Patti's Blog - Advocate for Elders, People with Disabilities and Their Families

Reduce hassles for heirs with TOD agreement

Excerpt from Lahontan Valley News: (click for entire article)

Among the reasons you work hard all your life may be so you can leave something to your children, grandchildren or other family members. So, naturally, you'd like to make it as easy as possible for your heirs to take possession of those assets you want them to have. And that's why you may want to consider establishing a Transfer on Death (TOD) agreement on certain accounts.

Once you've established a TOD agreement for your account, ownership of the assets held in that account pass directly to the designated beneficiaries, bypassing probate. Why is this important? Because probate has three major drawbacks:

• It's time-consuming. If your estate has to go through the probate process, it could easily take a year or more for your assets to be distributed to your heirs.

• It's expensive. Attorney and court fees could devour up to 5 peercent of your estate's value — which means fewer assets going to your loved ones.

• It's public. The probate process is open to everyone. This means anyone can obtain a copy of your will, the names and contact information for your heirs, the inventory of assets and other documents filed as part of the probate proceeding.

As you can see, you've got some good reasons to avoid probate — and a TOD agreement can help. Of course, a TOD agreement can't meet all your estate-planning needs. While it may be particularly useful in helping you bequeath specific financial assets, such as stocks, bonds and other assets held in your brokerage accounts, it can't help you deal with estate taxes or address other complex estate-planning issues.

Appeal Expected in Astor Estate Case

Excerpt from Philanthropy.com: (click for entire article)

Statements made by a juror who says she felt pressured to vote to convict the son of the late philanthropist Brooke Astor on fraud charges will likely play a key role in an expected appeal, The New York Times reports.

Anthony D. Marshall, Mrs. Astor's son, was found guilty in October of stealing tens of millions of dollars from his mother. An estate lawyer for Mrs. Astor was also convicted.

The appeal could further complicate the distribution of Mrs. Astor's bequest to charity.

Saying ‘No Thanks’ to a Bequest

Excerpt from New York Times: (click for entire article)

TURNING down an inheritance may seem to be an alien concept. But with the estate tax in flux, this process, called disclaiming, can provide needed flexibility.

People who disclaim are generally treated as if they had died before the person from whom they are inheriting. The assets then go to the individual or trust next in line under the estate plan. Or, if the plan makes no such provision, assets are distributed according to state law.

Historically, lawyers have recommended disclaimers to repair estate planning oversights that bring negative tax consequences — as when parents left money to already affluent adult children. In such a case, the children could disclaim, so the inheritance would go their own children instead, rather than facing the possibility that this money might be taxed in their own estates.

Now, with Congress having allowed the estate tax (and the generation-skipping transfer tax, on assets given to grandchildren) to expire on Jan. 1 — for one year only — disclaimers are emerging as a stopgap measure. Both taxes are scheduled to return in 2011 under a decade-old plan that exempts the first $1 million from each tax and applies a 55 percent levy to the rest.

Another possibility — some experts in the field say a likelihood — is that Congress will restore the taxes retroactively to the system that applied in 2009: a $3.5 million exemption and a 45 percent rate for each of the two taxes. But if political logjams persist, it is conceivable that 2010 will be a year without either tax.

Dennis Hopper battling his wife; says she's after his will

Patti's Comments:  I agree with Andy - this is so sad…

Excerpt from The Probate Lawyer: (click for entire article)

Dennis Hopper was already fighting against advanced prostrate cancer.  Now the 73-year-old actor is turning up the heat in his battle against his wife, 41-year-old Victoria.  He filed for divorce in January, and according to published reports, the key factor is his will.

Victoria is a 25% beneficiary under Hopper's will.  But, in the case of divorce, the couple's prenuptial agreement says that she gets nothing.  And that's the sole motivating factor behind the divorce, according to Victoria.  She blames his three children from a prior marriage and says that Dennis is not making rational decisions, due in large part to the medication he's taking.

In other words, she says it's all about the estate planning. 

And it's hard to argue with that point.  Dennis Hopper's lawyer was in court last week, seeking a restraining order against Victoria to keep her away from him.  His attorney filed a doctor's report saying that his estranged wife is hampering his recovery.  The doctor feels that the less he sees of her, the better.

Why?  According to papers filed in the divorce proceeding, Dennis says that she's after his will.  Dennis claims that in November, Victoria's mother told him he should change the will and leave everything to Victoria, because he was going to die soon.  Dennis also says his wife and mother-in-law would wake him in the middle of the night and badger him about his will.

So, yes, it seems the divorce is all about the estate planning.

Appeal rejected in dispute over Joey Bishop estate

Excerpt from Daily Pilot: (click for entire article)

The California Supreme Court this week rejected a Jewish organization’s appeal against the estate of Joey Bishop, the late entertainer and member of the “Rat Pack.” But the legal battle over his fortune isn’t over yet, an attorney for the Newport Beach Chabad Center said Friday.

The center filed several lawsuits and claims against Bishop’s estate, alleging that the entertainer’s advisors and live-in caretaker blocked his final wishes to have part of his estate go toward setting up a charity for special-needs children in Orange County. A longtime resident of Newport Beach, Bishop died Oct. 17, 2007, at his Lido Isle home at the age of 89.

The court declined to hear the case based on technical reasons, and did not address the merits of Chabad’s case, attorney Bob Weinberg, who represents Chabad, said Friday.

“Mr. Bishop was the victim of elder abuse. The lawyers and accountant and the housekeeper got Mr. Bishop’s money despite Mr. Bishop’s repeated statements that he wished the bulk of his estate to go to charities run by Chabad,” Weinberg said. “The court did not ever address nor reject the truth of these contentions.”

Chabad is still weighing its legal options, but the fight is far from over, Weinberg said.  “Chabad is going to continue to fight for the vindication of Joey Bishop’s wishes,” he said.