There is a reason to celebrate every day. With today being National Celebration of Life Day, we encourage you to spend time with loved ones and prioritize your health and happiness. Sometimes with the busyness and unexpected changes that life brings, we forget to appreciate everything and everybody around us.
10 Tips for Choosing the Right Trustee or Executor
Choosing a responsible, trustworthy trustee and executor to respect your requests when you are not around can be a daunting task. They will have the responsibility of carrying out your estate plan after death, distributing the inheritance to your beneficiaries, closing accounts, and selling property. Many people choose to have their children or spouse to oversee their plan. Although less common, others may choose to appoint an attorney or professional trust company to be their trustee or executor instead of a family member or friend.
Financial Wellness Month Goals
January is National Financial Wellness Month. Take some time this month to sit back after the holiday craziness and do a check-up on your finances. It is important to set some achievable financial goals for the new year, and it is also a good idea to prepare for unplanned future expenses. Don’t know what goal to set? Don’t worry! We put together a list of 5 financial goals for our clients to choose from.
New Year, New Estate Plan
Happy New Year from the team at Family Estate Planning Law Group!
What’s your New Years’ resolution? Our firm’s resolution is to continue to learn and grow to make our Client Care Program the best it can possibly be! If you don’t have a New Year’s resolution, don’t worry. Here are a few suggestions of some great Estate Planning Resolutions, no matter where you are at in your estate planning journey:
Updating Santa’s Estate Plan
Two months ago, our firm had a very important review meeting with a long-time high-profile client. Confidentiality is very important to us, so we asked this client if it was okay to share the details of this review meeting with our blog post readers since it may be an educational example for our audience who need to update their plan. Our jolly clients happily agreed.
Ways to Give Back this Holiday Season
Charitable donations are a way to spread the holiday spirit and practice generosity. We encourage clients to make donations to causes they truly believe in.
The values of philanthropy can be a part of your estate plan through charitable donations. Making donations through your estate plan can also reduce tax liability for yourself, your estate, and your loved ones. Including giving in your estate plan can inspire your loved ones to follow your legacy, and you can set an example for generations after to be charitable, volunteer, and display empathy in everyday life.
Comparing Estate Planning to a Snowstorm
Living in New England, snowstorms are extremely common in the winter. When I was a child, a snowstorm meant no school, drinking hot cocoa, and building snowmen in the front yard. As an adult, snowstorms can be irritating and disruptive, especially when you have a long driveway to clear. Snowstorms can be unexpected and if you do not have a winter jacket, heat, or a shovel to help you out, you may be in trouble.
Planning for Snowbirds
With Massachusetts’s chilly winter weather, it is common for many of our clients to travel somewhere further south to seek warmth and sunshine. Snowbirds will often split their time between two places and have a vacation home in another state. Spending your time between two states is an important topic to bring up with your attorney since it can complicate your estate plan.
How Gratitude and Estate Planning Are Related
What are you grateful for this holiday season?
The holidays are rapidly approaching. Around this time of year, it is common for people to reflect on the positive and negative moments of the year with family and friends, and to remember our loved ones who are no longer with us. It is important to be thankful for good health, the people around us, and our assets.
Important Questions to Ask Your Loved Ones This Thanksgiving
We wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and hope that your holiday is spent enjoying the company of your loved ones. This holiday, while gathered around the turkey, we encourage you to put aside some time to ask your family members important questions regarding long-term care and their estate plan.