What Is a Life Estate?
The phrase “life estate” often comes up in discussions of estate and Medicaid planning, but what exactly does it mean? A life estate is a form of joint ownership that allows one person to remain in…
House Democrats Introduce Bill to Raise Estate Tax Rate
New legislation has been introduced that would restore the estate tax and gift tax rates to 2009 levels. Michael Cohen, editor-in-chief of AccountingToday.com, explains the proposed changes in this article.
Woman’s Efforts to Change Will Without Professional Assistance Backfire
Just as making a will without the help of a qualified attorney can be dangerous, trying to change an existing will on your own can fail as well. A recent court decision in Minnesota serves as a cautionary reminder to anyone thinking of altering their estate plan on their own. Strohschein Law Group is here to protect what matters and just a phone call away to save you money and potential heart ache.
Incentive Trusts: Ensuring That an Inheritance Will Be Well Spent
Many parents or grandparents with sizable amounts of money to pass on to their heirs are apprehensive about the effect it may have on their children or grandchildren. In some instances, they fear that the recipients will misspend the funds on drugs, fancy cars or failing businesses. In other cases, the fear is simply that their children will lose their drive to achieve and overcome barriers that may present themselves if there’s no financial necessity to do so. But some parents set up what are known as “incentive trusts,” which get very specific in their instructions to trustees to ensure that the trust funds support what the trust’s creators view as positive behavior and discourage unproductive activities. Read more…
Who Will Inherit Whitney Houston’s Fortune Following Bobbi Kristina’s Death — and What Are the Lessons?
As it turned out, Houston may have given Bobbi Kristina more money than she could cope with at such a young age. The trustees of the trust – Bobbi’s aunt and grandmother – certainly thought so because they filed court papers to change the will to delay the windfall to Bobbi Kristina, but the trustees later withdrew the request, no doubt realizing that courts invariably follow the terms of a will. But we’ve seen worse. At least Houston did have a plan that didn’t give everything to Bobbi, even though $2 million at age 21 was probably too much. The morals of the story are to update your estate plan when life changes happen and to think long and hard about what effect inherited money will have on a child and on those close to her.
Do You Need a Lawyer to Write a Will?
Linda Strohschein, your local Certified Elder Law Attorney, will meet with you to create strategy and offer resources to avoid problems that drag out your estate administration and cost money and create headaches for your heirs. Call us today at 630-377-3241
Passing on Assets Outside of Probate: PODs and TODs
For a variety of reasons, people sometimes want some or all of their assets to pass directly to specific individuals upon their deaths, outside of probate. One way to accomplish this is to set up a “payable on death” (POD) account for money in a bank account or a “transfer on death” (TOD) account if funds are in a brokerage account.
Decisions to Make for Your Power of Attorney
Executing a power of attorney is not as simple as it first seems. It is important to have a qualified elder law attorney help you. The team at Strohschein Law Group offers the quality, compassion and experience required to help you, or a loved one, put your personal affairs in order.
The Ins and Outs of Estate Sales
We accumulate a lot of stuff over a lifetime and at some point – perhaps due to death, divorce, debt, or downsizing – we need to get rid of it. An estate sale is one way to dispose…
The 6 Biggest Estate Planning Mistakes
If you’re like most people, you have the best of intentions with regard to how you want your estate distributed when you die or your affairs handled should you become incapacitated. Unfortunately, without proper planning, your best intentions may not be enough. Here are six of the most common estate planning mistakes people make.