Estate of Denial:  “The Descendants,” a family drama set in Hawaii, won the Golden Globe on Sunday night for best drama. George Clooney, who stars in the film as a father coming to grips with his wife’s impending death, won for lead actor in a drama. Since our review published in November, our fans told us this is the best trust film ever released. The central theme is about a family trust and its trustee-advisor — played by George Clooney, no less – found their way to the silver screen last November in Alexander Payne’s film, “The Descendants.” This is The Trust Advisor’s favorite film of the season, a depiction of what the trust industry is all about. This is a MUST see for anyone

Investment News: Tax changes that President Barack Obama and Congress hammered out in the final days of 2010 discouraged clients from seeking estate-planning advice last year, even though estate lawyers argue there are many planning opportunities that shouldn't be missed. The legislation that set a $5 million estate tax exemption for 2011 and 2012 has all but eliminated “estate tax avoidance” as a motivating factor for clients, according to 32% of estate-planning lawyers and financial advisers surveyed recently by WealthCounsel LLC. In fact, tax avoidance dropped from being the No. 1 reason in 2010 that clients sought estate planning to fourth last year, according to the survey of 1,085 professionals. “The Republican-led Congress has done an effective job of vilifying the estate or “death tax'

Mansfield Patch:  A wise man once said, “If you don’t die before retirement chances are pretty good you’ll die sometime afterwards”.  And while we all know and understand that death is a sad fact of life, we sometimes put off making decisions that will help our loved ones after we’re gone.  When Steve Jobs died last year, many financial pundits wondered whether his advisors had helped him set up an effective estate plan. Given the fact that Jobs famously resisted the advice of his doctors for several months while he explored other alternatives, some wondered if he might have acted similarly when it came to his estate planning. With a net worth estimated at nearly $7 billion, the stakes were large — his estate could

Question:  I made a Will, now what do I do with it?  Where should I keep it and who should I tell about it? Answer:  You may have the best drafted, most well thought out Last Will and Testament, but it will be useless if no one can find it.  There is no central database for Wills or estate plans.  This means that the only way your loved ones will know about your Will and where to find it is if you tell them! First, you should put your original Will and other estate planning documents in a safe place, like a safe deposit box.  Tell the appropriate people that you have an estate plan and it can be located in your safe deposit box. 

Question:  I've heard the phrase Power of Attorney but I don't know what it means.  Do I need a Power of Attorney? Answer:  A Power of Attorney is a legal document in which in a person (called a “principal”) delegates decision making authority to another person (called an “agent”).  Powers of Attorney can be very broad giving the agent the ability to do every act that you could do yourself if you were able, or Powers of Attorney can be limited to cover only specific decisions and events. When people refer to a Power of Attorney, they are usually talking about either Healthcare Powers of Attorney or Financial Powers of Attorney.  As the name suggests, a Healthcare Power of Attorney allows the named healthcare agent to

Question:  What is estate planning?  What documents make up an estate plan? Answer:  Simply put, estate planning is planning for your death or incapacity, including where you want your assets to go after your death. A comprehensive estate plan should have the following primary documents: Last Will and Testament:  this is a legal document in which you name where you want your property to go after your death.  Your Will also names a guardian for minor children, a conservator for the assets to be owned by minor children and/or incapacitated adults, and a personal representative to manage your estate. Living Trust:  like a Will, a Trust specifies how you want your assets to be distributed upon your death.  Unlike a Will, a Trust allows you

Question:  What is community property?  Which U.S. states are community property states?  What is the difference between community property and separate property? Answer: Community property and separate property are two different ways that a married individual holds property.  Only 9 states in the U.S. recognize community property:  Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.  Puerto Rico also allows property to be owned as community property. Arizona Community Property vs. Separate Property Community property is all property acquired during marriage, except property acquired by gift or inheritance, or property acquired after the service of a petition for divorce, legal separation or annulment if the petition results in a decree of divorce, legal separation or annulment.  A.R.S. § 25-211. Separate property is all real

Question:  I've heard that my spouse and children will inherit my assets if I don't have a Will.  If I want my spouse and children to inherit everything, why would I need a Will? Answer:  The idea that your spouse and children will get everything is just a general guideline, it may or may not happen in your particular situation.  And, even where the law provides that your spouse and children will inherit your assets, it might not work like you think. Arizona's laws of intestate succession generally provide that your spouse and/or children will inherit your assets upon your death. If your children are all children of your surviving spouse, then your surviving spouse would get your entire estate.   However, if you have children

Financial Planning.com:  When planners help clients manage their wealth, it is important to help them recognize the deep emotional sources of philanthropy. Hundreds of interviews over the years with philanthropists have led me to the notion of empathy and identifying with others as the key motives behind giving. Ask donors about an important gift and you will hear that the people they help are like themselves, their children, parents or other loved ones. We care for others as extensions of ourselves. A day usually comes in your clients' lives when acquiring more wealth ceases to be so important. They then face the question of how to live next and impart to their children a moral biography. Most will want to give because giving is a

Delaware Online:  For gay and lesbian couples, embracing a life as loving partners can be just as fulfilling, and just as challenging, as a marriage between a man and a woman.  When it comes to finances, though, such relationships can become even more challenging to pull off successfully.  While Delaware's new law allowing civil unions has smoothed over some of the potential pitfalls, gay and lesbian couples remain in something of a legal limbo and face far more peril than married couples when it comes to ensuring that assets pass smoothly to a surviving partner.  “With a same-sex relationship, some of the key things to be aware of are the rights of the partners in the event of the unexpected, addressing ‘What would happen if?'

 Yuma Sun:  When planning for the future, none of us has a crystal ball. We must plan our affairs based on current circumstances while trying to anticipate a whole range of possible future events.  When a couple sits down to plan what they want to happen after their death, they are trying to anticipate events decades down the road. A couple, each age 50, on average has more than 35 years until the death of the survivor of them. Who 35 years ago could have predicted the way our society would change and how events would occur into the 21st century?  Of course, we must plan, even though few, if any of us, have the ability to predict events in the years to come. We

Yuma Sun:  Many of us spent our childhood years playing sports and games. An important part of our development was learning the rules. Once we understood the rules, we could develop creative strategies for winning.  When the rules changed, our strategies needed to adapt. Estate planning is no different. Late in 2010, President Obama signed into law changes to estate and gift tax rules.  If you haven't already, it's important to review the new rules and make adjustments to existing estate planning and gifting strategies. Here are a few of the changes that may affect your plans:  • Estate taxes reinstated — In 2010, for a single year there was no estate tax. During 2011 and 2012, the top estate tax rate will be 35

Brattleboro Reformer:  “I'm not old enough to worry about a will,” said one of my clients recently.  Looking at him, you might agree, At 25, he is as healthy as the horses he shoes. As a Ferrier with his own business, he works hard and plays hard. Life is his oyster right now but if he dies, I reminded him, the state gets everything.  “No way,” he said, in utter disbelief.  But it is true. As a single man with no relatives and no will, the chances are quite high that the state would take everything. Fortunately, my client found religion and immediately did some estate planning, including creating a will. Unfortunately, most people will find every excuse in the book to avoid creating a

NJ.com:  Today Your Legal Corner will address “Basic Estate Planning.”  What will you do with this New Year given? Perhaps you want to lose 10 pounds, make plans for a spring garden, change jobs, travel to Europe or dedicate time to a coveted project. Just think of the possibilities this New Year brings.  One goal to definitely include is to review or create an estate plan. A basic estate plan consists of completing an inventory of present assets, defining goals, relationships, and realities; and then developing a plan of action.  Inventory Assets  Generally, most estate planning begins with an inventory of the assets. If you would like to receive an Inventory Packet, simply request one by email, phone or letter and it will be provided,

Estate of Denial:  The Michigan Supreme Court has ordered a judge to return the estate of civil rights icon Rosa Parks to her longtime friend Elaine Steele and the institute the two women founded in 1987 to carry on Parks’ legacy.  In a tersely worded order Thursday, the high court said Wayne County Probate Judge Freddie Burton Jr. and the Michigan Court of Appeals wrongly stripped Steele and the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development of their financial stake in Parks’ estate.  The Supreme Court said Steven Cohen, the lawyer for Steele and the institute, did not divulge details of a 2007 confidentiality agreement that resolved an estate dispute involving the institute, Steele and Parks’ 13 nieces and nephews. Cohen said Thursday’s decision

Estate of Denial:  A newly imposed rule restricting electronic access to Maricopa County Probate Court records means that cases cannot be reviewed without physically going to the clerk of court’s office. The rule has raised concerns among many of those involved in probate court who say it prevents them from gaining access to their own cases or cases involving relatives. It also has some probate judges and lawyers calling on the state’s highest court to lift the rule, which they described as inconvenient and problematic. “Apparently these case records were previously provided online in violation of the rule,” Presiding Maricopa County Probate Court Judge Rosa Mroz wrote in a December e-mail. “At this time, however, there is nothing we can do.” The rule, which prohibits

Class 3 License:  “In today’s world, obtaining class 3 weapons can be a real hassle.  There are numerous options that crop up when dealing with the BATF and local police concerning the ownership and possession of these weapons.  Remember, it is up to you to keep yourself up to date on the laws and regulations involving these restricted firearms. A NFA trust is an estate planning tool which can be used to acquire NFA (Class 3) weapons, suppressors and destructive devices. . . . Unless you are an experience trust attorney that has knowledge of NFA trusts, you will need to hire an attorney to make sure everything is followed to the letter of the law.  They are not outrageously expensive, but some people just

Estate of Denial:  THE premiere of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo was a suitably high-profile occasion. This is, after all, the long-awaited screen version of what has become a publishing ­phenomenon almost on a par with the Harry Potter series. Author Stieg Larsson never knew how successful he would be as he died just before his first best-seller was published. But his heirs have certainly reaped the benefits. More than ­ 50 million people have bought a Stieg Larsson thriller and they’re still ­buying in droves. If Larsson’s estate makes one pound from each book sold – a conservative estimate – then his heirs have already made around £50million from the novels alone. The film rights, which have been sold twice, brought in more.

Estate of Denial:  In a WealthCounsel Quarterly post Blood & Money: Why Families Fight Over Inheritance, P. Mark Accettura, J.D., lists what he sees as five reasons of why families end up in estate disputes: There are five basic reasons why families fight in matters of inheritance: First, humans are genetically predisposed to competition and conflict; second, our psychological sense of self is intertwined with the approval that an inheritance represents, especially when the decedent is a parent; third, we are genetically hardwired to be on the lookout for exclusion, sometimes finding it when it doesn’t exist; fourth, families fight because the death of a loved one activates the death anxieties of those left behind; and finally, in some cases, one or more members of