March 8, 2018October 25, 2023

Do Your Estate Plan Now

If you are wondering when you should do your estate planning, the best answer that you can get is that you should do it as soon as you possibly can.

One of the many things people wonder about when it comes to estate planning, is when they should plan for their own estates. People often think the best time for estate planning, is after some particular life event happens.

They wonder if that means they should do it after they get their first job, after they get married, after they have their first child, after they make a certain amount of money, after they retire or after something else. The truth is that estate planning should be done after any of those events. It is best not to wait for any particular event to get started.

You will always be better off with a plan, than without one, as grbj.com points out in “Estate Planning: better done sooner rather than later.”

You never know when you will need to have an estate plan. You cannot guarantee you will only pass away after you have lived long enough to experience any specific big life-changing event. We all know that life and death does not work that way. Waiting for something specific to happen in your life before getting an estate plan, does not make sense.

It always makes good sense to have an estate plan. Having one will leave your heirs better off after you pass away, no matter how many assets you have or at what stage of life.

Do not wait for something to happen to get an estate plan. Visit an estate planning attorney and get one now.

Reference: grbj.com (Feb. 9, 2018) “Estate Planning: better done sooner rather than later.”

March 5, 2018

The Failure of James Brown’s Estate Plan

James Brown intended for his estate to give millions to poor children. However, he passed away 11 years ago, and the children have still not received anything.

It is not clear how much the estate of legendary soul singer James Brown is worth. The estate claims it is worth about $5 million. However, some experts estimate that it could be worth as much as $100 million.

It is clear is what Brown intended to do with his wealth. He had a carefully crafted estate plan that was intended to give millions to poor children throughout Georgia and South Carolina.

Brown passed away in 2006 but his estate has not given any of the money to the children. Instead the estate is still bogged down in numerous lawsuits and remains unsettled, as The New York Times reported in "Why Is James Brown's Estate Still Unsettled? Ask the Lawyers."

The main source of the dispute appears to be a family feud with Brown's children and grandchildren on one side and his widow, who is the estate administrator, on the other side. Numerous lawsuits have been filed.

In perhaps the biggest lawsuit, the children and grandchildren allege that the widow has cut inappropriate side deals for the copyrights to Brown's music. These copyrights are where the bulk of the estate's value likely is found. They also allege in another lawsuit that the widow was not even married to Brown, because she was allegedly also married to another man.

It is safe to say that this dispute is unlikely to end soon. The biggest losers here are the children who would otherwise be receiving assistance.

Reference: New York Times (Feb. 4, 2018) "Why Is James Brown's Estate Still Unsettled? Ask the Lawyers."

February 20, 2018

An Easy but Bad Way to Avoid Probate

If you own a home, then there is a very simple thing that you can do to make it so that your home will not have to go through probate after you pass away. Do not do it though.

Many people are certain that they must avoid probate at all costs for their estates after they pass away. That is not always true. It depends on the size of an estate and the specifics of the probate process in your state of residence.

Whether it is true or false, the perception is an important one. The best way to know if probate will be burdensome for your estate, is to visit an estate planning attorney.

Some people don’t visit an estate planning attorney. However, they decide that their home is their most valuable asset and they put a child's name on the deed. This will make it, so the home does not have to go through probate after they pass away. It will automatically go to the child on the deed.

It works to avoid probate but it is almost always a very bad idea, as My Prime Time News discussed in "Deeds and Probate Avoidance."

The problem is that by putting a child's name on the deed, the home becomes an asset for the child. Any creditors the child has, can put a lien on the loan.

It also has the potential for adverse capital gains tax consequences for the child, should the home be sold after you pass away. This is an example that shows that this method of probate avoidance may actually cost your heirs a lot of taxes.

A much better idea to avoid probate is to visit an estate planning attorney and ask about putting your home in a trust.

Reference: My Prime Time News (Jan. 29, 2018) "Deeds and Probate Avoidance."

Estate Planning, Probate, Trusts

February 8, 2018

Getting Your Affairs in Order

It is a good idea to get your affairs in order, for when you pass away. However, to do that you need to know what it entails.

You have probably heard the phrase "Getting your affairs in order."

It is the euphemism for what people do, when they are preparing for the time when they pass away.

They might not be planning to pass away for many years. However, to get your affairs in order involves making sure that if anything does happen to you, everything will be taken care and your family will not have to struggle figuring out what to do.

To accomplish that, you need to know what you need to do to get your affairs in order.

Recently, The Daily Courier discussed a few things to do in "I'm dead. Now What?"

These steps include:

Gathering all your important financial documents in one place. This includes all of your bank account information, your retirement account documents, your regular bills and anything else that is important. Make sure that someone in your family knows where to find everything.
If you want to make sure your family gets the pieces of your property they want and that they will not fight unnecessarily over things, talk to your family members about any possessions of yours that they treasure and make a list of who wants what possession.
Since you have your financial documents in one place and you know who wants what, it will now be easier for you to go to an estate planning attorney to formalize your wishes concerning your estate. While you are at the attorney's office, make sure that you also get power of attorney documents.
Finally, you should make arrangements for your own funeral, so your family will not need to worry about making them while they are grieving you.

If you would like to put an estate plan in place contact an estate planning attorney.

Reference: The Daily Caller (Jan. 11, 2018) "I'm dead. Now What?"

February 6, 2018

Going to North Korea

The State Department suggests that you get an estate plan, should you decide to visit North Korea.

Despite the extremely tense relations between the U.S. and North Korea, it is possible for Americans to visit North Korea. There are probably very few U.S. citizens who want to go anywhere near North Korea. Those that do, are probably journalists and researchers.

The State Department recently offered some advice for Americans who are planning a trip to North Korea.

So, what is that advice?

The agency advises people to first get a will, make funeral plans and get a power attorney, as Fox News reports in "Visiting North Korea? Draft a will and make funeral plans, State Department says."

Traveling to countries other than North Korea is likely not nearly as dangerous. However, this is good advice before traveling to any foreign nation.

Before leaving on an overseas trip, it is a good idea to have an estate plan in place.

Having powers of attorney drafted is an especially good idea, in case anything does happen, so someone back home can handle all of your affairs.

It is unlikely anything will happen to you on your next vacation, but it is always good to be prepared.

Before you visit a foreign country, visit with an estate planning attorney so you can be prepared.

Reference: Fox News (Jan. 15, 2018) "Visiting North Korea? Draft a will and make funeral plans, State Department says."

January 19, 2018

Baby Created from 24-Year-Old Frozen Embryo

Tennessee woman sets a new world record.

A Tennessee woman has recently broken the record for successfully birthing a baby from an embryo that was frozen 24 years ago, according to CBS Baltimore in "Woman, 26, Has Baby Born From Record Breaking 24-Year-Old Frozen Embryo."

That is the longest time on record for a successful birth to occur, after an embryo was frozen. The embryo was frozen when the mother was only a year and half old. It came from her.

Why this was done when the woman was so young is not known.

This creates even more challenges for estate law, when it comes to posthumous births.

The length of time from when a person passes away to when the deceased person's biological child can be born keeps increasing. What should be done about previously administered estates, when a new child is born so long after death is not clear.

States that have addressed the issue have not all reached the same conclusions. It is something that will need to be addressed with increasing clarity in the near future.

People who might have posthumous children should talk to an estate planning attorney about what they would like to happen in case they do have one.

An estate planning attorney can advise you on creating an estate plan that fits your unique circumstances.

Reference: CBS Baltimore (Dec. 19, 2017) "Woman, 26, Has Baby Born From Record Breaking 24-Year-Old Frozen Embryo."

January 17, 2018

Do Cryogenics and Estate Planning Mix?

Estate planning faces a challenge, if death is not a certainty.

Cryogenics could create challenges for tax authorities and estate planners, according to Wealth Management in "Do Zombies Pay Taxes?"

One of the bigger questions is how the estate of a person who dies and is expected to come back to life at a later date, should be taxed and distributed. Government will have to wrestle with whether the estate tax should apply.

For people planning their estates, the challenges are even greater. They will need to decide how much of their assets should be set aside for their own future life and how much should be distributed to their families who will need to survive in the interim.

Reference: Wealth Management (Dec. 20, 2017) "Do Zombies Pay Taxes?"

January 15, 2018

New Tax Law Creates New Advantages

It might be wise to take a fresh look at your estate plan for new options.

Many estate plans will need to be changed to take advantage of the new tax laws, according to the Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog in "A Gift from the New Tax Act: Kill That Trust."

One of the key changes for estate planning purposes, is that the estate tax exemption has been doubled.

Thais means people with estate plans that created trusts for the sole purpose of limiting their estate tax exposure may want to revisit their plans. They might now be better off revising those trusts or even getting rid of them altogether.

An estate law attorney can advise you on creating an estate plan that fits your unique circumstances and may include a trust or dealing with the doubling of the estate law exemption.

Reference: Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog (Dec. 26, 2017) "A Gift from the New Tax Act: Kill That Trust."

January 12, 2018June 23, 2024

Entire Family Signed up for Cryogenics

A Wisconsin man signed his entire family up to have their bodies frozen when they pass away, in the hopes that they can be brought back to life at a later date.

There have always been people who dream about living forever. There is something about the idea of not knowing what will happen after we pass away that captures the imagination.

We all want to know how the story ends. We all pay attention to different stories. Whatever story we follow, such as business, politics, sports or a long running TV series, we would like to know how it ends.

The inevitability of death creates a barrier to that.

It is a barrier that some people are trying to get around, as the Daily Mail reports in “Father spends $140,000 to sign his whole family up to be frozen in cooling chambers when they die, in the hope they can be woken up in the future, to have a ‘second chance at life’.”

A man in Wisconsin has signed up for himself, his wife and their three sons to all be cryogenically frozen after they pass away. Their hope is that someday scientists will be able to unfreeze them, bring them back to life and cure whatever it was they died from.

Most experts would say this is an impossibility because the freezing process damages the brain. However, those who support cryogenics have faith that future scientists can fix that.

Whatever your opinion of cryogenics and its potential effectiveness, you probably should think of death as still inevitable. You are going to pass away.

Even if you are brought back to life in a thousand years, the people you left behind in the interim could benefit from you having an estate plan.

Reference: Daily Mail (Dec.18, 2017) “Father spends $140,000 to sign his whole family up to be frozen in cooling chambers when they die, in the hope they can be woken up in the future, to have a ‘second chance at life’.”

January 9, 2018

Tax Reform and People with Disabilities

Republican tax plans have some people with disabilities worried. For parents and grandparents of those people with disabilities, it suggests that a special needs trust is more important than ever.

The ramifications of the new Republican tax reform for individual Americans are still being assessed.

Some people will pay lower taxes, but a few will likely see their taxes increase. One group concerned about the new law was people with disabilities.

Not only will those with disabilities enjoy the standard deduction doubling under the Republican plan, but their taxes might decrease even further due to another provision. The plan includes a provision to lower the itemized deduction threshold for health care expenses in tax years 2017 and 2018. The new tax law lowers the deductibility threshold from 10% to 7.5% of adjusted gross income.

Not until 2019 will the threshold increase return back to 10% where it was pegged in 2016.

Accordingly, the fears expressed by The Hill in "Restructured tax code would unduly burden people with disabilities" did not come to pass.

There is something parents and grandparents of the disabled, as well as the disabled themselves, can do and that is create a special needs trust. These trusts do not ease anyone's tax burden but do allow people with special needs to have more income to help cover any increased taxes.

If you would like to learn more about special needs trusts, then talk to an estate planning attorney Bethesda Maryland for the details about setting one up.

The process is complicated and needs to be done in a particular way in order to work but an experienced attorney can help you with that.

Reference: The Hill (Nov. 24, 2017) "Restructured tax code would unduly burden people with disabilitie

Building Legacies that Last Estate Planning and Elder Law

Category: Estate Plans