You definitely need a plan to share passwords with your executor. If a digital asset is encrypted or protected by a strong password, the asset is effectively lost. Sharing passwords is a start, but it is not enough. You may have multiple e-mail accounts, personal or family websites and blogs, domain names, important records, collections… Read More
Engagement rings have a long history, dating from Roman times and before. An engagement ring indicates that the person wearing it is engaged to be married. Usually, the ring is presented to the bride-to-be as a betrothal gift by a man when she accepts his marriage proposal. Not every engagement results in a marriage. If… Read More
(Part Three of Three) John and Abigail Adams struggled to live within their means for most of their lives. Public service drained their resources because the President was not paid enough in salary and expenses to cover all the receptions at the President’s house, be it in Philadelphia or Washington. However, they did purchase lots… Read More
(Part Two of Three) Didn’t mean to leave you hanging! Here’s where we left off… The Washington’s could truly have used a pre-nuptial agreement, but with one exception, their wills were honored and both branches of the family were treated in proportion to the assets of both parties. George wrote his will himself, taking 42… Read More
(Part One of Three) Barring fill-in-the-blank type wills, no two are alike. The family situations of our first three presidents, the value of their estates, and their insistence on writing their own wills produced three quite diverse estate plans. In Washington’s case, Martha entered the marriage a widow with two children and a large inheritance… Read More
Many people hesitate to make estate plans. Some are overwhelmed by the process and do not know where to begin. Others do not want to think about death and avoid the task. Once people do manage to complete their estate plans, many believe that they can cross it off their “To Do” lists and never… Read More
(Part Two of Two) Your patience has paid off — this week you get to learn what documentation should be kept indefinitely or permanently. Should you have further questions about what to keep or purge, don’t hesitate to continue the conversation @PattiSpencer via Twitter. Keep Indefinitely Documents that establish income tax basis for assets should… Read More
(Part One of Two) Have you ever seen the A&E TV show called “Hoarders”? Or perhaps “American Pickers”? It’s a fascinating (OK, frightening) look inside the lives of people whose inability to part with their belongings is so out of control that they are either on the verge of a personal crisis or are living… Read More
Pennsylvania has made broad changes to the law governing powers of attorney. The bill in which these changes were proposed, H.B. 1429, was unanimously passed by the Pennsylvania House and Senate and signed by the Governor on July 2, becoming Act 95 of 2014. Most of the new law’s provisions are effective January 1, 2015.… Read More
The American Dream since WWII has been home ownership, with visions of backyards and white picket fences. As you look around today, though, you will see more and more families renting, still seeing foreclosures in ample supply since the recession. Is it really a good idea to buy? In the 1930’s a typical down payment… Read More