When Should I Start Taking Social Security? How Social Security Benefits Are Calculated Social Security benefits are based on your Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME), which is calculated from your career earnings. Here’s how it works: 1. Indexing Earnings: Your past earnings are adjusted to reflect changes in average wages over time due to inflation.…
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Protecting Your Legacy: Online Password Security in Estate Planning In today’s digital age, estate planning isn’t just about physical assets—it also includes protecting online accounts and sensitive data. Whether it’s financial accounts, legal documents, or personal email access, strong password security plays a critical role in safeguarding your estate. Why Password Protection Matters Poor password…
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Should I leave property in trust or not? When you set up your estate plan, not only do you need to decide who you are leaving property to, but you also must decide how you are leaving it to them. The simplest and most common way to leave property is outright, meaning you leave the…
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Protecting Your Legacy Through Education Here at Montana Estate Lawyers, we believe understanding the many facets of estate planning is a key part of protecting your legacy. We take pride in offering several webinars and seminars annually. Upcoming events include a FREE seminar at the Great Falls Public Library presented by Trevor P. Funseth on…
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Estate and Long-Term Care Planning – Lessons From Baseball Another baseball season is upon us. I’m always excited about the new season because that means warmer weather has arrived in Montana and my hopes are still alive, at least for a while, that my favorite team will win the World Series. My wife Rhonda and…
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2025 Charity Partner of the Year We would like to introduce our 2025 Charity Partner of the Year, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Montana. Vision All youth achieve their full potential. Mission We create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth. Youth in our…
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What is an Irrevocable Trust For? The large majority of estate planning clients create Revocable Trusts. A Revocable Trust is a great estate planning tool used to avoid probate and plan for your disability and death. A Revocable Trust is amendable and, yes, revocable for the rest of your life. Usually, you will serve as…
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Happy Holidays! The entire team at Montana Estate Lawyers wants to wish you and yours a happy and healthy holiday season. This time of year is a great time for reflection, family, giving, and joy. We are close to wrapping up our work with our Charity Partner of the Year, the Great Falls Rescue Mission.…
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The Pros and Cons of Reverse Mortgages Reverse mortgages have become a popular retirement strategy in recent years. A reverse mortgage allows homeowners with substantial equity in their home to access lines of credit using their property as collateral. Property owners aged 62 years or older can apply for reverse mortgages and get a line…
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Power of Attorney: To Spring or Not to Spring? Powers of Attorney are essential estate planning tools that come with all of our estate planning packages. Whether you have a simple will or a multi-million dollar trust, your planning should include powers of attorney. These documents allow you to authorize another individual – a spouse,…
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