Memphis Estate Planning Podcast Series: Health Directives
June 18, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Estate Planning 101 — Health Directives
The Memphis Estate Planning and Probate Lawyers of Ferrell Law Firm have posted the third installment of a podcast series on Estate Planning originally posted on the Death and Taxes Blog
A discussion of Illinois health-related directives such as powers of attorney and living wills.
Memphis Obituary Goes Global
May 29, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Before Ida Mae Russel Sills passed away she told her son “Honey, I just want you to do what you need to do and tell the truth.” He told the truth through an obituary that shared her life with Memphis with candor, humor, and some one liners she was known for. The obituary was originally puiblished by the Commercial Appeal in Memphis but has been passed and posted around the internet very widely.
Ms. Sills wanted her story told. If you have any wishes you would like to insure are completed for your estate planning please contact the Memphis Probate and Estate LAwyers at the Ferrell Firm.
To read the obituary please follow this link ;
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/apr/13/ida-mae-russell-sills/
To read other articles about the life of Ms. Sills follow these links;
http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/Content?oid=oid%3A41925
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/apr/18/colorful-death-notice-takes-on-life-of-its-own/
Remember Heirlooms in Estate Planning
May 21, 2008 | Leave a Comment
A recent blog post by Alfred Brophy brought to my attention the remarkable way something physical like a painting or sculpture can be so meaningful. Brophy discusses the relationship between art and law. His point is that physical objects can advocate for a better world, inspire, or offer a reminder of a special time or person in a way that is both powerful and immediate.
Drafting Wills in Memphis: What are my children’s rights?
April 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Upon reading a California lawyer’s response of “It depends… on the state” to a client’s question concerning their obligation to provide for their children in their wills, our Memphis Estate Planning Lawyers wanted to give Memphis residents the requirements in Tennessee.
If you pass without a will or Intestate…
Your children will share equally or per stirpes, whatever part of your estate that does not pass to your surviving spouse. Your spouse is entitled 1] share equal to the children OR 2] 1/3 of the net estate, whichever is greater. If your child is deceased, then their children shall share that share equally.
EXAMPLE: You pass and are survived by your spouse, 2 of your 3 children, and the pre-deceased child has 2 children (your grandchildren)
- Your spouse can take 1/4 OR 1/3 share, FIRST
- Your surviving children will each take 1/4 share of remaining estate
- Your surviving grandchildren of your pre-deceased child will each take 1/8 of remaining estate
If you pass with a will or Testate…
Your children will take whatever share you chose to give them. You may specifically disinherit them. If you accidentally omit them, by either forgetting to update your will or just not updating your will in time, they can inherit their intestate share. This means unless you intentionally remove leave them out of the will by: 1] omitting them intentionally to disinherit or 2] making a gift or transfer during your life which was intended to replace receiving anything by will, your children will take whatever share they would have gotten had you not had a will, regardless of what other provisions you made for other children.
They are not entitled to the same elective share benefits of your surviving spouse.
EXAMPLE:
- Child was born after you had written your will, but you forgot to update it or passed away too soon to update… child may take intestate share
- You gave a family heirloom or paid a significant espense and made the clear and witnessed statements or actually wrote it into the will, that this was their “inheritance” and they would not received anything in the will, … child will NOT received intestate share.
This benefit does not apply to grandchildren. So if you omitted a child by mistake, and they predeceased you, their children will NOT be able to inherit the intestate share, and will inherit nothing from you.
How we can help to make your wishes clear…
While there are limited laws on the drafting of provisions of your will, without a complete understanding of how all these laws work together and without continual updates, your will may fall short of your wishes. Count on our Memphis Estate Planning Lawyers to guide you through all the ramifications of your drafting decisions and to suggest provisions that can allow for relief from mistakes and prevent misinterpretations of your final testament.
Source of post: California Estate Planning Blog and Tenn. Code Ann. §31-2-101 , §32-3-103 , and §31-4-101
Estate Planning for Non-Married Couples in Memphis
April 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Very extensive article that is must read for all couples contemplating any financial commitments prior to marriage. This includes buying a house with a boyfriend or girlfriend or even a fiance. You’re not legally married until you’re legally married. Our Memphis Estate Planning Lawyers recommend consulting with your attorney before making any financial commitments with someone that is not your spouse. Laws that protect spouses from and individuals creditors don’t apply to unmarried persons. While the article focuses also on same-sex marriage which is not recognized in TN, all advice is applicable to un-married couples contemplating marriages or simply in a long-term committed relationship.
Kathleen Ford Bay(Attorney at Law, Blazier, Christensen, Bigelow, and Virr, P.C.) has recently published her article entitled Untying the Knot– Until Death and Taxes Do Us Part, RPPT eREPORT (Feb. 2008).
To be cautious and practical, unmarried couples the following should meet with one of our Memphis Estate Planning Lawyers to discuss such issues as:
- Wills (avoid testamentary libel);
- Financial powers of attorney;
- Health or medical powers of attorney;
- Advanced Directives (Living Wills);
- Revocable trusts and transfer of assets to such trusts (consider the mortgage company; insurance on assets; title insurance on home);
- Declaration or nomination of guardian or conservator and stating who can never be a guardian;
- Beneficiary designations (insurable interest) and non-probate property;
- Providing for children (adoption and other issues); and
- Funeral Directive.***
Source of post: Wills, Trusts, Estates Law Prof Blog
Famous Tax Scandals
April 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment
High-profile tax troubles through the ages
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AOL
Taxing Times
Celebrities and famous folks usually crave the spotlight. But some well-known people have attracted a lot of attention they didn’t want — from the IRS.
Check out our gallery of 19 infamous tax trouble cases — the faces you see may surprise you.
What Are The Benefits to Having a Living Trust?
April 3, 2008 | 1 Comment
I recently met with some representatives from a local bank here in Memphis who want to begin referring all of their clients who need trusts and estate planning to our firm. During this conversation the branch manager asked me this question. “What are the benefits to having a trust”? The following is a synopsis of my answer to his question regarding Memphis trusts and estate planning needs and their benefits.
There are quite a few benefits to having a living trust over just a simple will. These benefits include saving time, money and having the ability for your wishes to continued long after your death.
The first big benefit is time. Estates in Memphis that are governed by a will must have the will validated through the court system. This means you must submit the will to the Memphis probate court to have it approved before any assets can pass to the beneficiaries. Doing this can take anywhere from six months all the way to two years. And while this time is passing the ownership of the property and assets is in limbo and can’t be sold or transferred.
Because the property can’t be transferred or sold a hardship could occur if the property has a mortgage on it. This means that the beneficiaries could be stuck paying the mortgage for quite some time until the will is fully probated.
The second benefit of a living trust is it can save lots of money in probate fees. Probating an estate is not cheap. Memphis probate fees can run anywhere from 2% to 5% of the total gross value of the estate and are the first fees that are paid by the estate
The third benefit of a Memphis living trust is that you don’t have to worry about it being contested. A simple will can be contested by anyone who thinks her or she should receive something from the estate of the deceased. All they have to do is go down to Adams Street and petition the Memphis Probate court for the item. Once this occurs the judge decides whether they should have it or not. Almost anything in a will can be contested, even the guardianship of minor children can be contested.
Memphis Estate Planning Podcast Series: Wills
April 2, 2008 | Leave a Comment
The Memphis Estate Planning and Probate Lawyers of Ferrell Law Firm have posted the first installment of a podcast series on Estate Planning originally posted on the Death and Taxes Blog
The topic this time is Wills.
The music is Le Petit Rien (The Little Nothing), by Francois Couperin.
Memphis Probate and Taxes
March 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment
The lawyers of Ferrell Law Firm hope that whether you are currently planning or administering an estate, you will fine the following explanation of estate taxes very helpful.
“There are two major types of “transfer taxes”, that is taxes on the transfer of wealth, that might apply when someone dies. Generally speaking, the same taxes are applicable whether or not there is a will.”
First there is the Federal Estate Tax which is paid according to the net value of the decedent’s estate, all the real, personal, intangible and joint property that the decedent had an interest in on the day of death. The estate will be taxed according to the value of the assets on the day of death.
- Tax is only paid if the net value exceeds $2,000,000
- Along with this large exemption, there is a 100% unlimited marital deductions for the surviving spouse for all property that passes.
- And as a result, many estate pass free of the federal estate tax.
Unfortunately, without proper estate planning these exemptions, which are reserved to the individual, can be wasted and cause couples to pay unnecessary taxes when passing property between spouses. We will discuss how to take advantage of all exemptions in your estate planning session with your Ferrell Law Firm lawyer.
Second there is the Tennessee Inheritance Tax which is many respects similar to the federal estate tax. The personal exemption in Tennessee is $1,000,000 and the marital deduction is unlimited.
What happens if you try to avoid the death taxes by giving away all of your property before you die? Third is the Gift Tax which is applies to property you give during your life. There are both a Federal Gift Tax and Tennessee Gift Tax which only apply to large gifts, gifts that exceed the annual exclusion limit.
- Federal gift tax applies only to individual gifts of over $12,000, spouse may jointly or individually give gifts up to $22,000, there is no limit to the number of gifts.
- Tennessee gift tax applies in two classes of beneficiaries, Class A includes spouses, children, siblings and lineal ancestors for gifts up to $12,000 and $20,000 for a split gift and a lower tax rate. Class B includes distant relatives and non-relatives for gifts up to $3,000 per person per year.
Transfers made during life will be examined after death to determine if gift tax applied posthumously. Proper planning with your estate planning professional at Ferrell Law Firm will help you minimize this burden, maximize the benefit of annual exclusion, eliminate the burden of paying the tax, and keeping up to date on changes in the laws.
Fourth and finally, there is the Federal Generation-Skipping Tax which is a harsh, flat-rate tax of 55% (or the highest federal estate tax rate in effect at the time) imposed upon transfers during life or at death to individuals who are two or more generation levels below that of the transferor. In plain English, the most common situation is when property is passed to grandchildren. However, since there is a $1,000,000 exemption available to each transferor, the generation-skipping tax will only apply to estates worth more than $1,000,000. Generation-skipping tax is one of the most important estate planning issues that requires proper planning with an attorney who is experienced in estate planning will reduce or eliminate the generation-skipping tax in most instances. You can count on the Ferrell Law Firm lawyers to protect your assets and your good intentions.
Count on the Ferrell Law Firm to properly advise you on tax and estate planning to pass the maximum amount of your estate to the intended beneficiaries and to reduce the burden of these taxes, both during life and at death.
Source of post: Tennessee Bar Association
Hello world!
January 31, 2008 | 1 Comment
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