25 Ways to mess up an estate plan.

These are some ways that well meaning people create problems for their Families because they did not seek the counsel of a qualified estate planning Attorney.
Download this, study it and pass it on. Your Family is too valuable to take the "easy way out".

25 ways

Workshop

I will be doing an Estate Planning Workshop on Saturday Oct 31, 2009 at 9:00am at Adventure Christian Church in Roseville. You can sign up at http://adventurechurch.org or contact me.

Good news and Bad news

First the good news: You probably won’t get hit by a bus tomorrow. In fact, the odds are quite low. The bad news is that you could get hit by a bus tomorrow. What’s more, actuarial tables don’t lie: Someday, your proverbial bus will come. So from an estate planning standpoint, you have only two options. You can leave a tangled mess for your loved ones to sort through, or you can take a few simple steps that will make a difficult time easier. You can set up your finances so your wealth goes to your spouse and children, or you can procrastinate, increasing the risk that your cash ends up in the hands of the taxman, the lawyers or the evil husband of your ex-wife.

Estate taxes

My associates in Washington tell me that Congress will be extending the $3.5 Million exemption from federal estate taxes into 2010. Remember 2010 is when the tax was to be repealed. We all know that Congress will not let anything go without taxes. They also want to change the exemption to $1 Million and that will happen automatically in 2011.

What does this mean? If you have not done your estate planning and tax planning, you need to do it now. It's just that simple.

For all of the Financial Professionals and Life Insurance Professionals, now is the time to talk to each of your clients and tell them what is coming. This is a great opportunity to sell Life Insurance in an ILIT.

Great estate planning articles

Good morning, everyone. Yesterday was a busy day for online articles about estate planning. CBS MarketWatch.com posted a “Feature Package” of articles titled Keep the Money in the Family - short, simple articles that are an excellent reminder for all of us about the need to do planning. Available online at

http://moneywatch.bnet.com/retirement-planning/feature/keep-the-money-in-the-family/338108/?tag=content;col1

and Forbes.com posted an article titled You Go-To Guide to Estate Planning, available online at

http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/02/estate-financial-planning-forbes-woman-net-worth-guide.html

Directed at women, this is another simple explanation as to why people should plan, with links to related articles.

I encourage you to read these articles as a reminder as to why you should plan your estate now.

Great News

WealthCounsel(R) Unveils WealthDocx(TM) 7 in Chicago

CHICAGO, Aug. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- WealthCounsel, LLC today announced the release of WealthDocx(TM) 7, the next generation of the company's document drafting software designed to help estate planning attorneys practice more confidently, efficiently and profitably. The announcement came on the opening day of the 2009 Planning for the Generations Symposium which the company is co-hosting with The Advisors Forum and ElderCounsel, LLC. WealthDocx(TM), formerly known as "WealthDocs(TM)," is used by nearly 2,000 estate planning attorneys located in all fifty states. The system enables practitioners to quickly and efficiently draft Wills, Revocable Living Trusts, Irrevocable Trusts, Special Needs Trusts, Partnership Agreements, LLC Operating Agreements, and Business Succession and Charitable Planning documents. The system also includes state-specific templates. "WealthDocx(TM) 7 takes the leading document drafting system in the industry and makes it even more powerful," said Matt McClintock, Executive Director of WealthCounsel. "Our drafting system continues to improve dramatically, both from the perspective of the end user's experience and in the consistency and substance of the system," he added. McClintock noted that WealthDocx(TM) 7 will further simplify document creation and make customizations much easier. Other new features include a more streamlined interview and library interface, an updated Irrevocable Trust system with a highly-sophisticated Domestic Asset Protection Trust assembly, integrated tutorials, and a new "Dynamic Intelligence" help system. WealthDocx is unique in the industry because it is the only document drafting software that leverages the collaborative input and expertise of thousands of users throughout the country. The system runs on a HotDocs platform and provides attorneys with scalable options to customize the drafting solution that best meets their needs. The software is regularly updated and the content is vetted by an editorial oversight board of seasoned practitioners who meet specialized criteria. For more information, visit www.wealthcounsel.com . About WealthCounsel(R) WealthCounsel(R) is a registered trademark of WealthCounsel, LLC, a membership-based organization of nearly 2000 attorneys located in all 50 states. WealthCounsel is known for the WealthDocx(TM) drafting system and the Five Star Practice Solution(TM) designed to help attorneys practice with greater efficiency, profitability, and confidence. WealthCounsel shares ownership in ElderCounsel, LLC, and The Advisors Forum, LLC.

SOURCE WealthCounsel

Art Pauly is one of the first 100 members to join WealthCounsel, LLC.

Trust Administration Documents

Recently a long time client came to me about a problem with a trust that they administered 10 years ago. It seems one of the beneficiaries is now looking for more money. The problem is the trust was closed out 10 years ago but the court is asking for the closing documents so it can dismiss the case. The documents have been hard to find and some are just missing. The lesson here is to be sure you keep all documents if you ever are called on to be a trustee or work on the administration of an estate. How long? Well, here 10 years was not long enough. Sure, this court should have dismissed the case but it did not. You just never know.

I'm excited to announce that I am working on an association with a Lawyer who is moving into the No. Calif. area. He has a successful practice in the So. Calif. area and will bring his organization to my practice. We will be able to better serve my clients and network and offer much more in the way of legal services. I'll get more information out as this gets rolling.

Procrastination

Yes, I know. This is not an up lifting topic but it can be very important to your family. I hear all the time "we've wanted to do estate planning for years but never get around to it". Unfortunately, many people "get around to it" when a crisis occurs. Then it may be too late. It has been said "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" well, as far as the financial institutions, title companies, banks, courts and yes the IRS are concerned, Intentions mean nothing. Yes, I've learned the hard way what happens when estate planning is not done or not done right. I've had to pick up the pieces and it was expensive for the family. Remember "estate planning is not expensive, it's priceless". Just ask your family.

New

Well, Here is my first venture into Blogging. I must say I am a bit behind the times with this. I am a Lawyer in Northern California. I do estate and wealth transfer planning. I believe in "client based estate planning" I help clients make those hard decisions about their estates and family. We Then create the proper documents to accomplish the clients goals. Done properly, estate planning can be a great benefit to a family but done incorrectly(cheaply) can be a disaster waiting to happen.
Who needs to do estate planning? That's simple. Everyone. It may only be changing some accounts or just a simple will. If you own real estate or your assets are over $100,000 (total) you need to do a trust based estate plan. Yes, it's that simple.
Well, I will update this and always welcome questions.