Copy of My Recent Developments E-newsletter

Sent out the following Recent Developments E-newsletter to my contacts yesterday. Thought you might be interested in the topics discussed:

In this edition of Recent Developments, you will discover:

• How the Decline in the Value of Your Estate Affects Your Estate Planning;
• Caution: Your Old Power of Attorney May Not Be Worth the Paper It's Written On;
• Avoiding Probate/Succession in Louisiana Worth Carefully Considering;
• Find Out More About Estate Planning, Successions, and Medicaid By Checking Out Paul's Blogs; and
• Did You See My Ad for www.SuccessionAttorney.com?

How the Decline in the Value of Your Estate Affects Your Estate Planning

From an estate planning standpoint, we are living in uncertain times. The stock market lost half its value but is slowly working its way back up. Real estate values dropped. I met with a family last week whose real estate value had dropped from $1,300,000 to $400,000 in a few short months. The estate tax ($3,500,000 exemption for deaths during 2009) is scheduled to disappear in 2010, but reappear with a $1 million exemption in 2011 and beyond. Congress and the President are proposing significant changes to our estate tax laws but nothing has passed yet.

So if you live in Louisiana, what should you do? Married couples often question whether - upon the death of the first spouse - they should leave their spouse "ownership" or "usufruct" of their estate. Here's the short answer: If a married couple has a combined estate in excess of $1,000,000 in fair market value, you should leave the "lifetime usufruct" of your estate to your surviving spouse. None of the assets over which you leave your spouse usufruct will be lumped into the estate of your surviving spouse. If you leave your spouse "ownership," then your estate will be lumped into your spouse's estate for federal estate tax purposes.

If your combined estate is - and will continue to be - less than $1,000,000 in value, then estate tax implications should not need to be factored into your decision. Even if you leave your spouse "ownership," there should be no estate tax when the surviving spouse dies - unless of course they make major changes to tax laws in which case we'll start this conversation all over again!

Caution: Your Old Power of Attorney May Not Be Worth the Paper It's Written On

I've been getting more calls lately from real estate title examiners, investment companies, and clients, about powers of attorney. Many people don't like dealing with old powers of attorney.

Not long ago, a major investment company told me that they will not honor a power of attorney that is more than five years old. I guess they are concerned about their potential liability in the event they were not aware that the person revoked or changed the power of attorney in the previous five years.

Also not long ago, I was talking to the corporate counsel for a major bank. The bank lawyers called me from Dallas to tell me that they don't honor a power of attorney when two people have to act together on the power of attorney.

So, what should you do to make things easy for your family? I suggest that you take a look at your Power of Attorney. If it is more than five years old, sign a new one. And don't set it up so that two people must act jointly on your behalf. It is common that if you want to name more than one person to act for you, set it up so they can act "jointly or separately."

If it's been more than five years and you want to update, let us know. If we are going to update your power of attorney, we will also want to talk to you to make sure that the rest of your estate plan is in order. There have been some changes to our Living Will laws and our Last Will and Testament laws in recent years that you may want to incorporate in your plan.

Avoiding Probate/Succession in Louisiana Worth Carefully Considering

You've probably read about it in the national journals: "Avoid Probate With a Revocable Living Trust." Louisiana traditionally has not been one of the "major players" in the Revocable Living Trust talks - primarily because probate (or in Louisiana it's called "Succession") in Louisiana can be simpler and less costly than the probate processes that exist in other states like California where statutory required delays exist, and legislatively imposed court costs and attorney fees drive a family's probate costs through the roof.

In Louisiana, however, a succession can be a cost and an aggravation that can be avoided with careful preparation. In East Baton Rouge Parish, for example, the court costs have TRIPLED in recent months, due largely to the fact that they are building a new monster courthouse downtown. And it seems lately that unreasonable delays exist in either getting a judge to sign a probate order, or in getting the courthouse employees to promptly process the necessary paperwork.

So is there a better alternative? Maybe. A revocable living trust that is both set up correctly and funded with all of your potentially probatable assets can make matters easier for your surviving loved ones. And when you consider that the financial cost of settling a succession may cost $5,000, $15,000, $25,000 or more (a married couple will incur this cost twice), then why not do some work on the front end to get your affairs in order with a revocable living trust?

But before you create your revocable living trust, read two things. First, read my blog post about how to avoid a Louisiana succession. Second, read my blog post about a situation where a revocable trust did not avoid probate. Then if you think a revocable living trust may be right for you, let us know and we will guide you through it.

Find Out More About Estate Planning, Successions, and Medicaid By Checking Out Paul's Blogs

In case you haven't noticed, I write a fair amount about protecting your Louisiana estate. I'm on a mission to make sure that Louisiana family relationships prosper from generation to generation, and hard-earned wealth stays in the family. I've written quite a bit on these subjects. In addition to my book which you can purchase from Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and other fine bookstores, I also maintain three separate blogs (short for "weblog"). Feel free to check out:

• My Louisiana estate planning blog;
• My Louisiana Medicaid Planning blog; and
• My Louisiana Successions law blog.

I'm confident you'll find my blogs helpful. I'd even like to encourage you to post a comment or two. On my Successions blog, you can even subscribe to get email updates every time I post to the blog.

Did You See My Ad for www.SuccessionAttorney.com?

If you read the Baton Rouge Advocate, you may have noticed my print ad. It is running for 30 consecutive days. I just released my new report, "How To Avoid or Minimize Taxes, Probate Costs, Executor Fees, Attorney Fees, Family Conflicts and Delays After the Death of a Loved One."

The ad and the Report have created a small tidal wave of families interested in coming in to discuss how a deceased loved one's estate can be settled quickly, professionally, and amicably. The Succession Report is creating so much interest that people are "dying" to read it.

To get your free report go to www.SuccessionAttorney.com.

Until next time...

Paul A. Rabalais

Board Certified Specialist Attorney in Estate Planning and Administration

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In case you haven't noticed, I write a fair amount about protecting your Louisiana estate. I'm on a mission to make sure that Louisiana family relationships prosper from generation to generation, and hard-earned wealth stays in the family.

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On my Successions blog, you can even subscribe to get email updates every time I post to the blog.

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