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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Sometimes, messages need to be repeated to make sure they stick. Unfortunately, this often happens with ongoing maintenance with a revocable living trust to make sure that assets line up correctly with the overall estate plan, including the revocable living trust. Unfortunately, the "correctly" part...
A revocable living trust can be a great estate planning vehicle that keeps your assets out of probate and minimizes settlement costs. However, there are (at least) seven big mistakes that I has seen when it comes to putting together a revocable trust. While other attorneys may have different opinion...
Over the last few months, several people have approached me about planning to protect them from a marriage that could go wrong. After watching videos and the course on In-Law Protection Planning, they asked about how they could guard against the negatives of a divorce from a possible marriage rather...
A testamentary trust is basically language written into a Last Will and Testament that holds and manages estate assets for a beneficiary over a period of time beyond the probate estate being initially settled. Unfortunately, this has a lot of drawbacks depending on state law.
A testamentary trust m...
The Law Offices of Jeffrey G. Marsocci, PLLC is pleased to welcome Hazel Ann D. Mejia to the team! After an exhaustive search and several failed attempts to find someone to work physically in the office, we came to the reluctant conclusion that we had to expand our search and be open to a remote emp...
One of the most crippling situations for families is when a loved one needs long term care, they start to look at prices for nursing homes, and realize that it is just not possible to keep paying over the long haul without losing everything. Medicaid becomes a path to take to finance your loved ones...
One of the most important decisions you can make in the estate planning process is choosing a list of trustees who will pick up the financial ball if you become incapacitated and who will manage your final affairs and distribute inheritances if you pass on. In fact, it is the first of what I call "T...
At the beginning of the year, I and my office recommitted ourselves to providing good, accurate estate planning information to both our clients and the general public. As lives get busier and time grows shorter, people who are beginning to look into a subject often begin with small nuggets of compac...
Giving to charities through gifting and estate planning can provide may rewards, and not just a good feeling knowing you are helping others. There are plenty of tax breaks that can come along with being charitable. However, there are also several minefields that can unintentionally hurt you and your...
When it comes to estate planning for a beneficiary with special needs, there is no margin for error. This is true not only in terms of making sure that they are protected from themselves or outside influences who may push them to recklessly spend money but also to prevent the loss of valuable life-e...
It sounds ridiculous that it even has to be stated, but with the New Year we need to focus on fact-based solutions to our problems... and that will be considered "revolutionary." As I usually do, I have been on my annual end-of-year break and, unfortunately, I had a chance to dig a few inches deep i...
We have launched a new estate planning webinar focused on the basics of a living trust. While a Last Will and Testament is thought of as the norm, a revocable living trust may be a better alternative to avoid probate. In getting back to some basics for 2023, our office decided to create and release ...
