Wills And Trusts

Creating an estate plan is a way to provide instructions for your affairs after you pass away. This can include several components, one of which is a trust. A trust is a legal tool that makes it possible to pass assets to beneficiaries without going through the...

Asset protection is one of the most common reasons that people fund trusts. They move real estate, retirement resources and business holdings to a trust to avoid threats to their most valuable assets. Trusts can manage and distribute resources. They also act as a...

Virginia law classifies pets as personal property, which means owners cannot leave money or assets directly to a dog or cat. Families who want to protect their companions may consider a different legal tool. A pet trust provides a legally binding mechanism to fund and...

Yes, a will is much different than a trust. Both are important parts of building an estate plan, but they operate in different ways. With a will, you typically just give instructions for how you want your assets to be divided. Say that you have $600,000 in financial...

A will gives you control over what happens to your assets, your children, and your property when you die. Without one, Virginia's intestacy laws take over, and the results frequently surprise the families left behind. A common misconception about estate planning is...

Signing a will requires witnesses who can testify if there are challenges against the document after the testator dies. Almost any competent adult can act as a witness to a Virginia will signing. Frequently, people turn to uninvolved or uninterested parties to act as...

When most people think about trusts, they imagine passing wealth to family members or loved ones. But what if you want to set aside funds for a specific goal rather than a person? That is where purpose trusts come into play. A purpose trust is designed to fulfill a...

If you die without a will in Virginia, state law decides who raises your children and who receives their inheritance. Those decisions may not match your wishes. Who will care for your minor children If both parents die and no will names a guardian, a Virginia judge...

When appointing someone to serve as trustee, have you thought about what would happen if they became ill, moved away or simply could no longer handle the responsibility? What if they were no longer interested in the role and resigned after you’re gone?  Such...

Those who are putting together or updating an estate plan likely have questions about whether or not they need to include a trust. While wills serve important purposes, trusts offer powerful advantages that many people overlook: avoiding probate, protecting privacy,...