The creation of a trust and estate plan includes spending a certain amount of time choosing the people who will be your fiduciaries—the people who will carry out your wishes. One of the most important fiduciaries is your trustee, who is involved in just about every aspect of the administration of your trust. Most people choose someone close to them to serve as trustee: a best friend, son or daughter, brother or sister. Choosing someone who knows you and your family to serve in this role can be beneficial in many ways, but if that person doesn’t have a financial or legal background the responsibilities can be overwhelming!

If you want to give your trustee a head start (or if you’ve been nominated as a trustee and need a little help yourself) this article from the Elder Law Answers website shares “9 Do’s and 1 Don’t” of being a trustee. These suggestions will help a potential or new trustee better understand their responsibilities and the scope of the job to come. Advice such as #1, “Do read the trust document”; or #3, “Do keep the best interests of the beneficiaries in mind at all times” may seem obvious now, but it’s not always so clear when you’re beset by insistent and emotional relatives. The more technical tips such as #2, “Do create a checking account for the trust”; and #9, “Do file income tax returns for the trust” are invaluable starter-steps for someone who has never done this before.

But the most important tip to remember is the one don’t: #10, “Don’t fly solo. Get professional advice to make sure you are correctly fulfilling your role.” If you or the people you’ve chosen as your trustee are ever in doubt, please don’t hesitate to call our office for help.

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A month and a half into 2010 and Congress’ failure to stop the lapse in estate tax is still making waves. These two trusted news sources explain why having “no estate tax” this year should worry you.

One of the first reasons you should be worried, as revealed by this article in the Wall Street Journal, is that a larger base of estates will actually end up paying more this year rather than less; “Under last year’s law, estates up to $3.5 million, or $7 million for married couples, were exempt from federal tax. This year that law has been replaced by a fiendishly complex levy raising taxes on the assets of those with little as $1.3 million. It will affect the heirs of at least 50,000 U.S. taxpayers who die this year, whereas the old law affected only about 15,000 estates a year.”

Another main cause of worry, explains the New York Times, is the possible reinstatement of the estate tax by congress, effective retroactively; “The general view is that Congress wants to, and should, re-enact the estate tax retroactive to the beginning of this year,” [says tax specialist Ian Shane] “In January, February or March that’s easy, but as the year goes on it becomes more difficult.”

Of course the biggest worry estate planners have is the effect this year-long lapse will have on existing plans. Couples who already have an existing estate plan are advised to get their documents reviewed—and possibly revised—to prevent “standard clauses” from having unanticipated effects. As Joanne Johnson, head of the American wealth advisory service of J. P. Morgan explained to the NY Times, “It’s common to find language like ‘I hereby fund this trust to the maximum amount I can shelter from federal estate tax.’ The rest can then pass tax-free to the spouse. Such wording is risky as long as the estate tax is off the books… because there is no maximum.” What ends up happening is that everything goes into the trust for the kids, leaving the spouse with nothing.

What is the lesson here? The lapse in the estate tax may not be the boon it first appears to be. Talk with your estate planning attorney to find out how the new laws may affect your family.

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As members of a melting-pot nation, Americans place a high value on family stories and history. We love to know when and why our ancestors came to this country from “the home land”; but we also enjoy the simple stories about how mom and dad met, or how grandpa served in the military. These stories help us define who we are and where we came from—they give us a sense of belonging.

But the sad fact is that most of us don’t think about asking our parents or grandparents about their stories and histories until it’s too late. All too often it’s after grandma passes away and you’re going through her belongings that you find old books, photos or letters and wish you could ask about them.

This is part of the reason why writing memoirs, or a family history, has become so popular in recent years. Although the thought of “writing your memoirs” may seem daunting, it doesn’t have to be difficult. In fact, it has become so popular that there are quite a few books and tools out there to help guide you through either writing your own history or interviewing older relatives to record theirs.

Nothing seems more natural than including your memoirs as part of your estate plan. When you create an Estate Plan you plan to pass on your estate (property, assets, and wealth) to your loved ones; but that is only part of what you’ll want to pass along. An Estate Plan can also include your history and experience as part of that wonderful inheritance. Our firm can help take care of your assets, but only you can preserve the wisdom and experience that makes your history so unique. Don’t wait until it’s too late.

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It’s easy to see, when creating an estate plan, how important it is to protect and pass on your assets, but a good estate planner knows that a will or a trust is not all about assets. In fact, for all of the technical and financial language you may find in your will or trust, the most important part of the document is if—and how—it reflects your values.

You may think that values are something you’re more likely to discuss with your spiritual advisor than your estate planner, but we know you’ve worked hard to give your children and grandchildren a foundation of knowledge and belief to serve them when you’re not there. We want to help you create a thoughtful and comprehensive Estate Plan can help you continue doing just that.

There are a few ways in which you can use your estate plan to pass on your values:

• You can impress upon your grandchildren the importance of education by leaving an inheritance to them in an Educational trust.
• Help your kids learn to follow their dreams by earmarking part of the trust principal to be distributed should they want to start their own business.
• Pass on your belief in the value of family by creating a special trust to support stay-at-home parents.
• Teach fiscal responsibility by choosing to have distributions made gradually, helping your beneficiaries learn how to handle their finances responsibly and with maturity.

With the help of a caring and attentive attorney, you can leave a deeper legacy than mere money; you can impart your closely held values for generations to come.

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It goes without saying that nobody wants to give up control of their finances and put themselves at the mercy of someone else’s decisions; which is why most people spend hours and hours considering who to name as their agent when they sign a power of attorney. But what happens if you pick the wrong person? This article about an elderly mother and the daughter who stole from her is a sad example of just how important it is not only to choose your agents wisely, but also to relinquish control wisely as well.

It is commonly believed that simply adding your “agent” as a joint owner on your bank accounts is the easiest (or cheapest) way to gradually “hand over the reins”; but giving someone else unfettered access to your bank accounts is a dangerous risk in the best of circumstances—all too often it leads to the tragic exploitation and abuse mentioned in the article above.

he good news is that there are safer ways to give your agents the powers and access they need without completely handing over the keys to your kingdom:

• A Durable Power of Attorney that goes into effect when two doctors have declared you incapacitated
• Naming more than one person as your agent (This can lead to a slower decision-making process, but it does provide you with checks and balances and oversight. If you’re worried about disagreements between agents, name a third party to serve as a mediator or tie-breaker.)
• Naming a financial institution as your financial agent
• Choose a professional advisor or overseer through whom all decisions must be approved. This has the added benefit of giving your agents someone to whom they can go for advice in a tough situation.

Any of these options may be safer than joint ownership of your bank accounts, but every family and financial situation is unique, so ask your trusted attorney about which options may be best for you.

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