Estate Planning

15
Sep
A married couple embraces in front of their home.
How Missouri’s Updated Laws Strengthen Qualified Spousal Trusts
September 15, 2025
Estate Planning

Missouri has strengthened the protections available through Qualified Spousal Trusts (QSTs). These joint revocable trusts allow married couples to combine their estate planning into a single document, preserve creditor protections similar to tenancy by the entirety, and avoid probate. Recent legislative amendments expand these protections, offering greater security for surviving spouses and clarifying questions raised by earlier court decisions.


22
Jul
Close-up of a hospital patient's hand with medical devices attached
When the Unexpected Happens: Why Powers of Attorney Matter More Than You Think
July 22, 2025
Estate Planning

It starts like any other day. You’re answering emails, pouring your morning coffee, maybe even thinking about dinner later… and then the phone rings with a message you hoped to never hear. A loved one is unconscious and has been rushed to the hospital. Your adrenaline spikes, and you drop everything and go. But without powers of attorney, you’re not a worried spouse, parent, or partner. You’re just a bystander.


02
Jul
An Estate Planning Attorney goes over paperwork with a client
The Forgotten Step to a Successful Estate Plan
July 2, 2024
Estate Planning

Most estate plans now involve revocable trusts of every kind and description with the goal to avoid probate in the estate plan. Although trusts have many other benefits, probate avoidance is the touchstone of revocable trusts. When creating a trust, attorneys and their clients concentrate on the details of the estate plan and then the documents. But what about how the trust will be funded?