Kathy Brown van Zutphen of Coastwide Law LLC is an attorney licensed to practice law in Alabama and Mississippi. She focuses on the “elder law” areas of trusts, estates and conservatorships. Additionally, she litigates lawsuits and represents small business owners as part of her legal practice. Visit https://coastwidelaw.com/ to learn more or reach her at her office: (228) 357-5227.
Even a fender-bender can leave you shaken; so, in the excitement of an automobile crash, it is hard to remember what you should do. As a way to document the details while they are still fresh, you should TRAP IT in your memory by taking these steps to record the facts. T – TAG INFORMATION […]
January has been called the divorce month, with divorce filings typically spiking from Jan. 12-16. It is estimated that 41 percent of all first marriages will end in divorce and, unfortunately, the divorce rate for second marriages increases to 60 percent, and to 73 percent for third marriages. So, it becomes obvious that before you […]
The last thing a family wants to do during the holidays is think about or discuss estate planning. But families usually are together during this time, including elderly relatives, so it’s an ideal opportunity to address this subject. Estate planning is not just about what happens when someone dies. It also includes plans while family […]
It is not hard to find a country music song about love gone wrong and divorce, but does splitting up always have to end in an ugly legal battle? Not really, if both parties can agree to a non-adversarial divorce method. It’s hard to find an area in the law with more important issues than […]
These days, a greater number of people in long-term relationships are opting to live together without marriage. One reason may be the idea that if the couple splits up, they will not incur the property loss associated with divorce. It is true that, generally, a married couple has property rights not available to single, cohabitating […]
If a person dies suddenly without a last will and testament, the Mississippi intestacy laws govern what happens to the assets that pass through the decedent’s estate probate process. That is why you often hear people say “the state” decides who gets the assets if you don’t have a will. Without a valid last will […]
Previously, I’ve discussed the role money and sex can have in driving “gray divorce” — the growing trend of older couples going their separate ways. Here are some other causes that appear to be at play: INCOMPATIBILITY Most states have adopted some basis for getting a divorce so one spouse doesn’t have to make nasty […]
While the overall divorce rate has declined over the past 20 years, it has doubled for the segment of the population over age 50. This growing unmarried, middle-age population has even led Candice Bushnell to write a follow-up book asking “Is There Still Sex in the City?” to address the phenomenon her peers are facing. […]
Recently, someone asked about a situation in which she was caring for her live-in significant other, to whom she was not married, during a time when he was battling a serious health issue. Her complaint was that he had adult children who were not helping, and the couple was facing a financial crisis on top […]
It seems like every year after the holidays, you read about the latest celebrity filing for divorce. This year is no exception, with Jeff Bezos, CEO and founder of Amazon with a reported net worth of $137 billion (according to Bloomberg Billionaires’ Index), announcing an end to his 25- year marriage to MacKenzie Bezos. Statistically, […]
