The Exempt Property Allowance and the Family Allowance When a person dies and a probate proceeding is commenced in Colorado, certain payments and expenses have priority over the others. Right at the top of that list is the exempt property allowance and the family allowance. Exempt Property: Priority Over all Claims Against the Estate The […]
What to Expect From an Estate Plan An estate plan is more than a will or a living trust. It is a combination of many documents. Here is what you should expect to receive in any estate plan: What to Expect from a Will-Based Plan If your plan is a Will-based plan, you should receive […]
Home buyer’s remorse used to mean having some misgivings about the house purchase price paid and the monthly mortgage payments. Today, it can mean a lawsuit against the home seller. Sometimes, those lawsuits can be for hundreds of thousands of dollars. In most cases, insurance does not cover the loss or even the defense. For […]
In Colorado, a life insurance company cannot use suicide to avoid payment of a death benefit if the suicide occurs more than one year after the life insurance policy is in force.
Perhaps the most asked question in our office is, do I need a trust as part of my Colorado estate plan? The answer depends. There is no Colorado litmus test for who does or doesn’t need a trust. There are certain factors that influence the decision. Some clients specifically request an estate planning trust because […]
One of the primary reasons we open Colorado probate estates is to transfer real estate from the deceased person to the new owners. Here are the various ways we make that transfer and how to minimize the transfer costs of Colorado probate real estate.
Avoiding ancillary probate is easy. By putting real estate into something called a nominee trust or living trust, ancillary probate proceedings and the associated expense can be avoided. As an alternative to a living trust, a limited liability company can be created, the real estate transferred to the company and then ownership in the company can be transferred to the heirs through the primary probate proceeding…
We often get asked to name multiple children, jointly, on medical powers of attorney, financial powers of attorney and as trustees. While there are legitimate reasons why clients want to name joint power holders, be aware of the potential costs.
Don’t have a will? Well, don’t feel bad. You’re in good company. Many celebrities have died without an estate plan. Here are just a few with interesting twists. Prince Rogers Nelson (Prince) Prince died on April 21, 2016 and apparently had no will. While the value of Prince’s estate is the subject of speculation, it […]
Estate planning mistakes can be expensive and happen to even the most thorough of people. This is a list of common estate planning mistakes we have either seen or gathered from sources. Not having an estate plan. What would be a list of planning mistakes if we did not start with the most obvious and […]