Upon the death of their respective husbands, Sara and her daughter, Mary, decided to move in together. Since Sara’s home bore no mortgage, Mary sold her home, and placed the proceeds into a retirement account. They agreed to share living expenses, as well as the cost of maintenance and property taxes on the home. They also agreed that when Sara died, Mary would inherit the home.
When Miranda Jones married Scott Ludlum, with their six children in total, they anticipated a Brady Bunch existence. For many years, they co-existed peacefully, then Scott became seriously ill. It seems upon marriage to Miranda, Scott had failed to update his Living Will, Financial and Healthcare Powers of Attorney, and HIPAA Release. In all of those documents, Scott had appointed his former wife, Lenore, to make healthcare and financial decisions should Scott be rendered incapacitated.
Do I Need to Update my Estate Plan?
When Jackson Carter died, his family knew just where his estate planning documents were stored: In his safety deposit box. He had told them so at least once a week.
Once the family received permission to open the box and remove the documents, they delivered them to his attorney. Then they met to discuss the particulars.
Sally Janes could not wait to retire.
She and her husband, Ben, had been saving for retirement since their children had completed their college degrees. They decided the “magic number” was age 65, when they would qualify for 90 percent of their Social Security benefits. Combined with their respective retirement plans and savings account, the money from Social Security would permit them to live in comfort for the rest of their lives.
It began on a sunny Saturday morning, when 70-year-old Sandra Johnson’s phone rang.
“Sandra, Sandra Johnson?” the caller asked.
“Yes, that’s me,” she responded.
“I’m pleased to inform you that you have won the Clearinghouse Sweepstakes, a grand prize of $1 million! Unfortunately, when we went to your address to deliver the check, no one was home. Before we go further, could you verify your address for me?”
Chuck Meiers was nestled in his bed when the call came. “Is this Charles Meiers? The owner of the building at Morgan and Main, CM Towers? I believe your business, CM Law, is the sole tenant there?” “Yes?” “Sir, this is the San Valdeos Fire Department. We responded to a fire alarm at your building. There is a lot of black smoke coming out of your roof. It appears your building is on fire.”
Barry Donovan died a happy man. Not only was he joining his late wife, Sarah, in the great beyond, he was also confident his assets would be fairly distributed in accordance with his will. Several days after he had been laid to rest, Barry’s five children—James, John, Sarah, Sally, and Iris—and his surviving siblings—Joseph, Sally, and Sarah—gathered for the reading…
Failure to timely probate estates creates problems for heirs
When Franklin Davies died, his wife, Jennifer was quite confident that all their ducks were in a row.
After Franklin inherited a significant number of assets from his father, Harold, the couple decided to create a Living Trust and place most of those assets in the trust for the benefit of their children. Among those assets was a beachfront home. Eventually, Franklin and Jennifer decided to make that home their main residence.
Lost or Undiscovered Assets Pose Problems for the Administration of an Estate
When Jonathan Morgan was named the executor of his father’s estate, he thought he had an easy task ahead of him. After all, his father, Harold, had assured him that he had carefully listed every asset he owned on a sheet of notebook paper attached to his will.
Should You Hire A Professional Fiduciary?
Marilyn Simons was irate.
“I’m telling you, Bob, that estate planning attorney thinks we have raised a bunch of dummies. We have three children, all perfectly competent adults. Why shouldn’t we nominate one of them to oversee our affairs? I am quite sure none of them would object.”