The Plain English Attorney Blog
Far too many attorneys overcomplicate things, making topics convoluted and difficult to understand to the average person. This blog is committed to explaining legal planning topics in an easy to understand format, in plain English. Enjoy the blogs, and please let us know if there is a topic you would like covered.
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If you've ever been told, “Just get a Will—you’ll be fine,” then this blog post is for you.
Let’s set the record straight once and for all: a Last Will and Testament does not avoid probate. In fact, it guarantees your loved ones will have to go through it. That’s right—using a Will is like buying a...
Let’s face it—estate planning can feel overwhelming. Between the legal jargon, complicated paperwork, and endless advice from “Uncle Bob” who once watched a legal drama, it’s no wonder so many people feel confused. But here's the truth: if you're working with an estate planning professional and stil...
When Tracey's parents died in a sudden car accident, she was just shy of her eighteenth birthday. Her parents had always said they would get their estate plan done “someday,” but until then, they had taken the easy “duct tape solution” of naming their daughter as beneficiary on all of their accounts...
When it comes to estate planning, many people assume that setting up a revocable living trust is enough to avoid probate. However, there’s a crucial step that often gets overlooked—funding the trust. In this blog, we’ll break down the key probate secret attorneys don’t always emphasize and explain h...
Many of my clients and their parents need help as they age, but that doesn’t mean a straight shot from living independently to a nursing home. It’s usually more gradual than that, and plans often start with the family discussion around “what should be done.” Many families consider the possibility of...
Disinformation and bad advice that tells people what they want to hear spreads a lot faster and further than uncomfortable truths that force people to take action. One YouTube video I watched provided some of the worst revocable living trust funding advice and misinformation that I have ever heard f...
Marriage is what marriage is, but it isn’t an estate plan. Many adults just assume that because they are married that all of their estate planning wishes just magically happen because the government institution of marriage makes everything OK. This is just not true.
In North Carolina, the spouse au...
It's the classic problem with the living trust...
The paperwork is done. It is locked away and the person begins to rest easy thinking this his/her assets and children are protected. Then they pass away, and his son, who is his successor Trustee, learns that the house wasn't transferred into trust....
Yes, this does connect in the upcoming YouTube video being released on February 13, 2025. As many of my clients know, I regularly meet with clients at the office in Asheville, and for about fifteen years I stayed at the same Red Roof Inn in West Asheville on Smokey Park Highway. There were always so...
Unfortunately, people pass on. That’s life, and the end of life is part of life. But most people don’t want to leave a mess for their loved ones, and some even take the step of putting together their own estate plan. I then often get questions from the family during the planning phase about what the...
Planning for long term care can be incredibly complicated, especially when Medicaid is one of the options. The federal government will pay for the long term care of any senior who needs it, but they have to "go broke" according to specific rules and maximums. However, there can be a lot of specific ...
There are potential changes to Supreme Court decisions coming, and it could impact a lot of my clients. In this case, I'm referring to the marriage equality ruling for nationwide same gender marriage in 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges. Prior to 2015, a lot of my couple clients who weren't able to marry un...
