A family called me after losing their mother. She had a will, properly signed and perfectly valid. But it didn’t tell anyone who had legal authority to be with the ... Read more

There’s a phrase most of us remember from decades past: “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk.” It was simple, direct, and it worked, because it reframed a difficult conversation as ... Read more

If your baby was born on or after January 1, 2025, the federal government has set aside $1,000 for your child. The account is available now. Contributions opened on July ... Read more

You’ve brought it up before. Maybe it came up after watching a friend go through something hard, a probate process that dragged on for years, or a family left scrambling ... Read more

The call came four days after her husband died. A credit card company. Forty-one thousand dollars on his account. The representative told her she was responsible for the balance and ... Read more

A client forwarded me a CNBC article last week with a note: “Does this affect our trust?” It was a reasonable question. The article described a provision buried in the ... Read more

She found the notebook in the top drawer of her mother’s desk. Six pages. Every account. Every password. Username, password, recovery question. Her mother had been organized her whole life, ... Read more

If you are a divorced father, you already know something that most married fathers don’t: showing up for your kids takes more deliberate effort than it looks like from the ... Read more

If you are a stepfather, you know the difference between the legal definition of father and the real one. The real one shows up. He learns the allergies, the fears, ... Read more

There are two kinds of fathers. The first kind coaches the games, makes it to the school plays, stays up late helping with the projects, and loves his family in ... Read more