Learn from the past, set vivid, detailed goals for the future, and live in the only moment of time over which you have any control: now.
– Denis Waitley
“Last Will and Testament” is a popular title for the document in which a person, known as a testator, names one or more people to manage his or her estate and provides for the distribution of his or her property after death. But when a person’s life circumstances change, a “Last Will and Testament” may […]
As circumstances change, ‘Last Will and Testament’ may not be final word on an estate Read More »
Marriage can be likened to a business contract, and when that contract is dissolved during a divorce the division of assets is an important and often contentious matter. But debts are an equally important matter to resolve when any contract, including marriage, terminates, as any debts a couple holds will also be allocated between the
When a couple divorces, debts as well as property must be equitably divided Read More »
The holiday season upon us, meaning that the remainder of the year will see a significant amount of purchasing and bestowing gifts. The spirit of giving is not lost upon the federal government, particularly regarding those gifts with significant valuations, or those bequeathed by an estate. Accordingly, the Internal Revenue Service has announced its gift
IRS offers holiday season tidings on tax exclusions estate planners should remember Read More »
When couples with irreconcilable differences end their marriage through a divorce, the bonds between the spouses are effectively severed. Each party can proceed with his or her life separately. However, if a soon-to-be-splitting couple has children, some level of communication between the parents will necessarily linger, particularly once child custody has been determined and reasonable
Parental communication helps pave the way for a reasonable visitation schedule Read More »
As a popular culture would have us believe, breaking up is hard to do. With all the emotional and financial upheaval that is often involved with a nuptial parting of the ways, some on-the-rocks couples opt for what may seem to be the easier route of some form of separation. Despite the first-blush attractiveness of
When spouses wish to part ways, the finality of divorce is usually best Read More »
Probate tends to be costly and lengthy — so much so that many people seeks ways to avoid asking their heirs to go through the process at all. There are legal, probate-free means for transferring assets to heirs in the United States, but they vary from state to state. Within the metropolitan Washington area, which encompasses
With proper planning and the right choices, a person can spare heirs the probate process Read More »
Probate tends to be costly and lengthy — so much so that many people seeks ways to avoid asking their heirs to go through the process at all. There are legal, probate-free means for transferring assets to heirs in the United States, but they vary from state to state. Within the metropolitan Washington area, which encompasses
With proper planning and the right choices, a person can spare heirs the probate process Read More »
Legal terminology can sometimes seem confusing, even misleading, to the layman. The names of some legal documents can suggest one meaning while actually operating as something else. Within estate planning law, for example, living wills and powers of attorney are two well-known but often misunderstood staples. A living will is not actually a will at
In Virginia, unmarried parents have the same rights and responsibilities to their children as married couples do. However, parents who were never married may face some additional steps when they establish child custody after a breakup. Paternity frequently complicates the process of determining custody in cases where the parents were never married. If either party
Never-married parents face extra steps when establishing child custody Read More »
Adversarial divorce is perhaps the most visible type of divorce in pop culture. With this approach, both parties hire a divorce lawyer to hash out the divorce in court. This is a lengthy process that can lead to fighting over every detail of the settlement. The adversarial approach usually leads to a trial in court.
Varied approaches to divorce offer couples different structures and tones Read More »
