Yes, we are here for you…and it's easy to meet with us! From the comfort and safety of your home you can consult with us via phone or video. To set up an appointment, call (860) 236-7673 or click here.
Because of my practice area, probate and elder law litigation, I oftentimes find myself in either the courtroom or the hallway with a client fielding this all too common question:
“What could we have done to avoid all of this?”
You probably have an estate plan which means you have certainly taken a step in the right direction to protect your assets and ensure that they get distributed as you wish.
But you may be able to do more. Continue reading
This is the first in a two-part series about the realities of and remedies for sibling rivalry over family inheritance. The 2nd part in the series “How to Keep the Kids from Fighting Over Their Inheritance” provides tips on how to avoid these kinds of conflicts.
“Mom always liked you best,” Tommy Smothers used to say. Those five words make up one of the most recognizable catch phrases of the inimitable Smothers Brothers. Coined in the early 1960s, it captures — in a humorous way — the rivalry that is an almost ubiquitous part of growing up with siblings.
Most of the time, such rivalries fade over the years, becoming fodder for family ribbing around the holiday table. But when the passing of a parent drives siblings into the unfamiliar territory of dealing with an inheritance, those rivalries can rear their ugly heads in unexpected and sometimes heartbreaking ways.
With Thanksgiving behind us and other holidays quickly approaching, most of us are now in full holiday swing. Maybe it is simply the time of year where the word “expectation” is bouncing around in my mind.
With these holidays, we must at least consider the notion that expectations are created and that some of us, from children to adults, have some expectation about receiving gifts (from where is a conversation for you to have with your loved ones). Continue reading
Trustees have been given an important responsibility to administer an estate. But not all trustees live up to what is expected of them. If you are having problems with a trustee and considering legal options against them but the trustee is discouraging you from taking action by denying you information, and telling you that he or she has a defense under the terms of the trust, there are some things you should know.
Here are some of the most common misconceptions about the protection a trustee can enjoy under the terms of the trust:
Modern law offers a variety of ways for individuals to manage, distribute, and protect their property, whether it be for their own benefit or for that of a loved one. A well-known, and yet seemingly complex, mechanism for doing so is a Trust. But what does this mean for you, the beneficiary?
Do you think you are a beneficiary of a trust but have never been contacted by the trustee?
Have you ever had reason to believe that a trustee is mismanaging or not being truthful about trust assets?
By E. Jennifer Reale
Why should you pay an estate planning attorney to prepare a will or a trust when, for much cheaper, you can use an online service?
We hear this question all the time.
Contesting a Will or other transfers on the grounds that the person signing the Will lacked the capacity to do so, is both difficult and emotional. But it’s something that comes up quite frequently in my practice.
In Connecticut there are two different standards to determine capacity:
By Carmine Perri
When we help clients develop their estate plans, one of the advance directives we encourage them to create is a Designation of Conservator. You decide ahead of time who will manage your affairs – and under what certain circumstances – if you become incapacitated.
So what is a conservator?
A conservator is a person appointed by the Probate Court to oversee the financial and/or personal affairs of an adult who is determined by the Probate Court to be incapable of Continue reading
It happens more often than you might imagine. After losing a loved one, family members discover that the deceased’s life insurance policy is about to be paid out to an unexpected beneficiary. Such news can come as a nasty shock, and—unfortunately—it can herald an uphill battle to get the situation resolved.
Given that a life insurance or annuity is a direct contact between the insured (the deceased) and the company providing the insurance/annuity, the claims are settled independently from any Will or Trust that the deceased may have had in place.
Going to a nursing home is hard enough, imagine being evicted? Good news. There are laws in place to prevent that from happening.
Within a nursing home, just like any other place you call home, you are entitled to certain rights. These rights include not being able to be evicted for any reason beyond the six listed in the United States’ Code:
Connecticut Estate Planning Attorneys Blog
