You may have a plan for what to do with your physical belongings after you die, but what about your online accounts? In today’s social media-dominated world, a person's digital presence lives on online even after he or she is gone. But who has the right to access those accounts? States have begun addressing this issue with new digital access laws. Under current Facebook policy, if an account member dies, Facebook will remove the account at the request of family or put it into "memorial status," but it is very difficult for family members to get access to the account…
Is having an out-of-date will better than having no will at all? While wills do not have expiration dates, certain changes can render them useless. When this happens, having an out-of-date will can be the same as having no will at all. It is important to review your will periodically to ensure it still does what you want. The following are five ways your will can become out-of-date: Your beneficiaries have died. What happens if your will leaves your estate to your two siblings, but both siblings die before you? If your beneficiaries predecease you, your will is still technically…
Choosing an executor can be a difficult task, and in no small part this is because it means finding someone you trust to do as you would do. Oftentimes it is gesture of trust and respect made to a friend or family member. Neither the estate planner nor the would-be executor ought to forget, however, that serving as executor can be a fairly difficult role to play. The Wall street Journal recently offered some practical insights and advice on the topic, noting that to be named executor is both “an honor… and a pain.” Simply put, the executor administers a…
There are a number of decisions to be reached when planning for your estate and not least among them is the choice of executor. A poor choice of an executor, or a disconnection between executor, estate, and beneficiaries can hobble even the best laid of estate plans. Indeed, Reuters offers one unfortunate beneficiary’s troubles in a recent article on the topic and offers some solid suggestions to consider. The beneficiary was Stephanie Stephens, who, in the end, was surprised to find that the estate she received had shrunk by $129,000, something she angrily blames on the executor. Apparently, the estate…
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