The State of Washington settled a lawsuit it filed against The Preservation Group, LLC, of Chandler, Arizona, Kevin D. Boterman and Robert J. Feinholz alleging that they violated Washington's Estate Distribution Documents Act found in RCW 19.295.020, which provides:

“(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, it is unlawful for a person to market estate distribution documents, directly or indirectly, in or from this state unless the person is authorized to practice law in this state.

“(2) A person employed by someone authorized to practice law in this state may gather information for, or assist in the preparation of, estate distribution documents as long as that person does not provide any legal advice.

“(3) This chapter applies to any person who markets estate distribution documents in or from this state. Marketing occurs in this state, whether or not either party is then present in this state, if the offer originates in this state or is directed into this state or is received or accepted in this state.”

The defendants settled the lawsuit and agreed to refund money and not violate Washington's Estate Distribution Documents Act. The following it the text of a July , 2010, press release issued by the Washington Attorney General, Rob McKenna:

The Attorney General’s Office has accused an Arizona company of violating a 3-year-old state law intended to crack down on “trust mill” schemes. The Preservation Group and its founders will offer […]

Wall St. Journal:  “Less than 10 days before [my brother] died, he made me promise that I would write about him again, when his time was up, again because his story would help others. See earlier story. . . . people need to know that they can't wait to take care of the important things in their life too. I don't know how many days I've got, but once you think you can count your days, think of how bad it will be on you and your family if you haven't done the hard stuff.”

The Herald:  “Having a revocable living trust as the centerpiece of an estate plan is the best choice for many.  If properly funded, a trust will avoid probate and conserve the confidentiality of estate assets and distribution. . . . Properly funding a new living trust is an extremely important step in the estate planning process“

ProducersWeb:  “Beginning in January and through the end of December of 2010, there is no Generation Skipping Transfer (GST) Tax, unless Congress changes the law in the meantime. The GST tax was part of the temporary repeal (one year) of the estate tax, which automatically expires at the end of 2010. Starting January 1, 2011, the estate tax and the GST tax come back in full fury, with up to a 55 percent rate of tax. Your estate can suffer both an estate tax and a GST tax at 55 percent each.”

Business & Finance:  Part 1, “Leave Your Estate in the Right Hands.” Part 2, “Make Sure Your Plan Fits Your Unique Needs.”

“The most important product of estate planning isn't avoiding probate or reducing estate tax exposure, it's achieving family harmony. As a result, we must watch out for personal dynamics that might threaten disharmony when a person dies or becomes incapacitated.”

Toledo Free Press:  “One of the biggest things that most of us procrastinate on is the dreaded task of creating a will or some other kind of estate plan. After all, we are all going to live forever right? . . . f you really think about it, should one really consider a do-it-yourself method for something so important? After all, we are talking about your life savings, all your belongings and things that are dear to you and where it all will end up when you are gone. . . . To try to do something like this yourself, may be like trying to perform surgery on yourself.  Most of us would probably opt to have the specialist perform the surgery for fear of how we would come out of it. What if you try to save a few bucks and mess it up?

Estate planning attorney Mark Cornwall article called “Planning Pays Off When Leaving Money to Children” discusses the common problem of sibling disputes after their parents are gone and how proper planning by the parents before death can go along way to preventing disputes from arising.  He says:

“when it comes to the sibling rivalry after the parents are gone, it doesn’t so easily come to a halt. In fact, it grows worse because the siblings left behind still believe that money is more important than loving the sister you never got along with during the past 20 years. . . . However, this type of unforeseen rivalry can be easily avoidable by putting enough thought into your revocable trust during the course of your estate planning.  As for leaving money to children, there is much to take into consideration depending on the age and temperament of the child. The older you get, the more outrageous it seems to leave a large sum of money to an 18-year-old.”

Contractor Mag:  “Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, said it: ‘In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing.  The next best thing is the wrong thing.  And the worst thing you can do is nothing.'   This is the story of two brothers, Joe and Moe. Joe, now age 68, did the right thing by creating his estate plan at an early age, monitoring it and updating it as necessary.  Moe, now age 72, on the other hand, was a champion procrastinator.  As you will see, he did very little estate planning and what he did was out of date.”

Wall St. Journal:  “The estate tax is set to come roaring back in January. That sets the stage for a perverse calculus: End it all—or leave a massive bill for your heirs to deal with.  It has come to this: Congress, quite by accident, is incentivizing death.  When the Senate allowed the estate tax to lapse at the end of last year, it encouraged wealthy people near death's door to stay alive until Jan. 1 so they could spare their heirs a 45% tax hit.  Now the situation has reversed: If Congress doesn't change the law soon—and many experts think it won't—the estate tax will come roaring back in 2011.

Wealth Strategies:  “When an estate has firearms, the executor must be careful to avoid violating federal (and state and local) firearms laws. These laws strictly regulate possession of, and access to, certain weapons, the transfer of permissible weapons, and bar certain persons from owning or having any access to firearms. Failure to comply with these laws may result in criminal liability, including stiff punishments and fines, and forfeiture of any weapons involved.  Careful estate planning can help with compliance with some of these laws.”

U.S. News & World Report:  “Every year, thousands of consumers bypass lawyers and create their own wills, powers of attorney, and other estate planning documents with the help of online tools and books. As one might expect, lawyers don't like this do-it-yourself approach. They say it breeds mistakes, since when it comes to legal issues, one size never fits all. Do they have a valid point, or are they just trying to protect their own livelihoods?”

The Indiana Bar Association sued United Financial Systems Corporation and people associated with the company for the unauthorized practice of law in Indiana.  The case is State ex rel. Indiana State Bar Ass'n v. United Financial Systems Corp., 926 N.E.2d 8 (Ind. 2010).

UFSC sold wills, trusts and estate plans to residents of Indiana and other states through a system involving door to door sales people who received commissions based on the cost of the estate plans.  It's most expensive estate plans sold in 2009 cost $2,695 of which only $225 was paid to an attorney to draft the documents.  The sales people who sold this estate plan were paid commissions of $750 – $900.

The Court concluded that UFSC was engaged in the unauthorized practice of law.  It said that “UFSC's business model has marginalized the attorney's role to such a degree as to cross the line of permissible practices.”  The court found that “UFSC's profitability stems from the sale of insurance products related to the trusts created by the estate plans.”

The following is from the Indiana Supreme Court's opinion:

UFSC is an insurance marketing agency. . . . In 1995, UFSC began to market and sell estate planning services, including wills and trusts. The company is headquartered in Indianapolis and does business in Indiana and twelve other states. In Indiana, from October 2006 through May 2009, UFSC sold 1,306 estate plans from which the company grossed over $ 2.7 million.  . . . During roughly this same period of time, 0.09% of UFSC's total nationwide income and 18.8% of UFSC's nationwide fee income was derived from the sale of estate planning services in Indiana. . . […]