It may not be something most people think about, but the concept of a guardianship can be very important to a person’s future. As we age, at some point we may not be able to make certain decisions for ourselves anymore due to declining mental ability. Similarly,...
When planning for retirement or developing an estate plan, one of the most common questions people have is whether there is an inheritance tax in Delaware. The answer is no. There is not an inheritance tax. However, there is an estate tax. But, the estate tax...
In our last post we started a discussion on long-term care. Many people are not aware of just how many individuals will eventually need long-term care. This type of care relates to any activities that you can currently do independently, such as running errands,...
A recent news article brought up some very important issues and concerns related to elder care. Elder care is the part of law that has to do with wills and trusts, Medicaid planning, long-term care planning and durable powers of attorney, among many other things. It...
Trusts are estate planning documents that are sometimes used to arrange for assets to be passed on after someone's death, similar to the way that a will establishes who will get what when a person dies. However, trusts can do a lot more than what a will can, allowing...
Delaware residents have likely heard the saying that the three most important things in real estate are location, location and location. While most people that have bought or sold a home are aware of the truth of this statement, they may be surprised to learn just how...
There are two types of irrevocable charitable trusts that can help protect Delaware residents and their families from estate taxes. Failing to do so can leave families in the same situation that actor James Gandolfini inadvertently did with his untimely death. Due to...
One common error that people make when dealing with their estate plan is to not update their beneficiary designations. This mistake is probably quite common because many are not aware that a will's named beneficiaries may be overridden if beneficiary designations are...
It is common for people in Delaware to believe that wills are unnecessary if they do not have children. There are multiple reasons that writing a will is still important, even if a person is childless. When unmarried people without children die, their assets will pass...
Delaware residents who may be engaging in real estate transactions now through 2017 may be interested to learn more about the projected trends through that interval. The results of the ULI Real Estate Consensus Forecast appear to show a relatively optimistic outlook...