Your estate plan can do much more for you than simply ensure your estate assets are distributed according to your wishes after you are gone. In fact, a well thought out and properly drafted estate plan can also go a long way toward protecting you and your assets while you are alive. Furthermore, it can provide you with the peace of mind that comes with knowing your wishes regarding end-of-life medical treatment will also be honored using advance directives. The Essex Junction estate planning … [Read more...] about Why Do I Need an Advance Directive?
Is It Time to Update Your Beneficiaries?
Taking the time to create an estate plan is only the first step toward protecting everyone and everything that is important to you. You must also update your plan for it to be successful and work as intended. One thing people often forget is to review and revise are the beneficiary designations within their estate plan. To keep you from making that mistake, the Essex Junction estate planning attorneys at Unsworth LaPlante, PLLC explain when and why you need to update your beneficiary … [Read more...] about Is It Time to Update Your Beneficiaries?
How Does Vermont Rank for Retirees?
While saving money during your working years is certainly an important aspect of retirement planning, it should not be your entire plan. Living comfortably when the time comes to retire will require more than just a hefty bank account. Another important consideration is where to live when you retire. Not only will your choice of retirement location directly impact your finances, but it is also likely to impact your quality of life as a retiree. Each year, WalletHub ranks the states for … [Read more...] about How Does Vermont Rank for Retirees?
Practical Retirement Planning Tips
Ideally, both estate planning and retirement planning should begin as soon as you enter the adult work world. Throughout your life, those two plans may remain separate but intertwined. The closer you get to retiring, the more those two plans will necessarily merge. For now, however, the Essex Junction estate planning attorneys at Unsworth LaPlante, PLLC offer some practical retirement planning tips. Tips To Make Retirement Easier and More Financially Secure The idea of retirement may seem … [Read more...] about Practical Retirement Planning Tips
Questions to Ask Yourself When Creating a Trust
While most estate plans begin with executing a Last Will and Testament, a trust agreement is often a popular addition once a basic estate plan is established. Establishing a trust should always be accomplish with the guidance and assistance of an experienced trust attorney; however, if you are contemplating the addition of a trust to your estate plan, the Essex Junction trust attorneys at Unsworth LaPlante, PLLC offer some questions to ask yourself when creating a trust. What is your trust … [Read more...] about Questions to Ask Yourself When Creating a Trust
What Should Be Included in My Estate Plan?
When you think of an “estate plan” you likely think first of executing a Last Will and Testament. For many, a Will is the foundation of their estate plan. For some, a Will may be their entire estate plan. A comprehensive estate plan, however, may include other components in addition to, or even in lieu of, a Last Will and Testament. The Essex Junction estate planning attorneys at Unsworth LaPlante, PLLC explain some of the more common estate planning components. Estate Planning Goals and … [Read more...] about What Should Be Included in My Estate Plan?
How to Protect Your Business in Your Estate Plan
For many people, owning their own business is very much a part of the American dream. If you are one of those people, and you have achieved that dream, you undoubtedly worked hard to make your dream a reality. Do not make the mistake of seeing your hard work go down the proverbial drain at the end of your life because you failed to include your business in your estate plan. To help ensure that does not happen, the Essex Junction Estate Planning attorneys at Unsworth LaPlante, PLLC discuss how to … [Read more...] about How to Protect Your Business in Your Estate Plan
Why Is Special Needs Planning Important?
The need for financial planning takes on heightened importance if you are the parent of a child with special needs. Fortunately, many children with special needs now live very independent lives; however, as a parent, you may still wish to ensure that your child has your financial support as an adult, even after you are no longer here to provide it in person. Providing that financial support can be problematic because gifting assets directly to your child could jeopardize eligibility … [Read more...] about Why Is Special Needs Planning Important?
Can a Trustee Be Fired?
If you have included a trust in your estate plan, one of the decisions you made when creating that trust is who to appoint as the Trustee of the trust. A Trustee is responsible for managing and investing trust assets and administering the trust according to the terms created by the Settlor. The success, or failure, of a trust is often determined by how well the Trustee performs his/her duties and responsibilities. If problems arise though, can a Trustee be fired? The Essex Junction trust … [Read more...] about Can a Trustee Be Fired?
Veterans Aid and Attendance Benefits – What You Should Know
As a veteran, or the surviving spouse of a veteran, you likely know about some of the more common benefits available to you through the Veterans Administration (VA). You are probably also aware of the complex maize that must often be navigated to get approved for the benefits to which you are entitled. What you may not know is that you could be entitled to benefits from the “Veterans Aid and Attendance (VA&A)” program. For veterans and/or survivors living on a fixed income, the additional … [Read more...] about Veterans Aid and Attendance Benefits – What You Should Know
