As humans, we have a natural curiosity about death. We want to know what comes next as much as we want reassurance that we are making the most of the life we have been given.
Perhaps this is why the subject of last words is something many people find...
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Paul Simon sang to us about the “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover,” and Train told us there are “50 Ways to Say Goodbye,” so will the next 50-something song to top the charts be “50 Ways to Destroy an Old Will?” Probably not, but maybe it should be! The Palmer &...
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Most married people in the Brandon, Mississippi area make an estate plan that leaves all their assets to their spouse. At Palmer & Slay, we call this an “I love you” will. The couple loves and trusts one another enough to leave a lot of end-of-life decision-making and financial responsibility to...
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There are two significant ways filing for bankruptcy may impact your estate plan. The first is if you file for bankruptcy, then die while your case is pending. The second is when someone you have named as a beneficiary files for bankruptcy shortly before your death. In this blog post, we...
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After three decades on the air, Maury Povich is retiring. Daytime television will never be the same with nobody regularly revealing “You are (or are not) the father!” However, the popularity of at-home DNA tests from companies like AncestryDNA and 23andMe means people are getting this same kind of...
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Actor Daniel Craig has some very specific plans for the fortune he has amassed playing James Bond. In an interview with Candis Magazine, he said that he finds large inheritances “distasteful,” and doesn’t want to leave a lot of money to his children.
“Isn’t there an old adage...
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In Mississippi, you have to be at least 16 years and 6 months old to apply for a driver's license. If you want to sign a contract or buy a pack of cigarettes, you have to be 18. But you aren’t considered an adult in the eyes of the law until you...
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If you are a long-time reader of this blog, you have probably noticed that we often emphasize gifting as a great way to avoid estate taxes. Federal law includes an annual gift tax exclusion, which allows an individual to pass up to $16,000 per person, to as many individuals as one would...
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Benjamin Franklin once quipped that “...in this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” He was being witty, but his wisecrack contains some real wisdom. Paying taxes is an often unexpected part of managing a loved one’s estate.
Most estate administrators will not...
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Americans are some of the most generous people in the world. According to the Philanthropy Roundtable, “Six out of ten U.S. households donate to charity in a given year, and the typical household’s annual gifts add up to between two and three thousand dollars. This is different from the patterns in...
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