Toburen Law PLC, Legal Blog

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…

No. One of the advantages of a trust over a will is that a trust does not have to go through probate before assets are distributed to beneficiaries. A trust is usually more expensive and complicated to set up than a will; on the other hand, it can take anywhere from 6 to 18 months (or longer) for a will…

Harry and Sally thought they had been prudent about saving for Claire’s college education, and they paid for her first two years to limit her debt. Claire took out student loans and used her own savings from her summer jobs for the remaining two years. But Harry and Sally hadn’t anticipated all the additional expenses that Claire was incurring now…

Joseph and Frances were in their late 70s and thoroughly enjoying retirement and good health, but they also were reminded from personal experience that they wouldn’t live forever. During the past 10 years, the married couple had visited family and friends who were hospitalized for various illnesses, and they had attended more than their fair share of funerals. Joe had…