Professor Paul L. Caron of the University of Cincinnati College of Law has written an article called “Ten Estate Planning Advantages of Limited Liability Companies.”  The abstract says:

In the eight years since the Service blessed the Wyoming limited liability company (LLC) statute, there has been an explosion of interest in LLCs, which are now available in 48 states and the District of Columbia (with Hawaii and Vermont the lone holdouts). . . . Although much has been written of the uses of LLCs in tax and business planning, comparatively little commentary has focused on the role of LLCs in estate planning. The LLC treatises generally devote little attention to estate planning issues, and there have only been a few estate planning articles that discuss the advantages of LLCs compared to S corporations, limited partnerships, and trusts. (A listing of these treatises and articles appears at the end of this article.) After a brief introduction, this article discusses 10 estate planning advantages of LLCs compared to the other forms of organization.

The Portland Press Herald:  “The tales are legion, and usually involve bitter siblings and inexplicable attachments to objects. . . . The squabbling siblings who spent three years and $15,000 battling over a few hundred dollars worth of JC Penney and Kmart knickknacks. . . . Talk with enough estate planning attorneys and you hear the distressing, sorry sagas resulting from no — or poor — estate planning.”

For people concerned about the uncertainty of federal estate tax law, NPR has a “There May Be A Tax Upside To Dying In 2010.”

The New York Times has an interesting article about author Samuel L. Clemens' (pen name Mark Twain) last will and testament.  He left his entire estate to his only living daughter – the other daughter died before Mr. Clemens.

The Probate Lawyer Blog reports that Steve McNair's widow, Mechelle McNair, is asking a court for permission to withdraw $3.72 million from frozen assets to pay the estate's estimated federal estate taxes.  Steve died without a will or an estate plan that would have protected his family.  Had Steve created a revocable living trust that provided for estate tax planning, his estate and family could have avoided all federal estate taxes until the death of his widow.  What a shame.  Not only does Mechelle lose her husband, but she and her children lose a minimum of $3.72 million that could easily have been deferred for perhaps decades.

This is a perfect example of why people need an estate plan – to protect their family in the event of death or disability.  An estate plan is asset protection for your family.  Do not leave your family unprotected.  For more on the topic of wills, trusts and estate planning, see my Estate Plan Library.

A  Motley Fool article discusses steps you should take now to protect valuables in case your home is destroyed.

New York Times:  “By the time she was 38, Dr. Desiree Pardi had become a leading practitioner in palliative care, one of the fastest-growing fields in medicine, counseling terminally ill patients on their choices. . . . Over the last decade, palliative care has become standard practice in hospitals across the country.  Born out of a backlash against the highly medicalized death that had become prevalent in American hospitals, it stresses the relief of pain; thinking realistically about goals; and recognizing that, after a certain point, aggressive treatment may prevent patients from enjoying what life they had left.”

Wall St. Journal:  “Should you give away your nest egg to your heirs—and then stick Medicaid with your nursing-home tab when the time comes?  Outrageous though it might seem, it is a perfectly legal estate-planning strategy.”

New York Times:  “NO one wants to think about dying.  But refusing to look at the documents that will determine where your money goes when you pass away will not make you live longer. It will just make sorting through everything more difficult for your heirs.  Any review of financial health needs to take into account the legal documents that govern our assets and our lives, if we become incapacitated or die with minor children.”

The Deloughery Law Office, P.C., issued a press release called “Making Estate Planning a Family Affair” that starts, “While you may want to keep the contents of your will and other estate planning documents private, there are several advantages to sharing them with your family.”