Recent Articles

The Lighter Side of Estate Planning

Traci D. Ellis
August 29, 2008 19:49

Estate planning isn’t always serious business.  Perhaps you’re familiar with this well known joke: When a shy and homely young man found out he was going to inherit a fortune when his sickly father died, he decided he needed a woman with which to enjoy it.  So one evening he went out to a singles...

Bravo for the Encore Career

Traci D. Ellis
August 27, 2008 19:07

We have a lot of posts on our blog about retirement issues; planning for it, saving for it, protecting it. But what if retirement could be not just an ending, but a new beginning? What if retirement was your opportunity to decide anew “what you want to be when you grow up?” Many new retirees are...

Don’t Let Your Vacation Home Become a Memory

Traci D. Ellis
August 25, 2008 19:25

The end of summer is upon us, with many people closing up the summer cottage, and—with wistful backward glances—returning to the hubbub of everyday life. But those happy summer memories, and looking forward to next summer, will keep us going through the winter. And so, to conclude our series on...

The Cost of Assessing Your Property

Traci D. Ellis
August 22, 2008 19:43

This week’s blog series has focused on real estate and how your estate planning attorney can help you leverage and protect it. But we know that many homeowners right now aren’t concerned so much with protecting their property, but protecting themselves—from the effects of falling home prices. If...

Real Estate Involves Real Risk

Traci D. Ellis
August 20, 2008 21:52

One of the main ways that wealthy families accumulate and keep wealth is through real estate. Despite the year-to-year ups and downs of the real estate market, the value of real property continues to grow over the long term. Real estate is often considered a comparatively easy way to maintain and...

How to Leverage Unproductive Real Estate

Traci D. Ellis
August 18, 2008 21:38

Real estate plays an extremely large role in the estate planning process. As mentioned in previous posts, your home (or other real estate holdings) often forms the bulk of your assets, and figures largely in the creation of your family’s estate plan. But real estate can serve as far more than just...

“Mothering Mother” And Other Books About Aging and Care Giving

Traci D. Ellis
August 15, 2008 19:51

Many of our clients come to us with questions about Elder Law, and we are happy to be able to share information not only for our elderly clients (about Medicare or Long Term care) but for their children and loved ones as well (about care giving or the plight of the Sandwich Generation.) However, a...

Four Reasons Not to Create An Estate Plan (And Why You Should Ignore Them)

Traci D. Ellis
August 13, 2008 21:09

The biggest enemy in estate planning is not the IRS, nor the state, nor conniving relatives. The biggest enemy is procrastination. We know we need to do an estate plan, but we say to ourselves, “I’ll do it next month” or “I’ll do it next year.” We do this for a number of reasons, and [...]The...

Six Tips to Ensure You Get the Most From Your Estate Planning Appointment

Traci D. Ellis
August 11, 2008 20:18

We all like to be prepared in new situations, whether it be starting a new job or going to the first meeting of the gardening club. Aside from making for a more comfortable experience, your time is valuable, and the more prepared you are, the more you can take away from an experience. A visit...

The Olympic Events in Estate Planning

Traci D. Ellis
August 08, 2008 18:35

On 08-08-08, at 8pm Beijing time, the XXIX Olympic Games were ushered in with a lavish opening ceremony. The list of events is filled with old favorites and some of the more modern additions, but upon perusal of the list it became clear that some events were missing from the roster. Most...