By Daniel A. Perry, Esq.Benjamin Franklin once said that there are two things you can count on in this world, death and taxes. Unfortunately, nothing has changed since Benjamin Franklin uttered this famous phrase. Someday, all of us are going to die. Also, not a year will go by without each one of us having […]
By: Daniel A. PerryIt’s easy to be misinformed about probate and trusts. Because of false information, many families that go through probate end up dealing with a stressful process that is much longer than any of them ever considered, exposing their family’s private financial matters to the entire world to see.Example:Joe and Elizabeth had been […]
By Daniel A. Perry, Esq.I speak with many families every day regarding estate planning, trusts, wills, power of attorneys, and general estate planning legal matters. However, the most common statement that I receive is something similar to the following:I don’t need a Last Will and Testament and I also don’t need a Trust. All of […]
By: Daniel A. Perry In my law practice, I often hear the same statement from families:“I have everything set up in case myself or my wife pass away. We have a bank account, an IRA, and an investment account totaling $250,000. All our accounts have two of our children listed as beneficiaries. The third child we […]
By: Daniel A. Perry Many of us worry about what will happen to our families should we unexpectedly pass away. Some of us are also worried about our loved ones paying our bills, handling the funeral and other financial obligations that we leave behind. Therefore, I want to tell you a story about Elizabeth, a client […]
By: Daniel A. Perry A common question raised by the child of a deceased parent:“I want to be the administrator of dad’s probate estate, what do I need to do?”Unfortunately, the process is not that simple. In addition, being named the administrator of a probate estate comes with certain responsibilities. If you make mistakes in the […]
By Daniel A. Perry, Esq.Today, I want to talk about the often-overlooked estate income tax filing requirement. I was speaking with a client recently regarding the settlement of her late father’s estate. We were reviewing the matter and she made the statement, “inheritances are not taxed so we do not need to worry about any tax […]
Estate Planning for Unmarried Couples – Your Estate Planning is Extremely Important! By: Daniel A. Perry If you are an unmarried couple, your estate planning concerns are much different than a married couple. The most obvious concern is that if you are an unmarried couple and you pass away without any estate planning (no will, […]
By: Daniel A. Perry If you are an unmarried couple, your estate planning concerns are much different than a married couple.The most obvious concern is that if you are an unmarried couple and you pass away without any estate planning (no will, no nothing), then your property will pass according to the intestate succession laws. In […]
By Daniel A. Perry, Esq.Many families consider providing a portion of their estate to a charitable organization upon their death. For example, let’s look at the Hilton Hotel chain. The Hilton hotel was first started by Conrad Hilton in Texas and grew to become an international company. When Mr. Hilton passed away, he left the […]