Wills
How to Make Changes to Your Will
As life circumstances change (births, marriages, divorces, and deaths), it may become necessary to make changes to your will. If an estate plan is not kept up to date, it can become useless, or distribute to those who are no longer your intended beneficiaries. The best way to make changes is either through a codicil […]READ POST »
How Your Estate Is Taxed, or Not
Congress sets the amount that an individual can transfer tax-free either during life or at death. The current estate tax exemption is so high that very few estates will have to pay an estate tax. In 2017, Republicans in Congress and President Trump doubled the federal estate tax exemption and indexed it for inflation. In […]READ POST »
End-of-Life Care Decision Making
Just as we create estate plans for our eventual demise, we also need to plan ahead for the possibility that we will become sick and unable to make our own medical decisions. Medical science has created many miracles, among them the technology to keep patients alive longer, sometimes indefinitely. As a result of many well-publicized […]READ POST »
Single? You Still Need an Estate Plan
Many people believe that if they are single, they do not need a will or other estate planning documents. But estate planning is just as important for single people as it is for couples and families. Estate planning allows you to ensure that your property will go to the people you want, in the way […]READ POST »
May Someone with Dementia Sign a Will?
Millions of people are affected by dementia, and unfortunately many of them do not have all their estate planning affairs in order before the symptoms start. If you or a loved one has dementia, it may not be too late to sign a will or other documents, but certain criteria must be met to ensure […]READ POST »
Attorney Christine A. Alsop Named to the 2019 Missouri Super Lawyers List.
The Elder & Disability Advocacy Firm is proud to announce that Christine A. Alsop has been named one of the top Elder Law Attorneys in Missouri & Kansas for 2019 by Super Lawyers. This is an exclusive recognition with no more than five percent of attorneys achieving this status. Super Lawyers, part of Thomson Reuters, […]READ POST »
How parents ensure their home is passed on to their children
The family home may be the most valuable asset that parents have, and they usually know which of their children, if not all of their children, that they want to leave their home to when they pass away. In Missouri and throughout the U.S., it takes estate planning to ensure that the family home stays […]READ POST »
Helping loved ones while protecting an estate
Missouri residents who have children or step-children might worry about the best way to leave behind an estate. One concerned woman recently wrote to a popular financial advisor because she was worried that her two teen step-children would waste any inheritance they were given. She was unsure that her husband would follow her wishes if […]READ POST »
Creating valid wills in Missouri
Missouri law outlines the requirements for creating valid wills in the state. As long as people make certain that the wills they draw up follow those rules, the documents will generally be deemed valid by the court after they die. Wills must be signed in the presence of witnesses in order to be valid. To […]READ POST »
Cautions with a DIY last will and testament
While some Missouri residents might consider writing their own estate plan documents to save the fuss and cost of working with a lawyer, there are some cautions that should be considered. There are many approaches in a day and age that provides easy access to programs, forms, and other tools needed for creating one’s own […]READ POST »
