If you are currently in your retirement years and are still living in the home your children grew up in, there is little doubt that the home is full of memories for you, your children, and even your grandchildren. Consequently, you may wish to keep the home in the family and pass it down to your children. While that sounds like a simple enough goal, it can be emotionally, practically, and even legally complicated. To help you understand the hurdles and options available to you, a Grand Forks … [Read more...] about What Is the Best Way to Pass Down the Family Home to My Children in My Estate Plan?

One of the primary reasons to create an estate plan is to ensure that your assets are distributed according to your wishes following your death. As such, one of the first things you should do when you decide to create an estate plan is to decide who your beneficiaries will be. These are the people (or organizations, family pets etc.) who will inherit from your estate. What do you do, however, with a problematic beneficiary? For example, should you hand down a lump sum of money or other valuable … [Read more...] about How to Handle Problematic Beneficiaries in Your Estate Plan

Sadly, elder abuse happens all too often throughout the country and the world. As the older population continues to increase at a historical rate, concern over abuse and neglect of the elderly grows as well. We tend to envision physical abuse or emotional neglect when we think of elder abuse; however, financial exploitation is the most common form of elder abuse. To help you keep your elderly loved ones safe, the Grand Forks elder law attorneys at German Law discuss financial exploitation of the … [Read more...] about Financial Exploitation of the Elderly in North Dakota

If you own a family farm, there is a good chance that the land and the business have been in your family for several generations. Eventually, you will pass the farm down to future generations or sell it. That could happen when you retire, die, or become incapacitated. Many farmers, however, fail to include their farming business in their estate plan, resulting in the loss of money or loss of the entire farm when something happens to them. To make sure that your farm and your family are protected … [Read more...] about Estate Planning for Farmers

The earlier you begin planning for retirement the less you will need to save in the long run. In fact, you might be amazed to find out what a huge difference it makes to start saving earlier in your working career. To ensure that your retirement plan works as intended, however, it should be created in conjunction with your overall estate plan. To help ensure that you are ready for retirement, a Grand Forks retirement planning attorney at German Law offers 10 retirement planning tips you can’t … [Read more...] about Top 10 Retirement Planning Tips You Can’t Afford to Ignore

People in the U.S. are fortunate to have a longer average life expectancy than people in most other countries. Living longer, however, comes at a price. It often means spending more time battling the aging process and increases the odds of needing a caregiver or nursing home. If you find yourself headed toward the need for a caregiver, your initial preference is probably to have a family caregiver take care of you at home. While this is certainly understandable, the Grand Forks elder law … [Read more...] about Why a Family Caregiver May Not Be the Best Choice

While members of the LGBTQIA+ community and their supporters have celebrated several important legal victories in recent years (such as the right to marry), there is still work to be done to create true equality. In the meantime, the Grand Forks estate planning attorneys at German Law offer ideas on how you can celebrate LGBTQIA+ Pride Month in North Dakota this June. History of LGBTQIA+ Pride Month LGBTQIA+ History Month is celebrated every October while LGBTQIA+ Pride Month takes place each … [Read more...] about Celebrate LGBTQIA+ Month in North Dakota

National Stroke Awareness Month is observed in the United States each year during the month of May. The goal of National Stroke Awareness Month is to create public awareness about stroke risk factors and to lessen the occurrence of stroke in the U.S. This year, the Grand Forks elder law attorneys at German Law offer suggestions on how to get involved in National Stroke Awareness Month. A History of Stroke According to the American Heart Association, someone in the United States has a stroke … [Read more...] about May Is National Stroke Awareness Month