Although Beneficiary Deeds have been in existence in Colorado since 2004, many people, including practitioners, are not familiar with the mechanics of how they work and the potential advantages and disadvantages. Originally, the Beneficiary Deed statute was intended to provide a means of transferring title to real property to a grantee-beneficiary upon the death of the owner without the need for probate court administration. In addition, the statute was intended as a means to
With the recent death of Prince, the general public has been inundated with articles and news stories from the media claiming that Prince died without a Will. Although it is wise to have a Will in place prior to your death, there are other ways to transfer your assets to your beneficiaries upon your death. A brief background may be helpful in understanding how your assets pass from you to your desired beneficiaries. A Will only controls assets that are in your sole name wi
The sale and transfer of firearms has become an increasingly convoluted area of law for citizens to navigate. With an intricate web of state and federal laws and regulations, it has become alarmingly easy for law-abiding citizens to stumble into conflict with those laws. This has become an issue with regard to estate planning as well. Many clients wish to leave firearms to adult children or friends, but doing so may require extra planning. Below are some of the common consid
Well ahead of Jane’s deterioration due to Parkinson’s disease, her husband, Joe, and her only son, Paul, helped her establish legal documents regarding medical decisions for end-of-life care (often called “medical directives” and/ or “medical durable power of attorney”). Both husband and son thought they had done sufficient planning to avoid family conflict and carry out Jane’s wishes. Joe was made the agent to act for his wife and make medical decisions when she could not. U