Estate Planning

People establishing estate plans have to make many difficult decisions. They have to decide who should inherit from their estate and how to handle their responsibilities after they pass. They typically also need to select individuals to hold positions of authority....

An executor or personal representative is a fiduciary tasked with estate administration. The term fiduciary refers to an individual in a position of authority and trust. They have an obligation to act in the best interests of estate beneficiaries. That fiduciary duty...

In Rhode Island, the probate process includes mechanisms to challenge the validity of a will through a will contest. This legal procedure ensures that a deceased creator’s testamentary document reflects their true intentions. Will contests safeguard against potential...

Navigating the complexities of estate planning can be a daunting task. From designating beneficiaries to organizing your assets, each decision holds weight. One critical element that often arises in the process is the choice between a revocable and an irrevocable...

An individual is likely to be navigating some level of debt when they pass away. For example, maybe an individual owns their home and owes property taxes. Maybe they haven’t paid their income taxes for the year. Perhaps they’ve been using their credit card for daily...

The executor or personal representative of an estate in Rhode Island is entrusted with a great deal of work. It will typically be their responsibility to secure the property of the deceased individual and to communicate with interested parties, including creditors and...

Every family is unique, and that means every family can have uniquely different problems and conflicts. Sometimes those problems or conflicts can cause family members to drift apart, fall out and lose touch entirely – and that can be a major difficulty when it comes...

Adults in Rhode Island, as throughout the rest of the country, often make an effort to avoid estate planning. People tend to view the process of thinking about their deaths or medical dependence as very unpleasant and would prefer to delay it as long as possible. Some...

Your parents left you significant holdings in a trust, with rules about how the money is supposed to be doled out over time – none of which trouble you much. What does trouble you, however, is the trustee they’ve chosen. Maybe the trustee is a relative, or maybe...

When someone dies in Rhode Island, most of their belongings become the property of their estate until the estate has gone through probate court. The beneficiaries of the estate will have to wait for access to or control over valuable property until the estate has...