Please consider joining us at the May 20, 2022 Hoosier Hills Estate Planning Council Seminar. The free public session titled “Introduction to Estate Planning” begins 11:00 am and runs until Noon in the Duke Room at the Monroe Convention Center.

On March 17, the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service announced that the federal income tax filing due date for individuals for the 2020 tax year will be automatically extended from April 15, 2021, to May 17, 2021.

When you think of a student’s to-do list prior to leaving for college, you may not have considered your student’s estate plan. However, it should be.

In the current low interest rate environment, cemetery trusts may be struggling to generate enough income to cover the cemetery’s maintenance and care expenses.

With the current pandemic, the issue of electronic execution of will, trusts, and other estate planning documents has risen to the forefront. There is already legislation in place in Indiana regarding electronic execution of such estate planning documents.

Not all forms of ownership of real property offer the same rights and obligations to the owners of the property. The type of ownership of real property determines how the property is titled, the rights each owner has in the property, and how ownership in the property can be terminated.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is warning individuals to remain vigilant for scams related to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

States differ on their procedures and policies pertaining to the adoption of an individual over the age of majority. In Indiana, for purposes of adoption, a person reaches the age of majority and is considered an “adult” at age eighteen.

Sometimes the need arises for a guardianship to be filed for the protection of an incapacitated adult or a minor child. A guardianship is a legal relationship granted by the court that provides the guardian with the ability to act on behalf of the protected person.

There are several reasons why an individual may want to change their name or the name of their child. Sometimes, the law allows a person to change their name simply because an event has occurred, such as upon a marriage, divorce, or adoption.

Retirement plans for most of us are an important part of our estate plan. It may not be exciting but tax law changes to retirement plans can have a lasting and substantial affect on your retirement and estate planning.

Indiana law allows the use of power of attorneys. In general, a power of attorney allows you to grant authority to another individual to make decisions on your behalf.

A total of 143 million American consumers’ personal information was stolen through the Equifax data breach. Hackers infiltrated data systems that included names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, driver’s license numbers, and credit card numbers.

Finalizing your divorce should not end when you get your divorce decree. It is likely that major changes need to be made to your estate plan after you finalize a divorce.

Whether a parent is making an estate plan, preparing for international travel, or facing a deportation, parents should address the issue of who will care for their children if they become incapacitated or pass away.

A critical part of any estate planning process is identifying your assets. Typically, this process starts by listing real estate, accounts, vehicles, business interests, and a wide variety of other items to be considered upon death.

A life estate creates the right for an individual to occupy and use property during their lifetime, or the lifetime of another (known as a life estate autrie vie), while being owned by a different individual.

Indiana's legislature is currently considering how it will implement the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act of 2013, more commonly known as the ABLE Act.