Celebrity Estate Planning goes awry Pt. 4

Whether famous or just regular folks, we are reminded by the following anecdote that a few extra steps in your estate planning will deliver on your intentions.


Sonny Bono

A former musician, TV show host, and politician, Sonny Bono was a busy man—apparently too busy to write a will before his untimely death in a skiing accident at age 62. However, it turned out that he wasn’t too busy to secretly father a child out of wedlock who surfaced after Bono's death to claim part of his estate along with ex-wife Cher. 

A life's lesson here: We have no idea how much longer we have to live, so don’t procrastinate. Write a will, especially if you have a complex family situation.  Allocate some time now, so you can avoid the messy aftermath from inadequate planning like Salvatore Phillip “SONNY” BONO.

Call me, let's get you started on a long term estate plan that won't leave loose ends for your heirs.

Celebrity Estate Planning goes awry Pt. 3

Whether famous or just regular folks, we are reminded by the following anecdote that a few extra steps in your estate planning will deliver on your intentions.


Doris Duke

The tobacco heiress died with a fortune estimated to be worth $1.3 billion and thus making her the "world's richest woman" of the time.  Her will included leaving a sizable sum to a charitable foundation.  Per the terms of her will, her butler was named as the executor of the estate as well as the trustee of the foundation. Unfortunately the butler’s spending proved so questionable that he was removed by a probate judge........ only to be reinstated by a higher court. Finally, a settlement led to a board of trustees managing the foundation.

Here's a lesson: Be careful of who you pick as executor, trustee, or guardian. Even your closest friend or family member may not be the most competent administrator. For a large trust, you may want a corporate trustee to at least handle the financial and administrative tasks. For any estate, you may want to be selective in your choice, because you are depending on them to act in your behalf after you've gone.

Call me, so we can work together to avoid your your butler becoming your executor.

Celebrity Estate Planning goes awry Pt. 2

Whether famous or just regular folks, we are reminded by the following anecdote that a few extra steps in your estate planning will deliver on your intentions.

Jimi Hendrix

The guitar legend passed away at age 27 without a will. Although he was very close to his brother, state law awarded everything to his father, who later left everything to an adopted daughter from a later marriage, leaving Hendrix's brother with absolutely nothing.
Jimi offers us a reminder: It’s never too early to plan your estate even if you’re young and single. Dying without a will is a formula for angst and anguish for those left behind. 


I encourage you to now travel in the footsteps of Jimi Hendrix, give me a call today, and I'll help you to get a will done.

Celebrity Estate Planning goes awry Pt. 1

Whether famous or just regular folks, we are reminded by the following anecdote that a few extra steps in your estate planning will deliver on your intentions.

Stieg Larsson

This Swedish writer of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo novel trilogy may have written gripping stories about women as victims, but unfortunately in his non-fictional world he left his own girlfriend of 32 years a victim when he passed away without a will, leaving his entire estate to be divided between his father and brother according to Swedish law.
The obvious Lesson: Estate planning is even more important when you’re in a non-married relationship since your partner won’t necessarily have the same privileges and protections as a spouse.


If you are cohabiting and unmarried, Stieg Larsson is a reminder that you should call me, because we should talk.

Where did they all go?

That may be how you feel when you are the surviving member of your family, and there is no family members to inherit your estate.   I found the below article to be a short, but helpful guide for those with no heirs

5 Estate Planning Moves For Those Without Heirs

By David Sterman

The whole point of estate planning is to leave your children and spouse in as strong a position as possible in case you die. But that doesn't meanthat those without a spouse or children need not bother.

On the contrary, settling all of your personal matters will prove to be quite burdensome for whatever friend or relative takes on the task. You may be around another 50 years, or you may be gone tomorrow, so you may as well set up a plan right now. As the Beatles once sang "Tomorrow Never Knows."

Would That There's a Will

1. The first, and most crucial step is to establish a will. It should spell out -- in very explicit detail -- how you want your estate to be handled, from the funeral ceremony, to how you want your assets distributed. Your will should list every account number representing all of your investments and loans.

You can go to an attorney that can provide clear counsel as to how to structure a will that is right for your situation. Or you can go to web sites such as Nolo.com or Legalzoom.com to download the right forms, which start at around $40. Remember that you'll need to get it notarized, and should make sure that someone has an easily-accessed copy.

2. Identify a Power of Attorney. Well before you spin off this mortal coil, you may become incapacitated. In that event, a friend or family member will need to be entrusted to oversee your care and your financial matters.

If you have located the right person, sit down with them and discuss your intentions, giving them the opportunity to decline the role. It's a big responsibility, and not for everyone. This person will be entrusted to act in your best financial interest at all times, so be sure that they have the background and experience to do so.

3. Draw up a list of beneficiaries. This is a good time to start getting to know well-run charities. In my experience, some charities are very effective at making sure that donated funds are truly directed to helping the cause. Other charities seem to be a vehicle for enriching its key executives. (As a personal rule of thumb, I ask for executive non-compensation at non-profits. If the key players are making $200,000 to $300,000 a year, then I move on to another charity).

Once you've found the right charities, figure out how you'd like to split the proceeds of your estate with relatives such as nieces and nephews and those charities.

4. Keep it simple and up-to-date. A friend of mine has spent the last six months sorting out the estate of a sibling that suddenly died with vague estate instructions. My friend has been dealing with a range of lawyers, bankers and IRS agents to sort through all of the assets and liabilities.

His sibling failed to keep his will current, and my friend is now pulling his hair out trying to make sure that all is handled correctly. You should look at your will once a year, and have it re-notarized every five years, to be sure it's up-to-date.

5. Continually re-assess your needs. As you age, the amount of money you'll need to live comfortably until life's end may diminish. You may soon have more than you'll ever really need. For example, someone in their 70's with several million dollars in assets is unlikely to ever run out. That's why some people start to wind down their estate while they're still alive. 

You can give up to $13,000 to friends or family without paying any taxes. You can begin to make automatic payments to a favorite charity. Some people own several homes for investment purposes. For the sake of simplicity, it may be wise for someone that is elderly to start selling some of those properties so that the eventual settling of the estate becomes a far simpler process.

Facing theses issues is unpleasant, which is why most of us put them off. Yet a little upfront effort now can make for a much easier path for someone else later on. Once you have a plan in place, you only need to update every half-decade or so (though as mentioned earlier, you should look at it at least once a year to see if changes are needed). This all provides peace of mind as you face the unknowable future.

This article points you in the direction of managing your estate for the least complicated outcome.  I’ve spent years working on estate management issues, and I would enjoy using my expertise to assist you.  As I close many of my blog posts with the request to call me or email me to arrange a meeting.  Advance work will prevent many complications with your estate down the road.

Remove all Doubt

Doubt is a trouble-maker for those who are left behind by your passing.  You are encouraged to reduce or eliminate the room for doubt.  I found the below article to be loaded with helpful suggestions for making things clear. 

Documents you need before you die

Your family members will need to know how to handle your affairs after your passing. To do so, they'll need essential documents that you've prepared for them.

This article was reported by Saabira Chaudhuri and Mary Pilon for The Wall Street Journal, and the article appeared online in the Wall Street Journal Digital Network. 

It isn't enough simply to sign a bunch of papers establishing an estate plan and other end-of-life instructions. You also have to make your heirs aware of them and leave the documents where they can find them.

Consider: At least 10 states have been investigating whether some of the country's largest insurers are failing to pay out unclaimed life policies to beneficiaries. California and Florida have held public hearings on the issue recently.

Insurers say they are behaving lawfully. Under policy contracts, they aren't required to take steps to determine if a policyholder is still alive, but instead pay a claim when beneficiaries come forward.

How to store important documents

You can avoid such problems by securing important documents and telling your family where they are stored.

Jean Parr is grateful that her mother obsessed about the subject. "I really didn't want to think about it," says Parr, 54, a manager at the American Chemical Society in Washington, D.C. But when her mom died in 2005, she knew exactly where to look for the will, the key to a safe-deposit box and documents indicating her mother had paid and arranged for her own funeral.

The financial consequences of failing to keep your documents in order can be significant. According to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, state treasurers currently hold $32.9 billion in unclaimed bank accounts and other assets. (You can search for unclaimed assets at MissingMoney.com.)

Most experts recommend creating a comprehensive folder of documents that family members can access in case of an emergency, so they aren't left scrambling to find and organize a hodgepodge of disparate bank accounts, insurance policies and brokerage accounts.

You can store the documents with your attorney, lock them away in a safe-deposit box or keep them at home in a fireproof safe that someone else knows the combination to.

That isn't to say you should keep everything. Sometimes people hold on to so many papers that loved ones can't find the important ones easily.

In 2008, Jane Bissler, a counselor in Kent, Ohio, approached her then-87-year-old mother about organizing her documents. Because her mom was a widow with relatively simple finances and two homes, Bissler, 57, says she figured it would be a relatively simple task.

Instead, it took an entire year for Bissler and her mother to go through all of her papers, which included documents from eight bank accounts, utility bills from the 1950s and reams of canceled checks.

The two of them pared down the stash from four four-drawer filing cabinets to one two-drawer cabinet, shredding anything extraneous. Bissler and her mother visited banks and brokerages to ensure she was listed on all of her mother's accounts. Her mother died in May 2009.

"It would have been a total nightmare if we hadn't gone through it all with her," Bissler says. "It was that Depression-era stuff where you keep everything and hide other things." Bissler estimates that having the documents organized ahead of time spared them from ordering an additional 15 copies of the death certificate, and "years" of time.

Here is a rundown of the most important documents you'll need to have signed, sealed and delivered. You should start collecting these as soon as possible and update them every few years to reflect changes in assets and preferences. Some -- such as copies of tax returns or recent child-support payments -- need to be updated more often than others.

The essentials

An original will is the most important document to keep on file. A will allows you to dictate who inherits your assets and, if your children are underage, their guardians. Dying without a will means losing control of how your assets are distributed. Instead, state law will determine what happens.

Wills are subject to probate -- legal proceedings that take inventory, make appraisals of property, settle outstanding debts and distribute remaining assets. Not having an original document means this already-onerous process could be much more of an ordeal, since family members can challenge a copy of a will in court.

Rick Law, founder of estate-planning firm Law ElderLaw LLP in Aurora, Ill., says estate planners increasingly recommend revocable trusts in addition to wills, since they are more private and harder to dispute. "Every will is like a compass that points toward the closest courthouse," he says.

A revocable living trust can be changed anytime during your lifetime. After you transfer ownership of various assets to the trust, you can serve as the trustee on behalf of beneficiaries you designate. Provided you do so, there aren't any ongoing fees.

If your family can't find the original trust documents, you are "basically setting your estate up for litigation," says Duncan Moseley, vice president of Sanders Financial Management in Atlanta.

A "letter of instruction" can be a useful supplement to a will, though it doesn't hold legal weight. It is a good way to make sure your executor has the names and contact information of your attorneys, accountants and financial advisers. While the will should be stored with your attorney or in a courthouse, the letter of instruction should be more readily accessible, particularly if it contains instructions on funeral arrangements.

How to store important documents

Also, make sure your heirs have access to a durable financial power-of-attorney form. Without it, no one can make financial decisions on your behalf if you are incapacitated.

Proof of ownership

You should keep documentation of housing and land ownership, cemetery plots, vehicles, stock certificates and savings bonds; any partnership or corporate operating agreements; and a list of brokerage and escrow mortgage accounts.

If you don't tell your family that you own such assets, there is a chance they never will find out. Moseley says in such an event, clients must perform their own detective work, watching the mail for real-estate tax bills or combing bank accounts for interest payments, for example.

File any documents that list loans you have made to others, since they could be included as assets in an estate. Similarly, keep a list of any debts you owe to avoid surprising your family. Wills and living trusts generally are drafted to include provisions for how debts should be settled, and creditors have a stipulated period of time in which to file a claim against the estate.

Make the most recent three years of tax returns available, too. "Looking at last year's returns offers a snapshot of what assets we should be looking for this year," says Lesley Moss Mamdouhi, a principal at estate-law firm Oram & Moss in Chevy Chase, Md. This also will help your personal representative file a final income-tax and estate return and, if necessary, a revocable-trust return.

Bank accounts

Rick Law recommends sharing a list of all accounts and online log-in information with your family members so they can notify the bank of your death. "If nobody ever takes any more out or puts money in, it becomes a dormant account and then becomes the property of the state," he says.

Be sure to list any safe-deposit boxes you own, register your spouse or child's name with the bank and ask them to sign the registration document so they can have access without securing a court order.

Health care confidential

Possibly the most important health care document to fill out in advance is a durable health care power of attorney form. This allows your designee to make health care decisions on your behalf if you are incapacitated. The document should be compliant with federal health-information privacy laws, so that doctors, hospitals and insurance companies can speak with your designee. You may also need to fill out an Authorization to Release Protected Healthcare Information form.

If you are incapacitated and your family members can't locate a health care power of attorney, they will have to go to court to get a guardian appointed.

Porter Storey, executive vice president of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine in Glenview, Ill., says it isn't enough to establish a health care power of attorney unless you have explained to your designee how you would like to be treated in case of incapacity. He also recommends writing a living will detailing your wishes.

Diane Dimond's mother had a series of strokes in 2006, and Dimond knew there was a signed living will tucked away in a safe at home. Dimond, 58 and living in New York, recalls the Sunday she watched her mother in a coma and was able to fulfill her wishes never to be kept on external life support. "It was gut-wrenching," she says, "but I took the physician aside and said, 'I want to take her home.'" Having her mother's living will enabled Dimond to do just that.

The living will and the power of attorney constitute what are called "advance directives"; some states consolidate these into a single form. (AARP offers a state-by-state listing of advance-directive forms on its website.) Terminally ill patients may wish to have their doctors sign a do-not-resuscitate order.

Certain companies, such as Advance Choice's DocuBank, will keep copies of health care documents for a fee. Subscribers get a wallet-sized card, and, in case of an emergency, a hospital will call DocuBank, which will fax over the information.

Life insurance and retirement accounts

Copies of life insurance policies are among the most important documents for your family to have. Family members need to know the name of the carrier, the policy number and the agent associated with the policy.

Be especially careful with life insurance policies granted by an employer upon your retirement, since those are the kind that financial planners most often miss, says David Peterson, CEO of Denver-based Peak Capital Investment Services. New York state alone is holding more than $400 million in life-insurance-related payments that have gone unclaimed since 2000, according to the state comptroller's office.

Estate planners also recommend that you draw up a list of pensions, annuities, individual retirement accounts and 401ks for your spouse and children.

An IRA is considered dormant or unclaimed if no withdrawal has been made by age 70½. According to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, tens of millions of dollars languish in unclaimed IRAs every year.

If your heirs don't know about these accounts, they won't be able to lay claim to them, and the money could languish. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that each year tens of thousands of workers fail to claim or roll over $850 million in 401k assets. You can track unclaimed pensions, 401ks and IRAs at Unclaimed.com.

Marriage and divorce

Make sure your spouse knows where you have stored your marriage license. Mary Cay Corr, now 74 and living in Raleigh-Durham, N.C., couldn't locate hers when her husband died. "I had to write to New York, where we got married, and pay for a new marriage license to prove that I had been married to my husband before I could claim anything," she says.

For divorced people, it is important to leave behind the divorce judgment and decree or, if the case was settled without going to court, the stipulation agreement, says Linda Lea Viken, president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers in Chicago. These documents lay out child support, alimony and property settlements, and also may list the division of investment and retirement accounts.

Include the distribution sheet listing bank account numbers that accompanied the settlement, to avoid disputes about ownership or payments due. Also include a copy of the most recent child-support payment order. In most states, the obligation to pay child support still exists after death.

Viken also recommends filing copies of any life insurance papers. In many states, if you have a policy that benefits your children, it can be set off against the ongoing child support.

You also should include a copy of the "qualified domestic relations order," which can prove your spouse received a share of your retirement accounts.

This is a very useful list for organizing your information and taking steps to remove doubts about your intentions and your affairs.  Like many of my blog posts, I encourage you to print this list, put it in a special folder dedicated to managing your estate.  If you encounter questions from any of the articles in your folder, please contact me.  I like helping people organize their affairs, manage their estates, and ease confusion for family members.  Just call me or send me an email, and we can discuss the likely ways to solve the issues on your mind.

Estate Planning Tips That Prevent Family Feuds

“Family Feud” is a television show, but they often happen in real life after the passing of a loved one.

I think you will find this article an interesting read, and it will likely offer a few sage comments for managing your own life and the relations with some of your family members.

Estate Planning Tips That Prevent Family Feuds

by RANIA COMBS, and attorney at law, who originally posted this article on Texas Will and Trusts online. 

When I was a girl, my mother enjoyed needlework. She would painstakingly sew for hours, crafting beautiful pieces like the one in the image above.  My husband thinks that piece of needlepoint is a bit old fashioned, but I love it. For years it hung in the living room of my parents’ house, welcoming me home from school each day. To me, it represents my mother’s hard work, creativity and attention to detail. Just looking at it brings back wonderful memories of my childhood.

Because she knew how much I admired it, my mother gave it to me several years ago. It now hangs over a gentleman’s chest in my bedroom where I can see it every day. It has very little monetary value, but priceless sentimental value. It is something I will always treasure.

Sentimental Items Can Be Source of Conflict After the Death of a Relative

When people plan their estates, they often take great care in planning for the disposition assets with significant financial worth, such as their homes, 401Ks, IRAs, jewelry and valuable pieces of art. But it’s typically the items that hold sentimental value for many family members that create the most conflict after the death of a loved one.

For example, Deborah L. Jacobs’ article “Little Things Can Cause Big Fights When a Relative Dies” explains how three siblings fought over a glass bowl that their grandmother owned. The bowl was not a valuable antique, but rather a free gift their grandmother had received when she purchased a package of store-bought Christmas pudding.

However, the bowl had sentimental value for all the children because their grandmother used this bowl to serve them breakfast when they slept over at her house.  The siblings’ mother, who now has the bowl, has actually considered burying it to avoid any conflict that may arise when she dies.

Estate Planning Tips That Prevent Family Feuds

If you are concerned that certain pieces of tangible property could be the source of conflict after you die, there are several steps you can take to minimize the changes of that occurring. In her article, Jacobs offers the following tips on how disposing of tangible items with sentimental value:

1.  Talk to your family members about what items hold special sentimental value for them. Include a memorandum with your will directing who should receive each item when you die. Or consider giving them the property during your lifetime, like my mother did.

2.  While you’re still alive, have family members write their names on the bottom of the items they would like.

3.  If you have numerous family members and only one or two valuable possessions, direct that an independent executor sell those pieces and divide the proceeds among your family members.  A family member who can afford to purchase the piece can buy it from the estate.

4.  Make a specific gift of property with sentimental value in your will. That way, there will not be a question about who should receive that item.

For many relatives, sentimental items can be just as important, if not more so, than money in the bank.  This article is a helpful guide, and I encourage you to print it out and keep it in your file of helpful information for managing your affairs. 

If I can assist you in any way, please call me or contact me by email.  I’ve spent years developing my expertise in these areas of estate management, and I would enjoy applying my expertise to assisting you.