Trusts must be prepared by attorneys as they’re legal documents. While many trusts are created by local attorneys, others are created by attorneys from outside of our area who offered a “free steak dinner” to discuss the protection of the client’s assets. The generic statements of “safety” and “protection” that were often mentioned in relation to the preparation of trusts for the last several decades are often misunderstood.
Category Archives: Estate Planning
Legal-Ease: Shared ownership handy now, expensive later
Co-owning land or other property can be a good idea in the short run, but may present significant difficulties down the road. If one of the co-owners dies, new owners’ wishes can be completely different than what was originally intended.
Legal-Ease: Mothers-in-law are mothers, too
Legal disputes between in-laws are unfortunate, but can occur – and if the dispute makes it all the way to the courthouse, odds are that there will ultimately be no winners. But making end-of-life care and other important life decisions in writing now can make things smoother later in life.
Legal-Ease: Practical estate planning considerations
While not all of us will have millions to give away upon our death, confusion and discrepancies can arise during the settling of an estate, now matter how substantial its resources. To avoid many of these painful disputes, I recommend a number of practical tips for planning the settling of your estate.
Legal-Ease: Tax Implications of Gifts
As we begin the gifting time of year, it’s important to remember taxes when considering gifts. Typically, there is no gift or estate tax if a person gives away less than $5 million. However, there are many different areas that affect the circumstances of the taxes.
Legal-Ease: Powers of Attorney only powerful if properly used
A power of attorney is an important legal document that many people misunderstand. There are different forms: healthcare and general.
Power of attorneys can be durable, meaning they allow the person named in the document to make decisions for the person who is incapacitated. However, once the principal dies, the agreement is void.
Legal-Ease: How closely are we related?
If you die without a will in the state of Ohio, consanguinity can help determine who has the rights to your property. Consanguinity is the practice of identifying how closely two people are related. It’s also known as finding next of kin.
Legal-Ease: Mothers make good executors
The job of an executor is to transfer ownership of property of a deceased person, and often the good work ethic and leadership that comes from motherhood makes mothers excellent executors of wills. Executors are tasked with identifying property at time of death, interpret the will to decide who will get what property, transfer the ownership of property and confirm that they’ve done the transfer of property to the best of their ability.
Legal-Ease: Is estate planning worth the effort?
While it may be an uncomfortable topic to consider, everyone dies. Wills make the process easier for loved ones so they know what to do with your “stuff.”