Category: estate planning

As someone in your 20s or 30s, estate planning is likely a new item on your list of priorities. As you build a career, family, and life of your own, it becomes increasingly important to make sure you protect what matters most. While certain considerations are relevant regardless of the age at which you put…

Probate is the process of handling someone’s estate after their death. When a probate proceeding is opened in Wisconsin and the property is located in Wisconsin, the Wisconsin courts can handle this process and ensure that the debts of the estate are fully paid off and the beneficiaries of the estate receive the assets that…

When individuals seek assistance with their estates, one of their top concerns is typically how to transfer their assets to their children or other beneficiaries with minimal delay and hassle. Often this means wondering if they can avoid the probate process. Assets for estate purposes usually come in two forms: probate assets and non-probate assets….

Wisconsin provides several alternative processes for smaller estates that are not in need of  full-blown formal probate. These include: Transfer By Affidavit Summary Administration Summary Settlement Informal Administration Small Estate Options in North Central Wisconsin Transfer by Affidavit is perhaps the easiest option available to potential heirs of a small estate. The transfer of affidavit…

In the immediate aftermath of the death of a loved one, even the smallest of tasks can seem overwhelming and exhausting.  Handling funeral arrangements, dealing with personal possessions, and adjusting to the loss can take all the time and energy you have. The probate process can be a long and frustrating one. It may include…

These days, it’s not hard to find DIY estate plan websites, software packages, books, and fill-in-the-blank forms. More people than ever are relying on DIY estate plans to make wills and other estate documents. It’s a cheap solution for those who can’t afford to pay an attorney to create estate plan documents. But, if you’re…

Estate planning is an essential part of every personal financial plan, but in order to craft an estate plan that will best serve you and those you leave behind, you need to know what documents to prepare.  Here are three documents you should be prepared to discuss with an experienced estate planning attorney: Will Your…

When it comes to real estate law, many people assume you’d need an attorney only to help you when you’re buying or selling property, or to help you with issues such as property boundary disputes. However, if you own property that you rent out, it could also be a good idea to have a qualified…

Meeting with your estate planning attorney for the first time can be stressful and overwhelming, especially if it’s something you’ve been putting off for a while. While it’s perfectly fine to just meet your attorney and then gather your information afterward, here’s a list of some of the items you might want to take with…

In an ideal world, we would all have our life estate planning taken care of when we are in our twenties. As many of us know, this doesn’t always happen, and because life is busy and we often neglect these, life estate planning gets put on the backburner until later in life. Don’t worry though…