Anna Mercer’s family was quite excited when she met and married Klaus Jergen. After their joyous nuptials, the couple moved to Vienna, Austria, where Klaus was employed at a local school as a history teacher. Anna, a pastry chef, soon found employment at a local bäckerei or bakery, where she perfected the art of the Sachertorte and the Linzer torte.…
When Minnie Wilson’s father died at the age of 96, she immediately listed his home for sale. Although her father’s estate had not yet been probated, Minnie knew she and her sister, Linda had inherited the house. He stated that in his Last Will and Testament. Since neither sister wanted the home, Minnie thought she would help the process to…
No Will? No Way!
Dying without a Will is a bit like playing Russian roulette. It leaves the distribution of your assets to chance.
A Last Will and Testament not only declares your final wishes as to the distribution of your property, it ensures that those wishes are carried out properly. Upon death, a Will is filed with the local probate court, and it is that court’s job to oversee the distribution of your assets as set forth in that document. When you die without a Will, however, the state determines how your assets will be distributed and that distribution is made by a preset formula. Your desires no longer matter.
What happens if you die without an estate plan?
If you’re the late rock star Prince, you lose half of your estate to state and federal estate taxes. It appears the government will be dancing to Prince’s “1999” all the way to the bank.According to news reports, when Prince died in April of 2016, he had no will and no other estate plan in place. As a result, almost $100 million of his estimated $200 million estate could wind up in the hands of the tax man.
A carefully crafted estate plan may have avoided the multi-million dollar battle over Michael Jackson’s estate currently taking place in the U.S. Tax Court. By disposing of his assets primarily by Will, his estate has been subjected to a myriad of red tape as well as the scrutiny of the Internal Revenue Service. Maybe, as his attorneys have argued, his…
I do a lot of presentations before groups and one of the most common questions I am asked is “How often do I need to update my estate plan?” As with just about any question asked of an attorney, the answer is, “It depends.” It depends on both changes in the law, both federal and state, and it depends on…
After a long and happy life, Grandpa Watkins moves on to the great beyond. He leaves a Last Will and Testament, duly signed and witnessed, in which he expresses his desire to have his assets divided equally among his two sons and two daughters. Unfortunately, several years prior to Grandpa Watkins’ death, his eldest daughter, Lilabeth, was killed in a…
It’s the classic movie scene: Three people are trapped underground with little hope for a timely rescue. The first curls up into a ball and prepares for death. The second starts talking about missed opportunities. The third takes out a small notebook and writes a will. When their bodies are discovered, the third person’s will is also found. But is…
Gifting to your heirs before you die has a huge tax savings for you, and possibly timing for your heirs. Gifts of money or property allow you to provide your heirs with funds or property when it will have the most significant impact and it is tax-free. Whether providing a down-payment on a home, sending your grandchildren to college, or…