A Florida couple created a trust to benefit their grandchildren. The trust stated that it was to benefit only grandchildren who were related by blood. One of the couple’s sons got divorced in 1971. A girl, Catherine, had been born during the marriage. The son acknowledged the girl as his child and paid child support for her. In 1999, however, when Catherine was 32 years old, a DNA test proved that she wasn’t really the son’s

When two or more people own real estate, the relationship between the owners is known as a “tenancy.” There are a number of different kinds of tenancy. Understanding the differences is important, because different kinds of tenancy can mean different rules for whether an interest in the property can be inherited outside of probate and whether creditors can claim the property. Tenancy comes in three main forms: tenancy in common, joint tenancy, and tenancy by the

Not only are people living longer these days, but there’s a growing trend of widows and widowers remarrying in their 60s, 70s and 80s. A remarriage late in life can bring happiness, but it can also create complexities for estate planning. For most elderly people who remarry, the chief issue is that they want to look out for their adult children and make sure those children have an inheritance. Lack of estate planning can result in

The federal estate tax expired at the end of 2009, and believe it or not, the lack of an estate tax is creating a serious problem for many people who have not revised their wills in a while. The federal estate tax applied in 2009 to estates of more than $3.5 million. It is slated to come back in 2011, and apply to estates of more than $1 million. Most people expected that Congress would “fix”

When a Texas millionaire died, he left all his money to a trust.  He ordered the trustee to support his second wife in the standard of living she had enjoyed while he was alive, if her own income and resources weren’t sufficient to do so.  Once that was done, the trustee could use the trust to benefit the children of his first marriage.

Some people are worried that after they die, family members may be unhappy about certain provisions in their will and may try to challenge the will in court. This is particularly true if one child is getting less in the will than others, for instance. Here are some ways to head off a will contest: Talk to your heirs now about what you’re doing and why. Many will contests are triggered because a relative is surprised

Ordinarily, there’s no estate tax on assets that pass at death to someone’s spouse. But that’s true only if the surviving spouse is a U.S. citizen. If the spouse isn’t a citizen, then the estate tax generally applies…unless you set up something called a “Qualified Domestic Trust,” or QDOT. Instead of leaving your assets directly to your spouse, you can put them into a QDOT for his or her benefit. When you die, there is no

A large number of people have changed their investment manager recently – or have decided to become their own manager – as a result of the 2008 market collapse that led to widespread terrible returns. That’s fine – but keep in mind that if you change your manager, you should check with your estate planner to make sure that any new account you create is titled properly and in accordance with your estate plan. Many estate

A lot of websites offer retirement planning calculators, where you can enter your age, assets, and other types of information and find out how much income you can expect in retirement. These calculators may be somewhat useful, but many of them have serious flaws, and in general they produce results that are way too optimistic, according to a new study by the Pension Research Council.

If you have strong preferences regarding burial or cremation, it’s a good idea to put these in writing in your will or in your health care power of attorney. You may have expressed your wishes verbally to your loved ones, but people can become uncertain in a time of crisis, and family members might have differing views. If there is ever a dispute, having a written direction will be vital evidence of your intent.  Also, if