Parents of minor kids are often worried about who would be appointed as guardian of those kids if something happened to the parents. Under Idaho law, a parent may designate a guardian for their children if those children become orphaned . The only method for doing so is through a valid Will. The Will may appoint one or more people and may outline an order for priority of those people. Any writing that is not a Will does not have the same legal effect. Thus, parents of minor kids ...
Who Does What in My Estate Plan — Or What is a Fiduciary?
We've had some questions lately about the roles people play in estate plans. These people (which lawyers call a "fiduciary"), include your personal representative, your trustee, your "agents," and the guardians for your minor children. Personal Representative Your Personal Representative (or "PR") is a person you designate in your Will. His or her job is simply to wrap up your financial affairs after you die. (The out-of-date name for this job was the "executor." We don't use that term ...
I Don’t Need An Estate Plan, Right? I Don’t Really Own Anything… Wrong!
When I talk to people about “estate planning,” the most common response is, “I don’t need an estate plan because I don’t have an estate.” The problem is that the word “estate” conjures visions of Hearst Castle or the Biltmore estate. People wrongly assume that they don’t need an estate plan unless they are uber-rich. But the reality is that, in the law, the word “estate” just means “all the stuff someone owns at the time of their death.” So, anyone who owns something (a favorite pair of ...
