Most of our readers and clients are concerned about more than just making a will or trust; they want to leave a legacy which reflects their values and beliefs. One popular way to do this is to make charitable giving a part of your estate plan; but you don’t have to wait until the end of your life to make your charitable contribution, this article from the New York Times reveals how current tax rules can allow any philanthropically-minded person to give more to a favorite charity right now.

According to the article, “One way to increase the tax savings — and consequently what you can afford to give — is to give appreciated assets to a qualifying charity instead of cash.” These “appreciated assets” can include stocks with long term gains, real estate, artwork or collectibles. Giving appreciated assets such as real estate, collectibles, or the like may not be as simple as giving cash—instead it “is complicated with a lot of little rules”—but in the end, “the benefits can be substantial.” Not only for the recipient of the gift, but for the donor as well. “Very large gifts may also reduce a donor’s taxable estate.”

If your interest lies in long-term rather than one-time-only giving then you may want to consider “setting up a donor advised fund through a community foundation or a financial institution… [This] allows the donor to put money in one year and get the tax deduction, but spread the gifts out over several years.” In fact, this particular method of charitable giving lends itself perfectly to the long-term legacy planning that so many clients prefer.

We know that creating an estate plan and financial plan is about much more than simply providing for your family monetarily. Designing these plans can also be about exploring your family’s values, continuing to give to the causes that have been important to you throughout your life, and perhaps encouraging your children or grandchildren to know the joys of giving as well. Our firm can help you design a financial legacy that will last for generations.

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Halloween is the one day of the year when not only is it ok to think about death, it’s expected! So it seems like the perfect time to bring up the subject of funerals—specifically your own funeral.

It has been said that funerals and memorial services are for those who are left behind after the death of a loved one, not the one who has passed away; and while this is true, it is also true that most meaningful service is one which accurately reflects the personality and wishes of the loved one it is memorializing. For this reason, some people are choosing to plan their own funerals or memorial services before they pass away.

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal describes how funerals and “last rites” seem to be going through a change. “While religion and family tradition have dictated last rites for hundreds of years, funerals today are changing dramatically. Baby boomers, in particular, are shifting to more personalized—and less religious—memorial services, often calling them ‘A Celebration of Life.’”

The article goes on to describe a new website (MyWonderfulLife.com) which helps people make plans for their own funerals. While we’re glad more people are aware that they have this option, none of this is news to estate planners, who have been helping their clients plan, share, and pay for their own funerals, memorials, and disposition of remains for years.

Thinking about your own death and funeral may sound morbid, but many people are pleasantly surprised at how much of a celebration of life it can be. Please contact our office to get started on your own plans, or for more information.

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If you’re an entrepreneur, or a small or family business owner, you have more to lose if you don’t have an estate plan. An estate plan help you protect not only your family and your assets, but also the business you’ve spent years (or decades) building. A recent article at Entrepreneur.com, entitled What Entrepreneurs Should Know About Estate Planning, describes some of the main components of an estate plan and how they can be useful to a business owner.

That article covers eight estate planning components, beginning with a will and a living trust and ending with long term care insurance and disability insurance. All of these components are extremely useful (and in some cases absolutely necessary) and we highly recommend reading through the entire article. We would also suggest that there are three more documents that an entrepreneur should consider to help preserve business and wealth for future generations.

Family Limited Partnership (FLP): A Family Limited Partnership is an asset protection tool which allows parents to take business assets out of their taxable estate and transfer the value of that asset to their children while still remaining in control of the business.

Buy-Sell Agreement: A buy-sell agreement is a formal plan or contract between business partners establishing what will happen to the business should one of the partners die. This document specifies whether a partner may or may not buy your ownership shares for your heirs and for what price, or if you want to block certain family members or individuals from having any ownership share in the business.

Succession Plan: A succession plan should be a key element in any business plan, but especially for small or family businesses. A succession plan is exactly what it sounds like, a formal plan outlining your wishes for passing your business on to your successors. You may design a succession plan to facilitate your retirement, or to provide a smooth transition in the event of your death. In any case, a succession plan is essential for any business owner.

Don’t leave your business—or your family—out in the cold. Take the necessary steps to protect them both in the event of your death with a well-designed estate plan.

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Children are a blessing… But being a parent is a difficult job! Most parents of young children already feel overwhelmed with the necessary day to day responsibilities, the last thing they want to do in their down time is think about the difficult and emotional subject of guardianship and estate planning. This explains why, as this article from The Huffington Post points out, “over half of the population doesn’t have a will, and the percentage only climbs for those with kids — the group that actually can’t afford to live without one.”

The author of the article goes on to explain that most parents will give the same four reasons for not having nominated guardians for their children—and that ALL of these reasons are bogus. The article does an excellent job explaining why parents shouldn’t let any of these excuses (or “myths”, as the author refers to them) stop them from taking the necessary steps to provide for their children.

These “myths” are no surprise to estate planners, who know all too well how hard it can be to think about your own death, and to what lengths people will go to avoid doing so, but the one that is the most concerning is the one the article lists as #3: “A good number of parents say they’ve stashed a letter somewhere, or have this email on their laptop outlining their last wishes…”

When it comes to your children’s future, there is no substitute for a professionally prepared nomination of guardians. Informal documents such as a letter or e-mail simply may not hold up in court. “No matter how eloquently you’ve voiced your preferences, your letter or email is not legally binding. A judge could take it under advisement, but he could also come to his own ‘better’ assessment. And why risk it? If you’ve taken the time to consider the right person, why not just make it official and seal the deal?”

If you have minor children, executing a nomination of guardians may be the most important way to secure their future if something should happen to you. Contact our office for more information about how to choose (and nominate) guardians for your child.

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The estate tax laws of the past few years have been so inconsistent that many people are still “waiting for things to even out” before they create (or update) an estate plan. This wait-and-see approach seems perfectly reasonable on the surface; after all, nobody wants to spend hard-earned money creating an estate plan only to have it rendered obsolete within a year. Our firm is here to let you know that there’s bad news and there’s good news…

The bad news is that estate tax law doesn’t appear to be settling down any time soon. We all know the estate tax was repealed in 2010, and then reinstated in 2011. And now, as this article from AARP mentions, “federal estate tax rates are slated to change again in 2013, unless Congress decides otherwise.” Furthermore, there are quite a few other mercurial tax laws that have a significant impact on estate planning, including the capital gains tax and the gift tax, to name just two. Both of these factors mean that the future of estate planning is still cloudy.

The good news is that even with all this uncertainty, an estate planner can help you plan for just about any situation. There is much more to an estate plan than just tax planning, including providing for your loved ones, planning a smooth financial transition for your spouse and children, ensuring you’ve nominated the best people to make medical and financial decisions if you become incapacitated, and much more. All of these are foundational elements, and don’t have to change if and when the tax laws do. Making the right plans now means you may have to make only a few small tweaks when 2013 rolls around.

The one thing you can be certain of is that life rarely plays out the way we expect. It’s better to make solid plans now that may change a few years down the line, than to wait unprepared and unprotected for tragedy to strike. Our office can help you build an estate plan that can weather whatever the future may bring.

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The recent death of creative visionary and Apple co-founder Steve Jobs saddened the world. News of his death traveled like wildfire, and had the online social networks humming with tributes, memorial posts, and sentiments of grief. Mr. Jobs was very private about his personal life, but through his public appearances and his support of various creative enterprises he touched and changed the lives of many individuals; just as his visionary ideas changed the face of technology.

The sad announcement of his death has many people now wondering “what next?” How will this change the company he started? What will happen with his family? As this article from ABC News relates, “The ever-private Steve Jobs was famously secretive when it came to Apple’s new products. As with his personal life, the future of Steve Jobs’ wealth [and family] will also stay under the radar.”

The article mentioned above states that “Given Jobs’ vast wealth and penchant for privacy, he likely set up private trusts for his family and charitable purposes.” Private trusts would certainly have been the logical thing to do, under the circumstances. Trusts are a much more flexible, powerful, and private tool than a simple will when it comes to estate planning. Trusts are useful under any circumstances, but they provide a much greater amount of control and protection of assets, especially when dealing with very large estates.

If Steve Jobs did choose to create trusts to protect his estate then it is possible that we may never truly know how he chose to distribute his wealth. It is probably safe to assume, however, that in addition to providing for his family and loved ones, he may have left a considerable amount to charitable or visionary endeavors. His words and actions during life provide a clue about how he thought about wealth: “Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me…Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful…that’s what matters to me.”

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Losing a spouse may be one of the most difficult life events that any of us have to deal with. A spouse is a parenting partner, a co-CFO, a best friend and a beloved soul mate. Losing the person who supports you in so many ways can create an emptiness which can be almost paralyzing.

This is why it’s so important after the death of a loved one to have the support you need to get through the detail-oriented and often emotionally draining probate process, which includes tasks such as sorting through a financial history, submitting legal documents to the probate court, contacting creditors and family members, and more. Some people have family or friends to help with these time-consuming tasks, others enlist the help of an estate planning or probate attorney, but one thing is clear: no one should do it alone.

Every family or couple will have a different experience with the probate process, but our firm would like to offer a basic list of universal “to-do” items to remember after the death of a spouse. We hope this will help give our readers a little bit of security during a very emotional and stressful time.

* Obtain multiple copies of the death certificate
* Gather any and all estate planning documents
* Contact an estate planning attorney. Even if you don’t plan to retain an attorney, a brief initial consultation can help you understand the task ahead and prevent you from skipping important steps
* Notify the person named as executor or trustee
* Notify the necessary institutions or agencies (the deceased’s employer, social security administration, insurance company, creditors, post office, etc.)
* Remove spouse’s name from all joint accounts or ventures, such as bank accounts, utility companies, credit card accounts, etc.
* Pay final bills
* Cancel accounts, subscriptions, etc.

Depending on your situation and location, there may be many more tasks to be done. Additionally, if you are serving as executor or trustee (as many spouse’s do) there will be a great number of administrative tasks to be performed in addition to the ones on this list. Under these circumstances even the strongest and most capable people can feel overwhelmed. Remember that you don’t have to go through the process alone.

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If you are looking for a reliable way to leave financial gifts to family members you may find that a Crummey trust is the right estate planning strategy for your family. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal explains that “Crummey trusts are used in many circumstances, but are best suited for making gifts to minors—especially when a parent is giving money to a young child who isn’t ready to handle a large sum.”

While it’s true that Crummey trusts can be a very convenient and reliable estate planning tool, they do require a certain amount of annual attention and maintenance, and may not be the right strategy for everyone.

Crummey trusts can be used for many different kinds of assets, but they are most commonly used to protect life insurance policies from estate taxes. Your estate planner can help you set up the Crummey trust and use it to purchase a life insurance policy. Then you “fund the premiums with annual gifts… That gets money out of the estate while skirting the gift tax. Since the trust owns the policy, the death benefit ultimately goes to the trust, shielding it from federal estate taxes.”

Once the initial work of setting up the trust and buying the insurance policy is done, “The trustee must send out ‘Crummey letters’ each year, informing beneficiaries that they can withdraw the gifted amount during a window of time, say 30 days. Usually, the beneficiary leaves the money in the trust. But the IRS considers it a tax-free gift only if the person has the right to take it in the short term, and the Crummey letter proves that he has that right.”

Sending letters once a year isn’t a difficult task, but forgetting even once can lead to consequences with the IRS. Our advice is to be very careful to select a trustee you can count on to be timely and detail-oriented with the Crummey letters. Alternatively, the estate planner who set up your trust will often be willing to take over the administrative task of sending annual Crummey letters as well. Contact our office for more information.

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Every parent wants to be fair to their children; avoid showing favoritism, give each the same advantages, and eventually leaving each a fair and equal inheritance. But every parent also knows that there are times when equal is not always fair—a dilemma that is often faced by parents drawing up their will or estate plan. This is exactly the issue that is addressed in this recent article in the Wall Street Journal entitled Wills: How to Give One Child Less.

The article mentions that there are a number of different reasons why parents may want to give seemingly unequal financial distributions in their wills, “Many parents want to support children who need more financial help, while others want to repay children who have provided important support or caregiving. Some parents already may have helped one child considerably more than another during his or her lifetime, such as paying for a pricey graduate-school education or providing money for a down payment for a house. Other parents are reluctant to reward a particularly difficult or problematic child.”

There is absolutely nothing wrong with choosing to leave more to one child than another, but problems may arise when children are caught by surprise and feel neglected or betrayed; this happens most often when children don’t understand the reasons for their parents’ seeming favoritism, and can result in one child choosing to contest your will in court.

The WSJ article recommends a few strategies to avoid these hurt feelings and expensive court proceedings, but the first and best strategy is to talk to your children about it ahead of time, if possible. Hearing the news (and the reasons behind it) from mom and dad themselves can be much less hurtful than hearing about it from an attorney. Furthermore, telling your children yourself gives you the opportunity to explain your decision in a sensitive and loving manner.

If you still worry that your decision might be contested there are a number of precautions you can take to help ensure your planning documents will hold, including taking steps to prove your mental capacity is sound, creating what the WSJ calls “serial wills,” including a no-contest clause in your will, and more. Which method you may choose to employ will depend completely on your unique situation, and your estate planning attorney will be able to help you decide which is best.

We all know logically that “equal” is not always “fair,” but the heart does not always understand what seems logical to the head. Breaking the news gently to your kids ahead of time can go a long way toward avoiding hurt feelings later.

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There are a number of very important documents in your estate plan which come into play after your death, but as this article in Forbes reminds us, there are two or three estate planning documents that are of the utmost importance while you are still alive: your Healthcare Proxy, your Advance Directive (also called a Living Will), and your Power of Attorney. Together, these three documents ensure that your medical and financial affairs will be taken care of and that your wishes will be followed should you somehow become incapacitated.

Healthcare Proxy: This document nominates the person (or people) who will interact with medical staff, have access to your medical records, and make healthcare decisions for you if you are ever unable to do so yourself. This can be a standalone document, but it can also be wrapped up as part of the next document;

Advance Healthcare Directive (or Living Will): This is the document that describes in as great or as little detail as you wish your preferences for medical treatment, your wishes for resuscitation (or lack thereof) and even your wishes for the disposition of your remains. An Advance Healthcare Directive also often includes a section nominating a healthcare agent (or healthcare proxy) to make decisions for you if you cannot.

Financial Power of Attorney: If you ever become incapacitated you will still have bills to be paid, investments to be monitored, and financial decisions to be made; the Financial Power of Attorney gives the person you nominate the power to keep all those various financial balls up in the air. The person named as your power of attorney will have the power to access your bank (and other financial) accounts, so be sure the person you choose is someone you trust.

The Forbes article mentions that “One in eight baby boomers will get Alzheimer’s after they turn 65. Sure, you hope you won’t be one of them. But the risk of a slow decline and incapacity, meaning that you don’t know what assets you have, what you want to do with them and who your family members are, lurks for us all.” Having the three above-mentioned documents ensures that you—and your family—will be ready for whatever the future may hold.

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