Amy's Angle

  4 Tips For Talking About Estate Planning With Your Family Over the Holidays by Amy Clemmons Brown, Esq.   !"#$# $##% &'$   # %" %    !"#$# $##% &'$   # %" %  With COVID-19 still raging, your 2020 holiday season may not fea...

  6 Things You Should NOT Include in Your Will by Amy Clemmons Brown, Esq.   A will is one of the most basic estate planning tools. While relying solely on a will is rarely a suitable option for most people, just about every estate plan includes this key document in one form or another.    A will is used to designate how you want your assets distributed to your surviving loved ones upon your death. If you die without a will, state law governs how your assets are distributed, which may or may not be in line with your wishes. That said, not all assets can (or should) be included in your will. For this reason, it’s important for you to understand which assets you should put in your will and which assets you should include in other planning documents like trusts. While you should always consult with an experienced planning professional like me when creating your will, here are a few of the different types of assets that should not be included in your will. 1. Ass...

Getting Divorced? Don’t Overlook These 4 Updates to Your Estate Plan—Part 2 by Amy Clemmons Brown, Esq. Going through divorce can be an overwhelming experience that impacts nearly every facet of your life, including estate planning. Yet, with so much to deal with during the divorce process, many people forget to update their plan or put it off until it’s too late. Failing to update your plan before, during, and after your divorce can have a number of potentially tragic consequences, some of which you’ve likely not considered—and in most cases, you can’t rely on your divorce lawyer to bring them up. If you are in the midst of a divorce, and your divorce lawyer has not brought up estate planning, there are several things you need to know. First off, you need to update your estate plan, not only after your divorce is final, but as soon as you know a split is inevitable. Here’s why: until your divorce is final, your marriage is legally in full effect. This means if you die or become ...

Getting Divorced? Don’t Overlook These 4 Updates to Your Estate Plan—Part 1 by Amy Clemmons Brown, Esq. Going through divorce can be an overwhelming experience that impacts nearly every facet of your life, including estate planning. Yet, with so much to deal with during the divorce process, many people forget to update their plan or put it off until it’s too late. Failing to update your plan for divorce can have a number of potentially tragic consequences, some of which you’ve likely not considered—and in most cases, you can’t rely on your divorce lawyer to bring them up. If you are in the midst of a divorce, and your divorce lawyer has not brought up estate planning, there are several things you need to know. First off, you need to update your estate plan, not only after your divorce is final, but as soon as you know a split is inevitable. Here’s why: until your divorce is final, your marriage is legally in full effect. This means if you die or become incapacitated while your divorc...

                      Will Your Estate Plan Actually Work When Your Family Needs It? by Amy Clemmons Brown, Esq. November 6, 2020 is “National Love Your Lawyer Day,” which started in 2001, as a way to celebrate lawyers for their positive contributions and encourage the public to view lawyers in a more favorable light. As your Personal Family Lawyer®, I am dedicated to improving the public’s perception of lawyers by offering family-centered legal services specifically tailored to provide my clients with the kind of love, attention, and trust I ’d want for my own loved ones. With that in mind, this post gives some insight into how this vision for a new law business model first came about. If you’re like most people, you likely think estate planning is just one more task to check off of your life’s endless “to-do” list. You may shop around and find a lawyer to create planning documents for you, or you might try creating your own DIY ...

Thirteen Estate Planning Terms You Need to Know by Amy Clemmons Brown, Esq. Estate planning—it is an incredibly important tool, not just for the uber wealthy or those thinking about retirement. On the contrary, estate planning is something every adult should do. Estate planning can help you accomplish any number of goals, including appointing guardians for minor children, choosing healthcare agents to make decisions for you should you become ill, minimizing taxes so you can pass more wealth onto your family members, and stating how and to whom you would like to pass your estate on to when you pass away. While it should be at the top of everyone’s to-do list, it can be an overwhelming topic to dive into. To help you get situated, below are some important terms you should know as you think about your own estate plan. Assets Generally, anything a person owns, including a home and other real estate, bank accounts, life insurance, investments, furniture, jewelry, art, clothing, and c...

  How to Own Your Real Estate by Amy Clemmons Brown, Esq. Real estate encompasses not only one’s primary residence but also other real estate such as a vacation home or a rental property. The ideal form of ownership varies depending on the type of real estate you own. Below, we take a look at the different types of real estate and offer advice about the best form of ownership for each. Primary Residence Because your primary residence receives special tax treatment, you should carefully consider how your home is owned. In some states, tenancy by the entirety offers married couples creditor protection from the creditors of one of the spouses (with a possible exception for federal tax liens) while still preserving relevant tax benefits. It also allows automatic transfer of ownership to the surviving spouse upon the death of the first spouse without court involvement. Transferring ownership of the primary residence to a joint revocable trust may also be an option if you live in a state...