Idaho Estate Planning

Avoid Family Strife Before It Begins

At the core of proper planning is the understanding that there’s simply no time like the present; it’s the only time to ensure the future, to make your intentions known. Proper estate planning means doing just that.

The importance of the present was the topic of a recent Wall Street Journal article, aptly titled, “Speak for Yourself, While You Can.”

What are some of the most important issues to discuss? Start by communicating our wishes about health care, end-of-life choices, and funeral preferences. Be sure to address your finances, any plans you have made to finance long-term nursing care (like insurance policies, etc.), and what to do about the family home.

Despite our natural reluctance to talk about these matters, now is simply the best time to actually lay out your plans and discuss them with your family. Open communication and your personal guidance can often avoid future family squabbles. 

At Idaho Estate Planning, we have the skill and resources to help you put your long-term care plan together, including preparing for the possibility of Medicaid. We have the experience and expertise to help you maintain your options and protect yourself as well as your loved ones now and into the future. Remember, good planning is no accident!

Trust Protectors

The concept of a “Trust” is actually pretty simple: One person holds legal title to an asset for another. If you transfer title of a piece of porperty, and say, “Hold this land for my family's benefit,” then a Trust has been created. Of course today there are many types of Trusts in varying lavels of complexity but they always come down to the simple concept of trust, as in "I trust you to carry out my instructions". But what if the trustee turns out to be untrustworthy or becomes exposed to litigation? In either case it could be beneficial to have a system in place to fire the trustee and replace them with someone else who doesn't expose the trust to such dangers.

Enter the Trust Protector. The idea behind the Protector is to have somebody who can watch over the Trustee, and terminate the Trustee for any misconduct or in the case that they put the Trust in danger of litigation. There is an article on the Forbes website about Trust Protectors that you may find interesting, you can find it here.

If you have a trust or are considering putting one together give us a call and we'll help you determine whether a trust protector would be in your or your family's benefit. Remember, good planning is no accident.

Beware The Zombie Account

Bank accounts closed after the death of the owner can actually spring back to life wreaking havoc on the decedent's estate and family. Catherine New of the Huffington Post recently reported on the case of Richard Palmer whose bank account revitalized itself after his death. Even though his family had closed the account it was ressurected by automatic withdrawals that he had committed to while he was living. The article can be found here.

To borrow from the auther:

The family's experience reveals two key banking lessons in the digital era. First, closing a checking account is more difficult than ever because account owners can have multiple automatic deposits and bill payments attached to the account. Some banks allow accounts to be reopened when automatic bills or deposits reach the account, which has been an ongoing source of confusion and frustration for customers at many institutions.

To avoid the perils of Zombie Bank Accounts and other post-mortem horrors make sure you have proper estate planning in place. Call us and we will help you avoid the "Zombie Appocalypse". Remember, good planning is no accident.

 

Girlfriend of Thomas Kinkade Complicates His Probate

Thomas Kinkade painted serene, peaceful images of ozy cottages, gardens, streams, villages and rural churches. After his passing in April his story has been the opposite of what his paintings portrayed. Complications have arisen from his girlfriend. Thomas was in the process of being divorced but it had not been finalized. In 2000 he had set up a Trust and Pour-Over Will. So what is the problem you may ask? His girlfriend whith whom he lived with until he died has produced not one but two hand written wills that seem to defy his earlier wishes expressed in his earlier documents. If you would like to read more about the story you can find it here on the Forbes website. Debroah Jacobs wrote the article. Here is part of her summary.

What can others learn from this sad tale? The time between a separation and divorce is tricky, estate-wise. By law, spouses are entitled to inherit a minimum portion of each other’s assets (a third to a half, depending on the state), and unless they waive that right in a prenuptial agreement, it continues until the divorce is finalized. So it’s best for those who have separated to immediately revise their wills and trusts to leave the soon-to-be-ex no more than the required minimum.

You won’t be able to change your 401(k) since by federal law that money goes to a spouse, unless he or she has signed a form giving up rights to it. And in many states once a divorce is started you can’t change the beneficiaries of a life insurance policy or IRA until it is finalized.

It always comes down to planning and not procrastinating when changes need to be made. If Mr. Kinkades wishes had changed he should have gotten his attorney involved. Good adive for us all, good planning is no accident.

Maximizing Estate Tax Savings with SLATs

The more complex your goals, the more crucial the timing. This is especially true if you want to maximize your estate tax savings under the current $5.12 million estate and gift tax exemption set to expire at the end of 2012.

So, how can spouses maximize their giveaways and still retain some takeaways when it comes to their wealth? Forbes recently considered this question in an article titled “Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts--Use Your Gift Tax Exemption Without Giving It All Away.” The answer: a Spousal Lifetime Access Trust – SLAT.

Essentially, with the SLAT approach, each spouse can give their respective $5.12 million exemption amounts into separate irrevocable trusts. However, each spouse also names the other as the SLAT beneficiary and other loved ones (their children, commonly) as secondary beneficiaries.

There are some very important steps required for a SLAT to pass IRS muster, to include avoiding application of the dreaded “reciprocal trust doctrine.” 

Understanding the complexities of Tax Planning is just a part of successful estate planning. To ensure a successful plan, we at Idaho Estate Planning will: 1) educate you and your helpers; 2) take the time to get to know you, your family, your desires, your concerns, your goals, and your potential problems; 3) gladly and patiently answer questions until you understand the concept or issue; and, 4) based on experience with the problems and results caused by poor planning, help you design and implement the plan that fits your concerns and goals. Remember, good planning is no accident.

 

Medicare Premiums for 2013

Finally, a little good financial news for seniors – your 2013 Medicare premiums are projected to remain the same.

That’s right, the Department of Health and Human Services issued its estimate not long ago, and Businessweek reported it in an article titled “Medicare Drug Plan Premiums to Stay at $30 in Coming Year.” Indeed, according to the estimate and bids from private insurers, the premiums for Medicare drug plans are expected to hold steady at the $30 average where they stand today.

While this is welcome news in trying times, we can only hope that the estimate stands the test of 2013 and the current political posturings. For that matter, keep Medicare in mind as we glide to the annual enrollment period that begins October 15.

Idaho Estate Planning is part of the Senior Resource Network of Idaho, a non-profit network of elder care professionals available to provide information on Medicare and much more. Let us know your concerns and we will help you find the resources you need.

Remember, good planning is no accident.

Planning for Children with Special Needs

Having a child changes everything, especially if your child or grandchild has special needs. To ensure proper protection and provision now and for the long haul, very specific and careful planning is required.

The Wall Street Journal recently addressed this subject in an article titled Build a Financial Plan for Special-Needs Child. While you must approach your estate planning with a sense of urgency, the planning itself is an ongoing activity. Nevertheless, with special needs there are special concerns. Estate planning truly is a process and not an event.

The close coordination between your legal planning and your financial planning must take into account the potential lack of public assistance resources in the future. In addition, remember to factor in the lengthening life expectancies of adults with special needs. Life insurance, owned in the proper manner and in the proper amount, can provide additional financial security and peace of mind.

At Idaho Estate Planning, we can help you find the resources you need to put your estate plan together. We have the experience and expertise to help you maintain your options and protect yourself as well as your loved ones now and into the future. Remember, good planning is no accident.

The "New" Wisdom Our Grandparents Tried to Teach Us

In a recent blog by Bert Whitehead titled Our "New" Investment Reality the author makes a great observation, Our Grandparents were right! Certainly we have all becom very aware that we just can't expect the same returns and economic growth for the future that we experienced for the previous two decades. So what are we to do? Bert makes a great point:

There is no easy way out of this if the economic duress continues and is exacerbated by public resistance to austerity. As a result, it becomes imperative that we teach our children these important basics to survive in the new reality:
1) Each family must produce more than they consume.
2) Our futures depend on saving at least 10% of our earnings through our lifetime to support us in old age.
3) Future citizens will have to recognize that life expectancy will determine their retirement age.

Now you might be nodding your head and saying 'ain't it awful!' with like-minded friends. But if you present these three points to your grandparents they are likely to look at you and say “DUH!” Wasn’t it commonplace for families to lead productive lives? Wasn’t it known that living below your means rather than beyond your means was bound to put you on a better financial firmament? And weren’t pensions originally keyed to life expectancies?

I suggest reading the entire article and then sitting down with our children and grandchildren and talking about how we can turn our individual economic futures in the right direction. Plan for the future by preparing today. Good planning is no accident.

Michael Jackson's Will & Trust Doing Their Job

Michael Jackson died three years ago. This summer you may have heard that some of his family members are claiming that his will and trust are fraudulent and false. What you may not have heard is that both documents have been very successful at doing exactly what Mr. Jackson wished. The chances that either will ever be overturned or even considered for such action are virtually zero. Forbes magazine reporter Zack O'Malley Greenberg has an article on the subject that is well worth your time and should give you confidence in getting your own estate planning documents in order. The article titled "The Scandalously Boring Will of Michael Jackson" can be found here.

There is one more lesson to be learned from the untimely death of the "King of Pop", plan now. The plans in your head and the wishes in your heart cannot benefit your heirs unless they are properly documented . The best intentions in the world are nothing without implementation. Godd planning is no accident.

Digital & Online Asset Planning

Your will or trust contain instructions for those you indentify to manage your matters when you die or become incapacitated. However, most people fail to consider their digital or online assets. Now even the United States government has recommended wills to cover digital assets and social media accounts, saying, “If you have social media profiles set up online, you should create a statement of how you would like your online identity to be handled. Just like a traditional will helps your survivors handle your physical belongings, a social media will spells out how you want your online identity to be handled.”

You can read more about the subject here about managing you digital assets. Of course if you have any questions call us at 208-939-7658. At Idaho Estate Planning we have the resources you need to put together a plan that protects you and your family now and into the future. Remember, good planning is no accident.