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Getting divorced is very stressful. Getting divorced during a pandemic is even more stressful. Courts have been closed. Business and schools have been impacted. Your job may have been affected. You want to move forward with your life, but it seems like so many things are out of your control. What can you do? You...

Many people depend on Social Security benefits: retirees, people who are disabled, widows and widowers. Unfortunately, many people overlook Social Security benefits when going through the estate planning process. An experienced estate planning attorney knows it’s critical to protect these benefits if a Social Security recipient ever becomes incapacitated or otherwise cannot make decisions on...

This is an unprecedented situation for those with parenting time and custody orders. Stay at home orders, e-learning and temporary business closures are affecting many parents and children. Here are some tips for co-parenting: Consistency is key! Try to keep your regular parenting time schedule, including summer schedule. If possible, utilize the other parent for...

The phrase “do not bury your head in the sand” refers to an ostrich hiding its head in the ground when a predator approaches mistakenly believing such “hiding” will keep the ostrich safe. Think about a child who believes you actually disappear when she covers her face while playing peakaboo. As adults, we know our...

In response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), Indiana Governor Eric J. Holcomb declared a statewide public health emergency on March 6, 2020. On March 23, Governor Holcomb issued a "shelter-in-place" order (Executive Order 20-08) urging Indiana residents to stay home unless travel is essential. For most people, this simply means to stay home unless traveling to work,...

No one likes to think about it, but tragedy can strike a young family. That’s why life insurance is important. If one parent dies, life insurance funds provide for the ongoing care of the surviving children. If both parents die, the money provides for their children through young adulthood. In most cases, term life insurance...

The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019 became law on December 20, 2019. It's designed to prevent older Americans from outliving their assets. The new law will have an impact on estate plans involving IRA accounts, however. An estate planning strategy called a "stretch IRA" allows IRA account holders to...

Not everyone can afford to buy a house, either due to limited income or a poor credit rating. Indiana residents dealing with financial constraints may have other options, however. A process dubbed rent-to-own may be the best option, according to The Street, a personal finance publication. Rent-to-own agreements only apply to tenants who have already rented...

When it comes to estate planning, determining how to manage your health care in the latter years of your life, and your money and property after death, the keyword is planning. The goal is to refine an estate plan into details that protect your assets in retirement and benefit loved ones when you’re gone, according...

Think of a living trust as a short cut for loved ones when you’re gone. Establishing a living trust in Indiana is a way to let heirs avoid the deliberations of probate court and claim assets left to them by the deceased, according to finance.yahoo.com. In contrast, the absence of a living trust when someone dies...