Think Estate Planning is Just for the Wealthy? Think Again!

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wealthy dollar bills

There is a rumor that has been floating around that only the rich need estate planning. That is extremely false. Everyone needs an estate plan, but the wealthy don’t need estate planning as much as the middle-class and working-class folks. If this contradicts everything you’ve ever thought about estate planning allow me to explain.

The Case of Kingston Lear

Suppose Kingston Lear (get it?!), a wealthy Iowan, decides he doesn’t need a qualified and experienced estate planner, he can do it himself, or use an online, one-size-fits-all service. Hey, Lear figures, this way he’s saving both time and money. Also, nothing is going to happen to him for a while, he can get around to doing a proper estate plan with a proper estate planning professional “someday.”

How Much Does an Estate Plan Cost?

Of course, “someday” never comes, but Lear’s death does. His three daughters are aghast that Lear has no real estate plan. The template resembling an estate plan is completely inadequate for the size and complexity of Lear’s assets.

A Matter of Trusts

Lear could have easily, with the help of a professional advisor, set up a trust (even a plain, “vanilla” revocable living trust would have worked) to avoid probate. But, the online service he used didn’t even explain the difference between wills and trusts. So, Lear’s assets all must go through probate. This means that the time and money Lear though he was saving is gone in a flash.

(Legal) Word of the Day: Trust

Probate Costs and Fees, If You Please

Probate fees are going to equate to at least 2% cut of Lear’s estate. Remember, Lear’s estate is large and complex and valued at $10 million, so the actual figure is probably going to be more like four percent.

Using 4% as the figure for probate fees means a loss of $40,000 ($10 million X .04 = $400,000). This is $400,000 that could have been passed down to his daughters through a trust, or split generously between his heirs and charitable organizations near and dear to Lear’s heart.

Also, court costs may amount to another 1%, or loss of $10,000 more ($10 million X .01 = $100,000).

Loss of Privacy

Another major benefit of a trust—again, not explained to Lear because didn’t seek any individualized advice—is privacy. A will (or most any document that goes through probate, absent very special circumstances) is simply a public document. Anyone can read, copy, share, and write about it.

Consider one of Lear’s major assets was an ongoing business—a Shakespearean-themed jousting complex, where families could have fun practicing jousting.

horses at fence

Unfortunately, in some of the probate papers, it was disclosed that there had been numerous complaints by the Iowa Horse Association about the treatment of horses. It isn’t long until this hits the blogs, and some of the more sensational aspects of the report (though hotly disputed) goes viral. The jousting park, which had been quite profitable, is now eschewed by all the good people of the area. The daughters are forced to sell the business asset to preserve the family’s good name (or what’s left of it) and sell at a loss. While the jousting park had been worth as much as $1 million, the daughters have to sell, so there’s a “paper loss,” but nonetheless less a loss, of another $900,000.

Loss of Future Profits

The $900,000 is a conservative figure; it doesn’t include lost future profits. If not for the scandal becoming public, who knows how long the jousting park could have remained really popular and this profitable. Years? Decades? It’s quite difficult to quantify, but it’s certainly probable that there are some lost profits. The question is: how much?

Costs of Cases

Because Lear’s will wasn’t drafted by professional, there are many ambiguities and loopholes. It’s not long before the three daughters begin fighting and, with unclear direction from their father, they wind up suing each other.

Taking a court case all the way to trial can easily mean $50,000 in attorney’s fees, plus each daughter will want and need her own attorney. So, another $150,000 is lost to attorney’s fees!

Avoid the Worst Case Scenario: Litigation over an Estate Plan

Total Losses Equal?

Lear could have had his estate plan done by an Iowa professional for a few thousand dollars. Instead, he lost a total far greater than that:

  • Probate Fees: $400,000
  • Probate Court Costs: $100,000
  • Loss on Sale of Jousting Park: $900,000
  • Loss of Future Profits of Jousting Park: Incalculable?
  • Attorney’s Fees for Daughters’ Litigation $150,000

This is a hit for the inheritance of $1.55 million, leaving $8.5 million (rounded up), or a little less than $3 million per daughter. But you know what? That still leaves an inheritance of $8.5 million to be split amongst three sisters.

The Rich Can Afford Bad Estate Planning

crown silver

Lear acted unwisely, arguably recklessly! A great deal of his money was wasted that could have been used for great charitable work in Iowa through local nonprofit organizations. But, for all his foolishness, Lear’s daughters still end up with $3 million each. Will the daughters incur much suffering with “only” $3 million? No.

That’s the rub; the rich can afford to make big (and small) estate planning mistakes.

You Can’t Afford Poor Quality Estate Planning

Let’s look at this from a normal Iowan perspective. At least 2% in probate costs and fees, a huge drop in value in a key asset, attorney’s fees for litigation…can a middle-class estate merely shrug these kinds of losses off? Not a chance.

The rich aren’t like you and me. They can badly botch estate planning. You and I can’t afford to make mistakes with our estates; there’s no room (and not enough money!) for error.

Need an estate plan but aren’t sure where to start? It’s easy from start to finish. Fill out my obligation-free Estate Plan Questionnaire or contact me.

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Don’t Be Heathcliff: Wuthering Heights and Estate Planning

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table with book and tea

Often when I’m reading fiction I’ll find estate planning-related issues that cause conflicts, both big and small, for the characters. And, while the stories may be fictitious, the lessons they give us serve as valuable reminders of the importance of quality estate planning.

One such tale I recently revisited is the 1845 gothic novel, Wuthering Heights, in which author Emily Brontë swiftly weaves in ample estate planning issues with English family drama worthy of the Kardashians.

While many estate planning laws and practices have evolved and changed since the mid-1800s, many also have not. Indeed, the outcome of failing to create a valid, quality estate plan certainly has not.

All in the Family

Wuthering Heights twists and turns with love, revenge, birth, and death spanning some thirty-something years from the late 1700s to 1803. Among many other plot devices, conflict rests on the real property (named Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange) that a man named Heathcliff comes to in possession of through a number of different property rights and inheritance laws. In this way English common law has its own sort of starring role in the book, a character for which Bronte shows an impressive grasp of.

Of course, I don’t want to spoil the book because it’s a classic and you should enjoy the experience of exploring it yourself. So, without any spoilers there’s a lot of family conflict and one of the characters (Heathcliff) taking vengeful advantage of a number of unfair laws (especially those discriminating against women) of the time to gain property and power over his siblings. What were these unjust laws you ask? For one, married women couldn’t legally own property in England during this period. Additionally, inheritances generally passed to sons only. (If a father did not have sons and did not specifically name a daughter as a beneficiary, the father’s closest male relative would usually become the heir to the father’s estate.)

Yet, the irony of Heathcliff’s unyielding (and suspect) property acquisition is that in the end, he failed to make an estate plan and therefore failed to seize his opportunity to decide to whom and when he wants his things to pass. Apparently, he had thought about it, but likely did what so many of us do and made excuses and put it off until it was tragically too late. (Again, no spoilers, but Heathcliff’s ending is no fairytale.)

First Wuthering Heights Lesson: Stop the Procrastination

This brings us to our first important Wuthering Heights estate planning lesson: make an estate plan. Seriously, every adult needs an estate plan, as you never know when unexpected death or incapacitation may occur. For instance, you’ll want to have a health care power of attorney in place before a medical emergency occurs. And if/when it does, you’ll want your assets to go to the beneficiaries of your choosing. Having a valid estate plan in place also saves your loved ones ample time, energy, and money in court costs and lawyers’ fees.

Ultimate Estate Planning Checklist

What Happened to the Estate

Because Heathcliff lived in 19th century England, without a valid will in place at the time of his death and without a clear heir at law or living spouse, Heathcliff’s property was “escheat,” a common law doctrine that made sure property was not in limbo without a recognized owner. This meant the property passed to the “Crown” (basically whomever the feudal lord of the area was, or in modern day it would be as if the property was held by the state) and then eventually passed to Heathcliff’s next generation of family members. Now, Heathcliff, given his history with his family, may not have chosen for his unqualified nephew (and niece) to inherit his property. Heathcliff may have wanted to make charitable bequests of his property to a charitable organization he supported. But, the fact of the matter is he didn’t have a will, let alone an estate plan, so then inheritance laws and the judicial system made these personal decisions for him.

Legal Phrase of the Day: “Heirs at Law”

As an estate planning attorney, I can assure you this is not something that only happens in books. Without a valid will in place your estate will go through a process called intestate succession where the Iowa probate process and the courts will decide how your hard-earned property is to be distributed. This can take a long time, cost a great deal in fees and court costs, and your property may end up transferred to beneficiaries you never would have selected. Plus, without an estate plan, you cannot give upon your death to charity.

Second Wuthering Heights Lesson: Intestate Succession

Dying in Iowa without an estate plan is different than dying in 1800s England, but what does the intestate succession process actually look like?

It depends on the family situation. If married, the estate will pass to the surviving spouse. If there’s a surviving spouse and living children (whom are not children of the surviving spouse, but children of the deceased), then the estate will be split with half to the spouse and half divided amongst the living children (often referred to as “issue” in legal speak). If there is no spouse and no children, then the division process works its way down a list of surviving family members from parents, then to grandparents, then great-grandparents…and if no one from that list is alive than the estate would pass to the deceased spouse’s issue (such as stepchildren). Finally, if there are no family members living to inherit the estate, the intestate property will escheat (remember when we talked about that before) to the state of Iowa.

Assets that are inherited via beneficiary designations (such as 401ks, IRAs, annuities, checking accounts, and pensions) only become the property of the probate estate and pass through the intestate succession process if no beneficiary is named.

Note well that these highlighted provisions are just the basics. Other statutes come into play with the intestate process pertaining to various personal and financial situations.

Just as enlisting an attorney to help you craft a quality, individualized estate plan, it’s important that an attorney is brought on by the surviving family of the person who died intestate in working out how property will be divided.

brown books on shelf

Write Your Plan Before “The End”

The bottom line is: don’t be Heathcliff. Every adult (even young adults, and especially adults with minor children) needs to make an estate plan. Not only will this help your family avoid the worst-case scenario of litigation, it will also allow you the benefit of determining who you want inheriting your estate and when. You shouldn’t rely on the rules of intestate succession for dispersal of all the assets you acquired over the course of a life.

Estate Planning: Just Five Easy Steps from Start to Finish

Lucky for you, it’s even easier to make an estate plan than it was back in the time of Wuthering Heights. Get started with my Estate Plan Questionnaire or contact me with questions about your individual situation.

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Love, Death, & Taxes: Estate Planning Considerations for Same-Sex Spouses

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hands of 2 grooms

Everyone needs an estate plan! This goes for if you’re a young professional or have minor children or are retired. And, it goes for all married couples! 

This year marks a decade since Iowa Supreme Court decision of Varnum v. Brien, which legalized same-sex marriage in the state. This case was a precursor and set a standard echoed subsequently in other states and eventually at the national level. The Supreme Court’s opinion in Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage was a major win for both LGBTQ and human rights. 

Love is love written on card

The 10-year marker of the Varnum decision reminded me that Obergefell had an enormous impact on estate planning. With same-sex marriage now recognized across the country, it opened a multitude of previously unattainable tools and tax-savings that come along with a legal and recognized marriage. Yet, same-sex couples still may have situations that require extra or special planning. You may be surprised to learn that It can’t be it covered by a single article, so I’ll hit the high points. Here are five considerations for same-sex spouses engaged in estate planning.

Unlimited Marital Deduction

The unlimited marital deduction is a money-saving must for all married couples. The unlimited marital deduction is an essential estate preservation tool because it means an unrestricted amount of assets can be transferred (at any time, including at death) from one spouse to the other spouse, free from taxes (including the estate tax and gift tax). Prior to Obergefell, same-sex couples had to depend on their individual applicable exclusion in order to provide for a surviving partner.

(Note that the marital deduction is available only to surviving spouses who are U.S. citizens. If your spouse is not a U.S. citizen, look at other tools, such as a qualified domestic trust (QDOT), which may act to minimize or eliminate taxes.)

marriage equality flags

Guardianship of Minor Children

A will is so critically important for several reasons, including the fact a parent can make a designation of guardianship for minor children should something happen to the parent while the child is still under age 18. Without a will, no guardianship can be established, and Iowa Courts must choose guardians. Unfortunately, with no clear evidence as to what the former caregivers would have preferred, the Court must make its “best guess” as to who the parents would have preferred and what would be in the best interest of the child. The Court may, or may not, choose who the caregivers would have named.

Child smiling on bridge

Establishing guardianship is SO important for all parents, but especially so for same-sex parents. The legal relationship between a minor child and a parent in a same-sex marriage should specifically be identified in the estate plan. Additionally, if only one spouse is currently the natural or adoptive parent of a minor child, the spouse of the said parent should consider adopting the child to legalize the relationship. Without this officially established relationship, the death of the adoptive/natural parent could open the door for a custody battle with the deceased’s family or the child’s birth parents. To avoid litigation (and avoiding litigation in estate planning is always a good idea), co-parent adoptions protect each parent’s rights regarding guardianship.

If adoption isn’t on the table, it’s smart to create a trust with specific provisions for the relationship between the non-legal parent and the minor child if someone else were to become the guardian.

(Expert advice: The adoption tax credit is not available for a spouse adopting a spouse’s child. If adoption is in the plans it may be financially advantageous for the adoption to take place prior to marriage.)

Give Your Assets to your Child(ren)

Adoption also plays an important role not just in guardianship but in the passage of assets. Typically, when parents die their assets are passed on to their child(ren). If this is indeed an estate planning goal for a same-sex couple, adoption should definitely be considered since it’s more common in same-sex marriages for only one parent to be biologically related to the child.

The term for adoption by a spouse (without the “first parent” losing any parental rights) varies from state-to-state and can be called second-parent adoption, co-parent adoption, stepparent adoption, or confirmation adoption.

mom daughter blowing kiss

Once an adoption is final, an adoptive parent has all the permanent legal rights and responsibilities of a parent-child relationship, exactly the same as that of a birth parent.

Without the legal determination and an estate plan the child(ren) may not get anything as the couple’s assets could flow instead to other family members.  

Professional Planner

For all the aforementioned considerations and more, it’s smart for all couples, but especially same-sex couples, to avoid the DIY online estate plan templates. Most of these services don’t include the specific provisions and important estate plan needs of LGBT couples. Seek out a lawyer with ample experience in estate planning who understands the potential legal challenges your estate could face so they can adequately protect your assets from potential peril. For instance, if you think the situation could arise where family members who disprove of the marriage or decisions regarding the estate could create future conflict, your lawyer should be able to advise on how a “no contest” clause to be incorporated into the estate plan.

9 Reasons You Need a Lawyer to Write your Estate Plan

Comprehensive Review

As stated before, given the tax-saving tools that marriage provides, it’s nothing but beneficial to review any and all existing estate plan documents of each spouse. (Married couples often seek joint representation in estate planning, but individual representation can help couples avoid conflicts of interest.)

In your estate plan review confirm that definitions accurately reflect relationships with verbiage such as “spouse,” “children,” “husband,” “wife,” and the like, so there’s no ambiguity when it comes to execution of the plan.

Following marriage, it’s also a good idea to take a look at re-titling property (such as a home) from sole ownership to joint tenancy. This means that if one spouse were to pass, the other would get the property without it passing through probate. (Depending on your situation, you could also consider “tenancy in common” as another option for holding property titles under multiple names.)

Additionally, don’t forget to check your beneficiary designations on accounts such as savings/checking, insurance, 401k, and retirement benefits, as these designations actually trump your will.

Ask your professional advisors—lawyer, financial advisor, insurance agent—to help you maximize your money-saving benefits when it comes to gift, income, and federal/state estate taxes.

two brides getting married

Get Started

You’ve worked hard for the assets you’ve built and the property you’ve acquired. Almost assuredly you want these assets to pass to the ones you love—the ones you’ve built a life with and around. Don’t let legal loopholes, family members that will never fully understand that love is love, or guardianship issues get in the way you crafting your legacy. It’s never too early to get started on your estate plan (with my free, no-obligation) estate plan questionnaire. I’m always happy to discuss the topic over the phone (515) 371-6077 or via email.

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(Legal) Word* of the Day: ILIT

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GoFisch blog

Mark Twain famously said, “A classic is something everybody wants to have read, but no one wants to read.” Life insurance is a little like that. Everyone needs it, but we don’t like to talk about it much.

Life Insurance as Key Estate Planning Tool

Life insurance is an amazing estate planning tool. I cannot stress enough the importance of life insurance. I, of course, don’t sell it, so I have no economic stake here. It’s just that life insurance is generally reasonably and affordably priced, yet still so helpful with so many financial goals. Replacing a breadwinner’s earnings is one of the most commons ways it is utilized. But, it can also provide liquid assets for a small business when a key partner dies. Life insurance can also cover costs that you might forget about, like funeral costs or unpaid taxes. While there are many advantages to life insurance, and you most definitely need it, life insurance can also create estate planning issues.

Expert Interview: Life Insurance & Your Estate Plan

Three Estate Planning Issues Life Insurance May Create

The major issue created by life insurance is that of the “sudden windfall” to your beneficiary. Do you really want, say, your 19-year-old to inherit several hundred thousand dollars at once? Even oldsters with experience managing finances may find a huge influx of cash to be overwhelming.

Another issue to consider: does your beneficiary receive government benefits? If so, proceeds from your life insurance policy might make your beneficiary ineligible for further benefits. By the way, don’t think that those receiving government aid are all elderly. Quite the opposite! A vast majority of Medicaid recipients are under age 44. Regardless of age, any beneficiary on Medicaid, or similar government aid program, is at risk of losing benefits without careful estate planning.

Finally, for high-net-worth (HNW) individuals and families, there is the issue of the federal estate tax. Everything owned in your name at death is included in your estate for estate tax purposes. Yes, that includes the death benefit proceeds of your life insurance policy. Considering that many policies carry quite hefty death benefits (several hundred thousand dollars, or more, not being unusual), this is definitely something for those with HNW to carefully consider.

Back to School: Economics of Charitable Gifts of Life Insurance

In Trusts we Trust

I’ve explained trusts generally before. A quick primer: in simplest terms, a trust is a legal agreement between three parties: grantor, trustee, and beneficiary. This allows a third party (the trustee) to hold assets for a beneficiary (or beneficiaries).

There are a nearly infinite variety of trusts. One type of trust is an irrevocable life insurance trust or ILIT.

So, what IS an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust?

Think of an ILIT as an “imaginary container,” which owns your life insurance policy for you. This provides several benefits. An ILIT removes the life insurance from your estate, i.e., lowers estate tax liability. Like other trusts, an ILIT allows you to decide how, when, and even why your named beneficiary receives life insurance proceeds.

Latest Iowa Lawyer Issue: Read GFLF’s Article on Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts

Wait, what was that about the three parties?

The grantor is you, the purchaser of life insurance.

The trustee can be anyone you, as grantor, chooses — an individual(s) or a qualified corporate trustee (like the trust department at your bank). But, note a major difference between an ILIT and other kinds of trusts – with a large number of other trusts, you can name yourself as trustee. With an ILIT, you wouldn’t want to do so, because the IRS may then determine that life insurance really hasn’t left your estate.

Who can be a beneficiary of an ILIT?

Most often, spouses, children, and/or grandchildren are the named beneficiaries of an ILIT. But really, it can be any individual(s) you, as grantor, choose.

Your beneficiary and your life insurance proceeds

The conditions under which a beneficiary receives distributions from an ILIT is up to you. You can, for example, specify that your beneficiary receives monthly or annual distributions. You can decide the amounts. You may even dictate that your beneficiary receives distributions when s/he reaches milestones which you choose. For example, you can provide for a large(r) distribution when a beneficiary reaches a certain age, graduates from college or post-graduate program, buys a first home, marries, or has a child. Or, really, just about any other condition or event that you decide is appropriate.

You also have the option to build in flexibility, so that your trustee has the discretion to provide distributions when your beneficiary needs it for a special purpose, like pursuing higher education, starting a business, making an investment, and so on.

And, of course, if your beneficiary is receiving government benefits, an ILIT can account for that, as well.

Good gosh, is there anything an ILIT CAN’T DO?

Once again, an ILIT is irrevocable. While an ILIT provides a great deal of flexibility, there’s one action for certain you can’t take — you cannot transfer a policy owned by an ILIT into your own name. So, if you think that someday you may need to access the policy’s cash value for your own purposes, you probably shouldn’t set up an ILIT.

Options for “ending” an ILIT

Now, I suppose, there’s nothing requiring you to continue making insurance payments into your ILIT. Depending on the kind of policy you have, your policy may lapse as soon as you miss your premium payment. Or, if your policy has cash value, these funds may be used to pay premiums until all the accumulated cash is exhausted. So, that’s an option for “ending” an ILIT.

101 Assets You Could Place in a Trust

I bet you have some questions. Let’s talk!

An ILIT can provide you, your loved ones, and your estate with significant benefits. To learn more, contact me at my email, gordon@gordonfischerlawfirm.com, for a free consultation, without obligation. You can also give me a call at 515-371-6077.

*Yes, you’re right – ILIT is really not a word, but an acronym. You caught me. It’s just that Legal Word of the Day sounds more exciting than Legal Acronym of the Day. Also, congratulations to you for being the kind of person who reads footnotes.

**In 2019 an individual must have an estate of more than about $11.18 million, and a married couple an estate of more than $22.8 million, before they need to worry about federal estate taxes.

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5 Reasons to Have an Estate Plan When You’re a Single Young Professional

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Estate planning is not just for your grandma, rich people, or families with kids. Call it adulting or simply being prepared, creating a quality estate plan is an essential part of your financial health. Here are five valid reasons for single, twenty-somethings to make an estate plan ASAP.

  1. The future of your digital assets (e.g., bank or credit union account information, social media accounts, and more) are in limbo. So much of our lives are lived online that it’s just as important to have your online presence accounted for as your personal, physical property.

Posting Mortem: Don’t Forget Your Digital Assets

  1. Your debt still needs to be handled. Unless it’s student loans, your debt just doesn’t go away if you pass away, and someone in your family may well be responsible for paying it off.
  2. Without an estate, your assets will be liquefied to pay off debt, and then reassigned to whomever a probate court deems to be the best recipient. This also means that without an estate plan you cannot donate your assets to the charities you care most about.

YOU Are a Super Hero: Charitable Giving Through Estate Planning

4. Do you really want to leave all of the burial decisions and house cleaning to your distraught loved ones?

5. Who’s going to parent your fur baby (dog, cat, bunny, chinchilla, you name it) if something happens to you? You’ll want your pet to go to a loving home and an estate plan (with a pet trust) is a great (only?) way to set the standard for continued care and ownership.

Animal Care Trust: Continued Care & Love for Your Pet

These are just a few of the many considerations that are, yes, tough to think about, but so important.

Have questions? Need more information?

A great place to get started is with my Estate Plan Questionnaire. Also, I’m always here to offer guidance, explain important terms, and answer questions. Feel free to reach out at any time.

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3 Things #SelectionSunday Can Teach You About Estate Planning

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Selection Sunday 2017

1. If you understand #SelectionSunday, and #MarchMadness, you can most certainly understand estate planning.

When I meet people who say they’re confused about estate planning I love to see their faces when I tell them understanding the basics of wills, trusts, and even business succession planning may sound intimidating, but the basics are as simple as understanding NCAA March Madness. Seriously! Many folks know what teams are on the bubble, which teams were playing well at end of the season and which weren’t, what the most likely upsets are, and so on.NCAA Basketballs

Just like all those details are a part of #SelectionSunday and #NCAAMarchMadness, there are multiple inputs that go into a quality estate plan. For starters, there are your personal goals, the six main estate planning documents, and then personal considerations for, say, children, a family with special needs, pets, and charitable bequests. Feel free to read into these estate plan elements (like you would check out the stats of your favorite teams!) in between sweating out your bracket. And, speaking of your bracket…

2. If you have time to fill out a March Madness bracket (and you do), you also have time to fill out an Estate Plan Questionnaire.

Most everyone I know fills out a March Madness bracket in a (mostly) friendly competition with family, friends, co-workers, or sometimes all three. If you have time to fill out a bracket, why not also put serious thought into securing your future with estate planning? No, I’m not trying to guilt you. It’s just, again, it’s not that hard! You can find my Estate Plan Questionnaire here. It’s a great place to start.

March Madness Inspired: 64 Charitable Gifts of Non-Cash Assets

 3. Weird stuff happens.

We all know that a huge part of the fun of NCAA March Madness is the upsets. The super thrilling and/or gut-wrenching endings that shouldn’t have happened, but somehow did. It’s a reminder that life, for better or worse, is quite unpredictable. Why not make sure that plans are in place in case something unexpected happens?

6 Estate Planning Resolutions You Can Actually Keep

Want some more sports to legal analogies in your life? Check out this read on preparing your favorite nonprofit for top-notch compliance.

Regardless of who you’re slating to win it all, I would love to hear from you; let’s schedule an initial free one-hour consultation (at no obligation, of course). Email me at gordon@gordonfischerlawfirm.com or give me a call at 515-371-6077.

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101 Assets You Could Place in a Trust

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Businessman taking notes and planning in a meeting

Q: How many elephants will fit into a Minivan?

A: Four: Two in the front, two in the back.

Q: How many giraffes will fit into a Minivan?

A: None. It’s full of elephants.

Jokes aside, you can fit just about any asset into a trust. Here is a “short” list of assets actually placed into trusts:

  1. Airplanes
  2. Antique automobiles
  3. Antiques
  4. Artwork
  5. Assets held by C Corporation
  6. Assets held by S Corporation
  7. Autographed books
  8. Barn doors
  9. Beach house
  10. Beanie Babies
  11. Boats
  12. Bonds
  13. Books
  14. Bookstore
  15. Boxes
  16. Boxing gloves
  17. Broadway musical
  18. C Corporation stock
  19. Cheese shoppe
  20. Chocolate store specializing in “I love chocolate” t-shirts
  21. Chocolate store specializing in baking chocolate
  22. Chocolate store specializing in bars of chocolate
  23. Chocolate store specializing in candy-coated chocolate
  24. Chocolate store specializing in chocolate and almonds
  25. Chocolate store specializing in chocolate mixed with peanut butter
  26. Chocolate store specializing in couverture chocolate
  27. Chocolate store specializing in dark chocolate
  28. Chocolate store specializing in milk chocolate
  29. Chocolate store specializing in organic chocolate
  30. Chocolate store specializing in hot chocolate
  31. Chocolate store specializing in liqueurs chocolate
  32. Chocolate store specializing in semi dark chocolate
  33. Chocolate store specializing in sweet chocolate
  34. Chocolate store specializing in white chocolate
  35. Chocolate store* (You’re now probably quizzically asking, “Should I send Gordong chocolate?”)
  36. Coin collections
  37. Comic books collection
  38. Commercial and residential real estate
  39. Condominiums
  40. Credit card rebates
  41. Cupcakery
  42. Depression-era glass
  43. Dolls
  44. Enamelware
  45. Equestrian ribbons
  46. Farmland
  47. Ghosts
  48. Gold bullion
  49. Grain
  50. Guitars
  51. Hedge fund carried interest
  52. Historic papers
  53. Installment notes
  54. Intellectual property
  55. Law firm
  56. Life insurance
  57. Limited liability partnerships
  58. Livestock
  59. Marbles
  60. Mineral rights
  61. Monica (my wife)
  62. Moonstone
  63. Music store
  64. Mutual funds
  65. NHL team
  66. Oil and gas interests
  67. Olives
  68. Operating partnership units
  69. Paint-by-number landscapes
  70. Painted planks
  71. Paintings
  72. Patents
  73. Photographs
  74. Pickles
  75. Pooled income funds
  76. Racehorses
  77. Real estate
  78. Restaurant
  79. Restricted stock (144 and 145)
  80. Retained life estate
  81. Retirement benefits
  82. Royalties
  83. S Corporation stock
  84. Sculpture
  85. Sculpture garden
  86. Sea urchins
  87. Seat on New York Mercantile Stock Exchange
  88. Seats at events
  89. Snow globes
  90. Soda pop bottles
  91. Spirits of the damned
  92. Stamp Collection
  93. Stocks
  94. Tangible personal property
  95. Taxidermy
  96. Teddy bears
  97. Timber deeds
  98. Vacation home
  99. Vehicles
  100. Violin
  101. Wines

*Yes, this is a cry for help. I love sweets, especially chocolate, way too much.

Four Major Ways to Classify Trusts

Why put assets in trust?

There can be many reasons to use a trust, and specific benefits can accrue from specific trusts. In general, there are four great reasons to initiate a trust.

1. Save money

Using a trust, you avoid probate, which can save you lots of money. Probate will generally take two percent-plus of your estate, and even “just” two percent of your entire estate can add up to a lot of money. Avoiding probate also helps you avoid fees, costs, and taxes.

2. Save time

timer with sand in it

Using a trust, you avoid probate, which can save you lots of time. Going through probate, even here in Iowa, can take several months, to a year, or even more. Your heirs and beneficiaries may not receive their inheritances until the end of this probate process. Again, with trusts, you bypass probate. With trusts, your beneficiaries can get their inheritances in mere days, or weeks, rather than several months.

3. Flexibility of distributions

Don’t want your 18-year-old to inherit half-a-million dollars in one fell swoop? I agree it’s not a good idea. Trusts offer flexibility for the payout of inheritances. You set the ground rules of when and how distributions are made. For example, you might decide your children can receive distributions at certain ages. (For example, one-third at age 25, one-third at age 30, and the remaining at age 40). Or, you might decide your children can receive distributions at the attainment of certain milestones, such as marriage, the birth of a child, buying a first home, or receiving a certain degree

4. Privacy

Probate proceedings are public. Your will, once you pass and it is filed in court, is a public record. Some desire privacy about financial matters (say, about their family business) even after death.

Also, privacy can prevent hurt feelings among family members. For example, do you really want your Cousin Joe to know he received significantly less than all the other cousins?

What are the drawbacks to a trust?

It’s more expensive to set up a trust than basic estate plan documents, although I would say those costs are greatly outweighed by the money you’ll save your estate in the end. It’s also a bit of an administrative hassle, as your assets (such as car, house, stock funds, etc.) have to be retitled in the name of the trust. Again, though, I believe this inconvenience is much outweighed by the smooth operation of a trust at death.

Let’s talk about trusts!

(Legal) Word of the Day: Trust

Have an asset that didn’t make the list of 101 items? It can probably still go in a trust (even if it isn’t chocolate related!). Sometimes it’s hard to know if a trust may be right for your personal situation. It certainly doesn’t hurt to take me up on my offer for a free one-hour consultation. Give me a call at 515-371-6077 or shoot me an email at gordon@gordonfischerlawfirm.com.

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3 Must-Reads: Estate Planning Made Simple

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Gordon Fischer Estate Planning Simple

You know you need an estate plan, but you still don’t understand really what you need or where to start. What to do? I’m here to help and it’s one of my personal missions to break down estate planning so it’s as easy and accessible as possible.

Here are three blog posts, all relatively short and simple, that should help.

First, I provide the very basics of estate planning which features the six “must have” estate planning documents everyone needs.

What We Talk About When We Talk About Estate Planning

For many, the six “must have” estate planning documents is enough. Some Iowans will also want or need a trust.

Second, here are the basics of what you need to know about trusts.

Trusts can be needed and utilized for a number of reasons. Perhaps someone’s assets are too large, too numerous, and/or too complicated and a trust is needed. Perhaps the person simply has a desire to avoid probate. Trusts can also provide a measure of privacy that, say, wills, do not.

Four Major Ways to Classify Trusts

Third, you may ask, how does someone go about actually getting these documents? What’s the process of putting together an estate plan? Well, probably every lawyer has a different estate planning process. I naturally prefer mine – I think it’s very client-focused and client-friendly, and allows plenty of give and take between me and you. We’ll have an ongoing dialogue between us to ensure the best plan for you. Really, it only takes five steps to have a full and complete estate plan.

Estate Planning: Just Five Easy Steps from Start to Finish

Let’s Talk.

After reading these posts you may still have questions or will want to discuss your personal estate situations. I would love to schedule a time to meet or discuss over the phone. Shoot me an email or give me a call and we’ll start the conversation on what YOU need to leave a lasting legacy and secure future for your loved ones.

If you’re feeling good and want to get started on your estate plan, the best place to begin is with my free, no-obligation Estate Plan Questionnaire.

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The Kids are Alright: Guardianship for Children

Calling All Parents

In your role as a responsible parent you most definitely need an estate plan. One of the most critically important features of an estate plan is establishing guardianships for any minors (i.e., children under the age of 18) in your care. The ability to establish guardianships through your will is one of the (major) reasons I give for stating that estate planning is just as important for young people – arguably even more important – than it is for older folks.

couple with child at beach

What if a child’s caregiver is in an accident resulting in disability or even death? It’s tragic and uncomfortable to think about. If the child/children are younger than 18, the question will immediately be, “Who cares for them now?” And I say, immediately, because children can’t wait hours (let alone days, weeks, or months) for the adults around them to sort out an answer—kids need help, care, and support ASAP.

Establishing Guardianship Can Best Be Accomplished Through Will

A guardianship for a minor child can best be established through a Will. For example, your Will could state something like this:

Nomination of Guardians. If I die leaving minor children, it is my wish that such minor children be cared for by my sister, AMY SMITH, and brother-in-law, GARY SMITH, as co-guardians, both of whom may also make a determination of appropriate custody, provided both are still living and are still married to each other. If AMY SMITH or GARY SMITH do not survive me, it is my wish that my brother-in-law, DARREN JONES, and his wife, LAUREN JONES, act as guardians, and both of whom may also make a determination of appropriate custody.

Be sure to discuss your guardianship choices with your family members to be sure they’re “in-the-know” and on board with the potential responsibility of caring for your young ones.

Without Nomination of Guardians, Iowa Court Must “Guess”

Unless guardianship has been established, as in the clause directly above, an Iowa Court must choose guardians. Unfortunately, with no clear choice as to what the former caregivers would have preferred, the Court must basically make its own and best determination as to who the parents would have preferred and what would be in the best interest of the children. The Court may or may not, choose who the former caregivers would have named.

child celebrating fourth of july

Spiraling into Conflict

In an extremely stressful situation such as in the case of major disability/death of a caregiver, there may be several family members all sincere in the same strongly held belief that the children would be best taken care of by them. From there, events can quickly spiral into conflict, even a full-blown Court battle. The people who suffer most during this conflict are, of course, the minor children themselves, as they are thrown into an even worse situation.

Oral “Promises” Not Sufficient

OK, you say. But, our neighbors and us, we have a special deal. We’ve talked and agreed, if something happens to us, they’ll be the guardians. If something happens to them, we’ll be the guardians. Isn’t that good enough?

In a word, no. No way. This sort of oral agreement is not enforceable in Probate Court (or any other Court). (Here’s an example of how such agreements fail to hold up using examples from the podcast, S-Town.) The Court might consider this as one piece of evidence among the many other pieces of evidence—assuming this oral agreement can even get admitted into evidence—including in-person testimony by would-be guardians, in order to reach a guardianship decision.

Not to Decide Is to Decide

I’ve known couples haven’t been able to agree who will take care of their children in the event of them both passing. Since they can’t reach an agreement, they bypass the conversation entirely, and leave their children without a legal guardian. Which is, of course, the worst possible decision of all!

A good estate planning attorney can help with this discussion. (Let’s set a time to have this discussion.) A compromise must be reached, to ensure a good plan for the kids.

Testamentary Trust for Children

girl blowing bubbles

Further, it’s not just guardians you can plan for in your will, you can also plan material support for your children. Through a will, you can set up what is known as a testamentary trust for your children. This trust will ensure your minor children will be provided and cared for in the event you are gone.

A trustee named by you to oversee the trust can distribute funds from the estate (with oversight by the estate attorney and the Court), for the following childcare categories:

  • Health
  • Education
  • Maintenance
  • Support

Lawyers often refer to this in shorthand as “HEMS.”

Show Your Kids You Love ‘Em with a Testamentary Trust

Who Wants to be an 18-Year-Old Millionaire?

When you pass, even at a young age, all your assets (house, vehicles, life insurance, retirement benefit plan) could add up to quite a tidy sum. Without a testamentary trust, a child would simply inherit everything at once, when he/she reaches the age of majority (i.e., on their 18th birthday). No matter how smart and responsible an 18-year-old is, they are still only 18. Most of my clients feel strongly that inheriting that much money, that quickly, would not be good for anyone. (Case in point, this guy learned his lesson from blowing through a trust fund in just a couple years.)

boy on roof

Instead, in a quality estate plan, a testamentary trust will provide assets to the child/children as they reach different age checkpoints as chosen by the caregivers. For example, the caregivers may decide the children should receive one-third of the estate at age 21, one-third of the estate at age 30, and one-third of the estate at age 40. Or, again, whatever ages and percentages the caregivers think best and most appropriate.

Contact Me for a (Genuine and) Free Consultation

I know this can be a lot to think about. So, don’t hesitate to reach out at any time with any questions, concerns, or considerations. You can also get started on the creation of an estate plan by filling out my Estate Plan Questionnaire.

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YOU Are a Super Hero: Charitable Giving Through Estate Planning

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super hero comic book

You are a superhero. Seriously, you have the ability to change the world or, at the very least, your little corner of it. You can affect this level of change just by asking yourself one simple question: what causes would I like to benefit in my will?

Bequests to Charities in Your Will

Yes, that’s right. You can include the nonprofits you care about most in your will, leaving a legacy after you have passed on. And, it doesn’t cost anything extra! Just the assets you’re choosing to gift. You can include charities like your church, alma mater, a local cause, or an international organization in your estate plan. And, if you ask the charity you care about most, I’ll bet they’ll tell you that the result of your charitable bequest, no matter how big or small, can make a huge impact.

Terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea of NOT having a Will

What About My Kids?

When folks come to me for estate planning help, a major reason they do so—perhaps even the single reason they do so—is to benefit their children. Parents often think, “I love Charity X, but of course, I love my kids even more, and I’ve got to take care of my family.” Of course, you do! And, of course, you should! But, ask yourself another question: How much is enough for my kids? If you have lots of assets, and/or your children are adults, and successful on their own, could you provide adequate support for your children and still also include a bequest to one of more charities?

superhero-costume-children

Let’s Talk

Invite the whole family to the kitchen table sometime (even if your kitchen table is a virtual one, via email) and talk about the distributions you want to make at death. Ask if including gifts to charity from your estate plan would be appropriate and acceptable to the kids. Perhaps it’s a charity the whole family supports. Perhaps this will be the beginning of a multigenerational cycle of giving.

Why not talk about it? This can be an especially productive conversation if you can explain that taxes are going to eat up a lot of one or more of the assets anyway, and this can be avoided by giving said asset(s) to charity (since charities are tax-exempt).

The Importance of Discussing Your Estate with Your Family

Life Insurance

Sometimes when parents give a major asset(s) to charity, and their kids’ inheritance takes a real hit, they’ll buy a new life insurance policy to make up the shortfall to the kids. Or, they may even buy a new life insurance policy and name the charity directly as a beneficiary. There’s also a very helpful kind of trust called an ILIT, that significantly increases the impact of life insurance. Without getting too complicated, let me give you the basics.

An ILIT is an irrevocable, non-amendable trust which is both the owner and beneficiary of one or more life insurance policies. Upon the death of the insured, the trustee invests the insurance proceeds and administers the trust for one or more beneficiaries.

(Legal) Word* of the Day: ILIT

What is the Role of an Estate Planner?

When it comes to estate planning, you’re thinking about so many different variables and scenarios, so what if you forget to factor in charity? Lucky for you, that’s why I’m here—to help you maximize charitable giving. That means determining how your generosity can not only help an organization make a difference but how you can maximize the financial and estate-related benefits from giving.

9 Reasons You Need a Lawyer to Write your Estate Plan

Studies Showed

A 2013 study* showed how lawyers, like me, can help charitable giving factor in estate planning. The scientifically-conducted research from the UK-based Behavioural Insights Team showed that when lawyers asked clients specific questions regarding charitable giving, the results were significant. Here are the results:

  • Control Group/Baseline

Lawyers who provided no reminder or inquiry to their clients about possibly benefiting a charity in their estate plan (bequests) resulted in 4.9 percent of those clients including a charity in their plans.

  • Test Group One

Lawyers who asked their clients, “Would you like to leave any money to a charity in your will?” resulted in 10.8 percent of their clients including a charity.

  • Test Group Two

Lawyers who said, “Many of our clients like to leave money to a charity in their will. Are there causes you are passionate about?” resulted in 15.4 percent of their clients including a charity. What a dramatic increase!

Here are the approximate dollar values associated with each group:

  • Control Group/Baseline

Average bequest $5,000

  • Test Group One

Average bequest $4,800

  • Test Group Two

Average bequest $10,200

Again, test group two gives a powerful example of the difference charity-minded estate planners can make.

In the study, there were a 1,000 people in each of the groups. That means that the “Test Group Two” raised over $1 million more than the control group.

volunteers taking selfie

What this means for you is that your lawyer plays an important role in reminding, guiding, and assisting you in your charitable giving so that you can use your superpower (giving through your will) to the fullest extent.

In 2017, $35.70 billion was contributed to US charities through bequests. Imagine if everyone worked with a lawyer with a strong focus on charitable giving! The impact could be incredibly transformative for the impact nonprofits can make in our communities.

Let’s Get Started

Harness your superpowers and get started with your legacy today. The best place to start is by filling out my Estate Plan Questionnaire. It’s easy, free, and there’s no obligation. It’s simply a document that gets you thinking and planning. Already have an estate plan, but want to update it to include the causes that are near and dear to your heart? Don’t hesitate to contact me.

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