Writing Your Tulsa Estate Planning Blog

Boxer Muhammad Ali’s family is set to have a massive fight over his estate.

It never took much prompting to get Muhammad Ali to claim that he was the greatest fighter of all time. He was a legend for not only the power of his fists and the quickness of his feet, but also for his sharp wit and talking up himself and talking down his opponents.

The controversial and beloved figure passed away last year, after a long struggle with Parkinson’s disease.

While Ali can no longer fight, his family still can and it appears they are going to, according to the Daily Mail in “Revealed: Muhammad Ali’s widow will receive DOUBLE the $6M inheritance awarded to each of his nine children sparking ‘World War Three’ between warring relatives.”

The heart of the dispute appears to be longstanding animosity between Ali’s children and his widow.

The children are upset, even though all nine of them will receive $6 million from their father’s estate. They are not happy that the widow will receive twice the amount they will get.

Although the children have often feuded with each other, they have apparently agreed to set those disputes aside for now, until they have their say about their father’s widow.

It is not clear exactly what the children plan to do and if they have any grounds to dispute the amount their stepmother was left in Muhammad Ali’s will.

Reference: Daily Mail (January 3, 2017) “Revealed: Muhammad Ali’s widow will receive DOUBLE the $6M inheritance awarded to each of his nine children sparking ‘World War Three’ between warring relatives.”

If you think that you do not need to have a will or other estate plan, then you might want to pay attention to an ongoing crisis in China.

Not too long ago, the Communist Party in China had strict rules about the accumulation of wealth and passing it on to heirs. During the Cultural Revolution, things were very simple. A person could not accumulate wealth at all, so there was nothing to pass on.

This led to most Chinese people not bothering to create wills or estate plans.

However, the Communist Party has since loosened its rules and many Chinese people are now extremely wealthy. Unfortunately, most of them have stuck with the habit of not getting estate plans and that is causing problems.

This was reported recently by USA Today in “Chinese don’t have wills — and now it’s a big problem.”

The Chinese courts have seen a flood of inheritance disputes that are clogging up their system and slowing down affected business. Families are fighting over this new wealth in the country and even the Communist Party is growing concerned.

It is estimated that only 1% of the country’s senior citizens have wills. Even those who do have wills of some sort, cannot avoid issues.

Some 60% of wills challenged in the country are found to be invalid. The Communist Party is now actively encouraging people to get proper wills.

While the problem is not as severe in the U.S., too many people here also do not have wills.
That causes the same issues as the Chinese have.

Make 2017 the year to get your estate plan completed or reviewed!

Reference: USA Today (Jan. 2, 2016) “Chinese don’t have wills — and now it’s a big problem.”

Some celebrity estates are discussed endlessly. Everyone hears about the mistakes they made. Other celebrity estate planning mistakes go little noticed, but they can be just as important.

Celebrities are perhaps more aware than anyone else, how the media can sometimes appear to randomly decide to focus on one thing and not something else. Some celebrity marriages or breakups are discussed endlessly, while others are barely mentioned at all. The difference between the two is not always clear.

The same thing happens with celebrity deaths and estates.

The estates of some celebrities are the subject of headline after headline, usually pointing out mistakes that are made. For example, the estates of Robin Williams, Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson are well-known because of the mistakes in estate planning and the family feuds that ensued.

Other celebrity estate plans and their mistakes are not mentioned as often, but they can also be instructive.

Recently, the Lamorinda Weekly mentioned a couple of these lesser known mistakes in “Avoid These Celebrity Mistakes With Your Estate Plan,” including:

•Failure to Update – Actor Heath Ledger prepared a comprehensive estate plan that left provisions for his parents and his sisters. However, he never updated his plans after his daughter was born and, as a result, she was not even mentioned in the plans. It did end well, however, with the family putting the bulk of the estate in a trust for her benefit.

•The Hidden Estate Plan – Florence Griffith Joyner also went to the trouble of getting an estate plan. The problem was that she did not tell anyone where to find the plan. No one was ever able to locate her will and the estate was only settled after four years of bitter fighting between her family members.

Regardless of your celebrity status, contact a qualified estate planning attorney to do things right and to avoid unnecessary mistakes.

Reference: Lamorinda Weekly (Dec. 28, 2016) “Avoid These Celebrity Mistakes With Your Estate Plan.”

There are a few things that every single estate plan needs to have regardless of the exact legal instruments that you end up using as your primary estate planning tools.

Estate plans can take a variety of shapes. Some estate plans are small and simple. Other estate plans are large and contain many complex legal instruments. However, there are a few things every single estate plan needs to have.

Recently, the Catholic Register discussed what is necessary for all Canadian estate plans in “The must-haves of estate planning.” In the U.S. most of the same things are also necessary. They include:

•Someone needs to be appointed as the executor of your will. Even if the primary instrument to distribute your property is a trust, your plan should still include a pour-over will for which you need to appoint someone trustworthy as an executor.
•Your estate plan needs to include some basic tax planning, especially if you live in a state that has an estate tax of its own.
•If you have any dependents, then your estate plan needs to provide for their care. While you have some flexibility in your estate, you cannot simply disinherit a spouse or a minor child.
•Your estate plan should also include powers of attorney so you can appoint someone to look after your interests if you become incapacitated.

If you have an experienced estate planning attorney create your estate plan, then it will contain all of these things and much more that will make your estate plan as effective as it can possibly be.

Reference: Catholic Register (Nov. 6, 2016) “The must-haves of estate planning.”

One of the first things that people have to decide when they start thinking about estate plans is whether they want to use a will or a trust. Both have their advantages.

If you start asking your friends and family or look on the Internet for estate planning advice, then you are likely to receive a lot of conflicting advice. Should you get a will or a trust? Nearly everyone seems to have an opinion one way or another.

Normally, the opinion of non-attorneys is rooted in which of the two options was best for the person giving the advice. It may or may not be the best advice for you.

To help decide the better option to use as the primary legal instrument in your estate plan it is helpful to know the basic differences between the two.
This was the subject of a Motley Fool article titled “Wills vs. Trusts: Which Are Better?”

A will determines who gets your possessions after you pass away. It has no legal effect until then. It is a roadmap for what you want to happen later. The rules for wills vary from state to state, but they need to go through probate court and the details are made public. For people with small estates they can be cost-effective.

Trusts, on the other hand, have legal effect as soon as they are executed. Property is placed in the trust while you are still alive. While trusts can be more costly to obtain and maintain, they do not ordinarily have to go through probate after you pass away and the details are not made available to the public. Trusts are normally preferred to wills for larger estates.

If you are uncertain whether a will or trust is a better option for you, that is okay. You probably should not decide between the two before talking to an estate planning attorney who can help you make the decision. To learn more about trusts versus wills, sign up for one of our upcoming workshops.

Reference: Motley Fool (Nov. 8, 2016) “Wills vs. Trusts: Which Are Better?”

When you get a living trust from an estate planning attorney you will likely also get a pour over will that is designed to bequeath any assets you have when you pass away into your trust. It is important not to rely on that will as the sole means of funding your trust.

Getting a trust to avoid having your estate go through probate is only effective if you fund the trust. That means your assets need to be transferred into the trust. Any assets held in the trust when you pass away will then be used and distributed according to the terms of the trust instead of having to go through probate.

At the same time, you will also likely get a pour over will.

These are simple wills that dictate that any assets you had at the time of death that are not in the trust should be placed into it via probate.

Do not let that fool you into thinking you do not need to transfer assets to the trust now and just rely on your will as the Green Bay Press-Gazette points out in “Estate Planner: Importance of funding your trust.”

While the exact rules vary from state to state, it does not take a lot of assets to require an estate to go through probate.

If all of your assets remain outside of your trust, then your executor has to probate your pour over will. By relying on the will you would have essentially defeated the purpose of getting the living trust in the first place.

If you do not know how to transfer assets into your trust or need assistance doing so, then talk to your estate planning attorney to get more information about what you need to do.

Reference: Green Bay Press Gazette (Oct. 31, 2016) “Estate Planner: Importance of funding your trust.”

The federal estate tax might soon be a thing of the past. That does not mean that you will no longer need a will.

Today, January 20, 2017, the Republican Party will control the Presidency, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Many people are hopeful that the party will quickly act on its long-stated goal of eliminating the federal estate tax.

If it does so, do not be tempted to think that you no longer need an estate plan. There are reasons to get one that have nothing to do with avoiding the estate tax.

At the very least, you still want to have a will as Forbes discusses in “Five Reasons You Need a Will (Even If the Estate Tax Is Repealed)!”
The reasons include:

•In a will, you appoint an executor who is in charge of administering your affairs. The executor can make sure that all of your debts are paid and that your assets are handled appropriately.
•If you have minor children, a will is used to designate who you want to have guardianship of those children in case something happens to you.
•In a will, you can give specific bequests to people. That means if you want one of your children to have a specific piece of personal property for sentimental reasons, a will is the place that you do that.
•While getting a will you can also get advanced medical directives that will determine how you should be cared for, if you are incapacitated and not able to communicate with doctors at the time.
•A will is more efficient than allowing the courts to handle your affairs without your directions. It also protects your estate by making sure that your property does not go to people you do not want to have it.

Reference: Forbes (Dec. 8, 2016) “Five Reasons You Need a Will (Even If the Estate Tax Is Repealed)!

Do not be confused about what estate planning is and whether or not you need to do it.

Most Americans do not have estate plans. One of the reasons that they don’t is confusion about what getting an estate plan means and who should have them. The term “estate” often conjures up images of the palatial estates of the ultra-wealthy. However, the term applies to the property of anyone who passes away.

We will all have estates someday. For that reason, it is important to know what estate planning actually does.

Recently, the Vail Daily discussed some basics in “Estate Planning.”

If an estate is the property you have when you pass away, then estate planning is deciding what should happen to that property. It is you deciding beforehand who you want to have your property and the legal means by which they will receive it.

The two most common methods to have your property distributed are wills and trusts.

A will is a legal document that is submitted to a court. The will sets out who should receive what. If the will is valid, the court will oversee the process of making sure that the property goes where you want it to.

A trust creates a new legal entity to hold and distribute property. It is not normally submitted to a court, unless it is a “testamentary” trust created under a will to manage the estate distribution. Another person known as a trustee, is charged with making sure that your directions are followed.

There are other aspects of estate planning you should address, including planning for your own end-of-life care. Visit an estate planning attorney if you have questions about wills, trusts, or any other aspects of estate planning.

Reference: Vail Daily (Dec. 8, 2016) “Estate Planning.”

Although wills and trusts have been standard legal documents for a long time, many people still have misconceptions about them.

Estate planning can be complicated by the fact that many people have misconceptions about the basics of wills and trusts and what having either one of them means. This problem is compounded by the Internet as people who are wrong, often share their misconceptions with other people online. The result is more confusion.

Recently, TCPalm discussed common misconceptions in “Common misconceptions about wills and trusts,” including:

•Having a will means that your estate does not have to go through probate. This is completely false. In most cases, wills have to be submitted to a probate court for administration.
•If your estate is not large enough to pay the estate tax, then you do not need to have a will or trust. This is another falsehood since there are many other reasons to have a will or trust. The most important is that if you do not, then all of your property will be distributed according to statutory rules instead of how you might have preferred it to be distributed.
•By putting your assets in a revocable trust, you lose the ability to have any control over the assets. This is not true. If you are the trustee of your trust and the trust is drafted properly, then you will still be able to do whatever you want with your assets during your lifetime.
•You have to file a separate tax return for your revocable trust. This is also not true. As long as your trust is properly drafted, a revocable trust will not be considered a separate legal entity during your lifetime and you will not need to file a separate tax return for it.

Talk to a qualified estate planning attorney who will be more than happy to educate you on the realities of estate planning.

Reference: TCPalm (Dec. 2, 2016) “Common misconceptions about wills and trusts.”

Drafting your own will or using a form that you purchased online to create a will, might seem like a good idea that will save you money. However, those wills often fail to do much more than create large legal bills in probate.

Wills often sound like simple legal documents. In a sense, they are. They are just a legal way to write down who gets your possessions after you pass away.

When it comes to estate planning generally, wills are among the simplest ways to express your parting wishes. However, the truth is that wills are only simple from an estate planning attorney’s perspective. They are not so simple that anyone can just write their own wills or purchase a form online to fill in and use as a will.

Those homemade wills do not always work very well for a variety of reasons, as the Huntsville Item explains in “A humorous look at the danger of homemade wills.”
Some homemade wills do not work for very simple reasons of formalities. In most states, executing a will requires that a specific number of people be present to witness the will being signed.

People who create their own wills often fail to either have the right number of people present or they do not leave any indication of how a court can contact the witnesses, if necessary.

Other homemade wills do not work for less technical reasons. The directions in these wills are often contradictory or impossible to carry out.

Getting a will does not have to be a complicated process but it should begin with hiring an estate planning attorney.

Reference: Huntsville Item (Nov. 27, 2016) “A humorous look at the danger of homemade wills.”