Tag: estate planning

What Happens After? Planning for Your Belongings After You’re Gone
September 7, 2025 Off

What Happens After? Planning for Your Belongings After You’re Gone

By The Admiral Staff

The article discusses the importance of having a will to ensure your assets are distributed according to your wishes after death, avoiding the complexities and potential costs of dying “intestate” (without a will). It explores the rise of online will-making services as an affordable alternative to traditional attorneys, highlighting their ease of use. However, it cautions readers to ensure the online will is legally binding by following state regulations (like notarization and witnesses), choosing a secure provider to protect personal data, and understanding the limitations

What Happens to Your Debt When You Die?
August 24, 2025 Off

What Happens to Your Debt When You Die?

By The Admiral Staff

When you die, your debts typically don’t disappear. Generally, debts must be paid off by your estate using your assets like cash, homes, or cars, before any inheritance is distributed. Creditors will notify your estate executor and may pursue legal claims in probate court, sometimes agreeing to settlements for less than the full amount owed.

Here’s a breakdown for different debt types:

* **Co-signed Loans/Credit Cards:** The co-signer is responsible for paying.

Second Chance at Estate Planning: Protecting Your Future After Loss
August 21, 2025 Off

Second Chance at Estate Planning: Protecting Your Future After Loss

By The Admiral Staff

Following the death of a spouse, it’s crucial to revisit and update your estate plan. Experts recommend four key steps: updating powers of attorney to designate new decision-makers, reviewing your will or trust to ensure assets are distributed as intended, checking and revising beneficiaries on accounts like life insurance and retirement savings, and considering adding a trust to protect assets and potentially qualify for Medicaid. These adjustments are vital as the surviving spouse is now legally considered single, potentially impacting asset protection.

Beyond the Ring: Financial Planning for Modern Couples
September 19, 2024 Off

Beyond the Ring: Financial Planning for Modern Couples

By The Admiral Staff

The article highlights the increasing prevalence of unmarried couples and the financial complexities they face due to the lack of legal protections afforded to married couples. Without marriage, navigating issues like asset division upon separation, Social Security benefits, and inheritance can be challenging. The article advises unmarried couples to proactively address these concerns through legal contracts like domestic partnership agreements, carefully structuring property ownership (favoring joint tenancy with rights of survivorship), updating beneficiary designations on accounts, and creating comprehensive estate planning documents including wills, healthcare proxies, and

Will Mystery: What to Do When Your Family Withholds the Details
September 5, 2024 Off

Will Mystery: What to Do When Your Family Withholds the Details

By The Admiral Staff

A reader is concerned their sister, the executor of their mother’s will, won’t provide a copy. According to legal expert Kimberly A. Hegwood, wills aren’t public record until probate is complete. The reader can file a “Motion to Present the Will” to request it from the executor, who is legally obligated to act in the best interest of the beneficiaries. If no will exists, the reader can initiate probate without one, overseen by a court-assigned administrator.