Downs Law Firm, P.C.
When you open a financial account, you’re often asked to name a beneficiary. Simply stated, a beneficiary is someone who is entitled to the benefits of the account on the death of the account holder. For example, if you’ve purchased life insurance, you name a beneficiary who receives the benefits of the policy when you pass away.
So, you’ve decided that a family member won’t be getting an inheritance after all. Maybe you have an ungrateful or irresponsible family member you want to cut out of the will.
By discussing finances with your children early and often you can set them—and future generations—up for success, when it’s time to receive the wealth you’ve accrued.
Probate and trust administration are not the same. There are important differences and similarities between administering a decedent’s probate estate and administering a decedent’s trust estate.
Estate planning documents often are treated like the photocopied permission slip for a child’s field trip. You fill in your name, include the children’s names and dates of birth, and sign. The document is filed away to be used if needed, but you really never expect it to be used.
Both the state and federal government, administered through the Social Security Administration (SSA) and Medicaid, provide disabled individuals with a variety of life enhancing, and sometimes life sustaining, public benefits.
The death care industry — yep, it’s got its own industry moniker — is an estimated $20 billion business. Service Corporation International, a publicly traded company that operates 1,475 funeral homes and 483 cemeteries in 44 states, pulled in more than $3.2 billion in revenue in the past 12 months.
There are so many joys and heartaches in my memories as a Washington football fan. But it is a franchise with some awful history, the last to integrate, which fought for ole Dixie. There were also many great victories, admirable players, and coaches. My Dad, siblings, and I spent many Sundays in the joy of victory and the agony of defeat, with some ranting and curse words occasionally featured.
One of the biggest challenges for anyone administering an estate is how to distribute what are called its tangible items. Unlike other property which can be easily sold, turned into cash and divided equally, tangible property is unique and often can’t be equally split. Its value also often can’t be measured by what it could be sold for. A family photo album may have no monetary value, for instance, but great sentimental significance.
The heirs to Henry Ford II – the eldest grandson of legendary Henry Ford – filed a legal challenge against their late patriarch’s attorney, Frank Chopin, who is now the champion of Ford’s widow, Kathleen DuRoss Ford, 80.
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