Latest Blog Posts

Going home for the holidays is a family tradition where you get to reconnect with your loved ones whom you haven’t seen in months, or even years. As families gather to give thanks and spend quality time with one another over this and next month’s special holidays, it may also be a good time to discuss some weightier topics including aging parents’ wishes and intent with regard to estate planning matters. ...

Substance addiction is by no means rare, impacting as many as one in seven Americans. Because of its prevalence, navigating a loved one’s addiction is actually a relatively common topic in everyday life. But you should also consider it when working on your estate planning. Whether the addiction is alcoholism, drug abuse, or behavioral like gambling, we all want our loved ones to be safe and experience a successful recovery. A properly created estate plan can help....

7 Common Planning Mistakes to Avoid From time to time, it’s good to review why having a complete, up-to-date estate plan is so important. In addition to confirming our own actions, it can provide us with valuable information to pass along to friends and family who, for whatever reasons, have yet to act. So, here are seven common estate planning mistakes to avoid....

When you pass away, your family may need to visit a probate court in order to claim their inheritance. This can happen if you own property (like a house, car, bank account, investment account, or other asset) in only your name. Although having a will is a good basic form of planning, a will does not avoid probate. Instead, a will simply lets you inform the probate court of your wishes - your family still has to go through the probate process to make those wishes legal. Now that you have an idea of why probate might be necessary, here are 3 key (albeit not the only) reasons why you want to avoid probate if at all possible....

For many, passing along religious beliefs and values to the next generation is just as important as passing along financial wealth and tangible assets. Estate planning creates many opportunities to do this, including:...

As you’ve probably already noticed, estate planning can be challenging - not only for the “traditional” nuclear family but, also for the millions of “non-traditional” families. The blended family scenarios are virtually endless - a spouse with independent wealth that marries a younger new spouse, children from a previous marriage but no children from this marriage, children from a previous marriage plus children from this new marriage, and more. Sometimes, an estate “plan” of a blended family seems less like a plan and more of a grab bag of joint and solely owned assets with no clear plan about who gets what and why....

Why Naming a Guardian for Your Minor Child(ren) is Extremely Important… Some might say it is the most important decision to make... Parents with minor children need to name someone to raise them (a guardian) in the event both parents should die before the child becomes an adult. While the likelihood of that actually happening is slim, the consequences of not naming a guardian are great. If no guardian is named in the parent’s will, a judge—a stranger who does not know the parents, the child, or their relatives—will decide who will raise the child without knowing whom the parent would have preferred. Anyone can ask to be considered, and the judge will select the person he/she deems most appropriate. On the other hand, if the parent names a guardian (typically via the parent’s will), the judge will usually go along with the parent’s choice....

We understand that it feels hard to get around to estate planning; it sounds about as fun as getting a root canal. However, we also understand that we all want to make sure that our loved ones are protected and receive our hard-earned assets – regardless of whether we have $10 million or $10,000. Don’t let these common roadblocks stop you from protecting yourself and your family: ...

Fun Ways To Convince Your Spouse to Get Started with Estate Planning… It's extremely important that both partners understand why they need an estate plan and what the important elements of that plan are. Here is a fun and friendly guide to some of the common objections by reluctant spouses, and what you can say to let them know that you hear them, but that you have a lot to lose and that it's time to move forward....

The recent rapid increase in numbers of online estate planning document services has attracted many do-it-yourselfers who are lured in by what appears to be a low-cost solution. However, this focus on price over value could mean your wishes will not be carried out and, unfortunately, nobody will know there is a problem until it is too late and you are no longer around to clean up the mess. Probate, trusts and intestate succession (when someone dies without leaving a will) are governed by a network of laws which vary from state to state, as well as federal laws pertaining to inheritance and tax issues. Each jurisdiction has its own requirements, and failure to adhere to all of them could invalidate your estate planning documents. Many online document services offer standardized legal forms for common estate planning tools including wills, trusts or powers of attorney. However, it is impossible to draft a legal document that covers all variations from one state to another, and using a form or procedure not specifically designed to comply with the laws in your jurisdiction could invalidate the entire process....

Blended Families Underscore the Need for Estate Planning Anyone with children or modest assets should seriously consider some minimal estate planning, but the increasing number of blended families underscores the need for proper estate planning....

We are proud to announce that today is our one year anniversary as a firm. We cannot believe that it has already been a year since we opened the doors at Estate Planning Law Office of Jonathon L. Petty, Inc.! This has been such a great year, and we are so excited about how the business has grown. We are passionate about what we do and the ways we can serve our clients. What is more, we are incredibly optimistic for what the future holds....