Casebolt Law Firm, PLC

Trust and estate planning often comes down to three questions: Who gets what? How do you minimize taxes? And, once a trust has been set up, who is in control? Unfortunately, it's easy for a family to bungle any one of the three. That's especially so if you don't have a professional on board as a trustee. Here are the five most common mistakes of do-it-yourselfers, and tips on how to avoid them. FAULTY RECORDS: Most states require trustees to provide regular accountings to the

Consider putting in place a durable power of attorney, an advance health care directive and organ donor papers. Write down, in your own words, how you want your assets to be distributed after your death. Review all contracts and beneficiary designations you have in force today and confer with your estate planning attorney to see if they will actually accomplish what you intend and offer the appropriate level of control and flexibility. Make sure to update your will/trust peri

I’m not going to lie. Lately I’ve noticed parents sidesteppping me at social gatherings. Whether I’m at a cocktail or a kiddie party, as soon as I say what I do these days, it seems I’m about as popular as pinkeye. I write about estate planning. Turns out, over half of the population doesn’t have a will, and the percentage only climbs for those with kids — the group that actually can’t afford to live without one. So, for the past year, I’ve been interviewing families, trying

I want to highlight some of the most common estate planning mistakes I think people routinely make (knowing that I can’t possibly cover them all in one column). You will notice that I’m not going to discuss the estate tax beyond saying that very few people are subject to it and that it can be effectively managed by an attorney and financial planner with expertise. In my experience, No. 1 and No. 3 are the root causes of the other issues. 1. Failure to plan: I am constantly su