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Most people think of probate (the process of collecting, managing, and distributing a deceased person’s money and property) as a private process. However, because wills are filed at the courthouse, probated estates become a matter of public record. That means your nosy neighbor Nellie can simply go down to the courthouse or hop online and find out about your probate. Really.  It’s Not Just Nellie That Has Access… After a death, most states require that …

For most people, it is perfectly natural to think about estate planning only in terms of planning for death. While planning for your death is very important, if that is all you plan for, your planning can quickly become woefully inadequate. As medical knowledge and technology have improved over the decades, so too has modern medicine’s ability to keep people alive for much longer. It is no accident that in many areas of the country, …

In the hectic and sometimes dangerous world that we live in, it is an unfortunate fact of life that accidents happen and people get hurt. The U.S. legal system is designed so that those who suffer injury through the avoidable fault of others can seek compensation for those injuries. Sometimes injuries are so severe that the injured individual receives a significant sum of cash through a settlement or court judgement. Such a sudden and large …

After several days of counting ballots, Joe Biden has been declared the winner of the 2020 Presidential election by many major news outlets. Although we await the official certification of the election by each state, an official concession by President Trump, and the outcome of several pending lawsuits–which could take us into December or even January–the 2020 election and its aftermath promise significant changes in how Americans will be taxed. While it is unlikely that …

The mortgage business is booming in many parts of the country. Historically low interest rates have created an almost frenzied environment with homeowners scrambling to refinance their home loans at these low interest rates. Even a few tenths of a percentage point of interest, over thirty years, can make a massive difference in the amount of interest that is ultimately paid on a loan. For many, it makes perfect sense to take advantage of these …