The Law Offices of Brenton C. McWilliams – Blog
The Law Offices of Brenton C. McWilliams
Welcome to our blog. Here, you will find articles on topics relating to estate planning, elder law and probate.
Information for Renters with Storm Damaged Rental Homes or Apartments
I’ve been getting some legal questions from renters (tenants) with damaged homes about the status of the lease, deposits, etc. Above all, I encourage landlords and tenants to work together, be reasonable with each other and understand that this is a difficult situation for each side. The tenant has lost their property and place to live, and the landlord is faced with both the financial loss of the rent and damage and the difficult process of repairing and rebuilding the property. With that said, here is some information that may be helpful for residential renters in Alabama:
What is the spousal elective share in Alabama?
The spousal elective share is the right of a surviving spouse to claim a certain portion of their spouse’s estate on the death of the spouse. In other words, when one member of a married couple dies, the widowed spouse has the right to claim a certain portion of the deceased spouse’s estate. The intent is to preserve a minimum portion of the estate for the support of the widowed spouse. In Alabama, the spousal elective share is a statutory right codified as part of the Alabama Probate Code, Ala. Code § 43-8-70:
Guide to Family Limited Liability Companies (LLC)
Summary: A family limited liability company provides an effective solution to many of the problems which arise from ownership of property by multiple family members. The family limited liability company provides consolidated management and a mechanism for decision making with respect to the property, protection of the property from the individual family members’ creditors, and a structure to keep the property within the family by extremely limiting the means by which the property may be transferred to a person outside the family.
Changes to Planning for Retirement Accounts Brought on By the SECURE Act
New federal legislation this year, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement or SECURE Act brought about several changes to retirement accounts including IRAs and 401(k)s. The changes include an increase in the age for the start of required minimum distributions, an increase in the age cap for contributions to a traditional IRA, and some tweaks to the distribution options for death beneficiaries.
58 Words Commonly Used in Estate Planning and Estate Administration with Definitions
In this post, I provide a list and explanation of 58 commonly used terms in estate planning and estate administration.
Accounting: A report of transactions taking place during a certain time period. An accounting may be provided to the court or to individuals such as beneficiaries of a trust. Guardians, conservators and estate administrators are typically required to submit an accounting to probate court.
