Estate Planning - General

Patti's Publications, SSI Related, Articles, Publications, Resources

For FAQs on Estate Planning, click here

Search:

To find your areas of interest on either my website or blog, use search buttons below:

Advising Clients and Drafting Advanced Health Care Directives

I. Effective Planning Techniques for Incapacity
II. When it is Too Late - Protecting the Individual After Incapacity Strikes

Trials and Tribulations of Trusteeship

On 3/14/08, I spoke at the Suffolk University Law School on this subject. Documents listed below were handed out there and can be obtained through the law school's website.

Special Needs Trust Checklist
Criminal Background Check and Authorization
Letter to Trustee: Full Explanation of Duties
Letter to Trustee: Special Needs Expenditures
Letter of Intent for Minors
Letter of Intent (as written by mother)
Letter re: Section 8 and Eligibility

Charitable Contribution for an Individual's Benefit (memo)

Estate Planning Outline

How Often Should You Review Your Estate Plan?

Why Plan for the Future?

Appointment of Representative (SSA form) - Those that want to help a family member apply for benefits should have the family member sign this.

Supplemental Security Income (Law Change Regarding Michigan Trusts) 11/8/01
Definitions and rules regarding evaluating trusts for SSI resource purposes.

List of Documents Required When Filing for SSI and/or SSDI

OBRA-93 Trust Options for Persons with Disabilities (2005 revisions)
Families who have a loved one with a disability have unique financial and estate planning needs. Parents are frequently concerned about who will look after their child with a disability if they, themselves, become disabled. Families further question who will care for their loved one after they are gone. Fortunately, families are learning that trusts exist which can provide for the needs of a loved one while preserving eligibility for various governmental benefits and services.

Death Tax Lives in Estate Repeal for Heir Who Must Sell Assets (Bloomberg.com - 5/7/10)
Estate planners and their wealthy clients are in purgatory, struggling with whether to spend tens of thousands of dollars to restructure wills, only to have to spend even more if the law is changed again. Estate planning under ordinary circumstances is expensive and complex. The new environment poses unforeseen risks, such as potential heirs finding themselves unintentionally disinherited if wills aren’t properly rewritten. Others face new tax and accounting complications.

How to Make a Trust an Account Owner of a 529 Plan (Morningstar Advisor)
Most state qualified tuition programs permit a trust to be an account owner of a 529 savings plan.

How to Pass Down Your Family Vacation Retreat (Forbes - 6/10/10)
Here's how to protect your vacation retreat from the taxman and intrafamily strains.

Lapsed Federal Estate Tax Creates Couples Trap (Forbes - 7/21/10)
For estate tax planning purposes, married couples traditionally use a planning technique known as "A-B" trusts. Upon the death of the first to die, the original single trust is split into two trusts, a "decedent's trust" or "tax credit trust" (A) and a "survivor's trust" (B). The decedent's trust is funded with the greatest value of assets on which there will be no federal estate tax for the first to die. The remainder of the couple's assets fund the survivor's trust. Done properly, at the death of the second spouse, the assets in the decedent's trust go to the children, with no taxes due, since they technically passed to the next generation under the estate tax exemption of the first spouse who died. In this way, the couple is still able to take advantage of the estate tax credit granted to each individual spouse.

Leaving Your Roth IRA to the Kiddies (Wall Street Journal - 5/1/10)
So you have decided that taxes have nowhere to go but up, and you are converting your traditional IRA to a Roth. But what happens if you die when your grandchildren are still young?

Retirement Planning Calculators (LexisNexis - 7/30/10)
A recent article by syndicated columnist Mark Miller discusses popular retirement calculators and flaws that could lead to serious miscalculations when planning for retirement.

The Dangers of DIY Estate Planning (US News - 6/29/10)
Every year, thousands of consumers bypass lawyers and create their own wills, powers of attorney, and other estate planning documents with the help of online tools and books. As one might expect, lawyers don't like this do-it-yourself approach. They say it breeds mistakes, since when it comes to legal issues, one size never fits all. Do they have a valid point, or are they just trying to protect their own livelihoods?

Trust as Beneficiary of IRA is a Popular Strategy (Wall Street Journal - 8/29/09)
Answers the question: My wife and I are both over 65 and are doing some estate planning. Can I transfer funds from a traditional IRA to a trust without immediately being taxed? What would be the tax consequences of making the trust the beneficiary of my IRA?

Using Annuities for Long-Term Care Planning (Elder Law Weblog - 9/23/08)
Insurance agents and financial institutions often advertise annuities as the perfect way to generate retirement income. While annuities can be a valuable retirement tool, if you are buying an annuity as part of a Medi-Cal planning strategy, you need to fully understand what you are getting.

The ABA Commission on Law and Aging has a whole section on various state laws on its website.
Chart on advance directives, living wills, etc., in the 50 states (however, it is only up-to-date through Sept. 2008).
Index to the other statutes (guardianship, DPOA, etc.)

Consumer's Tool Kit for Health Care Advance Planning (ABA Commission on Law and Aging)
A "tool kit" with worksheets, suggestions and resources to assist in advance planning for health care decisions.

Health & Financial Decisions - Legal Tools for Preserving Your Personal Autonomy (American Bar Assn. Commission on Law and Aging)
You have the right to make choices based upon your own values, beliefs and wishes, even if others disagree with you. Therefore, it is important to state your desires in writing about health and financial decisions when you are capable of clearly expressing your wishes. Click here for the Spanish version.

Intro to Estate and Gift Taxes (IRS - Publication 950)
Revised September 2008

IRS Rules on Consequences of Judicial Reformation of Trusts
IRS ruled on the estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax effects of judicial reformation of two testamentary trusts in PLR2010200001.

Last Wills and Testaments Line by Line (Elizabeth L. Brown)
This product provides an in-depth explanation of the process involved in drafting a last will and testament. It provides readers with crucial information regarding the meaning of commonly used provisions, as well as information surrounding issues that often affect the ultimate administration of a last will and testament. The reader will gain insight into who should have a last will and testament and the drafting process required, including ways in which the estate planning practitioner can add value for the client.

Ten Estate Planning Advantages of Limited Liability Companies (Social Science Research Network)
Although much has been written of the uses of LLCs in tax and business planning, comparatively little commentary has focused on the role of LLCs in estate planning.

The IRA Inheritance Trust
As more "baby boomers" are retiring and rolling over large 401(k) and other retirement plans to IRAs, proper tax and estate planning for IRAs have become increasingly important. Two versions are included here: for consumers and for advisors

Whose Life Expectancy Is It, Anyway? Determining Which Trust Beneficiaries are Countable for Required Minimum Distribution Purposes (Michelle Ward)
Explains the complex rules governing IRA accounts in determining the correct life expectancies to use in calculating required minimum distributions.

Beyond Structured Settlements - Patrick Hindert
Collaborative thinking and commentary about how the Internet impacts structured settlements, settlement planning and special needs planning.

Death and Taxes - The Blog - Joel Schoenmeyer
Commentary on estate planning, estate administration and real estate issues from a Chicago area attorney.

eDivvy Up - Estate Distribution
Aunique online auction platform that is designed to engage family members in an equitable method for the division of property after the death of a parent or other loved one.

Estate Planning Elder Law.com - Correira & Iacono LLP
A regional full-service trusts and estates law firm with a mission to provide clients with value, commitment and service.

Get IRS Help.com
A blog by tax attorney Darrin T. Mish focusing on solving tax problems.

MIB Solutions - Policy Locator Service
If you are an executor, or administrator (in cases where there have been no probate proceedings, a surviving spouse or other relative eligible for appointment may be entitled to order the report), Policy Locator can maximize your opportunity to discover life insurance benefits you may not have realized existed.

Sylvester Law Firm - Patrick Sylvester
An estate planning and probate lawyer representing clients in Illinois, Wisconsin and Florida.

Wachbrit & Associates, PC - Diedre Wachbrit blog
A California attorney specializing in estate planning, asset protection and special needs.