Wills

How to Access the Digital Assets, logins, and passwords of Someone who Has Died

Accessing the digital assets of a loved one after they have passed can be difficult. Below are some tips to make it easier for everyone. In the age of Covid-19, most of us do everything electronically. Banking, communicating, paying bills, shopping, storing important papers, photos and contacts, filing taxes, keeping a calendar and reminders, sports […]

Advanced Healthcare Directives in PA

Advanced Healthcare Directives are a necessary group of documents when planning an estate of a loved one, no matter their age. When planning your estate, it is often the best time to discuss how you would like your health care decisions to be made with a living attorney near you in the event you cannot […]

Ancillary Probate and How To Avoid It

Just when you thought you were done with the fine print of a dead loved one's will, you find an "ancillary" problem, in another state. In the following paragraphs we offer a brief understanding of probate, ancillary probate, and how one can avoid this sometimes tricky situation. What is ancillary probate? Ancillary probate is a […]

How to Plan a Funeral

People love to make plans-the perfect wedding, that dream vacation, a comfortable retirement, the kitchen remodel.  Making plans is one of the great joys of life- except for when it comes to making plans for the end of it. Understandably, we don’t like to think about—much less make specific plans for—our own deaths or the […]

Revocable Living Trust: Not the Magic Bullet

So what is a revocable living trust?  A trust is a legal written agreement between various individuals:  The individuals involved include the trustmaker, who is the person that creates the trust agreement (also commonly referred to as the grantor, trustor or settlor); the trustee, who is the person that manages the trust assets; and the […]

The Survivor Takes All… NOT ALWAYS

September 27, 2017 by Mary R. LaSota Married without a Will in Pennsylvania?  Do you think your surviving spouse will inherit everything?  Think Again.  For those assets that are not disposed of by Will, or by a beneficiary designation (i.e., 401(k), insurance proceeds, IRA) or by survivorship rights (i.e., tenancy by the entirety, joint tenancy […]

When is a Will Really a Will?

January 10, 2017 By Donald Petrille, Jr. The rules for executing a Will in Pennsylvania are simple and clear.  Unfortunately, life, and its circumstances, often are not, and these circumstances can unwittingly lead to a Will contest. Pennsylvania law is clear.  If someone signs a document which is intended to dispose of property or other […]