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An Important Reminder When Setting Up 529 Plans -- Name a Successor Owner By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi May 27, 2024 Writer's need inspiration.  Combing the online "National Day Calendar" website gives me creative insight for blog posts, including todays.  Did you know that May 29th is National 529 Day -- a day to remind us of the ease and importance of saving for a child's post high school education. Funds in a 529 savings plan can be used to pay tuition for 4 and 2-year college programs as well as trade schools and accredited apprenticeship programs.  Within weeks of their birth, I set up a 529 plan for each of my children.  Personally, our family used Wisconsin's EdVest program, which offers multiple tax savings.  When I set the forms up I did so with the eye of an estate planning and probate attorney.  While I was the account owner and my child was the beneficiary, I made certain to name my spouse as the Successor Owner of the account.  That way, ...

20 Ways to Make Probate More Efficient By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi May 20, 2024 Weekly I hear from clients coming into my office that they want to make life easy for their loved ones when their time comes.  If you fall into that category, here are 20 action items you can take now that may make the work of probate easier on your loved ones: Write a will.  Only 32 percent of Americans have an estate plan. Without one there is no clear person to handle your final affairs.  Take control now and create a legal plan to say who is in charge. Nominate an institution to be your Personal Representative (called an Executor in other states).  An institution, such as the wealth management office of a bank, does this work day in and day out.  They can likely complete a task in an hour that might take your loved one a week to figure out; If available, file your will with your local courthouse for safekeeping.  This is a service offered here in Dane County, Wisconsin....

Word of the Month: Power of Attorney By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi May 13, 2024 Power of Attorney is a legal phrase commonly known among everyday Americans. However, just because a term is familiar to you, it does not mean you actually understand the term. Case in point, recently I was reading the book Grown Woman Talk: Your Guide to Getting and Staying Healthy by Dr. Sharon Malone. I thoroughly enjoyed the book until I got to the last chapter.  Despite admonishing medical doctors who gave advice outside their area of focus (think genecology vs. allergy), she proceeds to give legal advice in the last chapter going as far as recommending someone make their Power of Attorney a joint owner on bank accounts.  Dr. Malone's goal is to prevent a financial crisis from happening during a medical event.  While her intentions are good, her advice is not sound.  Adding someone to your bank account creates ownership interest, something most people do not intend to do.  A prop...

Privacy and Estate Planning: Review Outdated Documents By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi May 6, 2024 Deep in the list of an online calendar for "National" Days and Weeks of an exhaustive list of topics is a note that the first full week in May is National Choose Privacy Week.  Upon closer inspection, the week is aimed at privacy within context of public library users.  However, I'll use it as a springboard into the topic of privacy and your estate planning documents. This time of year many people are out in their yards, pulling away dead limbs and stalks from last years garden growth.  It's a time to pull out the dated and make room for the new growth.  If you have a rainy day and are not in your yard or garden, I encourage you to apply the same spring cleaning energy to reviewing your outdated documents.  Specifically, review Power of Attorney for Finances and or a will to see if they list your Social Security Number.  It is not uncommon for documents created 1...