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Estate Planning › Surviving Spouse › Beneficiaries

Estate Planning is a process where individuals prepare or plan for the settlement of their personal affairs in the event of incapacitation or death. Estate plans typically include provisions relating to the... more +
Estate Planning is a process where individuals prepare or plan for the settlement of their personal affairs in the event of incapacitation or death. Estate plans typically include provisions relating to the disposition of assets, guardianship of minor children, and appointment of representatives to make medical and financial decisions. Effective estate planning can decrease tax liability and facilitate the probate process.  less -
Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, P.C.

Estate Planning for Blended Families: Key Considerations to Protect Your Loved Ones

Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, P.C. on

We all remember “The Brady Bunch” — the picture-perfect story of two families seamlessly coming together under one roof, complete with a catchy theme, and every conflict resolved neatly in 22 minutes. But in reality, blending...more

Stark & Stark

Elective Share of Surviving Spouse

Stark & Stark on

In many instances, spouses execute what is referred to as reciprocal wills. What this means is that each spouse designates the other as the entire beneficiary or the primary beneficiary of their estate under their wills....more

Lowndes

Start 2025 Right: Update Your Estate Plan with a Preneed Guardianship Designation

Lowndes on

It is the start of a new year which means that it is a great time to update or refresh your estate plan. In Florida, planning for the future is a crucial step to ensure that your wishes are honored, and your loved ones are...more

Cole Schotz

2025 Estate and Gift Tax Update

Cole Schotz on

The arrival of 2025 brings with it increased estate and gift exclusion amounts. For an estate of any decedent dying during calendar year 2025, the Federal applicable exemption will increase from $13.61 million to $13.99...more

Barnea Jaffa Lande & Co.

Rulings On One Sided Changes To Mutual Wills overturned

Barnea Jaffa Lande & Co. on

A new Supreme Court ruling overturns lower courts’ rulings and regulates the application of the “successive heirs” provision of the Succession Law, in instances when a surviving spouse who inherited property by virtue of a...more

The Estate Lawyers

Divorce Need Not Ignite Estate Litigation, But Too Often It Does

The Estate Lawyers on

Certain life events demand that estate planners work with client testators to adjust their estate plans. Divorce and remarriage are at the top of that list. When matrimony devolves into acrimony – setting the stage for...more

Goulston & Storrs PC

Prenuptial Agreement Held to Be Valid Waiver of Spouse’s Statutory Right of Election

Goulston & Storrs PC on

Generally, under New York EPTL 5-1.1-A, if a decedent is survived by a spouse, a right of election is given to the surviving spouse to take a share of the decedent's estate “equal to the greater of (i) fifty thousand dollars...more

Bowditch & Dewey

Key Estate Planning Adjustments to Make After Your Spouse Passes Away

Bowditch & Dewey on

The period after a spouse passes away is an emotional time of mourning. However, there are a handful of estate planning adjustments that you should make to protect your estate under the new conditions....more

Allen Barron, Inc.

What is Known as the IRS Survivor’s Penalty?

Allen Barron, Inc. on

What is known as the IRS survivor’s penalty, and is there anything that can be done to provide for a surviving spouse as we age? The “survivor’s penalty” is the likelihood that a surviving spouse will face higher federal and...more

Bowditch & Dewey

What Happens if I Die Without a Valid Will in Massachusetts?

Bowditch & Dewey on

As estate planning attorneys, a question that often arises with new and prospective clients is, “What happens if I die without a will?” The short answer is this: if you die without a valid will in Massachusetts, state law...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

Divorce Ambivalence Can Come at a Hefty Price

Fox Rothschild LLP on

When I first read the precedential ruling of the Pennsylvania Superior Court in Shell v. Shell, I really didn’t find it noteworthy enough to write about. This is a case where a spouse discovered that her husband was moving...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

Senator Feinstein Alleges that the Trust Meant to Protect Her Has Become “Untrustworthy.”

Fox Rothschild LLP on

Back on July 26 we wrote about how trusts have become a new territory within the divorce landscape. At the time the press was just starting to write about California Senator Diane Feinstein’s troubles with the trust her...more

Winstead PC

Court Affirmed Temporary Injunction Precluding A Surviving Spouse From Acting As Trustee Of A Trust

Winstead PC on

In Kirkland v. Kirkland, a husband and wife created a revocable trust. No. 02-22-00469-CV, 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 3598 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth May 25, 2023, no pet. history)....more

Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL

Estate Planning Update: Recent IRS Ruling Offers a Stark Reminder of the Benefits of Proper Estate Planning for Retirement...

Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL on

Despite ultimately finding in favor of a taxpayer surviving spouse, IRS Private Letter Ruling 2023-22-014 (the “PLR”) is chock-full of reasons to ensure proper planning is in place when it comes to IRAs....more

Fox Rothschild LLP

Divorcing the Wealthy is Often a Matter of “Trusts”

Fox Rothschild LLP on

I received a call recently from a colleague looking to refer a client for a divorce. Our firm had done estate planning for the client and spouse, thus we were not eligible to represent either party in a marital break up as...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

Don’t Let Your Dead Body Become “A Loose Ball.”

Fox Rothschild LLP on

Forgive the title but this is written amidst the Eagles-Vikings game and on the same date as Queen Elizabeth’s funeral. Commentators noted that the Queen’s final event was more than a generation in the planning and was...more

Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP

The Estate Planner, September/October 2022

Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP on

Estate planning for the happily married - Hedge your bets with a SLAT One of the biggest challenges of estate planning is dealing with uncertainty. For 2022, for example, the federal gift and estate tax exemption is $12.06...more

Winstead PC

Court Affirmed Order Denying A Family Allowance

Winstead PC on

In In re Estate of Wetzel, a widow and independent administrator of her husband’s estate appealed a trial court’s order denying her requested family allowance. No. 05-20-01104-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 2618 (Tex. App.—Dallas...more

Downey Brand LLP

See No Evil? Premarital Agreement May Cause Spouse to Lose Inheritance and Role as Administrator of Estate

Downey Brand LLP on

We write today about probate law, premarital agreements and the importance of doing your homework. In Estate of Eskra (2022) ___ Cal.App.5th.____, the First District Court of Appeal upheld a Humboldt County Superior Court...more

Downey Brand LLP

Unilateral Severance of Joint Tenancy Must Be Unequivocal and Irrevocable

Downey Brand LLP on

Can a California will sever a joint tenancy such that the decedent’s interest in real property passes per will’s terms instead of vesting in the surviving joint tenant(s)? Additionally, when a general partnership dissolves...more

Winstead PC

Court Holds That Trust Owned Mineral Interests And Not The Settlor’s Wife

Winstead PC on

In Moore v. Estate of Moore, a decedent’s wife claimed that she had an interest in an oil and gas lease formerly owned by her deceased husband. No. 07-20-00019-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 6142 (Tex. App.—Amarillo July 30, 2021,...more

Ward and Smith, P.A.

Preventing Trust and Estate Disputes

Ward and Smith, P.A. on

The death of a loved one should be a time for a family to come together.  As a trust and estate litigator, unfortunately, I often see families fall apart.  Every family's situation is different, but certain issues seem to...more

Downey Brand LLP

Immortal Right — Income Beneficiary’s Entitlement to Accounting Continues after Death

Downey Brand LLP on

Many California trusts confer a lifetime right to income on a person (often the surviving spouse) with the remainder passing to designated survivors upon the income beneficiary’s death. When the income beneficiary dies, is it...more

Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP

Law Brief: Alexis Gruttadauria and Rich Schoenstein Discuss Why You Need an Estate Plan

Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP on

Trusts and Estates Attorney Alexis Gruttadauria joins host and Litigation Partner Rich Schoenstein to discuss “Why You Need an Estate Plan” on the latest episode of Law Brief. Lexi and Rich delve into the legal disposition of...more

Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, P.C.

Do Surviving Spouses Have a Right to a 401(k) or an IRA?

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When choosing a beneficiary for a retirement plan, it is important to understand how your spouse will be treated under the plan. Surviving spouses are treated differently under 401(k)s and individual retirement accounts...more

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