Part III: Who? Identifying The Participants. “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts[.]” ~ William Shakespeare’s As You Like It In addition to making clients face their own mortality, estate planning presents an […]
I have helped many people draft their estate plan documents and most have been traditional in the sense that they want to be “fair” to their descendants. If there is a spouse all goes to them, next to their kids in equal shares. Further, the testator (persons for whom the estate plan has been drafted) […]
There is often confusion about what to do when a beneficiary inherits a retirement account. The answer is… it depends. There are different factors to determine the best course of action, such as the beneficiary and the age of the decedent. For purposes of this article, the term “retirement account” will be used to encompass […]
Escheat is the forfeit of all property to the state when a person dies without heirs, descendants, or named beneficiaries. Escheat of property occurs when it appears from a petition or application for probate, or otherwise in a proceeding in a court, that a decedent left surviving no spouse or kindred. A court then will […]
Earlier this month, Supplemental Needs Trusts were discussed. Today, we’ll focus on Special Needs Trusts. A Special Needs Trust is a tool in which a person with a disability is able to retain their assets by placing them into a trust to use the assets to supplement the government benefits the disabled person will receive […]
Across the board, the significant majority of personal injury lawsuits and workers’ compensation claims are resolved through settlement. The reasons for the high percentage of cases that settle are myriad. Our crowded court system and resulting delays can wear down litigants; the increase in alternative dispute resolution helps cases resolve before trial; the inherent unpredictability […]
Later this month, Special Needs Trusts will be discussed in some detail. Today we’ll discuss Supplemental Needs Trusts. Oftentimes, these two types of trusts are confused because their purposes are somewhat similar, but how each is funded and created and what will happen upon each trusts’ termination are quite different. Beneficiary Like a Special Needs […]
Part II: Why? Framing the Issue. “Art is a nation’s most precious heritage. For it is in our works of art that we reveal to ourselves and to others the inner vision which guides us as a nation. And where there is no vision, the people perish.” ~Lyndon Johnson, on signing the Arts & Humanities […]
I previously wrote on how to disclaim property under federal law to avoid or minimize estate taxes. While estates may fall short of the federal estate tax exemption limit, currently set at $5 million, individuals may still need to disclaim property to avoid Minnesota estate tax. Many individuals think their estates also fall short of […]
One of the consequences of a prolonged economic downturn is a decrease in the size of institutional endowments, just at the time when reliance on those funds may increase in order to offset a simultaneous reduction in other (e.g. contribution) income. Because stock market performance does not directly coincide with economic health, particularly in a […]
Make Sure Your Money Goes to the Right Person after You’re Gone There is so much information available about personal finances that you could spend your entire life reading all of it and you would never reach the end. Usually personal financial topics are geared toward what to do with your investments or how to […]