Legal Info

[This month, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, we are rerunning our fictional letter from the IRS giving thanks. Because of the great response we received last year, this may become a standard Thanksgiving week article, much like Arlo Guthrie’s performance of Alice’s Restaurant. ”]

To: The children of John Doe
From: The Internal Revenue Service
Re: Estate evaluation and Thanks
Date: November 30, 2013

We at the IRS would like to express our deepest condolences on the death of your father in January of this year. As a part of a new program, we are now required to give thanks to the heirs of decedents along with information on how the deceased party and their heirs could have saved on taxes. Of course, this letter is only sent after all opportunities to correct these mistakes have lapsed.

The Law Offices of Jeffrey G. Marsocci, PLLC just went live with an online Simple Will information system and ordering platform. The website, located at www.EZNCWills.com provides a 60 minute audio presentation on Wills, Powers of Attorney, Living Wills, and the other basic but critical life and estate planning documents. The system also sends out several educational e-mails over a period of two weeks to re-emphasize important documents and elements of life and estate planning. In addition, North Carolina residents can also enter the necessary information for creation of their Simple Will Package, and an attorney will now communicate with the clients to properly draft and execute the documents at our law office.

I recently had the opportunity to review a trust from one of the top trust attorneys from Asheville, North Carolina and was a little disturbed with what I found. I went through the usual 222 point review looking for each of the provisions our trusts have, and in the end the trust had 75% of them, which is actually very good for what we usually find. However, what was really disturbing was what was missing. Considering the level of expertise it took to create these trusts, it seemed strange that the missing items were pretty universal:

Many times a $99 Will costs a lot more than 9,900 pennies. Going through an online service to create your Last Will and Testament may save time and money up front, but the cost can later be devastating to the family. And often irreversible.

It is pretty well established that 75% of the people in the U.S. have no written estate plan whatsoever. While it may seem like online Will services are helping get part of the 75% to do something they wouldn’t otherwise do, my experience as an attorney has shown that about 75% of the estate problems that end up in court are there because someone tried to do it themselves.

By Dayo Aladeniyi, Legal Intern

In today’s world of DIY (do-it-yourself), it would seem there is no easier way to save money than DIY legal services, such as creating your will. In an effort to effectively use the new genre of e-lawyering, a forum whereby lawyers can meet clients and practice online, lawyers are presenting new software programs to help consumers perform legal services themselves. Cost is a substantial impediment for people seeking legal services. So websites such as LegalZoom and Rocket Lawyer appear to be a solution. Due to the minimized costs of these products, people think they can avoid the hassle of paying a lawyer to create a will for them. However, Consumer Reports recently did a study with LegalZoom, Rocket Lawyer, and Quicken WillMaker Plus. They found that these software programs are not an adequate substitute for having a lawyer draft a will specifically designed for each client.

Growing up, I had plenty of history, and some of my favorite lessons were from Schoolhouse Rock. By the time I was seven I knew that the U.S. House and U.S. Senate had to pass identical legislation before sending it to the President because of a cartoon piece of rolled up parchment sang “I’m just a Bill.” (Yes, I’m Only a Bill. And I’m sittin’ here on Capitol Hill.) I knew about the battles at Lexington and Concord Massachusetts, and the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” (was the start of the Revolution. The Minute Men were ready, on the move. Take your blanket, take your gun, report to General Washington…). But probably most important to me as a High School Sophomore in U.S. Government class were the diverse cartoon people singing about their country and community. You know the one. “We the People… in order to form a more perfect union…” Definitely aced the part of the test writing down the whole pre-amble to the Constitution.

Anyone who has gone through it will agree, moving is definitely not easy. On the Holmes-Rahe Stress Scale, moving ranks third in major stress events, only behind the death of a spouse and divorce. For seniors, especially those with physical or mental challenges, the experience can be completely overwhelming.

There are numerous misconceptions in life and estate planning, but some are more widespread than others. Recently, I’ve come across a few that some attorneys have reportedly gotten wrong, much to their client’s eventual harm. Here are four of the biggest ones out there. And for the regulars, while this might seem basic, if attorneys are getting some of these wrong, then it’s time to go over the basics again.

One of the most critical areas of life and estate planning is providing protection for special needs children and beneficiaries. In supporting the needs of children and adults dealing with physical and mental challenges, the U.S. government is pretty good when compared to many other nations. However, the government is also very stringent in making sure that the person receiving support has no other means of support. This often leads to a quandary because parents and other relatives want to provide support in their estate planning documents, but parents know all too well that this well-intended support can quickly lead to a benefits being cut off until all of the inherited money is spent. This presentation will address these questions and many more.

As I start to see more and more clients who are trying to qualify for Medicaid or help their loved ones do so, I start to hear comments from people (who, incidentally, are not clients) about the reorganizing of assets being “cheating the system.” Somehow or another they think they are defrauding the government by working within the rules to preserve as much of their life savings as possible. That’s when I encourage them to think about Medicaid differently.