Estate planning is all about ensuring that your assets end up in the right hands. But when circumstances and relationships change, so can your estate plan. Sometimes this means having to disinherit someone from your will. Disinheritance is always a sensitive and difficult decision. Understanding how...
A life insurance policy helps provide financial security and peace of mind for your loved ones after you’re gone. Understanding how life insurance works with your estate plan is essential for effectively protecting your assets and providing for your beneficiaries. Here’s what you need to...
Estate planning is crucial for everyone, no matter how wealthy they are. But it’s especially important for veterans and active military members. Being in the military earns you unique government benefits that need protection. A sound estate plan that includes a trust, a will, advance directives,...
Probate is a long and costly process that can take a year or more, and it’s best to avoid it if you can. For a small estate with property valued below a certain threshold, the best way to skip the probate process is to use...
If you are legally married, it’s important to know how your marital status will affect the distribution of your estate. For instance, whether or not your spouse inherits your property depends on which state you live in. Some states consider certain assets to be community...
If you’re planning to leave your home or any other real estate property to someone else when you pass, a beneficiary deed can smooth out the process. At Phelps LaClair, we help Arizona residents bequeath property and avoid probate with a variety of reliable estate...
Have you started working on your estate plan yet? There are many common myths and misconceptions about estate planning that can cause people to make mistakes with their plans, or prevent them from making one at all. If you’ve heard and believed any of these...
Have you ever wondered exactly what it means to be named as the executor of an estate? An executor has many important duties to carry out, and understanding what the executor of an estate has to do can help you make better choices. We put...
Wondering when to start estate planning? It’s a question that pops up from time to time, but in young adult life it can seem unimportant. Many young people consider estate planning the type of task that can gets pushed off for another time...
Hopefully, you’ve already created an estate plan that benefits your spouse or partner as well as any children and grandchildren in your family. But there are some other important family members you may have forgotten to consider when estate planning—your pets. Planning ahead for your...