Estate Planning Archives - Page 7 of 10

Keeping Your Trust Private

Posted on July 22, 2016

As followers of my blog know, I am a proponent of passing property using a Trust instead of a Will. While a Will is a contract between the deceased individual and the State in which it is Probated, Trusts are contacts between the Creator and Trustee of the trust. Wills submitted to the Surrogate’s Court are public knowledge (as are the decedent’s assets), while Trusts are private documents. It is this last point that we are discussing here. In order to make a Trust “effective” you have to fund the Trust. The owner on the Deed is now “The John Doe Revocable Trust” (not “John Doe”); the beneficiary of the life insurance policy is likewise the Trust. An unfunded Trust is more effective

When to Contact Your Estate Attorney

Posted on July 15, 2016

Many people figure that once their estate planning documents are executed the estate planning process has ended. From the client’s perspective, several consultations have been attended and a lot of hours have gone into ordering beneficiary designation forms, real estate documents, and the like (unless the client went to an estate chop shop, in which case almost no time has been spent and the significance of the affair has not been realized). From the old school estate attorney’s perspective, the only financially significant moments of the process are during the drafting/execution phase, and entering Probate upon the client’s death, so follow-up appointments are viewed as a waste of time. I find this viewpoint to be both unfortunate and potentially hazardous to client and

When Do I Tell My Children They Are My Financial & Health Agents?

Posted on June 28, 2016

Most people name their children as their agents (or else as successor agents if the client has a spouse). This includes naming a child as a Power of Attorney, Health Care Proxy, Executor or Successor Trustee. Of course, the child sometimes doesn’t know about this, and many attorneys do not discuss the topic in depth with the client. Most children don’t even know where their parent’s legal documents are. This can cause confusion, and can lead to their frantic scrambling at crucial times. Knowing when to tell your children they are agents is tricky, and often relies on a case-by-case analysis of the family and the children. Some 21 year olds may be ready to know their role before some 40 year

Turnover Proceedings: Retribution for First Come, First Served

Posted on May 27, 2016

The early bird often gets the worm, even if he was not supposed to. When a person passes away many people have a tendency of ransacking the decedent’s property. Co-Signers often run to the bank to empty the safe deposit box (which is illegal in New York), people with access to the house take all types of personal belongings, and some absconders legally use the decedent’s credit cards. Outsiders may redirect mail containing financial information to their own addresses, then act as they see fit. Other times people will have an incapacitated person sign a Power of Attorney or blank checks, or even forge the signature. When that person dies the property that was supposed to go to one person goes to someone else. I

The Missing Pre Nup: Add a Family Trusts Band Aid

Posted on May 20, 2016

Attention parents with assets: Tell your children they must have a prenuptial agreement! And when they respond “No, I love him, that is not romantic, we will be together forever!”……panic!!! Then take a breath…PANIC a little more, then contact your T&E attorney to discuss how to protect your family assets using a family trust with a suitable trustee. The Family Court (more appropriately called the “Divorce and Fleece Court”) is known as a “court of equity”, meaning it can look at any factor relating to assets and income, and make a completely subjective (some may say arbitrary) decision as to who gets what. When a child is too shy or stubborn to get a prenuptial agreement, it is your job

Celebrity Estates: Prince’s Royal(ty) Issue

Posted on April 27, 2016

2016 is seeing it’s share of celebrities pass away: Glenn Frey, Abe Vigoda and Garry Shandling. But none so far, aside from perhap David Bowie, left as much of an impact on our world as Prince. And none, I would dare to say, has such a complicated estate. Prince faces several tricky issue upon his passing: The nature of his property, and the absence of a nature heir. Considering the shear amount of wealth Prince’s estate will create, starting with the millions of dollars it made from ITunes downloads mere hours after he died, Prince needed to carefully about who would receive his music royalty rights. Copyrighting music ensures several financial rights, such as charging a station or organization for playing it to the public

Quiet Targets: Protecting Single Aging Men

Posted on April 22, 2016

While single men tend to pass away at younger ages on average than married men, I have met a number of aging single men without children. Unlike aging single women, who tend to both emote their needs and take steps to elicit sympathy and the help they require, aging single men tend to continue toughening up, not ask for help from others, and ignore seemingly unimportant health concerns that turn out to be rather serious. Single men often do not age well, are financial targets, and tend to do age without the familial concerns their female counterparts receive. They also tend not to ask their male friends for help. If you have an uncle, brother or male friend who doesn’t

College Kids in Trouble: Parents as Health Care Agent for Children

Posted on April 13, 2016

When a person may be subjectively considered an adult varies based on the person and the observing individual: My clients presume I was an adult long ago, my parents have begrudgingly accepted I may have final come of age, and an ex-girlfriend stated moments after we broke up that I would remain a child for the rest of my life. Fortunately, that girlfriend is long gone and, fortunately for her other ex-boyfriends and the rest of us in doubt as to our maturity, the law states that we are all considered an adult for legal purposes at age 18. This is an interesting public policy, since we are not physically or emotionally finished maturing at that age, and (probably due

Assets Good, Income Bad: Taxes, Government Programs, Planning

Posted on March 18, 2016

Here is a surprise for you: America favors people who have money already, not people building their wealth. If you want to build and preserve wealth in modern day America I can boil down the correct methodology in words a caveman could understand: Assets good, income bad. Example 1: Income Taxes versus Capital Gains & Estate Taxes. While your assets are private information, the government (and sometimes the public) has full knowledge of your (legal) income. Try it: Google your favorite sports star and see how much income they earn, then find out how much they are actually worth; I will be shocked if you see a net worth that is not noted as an “estimate.” Governments also know people

NEVER Videotape You Executing Your Will

Posted on March 9, 2016

I must apologize for my prolonged absence from blogging: I lost my proofreading and Blogging Accountability Partner Alix Purcell due to her successes. I shall attempt to continue this part of our journey in her absence as best I can. I have heard of some attorneys videotaping clients executing their wills, and I have in fact once been a witness to another attorney executing a will while recording the execution of the document. Attorneys think recording the testator’s actions (thereby supposedly proving his or her mental capacity at the time of execution) will make it clear to a court that the person “knew what they were doing” (executing a will) at that time (a key requirement for a valid will).