Navigator

Routinely clients state "I want to make it as easy as possible on my loved ones after I am gone.  Should I do a trust instead of a will?"  My answer usually causes their head to cock slightly, not expecting my response. "It's not so much the vehicle or tool of estate planning you choose that makes things easier and less messy, it's the person you nominate to be in charge.  If the person nominated is overwhelmed, unskilled in these types of decisions, or caustic, you'll have a mess whether it's a will or a trust."  And then I see their heads nod, yes, in agreement. "Who will be in charge" becomes a critical question.  My suggestion to clients is to aim for Switzerland: who is neutral, precise, and efficient?  That may be a relative, a close family friend, or possibly an institution like a bank or accounting firm. When attempting to fill this role in your end of life affairs, picture the people you are considering doing the following:...

A significant part of my practice involves drafting testamentary trusts for parents with young children, usually aged 18 or younger.  A testamentary trust is a will that says I leave my probate assets to my spouse, but if my spouse has predeceased, then to a trust for my children.  This type of trust does not exist until both parents are deceased, and is created as part of the probate process.  It is not the same as a living revocable trust, which is created during life to hold assets while you are alive. When creating a testamentary trust parents need to name a primary and secondary trustee. This is the person (or institution) that will invest the funds in the trust, file tax returns, and decide on how the monies are spent until the trust ends.  Which leads to the next question, when does the trust end?  "Most clients write until my youngest living child reaches age 25 or 28" is what I share with my clients.  "Personally, my wills says until my youngest l...

For the past 12 to 18 months, possibly longer, you the Personal Representative in a Wisconsin probate have gathered papers, filed taxes, written checks, emptied the fridge, sold the car, distributed the family photographs, written more checks, and have your signature notarized more times than you can recall.  And now the day is here, the day you file the FINAL papers to close the estate.  The last bill to the lawyer is paid, you have free time in your calendar once again.  Things settle down into a new routine, the routine after the loss of a loved one, the routine after the work of the probate, and it feels like something is missing. You did it -- yet those filed court papers just slide off into an abyss.  Will you get a mailing from the court, some sort of official notice that you completed this marathon of a task? If you are a Personal Representative in a Wisconsin probate the answer is simple, no.  There is no fan fare, no balloon drop, no confetti falling...

Recently I had a chance to sit down with a book that had been on my "to-read" list for some time, The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney .  A work of fiction, the author weaves a complex story line surrounding four adult siblings and the ripple effect of one siblings reckless actions. The book opens with a scathing accident caused by the eldest Plumb child, unleashing a family drama when the mother uses the family trust, lovingly called The Nest by the family, to pay for medical bills of a victim of the accident.  With promises to repay The Nest by the eldest, the book takes the readers into the world of adult children who have spent and counted on these funds prior to the monies scheduled release, the pending 40th birthday of the youngest Plumb child. From a story point of view, the book is excellent. Complex and vivid characters, unexpected development, and a very nice pace.  However, do not read this book if you want to learn the correct names and functions of ...

What I've been reading..... My decision to read  Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End  by  Atul Gawande  was driven by recommendations from both friends and clients. For the past few weeks I've been reading at a sluggish pace, unable to be swept away by a compelling narrative. My reading drought ended with Being Mortal, a nonfiction look at the end-of-life questions we should all be contemplating no matter our age or stage in life. As Gwande writes, "we only die once" -- let's get it right. Gwande writes from the perspective of a physician, educator, and son helping his aging relatives on their final journey. Stories from his life and his patient's lives blend expertly with anthropological views on dying to modern statistics to an examination of what independence means to Americans.  Only one element was missing from this book in my opinion; the book was missing a nice neat list of questions a patient could pose to his or her doctor when fa...

It was a Tuesday evening.  Talk radio voices floated through the kitchen air while I prepared dinner. Host: Welcome Randy from New York, what's your question? Caller:  Hey, glad I got through.  I've got a question for you.  My aunt died and I'm taking care of her affairs.  She had a retirement account, and a car with a loan on it.  How do I sell the car and pay the loan? Host: Well, looks like you'll be doing a probate.  Not much there, one retirement account, one car, and a loan you gotta pay before you distribute anything.  Now I'm no lawyer, but seems like you'll have to open a probate.....geesh, unless there is someway around it, but how are you gonna sell the car and sign the title.  Maybe you need a lawyer.... Caller:  Thanks, I'll see what I can do. Why I thought they'd hear me, I do not know. One, this was radio, and two, it was an archived show. But that didn't stop me: YOU NEED A SMALL ESTATE AFFIDAVIT. STATES HAV...

Sitting in seat 15A of a jumbo jet's dimmed cabin, hovering somewhere above the Pacific Ocean doubt struck for a brief moment.  It was 1998 and I heard "Attention passengers, if there is a doctor on board would you please identify yourself."  With that 10 second announcement doubtful thoughts burrowed into my brain.  Heading from Honolulu to Madison via Seattle to begin a 3 year journey through law school, a process best described as going through boot camp while on Jeopardy, I realized I would never be on a plane and hear "Attention passengers, if there is a lawyer on board would you please identify yourself." At the core of my decision to submit myself to the law school process and subsequent career path through the legal field was a firmly rooted desire to help others.  Would I be able to do that if I opted to be an attorney? I did the best I could at the moment, transferring my doubtful thoughts to an entry in my journal and then closed my eyes and contin...