Welcome back to our discussion on securing a comfortable retirement! In the first part of this series, we explored essential steps including estate planning, preparing for long-term care, and passing on your legacy. In part two of our series, we'll delve into additional steps you can take to enrich your golden years. With these steps, you can be more financially stable. And these steps can provide you with independence, health, and continued personal growth. So let's pick up where we left off. Learn how you can secure your retirement.

Did you know that May is Older Americans Awareness Month? This makes May the perfect month to talk about securing a comfortable retirement. See, retirement is more than just an end to the working years. It’s an exciting new phase of life that requires thoughtful preparation and strategic planning. May is the perfect opportunity to explore how to secure your retirement and the 10 essential steps to take now to ensure a comfortable and fulfilling retirement. In this article, we’ll discuss the first 5 steps, why they’re important, and how to implement them. Next week, we’ll continue with the remaining 5 steps. 

Do you have social media accounts? Ever wonder what happens to your online accounts when you die? Each social media platform has its own rules for dealing with the accounts of deceased users, ranging from permanent deletion to transforming accounts into places for mourning and memory. Understanding these options is essential for managing digital assets responsibly and respecting your wishes.

When that extra bit of money from your tax refund lands in your bank account, (kinda feels like Christmas, doesn’t it?) it's easy to start dreaming about all the ways you can use it. Financial experts may tell you that it's a chance to pay off debts, tuck away savings for an emergency, or add to your retirement savings. You, on the other hand, may want to splurge on something special. However, there's an often-overlooked option that not only provides immediate satisfaction but ensures long-term benefits for both you and your loved ones: estate planning.

Should you write your own will or trust? Before you start, you may want to consider some of the dangers of DIY Wills and Trusts. If you’ve been traveling around the sun for a while, you’ve no doubt heard of a Will. A will is a document that says what happens to your money and belongings after you die. You may even have a Will. Or, you know you should get one. And maybe you’ve heard of a Trust and wondered what it is and how it works. You may have even done research on Google about how to do your own Will or Trust.In fact, it’s hard to poke around the internet and not find do-it-yourself (“DIY”) Wills and Trusts services. Legal Zoom, TrustandWill.com, and even media personalities Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman offer cheap DIY documents. Heck, you can even create your own Will or Trust for free by downloading a few forms. What these websites won’t do, however, is explain the potential consequences that can happen if you use one of their services.

Whether it’s a breakup, divorce, or the death of a loved one after a lifetime together, every relationship eventually will come to an end. The most important thing is how you have planned for that ending, or whether you haven’t at all,. Your planning (or lack of it) will have a real impact on you, your partner, your children, and your assets. 

The silver lining? While we can't prevent the end, we can prepare for it with a blend of compassion and strategic planning that makes the end the best possible foundation for a new beginning.

When you think of estate planning, a Will is usually the first thing that comes to mind. In fact, most people who contact me tell me they don’t need anything complicated for their estate. They say I just need a Will. Indeed, Wills have a reputation as the number one estate planning tool. Wills can be seen all over TV shows and movies, from the dramatic “reading of the Will” (which rarely happens in real life) to characters plotting how best to defraud their billionaire uncle’s Will in order to inherit his lavish estate.

Love is undoubtedly the most profound and cherished thread that weaves us all together, and there are many different ways to express our love to the people who mean the most to us. Often when we think of showing our love, we think of bouquets of flowers, surprise gifts, and meaningful notes. But an often overlooked – and incredibly meaningful – way of showing your love is to put that love into a plan for the future. 

As we welcome the New Year, filled with hope and resolutions for a brighter future, one commitment should be at the top of your list– creating a Kids Protection Plan™. It can be hard to think about a future where you couldn’t be there for your children, but having a plan in place will ensure that your kids stay in the care of the people they know and love in the event you become incapacitated or die (instead of their care decisions being left up to chance or whichever judge is overseeing the family court at the time).

As we approach the holiday season, it's essential to consider the true richness of the inheritance we leave behind for our loved ones. Beyond monetary assets, our values, stories, and experiences form a legacy that lasts for generations. To intentionally capture and pass down this Family Wealth Legacy, Personal Family Lawyers® advocate for a unique planning process that involves a recorded interview – a Family Wealth Legacy Interview.

The holidays are right around the corner, which means more time to gather with family and relatives than any other time of the year. If you’ve been meaning to talk to your family about money, inheritance, end-of-life decisions, estate planning, and creating a plan for your whole family’s wealth - now and in the future - having everyone in the same room is ideal.

Are you in the “sandwich generation” (someone who is caring for both your children as well as your parents simultaneously)? If this is you, then you need to know whether or not your parents have an estate plan. So, ask yourself, “do your parents have an estate plan?”

If you are like most people, you probably do not know. And, the thought of speaking with your parents about their finances and estate planning probably makes you want to run as fast as you can in the opposite direction. Nonetheless, having this conversation is the key to helping make sure your parents are able to live their golden years without financial worries and that their wishes are carried out after their death.

Creating a special needs trust (SNT), also sometimes referred to as a supplemental needs trust, can help you provide for a loved one who is disabled or has special needs while maintaining your loved one’s current benefits or leaving open the option for need-based governmental aid in the future, even if your loved one receives an inheritance. As long as the SNT meets certain legal criteria, the existence of the SNT and the amount of money and property inside it will not affect your loved one’s means test.

Did you just return from vacation? Are you now dreaming about owning a vacation property? Or, did you look at vacation homes while on vacation? Take a minute before you invest in a vacation property. You need to ask these five critical question before investing in vacation property.

Estate planning involves making arrangements for the distribution of your assets, the care of your loved ones, and the management of your affairs in the event of your incapacitation or passing. It may not be the most glamorous topic to discuss while daydreaming about sipping cocktails on a tropical beach, but it is a necessary and responsible step to ensure the security of your loved ones and your hard-earned assets.

Getting ready to embark on your next great adventure? Before you zip up the last suitcase, here are five issues you need to address to protect yourself and your loved ones.

You may have been running around for weeks, getting your new college student off to school. It's exhilarating, and your heart likely is bursting at the seams. You're probably prouder than words can express, but you’re also a little afraid, too. How can you make sure your kid is going to be safe at school, their new home away from home? A new, matching Bed Bath and Beyond sheet set for the dorm sounds great, but it just doesn't seem like quite enough, does it? So what else can you do? How about learning essential estate planning tips for college students?

Life is full of surprises, and as your circumstances change, so should your estate plan. Updating your plan is essential to ensure that your assets are distributed according to your wishes and that your loved ones are well taken care of. From getting married or divorced to having children or experiencing a significant change in finances, there are many life events that can impact your estate plan. In this blog we'll explore when to update your estate plan and the essential life changes that warrant a review. Don't leave your future to chance; stay ahead of the game and keep your estate plan up to date.

Your wedding is over, and the day was absolutely perfect. You went away on your honeymoon with your new spouse and had the time of your lives. Now you are back and can breathe a sigh of relief and watch the rest of the years ahead unfold before your eyes. Well, not so fast. Now that your honeymoon is over, there are several things you should be mindful of to make sure that the legal and financial parts of your life properly reflect your newly married status.

Estate Planning and Elder Law go hand in hand. While Estate Planning deals with what happens when you die; elder law deals with what happens as you age and /or become disabled.