Estate planning does not last forever in many cases. If you do it well before you need it, don't assume that the plan will stand the test of time. It may need to get updated. The truth is that life changes, sometimes dramatically, and your plan needs to change as...
Northern Virginia Law Blog
What debtors need to know about their rights
According to a 2018 study, the average person in the United States has $38,000 in debt not including a mortgage. Virginia residents who are unable to pay a debt balance may receive phone calls from creditors or agencies. While it may be stressful to receive those...
Bankruptcy may provide protection from collection agencies
Many Virginians struggling with overwhelming debt face creditor calls, collection letters and threats of lawsuits. This situation may encourage people to file for personal bankruptcy. After all, filing for Chapter 7 puts an automatic halt to any efforts to collect the...
Are you too young to consider estate planning?
As a young adult, your major concerns until recently may not have revolved around what would happen to you, your assets or your family in the event of your death. After all, you, like most young Virginia residents, likely believe that you have decades of life ahead of...
Trusts can provide greater protection
When Virginia residents think about their mortality, they often want to make sure that their assets can be disbursed according to their wishes. They also frequently want to pass on the vast majority of their assets to their heirs, rather than seeing a large portion...
Debt reduction should prioritize interest and not payments
Tens of millions of people in Virginia and around the country are struggling with overwhelming debt. Many Americans begin taking on debt as college students and continue to borrow throughout their lives, and making the monthly payments on their loans and credit card...
SECURE Act may affect retirement fund estate planning
For many people in Virginia, their retirement funds are an important part of their estate plans. After the original owner of a retirement account passes away, the remainder of the fund generally passes directly to a named beneficiary without going through the probate...
The difficulty of discharging student loans in bankruptcy
People in Virginia who have student loan debt are not alone. The total student loan debt in the United States is $1.59 trillion. Unfortunately, many people are struggling to pay off these loans, and they usually cannot discharge them in bankruptcy. However, there are...
Don’t rush to bankruptcy without getting advice
If you were extra generous over the holidays and had to skip a credit card payment, you may feel terrible. On the other hand, you may be going through a slowdown at work that has caused your paycheck to be temporarily smaller until the warm weather returns. While...
An estate plan isn’t complete without a health care directive
Although addressing one's mortality through estate planning could be uncomfortable, it is important for anyone who wants control over what happens to their body as well as their assets immediately before and after their death. Most people know they need a will and...


