Arizona Wills & Trusts Blog

L’Oreal Heiress Ruled “Mentally Unfit” To Manage Fortune

Estate of Denial: France’s richest woman threatened to emigrate today after a judge ruled that she was ‘mentally unfit’ to manage her £15 billion fortune.

Liliane Bettencourt, who inherited the L’Oreal cosmetics fortune, was told that she had dementia and Alzheimer’s and is no longer well enough to run her business affairs.

In turn, the 88-year-old said she was fine, and accused her daughter of plotting against her to try and wrestle control of one of the most successful companies in the world.

Mrs Bettencourt, who turns 89 on Friday, is also suspicious of France’s judicial authorities who are investigating her for allegedly giving brown envelopes full of cash to leading politicians in return for tax breaks.

On the Net2011-10-26T12:50:46-07:00October 26th, 2011|Estate Fights, Rich & Famous|

Little Things Can Cause Big Fights When A Relative Dies

Forbes: “Unlike financial assets, which can generally be divided easily amongst heirs, tangible personal property is unique. And the complexity of distributing a lifetime’s worth of possessions is something that many people overlook. Families have been torn apart over everything from ownership of a valuable painting, the grandfather clock and the gun collection, to who gets Mama’s recipe box. Sometimes the object in question is an item of substantial material value, but just as often, it seems, the appeal is purely sentimental. People get emotionally attached to objects that symbolize the person they are mourning. Discussing these issues while parents are still alive is far preferable to letting children duke it out for themselves later.”

On the Net2016-12-13T20:33:39-08:00October 26th, 2011|Common Problems, Estate Fights|

4 Dangerous Myths About Choosing a Guardian for Minor Children

Huffington Post: “over half of the population doesn't have a will, and the percentage only climbs for those with kids — the group that actually can't afford to live without one. So, for the past year, I've been interviewing families, trying to figure out why people don't pick a guardian for their child and cross it off their parenting list? As it happens, parents would rather talk about pretty much any other part of their personal life than answer this question. But when they finally do start talking, almost everyone has the same misconceptions about the process. In fact, most folks are letting four major myths hold them back from getting the job done and protecting their kid in case the worst happens.”

On the Net2016-12-13T20:33:39-08:00October 26th, 2011|Guardianship|

Need to Know: Life Insurance 101

Wall St. Journal: “Life insurance is one of those financial products that can give people the heebie-jeebies. It can sound confusing and complicated, and it involves thinking about a very scary proposition: death. But life insurance really isn't as frightening or complex as it seems. It's actually a fantastically useful and flexible estate-planning tool that can provide income-tax-free security for your loved ones. It can also provide liquidity to pay estate taxes, especially if your estate largely consists of assets such as real estate or a closely held business that you may be reluctant to sell to raise cash. (If the policy is owned by an irrevocable trust, the insurance payout can avoid estate taxes too.) Here's a rundown of some of the basics of life insurance:”

On the Net2011-10-22T09:45:47-07:00October 22nd, 2011|ILITs, Life Insurance|

Gun Trust Makes Getting Machine Guns and Sound Suppressors Easier for Missourians

KSPR ABC 33: “There's an easier way to get automatic weapons, and an attorney in Springfield says it's totally legal. It's really only new to Missouri. In August Missouri's laws regarding Title II weapons were relaxed. You no longer have to be a dealer or collector to own suppressors and machine guns, but getting them is still a hassle. . . . ‘What it is is an entity that can own a weapon controlled by the NFA and can do so a lot easier than an individual can,' says Springfield attorney Doug Fredrick. It's called a National Firearms Act Gun Trust. . . . The Apple Law Firm in Jacksonville, Florida, kind of fathered the concept.”

On the Net2017-10-07T11:14:45-07:00October 8th, 2011|Gun Trusts|

Secretive Jobs Placed Assets In Trust Before His Death

Times Colonist: Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and his wife placed at least three properties into trusts in 2009, which legal experts say is a sign the secretive Apple chief may have been ensuring that his assets aren't disclosed upon his death.

The ownership transfers occurred while Jobs was on a medical leave from Apple, public records show.

Jobs died Wednesday at age 56 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer, prompting an outpouring of grief around the world for the man who reinvented computing, the music business and mobile phones. He had stepped down as Apple chief executive in August.

It is unclear whether Jobs put his stock and other non-real estate assets into similar trusts, but if he did, it may be difficult to determine how they will be divided.

On the Net2011-10-07T08:36:40-07:00October 7th, 2011|Estate Planning, Rich & Famous, Trusts, Wills|

Disney Heir Seeks To End Guardianship

Estate of Denial: Bradford Lund, heir to an immense Disney fortune and son of local developer Bill Lund, wants a federal judge to fire his state-appointed legal guardian.

Lund, his father, and other members of the family have been embroiled in a nasty fight over hundreds of millions of dollars in a trust left to Walt Disney’s grandkids. An articleabout the flap last year in the Arizona Republic exposed the family’s squabble and how it ended up in probate court.

In a nutshell, Bill Lund married Disney’s daughter, Sharon, back in the 60s, and had twins with her. After their divorce in 1977, Bill was made one of the trustees to the kids’ fortune. He and his daughter, Michelle, had a falling out after she suspected him of dabbling in her financial affairs while she was laid up in 2009 with a medical condition.

On the Net2011-10-07T08:30:33-07:00October 7th, 2011|Estate Fights, Rich & Famous|

Can You Protect Yourself From Probate Abuses?

Estate of Denial®: At Estate of Denial®, the question of “what can people do to protect themselves, their assets and their heirs?” is often asked. Five years of studying probate culture and estate disputes yields “not a whole lot” as the most honest answer. And this status will not change despite personal liberty and property rights being increasingly challenged unless the public educates itself on inheritance rights and other probate-related threats to help take a stand against the organized, systemic looting of property and freedoms occurring in courthouses, legal offices and associated venues across this country.

“Proper estate planning” is hardly the foolproof safeguard from abusive probate actions touted in legal industry product sales pitches, but it is necessary. It should be done, however, with the knowledge that wills, trusts, guardianships and even powers of attorney are not failsafe mechanisms for protecting assets and in fact, today’s legal environment is a breeding ground allowing use of these instruments in ways absolutely contrary to their intended purposes.

On the Net2016-12-13T20:33:39-08:00October 4th, 2011|Estate Planning, Probate|

Last Will and Testament of Alfred Nobel

The Local: Swedish industrialist and scholar Alfred Nobel (1833-1896), who made a substantial fortune from his invention of dynamite in 1866, established the Nobel Prizes in his will.

His 1895 testament stipulated his fortune was to be placed in a fund destined to honour “those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind.”

He died a year later in San Remo, Italy.

He had decreed the bulk of his estate should be invested in “safe securities,” and as a result, some 31.5 million Swedish kronor, the equivalent today of about 1.5 billion kronor ($222 million) were used to create the Nobel Foundation.

On the Net2016-12-13T20:33:39-08:00October 4th, 2011|Estate Planning, Giving to Charity, Rich & Famous, Wills|

Estate Planning for the Elderly

Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog: Getting your parents and elderly clients to create or update estate plans can be difficult. However, having an updated plan will enable elderly individuals to have control over their asset distributions, avoid court intervention and unnecessary administrative costs, and minimize taxes. Eleven estate planning steps elderly individuals should consider …

On the Net2016-12-13T20:33:39-08:00October 4th, 2011|Estate Planning|

Fight Over Life Insurance Proceeds Following Woman’s Murder

Estate of Denial: Since Phyllis Mizioch was murdered last summer, her survivors have been fighting in federal court over who should get the $4.5 million life-insurance payout.

Peter J. Mizioch, the widower and named beneficiary on two insurance policies, claims he is entitled to the money.

But her adult children allege in U.S. District Court complaints that their stepfather was responsible for the homicide and should be barred from receiving the money under Arizona law. They have no direct evidence of his involvement, but they say in court filings that his connection to other murder victims with large life-insurance policies that named him or a close associate as beneficiary – a pattern documented in an Arizona Republic investigation in February – is a powerful circumstantial string of events

On the Net2016-12-13T20:33:39-08:00October 4th, 2011|Estate Fights|

Heiress to L’Oreal Fortune At War With Daughter

Estate of Denial: Billionaire L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt is ready for “nuclear war” with her daughter and has asked her lawyers to revoke a reconciliation deal the two struck last year, according to a French Sunday paper.

Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers had, in one of a series of lawsuits, tried to have her 88-year-old mother declared mentally unfit to manage France’s largest private fortune, but in December the two announced that they had resolved their differences.

However Bettencourt’s laywer, Jean-Rene Farthouat, told France’s Journal du Dimanche that relations have turned hostile again.

“I saw Lilliane Bettencourt on Friday, and she is in favour of nuclear war, but we are waiting a bit before taking action,” Farthouat told the paper and later confirmed the quotes to AFP.

In a Friday letter, the multibillionaire asked her lawyer to “act firmly and without delay against the activities of (her) daughter.”

On the Net2011-10-04T09:12:35-07:00October 4th, 2011|Estate Fights, Rich & Famous|

Maricopa County Probate Court Better Than Most Others

National Center for State Courts: As considerable national attention continues to be focused on the neglect and exploitation of incapacitated people — many of them seniors — by court-appointed guardians, the Superior Court of Arizona in Maricopa County is more effective in protecting and preventing the mistreatment of protected individuals and their property than most other probate courts in the country, according to a report by the National Center for State Courts (NCSC). The report was released this month following a yearlong assessment of the court's Probate and Mental Health Department.

“After conducting an in-depth study of the adult guardianship and conservatorship cases handled by the Probate and Mental Health Department and consulting with a number of other national experts, the NCSC team concluded that the manner in which caseflow management techniques, case monitoring, and court support staff are used in Maricopa County is more sophisticated and effective than most other probate courts in the nation,” said David C. Steelman, principal court management consultant with the National Center.

On the Net2017-10-07T11:14:45-07:00October 4th, 2011|Probate|

Need for Estate Planning

A recent US News and World Report blog succinctly states What you Need to Know About Estate Planning (online at . Taking excerpts from The Wall Street Journal Complete Estate Planning Guidebook, the author states:

“Everybody needs to think about estate planning”;
“The number one [estate planning] mistake is not doing anything at all”;
“[T]he safest thing to do” is to see an estate planning lawyer rather than attempt do-it-yourself planning;
People should review their estate plans “often – at least every three years.”

This is a simple yet straightforward article on the importance of estate planning for everyone – and on the need to review existing estate plans frequently.”

On the Net2017-10-07T11:20:06-07:00October 1st, 2011|Estate Planning|

Bad Money Moves: Not Having An Estate Plan

CBS Boston: We talked about dumb money moves last week and many listeners let me know that there is a whole lot more than the ones we talked about.

Estate planning is not for just for the wealthy. If you have some assets you have accumulated such as your home or retirement accounts or if you have children you have people and things you need to protect.

What estate planning does is allow you to plan. Plan for the day when you are not around to care for the loved ones in your life or plan on how your assets are to be distributed upon your death. Sounds easy but no one wants to talk about their own mortality or morbidity.

On the Net2011-10-08T18:27:43-07:00September 29th, 2011|Estate Planning, Estate Planning for Singles, Healthcare Directives, Powers of Attorney, Wills|

Answers to Common Estate Planning Questions

U.S. News & World Report: It’s hard to get people excited to talk about estate planning, much less take action to prepare for the inevitable. But in The Wall Street Journal Complete Estate Planning Guidebook, Rachel Emma Silverman attempts to do just that. After convincing readers that they do, indeed, need a will and other estate planning tools, she breaks down the tasks into manageable, bite-size pieces. US News recently spoke with Silverman about common estate planning mistakes, how to get started, and how to discuss potentially awkward topics with family members.

On the Net2017-10-07T11:14:45-07:00September 29th, 2011|Estate Planning|

Estate Planning and Saving for College

Monerey County Herald:

Q: We are grandparents and would like to start a fund to help our grandchildren go to college. How do the College Savings Plans that you have been writing about fit with my estate planning?

A: In my past two columns, I explained that Section 529 College Savings Plans, governed by Internal Revenue Code Section 529, allow you to save money for someone's college education without paying income tax on the account's earnings (interest, dividends, or capital gains). I listed criteria to help you find the best 529 Plan.

When Congress designed the College Savings Plans, it created unique, clever and favorable tools for you to use in your estate planning.

First, I'll define the players in the 529 Plan game. First, we have the account owner. They make the investment decisions for the account and have the power to change the beneficiary and withdraw money from the account.

The second player is the successor owner, who sits on the bench until the owner gives up ownership because of death or other acceptable reason.

The third player is the contributor, who funds the account with money (cash or check). Often, the contributor is the owner. The fourth player is the beneficiary, or the person who gets to use the money in the account for qualified higher education expenses. Normally the beneficiary is a child, but can be an adult.

Now for the estate planning benefits…

On the Net2016-12-13T20:33:39-08:00September 29th, 2011|Estate Planning|

Children of Tony Curtis Say He Was A Victim Of Undue Influence

Estate of Denial: The Tony Curtis Estate held an auction this weekend to unload hundreds of memorabilia, articles of clothing and other property belonging to the famed actor who died last September at age 85, after years of poor health. Julien’s Auction House in Beverly Hills, California, conducted the online auction and raised more than one million dollars. The money went to the benefit of Tony’s widow and fifth wife, Jill Vandenberg Curtis, with a portion going to the couple’s charity.

So how much did his five children, including actress Jamie Lee Curtis, stand to receive from this? Absolutely nothing.

Tony Curtis redid his Will and Trust in May of last year, a few months before he died from cardiac arrest. When he did so, he cut out all of his children. His will lists all five by name — including Jamie Lee — and states that he intentionally disinherited them. No reason was given in his will.

His children were shocked by it and are not happy. And this weekend’s auction only made it worse.

On the Net2016-12-13T20:33:39-08:00September 26th, 2011|Estate Fights, Estate Planning, Rich & Famous|

Is Inherited Wealth Becoming The Norm?

Estate of Denial: The release of the latest Forbes 400 List of Americans is, once again, being billed as a triumph of self-made wealth.

Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and Larry Ellison – all self-made – topped the list, once again. And Forbes heralds that fact that “a record 70% of the Forbes listers are self-made.”

Yet their announcement obscures the fact that half of the top 10 on the Forbes list have inherited all or some of their wealth, making America’s billboard chart of opportunity look increasingly like the the lucky sperm club.

The Walton Family fortune towers over all others on the list. Christy Walton has a listed worth of $24.5 billion, Jim Walton has a listed worth of $21.1 billion, Alice Walton has a listed worth of $20.9 billion, and Robson Walton has a listed worth of $20.5 billion.

Yet if the Waltons were counted as a single family fortune – like many others on the list – they would have $87 billion, making them the richest family in America. They would easily surpass Bill Gates at the top of the list, with $59 billion. As he and Mr. Buffett give away more of their fortunes to charity, the individual Waltons could well wind up cracking the top five.

On the Net2011-09-26T09:27:43-07:00September 26th, 2011|Estate Planning, Rich & Famous|