Monthly Archives: April 2015

Estate Planning

Do you need an Estate Plan? Take this Quiz to Find Out!

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Many of our blogs discuss why you need an estate plan and most people will tell you that they intend to create one …. eventually. In fact, it is common for people to believe they don’t need an estate plan until later in life. Below is a short quiz that will help you determine whether you should be estate planning now instead of later.

1. Are you a homeowner?

If you own any type of real property, you have at least one valuable assets that requires estate planning. Your home cannot be divided among your beneficiaries and selling it may take months, which means your loved ones will have to wait to receive their share of the proceeds. Even if you have a “small estate,” because it is real estate, probate becomes necessary. For larger estates, there could be estate tax issues. Lastly, if you are married, you will want to ensure that your spouse can continue living in the home after you are gone.

2. Do you have minor children?

If you have any children under the age of 18 years, it is extremely important that you appoint a guardian if something should happen to you and your spouse. Completing the proper documentation will ensure that your children are not placed into foster care or become wards of the state if there are loved ones willing to care for them. You should also consider appointing a trustee for them to hold any financial assets until they reach a suitable age.

3. Do you want to decide when your heirs will receive their inheritance?

If you do not have a comprehensive estate plan in place, your property will most likely go through several processes. Insurance, IRA’s, 401(k)’s or similar assets may be distributed by beneficiary designations. Other assets may go through the probate process before they can be distributed. Probate can be complicated and expensive if you have not planned for it. But worse, you may have assets going in several different directions in an uncoordinated way, without any control by you. With an estate plan, you have the ability to coordinate where everything goes, and you decide the timing and circumstances under which your heirs will receive their inheritance. For example, you may want your children to graduate from college or reach the age of 25 years (or older) before their inheritance is distributed to them.

4. Do you want to leave medical or end-of-life instructions?

If you are adamant that you do not want to be kept alive by machines or have your estate diminished by this type of end-of-life care, you need to have an advanced healthcare directive that sets forth your instructions if you are in a vegetative state, have a terminal illness or are dying.

The above four questions are simple examples of why estate planning is necessary for everyone, regardless of the size of their estate. Estate planning impacts a variety of areas in your life, so it is important to stop procrastinating and take action now. Let us help you determine what kind of planning will benefit you and your loved ones.

The Astill Law Office has provided high quality legal services for over 30 years. We specialize in wills, trusts, estate planning, and asset protection. If you have any questions about creating a Trust, Will, or estate planning in general, contact The Astill Law Office at 801-438-8698.

 

Estate Planning

Using Common Sense in Your Estate Planning

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When you think about estate planning, you probably envision it being a very complex process. While it can involve complicated issues, estate planning should also encompass a significant amount of common sense. For one, take time to really think about what you want to accomplish with your estate plan. You take time to plan your daily tasks and figure out ways to make life easier, so apply these same principles to your estate plan:

  • Stop procrastinating. If you wait until you are under a deadline (or until it is too late), it makes the process more expensive as well as more stressful. The more you can pre-plan your estate plan, the more likely you will have success in meeting your goals. In fact, there are certain areas of estate planning (such as Medicaid, retirement and long term care) that you should start thinking about years before you believe you’ll actually need it.
  • Get organized. You have probably learned that making a list of what you need before you go to the store makes your shopping trip easier and quicker. The same principle applies to estate planning because the more forethought you put into setting your goals, the easier it is for your lawyer to efficiently achieve those goals.
  • Understand it is an investment. Don’t be tempted to use the cheapest attorney you can find without investigating his or her experience and reputation in the area of estate planning. Your estate plan is an investment for the future, so you want to ensure that your plan will stand the test of time.
  • How do you know whether you have found someone with experience and ability? Try this test: (i) ask how many will or trust clients they met with in the last week and month; (ii) ask whether they understand probate and tax laws; and (iii) go online and see what areas of law they practice. If their online presence includes personal injury, divorce, DUI, criminal defense, bankruptcy, etc. they are not a specialist in estate planning.
  • You may not make everyone happy. It is important to realize that your estate plan may not please all of your heirs. However, it is your property, assets and wealth that is being distributed, so you should do what you want in creating your estate plan.

If you do not have an estate plan or you have one that is outdated, let us help. The Astill Law Office has provided high quality legal services for over 30 years. We specialize in wills, trusts, estate planning, and asset protection. If you have any questions about creating a Trust, Will, or estate planning in general, contact The Astill Law Office at 801-438-8698.

Estate Planning

Three Estate Planning Documents for your 18 Year Old

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Once your child reaches 18 years of age, he or she is considered to be an adult under the law. Many parents do not realize that this means that they will now need written authority to make medical or financial decisions on their young adult’s behalf. This may include the simplest things such as requesting your child’s immunization records to more serious decisions such as the appropriate medical treatment when your child is involved in a serious accident. This is true, even if your child is still in high school!

If your young adult will be receiving his or her high school diploma soon or turning 18 in the next year, below are three documents you should strongly consider having drafted and signed:

Advance Health Care Directive. Although nobody wants to think about anything bad happening to their child, it is important for your young adult to appoint a parent (or another loved one) to be their health care agent. This grants authority to the appointed individual to make medical decisions if your child is in a condition where they can’t make their own decisions, or if you just want to take them to the Doctor or hospital. It can also set forth his or her wishes regarding long-term care or the use of life support if he or she is left in a permanent vegetative state or is dying.

HIPAA Forms. To ensure that you can confer with your child’s doctors and other medical staff, your young adult should sign HIPAA forms. An Advanced Health Care Directive also accomplishes this.

Power of Attorney. Your young adult may encounter an emergency in which you will want the ability to access his or her bank accounts or to otherwise be able to act financially for him or her. Having a financial power of attorney gives you this power.

As your child progresses in life and begins to accumulate possessions and wealth, it is imperative that he or she create an estate plan. Even a modest estate should be protected and we can help your young adult determine what strategy is best for his or her situation.

Sending your adult child out into the world can be difficult, but having the proper documentation in place can provide you with the peace of mind that you can be there and have the authority to help if needed.

The Astill Law Office has provided high quality legal services for over 30 years. We specialize in wills, trusts, estate planning, and asset protection. If you have any questions about creating a Trust, Will, or estate planning in general, contact The Astill Law Office at 801-438-8698.

Estate Planning

Beneficiary Mistakes to Avoid

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Although estate planning can provide you with significant protections, most people want to take measures to provide for their loved ones. When it comes to designating your beneficiaries, there are numerous common mistakes that you will want to avoid. Of course, working with a knowledgeable estate planning attorney will help you prevent such errors, but below are examples of mistakes you want to avoid when designating the beneficiaries to your estate plan, life insurance, or retirement plan:

  • Failure to name a beneficiary
  • Failure to name a contingent beneficiary
  • Failure to update or change your named beneficiary if you divorce
  • Designating a beneficiary who receives needs-based government benefits (such as an individual with special needs)
  • Naming minor children as beneficiaries
  • Failure to change a beneficiary designation when your original beneficiary dies
  • Designating a beneficiary that has serious creditor problems
  • Naming a beneficiary that is incapable of properly managing money or assets
  • Mistakenly believing that your estate planning documents will control your life insurance or retirement account beneficiaries

The above mistakes are often made when people attempt to draft their estate planning documents without professional guidance. You only get one opportunity to create your estate plan, so don’t put it at risk of not being done right. Estate planning involves fitting numerous pieces of a puzzle together and beneficiary designations are an important piece. Avoiding mistakes in naming your beneficiaries ensures that your property will be passed how and when you choose.

Let us help you create or update your estate plan and your beneficiary designations. The Astill Law Office has provided high quality legal services for over 30 years. We specialize in wills, trusts, estate planning, and asset protection. If you have any questions about creating a Trust, Will, or estate planning in general, contact The Astill Law Office at 801-438-8698.

Estate Planning

Why You shouldn’t Transfer Your House to your Child

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If your home is your primary asset, you may believe you can accomplish your estate planning goals by transferring ownership of your house to your child while you are still alive. Although this can keep your house from going through the probate process, it can also create significant issues such as:

  • Transferring your house while you are alive means that you will lose any property discounts that you are eligible for (many states offer discounts to persons over 65) which will result in an increase in your property taxes. Some states also charge a fee for every transfer. Not understanding this can be very costly to you. Depending on your financial situation, this could get you into tax trouble.
  • If your child has had financial struggles, transferring your house to him or her could put it into jeopardy. Once title to the home is in your child’s name, it becomes vulnerable to your child’s creditors and other legal troubles. What if your child files bankruptcy? Your house is their asset!
  • Although you may have a strong relationship with your child, nobody knows the future. If you were to have a falling out, your child will not be legally obligated to allow you to continue to live in your home without a lawsuit.
  • If you have more than one child, transferring title of your home to only one child can cause sibling rivalry and disputes. However, putting all of your children’s names on the title to your home can also cause fighting if they can’t agree on what to do with it. Having numerous names on the title can also make the home vulnerable to all of their creditors.

The transfer of title to your children is subject to the federal gift tax. While it may be exempt from payment of a tax (depending on the size of your estate), it still requires filing of a gift tax return.

You could lose the step-up in basis under the tax laws which means your children pay income tax on the future sale of your home.

Your creditors can still set aside the transfer to your children. The Fraudulent Conveyance Act protects creditors where you transfer assets without adequate consideration.

It is important to remember that even if you transfer your home out of your name, there are other assets in your estate that may still make a probate action necessary. If you hope to avoid probate, lower tax liability, and save you and your family money, contact us for an appointment. Creating an effective estate plan does not have to be expensive – let us help! To be perfectly honest, we almost never recommend transfer of a house to your children as a strategy to avoid probate or taxes. There are better and more effective tools.

The Astill Law Office has provided high quality legal services for over 30 years. We specialize in wills, trusts, estate planning, and asset protection. If you have any questions about creating a Trust, Will, or estate planning in general, contact The Astill Law Office at 801-438-8698.

Estate Planning

Women’s Estate Planning Issues

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You might be surprised to learn that men and women often have different estate planning needs and perspectives. This blog will focus on the needs and goals of females. Factors such as whether the woman is married, has children or is employed can make a significant difference in her estate planning needs. Thus, it is imperative that women take an active role in estate planning, which means talking to the attorney and asking your own questions.

The following a three considerations for women when it comes to their estate planning:

  • In general, females are the caregivers. In many families, the wife is the primary caregiver for not only the children, but also for elderly parents and in-laws. As a result, the estate planning issues that women are typically focused on are appointing a guardian for their minor children or because they want to protect their older relatives by creating a trust or through the use of a power of attorney.
  • Although it should no longer be assumed that men are the breadwinner for their families, for many families it is still the case. If this is your situation, you could lose your income stream if your spouse dies or becomes incapacitated. It is important for couples to ensure that both spouses have adequate life insurance policies.
  • Studies have shown that women generally live longer than men. This means that you will be left to handle your spouse’s estate and all related matters such as taxes. Will you have sufficient retirement savings to support you and your loved ones? Remember, creating an estate plan is not only about the distribution of assets, but also about insuring that you will have property and money to support you throughout your life.

If you are interested in learning more about the unique issues that are important in your estate plan, contact us to schedule an appointment. Let us help you create a plan that will protect you and the most important people in your life.

The Astill Law Office has provided high quality legal services for over 30 years. We specialize in wills, trusts, estate planning, and asset protection. If you have any questions about creating a Trust, Will, or estate planning in general, contact The Astill Law Office at 801-438-8698.

Estate Planning

Setting Boundaries for Your Bequests

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When you create an estate plan, you have the flexibility to decide how and when your assets will be passed to your loved ones. You can also send a message regarding your values and priorities along with your wealth. If this is important to you, let one of our knowledgeable estate planners help you accomplish this goal.

There are numerous ways your estate plan can transfer not only your property, but also provide some instructions or directions to your beneficiaries. For example:

  • If you want to ensure that your beneficiaries do not spend their inheritance too quickly, you can put the money into a trust with instructions on when disbursements should be made (such as when the beneficiary reaches a certain age, graduates from college, etc)
  • If you have a “blended family,” you may leave direction regarding who you specifically consider as family or as your intended beneficiaries
  • Your estate plan can allow you to leave unequal amounts to your loved ones. This is especially important if you have a less privileged and/or disabled child. You may also want to discuss the reasoning behind your decision with your other beneficiaries so there are no hurt feelings.
  • If you have concerns regarding creditors or bitter ex-spouses (yours or those of your beneficiaries) attacking your assets, you can place inheritances into a trust.

Your estate plan can be tailor-made to suit your needs. We have assisted numerous clients (over 2000) with complicated family relationships and complex finances. Whether you want to provide your loved ones with financial guidance from the grave or you want to motivate them to accomplish certain important goals, we can help.

The Astill Law Office has provided high quality legal services for over 30 years. We specialize in wills, trusts, estate planning, and asset protection. If you have any questions about creating a Trust, Will, or estate planning in general, contact The Astill Law Office at 801-438-8698.

Estate Planning

3 Tips for Lowering Your Estate Planning Legal Fees

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There numerous areas in your life where you can save money by “doing it yourself.” However, estate planning is one area where DIY can cost you more than you might expect. Each state has very specific laws that apply and the process can be quite complex. Our experience with DIY wills or trusts has been uniformly bad. They may be good forms fundamentally, but the lack of understanding of terminology and lack of experience with the forms or estate planning concepts generally, often results in a bad document.

Most people fear that creating an estate plan will be expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. Keep in mind that “expensive” is a relative concept. If you have hundreds of thousands or even millions in assets, spending a few thousand dollars to make sure the assets transfer according to your wishes is a very modest cost. You can also create your plan in steps and following these three tips may help to lower your legal fees:

  • Get organized. Before you attend your initial consultation with your estate planning lawyer, get your documents and records organized. This includes creating a comprehensive list of all of your assets and all of your liabilities and debts. You will want to decide who your beneficiaries will be as well as who you want to appoint as your personal representative or trustee. If you have minor children, you should decide who you will want to appoint as the guardian of your minor children if you should become incapacitated or die. Finally, consider who you will appoint to make medical decisions for you if you are unable to do so for yourself. Don’t be surprised when your experienced estate planning attorney gives you guidance that causes you to change your mind as you formulate your plan. That is the benefit of using someone who understands this area of law. They can see things you don’t.
  • Keep it straightforward. If you can keep your estate plan simple, it can save a lot of money. Also, the more complex your estate plan is, the more expensive it will likely be to maintain as time passes.
  • Maintenance. It is important to review your estate plan each year and to make any necessary changes as you discover them while they are minimal and not as expensive. If you wait several years before reviewing your estate plan, making the necessary updates could be more costly.

Having a comprehensive estate plan can save you and your family money in a variety of ways. We can help you avoid costly estate taxes and create asset protection strategies. To learn more about how we can assist you, schedule your initial consultation.

The Astill Law Office has provided high quality legal services for over 30 years. We specialize in wills, trusts, estate planning, and asset protection. If you have any questions about creating a Trust, Will, or estate planning in general, contact The Astill Law Office at 801-438-8698.

Estate Planning

Handling Unoccupied Property in an Estate

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If you are tasked with handling the estate of a deceased individual or administering a trust, it is important to properly handle any property that is sitting unoccupied. While a house that is in good condition is likely to sell quicker, it is important to check the insurance coverage on the property before any work is done or improvements are made to it. You should also inform the insurer of the work or renovations that are planned before anything is done. Most insurance policies that cover unoccupied properties are set up with strict requirements and any deviation from the terms of the policy can put the coverage in jeopardy.

When work is being done on a house, it presents numerous risks. Not only can construction cause damage to the structure (which is often excluded from coverage), but it also increases the likelihood of vandalism and theft while the work is in progress.

Insurance companies write their policies with terms, exclusions and restrictions that can lead to coverage being completely invalidated if work commences without prior notification to the insurer. This can include even minor repairs and redecorating, so it is essential to carefully review the policy (or have your attorney review it) and confer with the insurer to verify that your renovations remain covered by insurance.

Handling an estate can be difficult. It is important to avoid putting any assets into jeopardy, so having a conversation with the insurer of the property before any work commences on it is essential. Insurance policies can be very confusing, so seeking legal counsel should be something you consider in understanding and obtaining the right insurance. If you need assistance properly managing the estate of a deceased loved one or you have questions regarding how to appropriately administer a trust, we can help.

The Astill Law Office has provided high quality legal services for over 30 years. We specialize in wills, trusts, estate planning, and asset protection. If you have any questions about creating a Trust, Will, or estate planning in general, contact The Astill Law Office at 801-438-8698.

Estate Planning

Tips for Your Retirement Planning

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Planning for your retirement can be a difficult task. There is no mathematical formula you can follow that will tell you exactly what your needs will be when you retire. However, one of our knowledgeable elder law attorneys can assist you with creating a solid plan while also ensuring you avoid some of the common mistakes many individuals make.

Below are a few tips you can follow to start your retirement planning process:

  • Be realistic. It is common for people to be overly optimistic when they are planning for their retirement. It is good to be optimistic in most circumstances, but when it comes to finances, it is important to base your planning in reality. Think of it this way – it is never a bad thing to save more money than you actually need!
  • Eliminate debt. When most people think about retirement planning, they focus on building their savings. However, it is equally as important for you to eliminate your debt before you retire. If you have very little debt, you can make your savings go further and last longer.
  • Don’t compare with others. It is natural to compare what you are doing with what your friends and family are saving. However, it is important to focus on your unique needs and goals. Worrying about what others are doing can get you off-track.
  • Take care of your health. Staying healthy as long as possible can create a huge savings for you. Start focusing on your health now so you can hopefully avoid significant medical costs after your retire.

The Astill Law Office has provided high quality legal services for over 30 years. We specialize in wills, trusts, estate planning, and asset protection. If you have any questions about creating a Trust, Will, or estate planning in general, contact The Astill Law Office at 801-438-8698.