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Recent Blog Posts
Myth: Only the Rich Need Wills
According to a report recently done by Consumer Reports, over 55% of the United States population does not have a will. Most people polled believe that wills are for those who are very wealthy. That could not be further from the truth. Everyone over the age of 18 needs to have a will and think about doing some estate planning.
There are three major considerations when thinking about estate planning. If you have property, it needs to be allocated to someone. If you have any money, that needs to be allocated as well. Also, if you have young children, have you thought about who you would want to take care of them if you were to pass away before they become of age?
Having minor children is perhaps one of the best reasons to have a will. There have been many horror stories about people fighting over the custody of children who have recently lost a parent so that they can take financial control of the child. If you have a will, you will be able to name a chosen guardian instead of having a court make that important and final decision for you.
Sherman Hemsley's Will Contested
According to The Chicago Tribune, although Sherman Hemsley passed away on July 24, to this date he still has not been buried. His body is reportedly being held in a cold storage unit in an El Paso funeral home while his will is being fought over.
The Associate Press reports that Hemsley executed a new will just six weeks before he lost his battle with lung cancer that named Flora Enchinton as his "beloved partner" and the sole beneficiary of his estate. Enchinton also claims that she has been his manager for well over the last two decades.
The validity of his will is being contested by a Philadelphia man named Richard Thornton who claims to be the brother of the late Hemsley. He states that his alleged brother did not write this will.
Enchinton has expressed her confusion and concern over this claim stating that Hemsley had never mentioned having relatives.
Side-effects Of Disinheriting A Relative
The Trust Advisor published a story about disinheriting relatives, the reasons behind it, and the effects it may have on the relatives who are left behind by the deceased. The choice of disinheriting a relative in your will may be backed by many different reasons. Maybe the relative is a degenerate gambler, an addict, or maybe they hurt the deceased in some way before he drafted his will.
The story talked about Nigel Ruddy, who was always careful with his money, unlike his son. Ruddy tried to teach his son to use money more wisely, but the son did not really listen. Ruddy married a Persian woman, and the two did not have any problems before Ruddy passed away. Yet, Ruddy left the majority of his property to his son, only leaving his wife with 12,000 dollars and a permission to stay in their house until she dies. The reasons the deceased had for disinheriting someone are not always clear to others.
The Illinois Safety Deposit Box Opening Act
We have talked about critical documents, living wills, and how to plan your digital estate, but now we will look at a different but related subject. The Illinois State Law has a Safety Deposit Box Opening Act as part of the estate law. The act sets the conditions under which a safety deposit box may be opened after a lessee's death.
Section one states that after being given satisfactory proof of death of a sole lessee or the last surviving co-lessee of a safety deposit box, the lessor shall open the box and examine the contents in the presence of a person who presents themselves and has an affidavit. The affidavit needs to state that: the person is interested in filing of the lessee's will or in the arrangements of their burial; the person believes the box may contain the will or burial documents of the lessee; he is an interested person within the meaning of the Safety Deposit Box Opening Act. An experienced estate planning attorney in Cook County can help educate you about safety deposit boxes and estate planning.
Joe Paterno's Last Will and Testament Released To The Public
In mid-June, republicanherald.com posted a story about the release of Joe Paterno's last will and testament. Paterno was the football coach for the Penn State Nittony Lions of Pennsylvania State University, until he was dismissed in 2011 after the Sandusky child abuse scandal. Paterno's family made his last will and testament public after the Citizens' Voice of Wilkes-Barre said that the will had been sealed by an unusual court order.
Paterno named his widow, Sue, as his personal representative, and according to the will, he left all personal property to Sue. The rest of his estate went to the trustees of the Joseph V. Paterno Revocable Trust, but the trustees were not named, and trust documents are not usually public records. Paterno's business interests were left in the hand of his widow.
Paterno died of lung cancer in January, and in April, the attorney for the estate asked that his last will and testament would be sealed. Paterno's family said that the request is not unusual when the deceased is a well-known person, and their only goal was to preserve a little privacy for the family. To avoid speculation, the family made the will public later on.
The Purpose of Establishing a Trust Despite the Existence of a Will
A trust agreement is a document that spells out the rules that you want followed for property held in trust for your beneficiaries. Common objectives for trusts are to reduce the estate tax liability, to protect property in your estate, and to avoid probate.
Think of a trust as a special place in which ordinary property from your estate goes in and, as the result of some type of transformation that occurs, takes on a sort of new identity and often is bestowed with super powers: immunity from estate taxes, resistance to probate, and so on.
You don't have to be a Rockefeller to need a trust. A trust can be a useful estate-planning tool for lots of people. But given the expenses associated with opening one, it's probably not worth it unless you have a certain amount of assets.
Here's a good rule of thumb:
The Difference Between a Will and a Living Will and What it Means for Your Estate
A will, also known as a last will, distributes a person's property after his death. A living will, on the other hand, explains what kind of medical care that person wants when he is still alive but unable to explain his wishes. In most states, both a will and a living will have similar requirements as to format, but the two documents serve very different functions.
The purpose of your will is to explain what you want done with your property when you are gone. It also allows you to name a guardian for your minor children. Your will does not legally take effect until after you die. Your living will, on the other hand, gives instructions to your family and doctors about how to treat you if you become incapacitated. You may explain what kind of care you do and don't want, as well as name someone to make your medical decisions on your behalf.
Social Security and Estate Planning Challenges
Essential to securing your future and the future of family that you might leave behind is planning your estate. Most financial planners say that the biggest surprises to those planning their estates, is whether or not a surviving spouse will lose income. If your spouse doesn't have enough to live on then all your plans can be reversed.
"One thing people don't plan for is the reduction of income if a spouse or partner dies," says certified financial planner Kathy Hankard, of Fiscal Fitness, in Verona, Wis. If a couple is both living off of social security benefits, the income of a household has decreased by as much as 35%. Oftentimes, the loss of a partner only results in a 10 % decrease in living expense. Surviving spouses can pick which benefits are greater but they still have their total benefits decreased from two benefits to one.
There are options available to those looking to avoid this potential pitfall. There is a strategy that involves delaying the payments of benefits in order to increase the potential income for any survivors. The higher-earning spouse can refrain from taking their benefits can translate into an 8% in credits for each year up until age 70. When that person dies, the survivor can start receiving a benefit of 100% of the deceased spouse's benefit with the credit and a cost of living adjustment.
A Few Things To Consider Before Writing Your Will
Writing a will can get complicated at times. This text will try and provide you with a few key aspects that will make writing your will easier, so you can get your affairs in order. Here are a few tips on how to proceed:
Get help!
You can find the forms online and try doing everything yourself, but here is the catch: how will you know if you did everything correctly or not? You may think your will is properly written and ready, but if it is not, it will be your family that has to try and clear up all the issues it caused. You might be able to build a company or do your taxes on your own, because you will know after a while if you did everything right, but you will not know with your will. Be smart and visit a DuPage County law firm, or if you want to write your will yourself, at least contact an educated DuPage County estate planning attorney to review your will.
Get your mindset right!
Marriage Outside The Faith Leading To Disinheritance
A few years back the Huffington Post told a story of a different kind of will. Max Feinberg, a dentist in Chicago, wrote his will with an unusual catch to honor his faith: none of his grandchildren would inherit any money, unless they married someone who shares their Jewish faith.
Feinberg's will led to family feuds that ended up in court, until the Illinois Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Feinberg and his wife had the right to disinherit any of their grandchildren if they married outside the faith. Justice Rita Garman wrote in the ruling: "Equal protection does not require that all children be treated equally ... and the free exercise clause does not require a grandparent to treat grandchildren who reject his religious beliefs and customs in the same manner as he treats those who conform to his traditions." This Supreme Court ruling overturned two lower court rulings.
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