You Have Life Insurance. Here’s What Your Family Actually Needs
You bought life insurance because you wanted the people you love to be protected. But the policy you chose years ago may no longer match the family, finances, or estate plan you have today. Here’s what a life insurance beneficiary review can reveal before your family needs the money. Read more…
Estate Planning for Colorado Gun Owners: 4 Documents You Can't Afford to Skip
If you own firearms in Colorado, you may already understand the importance of safe storage, responsible ownership, and knowing the law. But have you thought about what happens to your firearms if you die or become unable to manage your affairs?
How to Avoid the Biggest Colorado Trademark Pitfalls: Why Your LLC Name Isn't Enough
You’ve done it. You’ve filed your paperwork with the Colorado Secretary of State, received that satisfying confirmation email, and your LLC is officially "active." You’ve got the name you wanted, and it feels like your business is finally real. It’s an exciting moment, and you should be proud of that milestone.
Your Trust Could Reach the 37% Tax Bracket at Just $16,000
You built your IRA to give your family security and opportunity. But if it passes to a trust, SECURE Act rules can force withdrawals faster while retained income reaches the 37% federal bracket at just $16,000 in 2026. Here's what to review before one form changes what your wealth can do. Read more...
You Made a Will. Here’s What It Can’t Do.
You did it. You made a will. That matters more than you know. But here's what most families don't realize until it's too late: making a will is the first step in protecting your family, not the last. Here's the checklist that comes next. Read more...
The Cosby Show Made Him Famous. His Estate Plan Failed His Family. Here’s What I Would Have Done
Malcolm-Jamal Warner, best known as Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show, died in 2025. One year later, his widow alleges $1.2 million in unfulfilled premarital obligations: a life insurance policy never purchased, a Roth IRA never funded, and anniversary payments never made. A nine-year-old daughter is at the center of the dispute. Here’s what more thorough follow-through on the planning could have helped prevent.
Make-A-Will Month Is Here. But a Will Isn't a Plan
August is Make-A-Will Month, and if you've been meaning to get your affairs in order, this is your reminder. But before you assume that getting a will means your family is protected, there's something most people don't know about what a will actually does and doesn't do. Read more...
Friends Don't Let Friends Go Without an Estate Plan
You've heard the phrase: "Friends don't let friends drive drunk." The same logic applies to estate planning. According to Caring.com, only 24 percent of Americans have a will. For some of the people you love most, you may be the only person in their life who will ever bring this up. Here's how to do it without making it weird, and what to tell them about what real planning looks like.
August is National Make a Will Month, which means this is exactly the right time.
Trump Accounts: What Every Parent of a Baby Born 2025–2028 Needs to Know
The federal government is depositing $1,000 into savings accounts for every baby born between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2028. The account is called a Trump Account, contributions opened July 4, 2026, and most families have not yet taken the step to claim it. Here is what it is, how to open one, and what it means for your family's plan. Read more...
When Your Spouse Won't Get on Board with Estate Planning: What to Do Now
You've raised it before. Your spouse keeps saying "not now." But every week that passes without a plan is a week your family's future depends on chance instead of intention. Here's what to do when you're not on the same page, and what you can start doing today. Read more...
What Happens to Debt When You Die: What Families Must Know
Most families believe they will inherit their loved one’s debt. Most debt collectors count on that fear. Your debt does not automatically transfer to your heirs, but it shapes how much they receive and what the estate must pay before they get anything. Here is exactly what happens and what your family needs to know before the collectors call. Read more…
The New Tax Law and Your Family's Trust: What to Know Now
The One Big Beautiful Bill raised the estate tax exemption to $15 million per person. That provision made headlines everywhere. A second one didn't: a deduction limitation buried in a Congressional footnote that tax lawyers say may create double taxation inside family trusts, including special needs trusts with as little as $400,000 in assets. Here is what families with trusts need to know right now. Read more…
Digital Estate Planning: Why Passwords Aren't Enough
A list of passwords is no longer enough after a death. Two-factor authentication has changed digital estate planning. Here is what families need now. Read more…
Divorce Doesn't Update Your Estate Plan: Here's What Does
Whether you had an estate plan going into your marriage or not, your divorce changed everything. The settlement resolved custody and assets. It did not address what happens to your children if you die. For divorced and separated fathers, that gap almost always exists, even when it feels like the plan is in place. Here is what actually needs to be updated. Read more...
The Father the Law Doesn't See: What Stepfathers and Father Figures Need to Know
He shows up for every game, knows the bedtime routine by heart, and considers these children his family. The children consider him theirs. But under the law, he doesn't exist as a parent at all. This Father's Day, here is what every stepfather and father figure needs to know. Read more...
The Question Every Father Thinks He's Answered (But Hasn't)
Father's Day is a celebration of presence. But the fathers who've truly done right by their families aren't just the ones who showed up every day. They're the ones who made sure their family would be protected whether they were there or not. If you haven't answered the one question that matters most, this is where to start. Read more…
Who Would Raise Your Kids If You Couldn't? (What You Don't Know About the First 72 Hours)
You've thought about who would raise your children if something happened to you. But thinking about it and actually naming someone in a legal document are two very different things. If your family doesn't have an answer in writing, and something unexpected happens to you, a judge who has never met you or your children will make that decision. Here's what you need to know, and what you can do about it today. Read more...
No One Warned Her About the Widow Penalty. Her First Tax Return Did
When a spouse dies, most surviving partners expect grief. They do not expect a tax bill. The "widow penalty" is a real and largely unrecognized consequence of losing a spouse that can cost a surviving partner thousands of dollars more every year in taxes and Medicare premiums, at the worst possible moment in their life. Here is what it is, who it affects, and what you can do now, while there is still time to plan. Read more...
He Sold His Company for $1.2 Billion. He Died Without an Estate Plan.
Tony Hsieh sold Zappos to Amazon for $1.2 billion and built one of the most admired companies in America. When he died at 46 without a will or a trust, his family was left to sort out an estate worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Publicly, slowly, and painfully. What happened next is a lesson everyone who has something to protect should read. Read more...
When "No Will" Becomes a Family Crisis
You may think estate planning is about who gets what after you die. It is also about who stays safe, housed, informed, and protected in the days after a loss. The reported story of Marie-Thérèse Ross-Mahé shows how grief can turn into legal chaos when a family is left without a clear plan. Read more…