December 14, 2016February 23, 2022

A Charitable Legacy Requires Planning

If you want to be remembered for charitable giving, then you should get started with an estate plan.

At this time of year, it can seem like giving to charity is something done with little forethought. It can require no more than dropping loose change in a bell ringer’s bowl at the grocery store or putting a new toy in a designated box at the mall.

While anonymous giving like that is helpful, having a true charitable legacy requires more work and considerable forethought.

People who want to be remembered for being charitable benefactors, need to get comprehensive estate plans as the Port Huron Times Herald explains in “Plan today to make a difference tomorrow.”

With an estate plan, you can set up your charitable giving to be ongoing after you pass away. If you want, you can leave one time gifts in your plan but also create new legal entities that will continue to give to charity indefinitely. You can even dictate what charities these entities will give to and for what purposes. In essence, an estate plan gives you much greater control over how and what your charitable giving will accomplish.

The entities you use to accomplish charitable giving can be relatively simple trusts or they can be complex family foundations. We provide more information on charitable giving on the Profit Law Firm, LLC website.

Without proper planning, however, creating a charitable legacy is nearly impossible. Attempts to do so can easily fall afoul of the law and IRS regulations. Thus, if you would like to leave a charitable legacy, consult with an estate planning attorney to review your options. Profit Law Firm can help inform you about the various charitable trusts you can use to accomplish your goals.

Reference: Port Huron Times Herald (Nov. 25, 2016) “Plan today to make a difference tomorrow.”

December 8, 2016

It Is Time to Review Your Estate Plan

You should review your estate plan anytime something significant changes that could have an impact on your plans. That means that you should be reviewing it now.

Some things do get better with age. However, unlike fine wine and good cheese, estate plans do not improve after aging.

An estate plan can be viewed as a snapshot of a person's financial and life situation at the moment the plan is made. When something changes in a person's financial or life situation the snapshot is no longer an accurate representation. If the change was significant enough, then the estate plan itself could be ineffective.

For this reason, estate planning attorneys suggest that their clients review their estate plans every few years to make sure the plans are still good. Another reason to review estate plans is when there have been legal changes that could affect the plans. There have been recent changes in Maryland law and D.C. law in the past two years that mean residents of those states should review their plans. Maryland has enacted the Maryland Trust Act and D.C. has changed laws regarding wills and trusts as well.

Recent Treasury Department regulatory changes make it likely that your plan needs review as Wealth Management points out in "Remind Clients Importance of Updating Estate Plans."

Take some time to review your estate plan and consult with Profit Law Firm about whether you need to update your estate plan.

Make sure that it still does everything that you want it to do. Ask yourself if there have been any changes to your life and finances that are not reflected in your plan. Then, call your estate planning attorney and ask about any legal changes that have been enacted since you made your estate plan.

Once you are done with that and have an idea what needs to be changed in your estate plan, go to and have the changes made by your attorney.

Reference: Wealth Management (Nov. 21, 2016) "Remind Clients Importance of Updating Estate Plans."

November 30, 2016May 29, 2023

Overlooked Estate Planning Concerns

When people are planning for their estates there are a few often important items that they tend to overlook.

Planning for an estate can be complicated. You need to take stock of all of your assets, figure out what should be done with them, and talk to an estate planning attorney to discuss the best way to make sure those assets are distributed as you desire. When doing that, do not overlook other estate planning issues you might want to address. Otherwise your estate plan may be less effective and comprehensive as it could be. Check out our website for estate planning fundamentals.

If the attorney does not know about certain issues important to you, then the attorney cannot help you plan for them.

Recently, the Lake County News listed some commonly overlooked issues in “Estate Planning: Important but sometimes unaddressed estate planning issues,” including:

It is important to decide what should happen with any digital assets you have. State laws differ about how digital accounts should be handled and who can have access to them. Make sure your attorney knows what digital accounts you have.
If you want to make sure your pets are taken care of after you pass away, then you need to let your estate planning attorney know that.
If you have any dependent adult children still living at home, then you might need to make special plans for them if they are not able to care for themselves.
You need to make sure that any life insurance policies and retirement accounts have alternate beneficiaries listed in case the first beneficiary predeceases you.

Schedule a consultation with Profit Law Firm to create an estate plan that covers the basics.

Reference: Lake County News (Nov. 12, 2016) “Estate Planning: Important but sometimes unaddressed estate planning issues.”

November 21, 2016April 27, 2024

Two Basic Types of Estate Planning Documents

Estate planning can sometimes seem like it requires a long, complicated list of different documents. It can be helpful to break those documents down into two basic categories.

Once you start planning for your estate you can quickly get bogged down trying to figure out what all of the different estate planning documents are. There are all sorts of different legal documents that are not familiar to most non-attorneys. This often confuses people enough that they give up and delay getting an estate plan.

However, it does not have to be that complicated.

A good way to think about the different documents is to put them into two basic categories, as the Motley Fool discusses in “The Estate-Planning Documents Everyone Needs.”

The first type of estate planning document determines what happens to your belongings after you pass away. This category includes wills, most trusts and even things like a retirement account that has a beneficiary designation.

The second type of estate planning document determines who takes care of your affairs if you are not able to do so. This category includes powers of attorney and advanced health care directives.

Who do you want to have your possessions after you pass away and who would you like to take care of your affairs if you cannot? Answer these questions, and then go to an experienced estate planning attorney. Schedule a consultation with Profit Law Firm, LLC. Tell the attorney your answers, and let the attorney figure out the documents you need to give your answers legal effect.

Reference: Motley Fool (Nov. 7, 2016) “The Estate-Planning Documents Everyone Needs.”

November 15, 2016February 15, 2024

Convincing Parents to Create Estate Plan

Many children with aging parents know that their parents should do estate planning, but convincing their parents of that can be difficult.

Many elderly people in the U.S. believe estate planning is something only the very wealthy need. If they only have a few major assets and modest back accounts, then they believe estate planning is unnecessary for them.

Many of their adult children know better, however.

The children know estate planning is an important responsibility for everyone regardless of wealth. While those children would like to talk their parents into estate planning they may find it difficult. In the Washington Metropolitan area, estate planning is very important. Maryland estate planning is critical because Maryland has both a state estate tax and a state inheritance tax. The District of Columbia also has a state estate tax.

This topic was addressed by NJ 101.5 in “Talking to your parents about a will.”

If you find yourself having this problem with your aging parents, there are some steps you can take.

First, explain to your parents that without an estate plan their estates will have to go through probate and everything will be distributed according to state law and not your parents’ wishes. That means if they would like to leave something directly to their grandchildren, they will not be able to do so in most cases. It also means that they might be subject to Maryland or D.C estate planning axes.

You can also talk to your parents about how costly and time-consuming probate can be and how it could be a burden on the family.

If all else fails and you can afford it, you might offer to pay for your parents to visit an estate planning attorney. They do not have to commit to anything before seeing the attorney, but the attorney can discuss the benefits of estate planning with your parents and give them some options. At Profit Law Firm, we also conduct two generation family planning sessions. Contact us for a consultation with Maryland estate planning attorneys and DC estate planning attorneys.

Reference: NJ 101.5 (Nov. 1, 2016) “Talking to your parents about a will.”

September 16, 2016

The Role of an Estate Planning Attorney

There are several options for creating an estate plan on your own. That might lead you to wonder what role an estate planning attorney can play and whether you should hire one.

If you can do something by yourself without taking too much time to do it, you are probably hesitant to hire someone to do the job for you. For example, why bother to hire a handyman to fix a squeaky door when fixing it yourself takes no more than a few minutes and some lubricant?

With many downloadable estate planning forms available today, many people are starting to have the same thoughts about estate planning and wonder why they should hire an estate planning attorney when they can do it themselves.

As the Herald Times Reporter in “Estate planning attorneys are like a QB” suggests, estate planning attorneys still have a vital role to play.

Just like the quarterback of a football team, an estate planning attorney plays a key role in coordinating the plans and executing them. The attorney is the one with the expertise and ability to make sure everything goes according to plan. A Maryland estate planning attorney knows the details of Maryland Law and a DC estate planning attorney knows the details of DC law. You tell the estate planning attorney how you want things to go and the attorney creates a plan that does what you want and follows the law. If you are a resident of DC or Maryland, then Profit Law Firm can help you make a game plan for your estate.

The attorney can even call an audible just like a quarterback. If there are potential problems with what you want to do, then the attorney can advise you and help you come up with a different plan.

You can play football without a quarterback, but it is unadvisable. You can also create an estate plan without an attorney. That too is not advisable.

Reference: Green Bay Press-Gazette (Aug. 13, 2016) “Estate planning attorneys are like a QB”

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