When establishing a trust in Denver, you need to give serious thought to choosing your successor trustee—the person who will administer your trust once you’re no longer able to do so. Continue reading
Category: Colorado Probate Law
Stress Test Your Estate Plan
So you’ve done the hard work of establishing an estate plan. However, you still have serious work to do to ensure that the strategy you’ve selected will maximize your peace of mind and protect your legacy. Continue reading
Proposed Treasury Regulations Will Limit Discounting
Bottom Line: If you like jumping right to the punchline, this post serves as an alert that in order to save gift and/or estate taxes to which you may otherwise become subject, making some gifts over the next four months would be highly recommended. For details, please read on….. Continue reading
The Tragic Loss of Star Trek’s Anton Yelchin: Lessons for Estate and Legacy Planning
On June 19, 2016, when successful actor Anton Yelchin (Chekov in the recent Star Trek movies) failed to show for rehearsal, his friends became worried and drove to his house. Sadly, they found Yelchin pinned between his security fence, brick mailbox, and Jeep Grand Cherokee. Continue reading
Prince’s Sad and Incredibly Expensive Mistake! (Are You Making It, Too?)
The news of the unexpected death of music legend Prince, age 57, shocked the world and touched off stirring tributes from the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, the Harlem Gospel Choir and the cast of Saturday Night Live. Prince left a profound, indelible mark as an artist – when asked what it was like to be the greatest guitar player alive, for instance, Eric Clapton famously responded: “I don’t know. Ask Prince.” Tragically, though, for all his talent, Prince made a simple error that is creating huge complications for his family. Continue reading
How Often Do You Update Your Estate Plan? More Often Than Your Resume?
A resume is a “snapshot” of your experience, skill set, and education which provides prospective employers insight into who you are and how you will perform. Imagine not updating that resume for 5, 10, or even 15 years. Would it accurately reflect who you are? Would it do what you want it to do? Likely not. Estate plans are similar in that they need to be updated on a regular basis to reflect changes in your life – and to do what you want them to do. Continue reading
3 Simple Ways to Avoid Probate Costs
The bad news: probated estates in Colorado are subject to a variety of costs from attorneys, personal representatives, appraisers, accountants, courts, and state law. Depending on the probate’s complexity, fees can run into tens of thousands of dollars. Continue reading
How to Fix a Trust That Isn’t Getting Better With Age
While many wines get better with age, the same cannot be said for some irrevocable trusts.
Maybe you’re the beneficiary of trust created by your great grandfather over seventy years ago and that trust no longer makes sense. Or, maybe you created an irrevocable trust over twenty years ago and it no longer makes sense. Wine connoisseurs may ask: Is there any way to fix an irrevocable trust that has turned from a fine wine into vinegar? You may be surprised to learn that under certain circumstances the answer is yes, by “decanting” the old broken trust into a brand new one. Continue reading
5 Most Expensive States for Retirees in 2015
While there are many factors to consider when choosing the place where you will retire, the ones that will impact your wallet may be the most important. Why? Because having a low crime rate and beautiful weather will be irrelevant if high costs deplete your retirement nest egg faster than anticipated. Continue reading
How to Make a Family Meeting a Successful Part of the Estate Planning Process
You’ve made the hard decisions, your documents are signed, your trust is funded, a business succession plan is in place. Congratulations, you’ve finished your estate planning. But have you, really? Have you explained your planning to your family? Will they understand how your plan will work and what they may need to do if you become ill or when you die? Will they wonder why you made certain decisions? Continue reading