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“And another thing,” says the client across from me, tapping his finger on the desk for emphasis, “I don’t want Junior to get anything. He’s an ingrate who broke his mama’s heart, and didn’t even call when I had my heart attack.” “No problem,” I reply, “we can leave him nothing.” It’s not the first time I’ve heard something like that. But that isn’t enough. “What’s more,” he continues, “I want one of those No Contest clauses I’ve heard about, so he can’t challenge the will.” “Alright, th...
“Digital assets.” It’s the latest buzzword. It means the ownership interest you have in your online accounts. To a lawyer, it is a subset of “intellectual property”. But what does it mean in terms of estate planning? Financial writers and estate planners are posting articles all over the internet (and in print) about what happens to your digital assets when you’re gone. The problem is, most of them don’t have a lot to say about it. The articles tend to be short, vague, and not very helpful. Here...
One of the things that makes estate planning interesting in Alaska is the high percentage of Native Americans here, compared to other states. Natives come from a different background culturally, which can be a little bit challenging but is usually pretty easy to deal with. What is really interesting, though, is that there are certain types of assets many Natives own which require special treatment. The first are Native Corporation shares. Most older or middle-aged Alaska Natives have these...
“Avoid probate? I don’t have to worry about that; I have a will,” says the elder gent sitting across from me. “A will doesn’t avoid probate,” I tell him. A confused look comes over his face. “I still have to go through probate, even if I have a will?” “Yep,” I say. “In fact a will does absolutely nothing to avoid probate.” He ponders that a moment. “Then what, exactly, is the point of having a will? What does a will do?” There is a very common misconception that having a will is a way to g...
One of the questions every estate planner gets is, “should I just give my house to the kids while I’m alive, as opposed to having it go through an estate or trust?” It’s a simple question that, alas, doesn’t have a simple answer. Here are just a few of the things to consider: It will avoid probate. When assets have to go through the probate court, it costs money and it takes time. If you give the asset away during your lifetime, it doesn’t go through probate. That’s good, but… Will you need i...
It was the mid-1980s. Ronald Reagan was in his second term, Tears for Fears was on the radio, and I was in law school in upstate New York, taking my first estate planning class. And what I learned was this: when it comes to estate planning, the inheritance taxes are absolutely everything. Nothing else matters. But that was then, and this is now. Estate taxes were indeed a big deal back then. The exempt amount – the number below which your heirs didn’t have to pay estate taxes – was only $600,...
As an estate planner, there is one call I absolutely hate to get. It’s second only to hearing that a client has died, and in many ways worse. It’s the message that somebody in the hospital needs a will done right away. Why is that such a problem? Because deathbed wills (or trusts, or any kind of estate planning documents) are the worst kind. For one thing, the person’s competence may be slipping at that point. He or she may have had a stroke or other serious condition which could affect the abil...
