Wills

• Checklist - 10 Things to Consider Including in a Will

  10 top issues for your parents to consider before writing their wills, including how to divide their property and who will receive it.

• Article - What to Expect from Your Trusts and Estates Attorney

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

• Article - Estate Planning Basics

  Estate planning manages money and property during life and passes it to survivors after death. Know what the basic estate planning documents can do.

• Checklist - 5 Legal Documents You Need for Your Parents

  These documents will ensure that you can assist your...

• Article - Probate: What It Is -- and How to Avoid It

  You can't help your parent avoid death or taxes at death. But you can save time and money by helping her plan to have her property avoid probate.

Blog Posts

• Blog Post - My mother is gambling away every last penny -- and her financial independence. What should I do?

  Since my father's death two years ago, my 75-year-old...

• Blog Post - My father seems interested in moving in with me -- and I don't want him to.

  At 81, my dad has Parkinson's, three heart stents,...

• Blog Post - Robots and Other High-Tech Solutions Help Seniors Stay at Home

  New high-tech monitoring systems allow seniors to age in place with greater safety and freedom, but also raise privacy concerns.

• Blog Post - Sandwich Generation "Massively Stressed"

  A new study of sandwich generation women, caring for children and aging parents, finds them ill-prepared for the massive stresses of care giving.

• Blog Post - Kennedy's Cancer Has Everyone Talking About Brain Tumors

  The announcement about Senator Edward Kennedy's brain tumor has the world talking about gliomas.

• Blog Post - Help! My mom's in hospice and my sister and I are arguing about her funeral.

  Our mom has said she wants to be cremated "so you don...

• Blog Post - My mother has asked not to be resuscitated if she has a medical crisis, but my siblings disagree on what constitutes a medical crisis.

  Before she showed signs of dementia, my mother decided...

• Blog Post - Link Between Depression and Heart Disease

  ScienceDaily offers a sneak peek at the findings of...

• Blog Post - Quick Quiz: Should Your Parents Stay at Home or Move?

  Quiz to help adult children figure out whether aging parents can stay at home or should move to retirement communities.

• Blog Post - Yelling and Nagging: Not the Way to Keep Someone With Diabetes on Track

  Practical advice on how to help your parent or partner with diabetes comply with health recommendations.

Questions & Answers

• Question - What is the difference between a will and a trust?

  Both wills and trusts do the deed of passing on title to property at death, but they go about it slightly differently.

• Question - Do we need to inform the first attorney that we wrote a new will with another attorney?

  When hiring different attorneys to prepare your estate plan, it can buy you some peace of mind to make doubly sure that your documents don't conflict.

• Question - How can we find out if my mother-in-law had a will?

  If a search in the obvious places doesn't turn up a will, try a few less obvious ones.

• Question - If I have a living trust, do I also need a will?

  While it requires a little extra thought and paperwork, a simple back-up will may help prevent estate planning slip-ups.

• Question - Does a joint will have to go through probate?

  First, get straight on what's joint property and what's a joint will. Then understand that while most wills must be probated, some can go through a simplified procedure.

• Question - In Ontario, what happens if a spouse dies and does not have a will?

  When a person dies without a will, who will get his or her property depends on how the survivors are related -- and sometimes, how many there are.

• Question - What are the amounts of trustee's fees that must be paid

  The law sets out a rather fuzzy standard for how much compensation a trustee is entitled to be paid.

• Question - What is the specific wording I should use to exclude two children from my will?

  A few unembellished words will make your intention to disinherit your children bulletproof to later legal challenges.

• Question - When making a minor change in a will, do I need to have it done by a lawyer?

  If a will revision is truly minor, you may be able to accomplish it on your own.

• Question - Can a Wisconsin resident disinherit a spouse?

  If a will does not mention a surviving spouse, the law will likely look at the document carefully -- and make some assumptions giving the survivor a share.

• Question - Is it better to leave my property by will or living trust?

  First evaluate the property you own that may pass to others automatically at your death; then look at the pros and cons of wills and living trusts.

• Question - My father has had a stroke and has no will. How do I ensure his things are taken care of?

  A parent who wishes to make a will may be able to do so, even after suffering a stroke.

• Question - Can the children of a nursing home resident distribute his assets as a “spend down” to qualify for Medicaid?

  Can the children of a nursing home resident distribute assets as a spend down to qualify for Medicaid? Get expert answers on spend down guidelines.

• Question - Does my girlfriend need her dad's permission to receive property left to her in her grandfather's will?

  The law does not favor wills that require beneficiaries to meet specific conditions; but sometimes, the best option may be to comply.

• Question - Who is meant to receive our brother's inheritance if he can't be found?

  Unanswered. Can you help?

• Question - How do I know if I'm entitled to a family member's inheritance?

  Unanswered. Can you help?

• Question - How do I find out if I will inherit property?

  It may take a little time and forbearance -- or a brash inquiry -- to find out whether you're slated to get property by trust or will.

• Question - Does self-help software produce legal documents?

  Some self-help law products produce perfectly legal documents. The key is to shop wisely -- and you can always use a lawyer as a backup.

• Question - Are online estate planning documents legal?

  When looking for an online product to help product your estate planning documents, shop carefully.

• Question - Can I add a codicil to my own will without a lawyer present?

  Unanswered. Can you help?

• Question - What is my first step in administering my mother's will?

  The first step is usually the hardest: Finding and organizing the property your mothe owned at her death.

• Question - How to create a non-contestable will?

  Unanswered. Can you help?

Tips & Reflections

• Tip - Final Arrangements: A Will Is Not the Way

  Why your parents' end-of-life preferences should be discussed in advance, not written into their will.

• Tip - Where to Check the Form of Property Ownership

  Learn how to determine the form of ownership for your parents' property.