How is Estate Planning Like a Storm?

What does estate planning have in common with a storm?

Here is what estate planning has in common with a storm.

Its all about how much time you get to prepare for the mess.

Take a snowstorm for instance.  The weather person starts predicting it a week out. Then as it gets closer, the weather person starts giving more details.  You have time to prepare.

When you know a snowstorm is coming, you can prepare.  You usually have days of warning about it. You make sure you have your supplies stocked up, that your flashlights work, you have wood for the fireplace, salt for the driveway, and more.

But tornadoes are different. You don’t usually get enough warning to do much preparation. The sirens go off and you head to your safe area.

Estate planning is more like being prepared for a tornado. You don’t have time when the storm is coming to go to the store and stock up.  You need be prepared ahead of time and just grab what you need and go. You need to have a safe room or safe area designated before the storm hits. Your safe area should be pre-stocked with what you need.

Just like with a tornado, events in your life rarely give a much warning before they happen. You need to be prepared ahead of time so that your family can just grab and go.  You need to know who will be in charge if you can’t be.  You need to keep your family out of probate court because court is stressful and expensive.

If you knew when major events in your life would happen, you would keep putting off preparation until just about time.

Get prepared. Be prepared. Spare your family from the need to clean up after the storms of life.

Come in and talk to us to see what it takes to be prepared for the storms in your life.

Click here to setup your meeting time. If you prefer, call 479-717-6300 to schedule.

The post How is Estate Planning Like a Storm? appeared first on DeWitt Law Firm, PLLC.

from DeWitt Law Firm, PLLC https://ift.tt/2NbAw5h


from DeWitt Law Firm, PLLC

When Should I Plan? (Video)

Joe thought he had plenty of time to plan. But one night he swerved to miss a car in his lane and left the road.  Now his family faces probate.

Gary was a 40-year-old fairly health guy.  Never thought about planning.  However, one day on his way to work his chest started hurting and his left hand went tingly and numb. 

Gary didn’t expect to have heart troubles.  Nor did he expect to stay in the hospital for three days.  Fortunately, it wasn’t a heart attack.  It was a serious condition, but not a heart attack.

But, if it had been serious, Gary would have benefited from having the proper powers of attorney in place so that his family wouldn’t be burdened going to court to get a guardianship.

In my opinion, if you don’t have a plan, you need to start right away.

None of us can truly predict the future.  We plan for all sorts of things that might happen and should happen.  Like retirement.  But we may never see that day.  However, that doesn’t mean we didn’t plan for it.

I can say with 100% certainty, you will need an estate plan.  And if you don’t write it, one has been written for you by the government. One that takes control out of your hands and out of your family’s hands.

Estate planning is for anybody that wants to stay in control, not lose their freedom to choose, and want their family to have the easiest time possible during difficult times.

All this to say, you should start planning as soon as possible because you don’t know what tomorrow will bring for you.

The post When Should I Plan? (Video) appeared first on DeWitt Law Firm, PLLC.

from DeWitt Law Firm, PLLC https://ift.tt/3alwSyz


from DeWitt Law Firm, PLLC

Who Needs an Estate Plan? (Video)

My daughter was off at working at a summer camp and trying to get enrolled at the  university.  The university kept sending paperwork for her to sign.  Because she had signed a power of attorney, we were able to sign for her and keep the process moving along. 

In our last episode, we talked about what estate planning is. In summary, estate planning is about you maintaining control, or at least deciding who is in control of your stuff now and later.  You decide who is in control and control who gets what, when, and how much.

Anybody over 18 should have at least a minimal plan.

So, who needs a plan?  Anybody that doesn’t want to give up control.  Anybody that wants to know who will make their decisions if they can’t.  Anybody that wants to decide who gets what, when, how, and how much.  Because if you don’t make those choices now, you will lose control and the state will take over making those choices.  The state will be in control.

Think of planning like insurance.  It is your insurance policy against losing control.  Losing control of your choices and who gets your stuff.

If you are over 18 years old, you need an estate plan.  You need a plan because you don’t know when an accident, heart attack, stroke, dementia, medical incident, or something else will happen and you’ll wish you had a plan in place.  Once something happens, planning is probably the last thing you’ll be thinking about.

The post Who Needs an Estate Plan? (Video) appeared first on DeWitt Law Firm, PLLC.

from DeWitt Law Firm, PLLC https://ift.tt/3q3QBbG


from DeWitt Law Firm, PLLC

What is Estate Planning and Why is it Important? (Video)

Mark failed to plan and it cost his family time, money, and anguish during his decline and after he was gone.  He didn’t realize that his wife didn’t have the power to make decisions for him without going to court and that she didn’t just automatically get it all.

A short summary of the definitions is estate planning is arranging for the management and distribution of your stuff

1. During your lifetime if you can’t manage it yourself
2. After your lifetime

If you dig down to the core of the definition, it is about control and freedom to choose.  You get to decide now, while you can, who will be in control if you can’t be. You get to control who gets your stuff, when, how much, and how. 

With control, you can protect yourself and your family.  Without control, you have decided the state knows what is best for you and your family.

With a plan, you maintain your freedom to choose who will be in charge if you can’t be.  You keep your freedom to choose who gets your stuff, when, how, and how much.  If you don’t have a plan, then you are giving up your freedom to choose and are giving control of decisions to the state government.

Another way to look at estate planning is insurance. Just like you have insurance for your home and auto, shouldn’t you have insurance for your future.  Insurance that protects your freedom of choice and control.

If you don’t make these decisions now in a plan, then who do you think can make them?

If you didn’t answer the state under a judge’s supervision, then you are probably wrong.

When somebody can’t make sound, rational decisions, and there isn’t a power of attorney in place, then the family must go to court and get the authority to make the decisions and to sign paperwork. And, that is why planning is important.  If you don’t plan, then the state steps in to tell your family what decisions they can make and a judge gets to supervise it all. 

The post What is Estate Planning and Why is it Important? (Video) appeared first on DeWitt Law Firm, PLLC.

from DeWitt Law Firm, PLLC https://ift.tt/3tkTt5J


from DeWitt Law Firm, PLLC

What Mistake Can Cost Me Half? (video)

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Jane did what many parents do, she put her son on the deed to her house to avoid probate.  But when her son was in a car accident that was his fault, she learned just how big of a mistake that was.  His insurance didn’t come close to covering the cost to the other driver.  So, the other driver sued.  The courts ruled that his ownership in the house could be used to satisfy the lawsuit.  In essence, Jane just lost what she was trying to save.

Here are just some of the consequences you may not know about putting your child on the deed or accounts:

• If your child gets divorced, do you want their spouse to get half your home and accounts?
• If your child gets in an at fault accident, do you want the other person to get half your home and account?
• If your child gets in IRS trouble, do you want the IRS to put a lien against your house?
• If your child gets in credit problems, even if it isn’t their fault, do you want to have to fight their creditors to keep your money?
• If you want to sell the house, do you want to give half the money to your child?
• If you put your child on the deed to your house
  • They will owe capital gains tax on their half based on what you paid for the house
  • You’ve just pushed probate off onto the next generation

There are better alternatives than to put your children on the deed.

The post What Mistake Can Cost Me Half? (video) appeared first on DeWitt Law Firm, PLLC.

from DeWitt Law Firm, PLLC https://ift.tt/39Y8Gkt


from DeWitt Law Firm, PLLC

Why Should I Plan if I’m Not Rich? (Video)

Marge didn’t have much.  Her home and that was about it.

Marge had to go into the nursing home.  However, she had never gotten around to preparing a power of attorney.  Her family had to go through the courts and get a guardianship to be able to make financial and healthcare decisions.  Then, when it came time to sell her house, they had to go back to court to get permission.  The cost of a power of attorney would have been much less than two trips to court.

Even if you don’t have much, you should consider these three reasons for planning:

1. Choosing who will be in control of your financial, legal, and medical decisions if/when you can’t make them
2. Deciding who will get your stuff instead of the state.  If you want to leave more to one child than another, then you must create a plan.
3. Avoiding probate altogether.  Probate is expensive, time consuming, and often stressful for those involved.

When Jane’s husband died in an accident, she found out the hard way that she didn’t get it all.  When the accident settlement came in, made out to the estate, she found out that she just got one-third under Arkansas law.  The children got the other two-thirds.  With a plan in place, Jane could have gotten more to live on.

And, if you just live with a significant other, they don’t get anything under the law without a plan.  Without a plan, they could literally be left out in the cold.

The post Why Should I Plan if I’m Not Rich? (Video) appeared first on DeWitt Law Firm, PLLC.

from DeWitt Law Firm, PLLC https://ift.tt/3676aHF


from DeWitt Law Firm, PLLC

What is my Estate (Video)

Mark and Mary worked hard for what they had.  They had a house, cars, retirement, and lived comfortably.  Neither one of them ever stopped to think they had an estate.  To them an estate was a big fancy house with manicured lawns and gardens.

Don’t think you have an estate because you don’t own a big fancy house?  Think again.  The estate we are talking about here isn’t a big fancy house.

In law, an estate is a collection of stuff.  Your estate is everything you own or have ownership of. It is your house, car, clothes, jewelry, 401(k), checking, savings, and more.  If you are lucky enough to be a musician, author, or inventor your estate includes your patents and copyrighted materials.

Your estate is also all your debts, everything you owe.  You own your debts just as you own your clothes.

But, more than your stuff, your estate also contains your rights to make your own choices.  When you turned 18, the law says that you, and you alone, make your decisions.  Nobody else can sign for you or make your decisions.  That is, unless you give them permission.

The post What is my Estate (Video) appeared first on DeWitt Law Firm, PLLC.

from DeWitt Law Firm, PLLC https://ift.tt/3oyWHjs


from DeWitt Law Firm, PLLC