Estate Planning Weekly

Great question that was recently asked by a potential client. She got bad advice...always double check any advice you get. www.myestateplanmeeting.com

1. A Life Insurance Trust, know as an ILIT. 2. Gifting. www.myestateplanmeeting.com

While you are alive 'n kicking your revocable trust remains that way. After certain events, that revocable trust becomes irrevocable. www.myestateplanmeeting.com  

www.myestateplanmeeting.com Death and Taxes...the only certainties. However, we can control how much of an assets value is subject to tax.

Short answer - Yes. Right answer - You Shouldn't. www.myestateplanmeeting.com

www.myestateplanmeeting.com Putting your child on your bank account can spell disaster. Find out how this seemingly innocent act can cost you a fortune.

https://www.myestateplanmeeting.com 1. Incapacity. 2. Late State for Medicaid Planning. 3. After You Pass Away.

www.myestateplanmeeting.com If you've ever been through probate you know the answer to this question. People want to avoid probate because it can be a difficult and costly process.

www.myestateplanmeeting.com

When splitting assets amongst your heirs, you don't have to make the values equal for things to be fair. https://www.myestateplanmeeting.com

There are generally two types of Powers of Attorney. It is important that you know the difference and know which one you do, or should, have. www.myestateplanmeeting.com

Depending upon when and how your Will was drafted, you may have accidentally disinherited your youngest child. https://www.myestateplanmeeting.com

Hiring an Estate Planning Attorney should be a good experience. These are three considerations to keep in mind to help make sure that you have a good experience. Compatibility You and the estate planning attorney that you hire should be compatible with each other. I want to work with clients that I get along with and you should want to work with an attorney that you get along with. Many people think of attorneys as adversarial...and they aren't wrong, they can be. However, the attorney-client relationship shouldn't be adversarial.  When I meet with a potential client an we don't click, there are no hard feelings. I'm not the attorney for everyone and not everyone is the client for me. If we don't click I am happy to refer any potential client to an estate planning colleague. Practice Areas I am not a jack of all trades. I practice Estate Planning, Estate Administration, Probate; three related practice areas.  I limit myself to these practice areas to make sure I know what I am doing for my clients.  Ask any a

Qualified retirement accounts are generally protected from creditors and bankruptcy. However, that protection usually only applies to you and your spouse.  When you leave a retirement account to a non-spouse, the protection from creditors and bankruptcy generally disappears. Some states do extend these protections to inherited retirement accounts...Oregon is not one of them. There is a simple solution to this issue. Retirement Plan Trust This a special trust designed to serve as a firewall between creditors and inherited retirement accounts. Using a trust like with will allow an independent trustee to stop creditors from getting to the retirement accounts.  You can learn more about planning with retirement accounts here. Revocable Living Trust You can do the same type of planning for retirement accounts using your revocable living trust. This requires that we setup separate trusts inside of your revocable living trust for each of the people you want to name as beneficiaries of your retirement plans. It also r

Worried about leaving money to an heir that couldn't handle it? Someone with drug, alcohol, or gambling problems? Here are two ways to deal with those heirs in your Estate Plan. Disinherit The Heir Some of my clients decide that their heir is beyond help, and they simply don't leave them anything. This is the most extreme option. However, depending upon the circumstances it is sometime the best solution.  This options saves other heirs or family members from having to manage an inheritance for the problem heir. Leave Their Inheritance In A Spendthrift Trust A Spendthrift Trust is a trust that gives the problem heir ZERO control over their inheritance. They are still the beneficiary of the trust, just without any control. Instead, another person is made trustee and given complete authority and control over how the inheritance is distributed.  Creating a Spendthrift Trust for a problem heir makes sure that their inheritance is there to help them, but not there to support their additions. For a Spendthrift Trust

You've heard that adding a Joint Owner or Pay On Death designation to your bank account is much easier than creating an Estate Plan. Right...and wrong. There are several reasons that "planning" this way can cause trouble. Here are a few ways issues can arise. Nothing Left To Pay Your Final Expenses Your estate is responsible for payment of your final expenses. This can include medical bills, funeral expenses, burial / cremation costs, etc.  With Joint Ownership or Pay On Death ("POD") accounts, your assets with transfer immediately as the time of your death by operation of law. If all of your assets are then out of your estate, nothing is left to pay your final expenses. Your Joint Owner May No Follow Your Wishes You think that you have found a trust person to add as a joint owner of your accounts. You've made an agreement with them that when you pass they will split everything up between your children. This is a twofold issue: That trusted person might decide to keep everything for themselves. Or maybe not

Unlike the Showtime Rotisserie, Estate Plans are not "Set It & Forget It." These are 4 times when you need to consider updating your Estate Plan. ONE - Changes To Your Family Did you have your first child or grandchild? Did you get married or divorced? You get the idea; anytime there are additions or subtractions from your family could mean it's time for an Estate Plan Update. As your family changes, so should your Estate Plan. Sometimes this can happen in interesting ways. I recently worked with a client that had disinherited a daughter in her old Estate Plan. That old plan also disinherited her daughter's children which hadn't been born yet. My client was happy to find out that we could update her Estate Plan to include her daughter's children as heirs while still disinheriting the daughter.  TWO - Changes To Your Wealth What may have work when you didn't have much in the way of assets might not work now.  You've worked hard and accumulated some assets. Now it's time to make sure that your old estate pl

Leaving your final wishes to someone else can be a daunting prospect. Your Personal Representative or Successor Trustee could steal it all, but it is very unlikely if you plan correctly. Technically...They Could Take It All Just a likely they could rob a bank. In reality is Personal Representative and Successor Trustees don't steal from estates. Most often your estate is protected because you picked a trustworthy person. In Oregon, the Probate Court will keep an eye on your estate. Beneficiaries will also keep a close eye on the Personal Representative or Successor Trustee. If they smell anything fishy, they have options for correcting the situation. The Powers They Do Have Personal Representatives and Successor Trustees have lots of power. Their power comes from your Will or Trust and the State Laws. Generally, they can do most anything that achieves your wishes and desires. However, they can't do anything illegal. Personal Representatives and Successor Trustees Have Similar Duties There are really four main

There are many reasons that everyone needs an Estate Plan. These are the first three reasons that come to the top of my mind because they seem to really resonate with my clients. Put Your Worries To Bed Having an Estate Plan can get you more sleep and night and reduce those stress wrinkles. Knowing that you've: Named the right guardians for your children. Appointed someone to care for your financial affairs. Expressed your wishes related to healthcare decisions and appointed a trusted agent to carry them out. These along with many other decisions made in your Estate Plan will keep you from worry. Make Your Own Decisions Without an Estate Plan, you leave decisions to the legislature and the courts. Naming the right people to fill the roles of Successor Trustee, Healthcare Agent and Guardians for your children is something you should do. However, if you don't, these decision are left to a court to decide. In the case of Guardians for you children, this can lead to fighting among family member and the appointm

In an ideal world we would always agree with our spouse...that is not the world that we live in. When it comes to the very important decision of choosing guardians for your children - you are not alone if you and your spouse don't agree. I don't have a magic formula for making the correct decision, but here are three strategies that should make the decision easier. Separate The Roles Instead of thinking that you are naming a guardian that will handle everything, think of it as naming people to two positions. The first is the role of physical custodian. These are the people that your children will live with, learn from, and love. Here you need to think about who shares your values and is capable of instilling them in your children. The second role is the financial role. These people will manage the money and assets you leave for your children. While it's important that they have your children's best interest at heart, they are not the people that will raise your children. Don't Only Think Of Couples My clients