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Orange City Estate Planning Blog

101 Death Hacks [Part Four]

When you build a house, you want to do so efficiently. Pine 2x4s are cheaper than 1½” oak floor boards, so that’s what you use to frame the house. When you’re making your estate plan, you don’t want the family farm to wind up being sold to pay a tax bill, the costs of probate, or the medical expenses of your beneficiaries. Fortunately, with a little forethought and some organization, you can avoid those kinds of problems and make a plan to pay or even avoid those costs without jeopardizing your wishes. [Read More]

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Ethan Huizenga October 22, 2015

101 Death Hacks [Part Three]

Up to this point in the 101 Death Hacks series, we’ve mainly focused on the philosophy behind your estate plan. Starting today, we’re going to get much more practical about making an estate plan by focusing on ways to communicate your wishes and how to do that efficiently and effectively. Read on to learn about what to write down in your will and trust to make them more effective and how your estate planning can help manage the emotional transition caused by your death. [Read More]

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Ethan Huizenga October 21, 2015

FAQ: How Good is My Living Will?

One of the many documents an elder law and long-term care planning attorney in the Northwest Iowa area will encourage clients to put together is a living will. These documents have been considered incredibly important in both the legal and medical fields for 40+ years. A living will provides you with the opportunity to make your medical wishes known should you become incapacitated and unable to make decisions at the time. [Read More]

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Ethan Huizenga October 13, 2015

FAQ: What Happens if I Revoke a Will in Iowa?

There are some common questions which go along with revoking a will, but one of the most asked is whether or not revoking the will revives a prior one. The answer to this question is “probably not.” When setting up your estate planning needs, your attorney will likely help you create a will. If you decide to make changes and create a new will later, the previous version is no longer in effect. [Read More]

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Ethan Huizenga October 6, 2015

High Five: The Zen Guide to Creating a Trust

Last week, we talked about the fact that many people see estate planning as an intimidating, even scary, process – only 45% of people have had their will prepared! But we also showed you the zen approach to creating your will with the help of an estate planning expert through planning ahead, organization, communication and clarity. And, surprise, those same principles apply to creating a trust. But, while the principles are the same, the zen of trust planning can be quite different from creating a will. [Read More]

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Ethan Huizenga September 8, 2015

High Five: The Zen Guide to Creating a Will

Over the last seven years of advising clients, I have come to the realization that many people aren’t doing estate planning because it’s intimidating. It’s scary. Depressing. That’s a lot of negative emotion! But I don’t think estate planning is a negative experience – quite the opposite. Follow this guide to finding the Zen of creating your will, and you’ll soon discover that all those negative thoughts have been replaced by peace of mind about your final affairs. [Read More]

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Ethan Huizenga September 1, 2015

Estate Planning for Women

The needs of women have been changing dramatically over the past several years. Gone are the days when a woman was expected to stay home and live on an “allowance” if her husband chose to give her one. Instead, so many women today have their own jobs, their own finances, and their own desire to protect their assets. In addition, women typically live longer than men. [Read More]

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Ethan Huizenga July 7, 2015

Estate Planning and Divorce in Northwest Iowa

A divorce—also called a dissolution of marriage—can take a fairly long time (months or even years) to complete. And when a divorce is imminent, meeting with an estate planning attorney in Northwest Iowa is likely not at the top of anyone’s list of things to do. But, it very well should be. [Read More]

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Ethan Huizenga June 30, 2015

Considerations for Iowa Special Needs Planning

Families who have members with special needs have a variety of concerns that most of the population don’t deal with on a regular basis. Whether you’re traveling to occupational therapy appointments, choosing the most effective medical devices, or contemplating whether to “mainstream” your special needs child, there are so many parts and pieces to keep in mind. For that very reason, you may not have even considered the need to meet with a special needs planning lawyer in Northwest Iowa. [Read More]

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Ethan Huizenga June 9, 2015

Estate Planning for Single Parents

Single parents tend to work hard for their children. Every day it falls to the single parent to provide just about everything for his or her children, and with 13 million single parent households in the US, there are a whole lot of folks doing their best to provide everything their children need today. So it’s no wonder that those in Northwest Iowa want to protect the children they would leave behind should they be killed or become incapacitated. [Read More]

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Ethan Huizenga May 19, 2015
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