Blog Posts

Sending a child or grandchild off to college is an exciting time for a family. For the student, it’s an opportunity to leave the nest and begin the first phase of adulthood; for parents and grandparents, it’s a time to take pride in the years of hard work preparing the next generation for the real world. College is also the first time many young people become responsible for their own finances, and the habits they learn will help set the stage for their financial futures.

Preparing your estate in advance is one of the greatest gifts you can give your family. Many estates include real estate in the form of a primary home, vacation home, and other family properties. While inheriting a property can be a wonderful legacy, it also comes with obligations that heirs may be unprepared or unable to fulfill. If you intend to leave real estate to your heirs, ask yourself these five questions to help avoid creating problems for your loved ones.

If you have a furry friend, you know your pet relies on you for every need. What would your pet do without you? Although pets are legally considered to be property, to those of us who own pets, they’re more like members of the family. And so, just as you make preparations to care for the human members of your family after your passing, you need to think about how to look after your pets as well.

Here are some options that can help you ensure your pets are cared for if something happens to you:

By: Jessica Kmetty

The World Health Organization notes that an estimated 47.5 million people currently live with dementia, a syndrome that affects memory, thinking, behavior and ability to perform everyday activities.* It can severely impact the ability to make financial decisions, and finding ways to help those with dementia manage their finances is critical to their health and well-being. These 5 tips can help families protect and preserve assets:

One area that is particularly critical to get right in your financial planning process is estate preparation and the protection of your loved ones from the unexpected. Proper estate preparation is an act of love and responsibility to those you care about.