Writing Your Tulsa Estate Planning Blog

Many married couples separate from each other long before they get divorced. They need to redo their estate plans when that is the case.

If you and your spouse get divorced, estate law is good at recognizing that you probably no longer want your ex-spouse to inherit your property.

If you do not rewrite your will and your ex-spouse still inherits under it, then the law will assume that you meant to do so and constructively write the ex-spouse out.

However, the law stops there.

If your ex-spouse is the beneficiary of a trust, it is much more difficult to change the trust.

Even more difficult is what happens if you and your spouse have separated but not yet gotten divorced, as the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail discusses in “A warning for couples who have split but not divorced.”

The laws in Canada and the U.S. are mostly the same in this area.

The law will not assume you do not want a spouse from whom you have separated, to not inherit under your estate plan.

Why? Until a divorce is finalized, you and your spouse can always get back together and courts cannot divine what you intended.

The solution to this problem is to see an estate planning attorney, when you separate from your spouse.

You need to do this before a divorce is finalized, so the attorney can assist you in creating an estate plan that makes your wishes clear.

Reference: The Globe and Mail (Sep. 12, 2017) “A warning for couples who have split but not divorced.”

If you want to have a say in who gets your possessions after you pass away, then you need to get an estate plan or at least write something down.

A commonly held belief is that it really is not that important to get an estate plan, if you do not have much property or do not have kids. People think that because they do not have much of importance, things will just go to whoever wants them.

If they have a spouse, he or she will just get everything.

If there are children, then they will get what they want.

Unfortunately, things are not always that simple, as the New Jersey Herald reports in “Put your plans in writing.”

If you do not have an estate plan, then your possessions will be distributed according to the laws of your state. The government will decide who gets what.

Sometimes that might be the same person you would choose, but other times it might not be.

There is no reason anyone should ever take the chance. It is much better to write your plans down.

Write down what you want.

In some places, you might be able to get away with just writing everything down yourself, but do not rely on that.

It is much better to go to an estate planning attorney and have formal plans drawn up.

This ensures that your wishes are followed, because the attorney knows how to draft and execute documents that will be considered legally valid in your state.

Do not take the chance that your belongings might go to people you do not want to have them. Get an estate plan.

Reference: New Jersey Herald (Sep. 12, 2017) “Put your plans in writing.”

One of the most important estate planning decisions that many people make, is who should inherit IRAs.

For many people, deciding who should be the beneficiary of their retirement accounts is something that is not thought about for too long. The decision is made quickly and the person chosen is usually a close relative.

When filling out the paperwork, most married people instinctively write down their spouses.

Parents who are not married will write down their children.

Younger people might just write down their parents or a sibling.

However, if an IRA is consistently paid into and wisely invested, it can grow to be of tremendous value. It is often one of the biggest assets that people have when they pass away.

That means IRA beneficiaries should be carefully considered and chosen wisely, as Morningstar discusses in “Who Should Inherit Your IRA?”
The bottom line is that the beneficiary of your IRA should be chosen based upon where the money will do the most good.

Since there are different tax implications for different types of beneficiaries, you should consult with an estate planning attorney.

Doing so will help ensure that your IRA and the rest of your estate can be distributed to heirs in a way that is fair for everybody and has the fewest negative tax implications for everyone.

Beneficiary designations should be done as part of your overall estate planning. Therefore, you should seek professional advice.

Reference: Morningstar (Sep. 10, 2017) “Who Should Inherit Your IRA?”

A surviving spouse has the right to an inheritance, in almost all circumstances.

Most people do not want to cut their spouses out of their estate plan. However, there are some people who have built up a lifetime’s worth of grievances, have not gotten a divorce and who do try to disinherit their spouses.

This used to be a much bigger problem, when divorces were more difficult to obtain. However, the issue still persists today.

Fortunately, for surviving spouses, people are not allowed to merely disinherit their spouses.
It is not a simple matter though, as the Times Herald-Record discusses in “A spouse’s inheritance rights no simple matter.”

The details vary by state, but a surviving spouse has the right to make what is known as a “spousal election.” This allows a spouse to elect to receive whatever is or is not given to her in the estate plan or to receive a certain percentage of the total assets of the estate. Commonly, this election is for between one-third and one-half in most states.

The reason for the rule is that people felt there was a duty to care for one’s own spouse and that it would be wrong to leave a widow destitute.

There are ways around the law, if the spouses have entered a pre-nuptial agreement, but they are not ironclad.

If you need help navigating the rules of spousal elections in your state, then schedule an appointment with an estate planning attorney who can assist you and make sure your estate plan leaves enough for your spouse. You can also learn how to take the election, if you are a surviving spouse.

Reference: Times Herald-Record (Aug. 31, 2017) “A spouse’s inheritance rights no simple matter.”

Many elderly women are not fully prepared for what might happen after their spouses pass away.

We live in an age where, at least on a legal level, men and women are treated equally. Women can now enjoy a far greater range of possibilities than their ancestors would have ever imagined.

However, just because the law says one thing, does not mean that each individual woman fully enjoys its advantages.

Even today, many women defer family finances to their husbands.

This is especially true for older women, which can leave the women poorly prepared to handle things after their husbands pass away, as The New York Times discusses in “Helping Women Over 50 Face Their Financial Fears.”

The biggest thing for most women, is that they need to know how to manage the day-to-day finances. They need to learn how much money there is, what bills need to be paid and how any money should be invested.

Some widows also have problems in that their husbands own a business that they inherit and do not know how to run.

The best way to deal with these problems is to avoid them, if at all possible.

Husbands and wives should discuss things to make sure the wife is prepared, in case the husband passes away.

Other widows have legal problems, since their stepchildren might seek to challenge the widows’ inheritances in court. These problems need to be addressed with the help of an experienced estate attorney.

Reference: New York Times (Sep. 1, 2017) “Helping Women Over 50 Face Their Financial Fears.”

One way to make people hesitate before challenging a will or trust, is to include a no-contest clause, which disinherits them, if they file a legal challenge.

People often get very upset when they think they have not received their fair share of a deceased family member’s estate. They can often be so upset that they decide to issue a legal challenge to the estate plan, especially if there is a substantial money involved.

These challenges can take a lot money out of the estate, since lawyers have to be hired to defend the estate from the challenge.

A way around this problem is to include a no-contest clause in wills and trusts, as Press Enterprise discusses in “The Pros and cons of the no-contest clause.”

A no-contest clause helps prevent these challenges. It simply states that anyone who challenges the will or trust will receive nothing from it.

As a result, the document will be effectively rewritten to disinherit the challenger.
This is an easy way to stop many people from challenging an estate plan.

They might not be happy with what they received, but they do not want to risk getting nothing.
Some criticize these clauses as deterring people from challenging an estate plan when they have good reason to, such as when there has been undue influence used by someone else to get more of the estate than he or she should.

However, most states will not enforce a no-contest clause, if the person challenging the will or trust has probable cause to do so.

If you want to make sure a no-contest clause is included in your will or trust, then visit an estate planning attorney and make sure the clause is included.

Reference: Press Enterprise (Aug. 5, 2017) “The Pros and cons of the no-contest clause.”

A woman in New York left a large sum of money for her cats in her will.

It is becoming fashionable for wealthy people to leave large inheritances for the care of their pets, after the owner passes away. Every few months, another story makes the rounds in the media.

The latest incident comes out of New York, where a widow named Ellen Frey-Wouters left $300,000 for her cats. She instructed that the money be used so the two cats, Troy and Tiger, would never be caged and would always receive good care.

Fox News reported on the story in “New York widow leaves $300G to her cats.”

While there is an obvious tabloid appeal to stories of wealthy people leaving lavish gifts for their pets, there is a very serious side to these stories as well.

More and more people are viewing their pets as something more than mere animals they possess. Pets offer companionship and many people view them with as much love as they do human family members.

This leads to the desire to make sure that pets are taken care of, after the owner passes away.

You do not have to be wealthy to leave something behind for the care of your pets.

Estate planning attorneys can draw up plans for just about anyone to leave some money and instructions for how their pets should be treated.

It can be done through wills or through specially designed pet trusts.

See an estate planning attorney to ask about what you can do for your pets.

Reference: Fox News (Aug. 22, 2017) “New York widow leaves $300G to her cats.”

Today you can not only purchase a will online and download a form to fill out, you can even find websites that will let you create a free will and sign it digitally. You should not use these services.

There is stiff competition for cheap online wills.

There are all sorts of websites that offer wills at various prices and even for free. There might be hundreds of these sites, if not more.

They regularly pop up and try to beat each other in search engine rankings.

One new trend is for sites to have wills that are completely digital. You can answer some questions to have the will made.

You then sign the will digitally and think you have a will, as Jewish Link of New Jersey discusses in “Why You Really Don’t Want an Online Will.”

The problem?

If you use one these sites, you really do not have a will.

You have nothing at all but lost time.

In order to be valid in court, wills must be executed in specific ways.

That means you need to sign the will in front of witnesses, who also need to sign the will.

In some states, a notary public must also be present to certify that you and the witnesses signed the will.

If these steps are not taken, then the will cannot be entered into probate court.
Online wills are not worth your time.

Even if they do not make the basic error above, you cannot trust them to not make other mistakes.

Wills need to be carefully crafted legal documents. You should see an estate planning attorney to get one.

Reference: Jewish Link of New Jersey (August 24, 2017) “Why You Really Don’t Want an Online Will.”

People who do not have very many assets, still need to get estate plans. However, the best plans for them may not be the same as the best plans for wealthier people.

Much of the estate planning advice you can find online is written with the idea that the person receiving the advice has some wealth built up.

It is estate planning for people who are rich or those who will become rich.

However, most people in the U.S. are not rich.

Millions of people have very little wealth built up, but they still need to plan for the assets they do have and that they want to protect.

That can be different than what the wealthy need to do, as the Napa Valley Register points out in “New dad wonders about estate planning.”

One thing people with limited assets should understand, is that they might not need a trust to avoid probate.

Most states have a law that provides for the simple transfer of assets, if the estate is below a certain total amount. In such instances, even a will does not have to be entered into probate.

The amount varies from state to state, so you will want to check with an estate planning attorney in your state.

Nevertheless, just because you might not need to worry about probate, does not mean you should not get an estate plan.

If you have minor children, for example, then you will definitely want a will so you can choose who would be your child’s guardian, if anything happens to you.

Estate planning attorneys work with all kinds of clients from every income level. Do not think that a lack of assets disqualifies you from seeking their services.

Reference: Napa Valley Register (August 24, 2017) “New dad wonders about estate planning.”

Some of the biggest estate planning mistakes that people make are not technically estate planning, but they can have a big effect on an estate.

When people are planning for their estates, they want to make sure they do not make any mistakes.

It is important that the plans can be carried so assets are distributed in the way they wanted and so taxes, court costs and attorneys’ fees do not eat up a large portion of the estate.

Avoiding those types of mistakes is important in estate planning.

However, a potentially bigger mistake is not planning for end-of-life care while planning for an estate, as Forbes points out in “The Biggest Estate Planning Mistake People Make.”

Some end-of-life documents you should get from your estate planning attorney include:

• A Durable Power of Attorney — With this document you can appoint someone else to handle your financial responsibilities, if you are ever unable to do so due to incapacitation. This is important if you want to make sure that your bills get paid on time, for example.

• A Health Care Power of Attorney — This document lets you appoint someone else to make medical decisions for you, if you are unable to do so. When doctors need to know what decision to make about your care, this is the person they will ask.

• A Living Will — This document allows you to give advanced directives to medical professionals about what procedures to give you or to withhold in the event you are incapacitated, terminally ill and unable to communicate your wishes.

Reference: Forbes (August 16, 2017) “The Biggest Estate Planning Mistake People Make.”