Susan Kostal

Caring.com senior editor

About

Susan Kostal, Senior Editor of the Legal channel, has covered legal affairs issues as a journalist for more than 20 years. Her work has appeared in San Francisco magazine, ABA Journal, and California Lawyer, and on Law.com. She is also an editor for private foundations focusing on policy and healthcare, and she runs roundtable discussions for attorneys and other professional service firms. Susan is a graduate of Drake University and holds a bachelor's degree in news and editorial journalism. She enjoys keeping up with the many sports activities of her three daughters and notes that her favorite exercise class at the gym is one for seniors. She is the youngest in the class by at least 15 years, and she finds that her most inspiring workout buddies are those in their 60s and 70s. While her parents are healthy and active, Susan is grateful they've understood the importance of planning for their futures and have established trusts, wills, living wills, and durable powers of attorney

Recently Published on Caring.com

1. Tuesday November 25, 2008

   1. How Does a Generation-Skipping Trust Work?

      Article - Generation-skipping trusts aren't just for the very wealthy -- they're a way to save any family's assets from excessive taxation, ex-spouses looking for money, and creditors. Plus, they protect assets such as stocks that are likely to grow in value over time.

2. Thursday June 26, 2008

   2. Winding Up Your Parent's Legal Affairs After Death

      Article - Winding Up Your Parent's Legal Affairs After Death. This article covers the distribution of assets and wrapping up of affairs. 1 Comment

3. Wednesday December 05, 2007

   3. Revocable Living Trusts: A Beginner's Guide

      Article - Revocable Living Trusts: A Beginner's Guide. A revocable living trust is one of the most important documents for parents to have in their estate plan. 1 Comment

4. Monday September 24, 2007

   4. What to Expect from Your Trusts and Estates Attorney

      Article - How to help your parent find and work with a trusts and estates attorney on wills, revocable trusts, and estate planning. 1 Comment

5. Monday September 17, 2007

   5. How to Deal With Theft by a Caregiver

      Article - What you need to know to protect your parent from financial abuse and theft. Plus, what to do if a theft has occurred. 2 Comments

   6. 5 Legal Documents You Need for Your Parents

      Checklist - These documents will ensure that you can assist your parents in a medical or financial emergency and, at their deaths, ease the distribution of their estate. 3 Comments