Friday, August 13, 2010

Press Coverage of Estate Planning this Week (August 13, 2010)

Chuck Jaffe of Marketwatch discusses conversations with his late brother, who advised that people should get their estate planning affairs in order so that they can focus on more meaningful issues when death is near. The brother, who contracted an illness and died 46 days later, suggested that talking about estate planning with an attorney when everyone is healthy is easy, talking about death when one is dying would be unimaginable. See 46 Days to Live: What’s Your Plan? (Aug. 2, 2010).

Floyd Norris of the New York Times recounts how the Bush tax cuts of 2001 came into being, and how politics will affect whether the estate tax comes back in 2011 at a threshold of $1 million. Congressional factions, even more partisan now than in 2001, remain in no mood to compromise, and a return to the $1 million estate tax threshold and higher tax rates appears increasingly likely. See Taxes No Longer So Certain (Aug. 12, 2010).

Pamela Yip of the Dallas Morning News points out that estate planning is not just for the rich. She states that everyone should have a will, and reviews some common estate plan mistakes that people make, including not knowing the value of everything you own, failing to update your plan, leaving everything to your spouse, over-relying on joint tenancy, and picking the wrong people as executors and trustees. See Estate Planning Lets Your Will Rule After You’re Gone (Aug. 6, 2010).

Jeffrey McKenna, Esq., writes in the Lincoln County Record that almost always a financial account that has a beneficiary designation will overrule provisions in a will that would have the account pass to someone other than the listed designated beneficiary. Beneficiary designations are common on life insurance, annuities, and IRAs, all of which are contracts. The associated beneficiary designations are a part of the contract, and a provision in a will cannot change the contract. Reviewing your beneficiary designations every couple of years on these and other accounts is essential to ensure your estate plan works the way you intended it to. See What Controls: The Will or “The Box” (Aug. 13, 2010).

Irving Blackman, Esq., writes in ContractorMag.com, about the estate planning issues that arise when a client is planning for second or third marriages. Types of issues that are prevalent include age differences between the new spouses, health issues, kids from prior marriages, lack of a premarital agreement, and how to provide for the surviving spouse without disinheriting your children. See Estate Planning for Second, Third Marriages, Etc. (Aug. 9, 2010).