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I’ve heard stories of people writing letters before they die which are not to be opened until death.  Sometimes the letters express love and sometimes they give advice from a life well-lived.  Other times they share bad news–like someone is being excluded in a will or that an estate is worth far less than beneficiaries…

When I took on the executor role, I didn’t really know a lot about what the executor duties were.  I thought it would be simple–just follow the will and hand out the assets according to those instructions. But the will did not say where every possession should go and there were the instructions of the…

With National Estate Planning Awareness Week upon us, this is a great time to organize your offline and online materials. These days we all have critical documents that are still often in analog form including our driver’s license, passport, health insurance cards, car and life insurance, will and testament, and that all-important vaccine card among…

Prince’s passing proves why you need a will regardless of your age or net worth In the days following Prince’s death, news outlets have speculated on his last days, discussed his musical legacy, and highlighted the many tributes to him across the world. In life, the seven-time Grammy winner was widely known as a complex individual,…

Family Squabbles After a Death – An All-Too-Common Story For the Conrad* family, the mantra was always “family first.” Mom, Dad and their five children — four girls and a boy — spent every holiday together, even long after the children had grown into adults with their own families. Birthdays were no different. It wasn’t…

As an executor managing an estate, one responsibility is closing the deceased’s accounts and paying their final bills. When Aileen Gunther, a New York lawmaker, was paying her late mother’s final cable bill last summer she was shocked to see how high the bill was. Further review showed her mother had been charged an early…

The Bereavement Cycle™ is the first twelve months after a loved one’s passing. It can be filled with a wide range of emotions as different things remind you of your loved one or which make you feel their absence. But it’s also a cycle that is an important part of the grieving process. For some, like a…

We’ve all seen the commercials telling us how our holidays should look. Families gathered in a picture-perfect scene. The holiday table is filled with food that looks almost too good to eat. Everyone is in their most festive attire, and children seem to have an angelic glow about them. But then, there’s reality. The stuffing…

Most of us with Fidos, felines and other pets have probably thought about who we would like to care for them if they outlive us. Perhaps we even informally ask a family member or friend to look after them in such an event. But the reality is in many cases these arrangements fall through. The…