The Medicare 2017 open enrollment period started October 15 and continues through December 7. During this open enrollment period, Medicare eligible Americans can review their Medicare coverage and make changes for the coming year (2018).

By: David M. Frees, III November is National Family Caregivers Month. More Americans are now able to live independently and with dignity thanks in a large part to family members who act as caregivers. Looking after a family member can be challenging, so states and local agencies connect individuals with caregiver support groups and respite […]

By: David M. Frees, III Most of us think that celebrities must be smart.  They’re often wealthy (or at least seem to be), they have a great lifestyle (or again, so it seems), they have stable and uncomplicated personal lives (ok, not so much), and they’re brilliant commentators on political issues (ok, so they at […]

A change in the titling of a deed could be beneficial or necessary in the course of updating your estate planning. For example, sometimes you deed a house into a revocable trust to avoid probate or an irrevocable trust to protect it from a nursing home. But, after the deed is filed, the information is […]

In 1789, just one year before he died, Benjamin Franklin set up an endowment fund called the Benjamin Franklin Trust. In 1995 it was transferred in part to the Chester County Community Foundation. Each year, this 200+ year-old endowment fund makes grants to programs and initiatives that Franklin himself had championed: fire companies, libraries and […]

A Few Questions for Planning For Family Business Succession Some family conversations are too important to put off ð       1. Do you have an estate plan including a will, power of attorney and a living will? ð       2. Do they specifically include powers to deal directly with real estate and closely held business investments? ð       […]

Who Do You Trust? Choosing a trustee requires an appropriate balance between kinship or friendship, expertise and technical knowledge. As a trust attorney one challenging aspect of my practice is the very personal decision by a client about choosing a trustee or trustees (and their substitutes) for his or her many types of trusts. There […]

At some point your surviving spouse or partner or even your children will assume responsibility for investing the family’s wealth. Your children’s portfolio may be in the form of a personal trust owned by the children, or due to illness or death the entirety of the family’s invested assets. Children should be prepared to take […]

By creating a trust, you are stating your wishes as to how you would like your assets and possessions distributed. Many trusts have a series of specific gifts. However, you should be sure that your trust also contains a residuary clause to best protect the distribution of your assets. Please click here, for more information […]

A residuary clause disposes of any property or assets that were not previously accounted for in the will. Please click here, to see why it is important to include a residuary clause within your will.