FAITH, FAMILY, AND THE FARM
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Orange City Estate Planning Blog

3 Things To Do Before You Retire

One of the biggest threats to your financial security isn’t the markets, interest rates or even your job security. It is a lack of preparation, particularly for unexpected events, that usually leaves investors reeling when markets swoon. If you haven’t protected yourself from the potential downsides in life, after all, then it’s difficult to maneuver when the unforeseen strikes.

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The Biggest Job in Probate Court

There are several responsibilities that come along with being a personal representative in Northwest Iowa, and there are personal qualities which may make one person a better choice than others. For example, a good personal representative will have a sense of fairness and will be able to remain impartial when it comes to following the decedent’s instructions. [Read More]

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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 If you decide to make changes and create a new will later, the previous version is no longer in effect.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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High Five: The Zen Guide to Planning for a Nursing Home Stay

If you’re dealing with a nursing home, it will quickly become clear that the options for paying the care bill are dizzying. Paying out of pocket is cost prohibitive. Long-term care insurance is probably not workable. For many, that leaves Medicaid, but those rules are spread over hundreds of pages of federal and state statutes, regulations, and policy manuals. What you need is an oasis from the stress, not the exponentially increasing stress that comes from trying to make sense of all those rules. Don’t despair. You can achieve calm in this whirlwind. Follow these five steps and you’ll soon find that the zen of nursing home planning is easily reached. [Read More]

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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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Do You Know How to Manage Your Inheritance?

Receiving an inheritance is both an honor and a responsibility, and Northwest Iowa probate and trust administration lawyers constantly see individuals who are just not ready to take that on appropriately. The temptation to simply spend away an inheritance as “bonus” money can be strong, but there are a whole lot of very practical means by which to manage the funds for your own future. [Read More]

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