Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog:  The Journal of the American Medical Association recently published a study focused on end of life care. The study found that patients are more likely to have a higher quality of life and be at home when they die when medical personnel know the patient’s end of life wishes. Additionally, informing medical personnel about a patient’s end of life wishes can save Medicare about $5,600 per person in most regions of the U.S. (end of life treatment accounted for over a quarter of Medicare expenditures in 2006).

Forbes:  “If I should remain in a persistent vegetative state for more than 15 years, I would like someone to turn off the TV.” This was the first item Paul Rudnick listed in his New Yorker parody, “Living Will.” But while his 2005 essay continues to amuse, living wills are no joke. They’re extremely difficult to think about and bring oneself to sign. For some people they also raise cultural and religious issues. A living will, also known as a healthcare directive or advance directive, is a legal document authorizing someone to “pull the plug.” Of course it doesn’t say so that bluntly. Instead, it’s phrased in terms of withdrawing or withholding life‑sustaining procedures for a terminal condition if death is imminent. The provisions –for

Investment News:  Politics, the weak economy and low interest rates have combined to create one of the best environments for estate planning in a generation, according to experts. “If individuals are trying to transition assets to the next generation, we currently have a perfect storm — in a good sense — to do it,” said David Scott, vice president of advanced sales for Penn Mutual Life Insurance Co. The elements of that perfect storm begin with a $5 million exemption from estate taxes ($10 million for married couples), which was part of the Middle Class Tax Relief Act of 2010 enacted in December. The value of real estate assets and securities are at low levels, making it more attractive to give such assets to other

The Herald – Monterey County:  When it comes to family interaction and communication there is as much variety as there are families. Some parents hold their financial information close to the vest, build their wealth and, once the estate planning is done, tuck those documents away and never discuss the plans with children. Another family may have a child who begs and pleads with parents to “get your affairs in order” only to have an unplanned, expensive estate administration to contend with once the parents pass on. Then there is the parent who will call the family together, begin to discuss estate plans and is greeted by a crescendo of “Oh, don't worry Mom, you are still young!” or “We don't care about your money

Estate of Denial:  The South Carolina Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in the attempt by former James Brown trustees Robert Buchanan of Aiken and Adele Pope of Newberry to set aside a 2008 deal between former S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster and some of Brown’s disinherited claimed heirs to transfer about $50 million from Brown’s “I Feel Good” Trust. McMaster’s deal rewrote Brown’s estate plan, giving McMaster control of Brown’s assets through a trustee selected by the attorney general and can be removed at will. The agreement also gave away more than 50 percent of Brown’s assets to disinherited relatives and claimed relatives. Buchanan and Pope argue the court’s decision may determine the future of private philanthropy in South Carolina. Brown’s estate plan dedicated his

Estate of Denial:  More than 40 years after the death of country singer “Gentleman” Jim Reeves, a Nashville court will determine the fate of his musical legacy – and the ownership of his considerable posthumous royalties. Reeves heirs – chiefly his nieces – and the surviving second husband of his widow Mary Reeves Davis will return to Davidson Country Probate court January 23. The two-day trial will determine how big a stake Terry Davis, the second husband, has in Mary Reeves Estate, which owns Jim Reeves’ music royalties. Those royalties have ranged from $100,000 to $400,000 per year, according to court records. Jim Reeves was a country crooner and ambassador of the “Nashville Sound” of the 1950s and 1960s. One of his best-known songs, “He’ll

Arizona Republic:  Arizona seniors lost millions in annuity fees, lawsuits say.  Hundreds of Arizona senior citizens cashed in their retirement investments and paid millions of dollars in unnecessary fees, according to lawsuits accusing a Scottsdale-based estate-planning company of taking advantage of vulnerable clients.  Federal and state court lawsuits claim officials with National Future Benefits Unlimited generated large commissions by scaring and misleading elderly clients into bailing out of existing annuities and buying new ones. The moves left the clients paying steep surrender fees to insurance companies and facing potential tax liabilities, according to the lawsuits. . .  . In one of the lawsuits, an insurance company is accusing National Future Benefits of systematically targeting clients to cash out their annuities; in the other, an elderly

AARP.org:  Writing a will isn't the most pleasant of tasks. After all, by doing so you're not only acknowledging your own inevitable demise but actively planning for it. That might explain why so many adults avoid this cornerstone of estate planning. According to an AARP survey, 2 out of 5 Americans over the age of 45 don't have a will. But creating a will is one of the most critical things you can do for your loved ones. Putting your wishes on paper helps your heirs avoid unnecessary hassles, and you gain the peace of mind knowing that a life's worth of possessions will end up in the right hands. “A will is an important way you can stay in control over who gets what

Record Online:  Thousands of same-sex New York couples have wed since July, when the state became the sixth and largest to legally allow such unions.  The change means that these couples are no longer required to pay state taxes on domestic partnership benefits, will gain access to workers' compensation benefits, can bring wrongful-death lawsuits on behalf of a spouse, and can file joint state tax returns. Equality fight goes on However, the fight for equality continues.  Same-sex marriages are specifically repudiated at the federal level through the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman. This has significant repercussions on the estate planning needs of married same-sex couples.  These couples cannot file joint tax returns

Wall Street Journal:  Many of the emails we receive from readers touch upon estate planning, a source of confusion and concern. With that in mind, we recently spoke with Rachel Emma Silverman, an editor and reporter at The Wall Street Journal and author of a new book, “The Wall Street Journal Complete Estate-Planning Guidebook.” Designing such plans, she notes, invariably involves “time, expense and hassle. But failing to do so can be a recipe for disaster.” Here are excerpts from the conversation: WSJ: Why is it that those two words—”estate planning”—cause so much anxiety?

Examiner.com:  I ran across an unusual article that contains words “attributed” to Muammar Gaddafi: “This is my will. I, Muammar bin Mohammad bin Abdussalam bi Humayd bin Abu Manyar bin Humayd bin Nayil al Fuhsi Gaddafi, do swear that there is no other God but Allah and that Mohammad is God's Prophet, peace be upon him. I pledge that I will die as Muslim. Should I be killed, I would like to be buried, according to Muslim rituals, in the clothes I was wearing at the time of my death and my body unwashed, in the cemetery of Sirte, next to my family and relatives.

Estate of Denial:  I’m sure there’s a lot to be said for rich people, but they sure do consume a lot of resources. I wish they’d leave more for the rest of us. That’s why I oppose the death tax. The death tax sends a powerful message to rich people: “You can’t leave everything to your heirs, so spend now, before it’s too late. Burn more fuel. Demand more timber for your mansions, more steel for your private planes, and more fiberglass for your yachts.” Then all those resources—the fuel and timber, the steel and fiberglass—become unavailable to build factories, so the rest of us get worse jobs at lower wages. Those resources are unavailable to build farm equipment, so we all pay higher food

LA Times Blog:  Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries have signed a much-discussed prenuptial agreement, it was revealed Wednesday in what might have been the day's largest bit of predictable breaking news. The newlyweds, who tied the knot in Montecito on Saturday before friends, family and the cameras of E!, have agreed to protect their mutual assets against the seriously microscopic chance of divorce. What's at stake? Kardashian's $35-million personal fortune, up against Humphries' NBA payday of $8 million to $16 million, according to THR. The pair would be wise to protect their individual assets. If he continues to succeed in the NBA, Humphries would only see his salary climb, and Kardashian really knows how to make bucks on deals selling, um, the Kardashians. Of which

Los Angeles Times:  The late James Brown once warned the world: “Papa don't take no mess.” So one might assume that Brown — the Steve Jobs-slash-Albert-Einstein-slash-Benjamin-Franklin of funk (that's right Isaacson, we're paging you!) — would be pleased with news from the Associated Press that a professional money manager has been able to take the atrophied remnants of Brown's charitable trust and effect a remarkable turnaround, wiping more than $20 million in debt off the books and putting it in a position to fund thousands of college scholarships to poor students.  The credit goes to a series of canny licensing deals. But that arrangement may now be in peril due to a challenge from two ousted trustees, Adele Pope and Robert Buchanan, who have filed

Florida Estate Planning Lawyer Blog:  I recently receive a copy of Quicken Willmaker 2009. I have previously written about many articles about the unintended results that occur with Do It yourself and Free Estate Planning Documents created by individuals without the advice of counsel and the problems with online document preparation services like LegalZoom and RocketLawyer. I decided to try out a few of the documents in Quicken to see if they had improved the quality and accuracy of their Florida documents. Last week I wrote about problem with the Quicken Willmaker 2009 Durable Power of Attorney. This week I will be looking a the Revocable Living Trust. I have previously written about the many problems in using Quicken to create a Firearms Trust but

The Telegraph:  Famous people who died without a will or failed to update their will before dying.

Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog: Sometimes when individual dies, they leave behind unusual requests for their send-offs. For example, Arch West, creator of Doritos, asked to have Dorito chips scattered into his grave. Ten more strange send-off requests are below: 1. Frederic Baur (creator of the Pringles tube) requested that his remains be stored in, you guessed it, a Pringles tube. 2. Malcolm McLaren (the Sex Pistols’ former manager) requested his coffin be spray painted to say “too fast to live, too young to die,” asked for four black horses to bring his coffin to a deconsecrated church, and requested a “minute of mayhem” in lieu of a moment of silence. 3. Gene Roddenbery (creator of Star Trek) had his remains launched into space

Examiner.com:  One of the biggest mistakes Nicole Middendorf, CDFA sees people make is spending a lot of money getting divorced and then once the divorce is over, they don’t change their beneficiaries on their 401k, IRA’s, or even their will/trust. Once your will is written, you can not just ignore it. It is extremely important to keep your will updated with your estate planning attorney. Life and circumstances change over time, and your will should reflect those changes. In order to make sure your will reflects your wishes, Nicole has recommended that your will be updated whenever one of the following occurs: A divorce A death A birth of a child  A marriage If you change your mind on your beneficiaries

Barrington Patch:  Lisa, if something happened to my husband and me, who would take care of our young children? We have heard that we need to appoint a guardian. However, we are confused and don't understand the necessary steps we must take. Would you please explain how we go about appointing a guardian and some of the issues we should consider? – Cheryl Dear Cheryl, Thanks for your question, and I certainly understand your concern. Choosing who will raise your minor children if you and your husband die is probably one of the most difficult decisions parents must make – my husband and me included. This task is often so tough that many parents never do it.