Friday, May 29, 2009 Press Coverage of Estate Planning This Week (May 29, 2009)Tim Grant of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette discusses issues that arise in estate planning for blended families and some of the traps that catch those unprepared, such as deciding who inherits IRA accounts. See Divorce, Remarriage Can Make Estate Planning Especially Challenging (May 29, 2009).
Melissa Korn of Dow Jones Newswires writes about leaving money to children in ways that encourage prudent behavior, in other words not having the beneficiary spend it all on a fancy car. One method is to test your children by leaving them a small amount now to see what they do with it. See Redesigning Trusts to Keep Kids Working (May 28, 2009).
Betsy Brill of Forbes reviews what to consider when naming charities in your estate plan, and whether specific charities should still be on your list. She offers some questions to ask charities and advises that fact checking may turn up some surprises. See Giving While Living . . . And Beyond (May 29, 2009).
Frances Carlisle of Law.com discusses pet trusts, and why Leona Helmsley's dog "Trouble" really does require a $2 million pet trust. One word of caution: money in pet trusts is not a charitable contribution and thus may remain part of your taxable estate. See Helmsley Pet Trust Helps Highlight Issues for Lawyers (May 29, 2009). |