Category Archives: Estate Planning
Estate Planning for Digital Assets: What Virginians Need to Know
Estate planning is typically connected to physical assets, such as homes, savings, or other physical items. However, today, an increasing portion of a person’s financial life happens online. For example, emails, social media profiles, Bitcoin, and photo libraries are only a few of the many digital assets that people own. In Virginia, if a… Read More »
How Blended Families Can Avoid Common Estate Planning Mistakes
Estate planning is always tricky in any family, but it becomes even more so when yours is a blended family. When folks marry, they often bring children from a previous marriage with them into the relationship. There are assumptions about how things will be handled when it comes to inheritances and decision-making that often… Read More »
Legal and Financial Planning for Family Members With Special Needs
Planning for the future is always relevant to families, but it assumes a different importance when there is a special needs family member. Parents worry about providing financially for the long term, government assistance programs, and who will care for their family member when they are no longer capable of caring for them. Without… Read More »
Why Updating Your Estate Plan After a Major Life Change Matters
Many people create an estate plan with the best of intentions — sometimes after a milestone birthday, health scare, or the birth of a first child — and then tuck the documents away, assuming everything is “taken care of”. But life rarely stands still. Families change, finances change, health changes, relationships change, and even… Read More »
Planning for Long-Term Care: Protecting Your Assets While Preserving Dignity
As people age, one of the biggest concerns — both financially and emotionally — is the possibility of needing long-term care. Nursing homes, assisted-living communities, in-home caregivers, and memory-care facilities can provide excellent support, but they also come with costs that can quickly overwhelm a family’s savings. Many older adults worry about losing everything… Read More »
Digital Legacy: What Happens to Your Online Accounts, Photos, and Digital Assets After You’re Gone?
Most people know they need a will, a power of attorney, and maybe a trust. But very few realize that their digital life also needs an estate plan. Today, our lives are stored online. Family photos in cloud accounts, financial statements delivered by email, social media profiles, online subscriptions, loyalty points, stored passwords, and… Read More »
How to Talk to Your Children (and Grandchildren) About Your Estate Plan — Without the Awkwardness
Most parents want to make things easier for their kids, not harder. But when it comes to estate planning, a lot of families avoid the conversation altogether. Sometimes it’s because older adults don’t feel comfortable bringing up money or end-of-life decisions. Other times, adult children worry they’ll seem pushy or out of line if… Read More »
Communicating the Plan: How Seniors Can Involve Family Without Sacrificing Privacy or Control
Conversations about money, health, or end-of-life decisions are never easy. For many older adults, they can feel deeply personal or even off-limits. But when it comes to estate planning, staying silent can create more problems than it avoids. Without clarity, families are often left to guess what their loved ones would have wanted, which… Read More »
Why Incapacity Planning Matters Before a Health Crisis
No one really wants to think about a time when they might not be able to make all of their own decisions. But for many older adults, something like a sudden stroke, a fall, or the early signs of cognitive decline can change everything in an instant. This could leave families unsure who’s allowed… Read More »
Revocable versus Irrevocable Living Trusts: Which One is Right for You?
When planning your estate, one of the most important decisions you could face is whether to create a revocable trust or an irrevocable trust. Both tools can help you control how your assets are managed and distributed, but they function very differently. Understanding the pros and cons of each will help you choose the… Read More »