Welcome to the Rilus Law Blog!
One of our core values is empowerment and education is a key component of that. Because we are passionate about estate planning, we provide many free resources to empower our community. Explore the blog to gain a deeper understanding of estate planning, or feel free to reach out to us with questions. You could get all your questions answered in a free one-hour meeting with an experienced estate planning and probate attorney.
Explore all of our posts below, or search for a specific topic here.
Protecting Your Assets: How to Avoid Probate
Estate planning is all about securing your assets and ensuring they go to the loved ones you intend, without unnecessary delays or expenses. One of the most critical steps in achieving this is avoiding probate.
Types of Sub-Trusts: What is a Dynasty Trust?
When it comes to estate planning, ensuring your wealth is preserved for generations requires more than just a basic trust. That’s where dynasty sub-trusts come in—a strategic tool that protects assets, minimizes taxes, and provides long-term financial security for your family. But what exactly is a dynasty sub-trust, and how does it fit into a larger estate plan?
Avoid Common Mistakes: How to Choose the Right Executor for Your Estate
The executor, a pivotal figure in the management of your estate, holds the key to ensuring your wishes and intentions are faithfully carried out. A well-chosen executor can streamline the process, while a poor choice can lead to delays, disputes, higher costs, and added stress for your grieving loved ones.
Estate Planning for Blended Families: Tips and Challenges
With the rise of divorce and remarriage cases in the US, blended families are becoming increasingly common. The complex and often uniquely interesting dynamics in these types of families can make estate planning a delicate process.
Why Every College Student Needs a Power of Attorney (and How to Get One)
Sending your child to college is an exciting and significant milestone for any parent. When you’re done helping them with packing dorm essentials or setting their course schedules, we suggest you look into their most crucial legal document - the Power of Attorney (POA).
Estate Planning Essentials: What To Do When Your Spouse Dies
Aside from causing major trauma and grief, the death of your spouse impacts you more than you think. For one, you will be responsible for settling your deceased loved one’s estate.
Gifted House vs. Inherited House: Which is Better for Taxes and Medicaid Eligibility?
When homeowners do estate planning, their most common question is how to transfer the ownership of their home to their heirs. Should you gift your house during your lifetime or leave it as an inheritance upon your death?
Gun Trust Explained: Safeguarding Your Firearms
Navigating the intricate landscape of estate planning is already challenging for those with complex assets and situations. For gun owners, this challenge is amplified due to the unique legal considerations surrounding firearms.
Updating a Will: A Comprehensive Guide to Changing Your Will
A will is one of the most useful tools you can use when planning for your estate. Upon your passing, this simple document is your loved ones’ guide for distributing your assets to your beneficiaries.
Charitable Estate Planning: Leave a Legacy of Compassion
Imagine creating a legacy that extends beyond your lifetime, touching lives and making a positive impact on the world. Charitable estate planning allows you to do just that.
Types of Sub-Trusts: What is an Age-Restricted Trust?
Of the many trust types that are used as a sub-trust, the most common is an age-restricted trust, also called age trust or trust for minors. When created under a larger trust structure, the age-restricted trust becomes a sub-trust that can specify the ages or milestones at which the beneficiaries can access the trust’s assets.
Power of Attorney: What is it and How to Set it Up
A power of attorney (POA) is one of the most valuable legal documents in estate planning, as it serves a crucial purpose while you are still alive.
Probate, Community Property, and Common Law Marriage: What You Need to Know
Navigating the legal landscape of probate can be complex, especially when questions about community property and common law marriage come into play.
Why Your Digital Assets Deserve a Place in Your Estate Plan
In today's digital age, our online presence and digital assets have become as integral as physical property. Yet, they are often overlooked in traditional estate planning.
Finding the Right Estate Planning Attorney
When it comes to estate planning, selecting the right attorney is crucial. Your choice will impact not just the efficiency and effectiveness of your estate plan, but also the peace of mind for you and your loved ones.
Leaving Money to Minors: Challenges and Tools
Money holds significance when it serves a purpose, and few endeavors embody a more profound purpose than securing the future of our children. From the earliest stages of their lives to the moment we pass on, the responsibility to provide for them resonates deeply within us.
Sub-Trusts: Everything You Need to Know
Trusts are one of the most effective tools in estate planning. A trust is indispensable when preparing assets and properties in the event of incapacitation or death.
Education Trust Fund: What is it & How to Set it Up
Estate planning without educational fund considerations is rare. One of the main reasons that you plan your estate is to ensure that the future needs of your loved ones are provided for upon your death. And access to education is the most basic need of many beneficiaries, especially minor children.
Can You Refinance a Property Held in Trust?
The current high inflation rate in the US has led to steadily increasing home mortgage rates, from around 3% in 2021 up to 7% in July 2023. Although you can refinance a mortgage for varying purposes, many homebuyers are counting on a refinance in the future when mortgage rates inevitably drop below the current rates
AI Estate Planning: Can ChatGPT Write a Will?
Whether we like it or not, artificial intelligence (AI) has now become an integral part of our lives. From our internet search results to the music suggestions on our playlists to the ads in our social media feed, AI is working hard behind the scenes.
Still Have Questions or Not Sure Where to Begin?
Contact us today to schedule your free one-hour meeting with an attorney to assess your estate planning needs.