Operating a ranch can be an intergenerational matter. Parents may raise their children on the ranch and rely on the work of many family members to keep operational costs manageable. Many ranch owners are proactive about establishing plans to protect their land. They...
Adults in Montana can create an assortment of different estate planning documents. Many people focus primarily on testamentary documents. They create trusts or draft wills to establish a specific legacy. Others worry about their vulnerability as they age or if they...
Adults preparing for retirement often take certain specific steps to better ensure their safety and comfort. They make changes to their homes so that they can live in their own houses comfortably later in life. They rework their budgets to better manage their costs on...
Life has a way of being unpredictable. People may develop health issues after decades of enjoying a healthy lifestyle. It only takes a moment for someone to end up severely injured in a car crash or work incident. As such, adults need to plan for the possibility of...
Standard marriage vows tend to include a line outlining someone's commitment to remain married regardless of their health and financial circumstances. However, sometimes people experience such extreme changes in lifestyle or health that divorce may begin to seem like...
Many families hand down ranch operations and land from generation to generation, with each new owner trying to expand or improve the property. Yet, generations of heritage could be at risk in a matter of days if someone ends up getting divorced. Therefore, many...
An easement allows at least one non-owner to use a piece of property. Generally, an easement will not actually give the second individual any ownership rights. They simply have the right to use that property, but it is not an asset that they own and they can’t change...
When you own land, like a farm or a ranch, you also own what lies beneath the land – its mineral rights. In fact, you may even have sold off the land at some point but retained the severed mineral rights and the royalties that go along with them. How you convey your...
If you have a life insurance policy, the value of that policy may be higher than any other asset you own. Even if it is not, it is still going to be a very significant financial asset. You got the policy because you wanted to provide stability for your family, and you...
Every Montana estate plan is unique because it will reflect the family relationships and personal values of the testator drafting the documents. Still, most estate plans need to achieve two different objectives. They need to address what happens when someone dies and...
