Not every asset is handled in the same way when transferring it (also known as “funding the trust”) into the Revocable Living Trust. As a matter of fact, there are certain types of assets that if transferred into the Revocable Living Trust will cause significant tax consequences. A common manner in naming a Revocable Living [...]
Category Archives: trusts
August 9, 2010
How to Prepare for your Initial Estate Planning Meeting
One of the more common comments I hear as to why clients have procrastinated calling an attorney to assist them with estate planning is that they were concerned that they had to do too much preparing for the meeting. There really isn’t much you have to do, especially when you work with our Firm. When [...]
July 28, 2010
Probate Court Fees in North Carolina
For those of you who still aren’t convinced that avoiding Probate should be a priority, here is a link (http://tinyurl.com/probatefees) to the list of fees that the North Carolina Probate Court charges for various documents, filings and actions in a probate matter. By they way, some were just raised…again. When calculating fees, don’t forget to [...]
July 5, 2010
10 Events that Signal a Review of your Living Trust
You get married or divorced Your spouse dies or becomes incapacitated You have a new grandchild Your child marries or divorces Your child becomes ill or disabled One of your beneficiaries proves to be financially irresponsible You retire from your business or profession You acquire property in or move to a different state The value [...]
July 1, 2010
Top 4 Beneficiary Issues to Consider with your Retirement Accounts
Have you checked your beneficiary designation for your retirement account recently? If not, you may find that your designated beneficiary is not who or what you think it should be, especially if you have divorced, remarried or had children since your retirement plan account was established. 1. Outdated Beneficiary Designations There have been numerous cases [...]
June 28, 2010
Top 5 Estate Planning Mistakes
I recently read a report that suggested that only about 20 percent of the population has a formal estate plan. After reviewing the points below, please take a minute to consider whether it’s time for you to create or update your estate plan. Here are a few of the top 5 estate planning mistakes that [...]
June 22, 2010
Advantages of a Revocable Living Trust
Let’s look at some of the advantages of having a revocable living trust in place: Avoids Probate – Probate is the legal process for transferring your property when you die. Assets named in trust avoid the costly and time-consuming court probate proceedings. Avoids Multiple State Probate Proceedings – A living trust can be especially helpful [...]
March 2, 2010
Aid and Attendance benefit for Wartime Veterans – most Veterans are unaware of this benefit
I am proud to announce that the Firm of Sabrina Winters, Attorney at Law, PLLC is now assisting wartime veterans and surviving spouses of deceased wartime veterans in receiving a special monthly pension benefit called Aid an Attendance. This is not a new program. Too many veterans are unaware that they may be entitled to [...]
March 1, 2010
An Asset Protection Trust Could Offer Tiger Woods Valuable Asset Protection
As Tiger Woods attempts to salvage his marriage, the Trust Advisor Blogs suggests that in the meantime he consider putting his assets into an asset protection trust. Because Tiger lives in Florida, a non-community property state, he could likely fund…
November 10, 2009
Advocating for Pooled-Special Needs Trusts
Jack Sullivan (J.D. candidate 2010, Minnesota University) has published his student article entitled Pooled Special-Needs Trusts: An Exception That Should be the Rule to Protect Adults with Developmental Disabilities, 17 Law & Ineq. 441 (2009). This Article argues that every…
