Estate Planning Lawyer

What Single Parents Need to Know About Estate Planning

Published on: June 12, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Estate planning requires making some of the most important decisions a parent can make for their child’s well-being.

Single parents need to plan in advance for what will happen to their children, whether they are minors or adults. That includes preparing for the parent’s incapacity, as much as it does for their passing.

Talk to a qualified estate planning attorney and let him or her know your overall perspective about your children, and what you see as their capabilities and limitations. This information can frequently determine whether you restrict their access to funds and how long those limitations should be in place, in the event you’re no longer around.

What’s the Difference Between a Prenup and a Postnup?

Published on: June 3, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Whether you and your spouse have a pre or post nuptial agreement, they are a good way to make divorce or death a little less overwhelming.

If you are wealthy, expect an inheritance or have been married before and have children from a prior marriage, you may want to consider a prenup or a postnup as a useful planning tool. An article from Investopedia, “Prenup vs. Postnup: How Are They Different?” explains why these documents are important.

A prenuptial, made before the marriage occurs, or a postnuptial, made after you’ve said your wedding vows, serves to protect both parties from the emotions (and some of the drama), if the marriage should hit the skids or when one of the couple dies.

Prince’s Unresolved Estate Battle Likely To Continue for Years

Published on: May 20, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

It’s been three years since music icon Prince died at his famous Paisley Park mansion, joining the ranks of many celebrities who died without an estate plan.

Prince’s estate, which includes master tapes of his recordings and a 10,000-square-foot Caribbean villa, has been estimated at $200 million. However, what it will be worth after years of battles between heirs, people claiming to be heirs, consultants and a court-appointed administrator, is anyone’s guess.

Page Six reported in its article, “Fight over Prince’s $200M estate could go on for years,” that Prince’s heirs are entrenched in a fight to rein in the estate’s administrator. They’ve spent more than $45 million in administrative expenses, according to a probate-court petition filed by Prince’s designated heirs.

What If I Don’t Want to Give My Kids the Same Inheritance?

Published on: April 15, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

One of the challenges of asset distribution comes when your children’s lives have taken different turns. Do you leave your successful daughter the same amount of money that you would leave to a son, who can’t seem to find a direction? It’s not always easy, but decisions do need to be made.

What and how you leave your wealth can be a hard decision, if you have more than one child. This is particularly true, if your kids’ circumstances are dramatically different or you’re much closer to one than another. The easiest solution might be to split whatever you have equally among them. However, is equal the same thing as fair?

Ladders.com’s recent article, “More parents are leaving unequal inheritances to their adult kids” says that a growing number of parents say that answer is a resounding “no.”

Why is it Difficult to Pick an Executor?

Published on: April 10, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

It’s hard because you want to be sure your chosen person understands your wishes, your financial situation and can make good decisions on your behalf. Not everyone can do that.

There is considerable responsibility that comes with being named an executor of an estate, explains MoneySense in the article “Should the sole recipient of an estate be the executor too?” There have been new rules passed in the last year that make the tax reporting even more important. What happens if you realize that the person you originally named may not be up to the task? This is another reason why it’s good to review estate plans every few years. There are several factors to consider when you think about whom you might name.

Consider the person’s age. It’s smart to choose a person who’s younger than you. Although that doesn’t guarantee that they will outlive you, it certainly ups the odds. Ideally, you should try to find a person who is comfortable with the areas of money and tax and doesn’t easily get overwhelmed by paperwork. Since the role of estate executor can be an intense issue that takes a great amount of time, the person you choose ideally will be retired or have the bandwidth to dedicate the substantial time commitment required to do the job properly.

End of Life Measures Get Complicated with Shared Legal Powers

Published on: April 9, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

The idea that spouses and their stepchildren will share the legal power to make health care decision sounds good in theory, but, in practice, there may be some unexpected side effects.

Simple things get complicated in blended families. The idea that stepchildren and a spouse will work together to make health care decisions when their parent is ill, seems reasonable. However, what happens when the spouse and stepchildren differ on what is best?

A recent article from the Grand Forks Herald, “Joint power of attorney complicated this couple's wishes,” shares the story of what happened to one woman when her elderly husband was injured and then contracted pneumonia in the nursing home. His wife alerted her adult stepchildren, who rarely visit, and they immediately arrived to help out.

And You Thought a Volatile Market Was a Threat to Your Estate Plan

Published on: April 3, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

It seems like families need to spend more time discussing estate plans and their finances, especially if they are blended families, to prevent major disruptions.

For the second consecutive year, family conflict was named as the biggest treat to estate planning by estate planning and elder law attorneys and other professionals attending this year’s annual Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning.

The survey, conducted by TD Wealth, found that nearly half (46%) of respondents said that family conflict was the biggest threat to estate planning in 2019, followed by market volatility (24%) and tax reform (14%).

How Trusts Work in Estate Planning for Regular People

Published on: March 18, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

You’ve heard the expression “trust fund babies.” However, trusts are not just for the wealthy. They have a number of uses in estate planning and can be helpful at any asset level.

The reality of our own mortality keeps some of us up at night. For others, it’s a disturbing thought that is easily brushed aside. Whichever group you belong to, you need to have an estate plan in place. This is the only way that you can have any say in how your assets are distributed after you pass. Without an estate plan, your family will be subjected to much more stress and financial strain. One part of an estate plan is a trust.

Barron’s recent article, “Why a Trust Is a Great Estate-Planning Tool — Even if You’re Not Rich,” explains that there are many types of trusts, but the most frequently used for these purposes is a revocable living trust. This trust allows you—the grantor—to specify exactly how your estate will be distributed to your beneficiaries when you die, and at the same time avoiding probate and stress for your loved ones.

When Does an Estate Plan Need to Be Reviewed?

Published on: March 13, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

People think of estate plans as one-off documents, but they should think of them more like cars. Estate plans need maintenance, oil changes, tune-ups and if there’s an accident, repairs.

As life progresses, you’ll go through a number of stages, from being a teen to an adult, getting married, retiring, welcoming grandchildren and more. Every time you move through a stage, your estate plan should too.

Bankrate’s recent article, “Estate planning triggers: When to re-evaluate your estate planning strategy,” says the risk of not having a current estate plan and will that state your wishes is significant. When people fail to put any plan into place, it leads to confusion, chaos, and unintended consequences. Use this list of important life events as triggers to remind you to discuss your current situation with a trusted attorney.

Second Marriage Pre-Nuptial Agreements

Published on: March 5, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Early adult life is simple. You may or may not have children, a car, a lease on an apartment. However, by the time you reach your 50s and 60s, you likely have some decent assets, like retirement accounts, investments, real estate and maybe even a few collectible cars. You’ll want a prenup, before you walk down the aisle again.

A prenup the first time you get married may seem overly protective, unless there’s a big economic difference between the couple. However, after a lifetime of work, building a business or a retirement portfolio, you want to be sure that a second marriage doesn’t create a financial calamity if it fails. A prenuptial agreement lets you go about enjoying your second marriage, says this recent article, “All About Prenups For Second Marriages,” from Forbes.

Here are some of the issue to consider in second (or third) marriages: