Friday, September 18, 2009

Press Coverage of Estate Planning This Week (September 18, 2009)

Jon Tevlin of the Star Tribune (Minneapolis, Minn.) recounts a cautionary tale of misapplied trust in naming an agent on a power of attorney for finances to manage funds for an adult with autism.  When naming a power of attorney for finances, choose someone whose trustworthiness is beyond doubt.  See What Happened to a Vulnerable Man’s Money? (Sept. 12, 2009).

Nolan Baker and Mark Clair write in the Toledo Free Press on the importance of planning when you have a blended family.  If you are not careful, your children could be left with no inheritance.  See If You Re-Marry, Make Sure to Protect Your Children (Sept. 18, 2009).

Charles Ross of the St. Louis American lists several problems with the probate process that many people would prefer to avoid, including delays in receiving an inheritance, costs of going through probate, and the lack of family privacy.  See What Are the Pitfalls of Probate? (Sept. 18, 2009).

James P. O’Malley writes in The Ledger (Lakeland, Fla.) about how too many family businesses fail after the first generation, and how to prevent that from happening to you. His advice includes writing a buy-sell agreement, gifting the family business to the next generation to reduce estate taxes, and most importantly, starting the planning process now instead of putting it off.  See Working on Your Estate Plan Now Will Pay Off Later (Sept. 14, 2009).

Michaela Cavallaro of Dow Jones Newswires recounts how an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust paired with creative funding mechanisms to pay for a new insurance policy allowed an elderly widow to save her beneficiaries a big chunk of her estate from estate taxes.  See A Sophisticated Solution to a Tax Issue (Sept. 15, 2009).