HereToday

A celebration of life is a planned service that provides an opportunity for family and friends to pay tribute to you in a uniquely personal way. These services are commonly held after physical remains have been cared for through burial or cremation. As your loved ones will be grieving, a celebration of life can bring closure or guide your family and friends toward a path of healing; in fact, many loved ones find these services to be a cathartic experience.

Like almost everyone, you own a mobile device and computer. On these devices is a trove of digital assets, each requiring usernames and passwords. Digital assets can include social media accounts like Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn, to email, photos, videos, e-wallets, cryptocurrencies, text messages, and more. These assets can provide significant sentimental or financial value to you and your loved ones. As such, it’s important that you plan for scenarios where family members and an executor will need to gain access to these assets. HereToday offers a straightforward platform to safely guide access to your favorite digital assets for future preservation.

When you look in the mirror, generations of your family are staring back. Through genealogy, the study of ancestry, you can discover the history of your family. Exploring lineage, and tracking its history with a family tree, can be a gift for generations to come. A family tree is a chart, or map, of your lineage that traces family members as far back as records exist.

Your ancestors’ experiences have undoubtedly influenced who you are today. Although you never met your great-great grandparents, they helped shape your life; as will your life’s story impact future generations. Your story and family tree might not have intrinsic value; but understanding your ancestors’ lives, and the journey that led to you, can give your family a sense of belonging and roots.

Nearly everything in our lives has become digital, requires a user account, and certainly has a login username and password for your security. Everything. From a bank account to your cable subscription, even your frequent shopper grocery store account, our daily lives require passwords, PINs, or other means to validate ourselves. All of this technology is great when we’re alive, but what happens to these accounts after you pass on?

Let’s explore the benefits of combining HereToday and a password manager, as well as best practices for preparing an executor and beneficiaries on how to manage and shut down your accounts.

As a responsible, caring, and loving spouse and parent you’ve created an estate plan for your family. Upon your death, the executor and beneficiaries will have clear guidance of your intentions. The legality and distribution of your assets will be handled efficiently; however, the matter of the heart for those left behind is not so simple. Your passing will cause loved ones to grieve — their lives will be changed forever. Grief is universal. At some point in life, everyone will experience the death of a loved one, the end of a relationship, or even the end of a career. This post will explore the five stages of grief that a family member could experience upon your passing.

Everyone’s experience of grief is unique and personal. The grieving process has no timelines or schedules, nor is it neat or linear. Family members will cry, become angry, withdraw, and even feel empty. All of these emotions are not unexpected or wrong. While everyone will grieve differently, there are some universal commonalities expressed in the five stages of grief.

A trust is a common legal structure for transferring assets to beneficiaries upon your death. Depending upon the type of trust used, such as an irrevocable trust, it can enable your estate to avoid probate and reduce tax liabilities. Let’s briefly explore trusts and the tax obligations placed upon your beneficiaries.

What is a Trust?

As a fiduciary arrangement, a trust holds and distributes assets to beneficiaries at the time of your death. In most cases, trusts are established as part of an estate plan; with the intention of reducing estate and inheritance taxes as well as avoiding probate. The term probate means the legal court process of distributing assets upon your death. A trust also enables your beneficiaries to gain access to the assets more expeditiously than through a will. As the creator of the trust, or grantor, you’ll establish when and how your assets are passed down.

Gratitude is a spontaneous feeling and one of the most powerful generators of happiness. When you experience gratitude, your body and mind are aligned and at peace. Research has demonstrated that practicing mindfulness and gratitude, being present and making a conscious effort to be reflective on one’s life and to appreciate its blessings, can generate emotions of pure optimism and confidence.

We often focus on the negative aspects of our lives, like what could have been better; which can trigger feelings of stress, sadness, resentment, or even low self-esteem. In psychology, the reciprocal inhibition theory states you can’t feel two contradicting states at the same time. As an example, it’s impossible to be sad and grateful simultaneously. Fortunately, through the practice of mindful awareness, you can train your mind toward gratitude.

At the core of many families is the family home, the place of gatherings and celebrations. To ensure it continues to be filled with love and laughter for generations to come, you’d like to pass down the home to your children. We’ve outlined a few ways to transfer your real property, and perhaps most valuable assets, to loved ones.

An executor is legally responsible for sorting out your estate’s finances, including ensuring debts and taxes are paid in a timely manner; ultimately, what funds remain are distributed to your beneficiaries as outlined in your will. As this person will most likely be a grieving family member or close friend, the last thing they will want to deal with is a debt collector calling them to pay an outstanding debt. At these times, it’s good for the executor to know their rights when a collector contacts them.

Home is the center of everything in your family. It’s the place of gatherings, birthdays, holidays and celebrations. To ensure it continues as a place of love and laughter for generations to come, you’ll need an estate plan to help you effortlessly transfer your property to a beneficiary. An estate planning lawyer will propose the best solution for your beneficiaries to inherit property and to avoid probate court. Such options could include an enhanced life estate deed, transfer-on-death (TOD) deed , or Lady Bird deed, which might offer additional benefits over a traditional estate plan. A Lady Bird deed is an estate planning tool for eligible Medicaid recipients; where the deed protects a home as an inheritance from the Medicaid Estate Recovery Program.

A transfer-on-death (TOD) deed is an effortless way to transfer real estate to a loved one upon your death. Through a TOD deed, you’ll name a beneficiary to inherit the property upon your passing; most importantly without the need for probate court proceedings. A TOD deed must be signed, notarized, and filed in the county’s land records office. For an overview of TOD deeds, please review “Transfer-on-Death Deed for Real Estate.” As always, HereToday recommends you consult an attorney when creating any legal document.

You’ve raised a beautiful family in your home. To ensure it continues as a place of love and laughter for your family, you’ll want to efficiently transfer the property to a beneficiary. To do so, you need an estate plan. During the estate planning process, an attorney will explore ways a beneficiary can inherit the property and avoid probate court. If you own real property jointly with a spouse or partner, it’s a straightforward matter of holding the title in a manner that ensures the survivor inherits without probate. However, if you’re the sole owner of a property, you have a couple of options to consider: a living trust, or a transfer-on-death (TOD) deed, an effortless alternative for transferring real estate upon your death. With a TOD deed, you name a beneficiary who will inherit the property at your death; most importantly without the need for probate court proceedings.

Settling affairs after you’ve passed can become a lengthy and expensive probate process for your family. As a solution to this problem, HereToday’s platform enables you to safeguard your estate plans and other pertinent files in a single location; as well as release these documents to an executor and beneficiaries at the appropriate time. A critical element of estate planning is documenting your property. In our blog “The Importance of Defining Property” we explored the definition of property, where we state “property encompasses all of your assets when discussing the term within the context of estate planning. Property does not solely mean real estate holdings; but rather it includes both real property (real estate) and personal property.” While most people have property in a single location, some individuals have property in multiple states. This scenario can be challenging, but early preparation can help your executor avoid probate court.

In “Closing a Loved One’s Bank Accounts” we explored ways an executor or authorized member of a loved one’s estate would close single-holder and jointly-held bank accounts, and the benefits of using “small estates” to avoid probate. As an estate’s executor, you’ll be tasked with closing a loved one’s bank accounts. If no will or estate plan exists, a court-appointed administrator, such as a spouse, partner, family member, or significant beneficiary of the estate could be required to close the deceased’s accounts. In some states, such as California, a “small estate” provides beneficiaries with the option of using a simplified probate procedure.

The definition of a small estate depends on each state’s law. In some states, a small estate consists of a few thousand dollars; whereas in California, a small estate is considered less than $166,250. In these instances, a beneficiary can prepare a sworn statement asserting they’re entitled to funds in a bank account under the deceased’s will or state law. A bank should release applicable funds upon receipt of the out-of-court affidavit.

HereToday is proud to support “Rock in the Park”, a free concert in City Park Denver on August 15th.

The Parent Rocker Organization will host a live concert in Denver’s beautiful City Park Pavilion Bandshell for all ages. From 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM, some of the most talented musicians in Denver between the ages of 10 and 18 will take the stage to play hours of your favorite rock music. On stage will be the fabulous School of Rock Denver “House Band,” an advanced performance band of students who had to audition to participate.

This is an all-ages event so grab a picnic blanket and bring your friends, family and dogs for a fun outdoor concert. The concert is free but donations are welcome to support the Parent Rocker Organization scholarship program.

“HereToday enables young rockers’ parents and grandparents to secure legal documents, manage online accounts, and digitally create and share their legacy with loved ones. We’re proud to support these musicians and their families” said Morgan Davies, CEO of HereToday.

Parent Rocker Organization is a 501(c)(3) organization that has served Denver for a decade and was established to provide scholarships to kids of all ages who want to attend the School of Rock Denver.

As an executor or authorized member of a loved one’s estate, you’ll be tasked with closing their bank accounts. If there’s no will or estate plan, a spouse or partner, close family member, or significant beneficiary of the estate will be designated as a court-appointed administrator. Before connecting with your loved one’s bank, you’ll need verifiable proof of your authority to manage the deceased’s assets.

Closing a Single Holder Account

Each bank has its own rules regarding the closure of an account. In most cases, you’ll need to provide a bank with a copy of the death certificate and proof of authorization.

Meeting with an attorney to draft an estate plan will provide your loved one’s with peace of mind. However, to ensure the experience with an attorney goes smoothly, it might be good to understand the definition of a few legal terms. In this blog we’ll explore the meaning of “property” and how it pertains to your estate plan.

Property in an Estate Plan

If you don’t have a structured estate plan in place, settling affairs after you’ve passed could become a lengthy and expensive probate process for your executor and loved ones. An estate plan is a document that outlines who will inherit your assets after you’ve passed away.

Property encompasses all of your assets when discussing the term within the context of estate planning. Property does not solely mean real estate holdings; but rather it includes both real property (real estate) and personal property.