Beneficiaries Permitted to Modify Trust Terms by Agreement
OCTOBER 19, 2015 VOLUME 22 NUMBER 38 Not every client we speak with wants to set up a trust for generations of descendants, but some do. The notion of allowing assets to grow for two or three (or more) generations can be attractive. It is difficult, of course, to imagine what one’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren […]
What Survivor Must Do When Trust Mandates Split on First Death
SEPTEMBER 14, 2015 VOLUME 22 NUMBER 33 Once in a while we read an appellate court decision that nicely addresses a subject which isn’t the issue before the court. A recent Arizona Court of Appeals case illustrates this phenomenon nicely. The legal issue was technical and would appeal only to lawyers — and probably only […]
The “Spendthrift” Trust Explained
JULY 27, 2015 VOLUME 22 NUMBER 27 Lawyers love to name and categorize everything they deal with. It’s a useful way to group similar concepts, but it can lead to confusion and misunderstanding. That’s particularly true when a legal concept is non-exclusive — in other words, when one instrument can go by a number of […]
Assets Not Held As Part of Trust Pass to Different Successors
DECEMBER 15, 2014 VOLUME 21 NUMBER 45 From time to time we see appellate court decisions dealing with a common estate planning problem: after creation of a trust, changing title to assets is an essential element of completing the estate plan. Once in a while, as appears to be the case in this week’s court […]
Managing Your Digital Assets With an Eye on Mortality
SEPTEMBER 22, 2014 VOLUME 21 NUMBER 34 For a while it was just an interesting academic problem: what would happen to your Facebook page, your Instagram photos, and your Pinterest collection if you died? And what about your e-mail account(s), your shopping login information and the passwords for all of those different online arrangements? It […]
Inherited IRA Not Protected From Creditors — How To Plan
JUNE 16, 2014 VOLUME 21 NUMBER 22 It’s not very often that the U.S. Supreme Court involves itself in legal issues related to estate planning and elder issues. Last week, though, the Court did just that — by ruling that an inherited IRA is not exempt from the beneficiary/owner’s creditors, at least in a bankruptcy […]
More Definitions for Estate Planning Terms
FEBRUARY 10, 2014 VOLUME 21 NUMBER 6 Last week we gave you short definitions of some common estate planning terms, like “will” (and “pourover will”), “trust” (including both “living” and “testamentary” trust), “grantor trust” and more. This week we want to continue that project with another batch of common terms: Durable power of attorney — […]
Why You Might Want to Create a Trust for Your Kids
NOVEMBER 25, 2013 VOLUME 20 NUMBER 45 This conversation comes up a lot with our estate planning clients. “So, you’re leaving your entire estate equally to your three kids,” we say to our client. “Do you want to leave it outright or would you consider putting it in a trust for them?” The two most […]
Why Do I Need a Lawyer — Can’t I Write My Own Will?
OCTOBER 14, 2013 VOLUME 20 NUMBER 39 “My father hates, absolutely hates, lawyers,” a casual acquaintance tells us at a social gathering. “I know it’s a bad idea, but can’t he just write his own will?” Let’s get the answer out of the way right up front: yes, he can. And there’s a very high […]
Upon Death of a Loved One, Some Things to Address
APRIL 8, 2013 VOLUME 20 NUMBER 14 More than three years ago we wrote about what you need to do when a family member dies. Our focus was on the immediate things that need to be dealt with: securing the house, taking care of pets, forwarding the mail. We thought we would get back to […]
Can a Person with Dementia Sign Legal Documents? (Part 2)
MARCH 4, 2013 VOLUME 20 NUMBER 9 Last week we posed the question, and then mostly wrote about competence (or capacity) to sign a will. We promised to explain more about the level of competence required to sign other documents. So let us now tackle that concept. A person with a diagnosis of dementia may […]
Lawyer, Acting as Trustee, Challenged for Self-Dealing
DECEMBER 3, 2012 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 44 One of the great advantages of a trust can be the ability to bypass court supervision and review. One of the great disadvantage of a trust can be that it bypasses court supervision and review. A recent California Court of Appeals decision highlights the problem nicely — and […]
