Downs Law Firm, P.C.
Estate planning is a systematic process, which involves getting your personal and financial goals for the time you pass away or become mentally incapacitated. It is also known as a last will, and almost everyone does this planning for their family.
The most common question faced by special needs parents and caregivers is, ‘What will happen if I am not here?’
Beneficiaries of a trust typically pay taxes on the distributions they receive from the trust’s income rather than the trust itself paying the tax. However, such beneficiaries are not subject to taxes on distributions from the trust’s principal.
The fact is people’s names often change. People get married and divorced, or sometimes they just legally change their names.
Safe and shareable password storage is vital in today’s computerized world. The old solution–writing down passwords on paper set next to your keyboard–is not safe, not adequate, and not shareable.
Families struggle with the damages created by alcohol or drug habits and the collateral impact of addiction. Most families have had to work with a member or more with substance abuse issues. It is something that knows no boundaries regarding age, gender, or race. Now, the leading cause of death of Americans under the age of 50 is opioid addiction, and this is having an impact on estate planning, according to MarketWatch in “How to leave money to a family member with an addiction.” Addiction has been known to drive even good people to steal and lie to get money to support their habits. Parents of children are wracked by guilt and anger. The stories of families spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in an effort to help their children are growing in number—as are the number of families who exhaust their retirement savings paying for rehabilitation and related services. Trusted family advisors, including estate planning attorneys and financial advisors, find themselves working with families to protect the family finances and the well-being of their addicted family members. The fallout from addiction creates many secondary problems for families. Estate planning for a family grappling with addiction addresses many different issues, not just inheritance. For starters, deciding whether someone has a drug or alcohol problem is itself often a great impact of addiction due to the great discord and disagreement it ferments. Substance abuse issues usually run in families and across generations. The discord can be a huge impediment to putting planning in place. Lump sum distributions or full bequests to an adult struggling with addiction can be deadly if the person uses the funds to purchase large quantities of drugs. At the same time, writing someone out of the will completely and withdrawing all support, can be devastating to the addicted adult and the family. Creating a trust can help to protect assets and ensure that there is some degree of accountability in how the distributions are made. Incentive trusts, where a certain behavior or accomplishment markers are determined, can be used to encourage behaviors. This may mean that the addicted adult does not receive funds until after passing a drug test, attending a certain number of treatment sessions, or entering a residential rehabilitation program. Incentive trusts are part of a particular area of estate planning. Therefore, it is necessary to work with an attorney who has experience with trusts and with incentive trusts. Ideally, the attorney who helps your family, will be also familiar with the impact of addiction on families. Creating incentives for positive outcomes includes having consequences when the person fails to meet the terms of the trust. In this situation, a trustee who is extremely trustworthy and not prone to being manipulated is necessary. They will need to make sure the person adheres to the requirements and while they may be given certain levels of discretion, this person needs to be strong-willed enough to withstand an addict. Naming one sibling to be trustee over another is a choice many
For most people, pets aren’t just animals–they’re the excited ‘hello’ when we get home from a long day of work, our jogging partners, our best friends, and part of the family.
We are programmed to contribute the “max” to our retirement accounts, but we disregard, or do not understand, the pitfalls of improperly filled-out beneficiary forms.
It was reported on the news recently that some of Aretha Franklin’s family members have found what they believe to be her will. It was handwritten, stained, and crumpled up in a couch. The courts may or may not choose to honor it, depending on whether or not they are able to verify its authenticity.
In my parents’ trust, they leave each other their share upon death, and then I become trustee when my last parent dies. I’m really concerned about this whole deal.
Copyright © IMS. All rights reserved. You may reproduce materials available at this site for your own personal use and for non-commercial distribution. All copies must include this copyright statement. Some artwork provided under license agreement.
