How Can Trustees Breach Their Fiduciary Duties in Mississippi?
A trustee in Mississippi has a fiduciary duty to manage a trust according to a wide-ranging set of obligations and responsibilities. If your trustee is breaching any of the rules, he/she can be replaced and, depending on the nature of the breach, may face trust litigation and be required to pay monetary or non-monetary damages. If you’re a beneficiary, how do you know if a trustee is fulfilling their obligations or not? And, if you’ve been appointed as a trustee, how can you ensure you follow the rules? Let’s run down the most common ways that trustees breach their ...
Reviewing Your Mississippi Wills, Trusts & Other Estate Planning Documents
Estate Plan Review Estate planning is an important process that should be reviewed periodically. Wills, trusts, and other documents should be reviewed at least annually but at least once every three to five years even if there aren't any major life changes. This allows you to ensure that your plans are still in line with your wishes and makes any necessary changes. It is also a good time to review beneficiaries. Have you done your annual estate planning review? When reviewing estate plans, individuals should consider these questions Do the provisions still accomplish your goals? Have your documents been ...
How to Avoid Probate in Mississippi
Before the assets included in a will can be distributed by an estate executor in Mississippi, the will must generally be probated. This legal process is initiated at the local courthouse and may take considerable time to finalize, as well as creating some additional costs for the estate. For estate planners, executors, and heirs, there may be benefits to planning ahead to ensure that some or all assets can be distributed without probate. Here is what you need to know. Probate in Mississippi After an individual with a will passes away in Mississippi, the probate process usually ...
When Considering an Estate Plan, Where should I start?
Most of us want our property and assets to go to our loved ones upon our death. When you pass away, the state you reside in will use its intestate succession rules to determine who inherits from you if you don't include your desired heirs in your will. This may not be a concern for some individuals, but it is for others. If you have no biological or adoptive relatives still living, your friends and favorite organizations won't get anything through intestate succession. You may also need a will if you have a child with a gambling addiction who you'd ...
How To Protect Your Assets In The Event Of An Unplanned Death
No one likes to think about death, but the fact is that it's a part of life. And if you don't take steps to protect your assets in the event of an unplanned death, your loved ones could be left struggling financially. The good news is that there are things you can do to help ensure your estate is handled smoothly. One of the most important is to start by assessing your current financial and personal situation. Take a close look at where your assets are invested, the number of heirs you have, and whether you have a will in ...
How Does Mississippi Probate Work?
When a person dies in Mississippi, probate is the legal process through which a deceased's assets are collected, identified, valued, and distributed to creditors and/or their heirs. Generally speaking, probate involves the appointment of an executor or administrator by the local Chancery Court who is responsible for collecting all probate assets owned by your loved one at death. Book A Consultation What is a Probate Asset? In Mississippi, probate assets include all real and/or personal property which you own at death that does not pass to your heirs or beneficiaries by operation of law. This would apply whether ...
Estate Planning and the New Tax Law
Estate Planning Tax Law The new tax law promises many sweeping changes including a decrease in taxes for most Americans. It is also going to make changes in estate taxes which may have some people worried as they have made plans based on an old law. One step that many have taken in the past to reduce estate taxes might be a problem due to the nature of that strategy. That strategy is the irrevocable life insurance trust. Irrevocably rearranging this type of trust to mesh with a new law will be impossible. However, in most cases, that still won’t ...
