Andrea Shoup

As families gather for the holidays, it is traditional to offer gifts and celebrate the season together.  If you are trying to think of the perfect gift for your family this year, you might consider making an estate plan or taking other generous steps.  When you make a simple estate plan you ensure your family’s […]

When you make your estate plan, you want to assume that the heirs and beneficiaries of your will or trust will accept the terms.  After all, those are your final wishes for distribution of your assets, and they should be respected. However, not all heirs are interested in your wishes, and instead focus on whether […]

Pet lovers making an estate plan often ask how they can provide for the future care of their pet. This is a natural question since a pet can be an important life companion, especially as people get older. If you want to provide for your pet after you are gone, there are ways to handle […]

Married couples will usually make their estate plan together, especially if they hold most assets jointly and have the same goal to provide for their family’s future.  In that case, the surviving spouse would receive the majorityof assets as primary beneficiaryof a will or trust. This make sense especially if there are minor children to […]

Married couples will usually make their estate plan together, especially if they hold most assets jointly and have the same goal to provide for their family’s future. In that case, the surviving spouse would receive the majority of assets as primary beneficiary and act as an executor of a will or co-trustee of a trust. […]

HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) is the national privacy law that protects patient confidential information while under medical care and treatment. Typically, a patient’s medical records and information are kept strictly confidential, and any health provider that divulges that information to third parties without permission is subject to penalties. Specific HIPAA Waivers for […]

There are many DIY estate planning tools and forms available for a small fee, and the companies that offer them will let you believe it is simple to draft your own will or trust without an attorney. While that may be true for some well-versed in estate planning and probate law, or those with few […]

Estate planning isn’t all about your Will. You might think that estate planning primarily concerns what happens to your property and money after you die. Yes, those are important considerations, but estate planning also encompasses decisions that will be made while you are still alive. In the event that you are incapacitated due to severe […]

However, if you are thinking about making an estate plan you might not know how life insurance will affect that plan or your choices. It is likely more people have life insurance policies than estate plans, so this is a frequent situation faced by those new to estate planning. Life Insurance Beneficiaries First, all life […]