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Living Wills and Surrogates?

nospam@example.com (John B. Whalen) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 09:10:47 -0500

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Living Wills and Surrogates?

For more from my Website: http://johnbwhalenjr.com/

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Document Purposes

A Living Will grants your Surrogate (Fiduciary) the ability to execute your end of life decisions.

Fiduciary Traits

Your Surrogate (Fiduciary) under your Living will should be able and willing, first and foremost.
Your Surrogate under your Living will should also be stoic and strong.

Common Misconceptions

The common misconception that surrounds a Living Will (or, in Pennsylvania, an "Advance Directive for Health Care") is the timing as to when it becomes operative. There are two triggers that must occur before your Surrogate is given the option of acting. First, you must be unable to communicate your own decisions. Second, you must have been diagnosed with a terminal condition or as being permanently unconscious.

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Powers of Attorney and Agents?

nospam@example.com (John B. Whalen) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 09:09:55 -0500

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Powers of Attorney and Agents?

For more from my Website: http://johnbwhalenjr.com/

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Document Purposes

A Power of Attorney grants your Agent (Fiduciary) the ability to control all of your affairs.
It is a very powerful document; it permits your Agent the broadest of powers to do anything that you could have done (i.e., give all of your money away). Yet, inherent in the broad powers that your Agent possesses is the possibility - the extremely real possibility - that your Agent under your Power of Attorney may actually do anything that you could have done (i.e., give all your money away).

Fiduciary Traits

Your Agent (Fiduciary) should be able and willing, first and foremost.
Your Agent should also be levelheaded and familiar.

Common Misconceptions

A common misconception is that a Power of Attorney eliminates your ability to act for yourself. Quite to the contrary, and until you are deemed to be incapacitated, a Power of Attorney should properly be viewed as a "shared authority." After you have executed a Power of Attorney, you still retain all of the powers and decision-making abilities that you possessed beforehand, including the power to revoke the Power of Attorney.
Another common misconception is that your Agent needs your permission to act. Quite to the contrary, a Power of Attorney is a very powerful document. It permits your Agent the broadest of powers to do anything that you could have done (i.e., give all of your money away), and, inherent in the broad powers that your Agent possesses is the possibility - the extremely real possibility - that your Agent under your Power of Attorney may actually do anything that you could have done (i.e., give all your money away).

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Last Wills and Executors?

nospam@example.com (John B. Whalen) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 09:08:56 -0500

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Last Wills and Executors?

For more from my Website: http://johnbwhalenjr.com/

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Document Purposes

A Last Will grants your Executor (Fiduciary) the ability to administer your Estate at your death.

Fiduciary Traits

Your Executor (Fiduciary) under your Last Will should be able and willing, first and foremost.
Your Executor under your Last Will should also be honest and diplomatic.

Common Misconceptions

The most common misconception that surrounds a Last Will is the process called Probate and the seemingly universal assumption that it should be avoided at all costs. Virtually to the contrary, the word Probate is merely the Latin infinitive verb that means to prove. Although some states do have onerous probate procedures (where the avoidance of probate may be a prudent strategy), Pennsylvania does not. In fact, probating your Last Will in Pennsylvania is very simple.
Another very common misconception that surrounds a Last Will is that it disposes of all of your assets at your death. Again, and virtually to the contrary, is the fact that your Last Will only disposes of your assets (1) that are owned in your name alone and (2) that have no beneficiary designations. Consequently, items owned jointly with another, such as joint bank accounts, will be controlled by property law (and not by the laws governing Last Wills), and will pass to those joint owner(s) at your death. Items that have individual beneficiary designations, such as life insurance policies, will be controlled by contract law (and not by the laws governing Last Wills), and will pass to those individual designated beneficiaries at your death.

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Estates and Income Tax Returns?

nospam@example.com (John B. Whalen) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:59:37 -0400

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Individuals make income; Estates make income.

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Individuals make income; Estates make income

Individual income is called just that Individual Income
Estate (and Trust) income is called Fiduciary Income

In general, income and deductions for Individuals and Estates is

Decided in the same manner
Calculated in the same manner
Reported in the same manner

Therefore

Individuals must file Individual Income Tax returns
Estates (and Trusts) must file Fiduciary Income Tax returns

For further reference, the IRS website states that

The U.S. Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts (Form 1041) is used
to report the income, deductions, gains, and losses of estates and trusts,
as well as distributions to beneficiaries and income tax liability

Continue reading "Estates and Income Tax Returns?"

Wills and Probate and Taxes?

nospam@example.com (John B. Whalen) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:51:15 -0400

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Be aware that Wills and Probate are extremely tax intensive.

For more from my Website: http://johnbwhalenjr.com/

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Wills and Probate are extremely tax intensive.

It will begin with Estate Planning
It will continue with the Will's vital tax clause
It will impact the client's Asset Titles
It will extend through Probate
It will impact the beneficiaries tax obligations
It may resolve through the Estate Administration
It can extend far beyond the Estate's conclusion

Extremely likely is the fact that the tax returns required in Pa are

The Pa Inheritance Tax Return
The Federal Estate Tax Return (depending)
The Decedent's final Federal Income Tax Return
The Decedent's final Pennsylvania Income Tax Return
The Estate's Federal Fiduciary Income Tax Return(s)
The Estate's Pennsylvania Income Tax Return(s)

Continue reading "Wills and Probate and Taxes?"

Executors and Responsibilities?

nospam@example.com (John B. Whalen) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 06:50:54 -0400

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Be aware that an Executor has many responsibilities.

For more from my Website: http://johnbwhalenjr.com/

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Be aware that an Executor has many responsibilities.

Probating the Will
Providing various mandated court filings
Obtaining an Estate E.I.N. number
Preserving the Estate's assets
Satisfying the Estate's creditors
Notifying Beneficiaries and Heirs
Filing the Decedent's final Income Tax returns
Filing the Estate's Inheritance and/or Estate Tax Returns
Filing the Estate's Fiduciary Income Tax returns
Providing an accounting of all of the estate items
Distributing the assets to the beneficiaries (Will) or heirs (no Will)

Choose your Executor with extreme care.

Be aware of your Executor's traits
Be aware of the Estate's Fiduciary Income Tax returns
Be aware of the Decedent's final Income Tax returns

As an Executor, please be aware that

You can be held personally liable for unpaid taxes
You should be careful of the advice you receive and what you hear
You should ensure that the Income Tax returns were filed in your Estate
With all of the recent talk of the Estate Tax, the Income Tax side is as vital

Continue reading "Executors and Responsibilities?"

Estate Planning and Pointers?

nospam@example.com (John B. Whalen) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 02:29:08 -0500

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Be aware of a few basic pointers when facing your Estate Planning.

For more from my Website: http://johnbwhalenjr.com/

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Assets ~ Title your assets with utmost care and know how your assets are titled or "owned" (i.e., in your own name alone, whether they have joint owners, and/or whether they have beneficiairy designations);
Transfers ~ Get professional advice before you "re-title" or "transfer" your assets because you may be changing the ownership and/or the "titles" of your assets (i.e., before the "bombs" go off);
Fiduciaries ~ Pick those "in charge" of your Estate Planning documents (your "Fiduciaries") very carefully (do they have the required "traits" or "characteristics" to fulfill their duties when the time arrives?); and
Documents ~ Keep your Estate Planning documents current and up-to-date, and always remember that laws, taxes, and people change constantly and consistently.

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Estate Law and Aspects?

nospam@example.com (John B. Whalen) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 02:24:38 -0500

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Be aware that Estate Law is a very broad term.

For more from my Website: http://johnbwhalenjr.com/

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Like spokes on a wheel, the various aspect of many different areas of Estate Law and Elder Law (i.e., Will Law, Power of Attorney Law, Living Will Law, Tax Law, Contract Law, Property Law, Trust Law, Property Law, etc.) attempt to arrive at a hub.

If all of these various aspects are viewed correctly and built properly, with acute attention and detail paid to each spoke as another spoke is built and tightened, the wheel should - hopefully and ultimately - roll properly.

Continue reading "Estate Law and Aspects?"

Fiduciary Positions?

nospam@example.com (John B. Whalen) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 01:54:09 -0500

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Be aware that your Fiduciary Positions are the person(s) in charge.

For more from my Website: http://johnbwhalenjr.com/

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The law refers to these person(s) as a "Fiduciary" and I refer to these person(s) as your "Bosses."

A "Fiduciary" is someone who stands in a position of trust to another, and a Fiduciary is in charge of carrying out the terms and/or instructions of that particular Fiduciary's roles of that Estate Planning Document.

The proper terms for the "Bosses" of your Estate Planning documents are:

Agent ~ Under a Power of Attorney

Surrogate ~ Under a Living Will

Trustee ~ Under a Trust

Executor ~ Under a Will

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Patriot Act and C.I.P. Rules?

nospam@example.com (John B. Whalen) — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 22:02:47 -0500

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The USA PATRIOT Act virtually overhauled the account-opening process.

For more from my Website: http://johnbwhalenjr.com/

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Section 326 of the USA PATRIOT Act required that the Treasury Department establish minimum standards with which financial institutions must strictly comply in order to open new accounts. Most notably, it implemented the Customer Identity Program (C.I.P.) rules.

The Joint Final Rule begins with the minimum steps for a C.I.P., and then allows each financial institution to develop its own C.I.P., which must be written and approved by the institution's Board of Directors, by building upon those steps.

The four minimum steps to a C.I.P. are verifying identities, keeping records, comparing lists, and notifying customers.

Verifying Identities ~ This step is a two-pronged procedure - the customer provides identifying items and the financial institution validates those identifying items. To satisfy the first prong, the customer (whether an individual or an entity) must provide three essential pieces of identifying items - name, address, and identification number (with a fourth requirement, date of birth, also required of individuals). To satisfy the second prong, a financial institution's C.I.P should specify by what methods (whether documentary proof and/or non-documentary confirmation) it will use to validate the customer's identifying information.
Keeping Records ~ The C.I.P rules contain a bifurcated record-keeping system. The identifying information (i.e., name, address, and identification number, and, with individuals, date of birth) must be kept for five years after the account is closed, and all other information must be kept for five years after the record is made.
Comparing Lists ~ The C.I.P must include procedures for determining whether a customer appears on any list of known or suspected terrorist organizations issued by the federal government.
Notifying Customers ~ Every institution must provide customers with adequate notice that they are requesting information to verify their identities. This notice can be either given to the customers on an individual basis, such as a handout, or on a collective basis, such as a placard displayed in the bank.

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Wills and Asset Titles?

nospam@example.com (John B. Whalen) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 09:16:56 -0400

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Be aware that a Will may not dispose of all of your assets at your death.

For more from my Website: http://johnbwhalenjr.com/

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Perhaps to the contrary, a Will disposes of your assets that are titled in your name alone and that have no beneficiary designations.

Consequently, a Will does not control two, potentially and enormously valuable, categories of assets.

A Will does not control (or dispose of) assets that have: Joint Owners (i.e., joint accounts, joint real estate, etc.), as they pass to the surviving owners (via Property Law), and/or Beneficiary Designations (i.e., annuities, retirement plans, etc.), as they pass to the named beneficiaries (via Contract Law).

Continue reading "Wills and Asset Titles?"

Powers of Attorney and Pa law?

nospam@example.com (John B. Whalen) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 10:00:39 -0400

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Be aware that a Power of Attorney must comply with PA law as of April, 2000.

For more from my Website: http://johnbwhalenjr.com/

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Be aware that a Power of Attorney must comply with Pennsylvania's rules (April, 2000), and begin with a page.

The Notice page must be in capital letters. The Notice page explains and warns the rules surrounding the immense power of a Power of Attorney and the corresponding authority of the Agent.

If you executed a Power of Attorney prior to that date (and it does not contain the Notice page), it just may cause more problems that it will solve.

Be aware that a Power of Attorney must comply with Pennsylvania's rules (April, 2000), and end with an Acknowledgment page.

The Acknowledgment page must be signed by your Agent, and until the Power of Attorney Acknowledgment page is signed by your Agent, your Agent has no power to act for you.

If you executed a Power of Attorney prior to that date (and it does not contain the Acknowledgment page), be aware that it also most likely may cause more problems than it will solve.

Continue reading "Powers of Attorney and Pa law?"

Living Trusts and Caution?

nospam@example.com (John B. Whalen) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 09:53:46 -0400

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Be extremely cautious of "Living Trusts" in PA.

For more from my Website: http://johnbwhalenjr.com/

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Revocable trusts have become increasingly popular as substitutes for Wills in Estate Planning, most notably in light of the fact that people are informed that they need to avoid "Probate."

As Pennsylvania is a very "probate friendly" state, in Pennsylvania (and not other states, such as California), "Living Trusts" do:

Not save tax (and often, unnecessarily, increases it),
Not save fees (and often, unnecessarily, increases it),
Not save time (and often, unnecessarily, increases it),
Not save costs (and often, unnecessarily, increases it), and
Not save aggravation (and often, unnecessarily, increases it).

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Living Wills and Doctors?

nospam@example.com (John B. Whalen) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 03:17:45 -0400

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Living Wills and Doctors?

For more from my Website: http://johnbwhalenjr.com/

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Unfortunately, this is not true. However, should this not be the case, your doctor (as well as any health care provider) must inform you if they cannot, for whatever reason, follow your wishes as stated in your Living Will.
Thus, it is important to provide your doctor with a copy of your Living Will to ensure that your doctor will follow your wishes when it is time to do so.
If you are incompetent when you are admitted for medical care and have named someone in your living will to make decisions for you, that person must be informed if the wishes contained in your Living Will cannot be honored.
Your doctor (as well as any health care provider) who cannot honor your wishes must then help transfer you to another doctor (or health care provider) who is willing to carry out your directions.

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Fiduciaries and Traits?

nospam@example.com (John B. Whalen) — Wed, 14 May 2008 03:44:25 -0400

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Your Fiduciaries should possess certain traits.

For more from my Website: http://johnbwhalenjr.com/

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First and foremost, the Fiduciaries of all of your Estate Planning documents (i.e., your Agent under your Power of Attorney, your Surrogate under your Living Will, your Trustee under your Trust, and your Executor under your Will) should possess the primary traits of being able and willing.

Without these two critically vital qualities, you risk the effectiveness of that particular Estate Planning document at the worst time - the time it is needed most.

As you continue through this section, there are additional traits that I list with each separate Estate Planning document that I have found should greatly affect your choice of the Fiduciaries of that particular Estate Planning document.

Continue reading "Fiduciaries and Traits?"