October 24, 2025
Some Year-End RMD Strategies and a Bit More
Crispy Fall greetings, everyone! It's been a while since I've written, so lest you completely forget me and I end up in your spam folder, I want to reconnect an...
Probate articles
13 articles. Articles may appear in more than one topic.
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January 15, 2024
Nagging is My Specialty
New Year's greetings, everyone! Now that the blur of the holidays is clearing up and we've all written our thank-you notes (we have, right?), I want to make an...
August 1, 2023
Choosing the Right Executor or Trustee
Phil Runyon discusses why the best executor or trustee may not be the most legally or financially sophisticated family member, and how to think about those choices.
July 1, 2023
Trust Funding, TOD Beneficiaries, and Student Loans
Phil Runyon discusses practical work-arounds for funding revocable trusts, transfer-on-death beneficiaries, vehicle titles, and federal student loan concerns.
March 1, 2023
Last-Minute Wishes, Safe Deposit Boxes, and Obituaries
Phil Runyon discusses why estate planning changes need proper formalities, where to keep final instructions, safe deposit box access, lifetime deeds, and obituary planning.
December 1, 2022
Springing Powers of Attorney and Trust Funding
Phil Runyon discusses springing powers of attorney, health care directives, downloaded wills, revocable trust funding, and when estate planning documents should be refreshed.
August 27, 2015
Sometimes More Information is Better by Phil Runyon
Sometimes More Information is Better Here are a few words on a subject that can be totally unenjoyable, even divisive, in many families, at a time when they rea...
May 22, 2015
Asset Beneficiaries are Important by Phil Runyon
Asset Beneficiaries are important As we all know (some more traumatically than others), the divorce bug has attacked nearly every family at some point. And when...
August 12, 2014
Joint Tenancies Redux by Phil Runyon
Joint Tenancies Redux I've written already about the use of **joint tenancies** to help avoid probate. If one of the JTs dies, the other becomes the sole owner...
April 1, 2014
Correcting Some Misconceptions by Phil Runyon
Correcting Some Misconceptions There are many misconceptions about the law that often seem to overwhelm the truth, so let's try to dispel a few of them. Many pe...
January 7, 2014
Joint Tenants Take Note by Phil Runyon
Joint Tenants Take Note As the heading suggests, I'm out to toss a little cold water on the common technique many of us employ to pass our worldly stuff on to o...
September 17, 2013
Probate Avoidance Revisited by Phil Runyon
**Probate Avoidance Revisited I've mentioned before - harped may be more like it - about doing your best to keep your family from having to endure the delay (mo...
January 18, 2012
A Probate Alternative by Phil Runyon
A Probate Alternative Nearly every family has a horror story about "probating" a relative's estate, the usual complaints being about how long it took, how much...
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