Is There A Mistake In Your Will?

A Last Will and Testament is a critical component to your comprehensive estate plan. Make sure it comply's with Pennsylvania's complex and changing laws.

Contesting A Will or Estate Plan Under Pennsylvania Law

A comprehensive estate plan can do many things for you and your family BUT if it is not done correctly it may equal an expensive lawsuit. Bullet proof your will

Estate Planning For Second Marriages and Blended Families

Having a second marriage and a blended family is a reality today for many of us. Find out what you can do to incorporate this into your estate plan.

Understanding Critical Trust Language

We want to help you understand critical trust language that to many seems foreign at times. You can leave your interpreter at home after reading our trust guide

Why Do Wealthy Never Own Life Insurance Outright?

A life insurance trust can help save your heirs money. Find out about many common trusts, what they can do for you, and how you can get started.

Does Your Will Have The Right Stuff When It Comes To Your "Stuff"

A specific clause that deals with tangible personal property in your will is an important componenet to an Effective Will. Find out what tangible property is?

Make Sure Your Will is Up To Date-Who Wants Family Drama?

Are all your children in your will? Make sure your will has the correct family information. It may seem fairly unimportant but the consequences can be startling

Find Out What Trust Lawyers Know About Trusts That You Don't

Trust law can be a complicated field to navigate through so we wrote a guide explaining the many types and uses of trusts to help you find the right trust.

What To Do About Tricky Trusts

The more trust language you understand the more likely you will have the right trust in place for you or the better you will understand your role in a trust.

How To Choose A Trustee: Trustee vs. Corporate Trustee

A trustee is a vital component of any well drafted trust. Make sure you have trustee in place that will maximize the benefits of the trust and minimize excess waste. Find out what type of trustee is right for your trust.

Spring Break To Do's- Get a Power Of Attorney For Your College Student

It is almost Spring Break! This is a great time to get your college age child a power of attorney, poa. Find out why a POA is a critical tool to being able to make financial or medical decisions for your child.

Estate Planning Under the New Estate Law - Have Less Than One Million Dollars? What Now?

The federal estate tax law changed radically for 2011 and 2012. Wondering whether or not you should wait or make changes? This article walks you through the issues if you have a small estate.

Estate Planning for the end of The Year -2010 and Beyond Part 1 of 10

Are you worried about your will, trust, power of attorney or estate planning before the end of the year/ Here are 10 estate planning, will. and trust tips for the end of the year -2010 and beyond

Equine and Pet Trusts and Wills - Should Your Pets Be In Your Estate Plan?

Do you need a will or trust to provide for the care of your horse, cat, or dog? Estate plans now often cover our pets and live stock.

What is a $100,000 Charitable Trust Worth 91 Years Later?

Interested in setting up a charitable trust? Curious about how it can grow and what a trust can do? In this case, the court uses cy pres to keep a trust going for it's intended purpose..

When Do Your Children Need A Will Or Estate Planning? The Answer Might Surprise You

Many parents wonder when their children need to do a will, trust, power of attorney, or basic estate planning. In this brief essay, attorney David M. Frees reviews the reasons for your children to consider wills or other estate planning documents and whether or not you should pay for them.

The Trust Protector: Why Have One and more...

One of the best or worst estate planning techniques available today is the use of a trust protector for your trusts under your will or for your irrevocable trust. How can it be both the best and the worst?....

Why Update Your Will? In This Case Your Head Might Be Frozen

It is important to update your will. When your wishes change you need to go through the formality of changing your will. See this case in which a woman's wishes that her head be frozen were honored despite a challenge to her will...

Why Old Trusts Might Cost Yor Estate Money and Why You Still Need A Will

If you created a trust to try to save money, you might be surprised to know that the attorney general of Pennsylvania shut down several trust mills that used non lawyers or lawyers that the client never saw to create trusts that might not work properly and which might actually raise your estate expenses. Some of these plans also lacked...

Do On Line Wills Really Work? LAwyers vs. The Wall Street Journal Consumer Columnist on Self Help Wills

This is a lively debate about whether or not you should use an on line will service or a self help will program to do your own will. The Wall Street Journal reporter may have blown this one. You decide.

Edward Kennedy's Will and The Estate Planning Lessons You Should Heed

Senator Kennedy's will was recently posted.  If you are interested in the contents and a copy of his will as well as a number of estate planning lessons you can learn from Kennedy's planning, please review the will and my article on it.  Click here to see Senator Edward Kennedy's will and my commentary on the strategies that Senator Kennedy used in his estate planning.

David M. Frees III, Esquire
Chairman:  Unruh, Turner, Burke and Frees
Trust, Estate, and Wealth Preservation Section

Protecting Your Estate Plan and Will From Challenges

Worried about a challenge to your will or estate plan?
In a second marriage?
Have children by multiple marriages?
Are you disinheriting one or more heirs?
Are your heirs not being treated equally?

Then the chances of a will challenge are dramtically higher.

For more information on the many ways that you can protect your will, trust, and estate plan from litigation and challenges, visit my newest video blog artcile on the topic of will attcks and challenges.

Click here for specific tools that you can use to limit or prevent successful challenges to your will, trust, or estate plan.

David M. Frees III, Esquire
David Frees focuses his practice on helping affluent families, executives, and business owners to
achieve their specific estate planning goals with an emphasis on tax planning, asset protection planning, and
practical ways to preserve and protect your legacy.

David Frees maintains offices in Malvern, West Chester, and Phoenixville and serves clients throughout Pennsylvania and especially in Chester County, Bucks and Berks counties, Montgomery, Delaware, and Philadelphia counties.

Is Your Estate Plan or Will Bullet Proof? Preventing Successful Will Challenges

This blog contains a series of videos that discuss topics related to
making your estate plan more bullet proof to challenge.
While no single technique can make a plan impossible to successfully
challenge, bu combining techniques you can make it much harder for
anyone to successfully challenge your wishes.

And, while anyone can hire a lawyer and attempt to challenge your
will, trust, or estate plan, certain practices will make the success
of such challenges much less likely.

It is up to you and your advisors to make your estate plan
bullet prooof to challenge now, while you are alive, competant,
and well.

Make sure you watch the entire playlist of techniques to stop
will and estate plan challenges, by clicking "Play All Videos on
Protecting Your Estate Plan From Challenge"



David M Frees III
Preventing successful will challenges

610-933-8069
dfrees@utbf.com

Why You Need A Will - According To USA Today

In a recent USA Today article "Who Needs To Do A Will?  You Do"  Christine Dugas does a nice review of the reasons for doing a will, when you should do a will, who needs a will, and the common mistakes and solutions in basic estate planning.  So if you have been thinking or wondering about a will, then this quick review of the issues should help.

In short, if you are over twenty-five, are single or married, you should read the article and consider a will, power of attorney, living will, and related documents such as trusts.  This is especially true if you have children, you're in a same sex relationship, or your're in a relationship but not yet married.

For more information about how to do a will that works click here.

David M. Frees III
610-933-8069

Why Your Will Might Not Work?

In Pennsylvania your will may work. This article explains who has the right to inherit and what you need to know to protect your wishes.  Spouses, children, grandchildren, and even children of deceased children may have a right to a part of your estate. A will should be carefully created and reviewed periodically to avoid someone recieving part of your estate without your consent.

To read the entire artile click here.