Providing Creative Solutions For Your Legal Needs
When Harry and Sally decided to tie the knot in marriage, they knew that their lives would head down a much different path from when they were single — new joys, family, friends and responsibilities. There were some immediate and simple legal changes for both: a new joint checking account, changes to beneficiaries on work-provided life insurance policies and retirement…
While there are plenty of secondary questions to ask, the primary answer to this hinges on one question: Do you have a business succession plan in place? Without a business succession plan in place, the death of an owner can create significant problems for the business owner’s successor and/or business partner and may lead to the total dissolution of the…
Although Dave and Amber never married, they were in a long-term relationship and had three minor children together, ages 16, 10 and 8. After their relationship unexpectedly ended several years prior, Amber filed for custody so she could force to Dave to pay child support, which she needed to live on her own and to help provide for the children.…
Probate is the process used to ask a judge (usually a probate court judge) to approve a decedent’s will so the instructions in the will can be acted upon. The probate court will usually require an inventory of assets and notice to beneficiaries and creditors before allowing a decedent’s estate to be distributed. Guardianship of minor children can also be…
Blended families – those in which one or both spouses have children from a prior relationship – are becoming more and more common. Estate planning for blended families is complex, especially if one spouse is significantly older than the other, or if one spouse has much more money than the other. Oftentimes, blended family spouses want to provide for the…
As we prepare to file our income tax returns, divorced or separated parents of minor children often wonder – or fight over – which parent gets to claim the dependency tax exemption for the children. If the parents file a joint return, this is not an issue. However, if the parents file separate returns, only one parent can claim each…
No. Child support payments are not included in the taxable income of the spouse receiving said child support and therefore cannot be deducted from the taxable income of the spouse who is making the support payments.
No. Although child support is supposed to be for the benefit of the children, you do not have to keep the money you receive from your ex in a separate account, nor do you have to account for how the money is spent.
My boyfriend and I were together for more than 10 years, but we never married. He recently died without a will, and he never listed me as beneficiary on his life insurance and 401(k). Do I have a right to inherit a portion of his estate? Unfortunately, most likely no. First, accounts that have a designated beneficiary, such as life…
You should sign a Medical Treatment Consent Form for each of your children that will allow a caretaker to seek medical treatment for your children while you are gone. The authority can be restricted to make sure the caretaker can only seek medical treatment that is absolutely essential; the effective date of the form can also be matched exactly to…