Service Areas
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Is North Carolina Probate Always Required
Is North Carolina Probate Always Required from Mark Costley After your death, the joint tenant would assume ownership of the entirety of the property outside of probate. Learn more about North Carolina Probate Always Required in this presentation.
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Elder Law & Medicaid Definitions
Community Spouse: The spouse who does not need long-term or nursing home care. This spouse continues to live in the community. Countable Assets: Assets that are not exempt are countable. This includes, but is not limited to, checking and savings accounts, CDs, money markets, stocks, mutual funds, and second cars. Deficit Reduction Act of 2005:…
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Durham, North Carolina Pet Planning Services
Pet planning is important if you are planning your estate as a pet owner. While it is true that humans generally outlive their pets, thousands of animals are left homeless each year after their owners pass away. Pet ownership can be especially meaningful for senior citizens who are experiencing loneliness and a lack of purpose.…
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Litigation
We represent individuals and businesses in civil litigation and arbitration throughout North Carolina. With years of experience handling disputes of all sizes in state and federal courts, including the North Carolina Business Court, we pride ourselves on offering our clients unparalleled efficiency, flexibility and responsiveness. Examples of our experience include: Contract disputes Claims for fraud,…
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Legacy Real Estate Trust
At Clarity Legal Group®, one caution we always offer to our clients is that planning based only on your current circumstances is likely to be short-sighted. For this reason, we typically recommend against a Will or Trust that gives particular financial accounts or parcels of real estate to one child or the other. Things change…
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Estate & Trust Litigation
Unfortunately, estates and trusts can be particularly prone to disputes. Family tensions, poorly drafted documents, changed circumstances and large amounts of money can all cause conflicts to develop and escalate quickly between fiduciaries, beneficiaries and third parties. Whenever possible, Clarity Legal Group® strives to help resolve these conflicts informally in order to save time, money,…
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Digital Estate Planning
If you are reading this page, then you almost certainly have a digital estate. And if you are like most people, you haven’t done anything to plan for your “digital afterlife.” Planning for the digital afterlife is a fairly new concept, but it dovetails with many of the traditional estate planning concerns our clients have,…
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How the New Estate Tax Exclusion Affects Your Estate Plan
In 2001, Congress passed a law that made big changes to the estate tax. It raised the amount that could pass without tax, increasing it in steps from $675,000 in 2001, to $3.5 million in 2009. Then, in 2010, the estate tax was repealed for one year only-2010. The same law also said that the…
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Trust Administration & Probate Definitions
Agent: A person authorized to act on behalf of another person, the “principal.” Appraiser: Determines the value of hard to value assets – such as a business, real estate, or various types of collections – for tax purposes, as well as to assist the trustee in establishing values for distributions. Beneficiary: A person entitled to…
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IRA & Retirement Planning
Retirement Plans and Estate Planning At first glance, the concept of Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA’s), 401(k)’s and other retirement plans seems simple enough: A structured way to save for your golden years while deferring taxes on your growing nest egg. Unfortunately, that simple idea becomes one of the most complex areas of estate planning once…
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Incapacity Planning Definitions
Power of Attorney: You empower someone else to act on your behalf. Technically, this person becomes your “Attorney in Fact,” but is more commonly referred to as your “Agent.” General Power of Attorney: Provides your Agent with broad authority. It says that at any time – and in just about any capacity – your Agent…
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Incapacity Planning
Incapacity planning is a broad area of law that covers how you are cared for if you become physically or mentally unable to care for yourself. The type of care could range from simple tasks like buying groceries, paying bills, and handling financial matters to more important decisions such as selling real estate, gifting assets…
Free Estate Planning Worksheet
There’s a lot that goes into setting up a comprehensive estate plan, but with our FREE worksheet, you’ll be one step closer to getting yourself and your family on the path to a secure and happy future.