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One of the most popular tools that people utilize to protect their assets is putting them into a trust for a beneficiary. People create trusts for their beneficiaries for many different reasons, but one important reason is to provide protection and limit the access that creditors have to their assets. When creating a trust, many people wonder whether a creditor...

Living trusts are important estate planning document because they allow you to transfer property efficiently, without having to worry about probate. If you are thinking about drafting one of these documents, it is important to consider the ideal time to get started. For instance, when deciding whether to start drafting a living trust, you should think about both your age...

When a couple gets married, they should remember that they can draft a specific trust to minimize their estate taxes. An AB trust, also known as a credit shelter trust, involves creating two separate documents after one spouse passes away. First, the portion of property owned by the spouse who passed is put into the bypass trust (B). This arrangement...

The creation of a living trust allows you to avoid probate fees. Typically, the more valuable an item or asset is, the greater the cost to probate it. As a result, your highest value assets should generally be placed in your living trust. Items to consider adding to the trust include: Houses and other real estate (even if they're mortgaged)...

A Heggstad petition is used when there is a real property or asset that is excluded from a deceased person’s Living Trust. This happens when the title of a real property or other asset is not legally or formally transferred to the Living Trust. A trustee or beneficiary would typically have to go through probate in order to inherit or...

WHAT IS SEVERANCE PAY? Severance pay is money that an employer chooses to offer an employee who is leaving the company. Common scenarios in which an employer might offer severance pay include layoffs, termination, resignation, or mutual agreements to part ways. These arrangements may include anywhere from a week or two of pay for each year the worker was employed...