The wonderful world of estate planning can be strange and morbid at times. For example, when making a will or creating a trust, you might pose questions to yourself such as, “what if our plane goes down on our next family trip to Hawaii and there are no survivors – who should get our home and my stock options, then?” Considering such possibilities does not make you sick or twisted, it actually means you are prudent with your property. It is hard to discuss the unfathomable, but it is definitely smart to have a plan.

Creating a will or trust isn’t necessarily difficult, but potential complications arise when you start to consider what would happen if the person you intended to leave your wealth to dies before, or at the same time as, you. Having a will or a detailed trust is a great first step when it comes to protecting your life’s work and resulting assets. Nonetheless, it is important that the language of your trust or will accommodates a wide array of possible outcomes in regard to your estate.

Without question, you should select a secondary beneficiary for your will or any trusts you create. Additionally, you may want to discuss the inclusion of a ‘simultaneous death’ provision or determine what is to come of your estate if your primary beneficiary dies within thirty days after you – do you still want that individual’s estate to receive his share? Maybe you’d prefer to donate your property to charity if the beneficiary of your choice is unable to accept your estate. There are numerous contingencies that should be addressed in your estate planning documents.

It can be difficult to address complicated issues if you create a will or trust without the aid of an attorney. An experienced estate planning attorney can help you cover your bases, prepare for the unthinkable, and insulate your family from conflict by making your estate easy to settle. The attorneys at Lonich & Patton have years of experience handling complex estate planning matters including wills and living trusts. If you are interested in developing an estate plan or reviewing your current estate plan, contact the estate planning attorneys at Lonich & Patton for further information or to set up a free consultation.

Please remember that each individual situation is unique and results discussed in this post are not a guarantee of future results.  While this post may detail general legal issues, it is not legal advice.  Use of this site does not create an attorney-client relationship.

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Are you a bad person for wanting to disinherit a son, daughter, or family member who would otherwise have a stake in your property at your death? Definitely not. Disinheritance actually happens more often than you think. You can effectively disinherit an heir by clearly stating your intent to do so in your will or trust documents to ensure that your decision to disinherit won’t be misunderstood as a mistake.

The reasons for considering disinheritance may vary. Perhaps you have a strained relationship with a family member and wish to leave them nothing. On the kinder side of things, maybe you helped put your daughter through law school, but your son never asked for a dime. By disinheriting your daughter, you can “even the score” by ensuring your son receives all of your remaining assets.  No matter what your reason, disinheriting by will can give you an opportunity to control where your assets go—and do not go—after death. Additionally, in your will, you can state your reason for the disinheritance to assure there are no hard feelings if that is a concern.

Disinheritance is not an easy topic for discussion. Nevertheless, if you are interested in disinheriting a potential heir via your will, you should discuss the idea with your estate planning attorney. You may also wish to discuss the possibility of creating a living trust which will give you the opportunity to designate beneficiaries and determine how much (or how little) they will receive upon your death.

The attorneys at Lonich & Patton have decades of experience handling complex estate planning matters including wills and living trusts. If you are interested in developing an estate plan or reviewing your current estate plan, contact the experienced estate planning attorneys at Lonich & Patton for further information.

Please remember that each individual situation is unique and results discussed in this post are not a guarantee of future results.  While this post may detail general legal issues, it is not legal advice.  Use of this site does not create an attorney-client relationship.

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You’re officially divorced and positive that everything in your life is settled (legally, anyway). Unfortunately, that might not be the case if your estate planning documents still reflect your old marital status. Fortunately, any provisions in your existing Will that leave assets to your ex-spouse will be revoked by law after divorce. Nevertheless, it is imperative that you actively take steps to create a new will and generally update your estate plan to ensure that the appropriate individuals in your life will control your legal rights and property when you die or become incapacitated. That is, unless you still wish to bequeath property to your ex-spouse at death. Since that is probably not the case, here are some estate planning changes to consider after divorce:

1. Close any joint accounts like credit cards or savings accounts that you shared with your ex.
2. Create a fresh Will and update any Guardianship provisions regarding what will happen to your children in the event that something happens to both you and your ex-spouse.
3. Update any Trusts and reevaluate who your beneficiaries should be and how much property you’d like them to receive and when.
4. Update all insurance policies, IRA’s, 401k’s, or any other retirement accounts that may name your ex as a beneficiary. These will not automatically change after divorce.
5. Destroy or revoke your previous Durable Power of Attorney if it named your ex-spouse and create a new one.
6. Destroy or revoke your previous Advance Health Care Directive if it authorized your ex-spouse to make future health care decisions on your behalf.

It is important to remember that at death, according to the court, whatever your legal document says goes. So, if you do not want your ex-spouse to receive certain property or benefits, you should see a licensed attorney to revoke your old estate plan and incorporate your current wishes into a new one. Hopefully, an updated estate plan can give you some peace of mind as you begin your new life after divorce.

The attorneys at Lonich & Patton have years of experience handling complex estate planning matters including wills and living trusts. If you are interested in developing an estate plan or reviewing your current estate plan, contact the experienced estate planning attorneys at Lonich & Patton for further information and a free half-hour consultation.

Please remember that each individual situation is unique and results discussed in this post are not a guarantee of future results.  While this post may detail general legal issues, it is not legal advice.  Use of this site does not create an attorney-client relationship.

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Should you liquidate your trust to take advantage of the new federal estate tax exemption? You may not need to. Not immediately, anyway. As 2012 came to a close, there was some worry that the generous federal tax gift exemption would fall off of the fiscal cliff, leaving many estates vulnerable to the 35% federal estate tax for gifts. To the delight of many taxpayers and estate planners alike, the federal tax provision allowing an individual to give tax-free gifts totaling up to $5 million over his or her lifetime, is now permanent.* This “unified credit” may also be applied to an individual’s estate at death if it is not utilized before death.

If your estate isn’t large enough to cover a gift of $5.12 million during your lifetime, you may be delighted to know that the annual gift tax exclusion has also survived. So, any taxpayer may make a tax-free gift of $13,000 a year per recipient. For example, in 2013, a father can give $13,000 to his daughter, $13,000 to his grandson, and $13,000 to his neighbor, all tax free. Slowly making these tax-free gifts is a great way to ensure that your taxable estate is worth less than the federal estate tax threshold of $5.25 million when you pass, effectively insulating your loved ones from an estate tax of 40% down the road.

No matter what the size of your estate, it is smart to have a plan for the future. The attorneys at Lonich & Patton have decades of experience handling complex estate planning matters including wills and living trusts. If you are interested in developing an estate plan or reviewing your current estate plan, contact the experienced estate planning attorneys at Lonich & Patton for further information.

Please remember that each individual situation is unique and results discussed in this post are not a guarantee of future results.  While this post may detail general legal issues, it is not legal advice.  Use of this site does not create an attorney-client relationship.

*See http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p950.pdf for a detailed explanation of the gift exemptions.

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Big businesses routinely have succession plans in place. Do smaller family-owned businesses? Infrequently, which is surprising and unfortunate. Without well thought-out succession plans in place, many family-owned businesses cease to exist.

To be sure, many family business owners would love to eventually “pass the torch” to a son or daughter. But what will happen in the event of sudden death or disability before they are ready to accept the responsibility? It is in the best interest of all parties involved that a proper estate plan is in place to avoid probate of business assets. The probate process is expensive, may take upwards of two years, lacks privacy, and takes nearly all control out of your family’s hands. Additionally, a plan could eliminate potentially crippling estate taxes on the business.

A business is a sophisticated property interest. For an owner of a small family business, however, the business is more than just a source of income—it represents the history and livelihood of their clan. With adequate planning, the business and its value may be protected, perhaps by creating a family limited partnership or by placing the family’s assets into a living trust. There can be significant estate tax advantages to creating a limited partnership for your family business and transferring minority interests to future inheritors.

Estate planning is a complex field. Whether you are concerned with devising a plan for either a family estate or that of a business, it is important to get good advice. The attorneys at Lonich & Patton have decades of experience handling complex estate planning matters including business succession plans, wills, and living trusts. If you are interested in developing an estate plan or reviewing your current estate plan, contact the experienced estate planning attorneys at Lonich & Patton for further information.

Please remember that each individual situation is unique and results discussed in this post are not a guarantee of future results.  While this post may detail general legal issues, it is not legal advice.  Use of this site does not create an attorney-client relationship.

This article has no comment.