Probate, Estate & Trust Administration

Dealing with the aftermath of someone’s death can be a challenging and emotional time. People are often anxious to resolve…

When a spouse dies, the surviving spouse or personal representative must decide whether to file a federal estate tax return,…

Trusts and wills are both estate planning tools used to manage and distribute assets upon an individual’s death, but they…

Many types of property and investments pass outside of probate and allow you to designate who will receive them after your death. It is important that these designations are kept up to date and are consistent with the rest of your estate plan. 

The estate and gift tax exemption is set to be cut in half in 2026. Proper planning may be necessary to make sure you are taking full advantage of the current exemption and aren’t negatively affected when it decreases. 

If you have been appointed the trustee of a trust, it is a strong vote of confidence in your judgment and trustworthiness. It is also a major responsibility. A trust is a legal arrangement through which one person (or an…

Following the death of a family member, you may find yourself needing to sort through many possessions accumulated over the deceased’s lifetime. An estate sale is one way to distribute, quickly and efficiently, those items that you do not want or need.

As the recent death of Anne Heche shows us, not having a will can place a significant burden on your children and cause undesirable complications.

Planning your own funeral arrangements can assist your loved ones in an emotionally challenging time, while also protecting them from incurring extraneous costs.

There are some documents that you will want to hang on to forever and some that you should keep for a few years.

When one member of a couple moves to a nursing home, we expect that spouse will be the first to die, but this isn’t always the case. What happens if a Medicaid recipient’s spouse dies first?

James Curtis, Frank Doherty, Michael Gill, Margaret Herlitzka, Thomas Horvath, Bryant Klos, Kevin Roop, and David Russell have been selected…

As Baby Boomers age and demographics continue to shift, more and more families are faced with a variety of issues…

James Curtis, Frank Doherty, Michael Gill, Margaret Herlitzka, Thomas Horvath, Bryant Klos, Kevin Roop, and David Russell have been selected…

Sarah Fortune and Garett Pankratz have been selected to the 2020 Wisconsin Rising Stars list.  Each year, no more than…

Introduction to wills, trusts, and other estate planning tools. Hale Skemp, in collaboration with Schumacher-Kish Funeral Homes, presents Advance Planning.…