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He Was A Tight-Fisted Hand At The Grindstone…

(Warning: Typos Intact, Not Legal Advice)
(Copyright Notice: All Headlines Are Quoted From Dickens’ A Christmas Carol)

There Never Was Such A Goose.

Can my sister refuse to show me rent, bill receipts, and bank statements?
Both me and sister were appointed co-administrators of our deceased parents estate. My sister is collecting and holding the rent. She refuses to give any receipts or show me bank statements.

It’s Enough For A Man
To Understand His Own Business,
And Not To Interfere With Other People’s

Simple Answer. No. Sister got bad advice somewhere. Why is she withholding information from her co-administrator? Plus, brother is probably co-beneficiary. Brother needs the information to carry out his responsibility as administrator of the estate. Brother is NOT free to let sister get away with this. Brother is duty-bound to challenge sister, in court if need be. Brother literally owes it to mom and dad to find out what is going on and to carry out their intention.

Interesting Note: Sister embezzles, and brother does not find out. He does not want to find out. He does not want to fight sister. He does not want to know. Brother lets it slide. Isn’t brother an accessory to elder financial abuse? Isn’t brother in big trouble?

Bottom Line: When you agree to act as trustee, agent, personal representative, patient advocate, or other fiduciary, you are taking on a big job. You must fully perform that big job. Sorry if you don’t like it, you agreed. If you did not want the job, you should not have taken it. You should have said “No.” or “NO!” Or no way, no how, not in a thousand million years.

Observation: It is no big deal to get a person to act as Trustee or Executor. The First Time. But it is damn near impossible to get that same person to do it a second time. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

*************

I Have Seen Your Nobler Aspirations Fall Off One By One, Until The Master-Passion, Gain, Engrosses You.
Have I Not?
Our Contract Is An Old One. It Was Made When We Were Both Poor And Content To Be So, Until, In Good Season, We Could Improve Our Worldly Fortune. You Are Changed. When It Was Made, You Were Another Man.

Should I sign a post-nuptual?
My husband and I bought a house almost 3 years ago. My husband put the down payment, a portion of which his parents gave him.
I am equally responsible for the loan and my name is on the deed. I contribute to the household expenses every paycheck. We renovated the basement, to which we both contributed, my husband much more than I. He is insisting that I sign a post nup saying that he would get back every penny of the money he has put into the house
should we get divorced. He wanted to renovate the entire second level, but wants all that money back if we divorce. I have refused, stating that we are married and therefore equal owners. He has subsequently taken all of his parents assets (his father passed early this year) and placed it in a trust controlled by him and only for his family, including our children. I am excluded because I am not a blood relative. He has made it a point to tell me he owns nothing except our house, because he has put everything in this trust. He believes our house is more his than ours, and wants to split the equity only after he gets back all his money. Is this reasonable??

Should You Sign A Post-Nuptial? No. No you should not.

Is This Reasonable? No, No, it does not seem reasonable to me. His actions are not illegal. In fact, the law excludes inheritances from marital property.. So maintaining his family inheritance for his family is well grounded. But is that how you wish to live?

On the Other Hand: Do you recognize your dearly beloved in Dickens’ description of Scrooge?

Oh! but he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shriveled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue; and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. A frosty rime was on his head, and on his eyebrows, and his wiry chin. He carried his own low temperature always about with him; he iced his office in the dog-days and didn’t thaw it one degree at Christmas.

Wake Up and Smell the Coffee! Is this how you wish to live your life? The Law does not have all the Answers. Some you have to figure out on your own. This is one of those questions. Wasn’t that easy?

*************

And Therefore, Uncle Scrooge, Though Christmas Has Never Put A Scrap Of Gold Or Silver In My Pocket, I Believe That It Has Done Me Good, And Will Do Me Good; And I Say, God Bless It!

Must a Successor Trustee make a Distribution-in-Kind of gold coins left in a trust?
My wife’s parents Trust left every thing to their two daughters to be divided equally. Her sister does not want half of the coins, my wife does.
My concern is if the coins which are all identical are are taken in kind that the tax liability may be different than a direct inheritance of the coins. The coins are documented as in the Trust. The cost of valuing the coins is a concern as well. This is in the hands of a 3rd party fiduciary as the daughters don’t get along.

Death and Taxes. Inherited property, like these gold coins, get a special tax benefit. When the property is sold by the trust or transferred to the beneficiary, there is no tax. And property is treated, for tax purposes, as though the beneficiary owner paid fair market value for it on the date of Dad’s death.

Dad Sells His Coins: Dad paid $5 for each gold coin. While alive, Dad sells a gold coin for $10. Now Dad has $5 of profit. Therefore, Dad must pay tax on the profit. Also known as capital gains.

Daughters’ Doubloons. When the trust sells the coins, the trust also has no profit, no capital gain. No tax. Because the trust is treated as if it had paid full fair market value for the coins. The coins were then sold for fair market value. There is no profit. There is no tax. And the tax-free money goes to the daughter who did not want the coins.

Your wife, the other daughter, wants to keep the coins. That’s just fine. No problem and no tax problem. While valuing coins is difficult, it must be done. Write down the value. Get a written appraisal. At some point, your wife will decide that rather than the gold, she would rather have green, folding money.

When she sells, she is treated as if she paid fair market value, back when the last parent died. Even if the value has continued to increase, your wife still pays much less tax.

Dad paid $5 for each coin. Dad dies.

At his death, the coins are worth $10. Daughter (your wife) sells a coin. For $20.

Daughter’s profit is not $15. Daughter is treated as if she had paid $10 for each coin (the value on Dad’s date of death).

Yes, it is complicated. But did you think the government would make it easy for you to keep any part of your stuff? Of course not…

And It Was Always Said Of Him, That He Knew How To Keep Christmas Well, If Any Man Alive Possessed The Knowledge. May That Be Truly Said Of Us, And All Of Us!
And So, As Tiny Tim Observed, God Bless Us, Every One!

Bah,” Said Scrooge, “Humbug.” Why Don’t You Deserve A Little Payback For All The Taxes You Paid In?

Why Do You Want To Spend Your Last Nickel On Long-Term Care?

Why Shouldn’t The Government Spend Your Money For You?

Traditional estate planning is concerned with avoiding probate, saving taxes, and dumping your leftover stuff on your beneficiaries. After you die. Nobody cares what happens to you while you are alive. How does that help anyone? Stupid.

Traditional estate planning fails because the overwhelming majority of us will need long-term skilled care. 70% of us. For an average of 3 years. And we will go broke paying for it.

Is it surprising that thousands of recreation properties: cottages, cabins, hunting land, are lost to pay for long-term care? Why is your estate planner hurting you and your family? It is evil intent? Or stupidity?

LifePlanning™ defeats Nursing Home Poverty. Keep your stuff. Get the care you have already paid for. Good for you. Good for your family. Good example for society.

When my mother suffered from the dementia which led to her death, over 10 years ago, their estate plan preserved their lifesavings. Mom’s months in the nursing home did not mean Dad’s impoverishment. Dad spent the last years with security and peace of mind.

Is Now A Bad Time For A Real Solution?

Perhaps you think you already have an answer to this problem. Maybe you do not see this as a problem at all. It is possible that you do not believe in the passage of time or its effects on you.

Peace of mind and financial security are waiting for everyone who practices LifePlanning™. You know that peace only begins with financial security. Are legal documents the most important? Is avoiding probate the best you can do for yourself or your loved ones? Is family about inheritance? Or are these things only significant to support the foundation of your family?

Do you think finding the best care is easy? Do you want to get lost in the overwhelming flood of claims and promises? Or would you like straight answers?

Well, here you are. Now you know. No excuses. Get the information, insight, inspiration. It is your turn. Ignore the message? Invite poverty? Or get the freely offered information. To make wise decisions. For you. For your loved ones.

The LifePlan™ Workshop has been the first step on the path to security and peace for thousands of families. Why not your family?

NO POVERTY. NO CHARITY. NO WASTE.
It is not chance. It is choice. Your choice.

Get Information Now. (800) 317-2812

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(Not Edited For Spelling Or Punctuation) (Note: Not Legal Advice!)

Long answers are boring, short punchy answers are fun! Time for some fun…

LETTER #1

How should I word a letter to say I withdraw specific grants of authority on a POA?

I am primary agent on my father’s POA, but need to produce a letter that says I will not act as agent with respect to obtaining financial assistance from or communicating with Medicaid. Is that wording correct? Do I have to title it as an affidavit?

The Answer Is: “With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility”

Do Not Do This Bad, Awful, Evil Thing

Point #1 This is total BULL. You have been given the great power to make your father’s remaining life a life worth living. You are being asked to throw away that power, to sacrifice your father’s well-being.
Your father granted you authority to make decisions on his behalf. You accepted that responsibility. You have a duty to your father to exercise the authority you have been given in your father’s best interest. Your father’s best interest. Not the interest of somebody who wants to take advantage of your father.

Point #2 Who is asking for this? Who says you “need to produce a letter”? No reputable care facility would ask for this. No one who cares about your father would ask for this. There is no GOOD reason for anyone would ask for you to give up your father’s entitlement to federal health care benefits. There are lots of BAD reasons, though.

Point #3 Middle-class America already won this fight. Back in the day (as the kids say)(or used to say)(or never said but I thought they did)… When I first started doing this stuff, 31 years ago, it was not uncommon to see demands like this in long-term care contracts. The State of Ohio even prohibited Medicaid recipients from speaking with attorneys about their benefits. All blatantly wrong. All clearly illegal. Federal law is clear: no one can require you to give up your federal health care benefits. And that means you cannot give up your father’s federal health care benefits. You do not “need” to produce any such letter. Whoever asked for the letter was probably breaking federal law.

Point #4 Medicaid simply is the way America pays for long-term care.

• Folks spend themselves into nursing home poverty.
• Savings exhausted, farm sold, cottage gone, destitute.
• Apply for Medicaid.
• Get base level of care, paid by Medicaid.

Point #5 Middle-class savers can obtain Medicaid benefits in full compliance with state and federal law without going broke. Your savings can supplement Medicaid so that you receive the highest level of care, tailored to your unique needs.

Point #6. Private Pay Rates are about 50% higher than Medicaid rates for the same services. Reality Check: Look at your last medical or hospital bill. Do you think the hospital is paying $12 per aspirin?

Conclusion: Do not betray your father. Dear old Dad trusted you to act in his best interest. Accept the great responsibility that comes with great power. Make his remaining time on this planet the best time of his life.

LETTER #2

My husband’s step grandmother died in August. Her son (not our blood relative obviously) contacted us as the executor.?

He told us that he is distributing the proceeds of her estate and that he is sending us a check, even though we are not named as beneficiaries. My mother-in-law is livid (she has a number of mental and health issues) she cares for her disabled brother (both are beneficiaries) he is concerned she is not adequately caring for her brother. She is demanding that we not accept the check. What should we do here??

The Answer Is: Only Santa Claus Can Give Things Away for Free

You know you are not a beneficiary. If the money you are receiving was supposed to go to other people, that is a problem.

Point #1 Most folks do not leave money to grandchildren. And it is even more unusual to include step-grandchildren. As you observe, your husband is not a relative or named beneficiary. It is hard to see that he has any entitlement to a distribution.

Point #2 Your mother-in-law and her disabled brother appear to be children of the deceased step-grandmother. They are legitimate beneficiaries.

Point #3 If somebody is giving away your inheritance, you are justified in getting hot under the collar. BONUS POINTS: Extra aggravation if your disabled brother’s inheritance is being given away. Especially when you are caring for said disabled brother.

Point #4 Proper estate distribution is up to the personal representative (aka executor). Unless you acted improperly, distribution problems are on the executor-brother.

Head-scratcher: What the hell is going on here? See Point #1. This is strange.

Possibility #1: The executor-step-uncle is giving a portion of the executor-step-uncle’s own share to your husband. If so, no problem.

Possibility #2 The executor-step-uncle is making an unauthorized distribution of the estate. If so, the Probate Court could order your husband to disgorge the money. Also, executor-step-uncle is in deep doo-doo.

Conclusion: “Livid” mothers-in-law with “a number of mental and health issues” are not always wrong. Find out whether executor-step-uncle has any legal basis to make the distribution. If no legal basis can be determined by your own lawyer, do not take the money. Better safe than sorry.

LETTER #3

Can an executrix of a will evict a sibling who is also a beneficiary and has lived in the house for 40 years?

My ex-husband has been unable to work for the past 10 years in order to take care of his 99-year-old dad. He passed late last year. His sister took her dad to a lawyer when he was about 90 to create a will. 70% her/30% him. Ex-husband has lived in the very modest home for 40 years. He has no means to start over.

She is the owner of 2 homes and made enough money to retire at 59 (probably not relevant).

The Answer Is: Yes.

Point #1 Father opened his home to son for 30 years before father needed son’s help. Perhaps that helps explain the 70/30 split. Maybe sister isn’t such a “rhymes with witch” after all…

Point #2 Nowadays it is not so unusual to have the holdover tenant child. The kid moves home for a week. Or two. Or THIRTY YEARS! How is it that the kid could not save an apartment rental deposit in thirty years of working plus ten more years of not working and living off dad’s social security and pension. Jeepers!!

Point #3 Eviction is the remedy. In my experience, the “Irish Bachelor” son or daughter has no intention of going soft into that good night of leases, mortgages, rent and maintenance. EEEK! Responsibility! Oh no! Oysters have less attachment to their shells. Frequently the other siblings let “Timmy” stay in the house after the funeral. “For a little while.” Five years later somebody wakes up to the fact that Timmy ain’t goin’ nowhere! Far from being grateful, Timmy is angry that anyone has figured it out…

Point #4 The COVID moratorium on evictions is still in effect. That means you cannot legally evict Timmy. Serve him with the eviction papers anyway. You could try reasoning with Timmy. It will not do any good. At least you can get your ducks in a row for the moment evictions are once more possible.

Point #5 If dad had put Timmy on the deed, you could never get him out. So do not put your kids on deeds.

Point #6 A parent can give a caregiver child the house without screwing up their own Medicaid. The key is that the child has to reside with the parent and provide two (2) years of care services that keep the parent out of the nursing home.

Conclusion: There are dangers and opportunities when a child moves home. Mostly dangers. Consult with your friendly, neighborhood elder law attorney to avoid the mistakes and maximize the advantages.

YOU CHOOSE!

Applying for benefits does not mean Nursing Home Poverty or silly Spend Down. Learn how to preserve your loved one’s lifesavings, business, cottage, life insurance. Thousands of middle-class families have learned and use these techniques. Why not yours?

The post Mail Call: Answers To Your Estate Planning Questions appeared first on Carrier Law.

What Comes Next Is Frequently Worse

Death Comes For Us All

Our time on this planet is limited. We do our best while we are here. To be a good spouse. A loving parent. A loyal sibling. A true American. To be able to look back on a life well-lived. You have worked hard. You played by the rules. You planned. And when you pass, there will be leftovers.

Maybe it is a loved one who has died. After the grief comes the realization that you have a big job to do. You are responsible to take care of what has been left behind.

Now what? What comes next? You have heard the stories of family strife. You “know” that this will take at least a year, probably two. You keep hearing that probate or trust administration costs will swallow up 4-10% of the leftovers. Pretty discouraging.

It does not have to be that way. Let us show you.

Will vs Trust

Wills only work in probate. A will is simply instructions to the Probate Court and the Personal Representative (Executor). Wills do not avoid probate. Did I mention that the will only works in Probate Court?

Millions of families have believed that revocable living trusts would avoid probate for them. Millions of families have been disappointed. Trusts only work on assets that have been retitled into the trust.

Attorneys, bankers, accountants, insurance agents, annuity salespersons, financial advisors, and the guy who mops the floor at the bank all know something that you do not. Everybody else knows that trusts do not work in the real world. That fact has nothing to do with the trust itself.

Trusts only work on stuff in the trust. And your stuff is not in your trust. Inconceivable!

Remember all those papers in that trust binder? All those papers you did not read? All those papers your loved one did not read either? Well, there was a memo about putting assets into the trust. Whoopsie. Say hello to probate! This is not a mistake. New estate planning lawyers are taught not to worry about funding, in reliance on probate. I wonder if the probate attorney fees have anything to do with it… Inconceivable!

Everybody knows you will not put your stuff into the trust. That is why you get a Funding Coach at the Law Offices of David L. Carrier. Someone to help you, nag you, enable you. To truly avoid probate. And nursing home poverty.

Simple will or the typical trust? Does not matter. Say hello to probate.

Delay Destroys De Family

Probate or trust administration drags on. Month after month. Family members wonder what is going on. One year. Two years. And on. Family fights fester. First, grief at mom’s death. Then, impatience. Soon, annoyance. Next, suspicion. Finally, anger.

“But our kids get along so well!” Check back 12-24 months after your death. No final resolution. No visible signs of progress. Tough? You bet. Inevitable? No way!

Git ‘Er Done! Six Months Or Less!

Preserve your family. Preserve your sanity. You do the grieving. We do the paperwork. Six months after you say “Go!”, we say “All done!” And four months of that time was required by the newspaper Notice to Unknown Creditors. Consistent communication calms kids.

Your Probate And Trust Administration Team

Attorney Terri Macklin and Senior Paralegal Lea Dillard head up your Team. Our staff accountants, paralegals, and client service agents back them all the way. Attorney Claire Clary rounds out the Team. As former executive director of Widowed Persons Services, Claire adds years of insights from helping hundreds of newly widowed persons.

Six Months! Really?

Not every time. But it is always our goal. We work hard to beat your expectations. Hundreds of times, hundreds of families, every year.

Unexpected Covid-19 Deaths Are Rising

You did not expect your loved one to pass so soon. You thought you had time. They did too. Things will get worse before they get better. Get help now.

What Now?

Preserve your family. Preserve your sanity. Call the Probate and Trust Administration Team now. It costs nothing. It could save your family. Make the rules work for the folks who play by the rules.

GET ANSWERS NOW…
CALL THE LIFEPLAN™ HOTLINE (800) 317-2812

Send Email: TMacklin@davidcarrierlaw.com

Never a charge to talk. What are you waiting for? “What could it hurt?”

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