The short answer to this question is: YES. If I could just leave the answer at that, this would be the shortest blog post ever, but unfortunately, things aren’t quite that simple. I do wish it were that simple, but alas, it is not. One of the main reasons people establish trusts is to avoid probate. Trusts are private documents and if property is owned by a trust, then the property does not need to be subject to the probate process. However, a trust only avoids probate for property owned by the trust. If you own something personally, and not inside of the trust, then the property may … [Read more...]
Should I Transfer My House To My Child While I Am Still Alive?
I meet a lot of clients who I meet will tell me they want to “put their child on the house” while they are still alive. Although “putting someone on the house” does not have true legal meaning, I usually understand that they want to make their child or children co-owners of the house. That means that the house will be owned by the child or children after the parents have died, and the transfer will happen almost immediately, with a minimum of effort by the children. Usually the transfer just involves recording a death certificate with the county and then the child or children will own the … [Read more...]
Estate Planning in a Second Marriage: What You Need to Know
I recently had a client call me and request that I set up a trust for their brother. The brother is getting married in about 6 weeks, and the brother wanted to set up a trust to protect his assets from being claimed by his new wife. This was going to be a second marriage for the brother, and the brother wanted to keep the assets he earned during his first marriage separate from his new wife, so that his kids from his first marriage would be able to inherit those assets. I know I could have helped the brother to accomplish what he wanted to do, but I was not able to help him because I am … [Read more...]
Why I Need To Know About Your Situation – So We Can Plan Your Estate Properly!
I recently met with a potential client and asked if they had completed the intake worksheet I use to gather information on their life situation, asset picture, and desired beneficiaries of an estate plan. The potential clients informed me that they were not sure they needed to fill out such an intake worksheet. Filling out the intake helps me gather the necessary information to help you properly set up you estate plan. The importance of answering those questions and giving me the information I need is the topic of today’s blog. Your Information Matters One spouse angrily … [Read more...]
The Benefits of Living Trusts: How They Can Save You Time and Save You Money
I take a lot of calls concerning trusts where people ask me how a trust can save them money. Many of these callers have the mistaken belief that trusts are a magical way to avoid paying taxes and that they can completely eliminate taxes by using a trust. As much as I would like for that to be the case, it simply is not. Taxes do not simply go away because you put your assets into a trust. While there may be some types of tax sheltering trusts, or ways to structure a trust to minimize taxes, there is no magic tax eliminating trust. (On the contrary, income to a trust is taxed at a higher … [Read more...]
Estate Planning For the Average Joe: Simple Strategies to Protect Your Assets
Most people I meet are not rich. Instead, they are normal, hard-working people who have spent a lifetime working to pay off a house, build up some savings, and take care of their family along the way. Some people have been able to save a little more than others along the way, while some have not been able to save much at all, but they got their house paid off, so that is a big win! I hope to pay my house off some day, too, but for right now, I pay my mortgage monthly, just like most people I know. For people who are in the normal category, like most people I meet, planning for huge … [Read more...]
My Reflections After 1 Decade of Mobile Estate Planning In Colorado – And Why I Still Love It!
I didn’t always want to be an estate planning attorney. Growing up, I dreamed of playing in the NBA, making huge shots to win the championship for the hometown Denver Nuggets. That dream never became a reality, mostly based on my not being good enough to play professional basketball, but I also thought I wanted to be just like my dad when I grew up. He was an electrical engineer by education and training, but my attempt to become an engineer in college also did not go as planned. I even went to law school to become a criminal prosecutor. I wanted to put the “bad guys” away, but as I … [Read more...]
Why Every Homeowner Needs and Estate Plan: Tips for Protecting Your Property
Most people that I know are fairly normal, regular people. They aren’t rich, and they aren’t poor, but they are somewhere in the middle. They own a house, have a few kids, and generally just go to work, pay their bills, and take a vacation every now and then. I am one of these people, and so I understand how this type of life works on a regular basis. Sometimes we are called “middle class” or “middle Americans.” I like to think we are able to live a comfortable life, not need to get too involved and have everyone else criticize us for how we live our lives, but also with enough to pay for … [Read more...]
Planning for Life’s Milestones: A Look at Changing Estate Planning Through Pictures
The Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, “Change is the only constant in life.” Although this saying is often attributed to better known philosophers like Plato or Aristotle, Heraclitus gets credit for giving us this slightly oxymoronic truth. I think we all see how this plays out in our own life's. We are children, grow up, become adults, and have children of our own. Nobody really expects life to stay the same, although we sometimes try very hard to keep it that way! I have found that as life changes, so do our priorities and what is important to us, so that we focus our time and energy … [Read more...]
Setting the Stage: Understanding the Difference Between Estate Planning And Estate Administration
I received a call last week from a client who I had represented almost a decade ago in setting up a will. The client, lets call her “Jill,” informed me that her husband had passed away, and she needed to know everything that she needed to do now. I let her know that she would need to take her husband’s will to the probate court and apply for probate. I told her how to access the Colorado Judicial Branch website to find all the Colorado probate forms and gave her general instructions that she needed to find the instructions for probate with a will form - called the JDF 906 form in Colorado - … [Read more...]
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