Law Articles

It is shocking to me as a Pennsylvania Estate Planning Attorney how many young parents do not have the proper estate planning documents. Regardless of the amount of assets avaialble, it becomes very important to have a proper estate plan as soon as you have a child. Failure to have a proper estate plan can cause many different problems for the minor child and surviving family members. On this page, we will discuss the problems often seen with regard to beneficiary designations.

Imagine this scenario: your parents leave you an art collection worth $65 Million Dollars! Generally, you would think that this would be a good thing. Unfortunately, for the Sonnabend Family, of New York, it was not.

As an Estate Planning Attorney it is common for me to have to address the issues that arise when dealing with blended families. Blended families have unique circumstances that require careful thought, consideration, and planning. For these reasons it becomes very important to make certain that you have a proper estate plan in place if you are in a blended family.

The State of Pennsylvania has now made it even more important to do estate planning, as without proper planning the costs of nursing home care can be visited upon your children.