New York Estate Planning & Elder Law Blog

Most people are familiar with the concept of power of attorney even if they are not familiar with the various nuances associated with the estate planning process.

Power of attorney allows a person to appoint another individual as an agent who will make financial and health care cases in cases the person who created the document becomes incapacitated.

There are actually several different types of power of attorney documents. Fo example, durable powers of attorney which allows an individual to appoint someone to make financial decision, while contingent powers of attorney become effective once a person becomes incapacitated.

Even after divorce, it is still important to get together with the people we love and value and the most.

The families of divorced parents, however, discover that these events are often stressful and that there is a substantial chance negative emotions can get in the way. When former spouses are capable of working together peacefully, however, these gatherings can be a part of any important event.

As a result, this article lists some of the tips and suggestions that you should follow to make sure that the process of family get togethers continues as easily as possible following a divorce.

The Idaho Supreme Court recently affirmed a court’s award of damages for unjust enrichment. The case, Turcott v. Estate of Clarence D. Bates, concerned a woman and her husband who spent a substantial amount of time and money making improvements for the woman’s father with the assumption that the woman would inherit half of the father’s estate.

The father, however, changed his will and decided to leave nothing to his daughter. As a result, the daughter filed a lawsuit seeking compensation for the work that she performed. The district court subsequently determined that there was not any implied in fact contract between the woman and her father. The court, however, awarded damages under a theory of unjust enrichment.

This article takes a brief look at unjust enrichment claims in New York state as well as the various defenses that can be raised in response to these claims.

When Aretha Franklin passed away in 2018, she was not believed to have had any type of estate plan. Months after her death, however, several handwritten wills were located in the late singer’s home.

While some people think that handwritten wills are never valid, this is simply not true. Instead, handwritten wills play a unique role in the estate planning process.

This article takes a look at the role that handwritten documents can play in the estate planning process as well as the limited situations in which these documents are allowed.

Many people fail to engage in any type of estate planning. Statistics compiled by AARP suggests that approximately 60% of Americans lack a will or any type of estate planning.

Of the people who do decide to create plans for what happens in case they die or become incapacitated, many rely on only a will to determine how their assets will be divided.

In many cases, however, people benefit from the creation from other estate planning tools including trust, which have the potential to serve a number of unique purposes.

As time passes, an increasing number of people are finding out that they have digital assets as part of their estate plan. No matter if it’s audible content, digital documents, or social media page, however, it is often critical to appoint someone who can properly look over these assets in case something happens to you.

As a result, this article reviews some of the important steps that you should follow when selecting a person who will manage your digital assets.

# 1 – Understand the Importance of an Asset Guardian