Beneficiary Designation - Hegwood Law Group

Banks, Beneficiaries and the Best Laid Plans: How Financial Institutions Impact Estate Planning

We want to believe that our financial institutions have our best interests at heart. After all, that’s why we entrust our savings with them month after month, year after year. Too often, though, banks inadvertently throw the most carefully laid…

Modifying Estate Plans After a Serious Illness

When faced with a serious illness, there are many things that feel out of your control. The sense of fear and helplessness can seem overwhelming. Believe it or not, there are steps you can take to regain a sense of…

Your Simple – Yet Comprehensive – Guide to Estate Planning

Each year, millions of Americans dismiss estate planning efforts because they believe it is too complicated. While crafting estate plans can be confusing at first, the process can be simplified when you are working with the right team. Understanding the…

What to Know About Estate Planning After a Divorce

When going through a divorce, there are many things you must end up updating or changing because of your decree. While the most common things like bank accounts, retirement beneficiaries, life insurance beneficiaries, and other assets are changed immediately, estate…

Librarian’s Estate Plan Includes $4 Million Gift to School

A former University of New Hampshire librarian’s $4 million gift to the school has received considerable attention due to the way the school opted to use the funds. This uproar is a reminder that estate planning is important, especially if…

Children Challenge Pittsburgh Publisher’s Will After Being Left Out

Two times in the past four years, the attorney for the late publisher Richard Mellon Scaife unduly influenced the billionaire to change his estate planning documents to disinherit his daughter Jennie Scaife and give assets to newspapers and foundations the…

Fred Thompson’s Adult Children Battle Second Wife in Estate Contest

The widow of former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson of Tennessee has asked a probate judge to dismiss a claim filed against his estate by his two adult sons, arguing that their allegations of misconduct are a "gross misrepresentation." Nashville’s newschannel5.com…

An IRA Trust Might Be Preferred Over Naming Individuals or a Revocable Living Trusts as the IRAs Beneficiaries

If you maxed out your work 401(k) by taking advantage of matching funds and rolled this to an IRA when you retired, you might not need all of that money—especially if you are a spouse with a pension and Social…