Mistake #1: Relying on the Law. If you do not set up an estate plan, upon your death your property will be distributed according to the laws of your last state of residence. Often, the law will require the probate judge to give your property to someone other than the people you would have chosen.
Mistake #2: Relying on a Will. If your estate plan consists only of a Will, your heirs may face many costly problems such as probate and conservatorship proceedings. A Will is the most common estate planning tool, but it is usually not the best tool to use.
Mistake #3: Relying on Community Property laws. Relying on the Community Property laws is a position many clients take. However, your property will still have to go through probate on the death of the spouse. Also, Community Property ownership requires a conservatorship if a spouse is incapacitated and the home needs a mortgage, home equity line, or to be sold. Relying on the Community Property laws is not a good estate plan.
Mistake #4: Relying on Guardianships. These Court supervised proceedings for addressing your physical or mental incapacity are costly, time-consuming and horribly burdensome. Your properly set up Revocable Living Trust, as well as Powers of Attorney, Durable Powers of Attorney for Health Care, and Physician’s Directives and Releases avoid this issue.
Mistake #5: Relying on the small estate affidavit or informal administration procedure to avoid probate. Most people assume they have fewer assets than they actually have. In Wisconsin the small estate exemption that avoids probate is permitted only for estates consisting of less than $50,000.
Mistake #6: Relying on a gifting program as your way of avoiding probate. The law allows you to give away your property at a rate of $14,000 per person per year. A married couple can give $28,000 per year to anyone they choose without gift tax consequences. While this is an effective way to reduce the size of your estate, trying to spend your last dime on your last day is difficult to put odds on, plus you lose control of the assets you have given away, and beneficiaries get total control over everything that has been given to them.
Mistake #7: Relying on the Courts to take care of your child’s finances. If you die intestate (with no Will) or with only a Will, and your property passes to your minor child, the Court will put your child’s money into a Court-supervised guardianship requiring at least annual accountings to the Court. Naturally, this may require hiring CPAs to prepare accountings, and lawyers to file those accountings with the Court, plus filing fees, all of which comes out of the inheritance. It also means that the Court determines the person who will serve as guardian of the property, who may not be the person you would have chosen.
Mistake #8: Relying on a form kit for your Will or Living Trust. One size does not fit all because no two people or families are alike. From your family’s needs and dynamics to its personalities and values, can you imagine any form kit ever being suitable for any family? If you use a form kit, you’re asking for problems. If your will is not properly executed, it will not be valid. The only estate plan you can rely on is one that is custom prepared by a qualified estate planning and asset protection lawyer.
Mistake #9: Relying on the wrong attorney. Most attorneys know very little about estate planning. What’s more, even some estate planning attorneys don’t put much time or energy into comprehensive protections for your family’s unique circumstances. That’s why I urge you to choose an estate planning attorney who has the primary focus, mission and purpose to help you achieve your family’s estate planning and asset protection goals: protecting, preserving and passing on more of what you’ve worked for.
If you’d like to ensure that you maximize the resources available to your loved ones and keep your family out of Court and out of conflict, schedule a Family Life and Legacy Planning Session.™ We can review your existing plan and help you make adjustments that will help you achieve your goals.
This article is a service of The Estate Planning Group and Davidson Law Office, LLP, your Life & Legacy Planning Lawyers, who believe in developing trusting relationships with families for life. We don’t just draft documents, we ensure you make informed and empowered decisions about life and death, for yourself and the people you love.
Showing posts with label Wisconsin trust. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wisconsin trust. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Friday, September 22, 2017
What happens to my Facebook profile after death?
Facebook! With users easily surpassing 1,000,000,000, Facebook is arguably the most common social media platform. However, what happens to your Facebook page when you pass away? Who has access to your profile upon your death? Can you have your account deleted upon your passing?
Each person has their own Facebook page, right? The whole point of Facebook is you can make that page your own and post, share, like, whatever you want. However, when "you" are no longer available to take care of your page, what happens to it? Surprising to many, access to one's Facebook profile can become highly restricted after a person passes away, even if that person is a mother trying to access her deceased daughter's account. http://thehill.com/policy/technology/335759-german-court-rejects-mothers-request-to-access-deceased-daughters-facebook
As the desire for greater access to decedents' accounts grow, Facebook has come up with several different options for accessing a decedent's page.
One of the most common means is the legacy contact. Each person can designate one of their Facebook "friends" to serve as their "legacy contact" after they pass away. This individual has the authority to write posts on their wall, post articles (e.g. an obituary), and even shut down their Facebook page. This process can work great if you have a desire to notify distant relatives/friends of your passing when most of your communication is through social media. As social media becomes the norm for notification about such events, the legacy contact option is becoming more and more popular. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/02/12/facebook-policy-change-allows-one-final-post-after-death/23184757/
Another option is to have Facebook simply delete your profile upon your passing. This option is great for the individual who simply wishes their online persona to die with them. No exposure of past messages or lingering digital presence. Instead, your Facebook profile is simply deleted after Facebook is notified of your passing.
A final option utilized by some, but certainly not condoned by Facebook, involves sharing your username and password with a trusted person and informing them to login as you after your passing and shut down your profile. While this may be the simplest option, sharing username and passwords is a risky proposition, indeed!
While Facebook is just one electronic provider, there is no denying that online accounts are becoming more pervasive. And while Facebook is just one example, with online banking, automatic billing, etc. all becoming much more commonplace, knowing how your online accounts will be addressed are a top priority to ensure an easy and smooth process for the loved ones you leave behind!
If you’d like to ensure that you maximize the resources available to your loved ones and keep your family out of Court and out of conflict, schedule a Family Life and Legacy Planning Session.™ We can review your existing plan and help you make adjustments that will help you achieve your goals.
This article is a service of The Estate Planning Group and Davidson Law Office, LLP, your Life & Legacy Planning Lawyers, who believe in developing trusting relationships with families for life. We don’t just draft documents, we ensure you make informed and empowered decisions about life and death, for yourself and the people you love.
Each person has their own Facebook page, right? The whole point of Facebook is you can make that page your own and post, share, like, whatever you want. However, when "you" are no longer available to take care of your page, what happens to it? Surprising to many, access to one's Facebook profile can become highly restricted after a person passes away, even if that person is a mother trying to access her deceased daughter's account. http://thehill.com/policy/technology/335759-german-court-rejects-mothers-request-to-access-deceased-daughters-facebook
As the desire for greater access to decedents' accounts grow, Facebook has come up with several different options for accessing a decedent's page.
One of the most common means is the legacy contact. Each person can designate one of their Facebook "friends" to serve as their "legacy contact" after they pass away. This individual has the authority to write posts on their wall, post articles (e.g. an obituary), and even shut down their Facebook page. This process can work great if you have a desire to notify distant relatives/friends of your passing when most of your communication is through social media. As social media becomes the norm for notification about such events, the legacy contact option is becoming more and more popular. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/02/12/facebook-policy-change-allows-one-final-post-after-death/23184757/
Another option is to have Facebook simply delete your profile upon your passing. This option is great for the individual who simply wishes their online persona to die with them. No exposure of past messages or lingering digital presence. Instead, your Facebook profile is simply deleted after Facebook is notified of your passing.
A final option utilized by some, but certainly not condoned by Facebook, involves sharing your username and password with a trusted person and informing them to login as you after your passing and shut down your profile. While this may be the simplest option, sharing username and passwords is a risky proposition, indeed!
While Facebook is just one electronic provider, there is no denying that online accounts are becoming more pervasive. And while Facebook is just one example, with online banking, automatic billing, etc. all becoming much more commonplace, knowing how your online accounts will be addressed are a top priority to ensure an easy and smooth process for the loved ones you leave behind!
If you’d like to ensure that you maximize the resources available to your loved ones and keep your family out of Court and out of conflict, schedule a Family Life and Legacy Planning Session.™ We can review your existing plan and help you make adjustments that will help you achieve your goals.
This article is a service of The Estate Planning Group and Davidson Law Office, LLP, your Life & Legacy Planning Lawyers, who believe in developing trusting relationships with families for life. We don’t just draft documents, we ensure you make informed and empowered decisions about life and death, for yourself and the people you love.
Monday, May 8, 2017
How can I preserve my assets for my kids and loved ones?
With tax time just behind us, you may be thinking you did well by minimizing what you paid to Uncle Sam and your state in taxes, so more can go to your family. Every year around tax-time, we’re reminded of how complicated maximizing your money and minimizing tax liabilities can be - and for many people, this seems to be the singular focus for how to preserve assets for loved ones.
Unfortunately, we don’t get much in the way of real information about really preserving our assets through estate planning. And, regrettably, many of us simply don't think about it, or maybe think we don't have enough to make a difference.
Simply put, this is Penny Wise and Pound Foolish - Your family will likely lose more in the costs of estate administration than you can ever overcome with annual tax tricks.
Truth is, if you have people you love and any assets at all in your name, you do have an estate and it is worth preserving for the people you love. In some cases, that may mean keeping them out of court and out of conflict, if anything happens to you. (Did you know that the biggest family fights happen over the smallest sums of money or even the personal effects of a person who has passed on? Let’s keep that from happening to your family!)
If you’re concerned about maximizing the amount your heirs receive and minimizing the amount received by governments, there are several steps you can take.
First and foremost, keep your family out of Court. It’s unnecessary, extremely expensive and almost always public. Consider using a Trust to make it easy to handle your assets if you become incapacitated or when you pass on.
Second, ensure legal documents are in place for trusted family or loved ones to take care of financial, legal and health care issues in the event of any incapacity. An incapacity without simple legal planning in place can be devastating to a family, both financially and emotionally.
Third, while most Americans need not worry about the Federal estate and gift tax ($5.49 million in 2017), if you have an estate near or above that level ($10.9 million for married couples) you need to implement tax minimization strategies to avoid the extreme estate tax hit your heirs will experience. Some will need to think about State taxes, as well, if you live in one of the 20 states that impose them. (Wisconsin does not.)
If you’d like to ensure that you maximize the resources available to your loved ones and keep your family out of Court and out of conflict, schedule a Family Life and Legacy Planning Session.™ We can review your existing plan and help you make adjustments that will help you achieve your goals.
This article is a service of The Estate Planning Group and Davidson Law Office, LLP, your Life & Legacy Planning Lawyers, who believe in developing trusting relationships with families for life. We don’t just draft documents, we ensure you make informed and empowered decisions about life and death, for yourself and the people you love.
Unfortunately, we don’t get much in the way of real information about really preserving our assets through estate planning. And, regrettably, many of us simply don't think about it, or maybe think we don't have enough to make a difference.
Simply put, this is Penny Wise and Pound Foolish - Your family will likely lose more in the costs of estate administration than you can ever overcome with annual tax tricks.
Truth is, if you have people you love and any assets at all in your name, you do have an estate and it is worth preserving for the people you love. In some cases, that may mean keeping them out of court and out of conflict, if anything happens to you. (Did you know that the biggest family fights happen over the smallest sums of money or even the personal effects of a person who has passed on? Let’s keep that from happening to your family!)
If you’re concerned about maximizing the amount your heirs receive and minimizing the amount received by governments, there are several steps you can take.
First and foremost, keep your family out of Court. It’s unnecessary, extremely expensive and almost always public. Consider using a Trust to make it easy to handle your assets if you become incapacitated or when you pass on.
Second, ensure legal documents are in place for trusted family or loved ones to take care of financial, legal and health care issues in the event of any incapacity. An incapacity without simple legal planning in place can be devastating to a family, both financially and emotionally.
Third, while most Americans need not worry about the Federal estate and gift tax ($5.49 million in 2017), if you have an estate near or above that level ($10.9 million for married couples) you need to implement tax minimization strategies to avoid the extreme estate tax hit your heirs will experience. Some will need to think about State taxes, as well, if you live in one of the 20 states that impose them. (Wisconsin does not.)
If you’d like to ensure that you maximize the resources available to your loved ones and keep your family out of Court and out of conflict, schedule a Family Life and Legacy Planning Session.™ We can review your existing plan and help you make adjustments that will help you achieve your goals.
This article is a service of The Estate Planning Group and Davidson Law Office, LLP, your Life & Legacy Planning Lawyers, who believe in developing trusting relationships with families for life. We don’t just draft documents, we ensure you make informed and empowered decisions about life and death, for yourself and the people you love.
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