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Halloween has a fun component - children dressed in costumes, going door to door asking for candy. Halloween can also be considered a scary holiday, one which provides frightening experiences. Halloween decorations sometimes reflect these fears. Halloween decorations can be happy, like pumpkin lights, and happy ghost lights, but can also be frightening, like a Grim Reaper, a large spider, or a 12 foot tall phantom. All of those decorations are at my house, and while none of my Halloween decorations are too spooky, but they are based on some things that can be scary. My family and I went … [Read more...]
Estate Planning for the Blended Family: Planning to Keep a New Spouse and All the Kids Happy
The 1970’s TV show “The Brady Bunch” depicts a blended family - a family where the spouses have remarried and kids are not all from just the married couple. The theme song goes like this: “Here's the story of a lovely lady, who was bringing up three very lovely girls. All of them had hair of gold, like their mother, the youngest one in curls It's the story of a man named Brady, who was busy with three boys of his own. They were four men living all together, yet they were all alone. 'Til the one day when the lady met this fellow, and they knew that it was much more than a hunch, that this … [Read more...]
Pet Trusts in Estate Planning: Caring for Your Furry Friends When You Are Gone
Anyone who has a pet knows the love and joy they bring into your life. I have pet dogs, and I love them. Other people have cats, horses, birds, or any other number of animals that they love. My dogs are always happy to see me when I come home, and make sure to greet me at the door. My newest puppy, Harper, will bite at my pant legs to let know I have not greeted her properly, and she is always concerned that nobody is left behind. She knows her pack - her family - and is worried if none of us are doing OK. Pets have an amazing ability to calm us, to provide unconditional love, and … [Read more...]
Everything You Need To Know About Setting Up An Educational Trust For Your Grandchildren
My children went back to school in August, and are still adjusting almost a month later. My kids are more tired, and so they need to go to bed earlier. They are also not sure they really love being in school. The freedom of summer is gone, replaced by homework assignments, new classrooms, and all that goes along with starting school. They still like school, for the most part, and are happy to be in school (even if they would rather just stay home and play). My children are in 8th grade, 5th grade, and 2nd grade, so we don’t need to pay for the school itself. Sure, we may be a little bitter … [Read more...]
Moving My Office – A New Kind of Mobile Estate Planning Adventure
I moved my office three weeks ago. I didn’t move far, just 20 - 25 feet down the hall to a different, bigger, office, but the move still was significant. One of the huge perks of the new office? I have windows! I can now see out into the world and know what is happening out there. There have been times in the past where I was working for several hours, and went outside to wet pavement, and wondered, “Did it rain?” I wasn’t cut off from the world that much, but I can now see the outside world directly, so I am able to feel more involved with the outside world when I am in my … [Read more...]
Why Emergency Estate Planning is a Bad Idea
Among the reasons that I chose estate planning as a practice area is that there are fewer emergencies, so I can have more predictable work hours, and have less intrusions on the time that I spend with my family away from work. I like to see my family from time to time, like on the weekends, or in the evenings, so I don’t schedule many appointments during those times…only when necessary and no other time will work. I sometimes joke that if there is such a thing as an estate planning emergency, then it is too late, and there is not much I can do to help. However, I do understand that … [Read more...]
The Danger of Unmet Expectations in Estate Planning
A couple of years ago, I heard someone talking about relationships. The speaker asked what the number one cause of divorce was. Answers like, “money,” or “lack of communication,” or “infidelity” all came up, but none was correct. Instead, the speaker replied that the number one cause of divorce was “unmet expectations.” The speaker went on to clarify why this was the case, and how unmet expectations are the root cause of most of the other problems brought up. I remember thinking how true the concept of unmet expectations was not only in marriages, but in life overall. Unmet … [Read more...]
Adventures in Estate Planning : Getting a New Phone
A couple of weeks ago my wife’s phone battery stopped holding a charge. She would charge the phone overnight, and start using it the next day, but within an hour, the phone was down to 30% of its battery life. Given the nature of modern society, and how it can be difficult to function without a working cell phone, this seemed like a situation that needed to be remedied. At first, my wife took her phone to the mobile phone store, and the employee tried to remove, or disable, many applications that run in the background, sucking battery life as they do so. The thinking was that if the … [Read more...]
Are Trusts Taxed? [Answered]
I get asked the question above on an almost weekly basis. The short answer is that if you put your assets into a trust, you still get taxed. A trust is not a magical way to avoid all taxes on assets, despite persistent myths to the contrary. A trust can help to minimize taxes, but not eliminate taxes completely. The IRS publishes a list of the “Dirty Dozen” tax scams each year. These are easily identified ways that try to scam the tax system. This year’s list includes the following: “Abusive tax structures including trusts...are sometimes used to avoid paying taxes. The IRS is … [Read more...]
[ANSWERED] How Often Should You Update Your Will?
Almost every person I meet asks me how often they should review, update, or revisit their will. I am happy to answer this question, explaining as follows: “You should update your will every few years, or whenever you have a major life change.” Please read the following sentences in as sarcastic of a voice as you can: I know this is quite the definitive statement, and leaves nothing open for interpretation. Certainly the phrase “every few years” is absolutely definitive, and cannot be misinterpreted. Back to normal now, sarcasm is done: What do You Mean by, “Every Few … [Read more...]
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