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Estate Planning (in Plain English)
Estate Planning (in Plain English)
Estate Planning (in Plain English)
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Estate Planning (in Plain English)

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"An invaluable tool to help you collect the information your attorney needs." —Michael Cragun, Utah State Tax Commissioner

An Accessible Guide to Estate Planning


With Estate Planning (in Plain English)®, readers will learn to comprehend the legal jargon and navigate the complex rules involved in preparing one’s estate. The authors provide clear information and cite actual cases to help readers approach the process with the confidence and knowledge they need to make the best decisions for their heirs. Chapters discuss important topics such as: 
  • Estate plans, wills, and a variety of trusts
  • Guardians, powers of attorney, advance directives, and other essential documents
  • Life insurance
  • Digital assets
  • Gifts
  • Tax considerations
  • Avoiding probate
  • Identifying and caring for estate property
  • Settling business assets
  • Finding a lawyer
An invaluable reference for those preparing their estates and for their families, Estate Planning (in Plain English)®will enable readers to take the necessary steps to preserve their legacies.
LanguageEnglish
PublisherAllworth
Release dateApr 7, 2020
ISBN9781621537274
Estate Planning (in Plain English)

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    Estate Planning (in Plain English) - Leonard D. DuBoff

    Praise for Estate Planning (in Plain English)®

    "Estate Planning (in Plain English)® is an invaluable tool to help you collect the information your attorney needs to prepare your estate plan and to help your family put your plan into action. I strongly recommend that you add this book to your library."

    —Michael Cragun, Utah State Tax Commissioner

    "When the time for transitioning to the Great Beyond approaches, over one-half of all Americans follow in the shadows of actor James Dean, business mogul Howard Hughes, and President Abraham Lincoln and perish without a will, leaving a mess for others to sort. Better for your loved ones if you read DuBoff and Bryan’s Estate Planning (in Plain English)® and organize your estate so that others don’t have to. This treasure of a book, written in language for the lay audience, even explains how to dispose of your digital assets. Buy this book and start happily planning your estate!"

    —Sherri Burr, Dickason Chair in Law Emerita, University of New Mexico School of Law, coauthor of Wills and Trusts in a Nutshell

    "In my tradition, money is considered neither evil nor good. What matters is how one gets it and how one uses it. As always, we have an obligation to be responsible and thoughtful stewards of the resources with which we are entrusted. Estate Planning (in Plain English)® is an indispensable guide to doing just that. It will prove very useful to those of us who wish to put our affairs in order and thus spare those we love an unnecessary burden."

    —Rabbi David Kosak

    "Having an up-to-date estate plan is one of the greatest gifts you can give your loved ones. Without one, you leave unintended burdens and potentially divisive pain for those you love and have left behind. Estate Planning (in Plain English)® offers a practical road map for addressing all the issues in developing a solid estate plan, from the simplest estate with few assets to consideration of more complex matters that need to be addressed."

    —Dan Schutte, composer-in-residence, University of San Francisco

    "Death is certain, and disability is likely. Unfortunately, the majority of individuals plan for neither. In Estate Planning (in Plain English)®, experienced practitioners Leonard D. DuBoff and Amanda Bryan provide expert guidance in layperson-friendly language on the multitude of reasons everyone needs an estate plan so that their wishes and desires are followed. Then, they succinctly explain the basic techniques available to carry out their intent. I am confident readers of this book will be motived to take action to make the inevitable transition more palatable for themselves, their family members, and their friends."

    —Gerry Beyer, Governor Preston E. Smith Regents Professor of Law, Texas Tech University School of Law

    "There is no doubt that when one is caught up in the never-ending wave of a wide range of emotions upon the news and reality of a loved one’s death, dealing with the practical parts of a loved one’s passing is made more complicated and overwhelming. A sense of loss brings a family and gathering of friends into a strange new land, where there is no ready guide for understanding our next step on the journey of life. That’s why it is incredibly helpful to have one part of the ‘next step’ of life’s pilgrimage figured out before the loss of a loved one. Estate Planning (in Plain English)® does just that: it provides an incredibly helpful, easy-to-read road map for what to do, today, before a loved one’s death."

    —Brett Webb-Mitchell, ordained Presbyterian Church (USA) pastor, Portland, Oregon

    Disclaimer: This book is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with respect to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the authors and publisher are not engaged in rendering legal or other professional services. At the time of publication, this book is accurate regarding the legal and tax material discussed. However, both national and state laws change. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent attorney, accountant, or other professional should be sought. While every attempt is made to provide accurate information, the author or publisher cannot be held accountable for errors or omissions.

    Copyright © 2020 by The DuBoff Law Group, PC

    All rights reserved. Copyright under Berne Copyright Convention, Universal Copyright Convention, and Pan American Copyright Convention. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Allworth Press, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

    Allworth Press books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Allworth Press, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or [email protected].

    24 23 22 21 20     5 4 3 2 1

    Published by Allworth Press, an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018. Allworth Press® is a registered trademark of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.®, a Delaware corporation.

    www.allworth.com

    Cover design by Mary Belibasakis

    Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

    Names: DuBoff, Leonard D, author. | Bryan, Amanda, author.

    Title: Estate planning (in plain English) / Leonard D DuBoff and Amanda Bryan, attorneys-at- law.

    Description: New York : Allworth Press, 2020. | Series: In plain english | Includes index.

    Identifiers: LCCN 2019059403 (print) | LCCN 2019059404 (ebook) | ISBN 9781621537267 (trade paperback) | ISBN 9781621537274 (epub)

    Subjects: LCSH: Estate planning--United States--Popular works.

    Classification: LCC KF750.Z9 D83 2020 (print) | LCC KF750.Z9 (ebook) | DDC 332.024/016--dc23

    LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019059403

    LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019059404

    Print ISBN: 978-1-62153-726-7

    eBook ISBN: 978-1-62153-727-4

    Printed in the United States of America

    Dedication

    To my mother, Millicent, and my father, Rubin, who provided me with the gift of life and the desire to use that gift effectively. To my mother-in-law, Cumi Elena Crawford, for her faith, trust, and inspiration, and to my wife, Mary Ann, for her enduring love and continuing support.

    —Leonard D. DuBoff

    To my children, Random, Grey, and Scout. You are as delightful, quirky, and compassionate as I could have wished for. Your love is my greatest treasure. And to my husband, Josh, for being my safe place and my other half.

    —Amanda Bryan

    Table of Contents

    Acknowledgments

    Introduction

    PART I—BUILDING YOUR ESTATE PLAN

    Chapter 1: The Importance of Making an Estate Plan

    Chapter 2: The Estate Plan

    Assets

    Wills and Trusts

    Advance Directives and Medical Powers of Attorney

    Gifting

    Dividing Property

    Protecting the Inheritance

    Beneficiaries

    Your Legacy

    Chapter 3: Wills

    General Overview

    Common Mistakes

    Capacity

    Revocation and Revival

    Partial Invalidity of a Will

    Simultaneous Death

    Will Provisions

    Executor’s Duties

    Creative and Professional Executors

    Chapter 4: Testamentary Trusts

    General Overview

    Trust Agreements

    Abusive Trust Arrangements

    Successor Trustees

    Trustee’s Duties

    Estate Planning Trusts

    Chapter 5: Living (Inter Vivos) Trusts

    General Overview

    Advantages and Disadvantages

    Spendthrift Trusts and Marital Living Trusts

    Professional Asset Management

    Funding a Living Trust

    Chapter 6: Special Needs Trusts

    Identifying a Caretaker

    Guardianship

    Government Assistance and Income Limitations

    Additional Considerations for the Trustee

    Additional Instructions to Include

    Irrevocable Inter Vivos Trusts

    Insurance

    Chapter 7: Guardians, Powers of Attorney, Advance Directives,

    and Other Essential Documents

    Guardians

    Power of Attorney

    Advance Directives

    Other Essential Documents

    Chapter 8: Life insurance

    Alternatives to Life Insurance

    Common Types of Life Insurance Policies

    Life Insurance Annuities

    Insurance Trusts

    Buy-Sell Agreements

    Tax Implications

    Chapter 9: Digital Assets

    The Importance of Planning for Your Digital Assets

    Designating a Digital Agent

    Identifying Your Digital Assets

    Digital Asset Inventory

    Roadblocks to Access

    Wills

    Durable Powers of Attorney

    Trusts

    Make Your Intentions Known

    Online Afterlife Management Companies

    Chapter 10: Tax Considerations

    Principal Points to Consider

    Primary Residences

    Individual Retirement Accounts

    Gifts and Gift Taxes

    Decedent Tax Forms

    Income and Deductions in Respect of a Decedent

    Generation-Skipping Tax

    Chapter 11: Your Legacy

    Helpful Tips

    Parting thoughts

    Last Posts, Tweets, Etc.

    Stories and Videos

    In Memoriam

    Worksheet 1

    PART II—AVOIDING PROBATE

    Chapter 12: What Is Probate?

    Chapter 13: Gifts

    Gift Taxes

    Federal Lifetime Exemption or Unified Credit

    Inter Vivos Gifts

    Health and Education Exemption

    Gifts to Minors

    Gifts to a Spouse

    Charitable Gifts

    Gifts Made on Your Behalf

    Gifts by a Nonresident Noncitizen

    Refusing a Gift

    Bargain Sales

    Considerations in Making Gifts

    Net Gift Technique

    Deathbed Gifts

    State Gift Taxes

    Chapter 14: Co-Ownership

    Joint Tenancy

    Tenancy in Common

    Joint Tenancy and Community Property Laws

    Transfer on Death Deeds

    New Value of Property When a Joint Tenant Dies

    Simultaneous Death

    Joint Tenancy and Taxable Gifts

    Chapter 15: Bank Accounts and Insurance Policies

    Bank Accounts

    Pay-on-Death Accounts

    Bank and Credit Union Accounts

    Safety Deposit Boxes

    Life Insurance

    Chapter 16: Business Structures

    Choosing a Business Structure

    Buy-Sell Agreements

    Transferring Ownership During Life

    Worksheet 2

    PART III—THE PROBATE PROCESS

    Chapter 17: Testate

    What Is Dying Testate?

    Opening the Estate

    Appointing the Personal Representative

    Notifying Creditors

    Preserving the Assets of the Estate

    Executing the Will

    Final Income Taxes

    Annual Accountings

    Interim Payments

    Liquidating or Distributing Assets

    Closing the Estate

    Chapter 18: Intestate

    What Is Intestate?

    Opening a File with the Court

    Appointing an Administrator

    Complying with State Law

    Notifying Creditors

    Preserving Assets

    Paying Claims, Attorneys, and Administrator

    Small Estates

    Benefits of Having a Will

    PART IV: GUIDANCE FOR SURVIVORS

    Chapter 19: In the Event of Death

    What to Do in Case of an Accidental or Unexpected Death

    My Personal Information

    Upon My Death

    At the Time of My Death

    My Current Medications

    Chapter 20: General Information about Handling the Death of a Loved One

    Family and Friends to Notify

    Notify My Primary Care Doctor

    Organ Donations

    Funeral Arrangements

    My Obituary

    My Photos

    My Professional Advisors

    Other People to Notify

    Chapter 21: Miscellaneous Instructions

    Family Information

    Pets and Animals

    Chapter 22: Important Documents and Where to Find Them

    Where to Find Vital Documents

    Estate Planning Documents

    Beneficiary Designations

    Location of Safety Deposit Box

    Personal and Confidential Information Instructions

    Insurance Policies

    Deeds and Documents

    Investments

    Tax Records

    Loans and Credit Cards

    Chapter 23: Digital Assets, Accounts, and Passwords

    Chapter 24: Immediate Care of Property and Obligations

    Legal Jargon Alert

    Report the Death

    Secure and Inventory Property

    Contact Family and Friends

    Locate Estate Planning Documents

    Identify the Fiduciaries

    Fiduciary Responsibilities

    Funeral Arrangements and Memorial Services

    Chapter 25: Identifying and Caring for Estate Property

    Real Property

    Pets

    Bank Accounts

    Stocks and Bonds

    Automobiles and Other Vehicles

    Income and Payments to the Estate

    Obligations of the Estate

    Miscellaneous

    Chapter 26: The Decedent’s Businesses

    Employers

    What Should Be Done with the Business

    Controlling the Assets

    Time Is of the Essence

    Chapter 27: Insolvent Estates

    Chapter 28: Finding a Lawyer and an Accountant

    Finding a Lawyer

    Evaluating a Lawyer

    Using a Lawyer

    Finding an Accountant

    Appendix A: Common Estate Acronyms

    Appendix B: Information Sources

    Appendix C: State Estate and Inheritance Tax Schedules

    Appendix D: State Probate and Intestate Laws

    Appendix E: State Digital Estate Planning Laws

    Glossary

    About the Authors

    Index

    Acknowledgments

    In order to assemble the vast quantity of statutes, cases, articles, and books that have become available on this topic, it was necessary to enlist the aid of numerous friends and colleagues. Their help is greatly appreciated, and some deserve special recognition.

    Amanda and I would like to thank Greg Rogers of the accounting firm Rogers Financial Services and Tony H. Davidson of Tony H. Davidson CPA, PC for their time and expertise in reviewing the tax material in this book.

    We are indebted to Gerry Beyer, Governor Preston E. Smith Regents Professor of Law at Texas Tech University School of Law, for allowing us to use portions of his material on cyber estate planning and administration in this book. We also appreciate the fact that he was kind enough to write a blurb.

    We are honored to have a blurb written by Professor Sherri L. Burr, Dickason Chair in Law Emerita, at the University of New Mexico School of Law and coauthor of Wills and Trusts in a Nutshell.

    We are also indebted to Dan Schutte, one of the St. Louis Jesuits and the composer of Here I Am, Lord, one of the most popular pieces of Christian music available today and the creator of several works which help individuals with death and dying, for his review of the manuscript and useful recommendations. He was also kind enough to write a blurb for this book.

    We are sincerely grateful to Michael Cragun, Tax Commissioner of the State of Utah, for the flattering blurb that he wrote and his helpful recommendations; and Rabbi Kosak, Senior Rabbi of one of the largest and most prestigious synagogues in the West, for the complimentary blurb he wrote.

    We are also indebted to Tad Crawford, our editor Chamois Holschuh, and the entire Skyhorse Publishing staff for their help in publishing this volume. Not only were they instrumental in the publication of this work, they were also willing to review numerous copies of the manuscript and provide many valuable recommendations and suggestions.

    Thanks also to our paralegals Francesca Hurd and Susana Fuentes for all of their assistance and recommendations.

    We are indebted to Lynn Della, a long-standing friend, for her help in reviewing this manuscript, cleaning up numerous parts, and providing priceless recommendations.

    Sherrey Meyer was kind enough to review this manuscript and recommend a number of helpful changes.

    Tiffany Davidson, attorney at law, and Lauren Barnes, attorney at law, were gracious enough to review a draft of this manuscript and suggest numerous clarifications.

    My brother, Michael H. DuBoff, attorney at law, was extremely helpful in reviewing several drafts of this manuscript and providing a number of useful recommendations.

    I would also like to thank Colin Mackenzie, an attorney who worked for my law firm for a short time, for his assistance in reviewing the manuscript and providing recommendations. I would also like to thank Christopher Perea for his help in completing the final edit of this manuscript.

    Amanda would like to thank her children, Random Gomm, Grey Gomm, and Scout Gomm, and her husband Josh Congdon for their patience and support during the writing process, giving up weekends and evenings with her and being okay with unfolded laundry and macaroni and cheese dinners during the initial writing of this book.

    Leonard would like to thank his college English professor, Anne Lotham, for teaching him to write in plain English. He is also grateful for the support of his children and grandchildren. His son Robert and his daughter-in-law Bri Hunter have been very helpful with technology issues, and his daughter Colleen has been extremely creative with her graphic design skills. Her husband, Rudy, a lawyer who has recently joined our law firm, has been very helpful with research. Leonard is also grateful to his grandson Brian and Brian’s fiancée Megan Randall for their personal assistance, and to the newest member of his family, his granddaughter Athena, for her cheerfulness. Leonard’s late sister, Candise DuBoff Jones, JD, Northwestern School of Law, Lewis & Clark College, 1977; his late father, Rubin R. DuBoff; and his late mother, Millicent Barbara DuBoff, all provided him with the inspiration to create works such as this. Leonard valued his mother-in-law Cumi Elena Crawford’s faith, trust, and inspiration, which helped him create this project.

    Finally, Leonard would like to express his sincere gratitude and acknowledge the contribution to this project by his partner in law and in life, Mary Ann Crawford DuBoff. Without her, Estate Planning (in Plain English)® would never have become a reality.

    Introduction

    When I first began writing the Law (in Plain English)® series more than four decades ago, my goal was to educate nonlawyers on the legal aspects of their businesses and professions. At the time, I was a full-time law professor and, as an educator, I felt that one of my missions was to provide educational tools. Later, as a full-time lawyer, I realized the importance of this series in educating my clients so that they could more effectively communicate with me. It became clear that the more knowledgeable my clients were about the myriad legal issues that they faced in their businesses and professions, the more effectively they could aid me in helping them. It is for this reason that I continue this series, and today there are In Plain English® books for writers, high-tech entrepreneurs, health-care professionals, craftspeople, gallery operators, photographers, small businesses, employers and employees, publishers, collectors, restaurants, nonprofit organizations, and now this universal volume for estate planning.

    It is important to understand the genesis of this book. When Amanda Bryan was working for my law firm, assisting clients with estate planning problems, we realized how ill-prepared people were to discuss estate planning issues. We searched for a book to assist with this problem and were unable to find one that we believed would be useful for our clients. While there are many estate planning books available in the market, none provide the reader with clear, understandable explanations of the numerous complex issues that should be considered in estate planning. While there are numerous technical estate planning books, they are geared toward lawyers and not in plain English. The books available for nonlawyers are too limited. Further, none of the books we found are workbooks that allow the reader to collect all the necessary material to assist an estate planning lawyer when preparing an estate plan. In addition, none of the books contained material for the individuals who must deal with the estate after the person whose estate plan is involved has died. For these reasons, I began writing this book with Amanda’s assistance. We spent numerous hours researching, revising, clarifying, and converting the manuscript into a clear and, hopefully, understandable book.

    This book is not intended to be a substitute for the advice of estate planning professionals. Rather, it is designed to sensitize you to the issues that may require the aid of a qualified estate planning attorney or other expert. It is my sincere hope that this book will, like its predecessors in the series, be practical, useful, and readable. One of our goals in preparing this book is to enable the reader to identify potential problem areas and seek the aid of a skilled professional when necessary—or preferably before it becomes necessary—because it is quite common for individuals to postpone their estate plan for as long as possible (and far too often, too long).

    Estate law is quite complex and rapidly evolving. The Internet has become a vehicle for communication and commerce, and the law has been scrambling to keep pace with technology. In writing this book, it was our intention to chronicle the law and restate it in a clear and understandable text that will aid the reader in understanding the current state of estate planning law. It is hoped that, by doing so, our readers will be able to more effectively communicate with their experts when developing and refining their estate plan, and provide a valuable resource for their survivors

    —Leonard D. DuBoff

    Portland, Oregon, July 2019

    PART I

    Building Your Estate Plan

    CHAPTER 1

    The Importance of Making an Estate Plan

    When Aretha Franklin died in 2018, her family believed that she had died without a will. Without a will, her heirs were confused and conflicted, not knowing what the Queen of Soul’s wishes were for her assets, her songs, or her memory. Over the course of the succeeding months, her family found two handwritten wills locked in a cabinet in her home. These wills were both dated from 2010. A short time later, a third will, also handwritten, but dated 2014, was found in the cushions of her couch. The wills were contradictory and difficult to decipher. Rather than resolving disputes between Franklin’s friends and family, the documents raised new questions about who should represent the estate, as well as the validity and priority of the wills.

    While most individuals will not die with a situation as complex as Aretha Franklin’s, the lesson is clear—a comprehensive estate plan is important to reduce tension among your heirs, ease their grief at an already difficult time, and fulfill your wishes.

    Like many people, you may be reluctant to think about planning for the disposition of your estate. The process brings up uncomfortable inevitabilities like death and, yes, as the saying goes—taxes. Thinking about what you will leave behind may bring up feelings of others’ greed or your own inadequacy. Thinking about who you will leave behind may bring up feelings of fear and loss. You may have memories of deaths close to you and unresolved relationships. This book is designed to help you think through this process at your own pace. By the time you complete all of the reading and worksheets, you will be better able to meet with an estate planning attorney, explain your estate and your wishes in a clear and complete manner, and turn over the technical details to that attorney.

    The unfortunate situation involving Terri Schiavo, who became a pawn in the battle between her family members, is a grim reminder of the importance of having an advance directive, also referred to as a living will or medical power of attorney. Schiavo was only twenty-six years old when she had a heart attack that ultimately left her in a persistent vegetative state. Her husband, Michael, who was her legal guardian, believed that his wife would not want her life to be prolonged artificially. Her parents disagreed and challenged the diagnosis and Michael’s decision. A legal battle ensued. During that time, Schiavo’s feeding was removed for a few days, only to be replaced, all pursuant to conflicting court orders. In the end, Michael ultimately prevailed and the feeding tube was removed. Schiavo died in 2005 at the age of forty-one.

    An advance directive is a document that appoints an individual to make medical decisions on your behalf and states your wishes with respect to sustaining your life through artificial means. If Terri Schiavo had prepared such a document, her family would have been spared fifteen years of struggle. Federal law requires health-care facilities, such as hospitals receiving Medicare funds, to ask patients at the time they are admitted whether they have an advance directive; if they do, the facility must keep it on file.

    While it is impossible to determine what specific situations might trigger an advance directive, it is vital for the representative identified in that document to determine whether you would wish to have your life sustained by artificial means, such as life-support systems or artificial feeding. The decision can be made by that individual by consulting with family, clergy, or an experienced attorney. Regardless, the person you identify to represent you in a medical emergency, usually a relative or very close friend, should already know your wishes.

    Medical providers may also suggest to patients suffering from life-­threatening conditions or who become seriously ill or frail and are toward the end of life that they complete a POLST form. A POLST form gives medical orders to emergency personnel based on your current medical situation. POLST forms and advance directives are both advance care plans but they are not the same. For more information, see https://polst.org. Be sure to check the POLST forms for your state since they vary depending upon location.

    Your advance directive should be accessible so that it is available whenever it may be needed. You should make sure that your primary care physician, your named representative, and your attorney all have copies, and that a copy is kept with your other important papers. Bring a copy with you to the hospital if you ever undergo surgery and let your loved ones know where to find a

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