Really need some advice on a will and estate questions...

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Brandon

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My dad has recently asked me to help him make a will. Caught me by surprise and I really don't know where to start. I have been doing some research but haven't really answered my own questions.

There is a large house, some acreage, life insurance policies and money in various places. There is a fairly good gun collection that will probably be divided up before the time comes but needs to be mentioned.

I think I have a handle on everything except estate tax and such. I would really hate to have all this set up and then lose it all because I can't pay the tax on it.

I am not dependent on him, I have my own life and assets that I pay for myself and do not look forward to his death so I can "take my inheritance". But it is on the 5-6th generation family homestead and I would hate to lose it due to estate taxes and other things I haven't thought of.

I've done a board search and didn't come up with much.

Thanks
 
Educate yourself online.

Then get a professional estate planning and get it done right.

If we are talking 7 figures or more, odds are you are going to be dealing with a lawyer and setting up some legal entities to preserve as much of the estate as possible for the next generation.

Those entities need maintenace as laws constantly change so don't think you'll be doing it once and then you're done . . . . . not so.

If its less than a million bucks total, then things are a lot simpler although I think the tax free levels change in 2011 . . . . again this is not something you do once but something that requires maintenance to be done sucessfully because the tax laws are constantly changing.

A good planner will look at all aspects of managing the estate including addressing long term care issues.

Good luck. And consider yourself lucky that your Dad is doing this; many old timers don't want to talk about it. He's a good man.
 
find a lawyer willing to give you a consult on drawing up a will. It will be cheaper then actually going over everything and having him draw up the entire will and will makesure all state specific stuff that needs to be in there is there such as number of witnesses, need to file with county office, etc. since different states have different guidelines that needed to be followed to make a will legal.
 
thanks...

Because of where it is; it is not worth as much as it sounds. Property in BFE Alabama is not worth as much as in more afluent areas:)

We are probably talking in the 500 to 750 thousand dollar range.

We already have a lawyer, he is the same one that did my dad's divorce so he kind of has a handle on the assets already.

I did not think of the maintenence issue, I'll make sure the question is asked.

Thanks so far. Is there any way I can make this thread more "search friendly" so other people can find it?
 
I would not recommend getting a lawyer

My family had a similar situation so we hired a lawyer. The lawyer took possession of the estate himself after my great grandmother died. He buried his deceit in all the countless pages legaleze crap and waited for my great grandmother to die. It's always been my experience that hiring a lawyer is like coiling an enraged rattlesnake around your neck to protect you from other dangers.
 
Do not get a 'rattlesnake necklace' lawyer (man that's a funny image), but do get legal advice.

If you listen to the Dave Ramsey show at all you will find that although he knows what he is saying regarding matters such as these he will always implore people to get legal advice. Your situation is unique, there is no way that a few replies on a forum should be your sole source of information.
Contact a lawyer via the Better Business Bureau or through Dave's site.
http://www.daveramsey.com/
Good luck.
 
What my family did.

As my grandparents got on in age, they began to distribute things to all of us once in a while. Keeps the will to a short list of things and prevents squabbles later. Grandpa "sold" the house to my Dad seven years ago. Grandma still lives there, alone now, and will until she chooses to go to a home or passes on. This allows the older generation to know that their wishes are being carried out and the younger generation can enjoy the connection to the past while the ones giving them the heritage are still around to talk about it.

Also avoids the rape of an estate by the state and local tax man. :fire:

This may not work for some families, but we've got along just fine doing it this way for several generations. I don't know that personally since I'm only in my thirties, but I'll take Grandma's word on it.
 
Get an attorney. I don't think your father wants a will, I think he needs to set up a trust. An attorney who specializes in estate planning can advise you, because the laws of each state are different (although the IRS is always in the picture, hovering on the fringes like a vulture in a cartoon).
 
First, you don't want a will, you want a living trust for the purpose of avoiding probate. You don't want to go through probate, it's time consuming, expensive, and leaves the estate open to outside claims. Also, a will does not provide for who will handle your father's financial affairs should he become incapacitated (stroke, for example). You'd need a seperate Power of Attorney for that.

A revocable living trust is not difficult to set up, but you need to transfer all the assets (real estate, vehicles, firearms, everything) into the trust. Is your mother still living or is you Dad widowed? Are they divorced? Has he been married more than once? Things like this can complicate probate should you only have a will.

Find a good reputable attorney who has done living trusts. His fee and the hassle of transferring everything into the trust will be well worth it when it comes probate time.
 
A firearms forum is not the best place to solicit legal advice unless you are willing to take the responses with many grains of salt!

There is lots of plenty of poor quality legal advice available on the Internet either from the well meaning ignorant or from hustlers of various types.

Your best starting point is to get a good background education on estates and trust issues so that you can be an intelligent consumer of legal services. I recommend the self-help legal publisher Nolo Press. http://www.nolopress.com/ They have quite a number of publications and software relative to these issues. As a lawyer, I would say that their publications (at least those that I've examined) are quite good.

I will offer a few points to consider. It is an Internet truism that probabte is to be avoided at all costs and that a living trust is a magic bullet that solves all problems. In some jurisdictions probate is relatively quick and relatively inexpensive. Living trusts have their place in estate planning, but they are not a panacea and they are not suitable for all situations. Depending on individual circumstance there may well be much less expensive and much less inconvenient methods of avoiding probate--especially for those with modest estates.

If you find it appropriate to use a will drafted by an attorney, make sure you understand what state death taxes and fees (if any) will be incurred and make sure you understand the fee structure that the attorney will charge for probating the estate (assuming you don't feel comfortable handling this yourself). It is very common for attorneys to charge a percentage of the estate. This is outrageous. Unless there are unusual complexities involved, probating an estate is routine and is usually done by the attorney's paralegal. I'd look into finding a lawyer who charges an hourly fee for this work and get an estimate as to how many hours will be involved.

If the lawyer suggests that he/she be named the executor--find another attorney. Naming the lawyer as executor is rarely appropriate.

If you have a good working relationship with a competent accountant who is familiar with estate issues, I would at least talk with them before making any decision.

Do not assume that a general practice attorney is the best person to handle your estate planning. The field is increasingly complex even for people with modest estates. Often a lawyer who specializes in elder law is a good choice. Today medicare issues are increasingly an important factor in estate planning.

Again, educating yourself with quality materials and taking appropriate action before a crisis arises is the best way to have a successful outcome.

Good luck.
 
Thanks much

I understand that what I read here should be taken with salt.

I also understand that there are many intelligent people here who have done the same thing.

When posting questions like this I look mainly to improve my vocabulary and find search terms to improve my learning and my questions when I am in professional offices.

Ravencon thanks for you points, it helps to have some thoughts from an actual lawyer.

I don't look to the internet for the "AHA, thats what I'm going to do!" I am looking for ideas and questions that I would not have thought to ask.

Thanks to everyone, this has been valuable.

Brandon
 
I'm not a lawyer, so take what I say with a grain of salt. That said, Trusts are good, but expensive and only necessary if there are complicated concerns. Whether you have a trust or not, you should have a will also.

Federal inheritance tax exemptions are $2 million this year, going up to $3.5 million in 2009, before dropping in 2010 to some lower number.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p950.pdf

I recommend you start with the irs.gov web site. The code is not that complicated (unless your situation is complicated). You can just read it for yourself. Pub 950 deals with the death tax.

The rules are currently set to expire in 2010, but they may get extended. Even if they aren't I think the federal exclusion is $1 million. It doesn't sound to me like you should have any federal tax. Obviously you have to check that yourself. Keep in mind that your state will have different requirements.

If you don't have a lawyer that you know, or trust for some reason, then it may be worth your while to hire a 2nd lawyer to review the paperwork for you and explain each clause. Of course that's also much more expensive...
 
Backfired, I don't mean to be rude, but I absolutely don't believe your story. Every state in the country has laws against lawyers who draft a will being bequeathed anything, unless they are related to the decedent. Those things used to happen, and that's why the laws were passed. Now, if your grandmother never paid the lawyer's fees, and so he placed a lien on the property, that may be one thing, but there is no way he could have bequeathed to himself the property.

If he did this, and your family didn't contest it, then I'm sorry, because you had a slam dunk case. You probably still may if he still has the property if you can prove how he got it.


By the way, you have to do a will regardless. If you don't, you die intestate, which means the State's default rules apply. Nothing will go into the trust unless you specify it in the will. Wills and trusts go together. Find a good attorney. DO NOT LOOK IN THE YELLOW PAGES FOR A LAWYER. That is why so many people get ripped off by lawyers. Ask people that you trust about lawyers they have used. Then check them out with your state bar association. If they have had any complaints, don't use them. Do research, just as you would if you were buying a gun from someone. If you are going to do a trust, it must work properly with the will, or it will be useless.
 
I read a lot of crap above. Without knowing all the details of the situation, only a very bad lawyer or a guesser (with nothing to lose) would tell pops what to do (living trust, will, etc.).

He can screw around and take advice from internet sites (and there are as many quackery-type will sites as there are medical sites) or he can get professional advice.

You are talking about enough money ("We are probably talking in the 500 to 750 thousand dollar range") for pops to spend a few bucks to keep from doing something stupid that will make his descendants hate him for years after he is dead.

Lawyers are not lawyers. You need to find one who is knowledgable in wills and estate planning issues. Most divorce lawyers and criminal lawyers and personal injury lawyers (the ones you have heard of or about) don't know enough to do more than commit malpractice in this area. Seriously.

The lawyer you need is a guy who grinds paper in his office and reads all the latest opinions from the probate newsletter and IRS circulars. He ain't in the yellow pages under Lawyer-are-us.

Ask your richest friends who does their estate planning. You can also check your city or area on http://www.martindale.com/.

Look for lawyers who are rated AV (or BV at the least) and concentrate on willls and estate planning.

Do not hire an opthamologist to do heart surgery, and don't hire a divorce lawyer to plan an estate.
 
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