Estate planning attorneys use trusts to solve all sorts of problems for their clients. Any time there is a trust, there must be a trustee - the person who manages the assets in a trust. This post, along with the next several ones, will talk about what it means to be a trustee. Wait, what's a trust again? A trust is an agreement in which the grantor designates a trustee to manage assets for the beneficiary. One person might fill more than one of these roles. In a revocable living trust ...
Star Trek Actor Left No Will
Anton Yelchin is best known for playing Clumsy Smurf in The Smurfs (oh, yeah, and Pavel Chekov in the new Star Trek movies). At the age of 27, he died in an accident. News media are reporting that his parents have filed probate, claiming that he did not have a will. His estate (which is a legal word that just means “everything you own at the time of your death”) is already worth about $1.4 million. Because he died in an accident (his Jeep rolled down the driveway and killed him), that ...
Legalzoom’s “$50,000 Peace Of Mind Guarantee” — The False Allure Of The Diy Legal Service
In my prior post, I talked about some dangers in using DIY estate planning services such as LegalZoom. One of those dangers is the fact that, if you use an insured estate planning attorney and he screws up, your survivors are protected by his malpractice insurance. Services such as LegalZoom, though, are not your attorney and therefore cannot commit malpractice. LegalZoom happily tells you, in its disclaimer: LegalZoom is not a law firm, and the employees of LegalZoom are not acting as ...
Leaving A Legacy Of Conflict – Celebrities Who Died Without Wills: Martin Luther King, Jr.
This is the first of several posts about celebrities who died without wills, and as a result left a legacy of conflict, anger, and often lawsuits between their loved ones. My first entry: Martin Luther King, Jr. MLK Jr. left no will. Of course, his death came as a shock and surprise, but everyone dies at some point and many people happen to die at a young age. (Obviously few people are assassinated, but that’s not the point.) Dr. King’s estate included such items as his Nobel Peace ...
Should I Take Steps To Avoid Probate? Yes!
One of the common sources of misunderstanding in the estate planning arena is the topic of probate. Simply put, probate is a legal proceeding that takes place after a person dies, to wrap up the financial affairs of that deceased person. Typically, the process involves a number of steps: establishing whether the person had a valid will; taking an inventory of the person’s assets at death; paying any debts and taxes owed; and distributing the remaining property under the will ...
Same Sex Estate Planning — Is It Any Different?
It used to be that estate and legal planning for same sex couples was drastically different than planning for opposite sex couples, since same sex couples were, by rule, not married. With the recent court decisions allowing same sex marriage, I’m contemplating whether this distinction remains true nonetheless. For now, at least, I believe the distinction remains important and that same sex couples should, for planning purposes, continue to treat themselves as unmarried. Here’s ...
