Integrating intra‑family loans in estate planning into your overall strategy requires a nuanced understanding of tax law, fiduciary duties, and family dynamics. When approached correctly, these loans complement other techniques discussed on this website—from trust decanting and charitable giving strategies to choosing the right business entity and planning for pets—and provide a flexible tool for helping family members while preserving your legacy.

Estate planning for partners without children is a chance to craft a legacy that reflects your values, protects your partner, and honors the people and causes you cherish. Without direct heirs, couples must decide who will inherit their assets, how to handle incapacity, who will manage their estate, and how to provide for each other’s financial security. By creating wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and beneficiary designations, you gain control over your property.

A trust protector in estate planning is a modern tool that offers flexibility and oversight without compromising control. By carefully defining the protector’s powers, selecting a qualified and impartial individual, and integrating the role into your trust documents, you can ensure your trust adapts to changing laws, family dynamics and economic conditions.

Learn how Qualified Personal Residence Trusts (QPRTs) can reduce estate taxes and preserve your home for heirs. We explain how QPRTs work, the tax benefits and risks, and offer guidance on choosing the right term, addressing maintenance costs and insurance, and combining QPRTs with other estate‑planning tools. Updated for August 2025, this guide reflects the new $13.99 million estate tax exemption and the looming rise to $15 million in 2026.

The SECURE Act and SECURE 2.0 represent the most significant changes to retirement account inheritance in decades. For trustees administering special needs trusts, these laws create opportunities to preserve tax benefits, maintain public assistance eligibility, and incorporate charitable legacies. They also require action: updating trust documents, coordinating beneficiary designations, and educating families. Staying informed allows trustees to navigate these rules confident

Staying on top of your estate plan is essential for protecting your family and preserving wealth. This guide explains why experts recommend reviewing your plan every three to five years or whenever a major life event occurs. Learn how marriage, divorce, births, deaths, new assets, relocation and tax law changes—including the 2026 increase of the federal estate tax exemption to $15 million palmcitylawyer.com —should trigger updates, and discover practical steps for keeping up

Long term care costs are rising and Medicaid is a lifeline for many seniors, but qualifying without spending down your life savings requires careful planning. This guide explains Medicaid eligibility rules, including the 2025 asset and income limits and spousal allowances, the five year look back period and penalty calculations and proven strategies like spending down, income only trusts and irrevocable Medicaid asset protection trusts. Learn how early planning can shield you

With nursing home costs soaring and Medicaid eligibility rules tightening, many families worry about losing their life savings to long‑term care. A Medicaid asset protection trust (MAPT) is an irrevocable trust designed to shield a home and other assets from being spent down while still qualifying for Medicaid benefits. This comprehensive guide explains how MAPTs work, the five‑year look‑back rule, state variations, potential drawbacks, and the importance of early planning.

Preserving a vacation home for future generations requires more than just passing down the deed. By talking to heirs, carefully choosing the right trust structure and establishing clear rules and funding mechanisms, families can transform a cherished cabin into a lasting legacy. Whether you choose a revocable trust, irrevocable trust, cabin trust or QPRT, the key is proactive planning and open communication. With the right structure in place, your family’s home away from home