Julius Caesar’s wife was not a trustee, but she was (rather unfairly) expected to act like one. When she rebuffed a man who had tried to seduce her, Caesar divorced her anyway on the grounds that she must never even be suspected of unseemly behavior: “Caesar’s wife must be beyond suspicion.” The highest ethical standards […]
End Of Life
Settling a Deceased Person’s Debts
An estate is everything someone owns at the time of death. The process of paying bills and distributing what’s left is called probate. The executor of an estate uses assets to pay off debts. This might include writing checks from a bank account or selling property to get the money. Indeed, the settlement of […]
Avoiding Scams After the Death of a Loved One
When it comes to making money, scammers don’t think about the people they are victimizing. All they focus on is increasing their income by whatever means necessary. That said, certain groups of people are at a higher risk of being targeted than others. Not surprisingly, those who are in mourning are one of the categories […]
Dead Hand Control: How Wills and Trusts Can Control Behavior
You may want to use your estate to influence your heirs in your absence. To a certain extent, this might be possible, but the process is delicate, and it requires well-designed structures. One way to do so is by creating a will or trust for your estate. With a “dead hand control,” wills and trusts […]
How to Choose the Right Probate Lawyer
Maybe you have been named executor in a will. Or, for an added wrinkle, suppose there is no executor or those named are either dead or unavailable. Compounding the problem, imagine you have decided the named executor is not up to snuff and must be replaced. In this article, we’ll provide valuable insight into how […]
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