Estate Planning - Blogs
- What is Estate Planning?
Let's start with what it isn't. Estate planning is not just for the wealthy. It is not just about avoiding probate and minimizing taxes. It is not just transferring wealth at your death. It is not about which documents to use. It is not a one-time event. It is about your family, their needs, and your goals. It is about taking care of you and your loved ones at all stages of your life. It is about results and meeting your expectations. A proper estate plan most importantly ensures and provides...
(April 23, 2009) - Sunday Is National Pet Parent's Day
National Pet Parent's Day. I did not know this holiday even existed. A noble idea. A fun concept to consider. But, we all should have known that like Mother's Day, Father's Day, Grandparent's Day and Valentine's Day…there is a commercial enterprise behind this idea According to the Sacramento Bee newspaper. "Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. (VPI) has designated a day in honor of those who tirelessly scoop poop and dish out kibble, hold birthday parties in Fido's honor, and share a cramped bed...
(April 23, 2009) - Disposition of Remains
James T.R. Jones (Professor of Law, Louis D. Brandeis School of Law) has written a new article entitled Body, Body, Who Gets the Body? The Resolution of Bodily Remains Cases. Here is a summary of the article: The article gives...
(April 22, 2009) - New California Probate Fees
California revised the fees and costs charged by the probate Courts for probate cases. The new schedule of probate fees can be read in full detail below. Or, you may see them by clicking on this link. For probate help, call Mitchell A. Port at (310) 559-5259.
(April 22, 2009) - Risk Management: Lenders Beware
On Tuesday I blogged about mortgage fraud and suggested that financial institutions may be at greater risk because of the B.C. Court of Appeal decision: Re Oehlerking Estate, 2009 BCCA 138. Why would they be at increased risk? In the B.C. case, the Judge ordered that the fraudster's title be set aside and that a new title be issued in the name of the plaintiff executrix. However, the Judge was satisfied that the financial institution had not "participated in the fraud" therefore the mortgage...
(April 22, 2009) - VA Compensation Claims and the “Medical Nexus” Requirement
There are three criteria that a veteran must meet in order to receive service-connected compensation from the Veterans Administration (VA): A Current Disability. There must be a current disability, one that has been diagnosed by a medical professional; An Event In Service. There must be evidence in the military service records of the occurrence or aggravation of a disease, injury, or event in service; and, Medical Nexus Evidence. There must be a nexus, or link, between the current disability...
(April 22, 2009) - Rankings of Best and Worst 529 Savings Plans
Investors in Ohio's CollegeAdvantage 529 savings plans have something to feel good about. The Morningstar investment research firm ranked the savings plan as the best in its rankings released today. The research firm liked the fact that the Ohio Tuition Trust Authority not only created the plan, but it manages it as well. Both low fees and a variety of investment options, including age-based options, were important factors in Morningstar's favorable ranking. The news for the brokerage sold Ohio...
(April 22, 2009) - Robert Moshman has written a new article entitled The Estate Analyst: "Planning in Fearful Times. Here is a summary of the article: The article discusses some of the reasons why estate planning has been turned on its head in these...
(April 22, 2009) - When a Restricted Gift is Not a Restricted Gift
As universities feel the pinch of the recession, many of them are looking for sources of money to cover operational expenses. One important source is endowments. Universities love unrestricted gifts, because the money is theirs to use as needed to pay faculty salaries, financial aid, and other expenses. The reality is that most significant endowments are for a restricted purpose. For example, maybe the donor hopes that the money will be used to bring prominent speakers to the university. It...
(April 22, 2009) - MatchingDonors.com -- good or bad?
MatchingDonors.com is a website which facilitates donees and living organ donors to connect. According to the site, it is "the most successful nonprofit organization that is improving those odds by finding living altruistic donors for patients needing transplants." However, this...
(April 22, 2009) - Preparing for College Can be Hard
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(April 22, 2009) - What Happens to Your Online Accounts When You Die?
Most people in our high tech society have online accounts such as ebay, Pay Pal, Facebook, Linked in, etc. not to mention their online banking accounts, brokerage accounts, and others with passwords. Some people have photographs and documents stored in their computer and have passwords to get into their computer. What happens when someone dies and no one knows the passwords? If you bank online or you conduct business on line, your family or your executor or trustee may need to access those...
(April 22, 2009) - Update: New Estate Tax Bill
As discussed last week, Seattle Congressman Jim McDermott introduced an estate tax bill yesterday. It is H.R. 2023, entitled "To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to reform the estate and gift tax". The text is not yet available, but you can get the text and check the status with the last two links. It appears that the bill includes a permanent estate tax exemption of $2.0 million, higher tax rates, and indexing. This bill adds to a growing debate on the future of the estate tax that...
(April 22, 2009) - Don't ask, don't tell -- charitable contribution style
Charities, especially colleges, are getting large contributions conditioned on the charity promising not to ascertain the identity of the donors. Here are some details from Michael J. Crumb, Mystery donors give over $45M to 9 universities, Yahoo! News, April 16,...
(April 22, 2009) - Marlon Brando's trustees file suit for trademark infringement
The trustees of Marlon Brando's trust have recently filed suit in Los Angeles against the companies that own and operate the Broadcast Center Apartments claiming that they are infringing on Brando's trademarked name. According to Michael Cieply, Protecting Brando Legacy,...
(April 21, 2009) - Update on Leona Helmsley Estate
According to David Goldman, the other Florida Estate Planning blogger named David (but who lives 300 miles away in Jacksonville), Leona Helmsley's estate made distributions of $136 million to charities, and "only" $1 million to her pets.
(April 21, 2009) - Creating the Perfect Child Custody/Parenting Time Arrangement for Your Children
One of the most difficult things in any paternity or divorce case is figuring out the schedule for your children - this comes into play when talking about both physical custody and parenting time. In Minnesota, physical custody is the routine, daily care of the children. Parties can have joint physical custody, or one party can have sole physical custody. Joint physical custody does not mean 50/50 - in fact some parties may use the term "joint," although the children spend almost all of their...
(April 21, 2009) - Social Media and the Canadian Conference on Elder Law - Hull on Estate and Succession Planning #161
Listen to Social Media and the Canadian Conference on Elder Law This week on Hull on Estate and Succession Planning, Ian and Suzana discuss the idea of knowing what is going on around us in social media. They mention the Canadian Conference on Elder Law put on by the Canadian Bar Association conference in Kingston, Ontario on June 9, 2009. One of the first topics at the conference will be on assessing the capacity assessor. Ian and Suzana discuss assessing the assessor and the pros, cons and...
(April 21, 2009) - Protecting Brando Legacy, Trustees You Can't Refuse
A celebrity's best earning years may come long after he or she passes away, as reported by Forbes in its annual Top-Earning Dead Celebrities list. The NY Times reported on one estate that's trying to join the Forbes list in Protecting Brando Legacy, Trustees You Can't Refuse. In the excerpt below two points caught my eye: (i) the estate's focus on intellectual property rights and (ii) the incredible amount of litigation Brando's estate has been involved in (26 cases and counting!): On Friday...
(April 21, 2009) - I am clearly guilty of an Ohio Felony or Ohio Misdemeanor, why do I want a Lawyer?
People who have been caught "red-handed" in the commission of a felony in Ohio often just want to get the entire thing over and do not want to hire an attorney, believing that because they are so obviously guilty, there is nothing to do but plead guilty or no contest. This is a major mistake. Attorneys provide value to all criminal defendants, even those that feel there is no point in fighting anything. Because prosecutors know that the average layman will not go to trial and make the...
(April 21, 2009)