Reading Between the Lines: Why a Professional Estate Plan is Far Superior to a Cookie Cutter Online Will

Web sites like Legal Zoom, Total Legal, and others offer inexpensive, pre-formatted wills designed for people to simply plug in a few names, some items, and, presto chango, you have a will. Many people purchase these “cookie cutter” documents under the mistaken belief that this type of will is going to protect and properly disburse their assets to loved ones. Unfortunately, that often isn’t the case. Let me preface this by stating that I fully appreciate the value of the services offered by Legal zoom and other pre-made document web sites. For many people, the prospect of creating a will, or an in-depth estate plan, is intimidating. These pre-made documents provide guidance and can assist someone who is starting from scratch with their estate plan and/or who does not have many assets but wants to be sure whatever they have goes to their loved ones. But here is where these...

06 February

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How a Prenuptial Agreement can Impact Your Estate Plan

Posted by KarenLewis

in Current Events

By Bobby Feisee, Ashburn Estate Planning Attorney With divorce rates reaching over 50 percent in the United States, more people decide enter into a prenuptial agreement before they get married. These agreements are especially common with families composed of children from a previous marriage or relationship. A prenuptial agreement is a legal document that is agreed upon and signed by both parties before marriage. A thorough agreement should fully disclose the financial assets of both you and your spouse. For example, savings accounts, stocks, interests in trusts and estates, and so forth. Prenuptial agreements also deal with any real estate that the two of you may own. Once all of the necessary information, is disclosed the agreement will specify how everything would be divided between the two of you in the event of a divorce or upon death. Another issue a prenuptial agreement can help...