Klitzman Law Group, PLLC

An Old Tradition for a New Age

Ethical Wills are an ancient idea that might just be what some families need to help them through the difficult times we face today.
In some ways, there has never been a better time to be alive than today, especially in the U.S.
We are the richest and most powerful nation in the history of the world.
Our people have a better standard of living than any people who came before us. However, in many other ways, people today are very worried about the future.
There are a lot of things that just do not seem to be right.
For some, it's political gridlock or rogue nations trying to get nuclear weapons. For other people, it's terrorism or groups of protesters clashing in the streets.
The biggest part of the problem might be that there does not seem to be anything most of us can do about any of the problems.
We feel powerless to change things for the better.
However, we all can do something to make things better with our estate plans, as the Rockford Register Star points out in "Leaving your heirs true and lasting wealth."
The idea is actually an ancient Jewish one.
Your estate plan does not just have to be a plan to distribute your wealth. You can also leave your family with an ethical will.
This is simply telling your heirs how they should live and what types of moral decisions they should make.
It lets you tell future generations what your values are and how you would like them to be carried out.
While this might not seem like it would make a huge dent in any problems we face today, if everyone takes this small step, the dent could be made eventually.
Reference: Rockford Register Star (August 11, 2017) "Leaving your heirs true and lasting wealth."
Suggested Key Words: Estate Planning

Be on the Lookout for Fraud

Even people who we should be able to trust, can potentially be guilty of fraud. That, unfortunately, includes estate planning attorneys.
Estate planning attorneys perform a variety of functions that require them to be trustworthy.
They are often employed to handle large sums of money on behalf of their clients. They need to have the honesty and integrity to handle that money properly and not take any of it for themselves.
This is more important for attorneys than many other types of people who handle money.
All of what attorneys do is somewhat secretive. Clients might also not know when they are being defrauded. As a result, estate planning attorneys must comport themselves with absolute integrity at all times.
Unfortunately, that does not always happen, as the Federal Bureau of Investigation reported in "Lengthy Prison Term for Estate Planner Who Betrayed Clients."
An estate planning attorney in Florida was investigated by the FBI. She was found guilty of defrauding her clients out of $2.7 million. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Some details of her case can be found in the article the FBI posted.
What this shows, is that you always need to be careful about who you hire to handle your estate matters.
Fraud can be difficult for the victims to recognize, until it is too late to prevent.
What you can do is to make sure your estate planning attorney is someone you are comfortable with and who will tell you the truth at all times.
If something seems off, then get advice from someone else.
Reference: Federal Bureau of Investigation (August 15, 2017) "Lengthy Prison Term for Estate Planner Who Betrayed Clients."
Suggested Key Words: Estate Planning Attorney

Americans Dying Younger

The life expectancy of Americans has been rising for the better part of a century, but it no longer is. It is now decreasing.
In the last couple of decades, experts have had a sense of impending doom. It came from one of the rare times where too much of a good thing can have bad consequences.
The life expectancy of Americans kept going up and up.
While that is great for any individual, the consequences were potentially troubling for the public as a whole.
What it could have led to, is the eventual bankrupting of programs designed for the elderly, such as pensions, Social Security and Medicare. Programs founded based on the presumption of lower life expectancies, were not funded enough for greater life expectancies.
However, the life expectancy of Americans has now gone in reverse, as Financial Advisor reports in "Americans Are Dying Younger, Saving Corporations Billions."
It is not certain yet whether this is a statistical aberration or the start of a new long-term trend.
The change is significant enough, however, that it can now be used in long-term macroeconomic forecasting.
Another thing that is not certain, is the reason for the change.
Many people believe it is a result of economic trends in middle America, which are believed to have contributed to an increase in alcoholism, suicide and opioid abuse.
On an individual level, of course, this does not mean that you should do anything different.
It is still important to plan for your retirement and your estate, under the assumption that you will live to a ripe old age.
Reference: Financial Advisor (August 8, 2017) "Americans Are Dying Younger, Saving Corporations Billions."
Suggested Key Words: Estate Planning, Elder Issues

Purposeful Gifting

Giving gifts to family members is one way to shrink your estate below the estate tax threshold. You can even use those gifts as incentives for your family members to do good things.
As long as the estate tax is with us, people will look for ways to avoid it. There are all kinds of different ways to accomplish this.
Some of these ways work better than others, depending on the size of the estate and other potential issues.
One common strategy is to give your assets away before you pass away. If they are not in the estate, then assets cannot be subject to any estate taxes.
This is known as gifting.
Many wealthy people decide to implement gifting plans to get around the estate tax. Others do not out of fear that giving assets to younger family members could lead to problems, such as younger people wasting the money or becoming disincentivized to make their own money.
There are ways around those problems, as Private Wealth discussed in "Purposeful Family Gifting."
The idea is a fairly simple one.
You can give gifts as a way to incentivize younger people to do good things. For example, a gift of cash could be conditioned on someone needing to graduate from college or hold a job for a certain period of time, before they will receive the cash.
The options are nearly limitless.
If you tell someone they can get a gift of cash if they do something, then within reason you can incentivize your family to do many good things.
If you are interested in a gifting strategy, talk to an estate planning attorney.
There are limits and tax implications to be aware of, before starting to give gifts.
Reference: Private Wealth (July 19, 2017) "Purposeful Family Gifting."
Suggested Key Words: Estate Tax, Gifting

Purposeful Gifting

Giving gifts to family members is one way to shrink your estate below the estate tax threshold. You can even use those gifts as incentives for your family members to do good things.
As long as the estate tax is with us, people will look for ways to avoid it. There are all kinds of different ways to accomplish this.
Some of these ways work better than others, depending on the size of the estate and other potential issues.
One common strategy is to give your assets away before you pass away. If they are not in the estate, then assets cannot be subject to any estate taxes.
This is known as gifting.
Many wealthy people decide to implement gifting plans to get around the estate tax. Others do not out of fear that giving assets to younger family members could lead to problems, such as younger people wasting the money or becoming disincentivized to make their own money.
There are ways around those problems, as Private Wealth discussed in "Purposeful Family Gifting."
The idea is a fairly simple one.
You can give gifts as a way to incentivize younger people to do good things. For example, a gift of cash could be conditioned on someone needing to graduate from college or hold a job for a certain period of time, before they will receive the cash.
The options are nearly limitless.
If you tell someone they can get a gift of cash if they do something, then within reason you can incentivize your family to do many good things.
If you are interested in a gifting strategy, talk to an estate planning attorney.
There are limits and tax implications to be aware of, before starting to give gifts.
Reference: Private Wealth (July 19, 2017) "Purposeful Family Gifting."
Suggested Key Words: Estate Tax, Gifting

Estate Planning is not just for the Rich

The myth that estate planning is something that only wealthy people need to do is wrong, but ever present.
In popular culture, it is very rare to ever see average people planning for their estates. TV shows and movies that feature middle class people, almost never include anything about estate planning.
However, in shows about wealthy people, estate planning is something of a staple.
When a fictional rich person passes away, all of the relatives gather in a stuffy office where a much too serious attorney solemnly reads the will out loud and everyone learns what they are to receive from the estate.
It is a cliché and something you have probably seen hundreds of times, without thinking about it too much.
Nevertheless, it feeds a myth that only wealthy people need to do estate planning, and that is not true as Financial Advisor discusses in "Estate Planning Is Not Just For the Ultra-Rich Anymore."
Estate planning is something that everyone can benefit from, no matter how much they have. You do not need to be a Rockefeller to plan your estate.
If you want to have any say in who gets your property after you pass away, no matter how little or how much that is, then estate planning is the way you can have that say.
In fact, it is the only way you can have it.
Estate planning today also includes planning for your end-of-life care. For example, when planning your estate, you can also plan for what medical procedures doctors can perform to save your life.
Do not buy the myth that you do not need to plan for your estate because you are not rich.
See an estate planning attorney, if you have not already done so.
Reference: Financial Advisor (August 3, 2017) "Estate Planning Is Not Just For the Ultra-Rich Anymore."
Suggested Key Words: Estate Planning