Klitzman Law Group, PLLC

Digital Asset Availability Limitations

Gaining access to the digital accounts of deceased loved ones is slowly becoming easier. That means that people need to think about what type of access they want to grant as part of their estate planning.

Even just a few years ago, it was almost impossible to gain access to the digital accounts of the deceased. Even when ordered to allow access by judges, tech companies would point to their terms of service and deny that access. This created many problems for families and estate administrators who needed access to those accounts for a variety of reasons.

In response to this problem, state legislators have slowly been passing new laws to gain access to digital accounts.  As a result, some tech companies are beginning to change their policies to account for this. However, when it comes to your estate planning, do you want someone to have access to your digital accounts after you pass away? If yes, for how long should they have that access?

This subject was recently considered by the Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog in "Digital Assets Estate Planning -- Alternatives to Perpetual Access."

The problem? The longer a digital account remains open without someone monitoring it, the more likely it is to be hacked by someone who can use the information in it for criminal, fraudulent or other nefarious purposes. Cases of this happening are becoming much more frequent. It sometimes means that estate administrators must deal with all of the problems associated with identity theft in addition to their more traditional duties.

Given these potential abuses, you might want to direct in your estate planning that your accounts be closed completely, after the period of time necessary to wrap up your affairs.

Reference: Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog (April 6, 2018) "Digital Assets Estate Planning -- Alternatives to Perpetual Access."

Suggested Key Words: Estate Planning

Estate Sale Gone Awry

Estate sales are increasingly popular ways to get rid of unwanted items of personal property from an estate. One Colorado woman recently learned just how eager people can be to get a good deal.

Mary Andrews, a resident of Longmont CO, recently had an extremely bad day. She had a garage sale but did not manage to sell everything she had on offer.  However, that is not unusual.

Before Andrews cleaned up all the leftover items from her lawn, she left her house without locking her door. When she came home later, she found a lot of people inside her home taking everything that was not nailed down.

Why? An estate sale was supposed to be held two doors down from Andrews. People mistakenly believed that hers was the house for the estate sale. Furthermore, these people mistakenly believed that everything left over, which included the items in her house, were all left over and free for anyone who wanted them.

The police filed a report on the incident.  However, they have closed the case due to the lack of suspects. Fox News reported on this incident in "Colorado house ransacked after estate sale mix-up."

The good news here is that people who are having estate sales can expect very enthusiastic buyers, even if they are not giving the items away for free. Estate sales have proven to be a great way for heirs to dispose of property they do not want. Buyers are so enthusiastic that many elderly people are having estate sales, while they are still alive as a way to downsize before moving to a smaller, more manageable home.

Reference: Fox News (March 28, 2018) "Colorado house ransacked after estate sale mix-up."

Suggested Key Words: Estate Law, Elder Issues

Getting Comfortable with Death

We are all going to die. However, most of us would rather not think about it. Getting more comfortable with the idea, has benefits.

Americans do not generally like to think about death. It does not matter if it is their own death or the deaths of people they know and care about. They certainly do not want to think about it ahead of time. They know it will happen.  However, anyone who does think about death and seems to enjoy doing so, is definitely seen as odd.

This likely is not just an American phenomenon but one we share with most cultures. However, when we do not think about death, we do not prepare for it. We do not get estate plans. We do not get emotionally ready for the death of loved ones who are sick and expected to die soon. This makes handling things more difficult when death does happen.

The New York Times recently reported on one funeral home that has a unique way to get people to talk about death in "New York Today: A Sunny Day at the Death Cafe."

The idea is a death café.  This is a place where people can come together and talk openly about death and whatever else they want to talk about. They can ask questions and get opinions from other people. The idea works because nothing is being sold or otherwise pushed at the meetings. It is just for people to talk and maybe drink a cup of coffee.

If you do not have a death cafe in your area, that does not mean that there is nothing you can do. Think about what you want for your family after you pass away and then get an estate plan that accomplishes your objectives.

Reference: New York Times (March 27, 2018) "New York Today: A Sunny Day at the Death Cafe."

Suggested Key Words: Estate Planning

Estate Planning for the Childless

If you do not have any children, you still need to make plans for your estate and decide who will get your assets after you pass away.

The major estate planning decisions are relatively straightforward for most people. They want everything they have to go to the surviving spouse. If the spouse predeceases them, most people want to leave everything to their children.

This has been the standard practice for people for a long time. However, those people who do not have children, cannot do this. Exploring estate planning options when childless, requires a bit more thinking as The New York Times discusses in "If You Don't Have Children, What Do You Leave Behind?"

People without children still need to have estate plans. If they do not have them, everything they have at the time of their death will pass to their closest living relatives, as determined by state laws. For some people, that might be an acceptable outcome.  However, most people would prefer choosing where their assets are going to go.

Without children of their own, people have almost unlimited options. They can leave assets for their nieces and nephews, if they wish. They can leave things to other favorite family members or friends. They can also leave assets to any charitable cause they want to support.

Estate planning for people without children might require making different decisions.  However,  it also allows for more freedom than the norm. That freedom has its own benefits.

Reference: New York Times (February 27, 2017) "If You Don't Have Children, What Do You Leave Behind?"

Suggested Key Words: Estate Planning

The Rise of Green Burials

Some people would prefer to forgo traditional funeral options, in favor of more environmentally friendly ones and there are several options.

Funerals in the U.S. used to be fairly uniform affairs. What happened to people's remains after they passed away, did not vary much between regions or religious persuasions. Most were embalmed and placed in an ornate coffin that was lowered into the ground or put in a mausoleum. The other option was cremation.

Today, however, people are beginning to rethink the process. This is in part because funerals have become very expensive.  Another reason is that many people just want to do something different.

That something different is to have their remains handled in an “environmentally friendly” way, as The New York Times reports in "Thinking About Having a 'Green' Funeral? Here's What to Know."

A green funeral can mean several different things. It is an umbrella term that covers several different practices available. Some people choose not to have their body embalmed, so the chemicals will not seep into the ground. Green funerals also often allow people to be buried in plain wooden boxes that will eventually biodegrade. Other people choose not to have a coffin at all, but instead decide to be buried in a simple cloth shroud.

The key thing to keep in mind is to make plans now, for what will happen to you after you pass away. The options are available for a green funeral or a more traditional one.

Reference: New York Times (March 22, 2018) "What It Was Like To Finally Write My Will."

Suggested Key Words: Elder Issues, Funerals

The Process of Getting a Will

If you do not have a will, you should know that the process of creating one is not difficult in most cases.

People who do not have estate plans, often think that the process of getting one can be more difficult than it normally is. It is not difficult to get that false impression, if you start doing some digging online.

You will be confronted with unfamiliar terminology and 10 to 15 step plans that can make estate planning seem very time-consuming. You can also find some online form companies that tell you that purchasing their products make creating an estate plan easy. However, once you start reading their documentation, it might all look difficult again because you do not know the finer legal details of estate planning.

The truth? Estate planning does not have to be that difficult to accomplish, as The New York Times discusses in "What It Was Like To Finally Write My Will."

The author of the piece discovered that creating his will was not very difficult at all. The key thing that he did was to get a recommendation for an attorney from a friend. He then went to that attorney and told the attorney what he wanted to do.

The attorney discussed the options and the author was able to work with the attorney to determine what the best plan would be for his unique circumstances. The attorney then wrote the plan down formally and the author just needed to go back to the attorney's office a few weeks later, to formally sign the will and everything was done.

Most people will find that estate planning is just that simple when they also choose an appropriate estate planning attorney.

Reference: New York Times (April 3, 2018) "What It Was Like To Finally Write My Will."

Suggested Key Words: Estate Planning, Will

Reasons You Need A Will

Many people think that they do not have a need for a will. They are likely wrong about that.

All over the U.S., there are many people who think that they do not need to do any estate planning. They mistakenly believe that everything will still go well for their loved ones, even without a last will and testament. However, that is rarely the case. The reasons for getting a will are numerous enough, that a reason or two is likely to apply to everyone.

Recently, The Bellingham Herald listed some of the most common reasons in "Here are seven reasons you want to protect your family with a last will and testament."

The reasons include:

• Without a will, you have no say in who inherits your property. Everything is determined by state laws of intestate succession.
• No will also means you do not get to decide who manages your estate after you pass away. The court will appoint someone to do so and it may not be the same person you would have chosen.
• If you have minor children, then a will is where you nominate who their guardian should be. If you do not have a will, then the court appoints someone who might not be the same person you would have wanted.
• Without a will, it is impossible to plan for the impact of potential taxes on your estate.
• Wills generally make going through probate much faster than without one.
• If you want to leave anything behind for charity, then you need a will to do that.
• While you are visiting an estate planning attorney to get a will, the attorney might suggest even better options, such as trusts for your estate. You will not know if that is the right option for you, unless you go to the attorney.

Reference: The Bellingham Herald (March 22, 2018) "Here are seven reasons you want to protect your family with a last will and testament."

Suggested Key Words: Estate Planning, Will, Trust

Will Your Living Trust Work?

Living trusts are popular in estate planning right now. If you do not go through an experienced estate planning attorney to get yours, it might not work nearly as well as you want it to work.

One of the big problems in estate planning is that many people think their current estate plans will avoid probate – but they are wrong. When these people pass away, their families are surprised to discover that the decedent’s estate must still be probated. This is too often the case, even though the deceased had a living trust created.

This is becoming an increasingly common problem and was recently discussed by the Napa Valley Register in "Avoid this living trust problem."

The problem can result from people buying living trusts through non-attorney trust mills, online legal form services or even some non-specialist attorneys. At the same time, such a person creates a trust, a simple pour-over is also created directing that the entire estate is subject to probate should “pour-over” go into her trust. Unfortunately, for the estate to be placed into a trust, as the pour-over will directs, the estate must first go through probate. This defeats the entire purpose of creating the trust.

Fortunately, this problem is easily avoidable. An estate planning attorney can create a living trust, then help the clients put assets into the trust. Consequently, those assets will not be subject to probate later.

Reference: Napa Valley Register (March 22, 2018) "Avoid this living trust problem."

Suggested Key Words: Trusts, Wills, Estate Planning, Probate

Wills are Time Sensitive

If you created a will over a decade ago, you should probably go to an estate planning attorney again and get it updated.

Estate planning laws can be somewhat deceptive. It is not often that state legislatures make major changes to their laws of wills and trusts.  It makes it seem like estate planning is timeless. Therefore, a will written years ago is still a good will for the current estate laws.

That may in fact be true.  However, whether an estate plan is a good one depends on other laws that change more often, as the Dunwoody Crier points out in "Estate Planning 2018."

Estate planning is extremely sensitive to tax laws and regulations that frequently change. When an estate planning attorney helps a client create a plan, the attorney drafts a plan that is the best possible to accomplish the client's goals under the current laws. However, when the laws change, it often means that previous estate planning is no longer the best way to do things.

Sometimes, an older way of doing things can be penalized by current laws. This is especially true this year following the tax overhaul that was passed last year, the largest such overhaul since 1986.

What that means for estate planning, is that your will is a time sensitive document. When it was written, it was prepared under the assumption that you would pass away before the laws changed. If you signed it a couple of weeks ago, that's not a problem. However, if you created your current will a decade or more ago, it is likely that the laws have changed significantly.  Therefore you need to consult your estate planning attorney and have a new will drafted.

Reference: Dunwoody Crier (March 27, 2018) "Estate Planning 2018."

Suggested Key Words: Estate Planning, Wills

Life Goes on After Yours Comes to an End

After you pass away, your family will still go on living. They will still need money to pay bills and meet other expenses. Make sure you provide that for them in the best possible way.

If you are the primary provider for your family, you have probably had concerns at some point about what will happen to your family finances after you pass away. Your family will go on living.  However, without you there to provide for them, they will need some way to get money to live on. They will also likely need some of that money right away, since bills and living expenses do not wait for an estate to be administered through the probate process.

A good way to make sure your family gets that money is to avoid probate as The New York Times discusses in "Life After Your Death? Why You Should Have a Trust."

You could take out a life insurance policy for your family. A good way to keep that payment from having to pass through probate is to consult with an estate planning attorney and have a revocable trust prepared for you. With a trust, you can appoint someone in charge of trust assets after you pass away. That person can act immediately to see that your family has what it needs to meet any expenses.

If you ever need or want to make changes to the trust, you can easily do so because the trust is revocable. The trust can be dissolved and a new one created at any time before you pass away.

If you have not already created a revocable trust, talk to an estate planning attorney about one and see if it is the right option for your family.

Reference: New York Times (March 22, 2018) "Life After Your Death? Why You Should Have a Trust."

Suggested Key Words: Estate Planning, Trusts