Estate Planning

Can I Write My Own Will?

Can I Write My Own Will?

Most people know the phrase "Do It Yourself" or “DIY.”

For me, “Do It Yourself” calls to mind weekend trips to Home Depot and learning how to do something new instead of paying someone else to do it.

Also Pinterest. It calls to mind Pinterest.

That’s part of what makes DIY projects so great: Who doesn’t love saving money and feeling proud of something they did themselves?

But there is a limit to what you can do yourself, right?

I can do some home improvement stuff myself, like painting walls or breaking the nice faucet on the kitchen sink.

However, things would get really dicey if I tried to act as my own plumber, excavator, or electrician without proper training and experience.

Doing those tasks incorrectly could have disastrous consequences.

The same is true of "Do It Yourself" estate planning:

A poorly designed estate plan can lead to massive probate expenses, family infighting (and ruined relationships), having your legal documents rejected, and much, much more.

The Dangers of “Do It Yourself” Estate Planning

If you aren’t familiar with “Do It Yourself” estate planning, here’s how the process usually goes:

Estate Planning: the Perfect Christmas Gift

Estate Planning: the Perfect Christmas Gift

This post is for parents.

It’s for kids.

It’s for grandkids.

It’s for anyone who wants to give or receive a present for Christmas or any other holiday you celebrate.

In short, this post is for everyone. Because everyone gives and/or receives presents and everyone can benefit by having (or by your parents and/or grandparents having) an estate plan.

So if you have been frantically searching for a Christmas present or racking your brain to come up with your own wish list, you can stop now. Your search is over. I have found the perfect Christmas gift.

Kids: Ask Your Parents For An Estate Plan

One of the funny things about getting older is that I have a lot more appreciation for stuff that I used to think was boring. Take socks, for example. If I get a good pair of socks for Christmas and nothing else, I would be content. And socks are so important and sensible, if I tell my parents I want socks for Christmas, they feel like they can’t say no.

Because what kind of parent would say no to giving their kid some socks?

Does a Name Change Mean I Should Update My Estate Plan?

Does a Name Change Mean I Should Update My Estate Plan?

Most people have the same questions about estate planning. What is the difference between a will and a trust? or do I need to go through probate? or will I need to pay estate taxes?

Since one of the goals of this website is to help you learn more about estate planning, I figured that I would share one of those common questions recently sent to me by a client:

I created a trust several years ago which provides that my daughter will receive 1/2 of my estate. But since my trust was created, my daughter gotten married and changed her last name. Do I need to update my trust in order for her to receive her inheritance?

It is not uncommon for people to change their names. A name change is most often due to marriage or divorce, but as the hit TV show Friends taught us, you can also change your name whenever you feel like it. (Author’s note: The episode where Phoebe changes her name to Princess Consuela Bananahammock and Mike changes his name to Crap Bag is pretty accurate. That is actually a legal thing that people can do.)

Considering all the time and care and money you have spent on your estate plan, it is important to make sure that name changes (for whatever reason they happen) do not mess it up.

IRS Increases 2020 Estate Tax Exemption

IRS Increases 2020 Estate Tax Exemption

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) just announced that the estate and gift tax exemption for 2020 is increasing to $11.58 million per person — up from $11.40 million in 2019.

If you are like most people, you are probably asking, “What does that actually mean?”

What is the Estate & Gift Tax Exemption?

As I explained in the summary of estate and gift taxes I wrote last year:

The estate tax is a federal tax imposed on estates over a certain value. That “certain value” is known as the “estate tax exemption” or “combined estate and gift tax exemption” or “unified credit” or a dozen other names.

The main thing to know is this: if an estate is worth more than the estate tax exemption amount, the value over the exemption will be taxed. If the estate is worth less than the exemption amount, no tax liability.

So the increase announced yesterday by the IRS means that if an estate is created (i.e., if a person dies) in 2020, there will be no estate tax imposed if the estate is worth less than $11.58 million. And thanks to estate tax portability, a married couple can now shield double that amount, $23.16 million, from estate taxes in 2020.

An Overview of Your Digital Assets

An Overview of Your Digital Assets

Digital property (or digital assets) can be understood as any information about you or created by you that exists in digital form, either online or on an electronic storage device, including the information necessary to access the digital asset. All of your digital property comprises what is known as your digital estate.

What Is Digital Property?

For the purposes of digital estate planning, digital property can be broken down into three main categories:

  • Personal digital property

  • Personal digital property with monetary value

  • Digital business property

Personal Digital Property

Personal digital property includes:

  • Computing hardware, such as computers, external hard drives or flash drives, tablets, smartphones, digital music players, e-readers, digital cameras, and other digital devices

  • Any information or data that is stored electronically, whether stored online, in the cloud, or on a physical device

  • Any online accounts, such as email and communications accounts, social media accounts, shopping accounts, photo and video sharing accounts, video gaming accounts, online storage accounts, and websites and blogs that you may manage

  • Domain names

  • Intellectual property, including copyrighted materials, trademarks, and any code you may have written and own