Five Reasons to Protect Your Retirement Accounts Now

Rincker LawRetirement Trusts

Your retirement account provides asset protection during your lifetime, but as soon as you pass that account to a loved one, that protection evaporates. When your spouse, child, or other loved one inherits your retirement account, creditors have the power to seize it and use the funds to satisfy their claims. This means one lawsuit and POOF!—your life-long, hard-earned savings …

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Planning Considerations For Unmarried Partners

Rincker LawEstate Planning

When it comes to protecting your unmarried partner, there are several options to consider. Depending on the value of your money and property, your desired level of protection from your partner’s creditors, and other factors unique to your situation, one or more of these strategies may be beneficial. A word of caution: regardless of what methods you use, you must …

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My Loved One Has Died – What Do I Do Now?

Rincker LawEstate Planning

When a family member or other loved one dies, grief and shock can sometimes be overwhelming. The last thing most people want to think about is making phone calls or funeral arrangements. Some things do not need to be done immediately, but there are some steps that should be taken soon after the loss of your loved one. We hope …

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Preserving Your Money and Property Beyond the Third Generation

Rincker LawEstate Planning

Whether you have inherited your wealth or have built it yourself, you likely want to share this wealth with the next generation and beyond. The quotation “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations” has often been attributed to Andrew Carnegie. The same concept has been echoed by other people and various cultures, with the underlying notion being that the first generation …

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Fears When Talking about Money

Rincker LawEstate Planning

Studies[1] have shown that the largest contributing factors to generational loss of wealth are a lack of communication and trust among family members and the failure to prepare heirs.[2] Often, fear is what underlies the lack of communication and trust that inevitably leads to unprepared heirs. Following are some of the fears that prevent people from communicating with their loved …

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Living, Testamentary, and Constructive Trusts: Are They All the Same?

Rincker LawEstate Planning

In the world of estate planning, terms that refer to legal documents such as wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and healthcare directives can be confusing and even overwhelming at times. What is a will, and how does it differ from a trust? What distinguishes a springing power of attorney from an immediate power of attorney? Or are they the same …

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To Have, but Not to Hold? Common Law Marriage and Estate Planning

Rincker LawEstate Planning

Marriage as a legal institution has taken a variety of forms throughout history. As society evolves, how we identify marriage in our society also changes. In some states, a couple may be deemed married without having participated in judicial or religious ceremonies. These marriages are called common law marriages. Their existence creates some potential issues when planning for illness or …

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Can a Disabled Individual Be an Executor or a Trustee?

Rincker LawEstate Planning

An important element of creating an estate plan is choosing a responsible party to handle your legal, medical, and financial affairs if you become unable to manage them yourself (i.e., become incapacitated) or die. The individual or entity you choose must be someone whom you can trust to make crucial and often time-sensitive decisions, who is willing to be detail-oriented …

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Can I Remodel My Own Estate Planning Documents?

Rincker LawEstate Planning

Estate planning is one area that often goes unexamined and neglected. Is it time to remodel your estate plan? If so, is that something that you can (or should) do on your own? Small Estate Planning Updates Upon reviewing your estate planning documents, you may notice a number of seemingly small issues that need to be addressed, but you may …

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Selling a Deceased Loved One’s Real Estate: Things You Need to Know

Rincker LawEstate Planning, probate

After the death of a loved one, such as a parent, there are a variety of tasks that must be handled to wrap up your loved one’s final affairs. Selling your deceased loved one’s real estate is one of the more daunting ones. But before you call a real estate agent, you should take some time to get familiar with …

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What Are the Estate Rights of a Child Born Outside of Marriage?

Rincker LawEstate Planning

Despite the prevailing view, children born to unmarried parents are commonplace. Historically, children in this category were treated poorly by both society and the law. In many cases, they had no right to inherit from either parent. This legal scheme eventually changed and provided means for these children to inherit from their mothers, but rarely their fathers, until the late …

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Why Is My Trust So Long?

Rincker LawEstate Planning

When you met with an attorney a few weeks ago, perhaps all you expected was a simple will. Maybe you thought that, with your situation, the work should be easy and the documents should be few. But now that you have finished working with the attorney, your parting gift is a large binder filled with hundreds of pages. You may …

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