All articles tagged with #estate planning
Prenups are increasingly used as estate-planning tools to waive surviving-spouse rights granted by state law at death or incapacity, ensuring assets are distributed as intended. They should coordinate with wills, trusts, and powers of attorney, and be updated with changes in laws, finances, or family circumstances.
More than a year after Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s death from accidental asphyxia, his widow Tenisha and their nine-year-old daughter face mounting financial strains — including a lawsuit over a premarital agreement and a pending life-insurance dispute — prompting a friend to launch a GoFundMe to help cover housing repairs and ongoing estate costs as Tenisha continues to homeschool their daughter.
The article argues that handing down digital assets after death is complex and imperfect, but survivorship can be eased by inventorying assets, naming a fiduciary in a will, and giving explicit instructions on what to do without exposing passwords. In the US, the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA) lets fiduciaries access certain contents while preserving privacy, and most states have it, though access often requires the decedent’s explicit permission. Built‑in tools from Google, Apple, and Meta are limited and can trigger issues with terms of service. DIY handoffs can fail due to technical or privacy hurdles, so best practice is to list assets and desired actions in a will, keep credentials separate, avoid relying on legacy account features, back up data, and update plans regularly.
Adult children who care for aging parents can face lawsuits and false accusations by noninvolved siblings after a parent’s death, as estates enter a ‘probate storm’ during the Great Wealth Transfer. Experts advocate pre-emptive steps: consult an elder-law attorney, set up power of attorney and caregiver agreements, keep meticulous records of expenses, maintain open monthly communications with family, and ensure clear, well‑documented estate plans to protect the caregiver and the estate from disputes and costly litigation.
Families inheriting a home must decide whether to sell, rent, or keep it while covering ongoing costs like taxes, insurance, and maintenance. With trillions expected to pass in the great wealth transfer, real estate is increasingly central; the inherited home's cost basis resets to fair market value at death, so prompt appraisal can minimize capital gains. Experts advise preplanning via wills or trusts and creating a decision timeline among heirs to avoid emotional delays and preserve the property's value.
New York City’s pied-à-terre surcharge, originally aimed at the wealthy, is prompting a broad swath of middle-class homeowners to consult lawyers and rethink ownership, often via trusts or LLCs to manage liability and privacy. However, a city look-through rule means transfers may not escape the tax, and public-property data exposure is accelerating private-wealth-style planning among non-wealthy homeowners as the city weighs possible fixes.
Tenisha Delilah Warner, the widow of Malcolm-Jamal Warner, has filed a lawsuit against the actor’s mother claiming she’s owed more than $1.2 million under a premarital agreement that promised a $1 million life insurance policy and other payments. The Warner Family Trust, where the mother is successor trustee, leaves most assets to the mother and does not reflect the couple’s 2017 marriage and their child, prompting the dispute. Experts say the prenup is a binding contract, but the challenge is funding any payout since the trust is revocable and may be claimed by creditors; if the trust were irrevocable, protections would be stronger. The case underscores the importance of updating estate plans after marriage and honoring prenuptial agreements, with the widow also seeking to freeze trust distributions pending resolution.
Estate lawyers warn that many people fail to plan properly: having multiple co-executors can spark conflict and cost; a will alone does not always avoid probate; vague bequests to sentimental items invite disputes; wills should be updated after life changes; gifts should be structured to truly help beneficiaries and avoid unintended consequences; and you must clearly designate where your will is and work with a qualified estate attorney to prevent disputes and expensive probate.
A diverse group of 11 finance experts argues that wealth-building goes beyond frugality: start investing now (even $1 in index funds), rethink homeownership, define what “enough” means to retire early, negotiate debt, avoid commission-based advisers and store cards, involve family in a child’s education savings, invest in mental wellness as a financial asset, and set up wills or trusts early—while acknowledging systemic barriers in capitalism and offering practical steps to gain financial independence.
Ultra-high-net-worth households (about 442,000 with $20M+ in investable assets, totaling roughly $22.5T) are a lucrative yet demanding client segment. They require advisers with expertise beyond portfolio management—covering tax, estate and trust planning, business advisory, philanthropy, and multi-generational family governance. Prospective clients should ask potential advisers about their experience with similar clients, the services offered, how they implement tax and estate planning, and their succession plan, aiming for a seamless, multi-generational partnership that can evolve over decades.
After their father’s death, a volatile stepsister wreaks havoc—drama around memorials, moving belongings, and the will. Since stepchildren aren’t automatically entitled to an inheritance, the mother’s will and beneficiary designations (life insurance, retirement accounts) determine who gets what. The standout advice is to consult an estate attorney, protect the grieving mother, and prioritize your own mental health and your children’s needs, rather than trying to appease a difficult sibling.
An estimated 12 million classic cars worth about $570 billion will pass to heirs over the next 15 years as part of the US’s broader wealth transfer, with Hagerty counting more than 43 million collectible cars and roughly $1 trillion in insurable value; while most transfers occur without tax issues, emotional attachment and high upkeep costs can lead to disputes and reshape how these historic vehicles are valued and handed down.
Wealthy families who hurried to gift assets to lock in the temporarily higher gift exemption under the TCJA may regret the move now that Congress made those exemptions permanent. While unwinding irrevocable gifts is possible, it is usually difficult and costly; options like decanting, moving trusts to friendlier states, or using trust protectors can modify terms, but the core lesson is that the decision to give was not wrong, just driven by evolving tax rules.
A 2026 Trust & Will report shows most Gen Xers haven’t prepared estate documents (62% lack a will or trust), with only 26% nationwide having a will and 14% a trust; overall 56% of adults have no estate planning documents. Delays are linked to procrastination, a shortage of estate‑planning attorneys, and a rise in online planning tools, with experts urging everyone to have at least a will.
A father seeks guidance after his wife wants to disinherit their son simply because the son doesn’t plan to have children. The column argues that punishing a child over a personal life choice is cruel and likely damaging, and suggests protecting the son’s interests in the will while addressing the wife’s grief. It explains that changing a will generally requires both spouses’ cooperation, recommends consulting an estate attorney, and urges a candid discussion with the wife about her motivations, with therapy (individual or couple) as a possible path to redirect her anger.