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For the Scripps family, who were heirs to a media fortune, they simply spent their millions. According to an article on CNBC.com, “The Greed Report: Not a billionaire? You still need an estate plan,” they took luxury cruises around the world and family outings to strip clubs. Melissa Scripps bought Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation chair and Queen Victoria’s nightgown. Like his mom, son Michael liked to buy war memorabilia and guns. Oh, and he married a stripper. When the well ran dry, the family started to fight. Mother and son turned on each other, one family member went to prison and tarnished a name once associated with entrepreneurship and philanthropy. This tragedy provides some lessons for the rest of us. Everybody needs estate planning in some form or another—it doesn’t need to be complex in many situations but everyone needs a plan, even those with social problems, financial problems and marital problems. A good estate plan will consider all of those problems and keep your assets in the family and away from the government and taxes. Estate planning doesn’t have to be complex or expensive. Estate planning is sometimes 95% social work and 5% legal, some attorneys say. The legal part they know—it’s the social part that takes time. The Scripps family probably should have spent more time on the social part as well: Melissa Scripps’ attorney said that at the time she inherited the family fortune, she had never held a real job and only had a high school education. Maybe some more estate planning might have prevented the Scripps’ century-old legacy from turning into a gigantic family feud. Reference:  CNBC.com (Sept. 22, 2016) “The Greed Report: Not a billionaire? You still need an estate plan” #AssetProtection #EstatePlanningLawyer #Inheritance #Wills #TaxPlanning

to Physicians (also known as a Living Will) Declaration of Guardian Last Will and Testament Living Trust planning attorney can help provide peace of mind knowing that you and your loved ones will be properly protected By revisiting and updating documents such as wills, trusts, and power of attorney regularly, individuals currently facing, ensure your intentions are accurately represented, and provide a solid foundation for protecting

that does happen, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the system can still support 70% of projected Although it isn’t cheap, it can help protect income and savings in retirement. Talk to an experienced elder law attorney about your options, such as a Medicaid Trust.

One of the most important tools to protect your loved ones in such a scenario is a will. you hope to support an organization over an extended period, you might want to establish a charitable trust Charitable trusts are separate legal entities that hold assets for you and give you tax advantages. You fund the trust, which then distributes money to a charity of your choice. You can structure such arrangements as either a charitable remainder trust or a charitable lead trust

.), IRAs, bank accounts, and insurance policies. County Gazette (March 1, 2016) “6 Basic Steps to Legacy Planning” #HealthCareDirective #AssetProtection #IRAs

long-term care insurance policies, which offer death benefits to survivors and some form of insurance protection Your state may also allow other options to protect your home. Depending on your situation, trusts and asset transfers may be useful, especially if implemented before

A trust was established to oversee Redstone’s 80% stake after Redstone dies or when there is a legal Under the succession plan, seven trustees would oversee Redstone’s National Amusements interests, including Dauman, the Viacom CEO, also is a trustee. The seven trustees would have a fiduciary responsibility to exercise, Dauman said. No one individual will control the trust; rather, it will operate by a majority vote.

most common financial mistakes that are made, potentially keeping people from creating their nest egg, protecting Emergency fund – Building an emergency fund can seem overwhelming, but it is an important part of protecting Whether you have stashed it in a safe deposit box or kept it with a lawyer or trusted individual, you

Here are some ways to begin the process: Find Their Estate Plan If your loved one had a will, trust, You can also check safety deposit boxes, safes that might be located at their home, or, for trusts, try Protect Assets No matter how messy or complicated a job you have as executor or trustee, the duty to protect assets must be prioritized. for not being the best year, so let us help put you at ease if you are appointed as an executor or trustee

Appoint a trustee for your children. circumstances (such as a special needs child or significant inheritance), you might want an independent trustee—such as a bank or trust company—to serve as trustee or as co-trustee to make the best financial choices for Guardianship #EstatePlanningLawyer #ProbateAttorney #Probate #ProbateCourt #Inheritance #Wills #TaxPlanning #Trusts

One of the cool things about 529 plans is that you can change the beneficiary to another qualifying family member without tax consequences. When you are selecting a beneficiary, avoid skipping generations. If you do not, you may trigger a tax penalty. Remember, you don’t have to use these funds immediately, so if your kids think that they might want to pursue a graduate degree or other professional program later on, you can save the funds and use them in the future. Parents who are interested in continuing their own education can make themselves the beneficiary. Another benefit of 529 plans is that there is no time limit on when you must spend the savings, which gives you the opportunity to leave any unused money as an educational legacy to your grandchildren. In addition, your estate planning attorney may suggest that you one day use a 529 plan as an estate-planning tool. 529 plans offer a unique opportunity: the value is removed from your taxable estate, but you are still able to retain control of the account. Talk to your attorney to learn more. Contributions are treated as gifts for tax purposes, so if you go ahead and withdraw the funds for non-qualified expenses, you can take a non-qualified withdrawal. Your contributions were made with after-tax dollars, so they will not be taxed or penalized. But earnings on your investments are be subject to income tax as well and a 10% penalty. You cannot take a principal-only withdrawal from your 529 plan. Every withdrawal is part contribution and part earnings; if there are gains in the account, you are going to pay taxes and a penalty on every non-qualified distribution. Reference: New Jersey 101.5 (March 29, 2016) “Options for extra 529 college savings” #529EducationSavingsPlans #AssetProtection

Consider Dividing Assets into Trusts for Dependents If you have dependents, talk to your attorney about dividing your assets into trusts for your children. It is a great way to keep these valuable assets protected. If you have questions about dividing assets or trusts please feel free to give the experts at Your Legacy