I will present the workshop “Five Common Asset Protection Mistakes” on Wednesday, May 30, 2012, from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. The class will provide one hour of continuing education credit from the N.C. Department of Insurance, and is for CPAs, Accountants, Financial and Insurance Professionals. In one hour we will cover: 1. Why you have... [Read More]
Category: Estate Planning
Are Your Assets Titled Correctly?
After you pass on, what you own moves by how it is titled. If it is titled in your name, it goes to Probate Court, even if you have a Living Trust (aka Revocable Trust). If the asset is in joint names with right of survivorship (like with your spouse), it moves to the survivor... [Read More]
75% of Us Don’t Have a Current Will
Studies show that 75% of Americans do not have a current Will, let alone a current Living Trust, Health Care Power of Attorney, or Financial Power of Attorney. In the April 25th edition of Forbes Magazine, they listed the seven most common mistakes made in Estate Planning. Number one was not having a current Estate... [Read More]
Redo Your Estate Plan If You Separate or Divorce
We see many, many situations where a person has become separated from their spouse or divorced, but still has their estranged or ex-spouse as their Trustee and Beneficiary under their Living Trust, or Personal Representative and Beneficiary under their Will. Further, they forget to change out the Death Beneficiaries on many of their financial vehicles. ... [Read More]
7 Major Errors in Estate Planning
Forbes Magazine on April 25 published an article titled “7 Major Errors in Estate Planning.” The seven errors listed are a no-nonsense list of the mistakes we Estate Planning lawyers see daily. They are: 1. “Not having an Estate Plan.” 2. “Online Do-It-Yourself Estate Planning rather than using an experienced Estate Planning attorney do the... [Read More]
What Is A Living Will?
A Living Will is a legal document that normally states that if you are terminal and incurable and death is imminent, or if you are in a permanently vegetative state and not coming back, the medical providers may remove you from a ventilator, if you are on one. It may also authorize the removal of... [Read More]
Mike Wallace Died Saturday—He Had Dementia
Most people don’t want to plan for their inevitable death, let alone dementia. You can plan within your Living Trust for mental incapacity. You set the panel who decides when it is needed. You choose the doctor and which trusted loved ones turn on the mental disability provisions. Who do your assets pay for if... [Read More]
Analysts Project Estate Tax Exemption Going Back Down to $1 Million and Estate Tax Rates Back Up to 55%
Analysts recently advised that given the upcoming elections, they don’t anticipate Tax Law changes until 2013 or 2014 (click here to read the article). Therefore, they anticipate the Bush Tax cuts expiring on December 31, 2012, leading us back to Estate Taxes being applied on Estates with more than $1 million and Estate Tax rates... [Read More]
Constantly Update Your Estate Plan
You must update your Estate Plan, including your Trust and Will, constantly. The reasons you need to update your Estate Plan – Revocable Living Trust, Will, Health Care Powers, etc. – is that three things are always changing: the law, your relationships, and your assets. 1. The law is regularly changing by changes in the... [Read More]
A Will Cannot Plan for Mental Disability
A Will is only effective when you die, not before. It only moves assets that are titled in your name through the Probate Court. If there is real estate in different counties and different states, you may have multiple Probates to move those pieces of land. The Will cannot plan for Mental Disability care. We... [Read More]