By Preparing an Estate Plan AVOID A FAMILY FEUD
Losing a parent is never easy. While working with families in the probate realm, we’ve often noticed that parents are the glue that holds families together. When one parent passes away, you still have mom or dad there to help the children keep it together, but things become much more difficult when the surviving parent dies. It’s common for siblings to begin fighting over who inherits what. No family wants to experience this situation, and many wonder what they can do to ensure everything goes as smoothly as possible without any risk of infighting between family members. The best solution is to create an estate plan.
With an estate plan, you can lay out your wishes in a will to determine who inherits what. This can help prevent siblings from fighting over specific assets. If you’re worried that fighting will still occur, you can talk with your heirs to inform them of what they will receive and why. You can also give certain items before you pass if you worry it could cause an argument later. Communication is vital in these scenarios, so try your best to inform your heirs who will receive what so no surprises are waiting for them when they should be grieving. If the parents pass away before they can create an estate plan, or if their estate plan does not cover all of their assets, it becomes the children’s responsibility to ensure everything stays cordial. They can make this situation easier on themselves by utilizing a few different tactics. They can take turns picking their desired items, with the oldest child picking first and so on, or whatever works best for the family. Another option is to randomly distribute the items by writing each item on a piece of paper and having each heir take turns pulling pieces out of a hat. This doesn’t guarantee that your family will avoid fighting, but it does make everything fairer for everyone involved. An estate plan is essential if you want to give yourself and your family peace of mind about the future. Give us a call if you have any questions about creating or updating your estate plan.
Goat Cheese and Thyme Stuffed Chicken
TAKE A BREAK
Inspired by TasteOfHome.com
INGREDIENTS •
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts 3.5 oz firm goat cheese 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, plus 2–3 sprigs
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4 pieces of thin-sliced bacon
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Olive oil
2 zucchinis, thinly sliced 1 large tomato, thinly sliced
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 375 F. 2. Split the chicken breasts almost in half along the long side, open them like a book, then flatten the sides out. 3. Put the goat cheese on the “open book” side of the chicken and sprinkle with thyme leaves. Fold the chicken over to enclose the cheese, then wrap each breast in 2 slices of bacon. 4. Lightly oil a shallow gratin or casserole dish, then arrange overlapping rows of zucchini and tomatoes on the bottom. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, then set chicken on top. Place thyme sprigs on chicken. 5. Bake for 40–45 minutes until the bacon is crisp and golden and the zucchini is tender.
BEACH BURGERS CYCLING FATHER
JUNETEENTH MUSIC PEARL PRIDE
REFUGEE SAILING SOLSTICE WATERSKI
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