Lou Anne said that she felt like she was “drowning” when she took over the heavy duties of caring for her husband George during his periods of illnesses. She did this on top of taking care of their farm (which George had done) and her other responsibilities. George and Lou Anne were both in their... [Read More]
Category: Living Trust
The Privacy of Robin Williams’ Estate Plan
Prior to his recent death, Robin Williams had publically lamented his economic losses during his lifetime. Although he had earned millions he had lost more than $30,000,000.00 to his two divorced wives. His third and current wife was living in a separate bedroom at the time that he committed suicide. Possibly the third divorce was... [Read More]
Psychological Cost of Inheritance
When creating your Estate Plan do consider whether an inheritance to your children is disincentivizing them from growing-up into a responsible adult. A lump-sum inheritance might leave them feeling “fat and happy” and therefore they’ll stop being a productive member of society. Another issue to consider is whether they might be one of the estimated... [Read More]
Be Wary of “Do It Yourself” Estate Planning
The Florida Supreme Court recently upheld a decision that left very valuable assets to relatives that the widow did not want to receive the assets. This is because she had done a “Do It Yourself” online Will and had inadvertently left valuable assets to the wrong relatives. She wasn’t an experienced Estate Planning attorney and... [Read More]
Life Affirming Words
My nine-one year old bed ridden Mother with Alzheimer’s will tell me each time she sees me; “I love you”. She’ll say “I’m proud of you” (Who tells you they are proud of you?) Occasionally she tells me “You have done a good job with your life”. Words can be the healing balm on the... [Read More]
Donald Sterling Trust Upheld
The Mental Disability Estate Planning done inside Donald and Shelly Sterling’s Living Trust was upheld by the Court. This went through the Court in several weeks avoiding what could have been years of expensive and painful litigation. By Donald and Shelly Sterling, owners of the NBA Los Angeles Clippers Professional Basketball Team, having Mental Disability... [Read More]
Estate Planning and Alzheimer’s for the Denver Bronco’s Owner
Pat Bowlen, president and owner of the NFL Denver Bronco’s Team has resigned as President due to having Alzheimer’s disease. He has struggled with this disease for at least five (5) years. He is 70 years old. The team is held by his Trust. This is another example of a well-known individual in the news... [Read More]
Estate Planning for the Family Business
A business owner will spend their lifetime building a business from the ground up, but will spend little, to no time, in planning its transition to their family. It is estimated that a business owner will spend nearly a million hours during their lifetime building, growing and operating a business, but spend less than four... [Read More]
Donald Sterling v. Casey Kasem – Estate Planning
The recent Donald Sterling and Casey Kasem cases served to illustrate when Mental Disability Planning is made a part of the client’s Estate Planning. It was done in the Donald Sterling case inside of his Living Trust aka Revocable Living Trust. A mechanism was designed in the Trust so that Mental Disability Provisions could be... [Read More]
Summer Travel and Heathcare Authority
Summer is when many Americans are traveling out-of-state. They are on vacation to new places or to visit with loved ones or family. As we cross state lines one concern is that our Healthcare Power of Attorney a/k/a Healthcare Proxy might not be accepted in another state. For example if you have a Healthcare Power... [Read More]