Bielski Law Office, Ltd.

Dispute over John Adams' Trust?

Charitable trusts can continue for as long as there are assets in the trust and the trust is still able to carry out its mission. A trust created by President John Adams is still operating and there might be a dispute over control of it.

In 1822 John Adams created a trust to benefit the schoolchildren of Quincy, Massachusetts, his hometown. In the 1950s, by court decision the sole beneficiary of the trust became a private school in Quincy, The Woodward School for Girls.

For many years the city of Quincy managed the trust as trustee. However, in 2011, a probate court removed the city for mismanagement.

So far, the city has paid $1 million in damages to the trust and the school.

A trial is set to determine how much more the city owes.

Recently, a lawyer representing a descendent of Adams sent a letter to the current trustee demanding that control of the trust be returned to the Adams family.

Why?

Because Adams did not intend that the trust be used for the benefit of a school such as Woodward that accepts students from outside of the city of Quincy.

However, as of now, no court action has been taken on the demand.

The Patriot Ledger reported on the story in an article titled "No action from John Adams family over embattled trust."

When creating a charitable trust, it is almost impossible to know what the circumstances will be nearly two centuries later.

Nevertheless, it is important to think about what might happen and to plan how rigid or flexible you want the trust to be when adapting to changing circumstances.

Before he became a revolutionary and President, Adams was a well-known trial attorney so he might not have minded litigation over his trust 200 years later. On the other hand, most people would probably prefer that their trusts stay out of the courts.

When creating your charitable legacy, be sure to work with an experienced estate planning attorney who can help you think through these issues.

Reference: Patriot Ledger (May 13, 2015) "No action from John Adams family over embattled trust."

Search on for Missing Irish Heir

When someone passes away without an estate plan, by law his or her property goes to the deceased's closest living relatives. However, if a person has no known close relatives, then what happens to the assets of the estate? It depends on whether any other relatives can be found.

Kathleen Hilda Ryan passed away in Greenwhich, United Kingdom in 2013 with an estate valued at $788,000. She had inherited the bulk of it from her sister, Joan. No will or other estate planning documents could be found.

Kathleen had no children of her own and no living siblings.

In fact, as far as anyone knows, she had no living relatives at all. However, it is believed that her aunt, Lizzie, emigrated from Ireland to New York at some point.

Thus, the search is on for what happened to Lizzie and whether she had any children.

If any of Lizzie's children are found, then they would inherit the estate. If no one is found in 30 years, then the estate will become the property of the British Crown.

Many people have submitted claims to being the descendants of Lizzie, but thus far no one has been able to prove it.

Irish Central reported the story in an article titled "Is your ancestor Lizzie Ryan from Westmeath? You could inherit $788,000."

In the United States, the law is basically the same with one big exception. If no relative is found the estate does not go to the British Crown, but rather it passes to the state in which the estate property is located.

Thus, unless you want your estate to become the property of state government, it is very important that you have some kind of estate plan, especially if you do not have any close relatives who can be easily found.

Of course, if you are descended from a Lizzie Ryan who emigrated from Ireland to New York in the mid-1900s, you might want to stake a claim to the estate of Kathleen Hilda Ryan while you can.

Reference: Irish Central (May 16, 2015) "Is your ancestor Lizzie Ryan from Westmeath? You could inherit $788,000."

Robert Ellsworth’s Will Now under Contest

When art collector Robert Ellsworth passed away, initial reports about his will centered on the $50,000 a piece he bequeathed to two waitresses who work at a bar he frequented. However, now Ellsworth’s longtime boyfriend is contesting the will.

When Robert Ellsworth died after a fall in 2014, a will he created in 2013 was offered into probate. The will was most remarkable for the $100,000 he left to a pair of waitresses at his favorite bar. The will also left $10 million to Ellsworth's boyfriend, Masahiro Hashiguchi, who also received a home, $5,000 a month and regular payments from a trust.

After Hashiguchi passes away, any assets left in the trust will be distributed to charitable organizations including Harvard University and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Despite what would seem like an extremely generous bequest to most people, Hashiguchi is challenging the 2013 will. The New York Post has the scoop in an article titled "Big-tipping bar regular's boyfriend fights for more than just $10M."

Hashiguchi claims that Ellsworth lacked the mental capacity to create the will because of dementia and alcoholism. He also claims that the lawyer who drew up the documents coerced Ellsworth into it so that the lawyer could profit from being the trust administrator.

Hashiguchi has submitted an earlier will from 2010 that leaves almost all of Ellsworth’s $200 million fortune under the control of Hashiguchi.

While it is still too soon to know what the court will decide in this case, one thing is certain. The waitresses will keep their large, final tip as both wills provide for it.

Reference: New York Post (May 14, 2015) "Big-tipping bar regular's boyfriend fights for more than just $10M." 

Keep Your Trust Ahead of State Tax Laws

Keeping on top of federal tax laws concerning trusts is relatively simple. However, when it comes to state tax laws on trusts, staying on top of them can be an entirely different matter, especially since many trusts might be subject to taxation in several states.

If things were simple, then a trust could be created under the laws of a given state and would only be subject to taxation in that state. Everyone knows, however, that nothing is that simple when it comes to taxes.

Trusts are sometimes subject to taxation in the state in which they were formed, the state where the trust creator lives, the state where the trustee lives, the state where a beneficiary lives and the state where trust property is held.

In a recent article titled "Can Another State Tax Your Trust?," Barron's points out how confusing and difficult it can be to navigate the tax laws of many different states that might want to claim the right to tax a trust.

The problem is that there are no standard, nationwide rules about which states can tax a trust.

If the trust is deemed to have a close enough connection to a state, a "nexus" in legalese, then a state can tax the trust.

What constitutes a close enough connection to any given state depends on the laws and court rulings of the state that wishes to impose a tax on a trust.

Nevertheless, with states often facing revenue shortfalls, it is no surprise that legislatures are continuously passing laws in an attempt to mandate that more and more trusts can be taxed by their states.

Because of these state tax issues, it is very important that you have your trust created by an experienced estate planning attorney who can help you navigate tax issues.

Remember also to revisit your trust with your attorney from time to time as state tax laws do change.

When it comes to any government and taxes, you need to stay involved to minimize the tax burdens on your trust.

Reference: Barron's (May 16, 2015) "Can Another State Tax Your Trust?"

Do Not Forget the Smaller Digital Accounts

People are gradually beginning to understand that they need to ensure that there is a way for family members to access digital accounts after the owner passes away, at least so far as the biggest accounts are concerned, such as bank and social media accounts. However, it is often equally important to make sure that people can access smaller digital accounts that might be forgotten.

All sorts of digital accounts now require passwords. Why? To prevent fraud or theft.

This includes accounts we would not have considered as important even a decade ago.

For example, if you open a line of credit with a furniture store, you might be required to produce a password either online or by phone to do something as simple as check the account balance or the next payment due date. If there is still a balance due on the account, then it is important that your executor or estate administrator have that password so he or she can pay the appropriate amount.

If you think that these smaller accounts do not matter, you might be surprised to know that something as simple as scheduling cable repairs can be difficult without the password.

That was the case for a WGN reporter after her husband died of cancer. Her experience is recounted in a recent WGN article titled "Preparing for the digital afterlife."

Unfortunately, her husband was the only person who knew the password and the reporter was therefore unable to request any changes or repairs to the cable account.

When preparing your estate plan remember every account you have.

Even if you think it is too small to bother with in an estate plan, someone will need to have access to it if you pass away.

Contact an experienced estate planning attorney. He or she can help you ensure that such seemingly little details are not overlooked in your estate planning.

Reference: WGN (May 18, 2015) "Preparing for the digital afterlife."

Forged Will Leads to Arrest

Unfortunately, it is not unusual for people to take advantage of the elderly and even to go so far as to forge a will when the elderly person passes away. It is heartening, however, that when caught the people who do this normally face criminal charges.

An Arkansas woman, Kimberly Dement Dotson, has been arrested for allegedly forging the will of an elderly person.

She is believed to have forged the will after the victim passed away.

Naturally, the will stated that she should receive the entire estate.

Dotson told the court that the victim had no living relatives, which was not true. She also stands accused of using the man's debit card and withdrawing money from his bank account for her own personal use.

KAIT reported the story in an article titled "Woman arrested for forging new will after someone died."

This is the latest incident of something that happens all too often.

It is very important that family members remain diligent and ensure that someone is not taking advantage of their elderly relatives.

If a relative passes away, it is also important to act quickly when filing wills with the court so that anyone who forges a different will can be caught before too much damage is done.

To learn more about protecting yourself and your elderly relatives, speak with an experienced estate planning (or elder law attorney) about what you can do.

Reference: KAIT, Region 8 Newsdesk (May 9, 2015) "Woman arrested for forging new will after someone died."

Leaving Your Friends a Few Drinks

Sometimes it is the littlest things that you do in your estate plan that create the most lasting memories. This might be the case in England where one man left his drinking buddies money to have drinks on him.

Roger Brown of Swansea, England had visited the same pub for over 40 years and drank there with the same group of people.

They all became close friends.

Brown recently died of prostate cancer at the age of 67. It came as a surprise to his friends that Brown left them a small sum of money with directions that they use it to go on a trip together to a European city and have drinks there on him.

The Daily Star reported the story in an article titled "Cheers: Dead man buys last round for best mates by leaving surprise money in his will."

This small bequest was perfectly tailored for what the men did together.

It gave an appropriate way for Brown's friends to remember him.

You could do something similar in your estate plan by leaving something to people that you are close to. That does not mean that you have to leave your friends money to buy beer. You should leave something appropriate for what you and your friends do together.

When making your estate plan, keep in mind that you do not have to just give everything to your family. You can also give small sums to others who have touched your life.

Contact an experienced estate planning attorney for ways to put your ideas into proper legal form.

Reference: Daily Star (May 6, 2015) "Cheers: Dead man buys last round for best mates by leaving surprise money in his will."

Do Not Forget Your Frequent Flier Miles

Most people who travel a lot have accumulated many unredeemed frequent flier miles or hotel reward points. What many do not know is that it is a good idea to state who should assume ownership of these loyalty reward points in an estate plan.

If you take the time to read the terms and conditions of most frequent flier, hotel reward, and credit card loyalty programs, you will find that they prohibit the transfer of accumulated points to another person, including when the program participant passes away.

However, the actual policy of most companies is to allow their employees some flexibility whether to allow transfer of points after death.

That means that when asked employees can transfer the points to an heir's account, as reported by the New York Times in an article titled "Loyalty Program Rules Aren't Ironclad."

If something can be transferred after death, then you should make it a part of your estate plan.

That is the best way to make sure that the assets go to the person or persons you want them to.

However, because loyalty programs are usually only transferrable based on the grace of the company, your estate plan should probably not rely on them for balance. In other words, it might not be a great idea to give one person less money because you are leaving them your frequent flier miles.

If the company refuses to transfer the miles, that could lead to problems.

If you have questions about making loyalty programs a part of your estate plan, visit with an experienced estate planning attorney.

Reference: New York Times (May 6, 2015) "Loyalty Program Rules Aren't Ironclad."

Sumner Redstone's Succession Plan

Sumner Redstone might not be a household name, but he is one of the most important media moguls in the United States. Redstone controls approximately 80 percent of the voting stock in CBS and Viacom. Because of that many people are interested in the details of his estate plan and what will happen to the companies after he passes away.

Recently it was reported that after 91-year-old Sumner Redstone passes away his daughter will take over as chairwoman of CBS and Viacom. The report appears to have been in error as Redstone's publicist claims that who will take over leadership of the companies has not been decided and will be determined by the directors of the companies.

Additionally, Redstone's estate will be placed into the hands of a seven member trust and plans are in place to ensure that no stock in the companies will need to be sold to pay estate taxes.

How the latter is to be accomplished is being kept private.

Bloomberg Business reported the story in an article titled "Redstone Says Trustees to Oversee Estate After Death."

The normal advice is that succession plans for businesses should be clearer about exactly who will take over the business when the current person passes away.

This makes it possible for the successor to be known and to begin taking on responsibility while the current CEO is around to assist. That helps to ensure a smooth succession.

However, that advice normally applies to small and family businesses. In the case of major corporations with third party directors, it is not as necessary.

Family business owners should not structure their estate and succession plans as Redstone has done without the advice of an attorney. However, in this case, it appears Mr. Redstone has not necessarily made a mistake.

Reference: Bloomberg Business (May 7, 2015) "Redstone Says Trustees to Oversee Estate After Death."

Inheritance Scam Leads to Jail

People have probably been attempting to scam others out of their money for as long as money has existed. Many different schemes exist that people fall for over and over again. Recently, people have been falling for a scam involving fake inheritances. However, if the scammer is caught the result is likely to be jail time.

A Missouri man, Dana Jefferson, was recently convicted of scamming lenders out of $740,000. He would tell the lenders that his father had left him a large inheritance that he did not currently have access to and promise to repay the loans when he received the inherited money.

Instead, he spent the money by going on cruises and getting plastic surgery.

The details of his story often changed.

He told different lenders he inherited different amounts. Jefferson even used several aliases during his scheme.

Fox 2 Now reported the story in an article titled "O'Fallon man sentenced for bogus inheritance tale."

One of the important details that has been left out of the story is who the lenders were.

It would be interesting and enlightening to know if these were sophisticated, professional lenders or not. However, a lesson to be learned is that you should never lend someone money based on an inheritance without first getting reliable evidence that the inheritance exists.

If necessary, get the original court documents for yourself and speak to an experienced estate planning attorney who administered the estate.

Reference: Fox 2 Now (May 8, 2015) "O'Fallon man sentenced for bogus inheritance tale."