Estate Planning Archives - Page 6 of 22

The Danger of Waiting Too Long to do Estate Planning

09/23/202012/22/2016 by Report from Counsel

Some people never get around to retaining a lawyer to prepare their will, living trust and other important estate planning documents. Here are some of the reasons we hear and our responses:

1. “I don’t need estate planning documents.”

Not having estate planning documents can result in your family, friends or charities being left out of your intended plan (or result in your property going to people who you did not intend to receive it). It can also result in additional taxes, fees, delays and disputes. The cost of the probate process can greatly exceed the cost of a comprehensive estate plan.

Estate Planning Challenges

12/22/2016 by Report from Counsel

Planning when one or both spouses have been married in the past can also present challenges. For instance, suppose Mike and Helen, a married couple with no children, sign wills or trusts leaving their assets to each other outright. If Mike dies first, Helen will inherit everything. When Helen dies, who will get assets which … Read more

Do-it-yourself will leads to an unfortunate result

09/18/2016 by Report from Counsel

Here’s yet another example of how people who try to create their own wills, using a form taken from a book or the Internet, often shoot themselves in the foot. George Zeevering of Pennsylvania wanted his estate to go to two of his five children. He wrote a “do-it-yourself” will in which he left his … Read more

Have you funded your living trust?

08/17/202004/03/2016 by Report from Counsel

Once a living trust is in place (also called a declaration of trust), it is important to fund the trust in order to minimize future risk and expense. “Funding” a trust means changing the way the person who made the trust – called a grantor – holds title to his or her assets, from the … Read more

Some gifts to charity should be made now, not in your will

08/17/202004/02/2016 by Report from Counsel

In the past, many people’s wills or trusts included a sizable donation to charity. Because the federal estate tax was so burdensome, including charitable bequests in a will or trust was a good idea since it reduced the amount of tax the estate had to pay. Now, however, the federal estate tax applies only to … Read more

Asset protection is for everyone

08/17/202012/15/2015 by Report from Counsel

When many people hear the words “asset protection,” they think of billionaires with Swiss bank accounts and offshore tax havens. But in reality, asset protection is for everyone. Using a series of basic techniques you can increase the odds that the wealth you’ve accumulated stays with you and your heirs, and not someone else.

Hard-earned wealth can quickly disappear as a result of a lawsuit, a business going under, or a similar event. When taken in advance of any problem arising, asset protection techniques can protect you from these possibilities. You can also use them to help protect your children or other heirs from the consequences of a divorce, lawsuit, business failure, and so on.

It’s actually more important for people of moderate wealth to engage in asset protection than it is for billionaires. After all, billionaires can afford to lose a lot of money, whereas the rest of us cannot.

Plan for the possibility of Alzheimer’s disease

12/15/2015 by Report from Counsel

Did you know that 47% of people over age 85 are affected by Alzheimer’s disease? The numbers are high enough that any older person planning for their estate should consider the possibility that they may become intellectually incapacitated at some point. Of course, a critical step in planning for incapacity is having a durable power … Read more

What you can learn from rock star Jim Morrison’s will

12/15/2015 by Report from Counsel

Jim Morrison, the lead singer of the popular rock band The Doors, died in 1971 at age 27. Before his death he had signed a simple, one-page will that left everything to his girlfriend, Pamela Courson.

As a result of the will, Pamela inherited his entire estate. Pamela herself died shortly afterward of a heroin overdose. Because Pamela didn’t have a will, most of Morrison’s fortune then went by law to Pamela’s closest living relatives – her parents.

Help your heirs avoid capital gains tax

09/29/2015 by Report from Counsel

In the past, estate planning was mostly about reducing the impact of the federal estate tax. The tax was so onerous, and potentially affected so many people, that the goal was to avoid it like the plague.

One way to reduce estate taxes was to put assets into an irrevocable trust. The tax savings could be accomplished in a number of ways, but the key was that, when the person who created the trust died, the trust assets would go on to benefit his or her heirs, and would not be subject to the estate tax.

This was very smart planning at the time. Over the last few years, however, the situation has dramatically changed.

Estate planning for people who don’t have families

09/29/2015 by Report from Counsel

A growing number of older people don’t have a spouse, children, or other close relatives. One of the biggest concerns in such a situation is how to prepare in case the person eventually becomes disabled or incapacitated.

Such a person could, of course, give a power of attorney to a friend, and assume the friend will take care of things. However, friends the same age might die or become incapacitated themselves. They might be overwhelmed with all the responsibilities of taking care of a disabled person, especially since it might be a stretch to ask their own family members for help with someone who is not part of the family. And sadly, there have been many cases where friends have gotten into financial straits and ended up taking advantage of a power of attorney.

There are a number of possible solutions, but here’s one that can work well