Estate Planning

What to Do With Your Parents’ Stuff At The End of Their Life

December 18, 2019 by Morris Lilienthal

Vases and clocks on a mantel

It’s a mournful time dealing with the death of a parent. Whether it be expected or sudden, this hole in your life is one that every son or daughter can expect to walk through at some point in their life. Many emotions rule the conversation about the end of life, but one that is rarely discussed is what to do with all your relative’s possessions when they pass?

Unfortunately, in today’s society, most of the furniture that our family once considered an antique heirloom is now viewed as an unfashionable eye-sore in a modern home. This creates an obvious disconnect upon the death of a parent as a family now scrambles to see what to do with all this family furniture. According to the National Association of Senior Move Managers, many times this furniture ends up being discarded and thrown out.

Planning Your Digital Legacy

March 31, 2018 by Morris Lilienthal

In today’s world of social media, it’s important to plan not only for your physical property, but also your digital accounts. Having a well-crafted estate plan is an enormous benefit to your family and loved ones. By including instructions for your online profiles, or utilizing the memorial tools from social media, you can make things simpler for loved ones after you pass away. Here’s a look at how some popular social media platforms handle accounts of deceased or inactive members.

Pre-Need Funeral Arrangements: Is it Right for You?

March 1, 2018 by Will Pylant

Martinson & Beason

Although planning a funeral may be uncomfortable for some, many seniors are now making pre-need funeral plans to alleviate stress on family members when the time comes. According to a recent article published in The New York Times, “pre-need is a broad term that encompasses any type of pre-death planning, and it may or may not include paying for services in advance.” Although pre-need planning fulfills many objectives, it has the primary effect of providing peace of mind to both you and your loved ones. More specifically, pre-need planning allows you to make certain that your last wishes are known, and that your family can focus on the funeral without financial worries.

The Problems With “Do-It-Yourself” Legal Work: Why You Should Think Twice Before Going it Alone

February 12, 2018 by Morris Lilienthal

Martinson & Beason

In today’s world, almost everything is available at our fingertips with only a few clicks. You probably have seen advertisements for do-it-yourself legal help while watching television or surfing the web. These services are promoted as simple and convenient, leading people to believe that preparing a legal document is as easy as filling in blanks on standardized forms. Unfortunately, we regularly encounter DIY-gone-wrong every day.

DIY legal software programs and websites tend to provide a cookie-cutter, one-size fits all approach to preparing a legal document. This is troublesome because the law is not the same from state-to-state. Each state has their own unique laws, and such laws often times vary state-to-state. Even if the software is tailored to Alabama law, problems still arise as clauses or provisions are inadvertently added leading to unintended consequences.

The Grounds (and Hurdles) for Challenging a Will

December 27, 2016 by Doug Martinson, II

In a will contest, a contestant challenges a will as invalid, usually for mental incapacity, undue influence, fraud, or a technical failure. Although somewhat of a rare occurrence and a tedious process, a will contest may be the only recourse for a client who has been disinherited or disenfranchised. First, only an interested party who has a potential interest to gain can challenge a will. A will can be invalidated in part or in whole. If a will contest is successful, the probate or circuit judge has options such as invalidating the challenged will, reinstating a previous version, or distributing property under the laws of intestacy. Beyond the hurdles of a will contest, the testator (the person who signed the will) sometimes inserts a “no-contest” provision into their will or trust. Under such a provision, the testator instructs that anyone who contests the validity of their will is disinherited. While these clauses create additional difficulties for one contesting a will, it is not always an absolute bar to the challenge. It would be a good idea for the client to consult an attorney to weigh their options and get a better assessment of their rights before challenging or contesting a will.

An interested party cannot challenge a will simply for being unfair. Instead, they must prove one of the following conditions or other good cause: [Read more…] about The Grounds (and Hurdles) for Challenging a Will

Revisiting Trust Basics & President-Elect Trump’s ‘Blind’ Trust

December 8, 2016 by Doug Martinson, II

President-elect Donald Trump has recently announced that his business holdings will be placed in a blind trust in the care of his three oldest children. Trump’s holdings include real estate, hotels, golf courses, and numerous other investments in the United States and abroad. While Trump, through his attorneys, refers to the arrangement as a blind trust, scholars are quick to point out that the trust will not be managed be an independent party, a requirement for blind trusts. As the Trump trust issue unfolds, we wanted to revisit trust basics and the interests they serve.

A trust can be created during the life of the maker of the trust (the settlor) or upon his or her death through a will. A trust created through a will is known as a testamentary trust. There are many types of trusts and they serve a multitude of purposes.

Trusts can be either revocable or irrevocable. In a revocable trust, the settlor can modify or take back their assets without penalty. In contrast, an irrevocable trust cannot be modified and assets cannot be taken back by the settlor. Revocable and irrevocable trusts have important legal and tax ramifications. [Read more…] about Revisiting Trust Basics & President-Elect Trump’s ‘Blind’ Trust