Blended Family Horror Story

I know a family whose dad passed away last year and left the vast majority of his property to the client’s step-mom by operation of law after 20+ years of marriage.  That is, no Will or Trust required.  When step-mom passed, she left everything of hers (what was his) to only her children.

This story illustrates the problem of blended families.  While what she did is not right, it is not illegal.  She was given the property.  It was hers to decide what to do with.  Dad didn’t have any say in the matter.  Step-mom made sure her children were well taken care of while cutting her step-children out completely.

Even if step-mom hadn’t created a Trust in her last days, leaving everything to only her children, the results would have been the same.  Under Arkansas law, without a Will or Trust, your property will be divided between only your biological and adopted children.

What can stop this from happening?

1. Adopt the children. It becomes more difficult to cut out adopted children.
2. Create a trust and spell out exactly how the property is to be divided

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4 Cryptocurrency Risks and Scams and How to Navigate Them — Part 1

It’s no secret that Bitcoin and other brands of cryptocurrency are one of the hottest new investment opportunities.  And if you’re not already invested, you may be considering how to get in, what exactly is the best way to get in, and you should definitely be considering risks and potential scams that are easy to get caught by if you’re not eyes wide open on the issues surrounding cryptocurrency.

Launched in 2009, Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency, and since then, it has evolved from something only computer geeks and hackers talked about into a global phenomenon that’s transformed how the entire world views money.

Bitcoin is still the most popular—and valuable—digital currency. As of November 2017, a single Bitcoin was worth more than $10,000, with the currency’s total market capitalization at roughly $158 billion.  Bitcoin’s smashing success spawned a legion of other coins, known as “altcoins,” such as Ethereum, Litecoin, and Ripple, and the global market value for all cryptocurrency is currently more than $300 billion.

The huge amounts of money transitioning into the world of cryptocurrency has attracted equally large numbers of investors, looking to tap into this seemingly boundless source of new money. However, because it’s largely unregulated, involves extremely complex technology, and offers significant anonymity, the cryptocurrency market has also garnered the attention of cyber criminals.

Indeed, cryptocurrency’s brief history is filled with stories of people losing major money through hacking and a variety of other traps and scams. As with any new investment opportunity, the key to safety with cryptocurrency is education. While you should always do your own research before investing, here are a few of the most common scams to watch for and how to know whether investing in or using cryptocurrency is right for you.

1. Shady Exchanges

A cryptocurrency exchange is an online platform for trading one cryptocurrency for another or for fiat currency like the U.S. dollar. These platforms are where you buy in and cash out your cryptocurrency, so they’re essential to the crypto market. Exchanges typically charge a fee for each transaction and are based on current market rates or rates set by sellers/brokers.

 

Bitcoin’s popularity has caused the number of exchanges to explode, but not all exchanges are trustworthy. In the past, major exchanges have disappeared overnight and taken all of the digital currency with them, while others offer horrible customer service, and/or make getting your money out extremely difficult.

Your best bet is to stick with the largest, most popular exchanges like Coinbase, Kraken, and Bittrex. That said, legitimate smaller exchanges are out there and can be used safely, provided you’ve done your research. Indeed, there are numerous websites that rank and review crypto exchanges for quality, security, and customer service. If the reviews are largely negative, note that it’s difficult to cash out your altcoins, or mention the customer service is exceptionally poor and/or slow, steer clear.

2. Picking Your Wallet

In order to store cryptocurrency, you’ll want a digital wallet, as that’s the safest way to hold your cryptocurrency. Exchanges are for buying and selling, but not the safest for storing.

Your cryptocurrency wallet doesn’t actually “store” money like a traditional wallet; rather, it stores passcodes, known as keys, that allow you to send and receive digital currency to and from the wallet. There are many different wallets available, but not all of them are totally secure.

Wallets come in two forms: hot and cold. A “hot” wallet stores your cryptocurrency in a location that’s connected to the internet—exchange-based wallets, desktop wallets, and mobile wallets. Because they’re connected to the internet, hot wallets are the most convenient, but that also makes them vulnerable to hacking. A “cold” wallet, conversely, stores your cryptocurrency in a location that’s completely offline. Ironically, the most secure type of wallet for storing digital currency is a cold “paper” wallet.

Paper wallets involve printing out your keys and storing them in a secure location. While paper wallets are the most secure option, if you lose the codes, it’s the same as losing paper currency—you’re screwed, meaning there is no way to recover your investment. Paper wallets are also inconvenient—you have to send your money back to an exchange to use it—which can be a pain if you’re using cryptocurrency on a daily basis.

If you primarily use cryptocurrency as a long-term investment, you should store all of your crypto in a paper wallet. If you’re receiving, spending, or trading frequently, however, you should use both a hot/online and paper/offline wallet. Like real-world wallets, store the money you need for the day in your hot/online wallet, but keep the majority of your funds in a paper/offline wallet for safekeeping.

In all cases, whether you have crypto in a hot wallet, paper wallet, or directly in an exchange, make sure you’ve given the details of where it’s stored and how to access it to the people who need to know in case you’re incapacitated or when you die. Otherwise, it’s completely lost. If the people you love don’t know how to find and access it, it’s the same as it not existing at all. Please talk with us about this if you have any cryptocurrency now that may not have been included in your estate plan, or if you do obtain any in the future. Remember: if your family doesn’t know how to access it, it will be lost if you become incapacitated or when you die.

In addition to safety, investing in cryptocurrency comes with an array of other legal, financial, and tax issues you’ll need to consider. The good news is, as your Personal Family Lawyer we can guide you through these challenges and help you incorporate cryptocurrency investments into your family’s overall financial and estate-planning strategies. Contact us today to get started.

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I Have Twins That Are Disabled, Can I Use One Trust?

As with all legal questions, it depends…

First, do they both have the same level of disability?  Will they both qualify as disabled under the Social Security Definition?  If so, then you can setup one third-party Supplemental Needs Trust (Special Needs Trust) to serve both of them.  If one of the twins should pass before the other, the money will stay in the pool to serve the needs of the other twin.

If they have differing levels of disability, then you would be better served by setting up two independent Supplemental Needs Trusts.  You set both trusts up to pour the money into the other trust if something should happen to one of the twins.  That way, the money keeps on helping the twin that needs it longer.

By using a third-party trust, when both twins have passed, you decide where the remaining money and assets in the trust go.

If grandparents have purchased life insurance and made the twins the beneficiaries, you want to make sure that it pays out to the third-party special needs trust, not to them directly.  By paying to them directly, it might disqualify them from means tested benefits.  The same if you have life insurance you are using to fund their care.  Pay your life insurance to the third-party supplemental needs trust, not to the twins directly.

It might also be a good time to think about setting up a first-party (d(4)(A)) trust for both twins.  One requirement for this type of trust is that they be under 65 years old.  By setting up this type of special needs trust, you make sure that if they do come into money of their own, there is a place for it.

Another option is to open an ABLE account for both twins.  Even though it has a Medicaid payback provision, the account is there for small amounts of money.

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New Bill is Potential Game Changer for Your Family’s Tax Strategy

If you follow the mainstream or social media news, you likely know the new Republican tax bill, which recently passed both the House and Senate, is a potential game changer for tax planning. Known as the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” both houses of Congress passed different versions of the bill, so it’s unclear what the final legislation will include, or if it will even pass.

That said, both versions include some common elements, and since we’re close to year end, it’s important to understand what these potential changes might mean for your family’s tax planning. For example, if you are a W-2 employee, you may want to start a side-line business in 2018 to offset some of the potential negative impact of the tax law changes, and we may be able to help you with that.  If you have specific questions on personal impact to you, contact us prior to year end so we can discuss.

You can use this knowledge to implement tax-saving strategies—by potentially deferring income to 2018 or accelerating deductions into 2017—if you take action before year end.

But keep in mind: None of this is set in stone, yet. By the time this article is published, we’ll certainly have more information. And one thing is for sure, knowledgeable, proactive planning is always wise, especially when supported by a trusted advisor who can guide you.

Higher standard deduction

Both the House and Senate versions of the bill increase the standard deductions to nearly identical levels: $12,200 for singles and $24,400 for joint filers in the House and $12,000 and $24,000 in the Senate. Both plans eliminate personal exemptions, though, so those with dependents won’t see quite as much savings. And if you’ve deducted medical expenses and/or charitable donations in the past, that would be eliminated. So if you donate to charity and are able to write off your donations because you itemize your expenses rather than take the standard deduction, consider increasing your charitable donations this year, as they may not be deductible next year. 

Changes to mortgage interest deduction

The bill keeps the mortgage interest deduction, but adds some new limits. Current homeowners can continue deducting mortgage interest up to $1 million. For new home buyers, however, the deduction will be capped at $500,000. And the bill only allows homeowners to take the deduction for their primary residence, not vacation and/or second homes. What’s more, the bill no longer permits taxpayers to deduct the interest on home equity loans or lines of credit.

Increased child tax credit

Those with young children will see an increase in the child tax credit, too. The House raises the credit to $1,600 per child, with a phase-out for joint filers with an income of $230,000. The Senate plan boosts the child credit to $2,000 per child and sets the phase-out at $500,000.

Expanded estate tax exemption

The House bill sets in motion a full repeal of the estate tax  by 2024, but it boosts the exemption from its current $5.49 million to $10 million starting in 2018. The Senate doesn’t repeal the estate tax, but it does significantly raise the exemption to $11.2 million. Chances are you aren’t impacted by the current estate tax, but if you are, contact us so we can take advantage of potential opportunities to save going into 2018, as it’s likely that the estate tax exemption amount will be rolled back after future elections.

Eliminated state and local income tax deductions

Both bills repeal deductions for state and local income taxes. However, they do still allow for up to a $10,000 deduction for state and local property taxes.

Changes to medical expense deduction

In terms of the itemized medical expense deduction, the House plans to totally eliminate it, while the Senate’s bill keeps it and reduces the income threshold above which medical expenses are deductible from 10% to 7.5%

To review your tax strategies and possibly benefit from these potential changes, contact us as your Personal Family Lawyer® right away—time is of the essence! And, at the same time, it’s never too late to start planning for next year. So even if it’s after the 1st, contact us to begin planning for next year now.

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What Happens if I Pass Without a Will?

What happens if you pass without a will depends on your assets and other planning.

If you have literally no assets, other than maybe the clothes on your back, then nothing has to be done.

If you have all of your assets in trust, then the trustee will follow the instructions in the trust agreement.

If you pass with only a Last Will and Testament, then your estate will have to go through Probate and Administration.  If you pass without a Last Will and Testament, then your estate will have to go through Administration.

Probate is admitting the Last Will and Testament.  That is, proving that it is the valid Will of the deceased.

Administration is the process of paying creditors, gathering assets, appointing a Personal Representative, paying taxes, informing heirs, distributing property, and much more.  You can expect this to take 6 months to years to finish.

In Arkansas, if you have under $100,000 of assets, not including your homestead (that is the place you lived) and don’t owe any bills, then an affidavit may be filed instead of the formal process.  It is still not a short process.  The family must wait 45 days.  If real estate was part of the estate, then an advertisement must be ran in the paper, adding another 3 months to the process.  But 4.5 months and not trips to court makes this a much more desirable process.  It is also much less expensive.

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Why Sue Yourself With Your Own Money?

That is just what Probate is!

Probate is really nothing more than suing yourself, using your own money and assets, for the benefit of your creditors and detriment of your family!

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Pay For a Loved One’s Education With an Education Trust Fund

Today’s parents are all too familiar with the budget-busting cost of funding a child’s college education. It can be challenging enough to put aside sufficient savings for a single child’s education, but for multiple kids, the price tag can make donating a kidney for extra cash seem downright reasonable!

In fact, a survey by The College Board found that the “moderate” cost for all expenses (tuition, fees, books, room and board) for a year of in-state public college averaged $24,610 in 2016-2017. A similarly moderate budget for a private college averaged $49,320.

But don’t freak out just yet! If you’re savvy about estate planning, you can use an education trust fund to save for your child or grandchild’s education expenses and specify exactly how you want those funds used.

You can create an education trust that is payable during your lifetime (living trust) or upon your death (testamentary trust). The disbursements from the trust are designated for a beneficiary’s education, and you can specifically designate how and when the funds are to be distributed—meaning the beneficiary can only receive the funds if they’re compliant with your terms.

Education trusts can be used to fund not only a traditional university education, but any type of learning institution, such as trade schools, educational workshops, community colleges, and private academies. Or even alternative education, such as travel, workshops, retreats, business building programs, and the like. You get to decide exactly how broad or how limited the use of the funds can be.

Trusts can be created for multiple beneficiaries, whether through separate trusts for each individual or a single trust that funds all beneficiaries. If a single trust is established for multiple beneficiaries, you can require the assets to be distributed in a number of ways: equally, using a set amount, by percentage, or the decision as to how much each beneficiary receives can be left to the trustee’s discretion.

Education trusts aren’t generally set up as tax-saving vehicles, as would be the case with a traditional 529 Plan (which does provide tax savings, but has much more restrictive use). That said, there could be some tax savings if the income of the trust is taxed at your beneficiary’s tax rate, which could be lower than your personal tax rate on income.

The only part of the trust that will be taxable is income earned by the investments in the trust (interest and dividends). The trust owes yearly income taxes on income above $600; however, if the trust distributes that income, the beneficiary is responsible for paying taxes at their rate.

The trust is only responsible for taxes on income not distributed by year’s end. And that income is taxed at trust tax rates, which could be higher than the beneficiary’s rate—and possibly even higher than your personal tax rate, so make sure you are clear about whether income should be distributed before year’s end for each year the trust earns income.

If the education trust is irrevocable, meaning that the gift cannot be taken back, and the amount contributed is less than the annual gift tax exemption amount ($14,000 in 2017), then no gift-tax return is required. If the gift exceeds that amount, then it would be necessary to file a gift-tax return, reporting the gift and using up part of your lifetime exemption of $5.49 million. A married couple can exempt $10.98 million in their lifetime.

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What is the Difference Between Trustee and Guardian?

The difference between trustee and guardian is immense.  It is like comparing apples and zebras.

A guardian, in this context, is a person appointed by a court to make another person’s legal, financial, and healthcare decisions.

A trustee is the person in charge of managing the assets in a trust for the benefit of the beneficiaries.

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Guardianship Definition

Attestation Clause

An attestation clause is a provision at the end of a Will that sets out the legal requirements of the Will and says those requirements have been met. By signing the attestation clause, a person is stating and confirming that everything within the clause is true.

For example:

This instrument, consisting of 7 pages, including the Attestation and Proof of Will, was on the date hereof declared by JOHN SMITH to be his Last Will and Testament and he either himself signed the Last Will and Testament at the end thereof or acknowledged his signature already made in the presence of us who, at his request and in his presence, have subscribed our names as witnesses hereto.

Witness 1 signature
Witness 1 address

Witness 2 signature
Witness 2 address

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Want to Be an Awesome Parent? Stop Stressing and Spend More Time on Self-Care

All parents have undoubtedly felt guilty at some point for not spending enough time with their children. A large part of this guilt comes from our culture. American parents are pressured to dedicate superhuman levels of time and energy to caring for their children to ensure optimal development.

This notion is so prevalent, it’s even garnered names like “helicopter parenting” and “intensive mothering.” Trouble is, this style of child rearing is extraordinarily taxing on one’s mental and physical health. Not to mention, many believe such obsessive control not only doesn’t work, but may actually harm a child’s development.

If you’re nagged by such guilt, there’s good news. Recent research suggests that worrying about the amount of time you spend with your kids is totally unwarranted. A 2015 study published in the Journal of Marriage and Family found that for children aged 3 to 11, there was no statistically significant association between the amount of time they spent with their mothers and their outcomes in terms of behavioral health, emotional health, or academic performance.

The study did find that teens experienced less delinquency when they spent more time with their mothers. However, this outcome occurred with teens who spent an average of six hours a week with the family—not exactly a massive commitment. What’s more, the study found when parents are stressed, anxious, and guilty, spending time with kids can even be harmful. Perhaps becoming aware of this now can let you off the hook and free up your time for self care first.

“Mothers’ stress, especially when mothers are stressed because of juggling work and trying to find time with kids, may actually be affecting their kids poorly,” study co-author Kei Nomaguchi said in an interview with the Washington Post.

As with everything in life, successful parenting involves finding a healthy balance between caring for your kids and caring for yourself. It’s vital—for you and your children—to develop a self-care routine that allows you to devote regular periods of time each day to relaxing and recharging your mental, physical, and spiritual resources.

There are countless self-care methods, but one of the easiest, least expensive, and most effective practices is mindfulness meditation. Although the word often conjures up images of monks, monasteries, and mountaintops, meditation is no longer the sole domain of celibate yogis and wandering ascetics.

Today, meditation is practiced by millions of Americans, regardless of religious affiliation or lack thereof. And it’s not just childless hipsters who meditate. Even the busiest parents are sitting quietly each day to reduce stress and cultivate mindfulness—the ability to maintain non-judgmental awareness of one’s moment-to-moment experience.

The reason meditation has grown so popular? It works. Dozens of clinical studies have shown that meditation offers myriad benefits: stress reduction, decreased emotional reactivity, increased relationship satisfaction, enhanced memory, sharper focus, and expanded cognitive flexibility.

Some of you are probably thinking you can’t possibly add another item to your daily to-do list; however,  meditating for just 10 to 15 minutes a day is enough to generate results. And once you experience meditation’s benefits, you’ll likely wonder how you ever got by without it.

Just ask Shana Smith, mother of two and author of Meditation for Moms and Dads: 108 Tips for Mindful Parents and Caregivers. Her book intimately details how meditation made her a better mother and kept her healthy and sane during parenthood’s most trying stages. Indeed, she believes meditation is not only possible for busy parents, it should be mandatory.

“If I forget to meditate, I’m much more likely to be overwhelmed by parenting’s physical, mental, and emotional demands,” she said. “With meditation, these demands are more easily kept in perspective within life’s bigger picture.”

Maintaining perspective on life’s big picture is a critical part of estate planning as well. During a Family Wealth Planning Session, as your Personal Family Lawyer®, we’ll help you assess what’s most important for your family’s well-being and security and protect those assets in a comprehensive estate plan. To this end, estate planning—like meditation—can reduce anxiety and stress over your children’s future, allowing you to take better care of both your kids and yourself.

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