“Back in the day”, one of the worst things that could happen was if someone read your diary. Now, with social media, kids get mad if their Tik Toks or Insta Stories don’t get enough views. Despite the prevalence of over-sharing in our lives nowadays,...
A number of our clients have a trust as the main document in their estate plan. Some of them created a trust before ever talking with Crain & Wooley and were not educated on how a properly crafted trust works. For example, some people never...
What do Tupac Shakur, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse, Bob Marley, Steve McNair, Martin Luther King Jr., Stieg Larsson, Abraham Lincoln, Prince, Barry White, Sonny Bono, Howard Hughes, and Pablo Picasso have in common? They all died without a will, trust, or any estate...
When a person creates a trust, it is important for them to change ownership of assets out of their individual name and into the name of a trust. For example, a home originally owned by John Doe would be changed to show that John Doe,...
Trusts—as opposed to wills—are more like contracts and are designed to not have to be proven in court. If they don’t have to go to court, then they generally don’t have to adhere to a particular state’s laws. However, there are some exceptions, particularly: If you’re...
First and foremost, congratulations! If someone named you as a trustee or successor trustee, that person must have thought that you are smart, trustworthy, and organized. Being chosen as a trustee is a pretty big compliment. But, just like Uncle Ben told Spiderman: “With great power...
Life has very few guarantees. Paying taxes and dying are two guarantees that impact every single person no matter gender, socio-economic status, religion or ethnicity. We pay taxes every year and talk about how much we like or dislike taxes with just about anyone who...