episode: The Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act
What is a self-proving affidavit?
The Importance of Beneficiary Designations
Roughly two-thirds of Americans are estimated to die without executing a valid will. As a result, assets in their name will pass under the laws of intestacy of their home state. The laws of intestacy are essentially default...more
Married couples often have wills naming one another as their primary beneficiary. People also often name their spouse as beneficiary of retirement accounts and life insurance policies. Upon commencing a divorce action,...more
As a bit of background, there is a distinction between probate assets and non-probate assets. Probate assets are distributed according to your will during a probate administration whereas non-probate assets are distributed...more
A new Minnesota law comes into effect on August 1, 2024, which flags the importance of addressing insurance coverage within your estate plan, especially if your plan utilizes transfer on death deeds. A transfer on death deed...more
If your life changes, so should your estate plan. Marriage, divorce, death of a spouse, a birth and a changing relationship with a child are just some of the life changes that may affect your estate plan. Unfortunately, as...more
Financial institutions and brokerage firms occasionally recommend that client accounts be structured as joint or beneficiary-designated accounts without full consideration of the impact on the client’s estate plan....more
Presented by Cohen Seglias associate Whitney Patience O'Reilly on October 22, 2020. An often overlooked but important aspect of estate planning is the designation of beneficiaries—both primary and contingent—on life...more
An often overlooked but important aspect of estate planning is the designation of beneficiaries—both primary and contingent—on life insurance policies and retirement accounts. In this webinar, Whitney O’Reilly, a seasoned...more
...If you make a mistake in naming beneficiaries for your life insurance policy, you could hurt the very people you're trying to protect. These mistakes can hurt you and your loved ones no matter where you live in the United...more
In a youth-focused society, it is difficult to contemplate aging, let alone dying. Many young people assume, incorrectly, that estate planning is just for the elderly or the very wealthy. There are four reasons why everyone -...more
When a man dies in California, who gets the proceeds of his life insurance policy? The answer seems obvious: the named beneficiaries in the paperwork received and accepted by the life insurance company....more
It is speculated that Choupette Lagerfeld, the pampered Parisian pet of the iconic late German fashion designer, Karl Lagerfeld, may have a stake in Lagerfeld’s vast fortune....more
Older parents are becoming more common, driven in part by changing cultural mores and advances in infertility treatment. Comedian and author Steve Martin had his first child at age 67. Singer Billy Joel just welcomed his...more
In Naidoo v Discovery Life Limited & others (202/20170) ZASCA 88 (31 May 2018) the Supreme Court of Appeal was faced with the main task of determining whether a risk-only policy with a beneficiary clause constitutes an asset...more
A woman who dropped divorce proceedings three days after her husband died is entitled to the proceeds from his insurance policy but cannot claim his pension benefits, according to a recent Pennsylvania Superior Court ruling...more
So you have an estate plan? Good for you. You funded it? Even better. But have you updated it and your will in the last year? If you haven’t, your loved ones or favorite charities may be in for an unpleasant surprise. Your...more
Recently, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit released an opinion which highlights the importance of ensuring ERISA plan documents grant plan administrators the discretion to construe and interpret the...more
A common estate planning mistake is to designate a minor as beneficiary — or contingent beneficiary — of a life insurance policy or retirement plan. This brief article discusses why it’s better to designate one or more trusts...more
We all have hopefully made explicit designations of beneficiaries for our life insurance policies, retirement accounts and even some investment accounts which provide for payment upon death without a court order. It’s...more