Couple relaxing on bed in their new home
July 16, 2020

When Is It Time to Revise Your Will or Trust?

When completing a Will or Trust, oftentimes people believe it will never need to be changed. But typically, life is filled with changing circumstances, and it is important to revise your Will or Trust following major changes in your life. There are several major changes in your life which should prompt you to update or revise your Will or Trust:

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October 1, 2019

Choosing Fiduciaries from a Litigator’s Perspective

Fiduciaries, An essential part of estate planning is the selection of Fiduciaries—those persons who will carry out your wishes; your agent, personal representative, or successor trustee.  What is a fiduciary? A fiduciary is a person who has a legal or ethical relationship with another.  In estate planning, we choose a fiduciary to manage our assets, either during life or at

Trusts

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January 30, 2017

Do You Need A Trust?

Many clients come to us because they have heard they should have a trust. The usual reason for this is to avoid probate. Although trusts can accomplish the purpose of avoiding probate, if this is the only purpose to be served by establishing the trust, then in New Mexico, it is not that important. Probate is the process of transferring

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November 23, 2016

When is a trust necessary or helpful?

There are many causes of mental and physical incapacity and there are many people who are very bad a managing money, and for one reason or another, should not be left in charge of their own investments.  In these cases, a trust may be a good idea.  It can be a revocable trust or it can be an irrevocable trust.

Trusts

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October 12, 2016

Should I Create a Trust to Avoid Probate?

Avoiding probate is a common reason for creating trusts. One thing to note is that only a funded trust will avoid probate. Meaning, only assets that have been transferred and titled in a trust will avoid probate.  When properly funded, the trust document and not a Will controls the disposition of the assets and avoids the necessity of opening a

Trusts

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August 2, 2016

How is a revocable trust funded? Should all assets be transferred to a revocable trust?

Revocable Trusts are funded by re-titling or transferring title by deed or assignment of individual assets to the revocable trust.  Assets may include stocks, bank accounts, real estate, timeshare interests, or business interests. Once assets are transferred into the trust, a schedule of assets should be attached to the trust document as this assists the trustee in the management of

Trusts

May 31, 2016

Do I need a trust?

Just yesterday, I was asked by a friend “Do you think that I need a trust?” “Well,” I said, in my usual lawyerly fashion, “it depends.” In our law firm, we draft many trusts for many different reasons. We also discuss with clients whether or not they should have a trust of any sort. There are many types of trusts,

Trusts

January 25, 2016

How 529 Plans are Opening Doors to the Disabled

When you think of a 529 plan, you probably think of the 529 college-savings plan. Well, there’s a new 529 plan available now – the 529 ABLE (“Achieving a Better Life Experience”) account. The 529 ABLE account will provide eligible disabled people a savings vehicle that offers the same tax-free growth as a 529 college-savings plan provides. In December 2014,

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December 28, 2015

Military Members Able to Name Special Needs Trusts as Beneficiaries of Survivor Benefits

The Disability Military Child Protection Act 2015 was signed by President Obama December 19, 2014. Congress is allowing members of the military to name special needs trusts as the beneficiaries of Survivor Benefits Plans (SBP). What does this mean for military families? For military families with special needs children, this means a parent will be able to direct SBPs to

Trusts

October 21, 2014

What is a living trust and should I have one?

Many people in New Mexico have what they call “living trusts.” Although there are many seminars offered on living trusts, many people who have them do not need them. On the other hand, our office does prepare these trusts for our clients, but only in circumstances where the trust will solve a present problem or a future one. The use

Trusts

October 6, 2014

Special Needs Trusts

Special needs trusts can enhance the lives of disabled individuals that receive Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income (SSI). The purpose of the trust is to improve the quality of the beneficiary’s life without disqualifying him or her from public benefits. The rules for administration of a special needs trust and the form of the trust agreement itself vary depending upon the

Trusts

September 4, 2014

Charitable Trusts

Charitable trusts are effective estate planning tools for providing benefits to charitable and non-charitable beneficiaries. Because the benefits of charitable trusts are split between these two types of beneficiaries, they are referred to as “split interest trusts.” There are two primary types of charitable trusts, remainder trusts and lead trusts. Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRTs) provide an income stream to non-charitable

Trusts

January 25, 2011

Why Can’t I Have a Trust?

When you open your newspaper and a pink flyer falls out telling you to come to a seminar about trusts, does that make you wonder why you do not have one too?  It seems like everyone has trusts these days.  Should everyone have trusts, as the flyer seems to imply?  Maybe I should have one and my lawyer just forgot

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