Revocable living trusts are widely known for helping families avoid probate after death. That benefit is real, but it is often not the most urgent reason a trust matters. For comprehensive estate planning, a trust addresses challenges that arise both after death and during life.

In real life, many families face a harder question first: What happens if Mom or Dad is alive but can’t manage money anymore? A hospitalization, a stroke, a fall with complications, or advancing dementia can quickly turn everyday tasks into a crisis. 

Bills still need to be paid. Insurance paperwork still arrives. Property taxes still come due. Care costs can change month to month.

A properly designed and managed revocable living trust can provide a clear, private, and practical framework for handling these responsibilities during incapacity, not just after death.

A new trailer was recently released for As Deep as the Grave starring Val Kilmer. 

Before 2026, that likely would not have raised eyebrows. A Hollywood icon returning to the screen is nothing new.

But Kilmer passed away last April.

Using generative artificial intelligence (AI), the film recreates his likeness and voice, placing him back on screen with the consent of his estate. The project reportedly uses “state-of-the-art” AI to show his character across multiple stages of life, with over an hour of screen time.

It starts innocently enough: You’ve been meaning to update your will for months but haven’t had time to meet with your attorney. 

You have heard how helpful artificial intelligence (AI) can be in performing tasks, so you ask an AI chatbot about making a basic will. Before you know it, you’re asking about family conflict and disinheriting someone. Eventually, you paste in something sensitive — a memo from your attorney — and ask the AI to explain it “in plain English.” 

That convenience comes with a hidden risk: You may be creating a detailed digital record about your private intentions. Unlike a conversation with your attorney, that record may not be confidential — and in the wrong situation, it could be requested and used later in a dispute.

Most estate planning attorneys can help you craft an estate plan that minimizes or avoids probate altogether. Probate proceedings are part of the public record and can be very time-consuming and expensive. However, in nearly every case, to some extent probate is necessary. So, it’s important to understand how to navigate the process.

In the wake of the pandemic, rising inflation, mass shooting tragedies, and other events, more people recognize that they need to plan for the future. Yet while financial planning has been at the top of many Americans’ minds, a vast majority of people have stalled in creating an estate plan.

According to a new study completed by Caring.com, a mere one in three people has an estate plan in place. Worse yet, more than 40 percent of those without a will report that they wouldn’t create one until they had encountered a serious health concern.

One aspect of your estate plan that you may not yet have taken into consideration is your digital legacy. Arranging what happens to your digital assets and information when you pass away has become an increasingly essential component of financial literacy — and comprehensive estate planning.

Elder law and estate planning serve two different -- but equally vital -- functions. The main difference is that elder law is focused on preserving your assets during your lifetime, while estate planning concentrates on what happens to your assets after you die.