Betsy Simmons Hannibal

Betsy Simmons Hannibal

Attorney

Betsy Simmons Hannibal is a Nolo Senior Legal Editor specializing in Estate Planning. Her work centers around managing the editorial contributions to Quicken WillMaker & Trust. 

Estate planning books. Betsy also edits many of Nolo's best-selling estate planning books, including Make Your Own Living Trust, Plan Your Estate, Estate Planning Basics, How to Probate an Estate in California: A Step-by-Step Guide, Quick & Legal Will Book, and Get It Together: Organize Your Records So Your Family Won't Have To.

Press contributions. Betsy regularly speaks with journalists who want to know more about estate planning and probate. Here is some of the content to which she has contributed:  End-of-Life-Planning Is a "Lifetime Gift" to Your Loved Ones (NPR's Life Kit), What Is Probate and Can You Avoid It? (HowStuffWorks), Probate Workarounds Can Save Your Heirs Time and Money (NerdWallet, syndicated by the AP), and A Brief Guide to Estate Planning, (Wirecutter, The New York Times).

Early career. Before joining Nolo, Betsy trained at two private law firms, as well as the San Francisco Superior Court and the Federal District Court of Northern California. She is a graduate of the Honors Lawyering Program at Golden Gate University School of Law, where she served as the research editor of the law review.

While she currently lives too far from her home state of California, she is enjoying the temperature variation provided by the mid-Atlantic seasons.

Articles By Betsy Simmons Hannibal

State Restrictions on Health Care Agents
Your health care agent is the person that you name in your health care directive to work with your doctors to direct your healthcare and make treatment decisions for you in you are unable to do
ABLE Accounts in California: A Savings Plan for People With Disabilities
ABLE accounts help you meet your needs while remaining eligible for SSI benefits.
Transfer Your Life Insurance and Decrease Your Estate Tax
If you don't own your life insurance policy, it's not part of your taxable estate.
What Is Estate Planning?
Use your estate plan to leave important instructions about your property, children, and health care.
How to Settle an Estate
If you're the executor of an estate, here's what you'll need to do.
ABLE Accounts in New York: A Savings Plan for People With Disabilities
New York's ABLE program, NY ABLE, helps those with special needs save money while remaining eligible for disability benefits.
ABLE Accounts in Massachusetts: A Savings Plan for People With Disabilities
ABLE accounts are bank accounts that allow people with special needs to save money without jeopardizing their disability benefits.
A Plan for Your Digital Assets
What will happen to your online accounts when you die?
Self-Proving Affidavits
A self-proving affidavit is a sworn statement attached to a will, signed by the will maker and his or her witnesses, that attests to the validity of the will.
5 Reasons to Make a Will If You Have Children
If you have kids, you need a will.