Oregon Estate Planning Blog

Portland Kids Protection Planning Workshop

 

 

At this FREE workshop you will discover how you can make sure you protect your kids and your financial assets if something happens to you. You will learn all of the issues that parents especially need to consider (Hint: A Will is not enough!) and the 9 easy steps that you can take to make sure that your voice is always heard in who raises your kids.

THIS EVENT IS EXTREMELY POPULAR, AND SPACE IS LIMITED TO 10 FAMILIES, SO CALL AND RESERVE YOUR SPOT TODAY!

Candice N. Aiston is a Mom, Attorney, and frequent speaker about estate planning issues for parents. She has a passion for helping parents who want the very best in life for their families. She helps them to make sure that their kids are always protected and that their voices are always heard in their kids’ lives.

 

Saturday, July 25th, 2 p.m. at Zenana Spa, 2024 SE Clinton St.

 

Call (503) 235-5150 or email Info@CandiceAistonLaw.com to register.

Michael Jackson: She-hoo, she-hoo!

You know he's bad, he's bad...

I'm just happy because it's been a good day in Michael Jackson news, and now I don't feel as worried for his kids.

There's a Will, and it names guardians and basically pours everything over into a trust for the benefit of the kids. Observe (written by David Shulman, of South Florida Estate Planning):

"The will is what’s known as a “pourover” will.  In other words, instead of the will itself disposing of all of his assets directly, it instead transfers all of his assets to the “MICHAEL JACKSON FAMILY TRUST” as amended and restated on March 22, 2002.  The terms of his revocable trust will govern the disposition of his property.  I assume that most of the assets will remain in trust for his children and their children, with significant distributions to other family members and charities.

"However, I don’t know.  I’m only assuming.

"A will is public and is filed with the court.  A trust is not.  There is no obligation to disclose the terms of the trust to the public.  Certain beneficiaries are entitled to copies of the trust however, and it’s possible that one of them might leak it at some later point in time.

"The executors of the will (which in Florida would be called personal representatives) are John Branca, John McClain, and Barry Siegel.  Their primary responsibility will be to transfer the estate’s assets, that is the assets that were not already owned by the trust, to the trust.  The successor trustee (whoever that might be) is then responsible for managing the trust estate.

"He did nominate his mother, Katherine Jackson as the guardians of his minor children.  In the event of the death, inability, or refusal to act of Katherine Jackson, he nominates, believe it or not, Diana Ross!

"Those are the only details now.  It’s a short five page will.  Unless there is a subsequent will, or the trust somehow becomes public, this is all the information that will be public."

So...you can read his Will here.  It is a matter of public record, so it's a really great thing that it doesn't say much and that things are dictated according to the terms of his private trust. This is going to go a lot differently than the Anna Nicole Smith probate, that's for sure!

What about YOU? Have you name guardians, at the very least? Do it for free here: www.kidsprotectionplan.com.

To your family's health & prosperity,

Michael Jackson's Mom awarded temporary guardianship of kids

Michael Jackson's Mom, Katherine Jackson, won temporary guardianship of his three children. It appears that MJ died without a valid will. [Edited to add: He may have a will. There are conflicting reports.] KJ is also seeking to be appointed administrator of the estate.

I really have to wonder if this is what MJ would have wanted. The kids have a godfather, Mark Lester, a former British child star, who says that the kids are in good hands with KJ. I have to wonder if MJ is like most parents who choose godparents, thinking they will take over the care of the kids if something happens to them, and just failed to get it in writing, like 73% of parents have, and failed to communicate any sort of plan with everyone.

It is well-known that MJ was abused by his father, Joe Jackson, and yes, I'm going to cite Wikipedia:

"Jackson stated that he was physically and emotionally abused by his father from a young age, enduring incessant rehearsals, whippings and name-calling. However, he also credited his father's strict discipline as playing a large part in his success. In one altercation — later recalled by Marlon Jackson — Joseph held Michael upside down by one leg and "pummeled him over and over again with his hand, hitting him on his back and buttocks". Joseph would also trip or push his male children into walls. One night while Jackson was asleep, Joseph climbed into his room through the bedroom window. Wearing a fright mask, he entered the room screaming and shouting. Joseph said he wanted to teach his children not to leave the window open when they went to sleep. For years afterwards, Jackson said he suffered nightmares about being kidnapped from his bedroom. In 2003, Joseph admitted to the BBC that he had whipped Jackson as a child.

"Jackson first spoke openly about his childhood abuse in a 1993 interview with Oprah Winfrey. He said that during his childhood he often cried from loneliness and would sometimes start to vomit upon seeing his father. In Jackson's other high profile interview, Living with Michael Jackson (2003), the singer covered his face with his hand and began crying when talking about his childhood abuse. Jackson recalled that Joseph sat in a chair with a belt in his hand as he and his siblings rehearsed and that 'if you didn't do it the right way, he would tear you up, really get you.'"

MJ's Mom apparently allowed this to go on. I hope things have changed since MJ was a kid.

In any event, if YOU want to make sure your kids are raised by the people that you would want, get it legally documented! And, if there is anyone you DON'T want raising your kids, legally document that too!

Michael Jackson: What will happen to his kids?

Like many people my age, I am a HUGE fan of "early" Michael Jackson. Loved him pre-surgery, during the disco and Thriller eras. It was sad to watch such a talented individual become a self-hating recluse. It was sad to see him on trial for sexual molestation of a young boy, and I can only hope that he didn't really do it. He was acquitted, in any event. It kind of made me sad to see how oddly it seemed he was behaving with regard to his kids - contracts with the birth mother, veiled faces, a baby dangled over a balcony...remember the weirdness?

Now everyone is talking about how much money he left behind and how complicated his estate will be, what with all of his credit and debt issues and split ownership of certain rights to music. There's a lot of talk about how it could take years to settle his estate. I guess that mostly depends on the type of estate planning he's done, and we'll find out all about it soon enough.

But what about the kids?

I wonder what sort of planning MJ did for the care of his kids. I wonder if he selected a guardian. I wonder if they'll go back to the mother. I wonder if he's left their inheritance in trust or if they'll all just get checks for millions of dollars on their 18th birthdays. I wonder if he's left behind any instructions on how he wants the kids raised.

The guy obviously felt pretty strongly about how his kids were raised. He kept them away from the media. (It was really hard to find even this fuzzy photo of them!) He spent tons of time with them, fired nannies who didn't live up to his explanations, and kept them away from certain family members.

Regardless of how you feel about MJ's parenting, you probably have strong beliefs about the way your kids are raised. Do you have any family members you would NOT want them raised by? Do you have specific people in mind that you would want to raise them? Are there activities that they should continue? Friends and family they should continue to see? Do you have religious beliefs or non-beliefs? Medical wishes? Want the money you leave behind to be spent a certain way?

If so, make sure you get it all in writing!

To your family's health & prosperity,

Kids Protection Planning Workshop comes to Portland!

Finally, the Kids Protection Planning Workshop comes to Portland! This FREE workshop, put on by local Mom and Personal Family Lawyer® Candice Aiston, will be filled with information about how you can make sure your kids will be protected if something happens to you. You will learn all of the issues that parents need to consider when planning for the protection of their kids and the 9 easy steps that you can take to make sure that your voice is always heard in who raises your kids and how they are raised. This event is extremely popular and space is limited, so call and reserve your spot today!

DETAILS

When:    Saturday, June 27th, 2-3 p.m.

Where:   Zenana Spa, 2024 SE Clinton Street

Call (503) 235-5150 to register. Space is extremely limited, so reserve your spot today! Each family attending will receive gifts worth $750, and one lucky family will receive a free copy of the book, "Wear Clean Underwear," by Alexis Martin Neely!

Flat fees = win/win

 

But you can see another problem here as well - if your attorney is taking just a few minutes to fill in the blanks on a will form, that's not a "plan." You don't see any counseling going on in the cartoon. You see a client asking for counseling and a lawyer printing a form.

Wall Street Journal: If you have assets, use a trust

Stacey L. Bradford has put out "The Wall Street Journal Financial Guide for Parents." In it, she talks about how many parents should be setting up trusts. The only thing I would add is that when you seek out an attorney to do this, you should make sure that you are working with one who is going to keep up with you throughout your lifetime, so that you can be sure that your trust is always going to work for you. Ask the attorney whether they offer a free plan review (at least every 3 years) and whether they have a membership program for ongoing legal needs. We see many trusts fail because of little issues that could have been prevented with better client service and communication. (Actually, here is a good article about choosing an estate planning attorney.)

You can read the WSJ article here.

And here is the video interview of the author:

Moms: Will you end up like her?

I recently heard the story of a Mom whose husband died. I know it happens all the time, but this story was particularly sad, because the woman ended up having to walk away from their house and allow it to be foreclosed on, because she couldn't afford to keep up with the mortgage payments and it would have cost too much to fix up and sell, if it would even sell in this market.

This is what estate planning is all about - it's about taking care of the people you love, even after you're gone.

I can't imagine having to grieve my husband's death, take care of my grieving children, and have to let go of our family home all at the same time. And the poor kids - they must be so devastated. I know the home is just a material possession, but if they love their home as much as my family loves our home, I know they're probably really hurting.

The sad thing is that it would have been so easy to take care of this with estate planning! A life insurance policy of just a few hundred thousand dollars could have bought this poor woman a couple of years until the market improved and she had healed enough to better her income situation.

One of the problems was that because of the way certain assets were titled, the husband's estate had to go through probate. So, a lot of assets were tied up and couldn't be used to help with paying bills. This could have been easily avoided with the proper planning. Probate is totally optional, and it pains me to see anyone not doing the planning they need to do to avoid it.

So Moms, what about you? Could this happen to you?

To your family's health & prosperity,

 

Candice

P.S. My May offer is almost over! You have to call today to get your free Family Wealth Planning Session (normally $750) and your $50 Hopworks gift certificate when you set an appointment and engage with our firm! (503) 235-5150.

My spouse and I own everything jointly, so it's no prob...

I can't tell you how many people tell me that they are not worried about estate planning because they own everything jointly with their spouse, so it doesn't really matter.

WRONG!

Here are a few reasons why that kind of thinking costs thousands of dollars (at least):

1. What if you both die at the same time?

If you and your spouse die in the same accident and you have no planning in place, you're looking at spending a heck of a lot in probate fees. We estimate right now that probate costs approximately five (5) percent of your gross estate value. So (to give a little perspective) if all you own is a house worth $500,000, you're paying $25,000 to the court and your personal representative, possibly more when you take attorney's fees into account.

And that's not all. If you have minor children when you die without any planning in place, your kids are each going to get their share of inheritance when they turn 18. Yes, the law requires this! The law also does not discriminate with age when it comes to inheritance. So, your 20-year-old son and your 2-year-old son will inherit the same amount of money! Not what most parents would have wanted.

2. You could miss out on certain tax advantages only afforded married couples.

When you plan for death with joint ownership, what you effectively do is delay tax payment. What you lose when you plan this way is the tax benefit that married couples are afforded. Each person has a certain tax exemption when it comes to paying estate taxes ($3.5M for 2009, No tax in 2010, then $1M in 2011 and beyond). But with joint ownership planning, you lose one of those exemptions all for the sake of delaying payment. Each married couple should be planning for two tax exemptions. It might not be worth it in your case to lose that all for the sake of delaying any payment.

3.  Your assets are not protected after your death.

If you die before your spouse and own everything jointly, you're leaving an unprotected estate to your spouse and kids. If your spouse has creditors, they can reach all of the estate. If your spouse remarries then divorces, he or she may lose some of your estate to the ex. Or, if your spouse remarries and dies, there's no guarantee your kids will see any of that inheritance. Even if your spouse doesn't remarry, if he or she doesn't do any further estate planning, after his or her death, your children will receive their inheritance outright and unprotected. So, your child's creditors or ex-spouse may have a claim to it.

Planning with a Revocable Living Trust is a far better way to go. You retain lifetime control over your assets, but leave a much cleaner situation for those you leave behind.

But I can't think of ANYONE to name as a guardian

I often hear people say that they haven't yet named guardians for their kids because they can't think of anyone they want raising their kids.

That's really not what it's about.

I don't want anyone raising my kids either, but I'd rather I make that choice than have a judge make that choice (and have my kids stay in foster care while the court proceedings go on)! A judge is going to try, if at all possible, to place your children with closely related relatives. Do you have any relatives you'd rather have poke out your eye than have raise your kids? If you're like most of my clients, you do. The guardian may also end up controlling any money you leave behind. Do you have any relatives who are bad with money? We all do.

Here are some truths to look at when you feel stuck about naming guardians:

1. You need to lower your standards.

You may be trying to think of someone who will raise your kids as well as you have rasied them so far. This is the wrong approach. You're never going to find someone as right for your kids as you are. You need to lower your standards and focus on what is important. Who is going to love your kids? Who is going to hold them when they're missing their Mama and Daddy? It's as simple as that. If you're ruling out otherwise loving people because of other reasons, you should pull them back into the mix.

2. If you're ruling out people because of financial issues, you need to stop.

If financial concerns have left you with no choices, you are making a mistake. It is your job to provide the financial resources for the guardians to care for your children. This means with earning money and building assets, and/or purchasing life insurance. If you trust a person to care for your kids, but don't trust them with money, you can always name a different person or even a corporate entity to serve as trustee. So, if you've ruled out anyone because of financial concerns, you should pull them back into the mix and find a way to provide resources.

3. If there really is no one, you need to find someone.

If you truly can't think of anyone, then I really think you have a larger issue, and that's that you have no community. Every family needs a community. Every person needs a community. Maybe facing the reality of not having someone to care for your kids if you die is something that can help show you what you're missing in life. You'll be doing yourself and your kids a favor by finding a community that you can count on to be there even when you can't be.

For more information about the mistakes that parents make when planning their estate, please visit our website and download our free report.

To your family's health & prosperity,

 

Candice

P.S. Don't forget about my May offer: "I'm so excited, that I'm making a special offer for the month of May! Call before the end of the month to schedule your Initial Planning Session, and not only will I waive the usual $750.00 session fee, but I'll also give every caller who becomes a client a $50 gift certificate to Hopworks Urban Brewery! (It's my favorite place to go for casual dining, because not only do they have great organic beer and a healthy organic menu, but they also have a great kids area, so I can enjoy some adult conversation with my husband while the kids play happily.) You have to mention this blog post when you call though! The number is (503) 235-5150."