You’ve raised it before. Your spouse keeps saying “not now.” But every week that passes without a plan is a week your family’s future depends more on legal defaults than on your own intentions. Here’s what you can do when you’re not on the same page, what may require both of you, and what you can start today. Read more...

Families often worry they will inherit a loved one’s debt. Collection calls can make that fear feel urgent, especially before anyone has reviewed who signed for the debt, how the account was titled, and what must be handled through the estate. A debt generally does not automatically become an heir’s personal responsibility, but it can affect what the estate must pay and how much beneficiaries ultimately receive. Here is what Missouri and Illinois families should know before paying a bill, signing an agreement, or responding to a collector after a death. Read more…

Before you pack your bags, take a few minutes to think about your estate plan. From health care decisions to financial authority and planning for minor children, the right documents can help your loved ones respond more easily if an emergency happens while you are away. This post explains why reviewing your estate plan before travel can provide greater peace of mind.

Most families assume that a list of passwords will be enough to access accounts after a death. That assumption is often wrong, and the problem is not the list. The problem is the layers of security, recovery settings, and platform rules that now control most online accounts. Here is what actually keeps families locked out – and what a thoughtful digital estate plan should include. Read more…

Divorce changes a lot, but it does not create a complete estate plan for your family’s new reality. If you are a divorced parent, your plan may need updates to guardianship choices, beneficiary designations, trusts for your children, decision-makers, and emergency caregiver documents. Here is what to review now so your plan matches the life you are actually living. Read more...

He shows up for every game, knows the bedtime routine by heart, and considers these children his family. The children consider him theirs. But unless adoption, a court order, or the right the legal documents are in place, the law may not recognize him the same way. This Father’s Day, here is what every stepfather and father figure needs to know about love, legal authority, and planning for the children they help raise. Read more...

Father's Day is a celebration of presence. But the fathers who've truly done right by their families aren't just the ones who showed up every day. They're the ones who made sure their family would be protected whether they were there or not. If you haven't answered the one question that matters most, this is where to start. Read more…

You've thought about who would raise your children if something happened to you. But thinking about it and actually naming someone in a legal document are two very different things. If your family doesn't have an answer in writing, and something unexpected happens to you, a judge who has never met you or your children will make that decision. Here's what you need to know, and what you can do about it today. Read more...

When a spouse dies, most surviving partners expect grief. They do not expect a tax bill. The "widow penalty" is a real and largely unrecognized consequence of losing a spouse that can cost a surviving partner thousands of dollars more every year in taxes and Medicare premiums, at the worst possible moment in their life. Here is what it is, who it affects, and what you can do now, while there is still time to plan. Read more...

You created your estate plan documents, thinking you did the right thing. But then your loved ones are left dealing with a time-consuming, expensive mess you left them. Why? Read more...

Tony Hsieh sold Zappos to Amazon for $1.2 billion and built one of the most admired companies in America. When he died at 46 without a will or a trust, his family was left to sort out an estate worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Publicly, slowly, and painfully. What happened next is a lesson everyone who has something to protect should read. Read more...

You may think estate planning is about who gets what after you die. It is also about who stays safe, housed, informed, and protected in the days after a loss. The reported story of Marie-Thérèse Ross-Mahé shows how grief can turn into legal chaos when a family is left without a clear plan. Read more…

Your tax return is the most complete picture of your financial life you'll get all year. But most people close the folder without asking one critical question: if something happened to you tomorrow, are the people you love actually protected? Here's how to answer it before the window closes. Read more…

When you die without a solid plan, you don't always just leave behind grief. You might leave behind years of court battles and paperwork that can drain everything you worked to build and hand it to a young adult who has no idea where to start. This is exactly what happened to Anne Heche's family. Read more...

A Michigan court case shows what happens when a parent dies and no one thought to plan for it. The child had a chronic medical condition, a contentious custody history, and relatives scrambling to get legal authority just to manage her care. The court battle that followed could have gone very differently without years of documented evidence. Here's what every parent needs to know before something like this happens to their family. Read more...

Your partner could be barred from your hospital room – not by hospital policy, but by law. Without a marriage certificate, the person you love most may have no legal authority over your health, your home, or anything you've built together. Here's what unmarried couples need to know. Read more...

You trust your spouse completely. But if you're in a blended family and your estate plan simply says "everything goes to my spouse," your own children could end up with nothing – not because anyone meant harm, but because ownership changes everything. Read more…

Retirement accounts follow different rules from other assets you may own. After you die, the people you love most may face unexpected tax burdens if you don’t understand how the rules work. Read more...

A living trust offers immediate protection and probate avoidance, but understanding how it works and whether it fits your goals is essential to making the right choice. Read more...

Creating a trust in your will might sound like good planning, but understanding what you're actually trying to accomplish matters more than the type of trust you choose. Read more...