By Mary Ann and James P. Emswiler

1. Are you always irritable, annoyed, intolerant or angry these days?
2. Do you experience an ongoing sense of numbness or of being isolated from your own self or from others? Do you usually feel that you have no one to talk to about what’s happened?
3. Since your loved one died, are you highly anxious most of the time about your own death or the death of someone you love? Is it beginning to interfere with your relationships, your ability to concentrate or live as you would like to live?
4. Do you feel that you are always and continually preoccupied with your loved one, his or her death or certain aspects of it even though it’s been several months since his or her death?
5. Do you usually feel restless or in “high gear”? Do you feel the need to be constantly busy… beyond what’s normal for you?
6. Are you afraid of becoming close to new people for fear of losing again?
7. Do you find yourself acting in ways that might prove harmful to you over time: drinking more than you used to; using more prescription or non-prescription drugs; engaging in sexual activity that is unsafe or unwise; driving in an unsafe or reckless manner (beyond what’s normal for you); or entertaining serious thoughts about suicide?
8. Are you taking on too much responsibility for surviving family members or close friends? (What’s too much responsibility? That varies greatly and depends on the situation, but if you’re feeling heavily burdened by it, angry or like the situation is “suffocating” you, it might be time to speak with someone.)
9. Do your grief reactions continue, over time, to be limited in some way? Are you experiencing only a few of the reactions or emotions that usually come with grief? Are you unable to express your thoughts or feelings about your loved one and his or her death in words or in actions? Do you remember only certain aspects of your loved one or your relationship together, for example only the good parts as opposed to a more complete and balanced view of him or her?
10. Is there some aspect of what you’re experiencing that makes you wonder about whether you’re normal or going crazy? Do you feel stuck in your grief in some way, unable to move on, even though it’s been quite some time since your loved one’s death?

Beyond these ten signs, trust your own judgment. If you think that talking to a professional might help, talk to one or more people to see who you are comfortable with. Take advantage of one who seems helpful to you. After all, grief is painful enough without trying to do it all by yourself.

By Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D.

1. You have the right to experience your own unique grief. No one else will grieve in exactly the same way you do. So, when you turn to others for help, don’t allow them to tell you what you should or should not be feeling.
2. You have the right to talk about your grief. Talking about your grief will help you heal. Seek out others who will allow you to talk as much as you want, as often as you want about your grief.
3. You have the right to feel a multitude of emotions. Confusion, disorientation, fear, guilt, and relief are just a few of the emotions you might feel as part of your grief journey. Others may try to tell you that feeling angry, for example, is wrong. Don’t take these judgmental responses to heart. Instead, find listeners who will accept your feelings without condition.
4. You have the right to be tolerant of your physical and emotional limits. Your feelings of loss and sadness will probably leave you feeling fatigued. Respect what your body and mind are telling you. Get daily rest. Eat balanced meals. And don’t allow others to push you into doing things you don’t feel ready to do.
5. You have the right to experience grief ”attacks.” Sometimes, out of nowhere, a powerful surge of grief may overcome you. This can be frightening, but it is normal and natural. Find someone who understands and will let you talk it out.
6. You have the right to make use of ritual. The funeral ritual does more than acknowledge the death of someone. It helps provide you with the support of caring people. More important, the funeral is a way for you to mourn. If others tell you that rituals such as these are silly or unnecessary, don’t listen.
7. You have the right to embrace your spirituality. If faith is a part of your life, express it in ways that seem appropriate to you. Allow yourself to be around people who understand and support your religious beliefs. If you feel angry at God, find someone to talk with who won’t be critical of your feelings of hurt and abandonment.
8. You have the right to search for meaning. You may find yourself asking, “Why did she or he die? Why this way? Why now?” Some of your questions may have answers, but some may not. And watch out for the clichéd responses some people may give you. Comments like, “It was God’s will” or “Think of what you have to be thankful for” are not helpful and you do not have to accept them.
9. You have the right to treasure your memories. Memories are one of the best legacies that exist after the death of someone loved. You will always remember. Instead of ignoring your memories, find others with whom you can share them.
10. You have the right to move toward your grief and heal. Reconciling your grief will not happen quickly. Remember, grief is a process, not an event. Be patient and tolerant with yourself and avoid people who are impatient and intolerant with you. Neither you nor those around you must forget that the death of someone loved changes your life forever.

Upon the death of a loved one, great emotional sadness sets in as family and friends support each other during this time of loss. After finding a firm emotional foundation, it is time to address the task of administering the estate set up by the deceased.

Included below is a brief list of the actions which you or your Personal Representative and Trustee should take immediately upon death. (Many of these actions may similarly be required in the event of incapacity). This is not intended as an exhaustive or detailed explanation of all actions which should be taken. Rather, it is for use as a checklist to help the appointed representatives step in and handle as expeditiously as possible those items which demand immediate attention.

1. Consider advising any surviving family member who is alone to telephone a friend who can share the next few hours. Shock and trauma due to the death of a relative can take unexpected forms.
2. Notify a funeral director and clergy, and make an appointment to discuss funeral arrangements. Request several copies of decedent’s death certificate, which you’ll need for his or her employer, life insurance companies, and/or decedent’s attorney for legal procedures.
3. Contact by phone and notify the immediate family, close friends, business colleagues and employer.
4. Arrange for care for members of the immediate family, including appropriate child care, having people at the decedent’s house, etc.
5. Locate the decedent’s important papers. Gather as many of the decedent’s papers as possible, and continue to do so for the next few weeks.
6. Contact our office for a consultation or notify the attorney who will be handling the decedent’s affairs. Make an appointment immediately because a tax return may be due within nine (9) months of death. This meeting is important to review decedent’s estate planning documents and to discuss state and federal death taxes that may be payable. The attorney will also determine the extent to which it is necessary or advisable to open a probate estate. (In the event of incapacity, the attorney may suggest additional steps which should be taken for estate planning purposes, particularly if death is imminent.)
7. Telephone decedent’s employee benefits office with the following information: name, Social Security number, date of death (or incapacity); whether the death (or incapacity) was due to accident or illness; and your name and address. The company can begin to process benefits immediately.
8. If decedent was eligible for Medicare, notify the local program office and provide the same information as in Step # 7.
9. Notify life, accident or disability insurers of decedent’s death or disability. Give the same information as in Step # 7, and ask what further information is needed to begin processing your claim. Ask which payment option decedent had elected, and select another option if you would so prefer. If there is no payment option, you will be paid in a lump sum.
10. Notify the decedent’s Social Security office of the death. Claims may be expedited if a surviving family member goes in person to the nearest office to investigate making a claim for survivor’s benefits. Look for the address under U.S. Government in the phone book.
11. If you need emergency cash before insurance claims are paid, a cash advance may be available from life insurance benefits to which you are entitled.
12. If decedent was ever in the military service, notify the Veterans’ Administration. Surviving relatives may be eligible for death or disability benefits.
13. Record in a small ledger all money you or the immediate family spends. These figures may be needed for tax returns.
14. Remember that a surviving family member may be in a highly emotional state. Therefore, they should avoid entering contracts for anything, and avoid spending or lending large sums of money. For our clients, consult the section of the Portfolio entitled “Other Documents” before proceeding further.
15. DO NOT CHANGE THE TITLE OF ANY ASSETS! This can create unnecessary problems for you. Please contact our office for a consultation before you start this process.

Upon the death of a loved one, great emotional sadness sets in as family and friends support each other during this time of loss. After finding a firm emotional foundation, it is time to address the task of administering the estate set up by the deceased.

Included below is a brief list of the actions which you or your Personal Representative and Trustee should take immediately upon death. (Many of these actions may similarly be required in the event of incapacity). This is not intended as an exhaustive or detailed explanation of all actions which should be taken. Rather, it is for use as a checklist to help the appointed representatives step in and handle as expeditiously as possible those items which demand immediate attention.

1. Consider advising any surviving family member who is alone to telephone a friend who can share the next few hours. Shock and trauma due to the death of a relative can take unexpected forms
2. Notify a funeral director and clergy, and make an appointment to discuss funeral arrangements. For our clients, consult the “Location List” and the “Estate Planning Letter” sections in your Portfolio for the names and phone numbers of the appropriate parties and any special requests of the decedent. Request several copies of decedent’s death certificate, which you’ll need for his or her employer, life insurance companies, and/or decedent’s attorney for legal procedures
3. Contact by phone and notify the immediate family, close friends, business colleagues and employer (for our clients, see “Location List” section for persons to contact)
4. Arrange for care for members of the immediate family, including appropriate child care, having people at the decedent’s house, etc
5. Locate the decedent’s important papers. For our clients, consult the “Location List” section in your Portfolio. Gather as many of the decedent’s papers as possible, and continue to do so for the next few weeks
6. Contact our office for your consultation or notify the attorney who will be handling the decedent’s affairs. Make an appointment immediately because a tax return may be due within nine (9) months of death. This meeting is important to review decedent’s estate planning documents and to discuss state and federal death taxes that may be payable. The attorney will also determine the extent to which it is necessary or advisable to open a probate estate. (In the event of incapacity, the attorney may suggest additional steps which should be taken for estate planning purposes, particularly if death is imminent.
7. Telephone decedent’s employee benefits office with the following information: name, Social Security number, date of death (or incapacity); whether the death (or incapacity) was due to accident or illness; and your name and address. The company can begin to process benefits immediately
8. If decedent was eligible for Medicare, notify the local program office and provide the same information as in Step # 7
9. Notify life, accident or disability insurers of decedent’s death or disability. Give the same information as in Step # 7, and ask what further information is needed to begin processing your claim. Ask which payment option decedent had elected, and select another option if you would so prefer. If there is no payment option, you will be paid in a lump sum
10. Notify the decedent’s Social Security office of the death. Claims may be expedited if a surviving family member goes in person to the nearest office to investigate making a claim for survivor’s benefits. Look for the address under U.S. Government in the phone book
11. If you need emergency cash before insurance claims are paid, a cash advance may be available from life insurance benefits to which you are entitled
12. If decedent was ever in the military service, notify the Veterans’ Administration. Surviving relatives may be eligible for death or disability benefits
13. Record in a small ledger all money you or the immediate family spends. These figures may be needed for tax returns
14. Remember that a surviving family member may be in a highly emotional state. Therefore, they should avoid entering contracts for anything, and avoid spending or lending large sums of money. For our clients, consult the section of the Portfolio entitled “Other Documents” before proceeding further
15. DO NOT CHANGE THE TITLE OF ANY ASSETS! This can create unnecessary problems for you. Please contact our office for a consultation before starting this process.

Review the questions below to see if it is time for an Estate Plan Check-Up

1. Has it been more than 3 years since you last conducted Nevada estate planning?
2. If you have minor children, have there been any changes to the Guardians named for them, or does the plan omit guardianship?
3. Since creating your estate plan, are your children now adults?
4. If you have a Trust, are there any assets that you have not transferred into your Trust?
5. If you become disabled, is your Power of Attorney document for financial decisions older than 5 years?
6. If you become disabled, is your Power of Attorney document for health care decisions older than 5 years?
7. Are there any gifts you would like to make to charities at your death that have not been clearly set forth in your planning documents?
8. Is there any personal property that you would like distributed that have not been clearly set forth in your planning documents, including the care of any surviving pets?
9. Since you signed your planning documents, have you changed your mind about any aspect of the plan?
10. Has the value of your assets changed since you signed your planning documents?
11. Have you added or changed the kind of assets you own since your planning documents were signed?
12. Have you recently been married, divorced or widowed since your estate planning documents were signed?
13. Have you had children since your estate planning documents were signed?
14. Have your children had children?
15. Have any of your children been married, divorced or died since your planning documents were signed?
16. Have you, your spouse or child become physically or mentally incapacitated since your planning documents were signed?
17. Have you bought or sold a house or other piece of property since your planning documents were signed?
18. Are you contemplating selling stock or other valuable assets with a low cost basis?
19. Have you moved between states since your planning documents were signed?

If you have answered ‘YES’ to any of these questions, it is a good idea to schedule a Nevada estate planning appointment.

Take a moment to stop and think about what you really want to pass down to future generations. The odds are good that it is not just tangible assets, but the intangible ideals, philosophies, and beliefs that make up your legacy that you hope to pass down. Legacy planning can help you do just that. Legacy planning is not something that takes the place of your existing estate plan. Instead, legacy planning takes over where your estate plan leaves off and focuses on things that are typically overlooked in traditional estate planning.

Limitations of a Traditional Estate Plan

A traditional estate plan focuses on protecting, growing, and eventually distributing the tangible assets you acquire over the course of your lifetime. While traditional estate planning remains necessary, it does have its limitations. For example, your traditional estate plan can help you plan for the end of your life by creating a roadmap for distributing your material wealth after you are gone; however, there is no place in that plan to focus on the values, morals, faith, and beliefs that have guided you throughout your lifetime and helped you reach the material success you have achieved.  As you undoubtedly know, those core values, investing philosophies, religious beliefs, and guiding principles are far more valuable to your beneficiaries than tangible assets are, which is why legacy planning is so important.

How Is Legacy Planning Different from Traditional Estate Planning?

Legacy planning does not require a separate plan nor does it require you to abandon your current estate plan. Instead, legacy planning is accomplished by taking a holistic approach to your comprehensive plan that weaves your legacy into your existing plan. Think of it as creating a bigger, better, more inclusive version of your current estate plan. By doing so, the hope is that future generations will honor your legacy by adopting the same values and beliefs that guided you throughout your lifetime.

What Is Your Legacy?

Legacy planning begins by asking the question “What is the legacy you wish to leave behind?” How can your legacy shape your children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren? What are the principles, values, philosophies, and beliefs you wish to impart on future generations? For some people, their faith comes first. Others place a great deal of importance on education, family values, or philanthropy. Maybe you have an investing philosophy that has worked extremely well for you that you wish to pass on to loved ones. Your legacy is yours to create and pass down by incorporating modern and innovative legacy planning tools and strategies into your overall estate plan.

How Does Legacy Planning Work?

Because the legacy you wish to pass on is highly unique and personal, the legacy plan you create will also be unlike any other legacy plan. There are, however, some common tools and strategies used to interweave your legacy plan into your estate plan. For example, if you have a strong belief in the importance of education, you might establish a trust that can only be used to pay for tuition or expenses related to higher education. If philanthropy is part of your daily life, you could create a family foundation that will carry on your charitable work after you are gone.  Drafting a Letter of Instructions that discusses your values, philosophies, and beliefs is also a straightforward and simple way to incorporate legacy planning in your estate plan.

Contact a Reno, Nevada Legacy Planning Attorney Today

Your legacy plan reflects what truly matters to you and what you hope to pass down to future generations. The legacy planning attorneys at Anderson, Dorn & Rader, Ltd. are committed to ensuring that your legacy shines through in your comprehensive estate plan. If you are ready to get started with your Reno, Nevada legacy plan, contact us today by using our online contact form or by calling (775) 823-9455.

1. Revocable Living Trust: A device used to avoid probate and provide management of your property, both during life and after death.
2. Property Power of Attorney: Instrument used to allow an agent you name to manage your property.
3. Health Care Power of Attorney: Instrument used to allow a person you name to make health care decisions for you should you become incapacitated.
4. Annual Gift Tax Exclusion: Technique to allow gifts without the imposition of estate or gift taxes and without using lifetime exclusion.
5. Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust: A trust used to prevent estate taxes on insurance proceeds received at the death of an insured.
6. Family Limited Partnership: An entity used to:
   • Provide asset protection for partnership property from the creditors of a partner
   • Provide protection for limited partners from creditors
   • Enable gifts to children and parents maintaining management control
   • Reduce transfer tax value of property.
7. Children’s or Grandchildren’s Irrevocable Education Trust: A trust used by parents and grandparents for a child’s or grandchild’s education.
8. Charitable Remainder Interest Trust: A trust whereby donors transfer property to a charitable trust and retain an income stream from the property transferred. The donor receives a charitable contribution income tax deduction, and avoids a capital gains tax on transferred property.
9. Fractional Interest Gift: Allows a donor to transfer partial interests in real property to donees and obtain fractional interest discounts for estate and gift tax purposes.
10. Private Foundation: An entity used by higher-wealth families to receive charitable income, gift, or estate tax deduction while allowing the family to retain some control over the assets in the foundation.

Contact Anderson, Dorn & Rader Ltd.

• Do you have a Will?
• If you have minor children, do you have a current Will which names Guardians?
• If the total gross value of all your assets is over $100,000 do you have an Estate Plan?
• If you have a Living Trust, have you transferred your assets into it?
• In case you become disabled, have you nominated someone to handle your financial affairs?
• Do you have a current Health Care Power of Attorney that provides the names, addresses and telephone numbers of your designated agents to handle your medical care if you’re disabled?
• Do you have provisions in your Trust or Will that address the issue of death taxes?
• If you want to make gifts to charities at your death, are they clearly set forth in your planning documents?
• Do your planning documents clearly set forth how your personal property will be distributed at your death, including the care of any surviving pets?
• Since you signed your planning documents, have you changed your mind about any aspect of the plan?
• Has the value of your assets substantially changed since you signed your planning documents?
• Have you substantially changed the kind of assets you own since your planning documents were signed?
• Have you recently been married, divorced or widowed since your estate planning documents were signed?
• Have you had children since your estate planning documents were signed?
• Have your children had children?
• Have any of your children been married, divorced or died since your planning documents were signed?
• Have you, your spouse or child become physically or mentally incapacitated since your planning documents were signed?
• Have you bought or sold a house or other piece of property since your planning documents were signed?
• Are you contemplating selling stock or other valuable assets with a low cost basis?
• Have you moved between states since your planning documents were signed?

Feel free to make an appointment with our firm to review your estate plan.

You have the ability to craft your legacy in a way that makes life better for the people that you will be leaving behind in various different ways. Of course, you can leave lump sum inheritances and let the individuals that are receiving the bequests do whatever they want to do with the resources.

This can be the right choice for some, but for others, you may want to go in a different direction. Before you make any final decisions along these lines, you should understand your options with regard to asset transfer vehicles.

One device that can be very useful when certain circumstances exist is the incentive trust.

Create a Positive Pathway

You can include incentives when you create this type of trust that the beneficiary must satisfy in order to receive monetary distributions. From a legal perspective, you can include any type of stipulations that you want, as long as you are not requiring the beneficiary to do something that is illegal.

That’s a very broad statement, so we will provide a hypothetical example to give you an idea of the way that some people use incentive trusts. Let’s say that you want to leave an inheritance to a grandchild that has not yet attended college.

You could create a trust that pays out money for the rest of their life without asking them to do anything for it, but this may not feel right to you. Another option would be to fund an incentive trust and leave behind instructions for the trustee with regard to the nature of the asset distributions.

One way to proceed would be to allow the trustee to distribute a certain amount every month as long as the beneficiary remains in college, and of course, college tuition would be paid as well.

After graduation, you could provide a congratulatory lump sum of some type, and add an incentive for attending graduate school. Some people will engender a work ethic by offering a dollar for dollar match of money that is earned by the beneficiary after they enter the workforce.

Subsequently, you could instruct the trustee to start to distribute large lump sums when the beneficiary is 40, 50, and 60 years old. Once again, this is just a hypothetical example of an incentive trust structure that makes sense for some people, but the possibilities are endless.

Download Our Estate Planning Worksheet

We have a treasure trove of resources here on this website, and it starts with the blog that you are reading right now. There are hundreds of posts that you can go through to learn about every estate planning topic under the sun.

In addition to the blog, we have other content that is very useful, including our estate planning worksheet. People that have gone through it give us very positive feedback, so we encourage you to do the same. It is free, you can visit our worksheet download page to get your copy.

Come Join Us!

Our estate planning attorneys are very excited about the material that they are going to present at the workshops that are on our schedule at the present time. This is the ideal way to really build on your knowledge in an enjoyable, interactive environment.

We guarantee that you will walk away with some truly eye-opening information if you carve out some time to attend one of these information sessions. Best of all, they are being offered absolutely free of charge, so you have everything to gain and nothing to lose.

Though we are picking up the tab in every way, we have to ask you one favor. Space is limited, so if you reserve your seat in advance, we can make sure that you are well accommodated. To do just that, visit our Webinars schedule page and follow the simple instructions.

 

Estate planning involves more than just your cash and personal property. A mistake that some clients make is overlooking family heirlooms which often have more sentimental value than monetary value. Part of determining how to distribute your assets after death includes distributing heirlooms that need to be kept in the family and passed on through the generations.  Including your family heirlooms in your estate plan is important and our Reno estate planning attorneys can help.

Be Specific and Put Your Instructions in Writing

Even if you have already discussed with your children how they feel about certain personal belongings, their feelings could very easily change in the future. This is especially true when memories fade. While you may not want to specifically bequeath every single personal item to someone in particular, the meaningful bequests should be written down in detail. Preserving your wishes on these matters will be important to you and your heirs later on. Your Reno estate planning attorney can assist you in drafting the proper plan.

Have Your Heirlooms Appraised

The traditional definition of a family heirloom is a specific item that has been passed down through the generations or that you intend to pass down in that way. The first step should be to determine the monetary value of these items by getting the items appraised. Depending on the type of heirlooms you have, there are various dealers available to provide an appraisal. Antique dealers, fine art dealers, historical or rare book dealers; all have the expertise required to provide an accurate appraisal of your property. If you need help finding one, please contact our law firm for referrals.

Avoid Disputes Over Family Heirlooms

A personal property memo is one way to avoid a dispute over these prize possessions. A personal property memo is basically a written statement referred to in a last will and testament, which can be used to leave personal property to beneficiaries. A personal property memo can be revised or modified without the need of executing your will again. If you want to explore this option, consult with our Reno estate planning attorney.

Make Sure Heirlooms Are Fairly Distributed

When it comes to family heirlooms, there may be some items that have greater value than others. This can make equitable distribution between heirs more challenging. However, there are few strategies that can be useful. Of course, the most direct way is to make specific bequests to your heirs and discuss your decisions with them while you are still living. If your children agree with your choices, then the likelihood of a dispute over these items after your death can be greatly reduced. But, what should be done if there are family heirlooms that are not specifically bequeathed, for whatever reason?

Distributing Family Heirlooms

Without your specific instructions, your appointed executor or trustee will be required to determine how to divide the family heirlooms, at his or her own discretion. Another way to avoid family disputes is to allow the beneficiaries to divide the heirlooms amongst themselves by agreement. If there are any specific items about which they cannot agree, the executor or trustee can then make the decision. Your beneficiaries can also choose the heirlooms by drawing lots in equal shares, with any inequalities to be resolved through cash payments. As an alternative, the executor can hold a silent auction. If you have questions about these and other options, talk to a Reno estate planning attorney.

The “No-Contest Clause”

Some states allow you to include a “No-Contest Clause” in your will or trust.  This provision effectively discourages family disputes over inheritances. If any of your heirs decide to contest the Will, then they are not entitled to receive any part of the inheritance.

Schedule a Consultation

Eventually when you die, your family should not be wasting time fighting over your personal property. Instead, it is a time for them to be supportive to one another and to celebrate your life. If you plan ahead with the assistance of an estate planning attorney, you can avoid many of the potential challenges that come with distributing an estate like family squabbles over your heirlooms.

If you have questions regarding family heirlooms or any other estate planning matters, please contact the experienced attorneys at Anderson, Dorn & Rader, Ltd. for a consultation. You can contact us either online or by calling us at (775) 823-9455. We are here to help!

Probate is the legal process of estate administration. We practice law in Nevada, and in our state, the probate court in the county that the decedent resided in would supervise the process.

In this blog post, we will provide some answers to frequently asked questions about probate.

Why does probate exist?

In an estate planning context, probate exists to provide supervision when an estate is being administered. If the last will is used as a vehicle of asset transfer, an executor would be named to administer the estate. The will would be admitted to probate, and the administration process would get underway.

The court is involved to protect interested parties. To explain by way of example, let’s assume that a friend borrowed $100,000 from you. Unfortunately, he passes away in a car accident before he could pay you. His family does not know about this debt, and they don’t particularly like you.

If there was no supervision, they could just distribute the resources that are contained in your friend’s estate and leave you out in the cold. Probate exists to give creditors a chance to come forward seeking satisfaction. The executor is required to notify creditors about the passing of the decedent.

Another form of protection that is provided by probate is the ability to challenge the validity of a will. There are some instances where challenges are very legitimate, and there would be no window of opportunity if the probate process was not in place.

Intestacy is another situation that can enter the picture when someone passes away without a last will or any other estate planning document. Under these circumstances, the probate court would take control of the situation, and ultimately, the assets in the estate would be distributed under intestate laws of succession.

Do all asset transfers have to go through probate?

There are certain types of postmortem asset transfers that are not subject to the probate process. If you have life insurance, the company would deliver the proceeds to the beneficiary directly. The court would have no involvement. This is also true if you have named a beneficiary to assume ownership of the remainder that is left in your individual retirement account after your passing. When you open a bank account, you have the option of adding a beneficiary. This is called a transfer on death or payable on death account. Brokerage accounts also offer this option. When you have this type of account, the beneficiary cannot access the funds while you are alive.

For payable on death accounts, the beneficiary would obtain a death certificate. It would be presented to the bank or brokerage, and the beneficiary would assume ownership of the assets. The court would not be involved.

It is possible to add someone to the title or deed of your home as a co-owner. This is called joint tenancy, and it comes with right of survivorship. If you do this, the person that you add as a joint tenant would become the sole owner of the home after you die. This transfer would not be subject to the probate process.

A revocable living trust is another estate planning tool that is very useful, and it is a good alternative to a last will. You can consolidate assets with this type of trust, and you can instruct the trustee to distribute assets over an extended period of time if you choose to do so. It is also possible to name someone to manage the assets in the trust if you ever become incapacitated.

In addition to these benefits, assets in a living trust can be distributed to the beneficiaries outside of probate. The same thing is true with assets that are in some other type of trust.

Is there any reason why I would want to avoid probate?

There are some drawbacks that go along with the process. It will take close to a year to run its course, and the inheritors do not receive their inheritances during this interim. There are expenses that reduce the amount of the inheritances that will be received, and it is an open proceeding, so privacy is lost.

Download Our Free Estate Planning Worksheet!

If you would like to build on your estate planning knowledge, download our worksheet. It is being offered free of charge right now, and you can click this link to gain access to your copy.

Our firm has always been very receptive to the needs of the LGBT community, and there was once a time when legal safeguards were absolutely necessary for committed gay couples. When same-sex marriages were not recognized by the federal government, people in these committed partnerships were not afforded the same inherent rights that married people enjoy.

To provide an example, if you pass away without any state estate planning documents at all, this would be looked upon as the condition of intestacy in a legal context. Under these circumstances, the probate court would enter the picture to supervise the administration of the estate.

Ultimately, the assets would be distributed using the intestate succession laws of the state of Ohio. In our state, if a married person dies intestate without any descendants, the surviving spouse would inherit the intestate property.

However, if there is no valid “piece of paper,” this protection would not exist. Surviving parents would be first in line to assume ownership of the intestate property, and if there were no parents still living, siblings would come next. The line of succession would continue from there with the closest blood relatives.

There is also the matter of health care decision making. If no provisions are made for these contingencies in advance, the next of kin would be contacted by medical professionals. Someone that is in a committed relationship that is not legally married would not have the ability to make decisions on behalf of their partner.

We should emphasize the fact that estate planning has always been quite relevant for people that are legally married. The point is that they do have some basic protections from an estate planning perspective that are built into the laws. Things weren’t the same for couples that could not get married, but all that has changed, and a women named Edith Windsor had a great deal to do with it.

Landmark 2013 Supreme Court Ruling

Thea Spyer and the aforementioned Edith Windsor consummated a 30 year romantic relationship with their marriage in Toronto, Ontario in 2007. The following year, the state of New York recognized the marriage as well, but same-sex marriages were not federally recognized.

This was because of Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that defined the institution as something that can only exist between a man and a woman.

There is a federal estate tax marital deduction in the United States that allows for unlimited tax-free transfers between spouses. When Spyer died in 2009, she left a sizable inheritance to her spouse. In spite of the fact that they were married, the IRS demanded over $360,000 to cover the estate tax liability.

Windsor was not prepared to take this lying down, so she filed a lawsuit, and the case ultimately made its way to the docket of the United States Supreme Court. On June 26, 2013, a majority of the Justices found that the section of the DOMA that limited the scope of marriages was unconstitutional.

Since then, same-sex marriages have been recognized by the federal government. As a result, the safeguards that have always been in place for married people are now extended to legally married members of the LBGT community.

Schedule an Estate Planning Consultation Today!

As we have stated previously, in spite of the fact that things have changed for the better, estate planning is a must for all married people, regardless of sexual orientation. Plus, there are those that choose not to get married for one reason or another, and inheritance planning is essential for these individuals as well.

Our firm is here to help if you are currently unprepared from an estate planning perspective. We would be more than glad to sit down with you, gain an understanding of your situation, and explain your options. If you decide to go forward, we can craft a personalized estate plan that ideally suits your needs.

You can schedule a consultation right now if you give us a call at 775-823-9455. There is also a contact form on this website that you can use if you would prefer to send us a message.

 

 

A lot of people like to roll up their sleeves and embrace do-it-yourself projects, and there is certainly nothing wrong with taking the initiative to get things done on your own. It can save you money, and it can become an enjoyable hobby. This being stated, it is important to know where to draw the line when it comes to the DIY phenomenon.

Objective Analysis

There are websites on the Internet that sell do-it-yourself legal documents, including last wills and other estate planning devices. Since it doesn’t take any particular acquired skill to fill in the blanks on a worksheet, it can seem as though you can create your own will using tools that you can easily find online.

Is it wise to put an estate plan together on your own without any legal advice? This is a question that the people at the highly respected website and magazine Consumer Reports were interested in answering several years ago. To do just that, they launched an initiative that would give them some insight into the efficacy of DIY estate planning, or the lack thereof.

They assigned staff members to create last wills using downloads and worksheets that were being offered by three of the leading purveyors of do-it-yourself legal documents. In addition to wills, they actually used online tools to produce a few other legal documents that are not related to estate planning. Of course, we will stick to the last wills here.

Once the documents were in their hands, they had to find legal scholars that were qualified to examine them. Gerry Beyer from Texas Tech University School of Law was engaged, along with Norman Silber, a legal expert from Yale University. The third set of experienced eyes belonged to Hofstra University contract specialist Richard K. Neumann.

At the end of the process, they determined that there were unnecessary limitations in these templates. They found that it is unlikely that the DIY products that are on the market would meet your needs unless your intentions are extremely simple, like leaving everything to your spouse.

Understanding Your Options

The fact that you really can’t trust boilerplate documents that you can get online is only one part of the equation when it comes to the shortcomings of do-it-yourself estate planning. As a layperson, how would you know what documents you should use?

And yes, we are using the plural, because a well-constructed estate plan will cover multiple bases.

When it comes to asset transfers, a last will is not your only option, and in fact, it is not the right choice for many people. A will must be admitted to probate, which is a costly and time-consuming process that strips your family of privacy.

If you were to use a revocable living trust instead, the drawbacks of probate would be avoided. There are additional benefits that can be taken advantage of as well, like the ability to instruct the trustee to distribute limited assets over an extended period of time to protect a spendthrift heir.

This is just one of numerous different types of trusts that can be utilized when you are planning your estate. The ideal choice will depend upon the circumstances, and this is why it is important to discuss your unique situation with a licensed estate planning attorney before you make any impetuous decisions.

Getting back to the concept of multiple different objectives to address, end-of-life issues should be confronted when you are planning your estate. A significant percentage of elders become unable to make sound decisions at some point in time due to Alzheimer’s disease or dementia that is triggered by some other underlying condition.

If you have a living trust, you could name a disability trustee to manage the assets if you become unable to do so yourself. You can also add a durable power of attorney for property to give someone the ability to make decisions on your behalf concerning property that is not in the trust.

A durable power of attorney for health care decision-making will also be part of a typical incapacity plan. This is an advance directive for health care, and a living will is another advance directive that should be included. With this type of will, you state your preferences regarding the utilization of artificial life-sustaining measures.

Download Our Free Estate Planning Worksheet!

We have prepared a very useful worksheet that you can use to gain some additional insight into the estate planning process. It is being offered free of charge, and you can visit our worksheet download page to get your copy.

People that are serious about their estate planning efforts are interested in attending to every detail. This is wise, because the matter boils down to the final gifts that you will be able to give to the people that you love the most. The simpler and more efficient it is, the better for them, so you would naturally be concerned about the time frame after you are gone.

There is no cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all estate plan, so the waiting game, as it were, will depend upon the way that you plan your estate. Let’s look at some of the details.

Last Wills and Probate

If you use a last will, you name an executor to handle all of the tasks that must be completed to get the assets into the hands of the inheritors. The executor is not allowed to act independently. After your passing, the executor would admit the will to probate, and the court would supervise the estate administration process.

When probate enters the picture, your heirs will not receive their inheritances shortly after your passing. The first order of business for the court would be to determine the validity of the will, and to this end, any party that wants to issue a challenge can take advantage of this window of opportunity.

Creditors must be notified, and they are given a certain amount of time to come forward seeking satisfaction. The executor would have to identify and inventory all the assets that comprise the estate, and appraisals and liquidations are typically going to be necessary.

All in all, the best case scenario would be 6 to 8 months to a year. More complex cases, like a contested estate situation, can take considerably longer. For example, it took well over a decade for the Anna Nicole Smith case to run its course.

It should be noted that this is not the only drawback of probate. Considerable expenses accumulate, and this money reduces the amount of the inheritances that will eventually be passed along to the heirs. There is a loss of privacy as well, because probate records can be accessed by the general public.

Revocable Living Trusts

A lot of people that do not look into the subject closely assume that a last will is the right asset transfer vehicle to benefit your heirs. They are under the impression that trusts are only utilized by very wealthy people that have estate tax concerns or other complicated situations to address.

While it is true that there are trusts that are beneficial for high net worth individuals, these would be irrevocable trusts. There is another type of trust called a revocable living trust that can be ideal for “the rest of us" and actually benefit your heirs.

When you use a revocable living trust as the centerpiece of your estate plan, you maintain complete control of the assets, because you would act as the trustee and the beneficiary while you are alive and well. You name a successor trustee to take over when the time comes, and you name your heirs as the beneficiaries. After your passing, the trustee would be empowered to distribute assets to the beneficiaries in accordance with your wishes as stated in the trust declaration.

These distributions to beneficiaries would not be subject to the probate process and the undo time consumption that goes along with it. Many of the other drawbacks would be avoided as well, and a living trust would provide additional advantages. For one, you can include a spendthrift clause to protect assets that you are leaving to someone that does not manage money effectively.

We Are Here to Help!

Our doors are wide open if you would like to discuss your estate planning objectives with a licensed attorney. You can schedule a consultation right now if you give us a call at 775-823-9455. There is also a contact form on this website that you can use to send us a message.

In some instances, a client will come to us looking for help because of a bad situation that has developed due to a lack of informed planning. We do what we can under these circumstances, and there are damage control strategies that can sometimes be implemented.

These situations are a bit frustrating for us, because we know how easy it could have been to avoid the difficulties. With this in mind, we will look at a handful of common estate planning mistakes that are made in an effort to increase awareness.

Failure to Consider the Value of a Trust

If you have been successful enough to be able to leave behind a suitable legacy for your loved ones, a last will may not be the right choice for you as an asset transfer vehicle. The notion that trusts are only for the wealthy is a major misconception that is harbored by far too many individuals that are not well-informed.

As we will look at in another section, there are certain types of trust that can be useful for people that have advanced estate planning concerns, like death tax exposure. This being stated, a revocable living trust is a legal device that can be useful for a wide range of people that are not in the upper financial stratosphere.

A living trust would actually not be the right choice for high net worth individuals. You retain incidents of ownership when you establish this type of trust, because you can in fact revoke the trust, and you can act as the trustee and the beneficiary while you are alive and well.

This is a positive for many people that would not like to surrender control of their assets permanently. It would not be good for those that want to get assets out of their own name for certain reasons.

One of the major benefits that you gain through the creation of a revocable living trust is the avoidance of probate. This is a time-consuming, intrusive, and expensive legal process that would enter the picture if you use a last will to state your final wishes.

All the assets are consolidated in one place, and this is another positive. Plus, with a last will, there is an open forum for disgruntled parties to present estate challenges. It is much more difficult to contest the terms of a revocable living trust.

Unfortunately, countless families find out about the pitfalls of wills and the probate process when it is too late to do anything about it.

Enabling a Spendthrift

Another problem with a last will is the fact that, generally speaking, you would be facilitating lump-sum asset transfers to the people that are named in the document. A spendthrift inheritor could burn through their inheritance much too quickly and have nowhere to turn for assistance later on.

If you use a living trust instead of a will, you could include a spendthrift provision. This would allow the trustee to distribute assets to the beneficiary incrementally in accordance with your wishes. The resources would also be out of the reach of the beneficiary’s creditors.

Choosing the Wrong Estate Administrator

As we have stated, you can act as the trustee of your living trust while you are alive. In the trust declaration, you name a successor trustee to handle the trust administration tasks after you pass away. Some people choose someone that they know personally that they trust in a broad sense, but this can be a major blunder.

It takes a significant amount of financial acumen to administer a living trust effectively, and there are legal guidelines that must be followed to the letter. The trust administration process can be time intensive, and the trustee could face personal liability issues if mistakes are made.

You can avoid these potential problems if you engage a professional that offers fiduciary services. We would be more than glad to act as the trustee of your living trust or any other type of trust that you create during the estate planning process.

When you have a professional at the helm, you can be certain that your trust will be administered properly.

Let’s Get Started!

We are here to help if you would like to consult with a licensed estate planning attorney. You can send us a message to request a consultation appointment, and we can be reached by phone at 775-823-9455.

When you are being introduced to the benefit program at your first “real job,” you typically get initial exposure to a couple of long-term planning concepts that you may have never considered before. Most packages come with a certain level of life insurance, and you can typically participate in a 401(k) plan to save for retirement.

In many instances, the employer will match your contributions up to a certain percentage. This is nothing more or less than free money that you can receive on a sustained basis for decades if you stay with the same job. You absolutely must take advantage of this golden opportunity.

Many people will plan their retirement with the knowledge that they are going to extract money from their retirement savings account to fund their golden years. This is what it’s all about in general, but if you never need the money, an IRA can be quite useful from an estate planning perspective.

Types of Retirement Accounts

Generally speaking, there are two different types of individual retirement accounts that are utilized: traditional accounts, and Roth IRAs. There are some similarities, and there is one major difference between the two of them. First, we will look at the aspects that are the same.

You cannot withdraw money from either type of individual retirement account without being penalized until you are 59 ½ years old. However, there are a handful of exceptions to the rule. If you are buying your first home, you can extract up to $10,000 to assist with the purchase.

Under the rules governing individual retirement accounts, you can pay school tuition with assets in the account without incurring any penalties. If you have non-reimbursed health care expenses that exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income, you are not penalized if you pay them with funds from the account.

Now we can get into the differences. The contributions that you make into a traditional account are not taxed, and this reduces your taxable income. This is a positive when you file your returns, but it all comes back around full circle when you take distributions.

The withdrawals are subject to regular income taxes, and you don’t have the luxury of keeping the money in the account untouched for the rest of your life with estate planning in mind. Because the IRS wants to start getting their cut at some point, you are forced to take mandatory minimum distributions when you are 70 ½ years old.

With a Roth IRA, you pay taxes on the income before you contribute into the account. You do have to wait until you are 59 ½ years old to avoid penalties, but the distributions are not taxed.

The Internal Revenue Service does not require you to take mandatory minimum distributions at the age of 70 ½ or any other age, because they don’t have to try to retroactively collect taxes.

Stretching a Roth Individual Retirement Account

Because of the nature of Roth IRAs, they can be used quite effectively in an estate planning context. The beneficiary (assuming it is not your spouse) would be required to take mandatory minimum distributions upon assumption of ownership of the account. This being stated, the word “minimum” is quite operative here.

The minimum that is required would depend upon the age of the beneficiary; a younger beneficiary could take less than someone that is older, because it is about life expectancy.

Assets in the account will grow consistently if the economy is functioning, so it is wise for the beneficiary to take only the minimum to maximize the tax-free growth for as long as possible. Whenever distributions are taken, they would not be subject to taxation.

Access Our Special Report!

We have provided a basic explanation of this concept here, and there is another resource that you can access through this website that takes it to another level. Our firm has established a library of special reports that cover many different estate planning topics. One of them is devoted to this topic, and you can click the following link to gain access: Estate Planning With IRAs.

When income is received from any source, you are naturally going to be concerned about taxation. This will enter the picture when it comes to estate planning, and there are some misconceptions out there. In this post, we will take a look at the subject and pass along three facts about taxation that you should understand when you enter the estate planning process.

Inheritances are not subject to regular income taxes.

If someone leaves you an inheritance through the terms of a last will, you would not be required to report it as taxable income. Insurance policy proceeds fit into this category as well. When it comes to trusts, if there are appreciable assets, the earnings would be subject to taxation. Distributions of the principal would not be taxed.

There is also a step up in basis that enters the picture if you inherit the assets that appreciated during the life of the person that passed away. This means that you not be responsible for capital gains taxes on the gains that took place during the life of the deceased individual. However, if you keep the assets, and they appreciate in the future, you would be responsible for capital gains.

There is a federal estate tax.

Though you do not have to worry about income taxes for the most part, it is important to be aware of the existence of the federal estate tax. This levy carries a maximum rate of 40%, so it is a very big deal if you are exposed. That’s the bad news, but the good news is that most people do not have to pay the tax.

There is a federal estate tax credit or exclusion. This figure represents the amount that can be transferred before the estate tax would become applicable. At the time of this writing in 2019, the federal estate tax exclusion stands at $11.4 million. There are annual adjustments to account for inflation, so you may see a somewhat larger exclusion next year.

To sum it up, the portion of your estate that exceeds $11.4 million could potentially be subject to taxation. However, there is an unlimited marital deduction. If you are married in the eyes of the law, and your spouse is an American citizen, unlimited tax-free transfers are allowed.

Plus, on the subject spouses, the estate tax exclusion is portable. This means that a surviving spouse could use the exclusion that was allotted to his or her deceased spouse.

Some states have state-level estate taxes.

There are some states in the union have state-level estate taxes, and the exclusions in these states are typically lower than the federal estate tax exclusion. As a result, you could be exposed on the state level even if you are exempt from the federal estate tax. Our practice is in Nevada, and fortunately, we do not have a state-level estate tax to contend with here in the Silver State.

Though there is no estate tax in our state, it is possible that individual that a resident’s estate could be exposed to state-level estate taxes. If you own valuable property in a state that has its own estate tax, the death levy could be applicable on the transfer after your passing.

Attend an Upcoming Webinars!

We are holding a series of Webinars over the coming weeks, and you can obtain a great deal of useful information if you attend the session that fits into your schedule. There Webinars are being offered on a complimentary basis, so you have everything to gain and nothing to lose. This being stated, we do ask that you register in advance so that we can reserve your seat.

There is a Webinars schedule page on this website that you can visit to get all the details. Once you find a date that is right for you, click on the button that you see and follow the simple instructions to register.

 

 

When you hear about mistakes that others make that yield negative consequences in the real world, it can really get your attention and impact your own actions. Yes, people can give you advice, but witnessing examples of what can actually happen can be a wake-up call.

This definitely enters the picture when it comes to estate planning. Attorneys will emphasize the importance, but at the end of the day, the majority of people go through life without any estate planning documents at all. Both younger folks and older individuals have failed to plan ahead appropriately.

You rarely hear about errors that are made by ordinary people, but some celebrity estate planning cases become widely publicized. Did you ever wonder why this information becomes available?

The probate court supervises the administration of an estate when a will is used, or when someone dies without a will. These records are available to the general public, and this is why you read about the details.

If you value your privacy you may want to arrange for asset transfers outside of probate through the utilization of a living trust if you value your privacy. Assets in a living trust can be distributed without probate involvement. This is a subject for another post, but it is related to the Aretha Franklin estate case that we will examine here.

Holographic Wills Found

The great soul singer Aretha Franklin died in August of 2018, and she was unmarried when she passed away. She is survived by four adult sons. Clearly, her estate is very valuable, and there will always be additional royalty revenues coming in that are generated by her work.

It has been reported that she had an attorney that had been working with her for over 40 years, but for whatever reason, at the time of her death, it was determined that she had no estate plan in place. This is a very unusual for someone with a considerable legacy to pass along.

When there is no will or any other documents directing asset transfers, the condition of intestacy is the result. Under the rules of the state of Michigan where she lived, the probate court is required to review the situation and appoint a personal representative to act as the administrator.

Final debts would be paid, and other issues could arise during the process. After everything is in order, the court will close the estate and order the distribution of the assets according to the intestate succession laws. In this situation, these laws would allow for everything to be transferred to the four sons.

That was the way that it stood until Franklin’s niece, Sabrina Owens, found some keys to a locked cabinet while she was cleaning the late artist’s home. In this cabinet, there were two holographic wills that were apparently written back in 2010. A holographic will is a will that was written out by hand.

Owens subsequently came upon a third handwritten will in a notebook from 2014 that was under a couch cushion. One of them required two of the four sons to complete business school before they could be given all of their inheritances. A judge will make the ultimate decision, and it would appear to be quite a jumbled legal mess.

Avoid Intestacy

As you can see, if Aretha had developed a relationship with a solid estate planning firm that has a background handling high net worth clients, all this confusion would have been avoided.

She could have explained her objectives and her concerns, and a custom crafted estate plan could have been created to ideally suit her needs. Instead, a judge that cannot get inside her head will have to do the best that he or she can to make an imperfect determination.

Schedule a Consultation Today!

There is no reason to take any chances when a licensed estate planning attorney is just a phone call away. If you would like to schedule a consultation, our doors are open. We can be reached by phone at 775-823-9455, and if you would for her to reach out electronically, send us a message through our contact page.