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 can plan for unforeseen events by giving discretion to those who will be there when those events occur. We choose someone we trust to make those decisions and to come as close as possible to what we would have done if we were there to make the decision. When we leave our assets in a trust, a “trustee” is given the responsibility of managing those assets and carrying out our wishes. The trustee can be given broad discretion, which he or she can exercise in light of the circumstances which we could not have foreseen.

 Sophisticated estate planning attorneys even use a concept called a “trust protector” or “special co-trustee” to add even greater flexibility. A trust protector is an unbiased, unrelated person. He or she should not be the normal trustee and should not be one of the beneficiaries of the trust. He or she is given the authority to exercise powers which might […]

Forbes: Celebrities are not the only ones to make mistakes with their estate planning. It happens to people all across the country on a regular basis. The end result — just like with the rich and famous — often is an ugly and expensive family fight in court. One of the most common estate planning mistakes that people make is joint ownership.

For the most part, we’re not talking about when a husband and wife have joint bank accounts or the title to their home is held in both of their names. While not ideal for estate planning, this is quite common and can often be used without problems, except in many second-marriage situations or large estates that may suffer adverse tax consequences.

The area where we see significant problems, however, is when a parent adds a child’s name to an asset, such as a bank account, investment, or real estate. This is often done to help with bill paying, as a will-substitute to avoid probate court (often called a “poor-man’s will”), or simply to help an elderly loved one who needs assistance managing his or her assets. This is a big no-no!

Wealth Counsel Estate Planning Blog: Parents want to be in dictatorial control. However, trusts must be irrevocable for estate tax and asset protection planning purposes. Many people get turned off when the word “irrevocable” is raised. We must be able to assure them that they can “have their cake and eat it too.”

Magic Formula. The goal of planning is to “own noth­ing and control everything.” The magic formula is “con­trol.” “Own” looks and sounds like an English word, but it is not. It is a legally defined concept. By contrast, “con­trol” is what it seems to be. To paraphrase U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, (who was describing hard core pornography), you know it (control) when you see it.

Children’s Trust. So how do parents keep control? The first element in any planning is a children’s trust. We don’t want to deal directly with the children. Children may start off as nice people, but once the parents are in their 80s, the children will be convinced that they know more than their
parents. So a properly structured children’s trust will give the parents continuing control.