Posts Categorized: Estate Planning

Lights… Cameras… Estate Plans? When Wills Hit the Big Screen

From Philip Seymour Hoffman and Heath Ledger to Frank Sinatra and Elizabeth Taylor, Hollywood’s dearly departed have taught us a lot about estate planning over the years.

Forbes put together a list of those lessons last year, demonstrating how creative and chaotic estate planning can be in the spotlight of fortune and fame. That had me thinking — it isn’t only the stars themselves who impart insight on the prudence of planning. Sometimes their movies do too.

Here’s a look back at a few of the greatest movies to put estate planning front and center (or at least in the middle of a juicy plot twist):

Cover of "The Aristocats (Special Edition...

Cover of The Aristocats (Special Edition)

  • The Aristocats (1970) — When you think about complex legal concepts, Disney animated features aren’t the first things that spring to mind. Nevertheless, The Aristocats offers a textbook illustration of the classic “life estate with remainder in fee simple absolute” — in other words, an elderly widow who leaves her entire estate to her cats, with the remainder to pass to her butler after the cats die. Unfortunately, the criminally inclined butler isn’t eager to wait that long…
  • The Descendants (2011) — George Clooney plays an attorney and the sole trustee for a massive family trust containing 25,000 acres of beautiful Hawaiian land. A series of accidents and unfortunate timing force his enormous family to wade through the murky waters of wills & trusts. Most interestingly, the whole plot revolves around “The Rule Against Perpetuities” (a pesky legal rule that limits some people’s future interest in property if too much time passes before the interest vests). Notably, both Hawaii and Massachusetts have adopted the same uniform version of “The Rule Against Perpetuities.”
  • The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) — Nominated for Best Picture at this year’s Academy Awards, Hotel’s haywire plot is anchored in a controversial bequest. When an older woman dies, she leaves a very valuable painting to her much, much younger lover. Naturally, her ne’er-do-well children are less than thrilled. They challenge the validity of her will, and while that proceeding plays out with a little more madcap action than most of the real-life cases I’ve seen, it’s a great showcase for how easily miscommunication and strife can muddle an estate plan.

In Hollywood as in real life, estate planning is a potential breeding ground for epic drama — no wonder it’s a favorite topic in the screenwriting world! Of course, most of the movies’ great estate capers could have been avoided with careful planning.

What did I miss? If you have any favorite films with a focus on estate planning, please feel free to share them. And should any of these cinematic classics spark a question about your own estate plan, don’t hesitate to give me a call.

Estate Planning for People Without Children

In talking about estate plans, much of the discussion tends to focus on children. How much should they inherit and when, what kinds of trusts do they need, who should serve as guardian in the event of tragedy, etc.

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What about childless couples, though? That’s a question The Wall Street Journal recently asked, and I think it’s an important point for discussion. Even for people who don’t have kids now and may never have them in the future, estate planning is too imperative to simply shrug off.

The Journal breaks it down like this. People without kids have a primary checklist with just two boxes on it:

  • Set up a distribution plan to determine who gets your property when you die.
  • Assign someone to make medical and financial decisions on your behalf should you ever become incapacitated.

That’s a rather barebones approach to nonparent estate planning, but even those two items can be trickier — and more critical — than they seem.

As an estate planning attorney, I could accomplish those two tasks for my clients by drafting a will and a healthcare directive for each spouse according to their needs, but that could still leave the door open for unintended consequences.

Without a trust, for example, assets may be subject to costly and time-consuming probate when they pass to relatives.

Whatever your approach, it’s important for childless couples to remember that even though they don’t have kids, they do have relatives, friends, and other people they care about. When they die, their assets are going to go somewhere.

Without a strategic estate plan in place, it’s possible for one whole side of the family to be shut out altogether. Often, the default statutory procedures render rather undesirable distributions. But with some careful forethought, spouses can avoid those outcomes and rest easy, knowing that their best intentions are protected.

Art Is In The Trust Of Fhe Beholder… Or Is It?

The Wall Street Journal is shining the light on a different kind of estate planner: the diehard collector.

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Whether it’s comic books, baseball cards, home video libraries, music memorabilia, Disneyana, or what have you, collections can grow enormous over a lifetime. And with enormity comes value.

But as the Journal points out, the same aficionados who work so diligently to amass a dazzling collection during life often fail to make provisions for their allocation after death.

In deciding which beneficiaries to leave a collection to, and under which terms, there are a lot of things to consider: personal interest, the cost of storing and maintaining the items, the higher rates at which those gifts may be taxed, etc.

One option, of course, is to set up a trust to hold the collectibles during life or after death. Another is to gift part of the collection annually in order to reduce the total size of the taxable estate while staying within the tax-free gift-giving threshold each year.

Charitable donations are an option too, as are good old-fashioned sales. The collection can even be split up, with different portions distributed differently.

Whichever approach works best for you, you’ll need to be thorough in your paperwork and making sure you understand the tax liabilities for each decision. You’ll also likely need to have the collection itself professionally appraised so that you have an actual dollar amount to work with when making those decisions.

If you’d like to chat about the interesting things you collect and how you can best protect them for the future, feel free to give me a call. I’m happy to help.

 

Preparing to Die: Why the Will Is Just the Beginning

“Prepare to die” sounds like something a super-villain says to a caped hero in a Hollywood blockbuster. Certainly, it’s not a phrase any of us want to hear today.

But all of us will pass away someday, and when we do, we’ll leave people we love behind. They’ll have a lot to take care of when that happens. Attending to an estate is a difficult thing to ask of a family when they’re grieving, but it’s something that must be done.

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“Preparing for death” in the legal sense, then, isn’t nearly as sinister as it sounds. In fact — contrary to the inflection with which The Joker might say it to Batman, for example — it really is an act of compassion and care for those who’ll inherit a substantial burden after we leave.

The New York Times recently ran an article about the surprising number of tasks that must be dealt with in today’s estate plans. It’s so much more than just a will these days. Trusts, health care directives, burial instructions, powers of attorney, lists of online account passwords… the list goes on and on.

As a Winchester estate planning attorney, I think one of the ways I can be most helpful to my clients is staying up to date on all the changes and trends in end-of-life preparations.

The law in this area changes all the time, and as technology and society evolve, our estate documents must also change to reflect those developments. Otherwise, we risk ineffective or unintended results.

“Preparing to die” is an understandably uncomfortable thing. I’m here to take care of those things for my clients so they can focus on living their lives instead. If you need help or advice with your will or any other estate documents, please feel free to call my office today. We can talk about what you might need to bring your future plans up to date.

Picking Up Where Mom and Dad Leave Off

Forbes recently asked its readers whether they could pick up where their parents leave off. It’s an odd question, and one that a lot of children won’t have asked themselves yet.

The point Forbes is making is that parents don’t simply leave an estate behind when they die. They leave a whole life behind, too. And someone has to tend to that.

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The article described a baby boomer who was vacationing overseas when she found out her elderly mother had suffered serious brain damage after a fall. Fortunately, the mother survived and recovered, but the daughter suddenly realized that she was totally unprepared to handle her mother’s affairs had something gone horribly wrong.

But Forbes isn’t talking about just an estate plan. The mother in this story already had all that — the will, the trusts, the healthcare proxy, and so on.

But what about the deed to her house? The list of bills that would need to be paid? Automatic drafts from her bank account? Keys to her property? Newspaper subscriptions? Credit cards? Community responsibilities? Documents related to a small business that a parent might own?

Your parents will leave whole lives behind when they pass. The little details can add up to a lot, and it can be a challenge to keep track of them all during the final years of a loved one’s life.

Communication is really the key when caring for an aging parent. Remember that no detail is too minor to bother with addressing now. You’ll likely be grateful that you did.

Each of my clients receives an Estate Planning Binder at the conclusion of our planning. This binder has sections that can be completed so that all the personal information someone might need is collected in one location.

Why You Should Keep Your Will Up to Date

Your life isn’t stagnant. Why should your will be? After all, a Last Will and Testament is really a reflection of the life you lead — the things you own, the people love you, and the place you call home. But a life well lived is a life of change.

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How long has it been since you last executed or updated your will? Five years? Fifteen? More? How different does your world look today than it did back then?

Some of the top reasons for updating a will in Massachusetts include:

  • Changes in family — Have some of your beneficiaries passed away? Are there new children, grandchildren, or spouses in the picture? Little kids who’ve since grown into full adults? Maybe you’d like to add new nieces, nephews, or in-laws. Or modify your choices for Personal Representative?
  • Changes in assets — Some assets are best addressed with specificity, including many bank accounts, insurance policies, benefit packages, pension plans, and corporate assets. Internet passwords and other modern-day IT considerations are important too. If your estate is significantly bigger, smaller, or otherwise different today, it’s probably time for an updated will.

Even without major changes in your life, it’s a good idea to check in on your estate plan every few years just to make sure there aren’t any gaps. (And remember to always meet with a local lawyer any time you move to a different state!)

Modifying an estate plan is easy with professional guidance. If you’re in Massachusetts and would like to give your Last Will and Testament a second glance, feel free to give me a call.

Estate Planning for the Modern Family

Families come in all shapes, forms, and sizes. As a matter of fact, non-traditional families now outnumber the “traditional” husband-wife-and-children household in America by a margin of about 2%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2010 report.

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Increasingly, clients ask for legal protection for people that might not be covered under conventional estate law— unmarried partners, roommates, members of a blended family, or friends. After all, formal laws don’t change as quickly as the times.

If you’re thinking about how your loved ones may or may not be taken care of after you pass away, it’s important for you to realize that the law doesn’t always see your family the way you do.

You may love someone and spend your life with them, for instance, but state law may still regard that person as a total stranger.

At the end of the day, you decide who matters to you. And you decide the people you want to protect once you’re gone. State statutes may or may not align with your intentions, but an experienced attorney can help you craft legally effective documents that will ensure your wishes are honored in the future.

Safeguarding the modern family might take a few extra steps in the attorney’s office, but when it comes to the people who matter most, it’s worth it.

Estate Planning Nightmares To Avoid

When it comes to estate planning, there are some big mistakes that you should take pains to avoid.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Problems can begin when parents and their offspring haven’t talked about the subject. And even when they do, they often don’t get into the proper level of detail.

There can be hurt feelings and misunderstandings as children often view the amount of money each one gets as how much each one was loved.

An article I saw recently on dailyfinance.com lists some of the biggest mistakes that can be made when it comes to estate planning. I thought it would be good to summarize them for you here, and if you want to read the entire story you can click on the link.

Mistakes to avoid:

    1) Failing to plan. The article tells the story of a grandfather whose grandson had put his life on hold to care for the grandfather, yet the grandfather made no estate plans, so when she died, the grandson got no inheritance.

    2) Simple administrative details can get in the way. This is illustrated by the story of a woman whose entire estate went to her new husband, with nothing going to her kids, because she forgot to update her beneficiary designation.

    3) Sibling squabbles. Two children ended up fighting over possessions because their mother’s will did not leave specific items to specific children.

Getting the plan that is right for you takes some time and thought – I call this stage the “Design Meeting.” In some cases, the Design Meeting may actually be two or three separate meetings. But the important thing is that the final documents actually reflect your wishes.

Williams Took Care Of His Kids

5043690881It seems nobody can resist reading the juicy details of the life and death of a beloved celebrity and I am no different.

But some of the stories are simply salacious, while others are instructive. This one I found on Yahoo Finance fits into the latter category.

According to the story, the actor and comedian Robin Williams apparently didn’t leave a note prior to taking his own life last week, but details that have come out showed his estate was left in good shape, even if he might have been having financial problems, which some stories say was the case while others deny it.

What we do know from documents unearthed is that Williams in 2009 set up a trust for his three children who ranged in age from 22 to 35.

According to the story, the trust documents say that when each child turned 21 he or she would get one-third of the cash set aside for them. When they turned 30, they each would get their full share. The payout was not dependent on Williams’ death. That means he felt it was better for them to have the money while he was still alive. As it turned out, that was only partly true. But the idea is that by making lifetime distributions he could guide them and watch them build their lives responsibly.

The story did not say how much was in the trusts but said he had a significant amount of money outside of the trust and that his wife, Susan Schneider, would certainly get a healthy amount.

His net worth was once estimated at $130 million, the story said, but in 2013 he said he was nearly bankrupt. He reportedly paid his first two wives $30 million combined. Another report said he was worth about $50 million at the time of his death. He had put his $35 million ranch in Napa up for sale because he couldn’t afford it any more, the story said.

In 2013, he took a part on a TV sitcom because he needed the money. The show, “The Crazy Ones,” was cancelled after one season.

Estate Planning With A Second Family In Mind

More and more people are getting married a second time and find themselves with two families. Estate planning for one family is hard enough, but it can be quite complex if you have a second one to provide for.

That’s why I thought it would be helpful for me to post this article I found on Yahoo Finance last week. It deals with the issues that families with a mix of biological children, stepchildren, first spouses and second spouses must face.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you find yourself in this position, you don’t want to leave your heirs from the two families to fight it out over who gets what. The article lists the six most important things to remember when estate planning for a blended family.

Here are the six things to keep in mind, at least as outlined in the article:

  • It depends on how long your family has been together. If you and your second spouse married when your children were still young, or you had children together, you are really one big family. You should proceed with your will as if all your children were your biological children and your second spouse is your first spouse. But if your children were teenagers or adults when you remarried, things are different. You may want to make separate provisions for your biological children and your stepchildren.
  • Make provisions for your second spouse, but first make plans to provide for your children immediately. They should not have to wait until your second spouse dies before getting an inheritance.
  • Make a plan for your home. If your children grew up in your home, they may have more of a claim to it than does your second spouse. If they never grew up there, it belongs to your second spouse.
  • Taxes are less important than family harmony. Equal distribution may trump taxes, If you leave everything to your spouse to save on taxes, your children won’t be happy.
  • Communicate with everyone, either one at a time or as a group. It may be uncomfortable, but it will work out better, especially if you tell them your ideas and ask for their input.
  • Make sure you have the right experts. The right estate planning lawyer and financial planner are critical. You may even need a family therapist.

Planning for blended families can be challenging. But each family’s circumstances are different. I would be happy to review the options that best suit your family’s particular situation.