Estate planning

Young child in a pink dress and tiara, smiling while seated in a black chair
by Brad Cummings 20 July 2026
A direct inheritance can cancel the benefits a disabled loved one lives on. How special needs trusts protect both the money and the safety net beneath it.
Rifle display on a wooden rack in a western-style storefront, with a sign above and shelves below
by Brad Cummings 15 July 2026
Firearms are the one estate asset where an executor's mistake is a federal crime. How wills fall short, what gun trusts do, and the plan veterans need.
Hands holding a house icon with a family silhouette inside on a yellow background
by Brad Cummings 12 July 2026
What a will actually does, when a trust earns its cost, and the veteran-specific pieces, from old SGLI beneficiaries to the VA folder your family needs.
Desk with a stack of papers, labeled document box, framed photo, and coffee mug by a window
by Brad Cummings 6 July 2026
VA compensation stops at death, but a pending claim, unpaid benefits, and DIC can survive. What your family can claim, and the one-year clock they can't miss.
Hands signing a document with a pen on a table
by Brad Cummings 6 July 2026
Standard estate planning can quietly cost a veteran their VA pension or Aid and Attendance. The 3-year lookback, the trust traps, and how to sequence it right.