Ellen Lupton writes in the New York Times about "How to Lose a Legacy." In part, it deals with the heirlooms passed on from generation to generation, and the sentiment, or lack of it, that passes as well.
Where your treasures go is an important part of the estate planning process, as these items can lead to fights, or just outright theft--I'm aware of one estate that was plundered by a daughter who backed the U-Haul truck up to the house and emptied it while the rest of the family was at the funeral.
If dispositions aren't clear, there may be several people claiming "She told me she wanted me to have it!"
It helps to have someone like an executor or trustee with the authority to decide where things go in disputes, and under recent California law, you can leave a memorandum with instructions for where items should go--unlike a will or trust, the memorandum is simple to update as you gather more (or give away more) stuff.
It seems every third estate has a coin collection that was promised to multiple people, so be sure your plan is clear about your stuff!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
What if I have uncollected child and spousal support from 1960?
Can I still collect it? Yes! If uncollected, and the order mandating it hasn't been modified, the law protects you, even after all these years. There are some defenses to paying the spousal support, but not the child support, and we're filing a case on this issue. For various (and good) reasons, they had not tried formally collecting until now, shortly after the man's death.
His death means the claim needs to be acted upon within a year, but the law does have several protections and priorities for child and spousal support claims, so don't give up!
The interest accrues from the date of the order, so that helps too, especially if it's from 1960.
His death means the claim needs to be acted upon within a year, but the law does have several protections and priorities for child and spousal support claims, so don't give up!
The interest accrues from the date of the order, so that helps too, especially if it's from 1960.
Special Needs Trusts
I had dinner a couple of weeks ago with a terrific trust officer from Wells Fargo trust services, who was frustrated that a personal injury settlement of several million dollars was divided into a large structured settlement and a very small special needs trust. Her client, the injured party, wanted to have a house, which would disqualify him from benefits he needed. There wasn't enough money in the trust to purchase it, and the structured settlement funds, if used, would disqualify him. If the settlement had been placed in the trust at the beginning, they wouldn't have this problem, and it was now too late to fix it.
People understand the power of special needs trusts much more than they used to, but it's a tricky area and not yet understood. I'll be speaking in August about this issue for parents, whether the funds are from themselves or from a settlement, at the NAPA Center in Los Angeles. If you'd like to know more, please contact Cassandra Hanson in our office at (626) 683-8869.
People understand the power of special needs trusts much more than they used to, but it's a tricky area and not yet understood. I'll be speaking in August about this issue for parents, whether the funds are from themselves or from a settlement, at the NAPA Center in Los Angeles. If you'd like to know more, please contact Cassandra Hanson in our office at (626) 683-8869.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)