Estate Planning Checkup for Your Parents

By Darlynn Morgan

Typically, mom and dad think they have it all taken care of. They had some estate planning done several years ago and then put the documents up on some shelf where they gathered dust and they haven't looked at them since. Unfortunately, this is a recipe for disaster and you and your family may be in for quite a surprise should there be a death or incapacity.

Here are 3 steps that you can take now to make sure that your parents' estate plan really does do what they want it to do and make sure your family isn't going to be faced with thousands of dollars in legal expenses, taxes and needless complication.

1. Review Legal Title to All Assets.

If your parents assets are not properly titled, it could cost you tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Title to the family home and other assets are often not properly titled and therefore do not accomplish the family's estate planning goals.

This also means reviewing beneficiary designations on retirement plans and life insurance. You could be facing an expensive, time-consuming and stressful process called probate. Probate is totally avoidable by ensuring that ALL of your parents' assets are properly titled.

2. Review All Estate Planning Documents At Least Every 3 years.

Just as it's necessary to have regularly scheduled medical check-ups, even when you are feeling fine, so too an estate plan needs periodic check-ups to make sure that it is still going to work as intended. The law changes; your assets change, and your family changes too. Uncovering a problem that might lie buried in your files until it is too late can save you and your family a ton of heartache and thousands of dollars.

Financial or healthcare powers of attorney can go stale, meaning that they may not be accepted if they are old or don't meet updated legal requirements. If a parent gets rushed to the hospital, and is then in for some length of time or becomes incapacitated, you could be stuck if they have not executed updated documents. This not only protects them, but you as well; you need to be able to step in with the legal authority to obtain critical information and handle their affairs.

3. Plan to Protect Your Inheritance - Don't Leave it At Risk!

Most estate plans leave an inheritance outright: a lump sum distribution. This is simple and easy, but dangerous. If your parents' estate plan is drafted in the best way possible, you could receive your inheritance completely protected from divorce, estate taxes, and creditor claims.

You can easily plan now by having your parents' estate plan reviewed and then take the necessary steps to prepare everything for a smooth administration. Invest a fraction of the time and energy now to avoid major complication, stress and cost later. It's one of the best and least expensive investments you can make for your peace of mind.

Darlynn Morgan is an aunt, writer, speaker and Personal Family Lawyer. Darlynn makes it super easy for your family to talk about and plan for sticky subjects like money, death and taxes. Find out more about how you can protect your kids at: http://www.MorganLawGroup.com

Texas Cerebral Palsy Lawyer

By Terry Dunn

Cerebral Palsy is a serious medical condition, which effects children�s control over their muscle movement. �Cerebral� refers to the head while �palsy� relates to problems controlling the muscles in the body. Children who develop cerebral palsy may not be able to function in the same way that other children do, which may include problems walking, eating, talking or enjoying everyday play. This condition may be caused by damage to the brain either before, during or after birth. Cerebral palsy does not get worse, but the effects can worsen over time. It first develops due to faulty development or damage to the motor areas in the brain.

There are different causes behind the development of cerebral palsy, which is why you should contact a Texas cerebral palsy lawyer if you feel that your child is suffering due to medical negligence. When searching for an accomplished Texas cerebral palsy lawyer, consider looking through the telephone book or the internet. There are a number of listings and it may be necessary to consult with more than one Texas Cerebral Palsy lawyer before making a final decision. Many attorneys will offer a free initial consultation, which will give you the opportunity to meet with more than one Texas cerebral palsy lawyer without having a large out of pocket expense.

There are many risk factors, preventative measures and treatments involving cerebral palsy. A Texas cerebral palsy lawyer will guide you through these subjects and fight for your child�s right to all future medical costs in the event of medical negligence. There are different types of cerebral palsy, which a qualified physician or attorney may be able to explain. It�s difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of this illness, but preventative treatments and early diagnosis are key in helping a child.

This article should not be construed as medical, or legal, advice. If you have any questions regarding this illness, or possible legal actions against a physician or facility that you feel may be responsible for your child�s cerebral palsy diagnosis, contact a Texas cerebral palsy lawyer immediately. A Texas cerebral palsy lawyer should be forthcoming with answers to all of your questions, should sit down and discuss possible legal actions and the various options for recovering damages. Your child may be entitled to future medical care for the rest of their lives and it�s important to contact a Texas cerebral palsy lawyer as quickly as possible in order to protect your child�s rights.

Terry Dunn is author of http://www.Texas-Lawyers-Online.com and informational resource relating to Texas Lawyers

Moving In Together � Don't Get Caught Out

By Davina Warrington

You�ve been seeing each other for a while, things are going great and you�ve started looking for a place together. One of you may even own or rent somewhere already. If you move in together, surely the law will protect you and your belongings if things go wrong? Maybe not�

As �co-habitants� � ie people living together � you don�t fit easily into the legal system. Before buying that dream place together it is important to understand that living together does not give you legal rights over each other. If this is what you would like, then a Civil Partnership may be the way forward.

No matter how long your relationship, the law still effectively treats you as separate individuals with no rights or ties to each other if your relationship comes to an end. Unfortunately, this is not always something people become aware of until the relationship is over.

Buying a house is probably one of the most significant investments you will ever make. If you buy with a partner you will need to decide in advance how you are going to hold the property. The options are

� �joint tenants� holding an equal share of the property; if one of you dies, the other inherits your share

� �tenants in common� owned in shares, which is stated when purchased, for example, 70:30. If you die, then your share passes according to your Will, not necessarily to the other owner.

You should agree on these issues before the property is purchased.

It is easy to get caught up in a new relationship or the excitement of buying your first place together. But you should make sure you are protecting your financial future as you run headlong into a new emotional one. Although things may be going well at present, no one can predict the future. A �Living Together Agreement� is a great way of setting out your legal position and wishes for the future, in the event that things go wrong. Your solicitor can record what has been agreed and it will be drawn up as a �Deed�, which acts as a formal legal document, a contract between you both.

If you ever split up, the agreement can be referred to and will serve as proof as to what was agreed. This avoids unnecessary disputes, which are generally messy and expensive. Yes, I know it all sounds very unromantic and calculated, but the preparation of these types of agreements is very common in today�s society, not as common unfortunately as the number of break-ups however.

What can be recorded in these agreements? Absolutely anything you wish. It is sensible to cover the obvious, such as who will pay for what, and what should happen to the property. You may also wish to include a detailed list of items, and how they should be divided up. Generally, the more detailed the agreement, the better it is. Plenty of detail will ensure that every eventuality is covered, and shows that each of you has given the matter serious consideration. Once the agreement has been drawn up, ideally both parties should take legal advice to ensure that it meets their requirements.

I strongly recommend that any Agreement is regularly reviewed every couple of years. A change of house or job may mean that your financial position has changed. Your Living Together Agreement can easily be amended, or re-written by your solicitor.

A Living Together Agreement is relatively inexpensive, and will avoid the need for drawn out negotiation and a big legal bill in the event that things go wrong between you both.

Article written by Davina Warrington, family law solicitor with Woolley & Co solicitors. Davina regularly advises couples on pre-nuptial and living together agreements and offers a fixed fee Living Together Agreement option via the Woolley & Co website. You can call her on 01283 541598 or email on davina.warrington@divorce-lawfirm.co.uk

Self Inking Date Stamps

By Ken Marlborough

Affixing receipt and dispatch dates on documents is a standard procedure in government departments and corporate offices. These dates are generally referred to as some legal procedure applicable to these departments and firms. Failure to produce evidence related to these dates entails penalties and legal action. Therefore, these organizations take utmost care to affix dates on their records and correspondence. Date stamps are mechanical devices used for imprinting such dates.

Traditional date stamps require inkpads. They are practically useless without such additional kit. A sleeker device has recently been developed, which has inbuilt self-inking mechanism. These self-inking date stamps are generally made of plastics or metals, unlike traditional date stamps, which are made of wood. There is a small replaceable inkpad within these self-inking date stamps. When the device is not being used, the date stamp die rests on the inbuilt inkpad that moves aside by a spring mechanism, when pressed. A plastic cover is also provided to prevent drying of ink.

The mechanism for changing dates in self-ink stamp pads is similar to rubber date stamps. There are six to eight flat rubber bands with single digit numbers, i.e., 0 to 9, carved on them. These bands are loaded on separate cylinders, which can be rotated. A combination of numbers on these bands gives the required date, month, and year. Such mechanism allows representation of multiple formats of date, i.e., year, month and date, or date, month and year.

Other die pieces like "Confidential", "Faxed", etc., are also available with self-inking date stamps. These additional words and phrases help in tracing and organizing the documents.

Date Stamps provides detailed information on Date Stamps, Date Stamp Kits, Custom Date Stamps, Electronic Date Stamps and more. Date Stamps is affiliated with Email Stationery.