Guardianship is a means by which you can become legally responsible for managing the care of a disabled or incompetent adult. Guardianship grants only specific rights and responsibilities related to the care and concerns of that individual. Understanding what guardianship entails and familiarizing yourself with the process to obtain it are essential to successful transitions in these situations.

When you own a business, estate planning and business succession planning are emphatically entwined. Estate planning for business owners requires careful consideration of the impacts of your business succession plan on your life, retirement goals, and family. These objectives must be balanced and coordinated with your wishes for the future of the company, business partners, and employees. 

Estate planning can be a complex process. If you have a thorough, updated plan in place, you probably feel confident that your last wishes will be carried out. However, an important part of the process is often neglected—communicating your estate plan to your family and heirs. Sadly, if you fail to tend to this aspect of successful estate planning, your family could still be left in emotional and financial turmoil despite your efforts to document your wishes and provide a smooth transition of wealth.

The term “probate” is not so unfamiliar—it conjures up thoughts of will administration, will contests, and sometimes mounds of paperwork. Probate assets are those that have no built-in survivorship feature, so it is up to a probate court to determine the proper disposition of those assets through a valid will or the laws of intestacy.

Little did Joseph Lee Rice III know that, way back in 1992, when he created the Kimberley Rice Kaestner 1992 Family Trust, his descendants (the trust beneficiaries) would find themselves making claims before the Supreme Court of the United States someday; yet, some 27 years later, that is exactly the taxing situation in which the trust, the trustee, and the trust beneficiaries find themselves.