Blog
Beware of These Elder Abuse Scams!
People work hard to earn their life savings and enjoy retirement. But many individuals try to cheat senior citizens out of their hard-earned money through various scams. Wealthy seniors are often targeted through these phone-, text- or online-based scams because they...
When is probate necessary?
When is Probate Necessary? When it comes to estate planning, probate is always a possibility that is discussed and often recommended to be avoided. However, probate is not always necessary, and when it is necessary, it is not always a bad thing. It helps to know when...
Georgia is Temporarily Allowing Remote Notarization and Witnessing of Estate Planning Documents
On April 9th, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed the Executive Order Permitting Remote Notarization and Witnessing. This temporary measure provides Georgia residents a safe and secure means of completing their estate planning documents, which continues to be a...
Shopping for Essential Supplies Under Georgia’s Shelter in Place Order
On April 2nd, Governor Brian Kemp signed an executive order that requires all Georgia residents and visitors to “shelter in place” through April 13th. This order is designed to help stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus. For many families, this raises the question –...
The Importance of Being Prepared: Health Emergencies and Estate Planning
Over the past few weeks, the coronavirus pandemic has changed many people’s mindsets as well as their way of living. The social distancing and shelter-in-place orders have created an unexpected amount of downtime at home. Also, people are concerned about COVID-19 and...
How to Serve as the Family Banker Without Upsetting Beneficiaries
With the current wealth gap between the older US population and their younger family members, many parents (or grandparents, relatives) may find themselves in a situation where they’re loaning money to their loved ones. While it is great to be a position to help your...
Learning Resources: We’re here to help!
We know many of you are suddenly home with your kids and you may be struggling to find ways to keep them entertained, while also educating them. The first thing to do is to not panic. Realize that this is a great time to make memories with your kids and maybe even...
Questions to Consider Before Signing a Residential Lease
You’ve found the perfect property, and you’re ready to sign the lease. But before you commit to the contract, you should probably understand all of the terms as well as your rights as a tenant. The more you know before heading into the landlord-tenant relationship,...
How Older Adults Can Be Prepared for the Coronavirus
As news continues to unfold about the spread of the coronavirus into the US, questions are arising about who is at risk and how you can avoid the disease. In Brian M. Douglas & Associates’ latest blog, we’re taking a look at the latest recommendations from the CDC...
Property Rights at Senior Living Communities
More seniors are choosing senior living communities, with 300,000 communities in the US serving close to 800,000 seniors (Source: CDC). There are many different types of housing options available, everything from apartments and mobile homes to condos and single-family...
Social Media and Legacy Planning
In the current digital environment, so much of what we do is online or on our phones and computers. Things that used to exist in a physical sense are now becoming digital. Email is replacing paper. Heirlooms are becoming digitized, with many photo albums existing...
What Happens to a Mortgage When the Homeowner Dies?
Estate planning is not always a comfortable topic. Generally, people do not like to contemplate what will happen when they’re not around anymore. But, with homeownership and mortgages – these things inherently deal with death. The word “mortgage” itself comes from the...