Tag: trust

Celebrities Update Their Estate Plans Too

Posted by Galeet Levy on

I’m sure everyone knows who Britney Spears is.  She is a famous pop star, has a Vegas Residency that rakes in millions of dollars?  Sound familiar??

Ms. Spears had an estate plan prepared for her a long time ago.  She probably has managers and attorneys who drafted legal docs before she ever got married or had kids.  It was recently in the news that she is making changes.  Her Will and other docs were written a while ago and now need a tune-up.  She has two boys, who will soon be teenagers.

Previously, Ms. Spear’s estate plan stated that when she passes her children would inherit everything.  That’s pretty standard in estate planning documents.

The issue with a Will or estate docs that were drafted a long time ago is that they can become outdated.  In the case of Ms. Spears her documents were drafted and didn’t include any distribution stipulations for a child’s inheritance, should she have any.  Now she has two sons, Sean and Jayden, who would inherit her entire fortune.  Ms. Spears net worth is around 200 million dollars.  Its not the wisest decision to open the vault to 18-year-olds all at once.

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Bequeathing a Home Part 2

Posted by Galeet Levy on

I have two children, both are grown with children of their own.  Neither of them owns a home.  I would like to keep my house in the family for everyone to use.  Its not a large home so having two families live here would be rather difficult. But they could share it.  I have a trust that splits everything between my two kids.  I have included a hand-written note that I had notarized that states my wishes that they keep the house and not sell or mortgage it.  Is this a good idea, please advise?

 

It is very important to think long and hard about this.  Is this going to cause fighting and rifts in the family?   As you stated it would be hard for two families to share the home, even a large home for that matter.  You could be setting up battles over who gets to live there, and how much they spend for maintenance and repairs of the home. It is difficult for married couples to agree on owning a property, it is even harder to get siblings to agree.  This may not go over as well as you hope. Even the best intentions can go awry.
Lets look at the other side.  Lets say they sell your home, it could provide both families with a nice down payment for them to buy their own homes.  Then they can pick a home that works for them. Then each child can determine what they want to spend and how much maintenance they want to do. Another option is one family could get a mortgage to buy out the other and live in the house.  There is also the option to mortgage the house to provide two down payments, and then rent out the house.
Also, just to note, your notarized handwritten note won’t prevent your children from selling the house. Once you pass they can essentially do what they want with the house.  But it may cause some guilt and fighting among them about honoring your wishes.
Give our office a call if you have questions regarding your estate plan, we are here to help 818.887.9401.

A Look at Two Celebrity Estate Plans from 2018

Posted by Galeet Levy on

Last year we lost a lot of big names.  In this newsletter we plan to address two of those big names and the vast difference between their estate plans.

First Aretha Franklin, who everyone knows as the Queen of Soul.  She had a catalog of hits many loved and remember fondly.  Ms. Franklin lived in Detroit and passed away in her home.  Unlike California, the state of Michigan has a very different Probate process.  Ms. Franklin was a huge star but passed away with no estate planning documents.  She leaves behind a partner, whom she never married, and 4 sons.  Her sons have filed documents in a Michigan probate court and listed themselves as interested parties in her estate.  This also means her finances will be made public should others come forward with claims against her estate -whether it be creditors who want to be paid or extend family who come forward hoping to get a portion of her wealth.

 

Probate court has several requirements.  First, someone will need to be appointed the personal representative.  It could be one of her sons or maybe an attorney.  Once a personal representative has been chosen by the court they will need to pay her finals bills.  They will be tasked with coming up with with a list of all her assets and in the end, they will be responsible for distributing these assets, most likely to her sons in this case.  Probate court in California can take years to settle.  Michigan may be significantly faster.  But with an estate as large as Ms. Franklin’s it may not be so quick.  They will need to account for her music catalog and the royalties she receives.  There may be battles with family members who believe they are entitled to a piece of her wealth.

It is unfortunate she did not have any estate planning documents in place.  Even though her attorney has told the press he was on her for “a number of years” to prepare a Trust.

We encourage all our clients to get the proper estate planning documents, do not hesitate.  It could save your family a lot of money and time after your demise.  And while they are grieving is not a good time to deal with these problems.

Our second big name star was Anthony Bourdain.  Anthony Bourdain was known as a hot-head chef who began his TV career by taking viewers on a tour around the world to “Parts Unknown.”  He would do a Layover in cities and countries far and wide – he traveled to India, Singapore, France and even Japan.  His many shows aired on CNN for several seasons.  He was greatly admired by many.  Unfortunately, Bourdain took his own life while filming one of his shows overseas.  Bourdain’s primary residence was in New York, and he actually had all his estate planning documents in order.  Bourdain had a trust that left his ex-wife in charge and made his only daughter, who was 11 at the time, the sole beneficiary.  She stands to inherit several million dollars and some real estate.

 

The entire process will be kept private, as it should with Trusts.  His daughter will receive money for her healthy, education, welfare, and support.  The daughter’s mother will be in charge of handing out the money.  The trust will also determine at what age the daughter will get it outright.  There could be educational incentives, where if the child completes a 4-year college and receives a degree she can receive more sooner.  He may have provisions in there that provide for the child to travel.  Luckily for Bourdain all these terms/provisions are kept private and his young daughter will be able to grow up and not worry.

Need help with your estate plan?  Have questions about the documents you have in place?  Give our office a call. The new year is good time to review your estate plan.  818.887.9401.

Should You Write Your Own Revocable Living Trust?

Posted by Galeet Levy on

People have attempted to write their own documents, and we can honestly say every attorney we speak with agrees that writing your own Living Trust is a bad idea.

Here are four reasons why writing your own Revocable Living Trust is a BAD IDEA:

Estate Planning is not a one-size-fits-all or even most.

There are many books and online programs that can help with generating estate planning documents. But they are designed to cover only the most basic estate planning needs.   These generic forms are also deliberately kept as simple as simple as possible in order to comply with the law of all 50 state and D.C. Complying with the laws in Arkansas wont help a family who needs estate planning in Seattle. Estate planning is kind of like fingerprints, no one is a like, and using a generic software or book wont help your loved ones in the future.

Trust Laws Vary from State to State

Stat laws are all different when it comes to issues like probate, state estate tax, inheritance tax and even Trusts and wills.   There are so many different and specific issues it is best to speak with an attorney regarding your states laws. Probate in California is very different then probate in Michigan and can impact your loved ones after you pass. If you write estate planning docs yourself, they may not include provisions or topics that need to be addresses in your state. Here are some specific issues that can impact a Trust from state-to-state: definition of descendants, anti-lapse statutes, community property laws, homestead rights, common law marriages and many more. A generic trust cannot properly address all of these specific state law issues.

The Disclaimer

Books, software programs and online DIY websites all have the same type of disclaimer – “The information contained in the book/program/website is not legal advice and is not a substitute for legal advice. For legal advice, consult with an attorney.” We recommend just that, consult an Attorney!

You Get What You Pay for

Would you fix your own car? Repair your own computer? Perform your own surgery? I doubt it. While doing things yourself can save time and money in the short term, when it comes to estate planning, it’s the long term you need to worry about.

Here’s a brief story from an attorney who handled a Trust Administration for a family who did it themselves. A couple brought in their family’s trust. The elder couple had used a well-known attorney’s estate planning website to generate their own docs. When the family brought in the Trust, it stated on the first page that it was governed by Nevada law. I am a practicing attorney in Florida. What is the problem here? Nevada is a community property state and Florida is a separate property state. That was the first of many problems I faced.   It was very clear the couple didn’t understand what they were doing when they used the software. There were many contradictions in the Trust, which made administering it a long and expensive process due to the amount of time it took to try to understand what their intentions were.

Give Hornstein Law Offices a call to discuss estate planning and Trust administration. Doing it yourself will leave your family with a big mess if done incorrectly, and could potentially cost you and your family thousands of dollars. 818.887.9401.

Caring for an Ill or Elderly Parent

Posted by Galeet Levy on

This month we are covering the subject of caring for our elderly parents.   Whether your elderly parent suffers from illness or if they are just getting older and need assistance, these steps will help you organize and care for them. This newsletter continues where we left off last time.   We discussed helping ill or elderly parents and loved ones. We ended our discussion after in-home care options. If you are interested in catching up on our newsletters they are all available on our blog. Now we will cover what are your choices when in-home care isn’t a viable option.

If the option to stay in their home is not viable for an elderly loved one you will need to start considering assisted living facilities.

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Musicians Who Died Without a Will

Posted by Galeet Levy on

We have all heard the recent news that legendary artist Prince has passed away and he didn’t leave a Will. There has been much speculation about the battle between siblings over his estate and music royalties.

We wanted to talk about five musicians who passed away without Wills, like Prince, and what ended up happening in their battles.

Did you know Bob Marley and Tupac Shakur died without Wills? Bob Marley died after an 8-month battle with cancer, and he left no Will and nine children. Not to mention an estimated $30 million and royalties to all his music, and that was in 1981. Even with months to plan he did not make any attempt to set up an estate plan. As recently as 2012 there had been a lawsuit involving royalties of his music. And there may continue to be lawsuits in the future.

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Dying without a Will

Posted by Galeet Levy on

Many people have the impression that they can die without leaving a Will and their loved ones will be fine. Unfortunately, that’s just not true. A Will is a document that directs the distribution of your assets to the right people at the right time at the right tax rate. But it doesn’t always work out that way.

As we have said many times, a Will goes through the probate process. Which means it goes through court to prove it is real and get distributed. It is a public process, and here in California it can take years in court, and that can take a lot of money.

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Your Estate Plan – Why You Should Plan

Posted by Galeet Levy on
  1. To ensure appropriate people step in to handle their financial and health-care-related decisions upon their incapacity and death. It will help avoid court intervention such as guardianship or probate proceedings.

Most people include these documents: a will, power of attorney for financial matters, power of attorney for health care matters, a living will and revocable living trust.

These documents will ensure the appropriate people are there to handle your financial and health needs.

Continue reading “Your Estate Plan – Why You Should Plan” →