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What does a Biden administration mean for estate planning and estate taxes. Right now, we don't fully know, but he has given some of his thoughts on this during the campaign. In today's video, attorney Joel Beck discusses this topic.

I don't know about your house, but at the Beck household, we've got some furry family members. Our dog, Belle, is part hound and mostly mutt. Then we've got two Siamese cats, Phineas and Ferb. They agree with each other in their disdain for Belle, but otherwise, it's a happy family. I'm sure if y...

There's a lot of hype and misinformation out there surrounding all things relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. I think that has spread to the world of estate planning as well, as folks search for answers about how they need to le...

A question we sometimes get goes something like this, “Can I write out my wishes, and sign it and have it notarized. Is that a valid will?” In today's short video, attorney Joel Beck answers that question. As he explains, simply writing out your wishes and signing the document before a notary doe...

With today's technology, access to information is literally in the palm of our hands. From your cell phone, you can download manuals to repair a washing machine that's thirty years old or watch step-by-step video tutorials that...

May brings graduation season. And soon thereafter, newly graduated high school students head off to college, trade school, or to start a career and begin new adventures. But for most of these grads, at 18 years of age, they are an adult in the eyes of the law, and Mom or Dad don't automatically h...

A report published earlier this year shows that the statistics are worse than I had expected, with respect to the percentage of older adults who do not have a sufficient estate plan in place to protect themselves and their fami...

In a recent article in the New York Times (Making Wills Easier and Cheaper with Do-It-Yourself Options), the author notes that many people don't have a will in place and that online do-it-yourself type services may be a good op...

When we work with clients to make sure that their family is protected if something happens to them, one of the issues that some clients struggle with is who to name in their will as the executor, who to list as guardian for their minor children, and who to select as trustee for manage assets for ...

Do I need to redo my will If I've gotten married? That's a question we get from time to time. Here's the short answer: Your will is not totally invalid, but it may not be fully followed. And your new spouse may very well be able to claim a portion, if not all of your estate, even if that pe...

One of the questions we get from time to time is this: The Will says that assets are left “per stirpes.” What does that mean? The latin phrase “per stirpes” could be translated as by the roots or by the stocks. These days, we generally say that it means ” by representation” and it specifies...

From our webinar on March 15, 2018, attorney Joel Beck shared the following: I saw an article online from one of our local Atlanta television stations recently.It was a story about a couple from Arizona, Bob and Linda. Bob is a 75 year old retired navy veteran, and Linda is 70 years old. A ...

Some people ask us this question as we work with them to develop their estate plan: “Do I have to treat my children the same in my Will?” Or, a variation is, “Do I have to leave the same inheritance to each of my children?” The answer is easy. You don't have to treat your children the same, and i...

A recent case (September 2017) before the Supreme Court of Georgia focused on the issue of whether a will remained valid or was deemed invalid because it did not contemplate the possibility of subsequent children and the person...

In this second post of the blog series on estate planning during or after a divorce proceeding, we cover the first of the four issues that we believe must be addressed to ensure proper planning is done, namely, to update your W...

Divorce. In some cases, the process is easy, but in others, it can be quite challenging on a legal, personal, and emotional level. Whether your divorce is easy or hard, there are almost certainly more legal issues to address du...

If you're a small business owner, do you have plans in place to take care of your business in the event of your incapacitation or in the event of your death? I think for most small business owners the answer to those questions is no. But in today's short video, we'll talk about why the answers sh...

From time to time, one of the questions we get about estate planning is whether someone should just take all or most of their assets, such as financial accounts and their home, and add a child as a joint owner on that asset. The thinking is usually that doing this may make the process of distribu...

One of the questions we get from time to time is, “What happens if I die without a Will in Georgia? That's a good question. Hi, I'm attorney, Joel Beck, of The Beck Law Firm LLC in Lawrenceville, Georgia. In today's short video we'll answer that question. If you die without a Will you're sa...

Just the other day I received a phone call from somebody who told me that she was single, had no children and had questions about what she needed to think about in regards to estate planning for a single individual. I shared with her that estate planning for singles is just as important as it is ...

Perhaps you've been thinking about putting together your estate plan, or were called upon to be an executor for someone else's estate after they passed away, and you've heard the terms probate assets and non-probate assets, wondering what they mean. Essentially, these terms describe whether an as...

You've done your estate planning. Congratulations! And now, a common question you may have is this: “Where do I store my Will? That's a good question. In the short video below, attorney Joel Beck shares his general answer to that questio...

Because the Internet is more and more a fundamental element of our lives, it is important to consider digital assets and elements as part of your estate planning. Think about it. You may use social media platf...

One of the common questions we get when working with parents on their estate plan to make sure their children are taken care of is this: “Can the same person be both the guardian and trustee in my Will?” The answer to that question is “Yes” but just because you can do something, does not mean you...

When we sit down with an individual or family to help them with their estate plan, one of the questions I address with the client is whether the client desires to include charitable giving as part of his or her plan. In this regard, a cl...