Estate Planning
David Postic
Top 7 Reasons People Delay Making An Estate Plan

According to a survey conducted earlier in 2019, only 40% of American adults have a Will or Trust. That percentage drops dramatically for younger age groups. For example, only 19% of people ages 18-34 have a Will or Trust.

So what’s the big deal?

As Baby Boomers pass away, experts predict that over $68 trillion (with a ‘trill’) in wealth will be transferred over the next 25 years. And the estate planning of those Boomers will control where all that wealth goes.

Despite the hugeness of those numbers and the importance of estate planning, it is easy to procrastinate when it comes to actually setting your affairs in order. Here are the top 7 reasons (in no particular order) people give us to explain why they delay estate planning:

1. “I’m too young.”

First of all, you are never too young to have an estate plan. I wrote a series of articles specifically geared toward estate planning for Millennials. (Or you can substitute “Millennials” for “Gen Z” or whatever weird thing we are on now.)

Whenever young people say “I don’t have enough assets for an estate plan” or “I’m going to wait until I have a family,” what they are really saying is, “I don’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon.” Because young people don’t die, they live forever.

Top 7 Reasons People Delay Making An Estate Plan
Estate Planning, Taxes
David Postic
Everything You Wanted To Know About Estate ...

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced that the estate and gift tax exemption is increasing in 2024 to $13.61 million per person, up from $12.92 million in 2023.

The IRS also confirmed that the annual gift exclusion amount is increasing from $17,000 per person in 2023 to $18,000 per person in 2024.

Read more: IRS Rev. Proc. 2023-34

Okay great, you might be saying to yourself. But what does that mean, and why does it matter?

Great questions.

There are a lot of misconceptions about estate taxes and gift taxes — often referred to as “death taxes.” What they are, who has to pay them, how to avoid them.

This article is my attempt to demystify the topic for you and to help you figure out how these tax changes could affect your estate plan.

Everything You Wanted To Know About Estate & Gift Taxes
Estate Planning
David Postic
8 Questions to Prepare Your Estate Plan for 2024

2023 is almost over.

The end of the year is a time for people to gather together with family and friends, to look back on the past 365 days, and to look forward to better, happier things.

People usually don’t want to think about things like—oh, I don’t know—their mortality. Death. Stuff like that.

However, it is crucial to regularly review and, if needed, update your estate plan. The end of the year is the perfect time to do that.

So before you completely wipe 2023 from your memory, ask yourself these 8 questions to make sure your estate plan is ready for whatever 2024 throws at you.

1. Will the right people get my “stuff”?

First, make sure your will or trust correctly states who will inherit your assets.

You should then review your pay-on-death (POD) beneficiaries on insurance policies, retirement accounts, and other assets.

Do they match the beneficiaries in your will or trust?

Related post: 7 Mistakes to Avoid When Naming Beneficiaries

Many people incorrectly believe that a legal document such as a will or a trust controls what happens to all of their assets.

However, beneficiary designations can override those documents.

For example: Your trust may say that your son John will receive your entire estate and that you are disinheriting your other son, David.

But if your insurance policy lists David as beneficiary, he will still get part of your estate.

You should therefore coordinate your beneficiary designations with your will or trust to make sure all of your assets are distributed the way you want.

8 Questions to Prepare Your Estate Plan for 2024
Estate Planning
David Postic
What's the Difference Between a Will and a ...

Lawyers love to be confusing.

We use insane-sounding words from Latin and Greek and some other languages that I’m pretty sure are completely made up.

Words such as testator, force majeure, per stirpes, and inter vivos.

Our words are so weird, we have to italicize them.

So I’m not surprised when someone asks me whether a Last Will and Testament and a Living Will are the same thing.

After all, both documents have “Will” in their names, right? It would only be reasonable to think that they are similar.

But they are not similar. They are very, very different.

So I’m going to cut through the legal jargon and explain the differences between Wills and Living Wills — and help you decide which one might be best for you.

Last Will and Testament vs. Living Will

Before diving into specifics, it’s first helpful to know how to define estate planning:

An estate plan ensures (1) that the right people are able to care for your SELF in the event you become incapacitated and (2) that the right people are able to get your STUFF in the event of your death.

Every estate planning tool fits into one of those two categories, and a good estate plan should address both areas of focus.

And as luck would have it, I will be discussing both categories in this post.

What's the Difference Between a Will and a Living Will?
Estate Planning
David Postic
3 Magic Ingredients in a Great Letter of ...

So you’ve got some nifty estate planning documents?

You are awesome.

Formal estate planning document can ensure your family is cared for after your death, avoid court, and minimize the burden your loved ones will face when you are gone.

But legal documents are only one part of the equation.

Your estate plan is not complete just because you signed some fancy papers.

Because while formal estate planning documents can avoid legal obstacles after your death, they do not eliminate the myriad other tasks necessary to settle your affairs.

Think of it this way:

If you died today, would your family know what to do?

If they couldn’t remember anything you told them about your estate, would they be able to easily find all the information they need?

Read more: Why You Need to Have an Estate Planning Fire Drill

If you answered “no” to either of those questions, then your estate plan is not complete.

To make things easier on your loved ones after your death, the best thing you can do is create an estate planning letter of instruction.

3 Magic Ingredients in a Great Letter of Instruction

elder law

Can I Write My Own Will?

Can I Write My Own Will?

Most people know the phrase "Do It Yourself" or “DIY.”

For me, “Do It Yourself” calls to mind weekend trips to Home Depot and learning how to do something new instead of paying someone else to do it.

Also Pinterest. It calls to mind Pinterest.

That’s part of what makes DIY projects so great: Who doesn’t love saving money and feeling proud of something they did themselves?

But there is a limit to what you can do yourself, right?

I can do some home improvement stuff myself, like painting walls or breaking the nice faucet on the kitchen sink.

However, things would get really dicey if I tried to act as my own plumber, excavator, or electrician without proper training and experience.

Doing those tasks incorrectly could have disastrous consequences.

The same is true of "Do It Yourself" estate planning:

A poorly designed estate plan can lead to massive probate expenses, family infighting (and ruined relationships), having your legal documents rejected, and much, much more.

The Dangers of “Do It Yourself” Estate Planning

If you aren’t familiar with “Do It Yourself” estate planning, here’s how the process usually goes:

What is a Nomination of Guardian?

What is a Nomination of Guardian?

You are going to live forever.

You can eat whatever you want and drink whatever you want and run for as long as you want forever. Because you are invincible and nothing bad will ever happen to you.

Did you buy that? No?

Unfortunately, people don’t stay young and healthy forever. We don’t like to think of a time in the future when we will no longer be able to take care of ourselves, but it is incredibly important that you do so. Ask yourself:

  • If you become incapacitated, who will have the legal authority to take care of you?

  • If a parent or other loved one becomes incapacitated, who will be able to assist them with managing their assets or healthcare?

  • If you die before your children reach adulthood, who will have custody over them or be able to take care of their inheritance until they come of age?

You may not know the answers to these questions, and that’s fine. That is probably why you are reading an article on an estate planning website. (Either that or you are very bored.)

Whenever we ask questions about capacity or managing someone’s financial or medical care, we enter the realm of guardianships and conservatorships. Two big legal words with two big legal explanations. So, let’s dive in and learn more about these concepts.

What is a Guardianship?

A guardianship is a court-supervised process whereby the judge appoints a guardian to manage the personal care of a ward (i.e. someone who is physically or legally unable to manage their medical care). Similarly, a conservatorship is a court-supervised process whereby the judge appoints a conservator (similar to a guardian) to manage the assets of a ward (i.e. someone who is physically or legally unable to manage their assets).

How You Can Prevent Elder Fraud

How You Can Prevent Elder Fraud

Elder fraud and financial exploitation has become an epidemic.

More than ever before, con artists and family members alike are taking advantage of their elderly relatives, friends, or neighbors.

Could your parents or grandparents be next?

The best defense against elder fraud is having caring friends or family with the senior's best interests at heart. But those friends and family can only prevent elder fraud if they know how to spot it — and that's what this blog post will teach you.

This post will cover five ways you can help keep your loved ones safe from elder fraud and financial exploitation. Specifically, you can:

  1. Talk with them about their finances.

  2. Ask them about suspicious phone calls or interactions.

  3. Keep abreast of changes to their estate plan.

  4. Inquire about about caretakers, helpers, or sudden "best friends."

  5. Investigate abrupt or unexplained transfers of assets.

But before we dive in to prevention, let's cover some of the basics of elder fraud.

One Weird Estate Planning Concept You Need to Know

One Weird Estate Planning Concept You Need to Know

So your parents have a Last will and Testament or a Living Trust. Great. It was signed by all the proper parties, contains the proper language, and appoints the proper people. Wonderful. And to top it all off, the attorney's gave you an unbelievable deal. Excellent (unlikely, but excellent). The problem? Those documents can still be thrown out by the court if your parents lacked one key thing: testamentary capacity.

What is Testamentary Capacity?

We lawyers sure do like our big words. Fortunately for everyone, testamentary capacity boils down to a pretty simple idea: Does the person signing a Will or Trust understand what they're signing? To have testamentary capacity in Oklahoma, the testator (the person signing the Will or Trust) must understand, in a general way, (1) the quality and quantity of his or her property (sometimes called their "bounty"), (2) the natural objects of his or her bounty (i.e., who should logically inherit their property), and (3) the legal effect of signing the document.

How to Recognize Fraud in Estate Planning

How to Recognize Fraud in Estate Planning

Suppose your mother has dementia. Her nurse convinces her that he is her only child and has her sign estate planning documents leaving all of her assets to him and expressly disinheriting you and any of her other children. Are those documents valid? Likely not, as your mother has been the victim of fraud.

What is fraud?

There are several ways fraud can be committed in the estate planning process, but the type of fraud we will discuss in this article is referred to as fraudulent inducement. Let's say your mother executed a Last Will and Testament. You could challenge that Will if your mother was fraudulently induced into leaving her property to a person she would not normally have left it (in the example above, the nurse).

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