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529 Plan Changes for the FAFSA Form and What It Means for Grandparents (and Grandaunts)
February 9th, 2022
For grandparents who want to leave a legacy to their grandchildren (or grandaunts, such as myself, who wants to help out with the costs for grandnieces and grandnephews), the gift of a 529 college savings plan is an option. Not only can opening a 529…
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Gifts to Grandchildren: 529 Accounts
August 7th, 2018
This type of account, named for Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code, enables you to reduce your taxable estate while earmarking funds for the higher education of a grandchild (or any other family member). Funds contributed to such accounts are i…
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Categories: Planning for Minor Children
Agents, Representatives, and Surrogates: Oh My! Understanding Your Estate Plan Roles
April 18th, 2018
When you create your estate plan, not only do you decide what happens to your belongings and property after you die, you also choose people in the roles of your estate plan to do things for you when you cannot. Some of these people act after your dea…
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Tags: Florida
The Blended Family: Providing for Spouses, Children and Stepchildren
March 28th, 2017
When dividing property, fairness is essential, but it’s also subjective. Thinking about wills and who you want to inherit your assets is difficult for anyone, but the process is more complex for blended families. Some of the same rules apply. M…
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Tags: Florida
Can We Talk? Having the Needed Conversations with Potential Guardians
February 8th, 2017
Estate planning is more than making choices. It is also about having conversations with those people you select to act for you in case of your death or disability—personal representatives, powers of attorney, and guardians, to name a few. A lot of…
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Tags: Florida
Using a Trust to Keep Money Safe from Young Adults' Bad Decisions
September 23rd, 2016
A well-designed trust should protect your hard-earned assets and ensure the best outcome for each beneficiary. Young adults can be vulnerable to their own bad decisions in money, relationships, and spending; a trust can help protect their financial f…
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Using a Trust to Protect Your Legacy from Your Children's Ex-Spouses
July 18th, 2016
A living trust is a useful tool for safeguarding your legacy and enabling the transfer of assets to a specific beneficiary. It can also protect against claims made by potential interlopers, such as a child’s ex-spouse. If your son’s or da…
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Tags: Florida
Five Key Times to Evaluate Your Estate Plan
May 27th, 2016
Life changes daily, it seems sometimes. Often, when those events take place that bring such change, we can be so focused on the change in circumstance, it’s easy to overlook how our estate plan might need to change too. Here are five key times…
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Choosing Beneficiaries and Keeping it Beneficial
January 6th, 2016
With the start of a new year, we often take time to reflect on the past, look forward to the future, and generally set goals to get our houses in order—whether our physical houses, our fitness houses, or our financial houses. One of those areas in…
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New Florida Laws Broaden Health Care Surrogate Designations
October 1st, 2015
Beginning October 1, Florida parents now are able to designate a person to make health care decisions for their minor children in case the parent is unable to be reached. Additionally, the traditional health care surrogate designation for adults can…
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Attorney Jana McCreary
Houston Estate Planning Attorney Jana R. McCreary has been an attorney for over twenty years, a career move she made after working for over a decade with adults and children with intellectual disabilities and mental illness. Graduating summa cum laud… Read More