by Orchard Law Firm | Topics: Featured Posts
When you hear the phrase “estate plan,” you might first think about paperwork. Or your mind might land on some of the uncomfortable topics that estate planning confronts head-on: end-of-life decisions, incapacity, and your family’s legacy from generation to generation. Those subjects hit home for everyone. But while that could feel like a reason to […]
by Orchard Law Firm | Topics: Uncategorized
News about the coronavirus is everywhere, and we have all been affected by it in some way, even if we are currently completely healthy. Although it may seem as though circumstances are spinning beyond our control, we are not powerless. There are steps we can take to protect ourselves and our families, both physically and […]
by Orchard Law Firm | Topics: Uncategorized
Why Your Estate Planning Project Must Morph into a Process Many people put their estate plan on their to-do list as a one-time project: “Create estate plan” or “Meeting with lawyer 10:30 a.m. Thursday for estate plan.” Thinking of your estate plan as a single project or task to complete and move off your list […]
by Orchard Law Firm | Topics: Uncategorized
The divorce process can be long and expensive. However, the work does not end once the divorce decree is signed. In order to ensure that your assets and estate planning wishes are carried out in light of this major life change, there are three things you must do as soon as possible. Change Beneficiary Designation On […]
by McClenahan_Browne | Topics: Uncategorized
Advice columnist Ann Landers once observed that “love is friendship that has caught fire.” If that’s true, there are thousands of ways for that blaze to unfold. For many Americans, such devotion and passion do not need to be neatly formalized as marriage. In fact, our cultural norms are shifting, and quickly. Consider the following: […]
by McClenahan_Browne | Topics: Uncategorized
Yes, You Do and Here’s Why Please allow us to be frank. It’s unrealistic to think that a piece of paper you draft, reflecting your life at a certain time, will work when your life has completely changed some years later. We’ll use the Kendrick family as an example. Meet the Kendricks Meet Bill and […]
by McClenahan_Browne | Topics: Uncategorized
In a society dominated by paperwork, the question of how long to hold on to important documents has been baffling for most people. We especially worry about documents of a financial or personally identifying nature. People who worry about losing something important sometimes hoard everything; others who worry about things like identity theft are too […]
by McClenahan_Browne | Topics: Uncategorized
George Carlin would have been a great pitchman for estate planning. You may remember his stand-up routine on “stuff.” We all have stuff, and we’re pretty particular about our stuff. We move it around with us, it’s hard for some of us to get rid of it, and some of us don’t like our stuff […]
by Orchard Law Firm | Topics: Asset Protection, Uncategorized
With extreme wealth accumulated, one would assume that celebrities would take steps to protect their estates. But think again: Some of the world’s richest and most famous people enter the pearly gates with no estate plan in place, while others have made estate planning mistakes that tied their fortunes and heirs up for years in […]
by Orchard Law Firm | Topics: Storing Documents
Estate planning attorneys are often asked where original estate planning documents – wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and healthcare directives – should be stored for safekeeping. While there is no right or wrong answer to this question, consider the following: Should you store your original estate planning documents in your safe deposit box? Many people […]
