By David F. Bacon, Attorney at Law
Board Certified in Estate, Trust and Probate Planning
Over a decade ago my partner and I made a commitment to shift the focus of our legal practice from what had been the general practice of law including divorce, trial work, criminal, federal bankruptcy, business entities, real estate etc. to a specialized practice of law focusing on estate and business planning.
The shift in our practice was undertaken with some trepidation on our part as many of those areas of law we were then practicing were paying our bills and putting food on the table. However, we decided that the then increasing complexities in every field of law demanded that we decide upon a specialized area and practice in that area of the law and areas of law related to estate planning.
Within just a few years of our shift of focus the second Bush Presidency commenced and with it came sweeping changes to the federal estate and income tax structure. Those changes continue to occur during the Obama’s Presidency. Almost immediately the questions began as to how we were going to be able to continue to practice once the Federal Estate tax exemptions were finally phased in and the Federal Estate tax was repealed. The popular wisdom was that with the passage of the repeal of the federal estate tax that there wouldn’t be anything for us to do.
The surprise to us of course was that the then proposed phase out of the Federal Estate tax did not decrease out business. Our business actually increased as people began to reassess their estate plans and make amendments to assure that their plan conformed to the new regulations.
With the recent downturn in the economy, and I am using that term “downturn” in the most hopeful sense possible as describing current economic conditions as a “downturn” is similar to explaining the Titanic tragedy as a leak developing in the boat, we are again questioned what it is that we as estate planners will be doing in the future as no one any longer has any estate to plan. A friend recently referred to his retirement plan as his “201k” plan.
I have come at this definition of what “estate planning” actually means in many past articles and will address it again in this one.
Estate planning is not solely defined as a plan to avoid the taxation of a major fortune. Planning to pay the minimum amount of taxes is of course part of estate planning, but tax planning is not sole descriptor of estate planning any more than reciting that an automobile defines transportation. There are multiple facets to the transportation industry just as there are multiple disciplines, goals and objectives in estate planning.
So, here is a “heads up” as to some of the things which won’t change with whatever changes come to pass under the new administration’s tax strategies.
Under Ohio law you have an estate plan devised for you if you have not devised one for yourself. In Ohio if you have any asset that is titled in your name and the title to that asset remains titled in your name after you die, that asset under Ohio law will become a probate asset. Having probate assets at your death will most likely require your estate representatives to have some sort of a probate estate opened for you at your death. In Ohio the Probate Court of a decedent’s residence will most generally have primary jurisdiction (right to say) over that decedent’s estate.
Wills primarily direct the distribution of probate assets. If you have probate assets at your death and do not have a will, you will still have a probate administration of your estate. The difference is that Ohio’s laws of descent and distribution will determine who your heirs at law are and will distribute your probate assets to those folks.
It is possible to avoid the probate administration of your estate, but you have to take steps to accomplish that happening. It is possible through beneficiary designations to ensure that your assets do not remain titled in your name after your death and become probate assets, but rather pass directly to beneficiaries whom you have pre-designated. This pre-designation is something that you must do before your die. Some examples of these pre-designations are transfer on death (TOD) or payable on death (POD).
In addition to these beneficiary pre-designations it is possible during your lifetime to create and fund revocable living trusts and title your assets into these trusts. A revocable trust is a trust over which the grantor (person placing the title to the asset into the trust) has relinquished no control. The Grantor retains the right during his or her lifetime to remove any asset from the trust and to modify and or terminate the trust. Properly funded during lifetime a revocable living trust will in most instances avoid the probate administration of a decedent’s estate.
The next thing that hasn’t changed is the absolute necessity of creating powers of attorney for you. These documents enable the persons you select to make business and health care decisions for you if you are unable to make these decisions for yourself. Absent these advance directive documents, if you become disabled your loved ones will most probably be required to seek a probate guardianship over your person and or estate. This procedure is almost never necessary for an adult and most generally occurs when the disabled person has simply failed to plan in advance.
So here we are heading bravely into the New Era and lots of changes in estate planning again on the horizon. I’ll end this as my Aunt Muriel always concluded her correspondence, “More later…”
This article was written by David F. Bacon, Attorney and Ohio State Bar Association Board Certified Specialist in probate, trust and estate planning. David Bacon and Jeff Roth are partners and Jessica B. Moon is an Associate in Roth and Bacon Attorneys, LLC with offices in Upper Sandusky, Marion, Port Clinton, Ohio, and Fort Myers, Florida. They have focused their practice to provide estate and business planning concepts to their clients. Nothing in this article is intended for, nor should be relied upon as individual legal advice. The purpose of this article is to help educate the public on concepts of law as they pertain to estate and business planning. Copyright @ David F. Bacon.
I’m gone to convey my little brother, that he should also pay
a quick visit this webpage on regular basis to take updated
from latest news.
Wow that was strange. I just wrote an incredibly long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t appear.
Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyways, just wanted
to say wonderful blog!
We absolutely love your blog and find the majority of your post’s to be what precisely I’m looking
for. Do you offer guest writers to write content for you personally?
I wouldn’t mind writing a post or elaborating on some of the subjects you
write with regards to here. Again, awesome web site!
bookmarked!!, I like your blog!
I am truly pleased to read this blog posts
which carries plenty of useful information, thanks for providing such statistics.
You should take part in a contest for one of the greatest websites on thee internet.
I most certainly will highly recommend this website!
Hello there! I could have sworn I’ve been to this website
before but after looking at many of the articles I realized it’s new to me.
Anyways, I’m definitely delighted I stumbled upon it and I’ll be
bookmarking it and checking back often!
Hello Dear, are you truly visiting this site regularly, if so after that
you will definitely obtain pleasant experience.
Good write-up. I certainly appreciate this site. Keep it up!
It’s wonderful that you are getting ideas from this article
as well as from our discussion made at this place.
Hey There. I found your weblog the usage of msn. This is a very
well written article. I will make sure to bookmark it and return to
read more of your useful information. Thanks for the post.
I’ll definitely comeback.
I am sure this piece of writing has touched all the
internet people, its really really fastidious paragraph on building up new
website.
Excellent article. I am going through a few of these issues as well..
Thanbks for one’s marvelous posting! I qite enjoyed reading
it, you could bbe a great author. I will be sure to bookmark your
blog annd will often come back down the road.
I want to encourage you to continue your great posts, have a nice morning!
Thanks to my father who stated to me on the topic of this web site, this website is genuinely awesome.
A motivating discussion is definitely worth comment. I think that you need too publish more on this subject
matter, it may not be a taboo subject but generally people do not
talk about these issues. To the next! Cheers!!
I have been browsing online more than three hours today,
yet I never found any interesting article like yours.
It is pretty worth enough for me. In my view, if all web owners and bloggers made good content as youu did,
the web will be much more useful than ever before.
Thank you for the good writeup. It in fact wass a
amusement account it. Look advanced to more dded agreeable from you!
By the way, how could we communicate?
Nice post. I learn something new and challenging on websites I stumbleupon every
day. It’s always helpful to read through content from other writers and practice a
little something from other sites.
Hi, I read your blogs regularly. Your story-telling style is witty,
keep it up!
Appreciate this post. Will try it out.
Incredible! This blog looks just like my old one! It’s on a entirely different topic but
it has pretty much the same layout and design. Great choice of colors!
Hello, its nice piece of writing about media print, we all know media is a great source of data.
Hey are usiong WordPress for your blog platform?
I’m new to the blog world buut I’m trying to get started and set up mmy own.Do you need any coding knowledge
to make your own blog? Any elp would be greatly appreciated!
This text is invaluable. When can I find out more?
My relatives every time say that I am killing my time here at
net, except I know I am getting know-how daily by reading thes
fastidious posts.
Helpful info. Fortunate me I found your websie byy accident,
and I’m shlcked why this twist of fate did not tolk place earlier!
I bookmarked it.
First of all I would like to say terrific blog! I had a quick
question that I’d like to ask if you doo not mind.
I was curious to know how you center yourself and clear
your thoughts prior to writing. I’ve haad a difficult time clearing my
toughts in getting my ideas out there. I truly do take pleasure
in writing but it just seems like the firxt 10 to 15 minutes are usually
wasted just trying to figure out how to begin. Anyy suggestioms or tips?
Thank you!
My brtother recommended I mght like this web site. He was entirely
right. This submit actually made myy day. You can not imagine just how a lot time I hadd spent for this info!
Thank you!
Great site you’ve got here.. It’s difficult to find high
quality writing like yours nowadays. I honestly appreciate people like you!
Take care!!
Hi, I do believe this is a great website. I stumbledupon it 😉 I will revisit yet again since i have bookmarked it.
Money and freedom is the greatest way to change, may you be rich and continue to help others.
I need to to thank you for this wonderful read!!
I absolutely enjoyed every bit of it. I’ve got you bookmarked to look
at new things you post…
Fantastic beat ! I wօuld lіke to apprentice wɦile yoս
amend ƴour website, how ccan i subscribe fοr a blog
website? Ƭhe account aided mе a acceptable deal. Ι hаԁ bееn tiny Ьіt acquainted of tɦiѕ youг
broadcast offered bright сlear idea
Woա, this piece of writing is fastidiоus, my sister is analyzing such thingѕ,
thus I am going to inform hеr.