But how can parents prevent this from happening? The first step is just to understand why these disputes might happen so that they can make proactive plans to avoid them. With that in mind, here are three potential reasons for a dispute.
Sentimental items can be very problematic because heirs don’t care about the financial value. They can’t sell the item and split the money, or neither person would get what they want. As a result, when two people want the same item with the same sentimental value, there may not be a compromise or a solution that makes everyone happy.
In some cases, estate plans may not be direct enough to avoid disputes. For instance, rather than picking one person to make medical decisions with a healthcare power of attorney, the estate plan may just say that the heirs should work together to determine what the best options are. But if they don’t agree about proper medical treatment options, then a dispute is inevitable.
Finally, many estate disputes occur because parents do not leave a plan at all. Heirs and beneficiaries have to make all of the decisions. With no guidance, they often disagree about what their parent would have wanted, but there’s no way for them to determine what that actually would have been.
Those who are drafting an estate plan or working through a dispute need to know what legal options they have. With proper planning, many disputes can be avoided.
]]>There are numerous reasons for the decline of U.S. downtown areas. It has been widely suggested, for example, that decades of overbuilding office space fed a bubble that finally burst over the past several years. What remains is a great deal of unoccupied commercial space in these areas and questions about what commercial real estate investors and developers should do next.
It is not yet clear how quickly American downtowns will bounce back from their unusually vacant state. Some may bounce back, while others might not. As a result, those interested in investing in commercial real estate opportunities are going to need to pay particular attention to the trends that are affecting any specific potential investment location. Some opportunities will be much more promising than others.
At present, it seems that a boom in repurposing office space – from apartments to pickleball courts – may be the next big “thing” in commercial real estate. With that said, any particular boom needs to be carefully considered because just like overdevelopment of office space led to a burst bubble, so might this next repurposing push.
Due to the ever-evolving nature of the commercial real estate market, seeking legal guidance to better safeguard one’s interests tends to be a good call when investing in this kind of real property opportunity.
]]>Unfortunately, a lot of small business owners and entrepreneurs don’t make the necessary moves to protect their personal assets from business losses until it’s already too late. Good asset protection strategies should be part of the plans during every new business formation.
General partnerships are often the vehicle of choice when entrepreneurs first start their businesses together, but they offer no protection against loss. Co-partners are equally liable for all the partnership’s debts, even if they were caused by one partner’s errors.
With that in mind, it’s wise to explore other options, such as:
Asset protection strategies often get pushed to the side in the early stages of a business. If that happened with your business, there’s no time like the present to revisit the issue.
]]>Here’s what you should consider when creating your estate plan:
Your will is the most basic document of the estate plan. Your will is your last wishes for distribution of assets and names the person or people to administer the estate. In other words, you’re leaving behind instructions that provide for distribution of your estate (that is property you own) to beneficiaries.
When determining how your last wishes are executed, an executor of the estate will handle most of the matters. An executor is responsible for validating your will and filing it with a probate court. They may also be required to secure valuable assets, contact heirs, pay taxes and distribute assets during probate.
As you make an estate plan, you should name a power of attorney. A power of attorney is a representative who acts on your behalf if you ever become incapacitated. This covers you during your lifetime as opposed to the other documents that take effect upon death. A Power of Attorney ends upon your death.
People may name a guardian who would be responsible for caring for their children if there’s ever a sudden death or emergency.
Some people aren’t comfortable with just a will and use Trusts for various purposes. People often make trusts alongside wills, which place assets in the trust of a trustee to hold for beneficiaries. These can bring several advantages, depending on the type of trust you use and how you set it up.
It’s important to understand just how complex an estate plan can be. You may need to reach out for legal help to learn about your options.
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