We have written blogged several times about Missouri Beneficiary Deeds – the good, the bad, and the ugly. We ran into a new situation recently. A divorced dad died a few months ago and left his house to 19 year old Molly, his only child, through a beneficiary deed. We offered to help her with “getting organized” but she thought… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Estate Planning – General
Preventing Fighting over the Funeral in Missouri
A sad situation presented itself a few weeks ago. A funeral director was demanding that all the children of a recently deceased client consent to a cremation. One of the children was out of the country permanently, and could not be reached. Fortunately I was able to convince the lawyer for the funeral home that… Continue Reading
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Everybody in Missouri Should have a Durable Power of Attorney
Everyone in Missouri who is age 18 or over should have a Durable Power of Attorney. It doesn’t matter is you have $10 million or just $10. Most of us will be disabled sometime during our life, and will need someone to handle things for us. An existing client came to see us last week. We had… Continue Reading
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Final Instructions to Loved Ones
An often overlooked matter in Estate Planning is leaving instructions to loved ones as to final arrangements, the funeral, burial, and related matters. This is likely the case because we get focused on stricly legal and financial matters – which is a natural thing to do. It’s also because this is work that the lawyer can’t really… Continue Reading
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What is a “Pour Over Will”?
A “Pour Over” will is a document that is used as a supporting document in a Trust Based Estate Plan. Trust based plans rely on “funding” or “retitling” of your assets, property, bank accounts, etc. A Pour Over Will is a backup instrument that is intended to take care of anything that was not funded properly, whether… Continue Reading
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Keeping Missouri Real Estate Titles Up to Date
Major life events, such a divorces, deaths, and marriages are always hectic, and they always leave lots of details to be handled. One detail that should not be overlooked is dealing with titles to real estate. After such an event it is important to review with an attorney the most current deeds to all real… Continue Reading