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Virginia has updated the rules that govern how much an agent under a power of attorney must reveal about their actions. A new law, HB510, lets the person creating the document limit those disclosure duties. The change takes effect July 1, 2026, and it raises a practical question about the balance between privacy and oversight. […]

Most charitable giving happens through cash donations or bequests in a will. Both are straightforward and meaningful. Neither is particularly tax-efficient when compared to a strategy that most donors don’t think about: naming a charity as the beneficiary of a traditional IRA or other pre-tax retirement account. This approach can accomplish more for the charity

For most families, the primary residence is the most valuable asset they own. It’s also often the asset they worry most about losing to financial difficulty. Homestead exemptions exist specifically to protect a portion of home equity from certain creditor claims, giving families a floor of protection even in a financial crisis. But these exemptions

One of the most powerful, and most underappreciated, tax benefits in estate planning sits quietly inside a concept called the step-up in basis. Most people focus estate planning conversations on the estate tax: whether their estate is large enough to owe it, and how to reduce exposure. But for the majority of Americans whose estates

A widely reported California trust dispute has drawn attention to how families control wealth after death. Nick Reiner, the son of director Rob Reiner, is asking a court for access to a trust his parents established for him while he faces charges in their deaths. The case is unusual, yet the legal questions behind it

Texas continues to update how wills are stored, filed, and recognized by its probate courts. A proposed statewide will database has drawn attention from families and attorneys who want a more dependable way to locate a loved one’s final instructions. The discussion also raises a larger question about whether the state will move closer to

Most people understand that a power of attorney is part of good planning. Far fewer understand what actually happens when a person becomes incapacitated without one. The absence of this document doesn’t mean family members can step in and manage finances. It means the opposite: they legally cannot, without going through a court process that

Leaving an inheritance to someone you love is a meaningful act. But an outright inheritance, one that transfers directly to the beneficiary with no conditions, is immediately exposed to that person’s creditors, poor financial decisions, and potentially a divorce settlement. A spendthrift trust provision addresses that vulnerability by keeping inherited assets inside the trust until

Probate is the court-supervised process for validating a will, paying debts, and distributing assets after death. Most people know it exists. Fewer understand what it actually costs, both in dollars and in time, until they’re the family members on the receiving end of an estate going through the process. Those costs come directly out of

Not all special needs trusts are created equal. The distinction between a first-party and a third-party special needs trust affects who funds the trust, what happens to remaining assets when the beneficiary dies, and what planning flexibility the family has going forward. Getting that distinction right from the beginning matters for protecting both the disabled