Bielski Law Office, Ltd.

Why Choose a Non-Family Trustee?

When naming the trustees to administer a trust, the first people who come to mind are beloved family members.  Some people stop there and appoint one of those family members, but they really should think twice before doing so.

When creating trusts, most people are aware that they should appoint someone trustworthy to be the trustee. Most people believe that one of their family members is trustworthy enough to tackle the job.

They are most likely correct about that.

However, there are other considerations to take into account when choosing a trustee and there are a few good reasons why you should consider someone who is not a member of your family.

The Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog recently listed some of those reasons in an article titled "Why It Is a Good Idea to Choose a Non Family Trustee."

The list includes:

• Time - Being a trustee can require a big commitment of time that can be burdensome on family members who have families and jobs of their own.
• Personal Liability - If something goes wrong with a trust, the trustee might be held personally responsible to make up any losses. It is not always a good idea to open up that possibility for a family member.
• Family Disputes - It is not unusual for the beneficiaries of a trust to come into conflict over trust management with the trustee. It can easily become a family dispute that spills over into other areas of life.

As you can see, there is more to the decision of selecting a trustee than one would think.

Contact an estate planning attorney for some ideas appropriate for your circumstances.

Reference: The Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog (June 10, 2015) "Why It Is A Good Idea To Choose A Non Family Trustee."

Personal Property in Estate Planning

Most people understand the need to have an estate plan that covers their major assets, such as real estate and vehicles. However, items that are more likely to cause issues between your relatives are often left out of estate plans.

For an ordinary estate, it is not the major, valuable property that is most likely to cause problems between relatives. Far more acrimony is caused by what happens to the little things, such as jewelry, collectibles, and even baseball cards.

It is the little items that often have the most sentimental value for relatives.

Who gets what of these sentimental items can cause major fights in the family and cause hurt feelings that last for decades.   

Recently, The Gazette wrote about this issue in an article titled "Don't forget personal property in estate planning."

You can and should make distribution of personal property a part of your estate plan.

You do not have to include everything you own down to the last piece of silverware. However, you should include any items that might have sentimental value to your heirs.

For example, if you suspect that two of your children might want to have your record collection, then make who gets which records part of your estate plan.

Do not leave it up to the children to decide unless you want them to fight about it.

Contact an estate planning attorney to help plan this important part of your estate.

Reference: The Gazette (June 9, 2015) "Don't forget personal property in estate planning”

Paul Walker's Car Collection

Paul Walker was famous for his movies about fast cars so it should come as no surprise that he owned a lot of vehicles. Exactly how many vehicles he owned and whether or not his estate has possession of all of them is the subject of a new lawsuit.

From the outside, actor Paul Walker's life and death seems to be all about fast cars. Walker is most famous for his series of car movies The Fast and the Furious.

Walker tragically passed away in an auto accident in 2013.

After he passed away, Walker's estate requested information about where the actor's vehicles were located. Apparently, that information was in the possession of Richard Taylor, a friend of Walker's who helped maintain his automobile collection.

Taylor allegedly gave the estate information concerning 31 vehicles. However, the estate has now filed a lawsuit against Taylor alleging that he secreted away seven vehicles for conversion to his own personal use.

The Hollywood Reporter reported the story in an article titled "Paul Walker's Estate Sues for Return of More Vehicles Taken After Actor's Death."

Unfortunately, these types of situations are not unusual. Often trusted friends and family members help themselves to the personal property of the recently deceased, although normally nothing as valuable as seven cars.

Estate administrators need to be diligent to make sure that no part of the estate has been misappropriated and if it has, they need to seek recovery of anything missing.

While planning your estate, you can help prevent this scenario by listing all items of value that you own.

An experienced estate planning attorney can help make sure nothing is missing or left to chance.

Reference: The Hollywood Reporter (June 12, 2015) "Paul Walker's Estate Sues for Return of More Vehicles Taken After Actor's Death."

Digging Up Dad's Grave for $50 Million

Most people would not consider digging up their father's grave for the sole purpose of securing a DNA test to prove that the man listed on their birth certificate is not their real father.  A woman in New York did just that.

Nina Sebastiana Viola Montepagani asked a court for permission to dig up the body of the man who reared her and who was listed as her father on her birth certificate.

Not a pretty picture, we agree.

She wanted to get a DNA test done so that she could prove that he was not really her father and have his name expunged from her birth certificate.

The judge allowed this to take place because a family story claims that Ms. Montepagani's mother had an affair with an Italian physician, Dr. Sebastiano Raeli. Her mother is said to have sailed to America when she was 8 months pregnant and married the other man who reared Ms. Montepagani as his own child.

So, why was it important for Ms. Montepagani to remove him from her birth certificate?

If she can prove that she is Dr. Raeli’s daughter, she would be his only heir and stand to inherit $50 million.

As it turns out, the DNA test came in and proved that the man who raised her was in fact not her biological father.

It is not known if a DNA test will also be needed on Dr. Raeli for Ms. Montepagani to receive the inheritance.

The story was reported in (where else?) The New York Post, famous for its colorful headlines.  This one was no exception: "Woman digs up dead dad to get 'real' father's $50M."

While this is an unusual case, it goes to show that inheritances can get extremely complicated when a person has children who are not known.

Contact an estate planning attorney to make sure that your estate is prepared for these situations.

Reference: New York Post (June 13, 2015) "Woman digs up dead dad to get 'real' father's $50M."

Two Types of Inheritors

People who inherit a lot of wealth generally fall into one of two categories: those who want to work hard and those who want to pursue their own pleasure. Most families have both types.

Recently, Forbes published an article describing the two general attitudes found in people who inherit wealth.  The article is titled "(Some) Inheritors Just Want To Have Fun."

The first type of inheritor described is one who is diligent and works hard to either expand that wealth or ensure that it goes to worthy philanthropic goals. The other type of inheritor is someone who spends their time having fun and partying.

The article describes one woman who is using her inheritance to develop an online technology that will determine how "wasted" a person is.

So, how is the R&D coming along?  She tests her technology by getting wasted herself and trying to use the technology.

While the article is accurate in describing the two general types of inheritors, it is worth noting that these are the extremes.   Most people will fall somewhere between the two, as even the most diligent and hard-working heirs want to have fun some times.

For estate planning purposes, however, it is important to know about the extremes.

Families who are concerned that someone in the family will be in the “just wants to have fun” camp, will want to use estate planning to prevent or curtail that tendency.

Visit with an estate planning attorney to learn more.

Reference: Forbes (June 14, 2015) "(Some) Inheritors Just Want To Have Fun."

Editor's Watergate Papers Donated to University

Watergate continues to be perhaps the most important political scandal in United States history. Now, the papers of the reporters and the editor who broke the story will all be housed in the same place thanks to an estate donation.

Ben Bradlee was the longtime editor of the Washington Post and best known for his role in breaking the Watergate scandal for which he was portrayed by Jason Robards in the film All the President's Men. Robards won an Oscar for the role.

In 2003 the reporters, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, sold their personal papers concerning Watergate to the University of Texas' Harry Ransom Center, a humanities archive, for $5 million.

It has now been announced that Bradlee's estate agreed to donate his papers to the center.

The Washington Post reported the story in an article titled "Ben Bradlee's estate donate his papers to University of Texas archive."

Bradlee did not have a personal connection to the University of Texas, but he wanted all of the Watergate papers to be located in the same place for researchers.

His estate's donation accomplishes that goal, which explains why such valuable items were donated rather than sold.

The papers also contain other interesting items including a letter from Jackie Kennedy Onassis a month after JFK's assassination, a letter in Spanish from Fidel Castro and a letter from then sitting President Jimmy Carter.

The papers will be made available to the public and researchers once they are cataloged.

Reference: Washington Post (June 3, 2015) "Ben Bradlee's estate donate his papers to University of Texas archive."

Billionaire Giving Pledge Is Not Binding

When they created the Giving Pledge, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet received a lot of praise and publicity. Billionaires who have joined the pledge have received the same. It might surprise you that the pledge is non-binding and unenforceable. However, there are good reasons for that.

The Giving Pledge started with a simple idea: the incredibly wealthy should give their wealth to charitable causes instead of hoarding it in their families. Bill Gates and Warren Buffet created a document that billionaires could sign.

By doing so, the billionaires were pledging to give away at least half of their wealth either during their lifetimes or in their estate plans.

To date, nearly 200 billionaires have signed up and as a result received publicity and invitations to exclusive events.

As Bloomberg reports, however, in a recent article titled "Pledge Aside, Dead Billionaires Don't Have to Give Away Half Their Fortune," the language of the pledge states that it is non-binding.

There are actually good reasons for making the pledge non-binding.

The first is that if someone does not go through with the pledge, no one can sue the estate in an attempt to enforce the pledge. This is important because of the second good reason to make the pledge non-binding, which is that it is very difficult to determine what half of a billionaire's fortune actually is.

For example, if someone has precisely one billion dollars, you might think that half is $500 million. In reality, it is $300 million because 40% of the estate will go to pay estate taxes meaning that the estate is really only $600 million not $1 billion.

If you are a billionaire, be sure to consult your estate planning attorney before signing this or any other such pledge.

Reference: Bloomberg (June 3, 2015) "Pledge Aside, Dead Billionaires Don't Have to Give Away Half Their Fortune"

Widow Sues to Resume Estate Payments

An interesting estate case was recently filed in Manhattan. On one side, a widow is suing her stepchildren claiming that they were supposed to give her a monthly stipend for life. On the other side, the stepchildren claim there was never a marriage and that lifetime payments were not guaranteed.

When Robert Pierot Sr. passed away in 1997 he was the head of large shipping firm and personally worth around $300 million. Christine De Galvis claims that she met Pierot, a man 17 years her senior, and the two fell instantly in love.

She claims that the two were married in 1996, and that shortly thereafter he was diagnosed with cancer.

She has filed a lawsuit claiming that Pierot instructed his children to take care of her throughout her life. She alleges that she reached an agreement with the children that they would pay her $5,000 per month for life in exchange for giving up any further claims to the estate.

Evidently, the payments were made for 13 years and then stopped without any word.

The New York Post reported the story in a recent article titled "Widow of shipping magnate sues stepkids for more inheritance."

Pierot's son claims that there was never a valid marriage between his father and De Galvis. He also claims that there was never an agreement to pay her every month for her entire life and that her lawsuit is frivolous.

Setting aside the issue of whether De Galvis and Pierot were ever married, this case will in all likelihood turn on whether there was a binding legal agreement between the children and De Galvis, such as a contract or court settlement.

That, of course, is something that a judge will have to sort out.

Reference: New York Post (June 7, 2015) "Widow of shipping magnate sues stepkids for more inheritance."

Dispute over MLK's Estate May Be Coming to an End

Over the years there have been several disputes concerning the estate of Martin Luther King Jr. The latest has pitted his children against each other. It now appears that a settlement might be forthcoming.

Many of the personal effects of Martin Luther King Jr. being held by his estate have great monetary value. Because of this, his two sons acting on behalf of the board of the estate decided to sell his Nobel Prize medal and his personal Bible.

However, King's daughter opposed the idea and sought to block the sale as she believes the heirlooms are too precious and meaningful for the family to sell.

The feud is currently in the process of making its way through the court system.

Recently, the parties asked the judge to appoint a mediator to help resolve the dispute as they believe that they are close to reaching a settlement to end the battle.

Reuters reported the story in a recent article titled "Dispute over Martin Luther King Jr's Bible, Nobel medal heads for mediation."

Mediation is often a great way to resolve legal issues, including fighting over an estate. A mediator helps the parties reach a mutually agreeable resolution, which is usually better than having a judge decide the matter on a winner-takes-all basis.

In this particular case, there is no news on how the parties think they might be able to settle their differences, but the fact that they are willing to negotiate is a good sign.

Contact an experienced estate planning who can help you express your wishes regarding any of your personal items with sentimental or historical value.

Reference: Reuters (May 27, 2015) "Dispute over Martin Luther King Jr's Bible, Nobel medal heads for mediation."

Widows and Estate Planning

When their husbands pass away many women feel overwhelmed with the estate's affairs. However, with some planning and a few simple tasks most widows can get a good handle on the situation.

Even when there is time to prepare for losing a husband due to illness, most widows are unsure what to do with their husband's estate. They do not have the training and relevant experience to know how to handle things.

To make matters worse, decisions that used to be made by two people now must be made by the widow alone.

Fortunately, with a little bit of preparation and a few simple steps, most widows will find that they are up to the task.

Forbes recently published a helpful article with some tips titled "The Widow's Guide To Estate Planning and Wealth Transfer."

Some of the tips include:

• Start with a professional will - If at all possible, before a spouse passes away, the couple should visit an estate planning attorney and have a professional, comprehensive will drawn up.
• Open a sole bank account - Many recent widows are surprised when banks close joint accounts when the husband passes away. Having another account in their name alone helps ensure that the money is there to meet immediate expenses.
• Update beneficiaries and ownership titles - If a husband is listed as a beneficiary on a widow's life insurance policy, retirement account, or something similar, then those documents need to be updated with a different beneficiary. It is also important to retitle any jointly held property.

Contact an experienced estate planning attorney to help you with all of the details.

Reference: Forbes (June 2, 2015) "The Widow's Guide To Estate Planning and Wealth Transfer."