Create your Estate Plan Today

Saturday, July 25th, 2009

Better Business Bureau reminds people that estate planning is not just for the wealthy.  They advise consumers to create an estate plan if they have something of value to pass on to their loved ones after death.  According to surveys, 55% of adults don’t want to set up an estate plan because either they don’t want to think of dying or they believe that they don’t have any assets to pass on.

However, if you don’t give your final instructions, nobody would know where your money should go or how will your children be taken cared of.  Do you want to leave these important decisions to the state?  If not, it’s important to create an estate plan and ensure that your wishes will be followed.

Creating an estate plan may be simple if you just draft a will.  But it can also be complex when you’re trying to set up a trust or a living will.  A will is something that you create to allocate your assets and establish guardianship of your children.  On the other hand, a living trust could set up conditions to distribute your assets while reducing inheritance taxes and avoiding probate.  Finally, a living will communicates a person’s desire for lifesaving measures in case there’s mental incapacity to decide on an emergency medical situation.  To help you draft these important documents, make sure that you consult an estate planning attorney.

Tags: attorney, Better Business Bureau, estate plan, estate planning attorney, living trust, living will, wealthy, will
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Help Parents Manage Finances and Leave a Legacy

Thursday, July 16th, 2009

You’re very fortunate if your parents are still living.  However, it’s time for you to assist them on some areas of their life, more specifically on financial issues.  In fact, it’s imperative for you to be involved with them on these two things: managing finances on their retirement as well as leaving a legacy.

When your parents don’t initiate conversations on these things, it’s better if you start talking to them about it.  Who knows, you might find them willing to discuss these things with you more than you thought.  Encourage your parents to seek the help of an estate planning attorney to identify several ways on how they could pass their assets to the next generation.

Moreover, you may want to suggest that they check on beneficiaries designations of their qualified plans (such as IRAs, 401ks, etc.) or life insurance contracts. Maybe the family picture changed in the last couple of years, and they are really intending to change the designations.  They should take action now before it’s too late.

While it’s important for your parents to deal with legacy issues, they may still have numerous years ahead of them.  Therefore, you can also start discussing about their investments, savings, assets, and so on.  This kind of knowledge would be very helpful if you would become involved in distributing or managing their resources.

Tags: assets, attorney, estate planning attorney, finances, legacy, parents, plans, resources, retirement
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Couple Received Planned Giving Honors

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

Recently, the Planned Giving Council of Greater Cincinnati honored LaVerne and William (posthumously) Stautberg for their generosity.  Their foresight will benefit future generations of Santa Maria Community Services.

Mr. and Mrs. Stautberg have been close to Santa Maria or many years - it started with William’s involvement in Western Hills/Price Hills Kiwanis Club.  Also, he served as the Board President during the mid-1980s.  So at the couple’s anniversary (64^th), their children and grandchildren fulfilled their desire to touch lives and create a lasting legacy.  The couple has provided annual funding to charity by establishing an endowment fund - there were other charity beneficiaries and among them, Santa Maria was selected as a perpetual beneficiary.

As a result, the Stautbergs were nominated for the “Voice of Giving Award.”  In total, the Price Hill-based council gave 20 awards to honorees.  The nonprofit believes that these people have committed to give millions collectively and their help will ensure that diverse causes will be possible for the future.

The Planned Giving Council of Greater Cincinnati is a professional association whose life work is ensuring viability of charitable organizations.  To get more information on planned giving and the benefits that it could give you, seek assistance from an estate planning attorney.

Tags: attorney, Cincinnati, estate planning attorney, Planned Giving, Santa Maria Community, Stautberg, Voice of Giving Award
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Attorney-Client Relationship in Estate Planning

Sunday, July 12th, 2009

Sometimes, elderly clients would come to attorneys to draft an estate plan.  But these clients often had their caregivers or children with them.  It may be reasonable because these clients rely on their companions to express what they want and to make sure that the attorney is somebody they can trust.

However, some attorneys would want to meet the client alone to discuss major decisions.  These are the reasons why:

• -An estate planning attorney is required to confidentially and faithfully serve the client’s interest only.  Because of this, the attorney must meet the client alone to ensure that confidential information will not be known to anyone else (unless the client gives permission).
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• -When the meeting is held in confidence, the attorney would more likely get personal with the client to understand their desires and circumstances.  If anyone is in the room (say the children), other people might be the one to take charge of succeeding discussions and it might prevent the client from saying something confidential.  Therefore, a confidential meeting would definitely protect the client and enable the attorney to uncover the true wishes.
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• -Finally, the attorney should be satisfied of the mental capacity of the client.  The elderly should still have the ability to understand and communicate the instructions clearly.  Also, clients need to act out of free will without any “undue influence.”

Tags: attorney-client relationship, attorneys, confidential, elderly clients, estate plan, estate planning attorney, free will
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Surprisingly Disinherited

Friday, July 10th, 2009

Kari Kennedy’s father died and she was crushed emotionally.  But when she found out that Liv, her dad’s ex-wife inherited more than $400,000, she got the biggest surprise of her life.  Liv and her dad had been divorced for many years.  In fact, she has a copy of their divorce decree which says that Liv is waiving all her rights to any retirement plan.

It may sound impossible but it’s true.  Estate planning looks so simple but it’s filled with pitfalls and landmines.  So if you failed to change the beneficiary in your retirement plan or insurance form your true heirs cannot contest it if you accidentally pass away.  In the above example, the law governing qualified retirement plans triumphs over the divorce decree.

This happens all the time.  Well-meaning individuals don’t change their beneficiary forms frequently and not willing to spend any money in hiring an estate-planning attorney.  They also forget that the results can be very disastrous.

Therefore, estate planning attorneys recommend that everyone should review all assets that they own - each legal document, trust, will, real estate titles, insurance policy, annuity, IRA, and retirement plan.  If you do this regularly, you’ll be sure that the inheritors of your belongings will be according to your wishes.

Tags: attorney, Divorce, Estate Planning, estate planning attorney, Kari Kennedy, legal document, retirement plan
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Make Estate Planning Your First Step after Divorce

Monday, July 6th, 2009

The last thing that people want to do after a divorce is to consult another attorney.  But regardless of your age and whether you have kids or not, it’s important to consult legal and financial experts to ensure that your financial plans and estate are updated in terms of reflecting your new circumstances.

So if you’re not working with an estate planning attorney or financial consultant during your divorce, it’s time for you to do it now.  A financial planner will look at your finances. Your expenses as a new single individual can grow unexpectedly; a financial planning professional helps you compare strategies and review your new savings and spending needs.

Also, talk with an attorney that has numerous experiences in real estate.  If you plan to remarry one day and you have kids, make sure that your specific assets will go to them (guaranteed) when you die.  This is because some cases happen when the ex-spouse may automatically gain full control of assets earmarked for your kids.  Of course you don’t want this to happen - that’s why you must plan for it legally.

If your children are still minors, it would also be wise to plan the guardianship for them.  Especially when there are wealth issues that’ll only become effective when they reach adulthood, it’s critical to establish a solid and efficient legal structure to distribute those assets.

Tags: attorney, Divorce, estate, Estate Planning, estate planning attorney, experts, financial, financial planner, legal, minors, plans
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Celebrity Estate Planning

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

With so many celebrities passing away recently - Karl Malden, David Carradine, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson - there’s been a lot of talk about lack of proper estate planning.  Some celebrities who passed away without even planning their estate are Elvis, Anna Nicole Smith, Jerry Garcia, and Heath Ledger.

Apparently, Michael Jackson did some planning; however, his documents were not updated for more than 7 (seven) years.  So it goes to show that when celebrities neglect this very important step, then there are dreadful consequences.

You might be thinking that you don’t have an estate to protect like them and you probably don’t need estate planning.  But be informed that whatever size your estate is, it does not excuse you from executing an estate plan.  Simply put, it’s a plan that will ensure your family’s financial needs are met after you die.

So if you own a home (whether mortgaged or not), a business, or any other asset (such as insurance policies), you need an estate plan.  Certainly if you have children, you would want to ensure a bright future for them even after you’re gone.  The only way to do this is to dust off your documents and review them to see and decide on the beneficiaries of your assets.  It would be better if you speak to an estate planning attorney to seek help in taking care of this.

Tags: beneficiaries, celebrities, estate, estate plan, Estate Planning, estate planning attorney, Michael Jackson
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