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The County Treasurer Kurt Prenzler said he was ordered by the probate court to pay the heirs in Mary Petroff’s $1.36 million estate. Four dozen family members from Granite City to Bulgaria will receive the money left behind by the 97-year-old woman who died in 2011. Mary and her sister didn’t marry, and in their 90s, they began to suffer from dementia. Each was appointed a legal guardian. When Anne died in 2009, her estate passed on to Mary. Both sisters lived a modest life. After Mary passed away, the state of Illinois discovered she was a millionaire with no known heirs or will. Prenzler said following Mary’s death, her estate was placed with his office for safekeeping in accordance with Illinois law, which stipulates that unclaimed monies are kept in the county for a period of 10 years before being turned over to the state. However, in Mary’s case, there were people who came forward and claimed to be her relatives. The familial relationship was determined last month by a probate judge. Then the County Treasurer’s Office cut checks for 48 relatives. Mary’s heirs will receive anywhere from about $3,000 to $110,000 from her estate. The largest amount of the estate will be headed to Mary’s relatives in Bulgaria. An attorney who was tasked with distributing the checks for his clients—most of whom are from Bulgaria—commented that the laws regarding estates are different in each state. If Mary had lived in Missouri, mostly likely the distribution would have gone to fewer family members. Reference: The (Alton IL) Telegraph (January 25, 2016) “Treasurer distributes Granite City millionaire maiden’s fortune” #Intestacy #HoustonGuardianship #TrustsandEstates #HoustonEstatePlanning #HoustonWills #Probate #ProbateCourt #Inheritance

Pet trusts are a more secure option than wills, but they are also quite inflexible.

EstateTax #HoustonGuardianship #ProbateAttorney #IrrevocableTrust #TrustsandEstates #HoustonEstatePlanning #WillChanges

is why so many people are opting to outline their specific wishes for their online assets in their wills

Organizing your personal finances is especially critical for Baby Boomers who’ve recently retired or who need to make the most of what remains of their working years. There’s no time like the present to tune up your strategy (or make that appointment with the dentist!). The article, “9 ways for older Mainers to get a grip on finances in 2016,” from the Bangor Daily News has some great tips for starting the New Year right: Get ready for tax time. Set up a computer folder to collect tax-related papers as they arrive. If you don’t, April 15th will roll around and you’ll be wondering where you put those tax documents! Make a checklist of the documents you’re expecting and file as soon as possible after you have them all. Also, think about changing your withholding amounts to be closer to the taxes you expect to owe for the coming year. Update your estate plan. Review your estate documents, including your will, your medical and financial powers of attorney and your advance directive for end-of-life care (living will). If you don’t have any of these documents, talk with an experienced estate planning attorney. For your sake and the sake of your heirs, don’t put it off. Fine tune your investments. Review your investments to make certain they’re in sync with your retirement goals and life changes. This includes cash-on-hand needs and risk tolerance. Does your portfolio need rebalancing, or do under-performing assets need to be swapped out? Review your financial condition. Examine your overall financial situation by tallying your assets and liabilities, as well as your expected income and expenses for 2016 to help you decide if you need to use any of your savings or investments to pay monthly bills. Be wary of investment scams. Always research any unsolicited proposals or work with an attorney to do thorough due diligence on anyone who approaches you with a “sure thing.” Review beneficiary designations. This is for your retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and other assets to make sure they are in line with your estate planning. Review insurance policies. Check your life, health, long-term care, home and automobile policies for appropriate coverage and any needed changes. Reference: Bangor Daily News (January 2, 2016) “9 ways for older Mainers to get a grip on finances in 2016” #AssetProtection #HoustonWills #Inheritance #PlanningfortheFuture #HoustonTrusts #PowerofAttorney #HoustonEstatePlanningLawyer #TaxPlanning

A recent post on New Jersey 101.5’s website, “Red flags to avoid when  donating to charity,” cautions that when you’re looking for a worthy cause for a donation, be certain that it’s a “qualified exempt organization” per the IRS, which has a list of these charities on its website. Remember that charitable contributions are deductible only as itemized deductions. If the donation is for non-cash contributions to a qualified charity valued at more than $500, you must also fill out and attach Form 8283 with your return to the IRS. Typically, if the value of the donated property for which you plan to claim a deduction is greater than $5,000—or if the deduction for any one item is greater than $500, you need to have a qualified appraiser’s report. If you don’t have this, the deduction will be based on the estimated fair market value of the property. Fair market value may be based on the current sale price of comparable items, based on the age and condition of the property and on the similarity of the compared and donated items. The fair market value of ordinary household goods and clothing is usually much less than the original purchase price. Some organizations, like the Salvation Army and Goodwill, provide a donation value guide that lists common items donated and the average value. Be precise with your records of the donation. If you are donating household items or clothing, the items have to be in “good used condition.” You can’t donate that old plaid sofa in the basement—the one that no one would ever use—just to get it out of the house. If the amount you are donating to one organization is more than $250, you’ll need a written receipt itemizing the items and the values—and even with donations less than $250, it’s a good idea to get an itemized written receipt. Reference: New Jersey 101.5 (January 2, 2016) “Red flags to avoid when donating to charity” #EstatePlanningLawyer #HoustonWills #Probate #Inheritance #HoustonTrustsandEstates

Basic estate planning requires the preparation of at least three documents that state your wishes under different potential circumstances: (i) decisions regarding medical treatment; (ii) decisions about legal and financial matters; and (iii) decisions for your “stuff” after you’ve passed away. Even though they’re part of estate planning, two of these are needed while you’re still alive: a General Durable Power of Attorney and Advance Medical Directive; the third is a will, which is used after your death. Like it or not, there are things that need to be dealt with—either doing them ourselves in an organized fashion with compassion for our loved ones or leaving our affairs to chaos, stress, and disorder for those we leave behind. Folks deal with these matters in a few different ways: The ostrich position is burying your head in the sand and doing nothing; Others prepare the right documents, which they lose in a drawer or a box in the closet; and A third group will take the time to stop and consider the work required of their loved ones to step into their shoes. These folks in Category Three not only express their wishes clearly, but also foster the courage to make really tough decisions. They’re diligent about reviewing their estate planning documents frequently to ensure that they are up-to-date and to make changes along the way. Let’s see what might happen to families in each of three categories: The ostriches may think they just don’t have an “estate;” however, that’s pretty unlikely. If these ostriches don’t have the proper legal documents, family members could be at each other’s throats over who’s going to be in charge. At the worst, they might end up in court and argue as to why they should be named to manage on behalf of the ostrich as Power of Attorney or as Administrator or Executor. This process saps everyone of time and energy when emotions are high. In addition, they can easily lead to misunderstandings and permanent splits among family members about who loved the ostrich more, who did the most for the ostrich, and who should get the ostriches’ “stuff.” The Old Buried Documents group can be complacent, and they may be as vulnerable, sometimes even more so, as the ostriches. That’s because so many changes occur over time that will impact decisions: there are divorces and new children and grandchildren. Relationships and closeness with family members and friends change over time; people move away physically and emotionally. Also, the laws governing estate planning change—sometimes dramatically. The Cool Kids in Category Three not only prepare the right documents with the assistance of an estate planning attorney, but they revisit their documents regularly as part of their other types of annual checkups to make sure the wishes in the documents are still what they want and comply with today’s laws. These Cool Kids make the tough choices and may even discuss those choices with family members. In addition to the documents mentioned above, the Cool Kids are smart enough to also leave important lists to save their loved ones guessing and digging, such as the following: Estate Planning Attorney contact info; Bank and investment brokerage account numbers; Insurance account information; and Specific personal items meant to be left to certain individuals. Into which category do you belong to now? Want to move down to Cool Category Three? Talk with your estate planning attorney to get ready to make the jump and hang with the Cool Kids now. Reference: The Times of Trenton (January 3, 2016) “Estate planning is important” #GeneralDurablePowerofAttorney #HoustonWills #LivingWil #AdvanceMedicalDirective #HoustonEstatePlanningLawyer #TaxPlanning

The $500 million estate transferred ownership of the properties the elder Spitzer acquired, according to property records recently filed with the city. Spitzer, now an active developer, put a sizable stake of 1050 Fifth Avenue—a 20-story, 90-unit rental building his father developed in 1960—into the Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust, along with shares of 30 co-op units. The trust has been a big patron of organizations such as the Public Theater and City College. Bernard Spitzer stipulated in his will that about $250 million of his wealth should be left to charity. Spitzer also transferred interests in properties—including the $88 million Hudson Yards development site that Spitzer Engineering bought in 2013—to his siblings and himself. He also put another development bought for $165 million in February by the family business into a charitable trust set up for his mother. Spitzer Engineering has been selling some of the company’s top properties, such as the Crown Building, which went for a record-setting $1.78 billion in April. Reference: The Real Deal (December 18, 2015) “Eliot Spitzer has started splitting up late father’s empire” #EstateTax #TrustsandEstates #HoustonEstatePlanning #HoustonWills #FamilyTrust #CharitableTrust

A recent article in Money reminds us that the holidays make for a great opportunity to start a simple, direct conversation. The article, entitled “Draft Brett Favre to Talk About End-of-Life Plans,” says that recent research shows that talking down to seniors actually might contribute to cognitive decline. It’s labeled “elderspeak.” Don’t do it: the elderly aren’t babies. One idea to broach the subject is through football. For example, on Thanksgiving at the Packers-Bears game at Lambeau Field, Favre’s now-retired #4 Packers jersey was officially unveiled. That type of event can generate conversation. Packer fans still recall how Favre’s dad died unexpectedly the day before one of the greatest games of his career. Maybe that can be used as your opener: “Did Irvin Favre have a will? Did Brett or someone else know where it was?” The article says that the answers to those questions must be yes. Brett couldn’t have thrown for 399 yards and four touchdown passes the day after his dad’s death while thinking, ‘Where’s the will?’ Whether or not you’re a Packers fan, you should have information about several important things. Ask your parents if they have a health care power of attorney, a will, a financial power of attorney (or a durable power of attorney), and an advanced health care directive (or a living will). In addition, make sure these important documents are all in one place where you can find them in an emergency. Remember, the objective of “the talk” is to open the subject for discussion, to see whether your loved one has given this adequate thought, to save headaches if you need the documents in a hurry and to enable you to carry out your loved one’s wishes. Reference: Money (November 25, 2015) “Draft Brett Favre to Talk About End-of-Life Plans” #AdvancedHealthCareDirective #FinancialPowerofAttorney #DurablePowerofAttorney #HoustonWills #Inheritance #PowerofAttorney #HoustonEstatePlanningLawyer

An Estate Plan Is Not “Just” A Last Will And Testament Wills are legally binding documents that deal

important that your parents review any retirement account information, insurance policies, and their wills

If you do not want the responsibility but no one else is willing to take it on either, it may be a good