Estate Planning Law Firm of Louisiana

"Aforesaid" Estate Planning Documents Can and Should Be Easy To Understand

I find that some lawyers like to "strut their stuff" by creating lengthy, complex legal documents that the educated lay person cannot understand. Often I'll read documents that have language like:

• The said person...
• Wheretofore,...
• At any time heretofore held against the aforesaid parties...
• Why not change, "In the event that," to "If"

In fact, you may have seen some legalese that you'd like to share with our readers. It's everywhere and it cause lawyers and their frustrated clients to spend lots of time (and in many cases lots of the clients money) explaining and reexplaining legal gobbledygook.

I'm on a mission to make all of your estate planning legal documents in Louisiana arranged in a way so that they accomplish all of objectives that need to be accomplished, but in a way that is easy for the educated lay person to understand.

If you have a good example of legalese that you'd like to share, by all means post it as a comment.

Or if you'd like us to arrange an estate planning portfolio of legal documents for you that is written so that you know what you're doing, and your heirs will understand, then send me an email to get started at paul@rabalaislaw.com, or give my office a call at 225-329-2450.

Paul Rabalais

P.S. If you want an easy to understand explanation of Louisiana estate planning terms, purchase my book at Barnes & Noble or amazon.com

In Their Own Words

“We were very pleased with the services Mr. Rabalais and his staff provided in our Estate Planning. Mr. Rabalais is very knowledgeable in Louisiana Tax and Estate Law and explained everything very clearly. We appreciated the efficiency of the staff and the process from the first visit to the last. Sending the documents to be read and corrected by email allowed us time to really study them and the corrections were complete prior to the last visit for signing. Thank you for the nice binder to keep everything organized in one place. We highly recommend you and your staff.”

 

-Randy and Debora Braswell

Greenwell Springs, LA

Trust for Your Children - Benefits Often Overlooked

In Louisiana, trusts have been used sparingly. Common uses for trusts in Louisiana have included:

·         Testamentary trusts for young children used if the parents die before the children are mature enough to handle an inheritance;

·         Revocable Living Trusts are used occasionally by those wishing to avoid probate;

·         The Louisiana “usufruct” has taken the place of the “credit shelter trust” used in all of the other states to ensure that both spouses utilize their estate tax exemption;

·         Irrevocable “Crummey” trusts are not used as much since gifting to children’s trusts has less appeal now that the estate tax exemption has increased from $600,000 to $3,500,000; and

·         Informed middle class families often transfer assets to carefully drafted trusts to ensure Medicaid eligibility and protect one’s estate from rising nursing home costs.

But there is another type of trust that most attorneys and advisors overlook – or perhaps they do not know that this type of planning exists. In our office, we call it the Children’s Inheritance Trust. In Louisiana, there are limited benefits to you setting up a trust for yourself and putting your own assets into it (commonly called a “self-settled” trust). However, there can be tremendous benefits to your children if you set up your estate plan so that when you die, your assets go directly into your children’s special trust that you set up for them. The following table shows the benefits that your children can recognize if you set up your estate plan so that instead of your assets going directly into your children’s name (an outright bequest), your estate goes into separate trusts for each of your children. Your children can maintain control of their trust for their lifetime, and recognize the following benefits:

Children’s Inheritance Protected:	Outright Bequest	Bequest to Children’s Inheritance Trust
From Child’s Divorce	No	Yes
From Child’s Lawsuits	No	Yes
For Grandchildren When Child Dies	No	Yes
From Probate at Your Death	No	Yes
From Estate Tax When Your Child Dies	No	Yes
From Your Child’s Bankruptcy	No	Yes
From Probate When Child Dies	No	Yes
From Child’s Nursing Home Expenses	No	Yes

The biggest potential drain on your children’s inheritance will likely be taxes, divorce, lawsuits, and long term care expenses. What if you could leave them an inheritance that was protected from these all-too-often life changing events.

If you want to know how to protect your children’s inheritance, call our office at 225-329-2450 and schedule a no-cost meeting with me, or send me an email at paul@rabalaislaw.com. Make sure you put “Protect Children’s Inheritance” in the Subject Line. Don’t procrastinate on this one. Your children’s entire financial future is at stake!

Paul Rabalais

Easy Approach To Business Succession Planning

I spoke to two different business owners recently about what would happen regarding the sale or disposition of their 100% owned business when they died.

The first thing we noted to each of these individuals was that their businesses were community property that they owned with their wives. Even though the business is titled in the husband's name, and the husband was the only spouse who built the business, as long as the business was formed during the marriage, it is community property and owned by each spouse.

It appears that both business owners will keep things simple with their estate plans. They will appoint either their spouse or some other third party as the independent executor of their estate. When they die, the surviving wife (as owner of one-half of the business) and the independent executor (as owner of the other one-half of the business) can transact whatever terms they feel necessary regarding the disposition of the business.

One business owner considered having key employees purchase life insurance on the business owner's life so that when the business owner died, the executor and surviving spouse would sell the business to the key employees. The key employees would use the life insurance proceeds to pay the estate and the surviving spouse for ownership of the business. This arrangement would need to be set up in advance.

If you live in Louisiana and want to find out more about how your business should be handled after your death, simply send me an email at paul@rabalaislaw.com (put "Need Business Succession Help" in subject line) or give our law firm a call at 225-329-2450.

Until next time...

Paul Rabalais

Don't Give Away Signed Originals Of Louisiana Power of Attorney

I spoke with a woman yesterday by telephone. Years ago, her husband had signed two Durable Powers of Attorney years ago authorizing his wife to act on his behalf. After signing the Powers of Attorney, her husband had a stroke. Over the last few years, the wife had given both signed original documents away. She was not sure who she gave them to because it was a while back, but she thinks she gave one to the IRS and one to a bank.

Now she needs to transact other business on her husband's behalf, but she does not have the documents to prove she has the authority.

Moral of the story? Never give away the only signed original of a Durable Power of Attorney. What may work better is to have an original recorded at the parish courthouse and have the clerk of court issue as many "certified copies" as you may need. Third parties, such as banks and title examiners, have the authority to rely on these certified copies, and you can get as many certified copies as you wish.

If you have questions about estate planning in Louisiana, feel free to send me an email at paul@rabalaislaw.com I look forward to hearing from you.

Paul Rabalais

Download My 19-Page Report on How To Settle a Louisiana Estate

We get so many questions about settling an estate in Louisiana, I wrote a comprehensive, easy-to-understand, Report that explaining everything you need to know to get an estate settled in Louisiana.

It's called, "How To Avoid or Minimize Taxes, Probate Costs, Executor Fees, Attorney Fees and Delays After the Death of a Loved One."

To receive your free Special Report, go to www.SuccessionAttorney.com. After you review it and learn all about Louisiana estates, let me know what you think at paul@rabalaislaw.com. I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

Paul Rabalais

Busy (But Exciting) Couple Of Weeks

It's been a hectic couple of weeks at our office lately.

• 4/5/08 - Seminar and Book Signing at Barnes and Noble. Lots of people showed up. In fact, Barnes and Noble had loaded up on books for the book signing, and they called today for another big shipment.
• Weekend of 4/5/08 and 4/6/08 - My five kids had a total of 16 ball games during the weekend. This doesn't have much to do with my office work, but I thought I'd add it because it was a record number of games for one weekend.
• 4/9/08 - First ever "Free Living Will Wednesday." We had a steady stream of folks come into the office to get their free Louisiana Living Will Declaration. It was a pleasure providing this free service. Several attendees, however, realized that they needed additional estate planning legal services so we'll be working with those folks in the upcoming days.
• 4/10/08 - Seminar at new Livingston Parish library. Good crowd. Lots of questions. In fact, one of the attendees came by the office the next day to have me help him settle his dad's revocable living trust that had been established many years ago.
• 4/13/08 - It's the birthday for my star paralegal, Stephanie Purdy. On 4/16/08, I'm taking the whole office out to lunch to celebrate.
• 4/14/08 - We enrolled over a dozen new members in our VIP Membership so our best clients (and their families) can get Preferred Client treatment for the rest of their lifetime. Ask us about our VIP Membership.
• 4/19/08 - The big Life After 50 Expo is coming up. I'll be presenting in the Main Exhibit room. I expect a lively audience. I'm giving away my book to the first 75 in attendance. Better get there early.
• 4/23/08 - New Medicaid Planning Seminars at our office (10:00am) and the Baton Rouge Garden Center (6:30pm). Brand new material based on newly issued Medicaid regulations. Seating is limited so make your reservation by calling Laura at 225-329-2450.

I heard a quote today that I liked, "If you want to make a difference, be different." There's not another business in the world that combines our attributes. You'll find our group courteous, exciting, friendly, progressive, hard-working, intelligent, professional , loyal, and committed.

You may the subject of estate planning is rather bland, but we've got some exciting and incredible stuff coming up that will do wonders for families in Louisiana. Stay tuned!

Paul Rabalais

How Does a Succession Work in Louisiana?

There is tons of confusion among ordinary Louisiana folks about how a Louisiana Succession works. People often get confused about the difference between a succession the is "administered" versus a succession that is handled "without administration."

The simplest successions are handled without an adiministration. If all of the heirs are competent, and all heirs agree to accept the succession, and the succession is relatively free of debt, then we will prepare all of the succession pleadings, and all of the heirs will agree on the assets, debts, and distribution of the estate. After all of the legal pleadings have been signed by all of the heirs, and filed at the courthouse, a judge will sign a "Judgment of Possession," which orders third parties to transfer assets into the heirs' names.

In all other successions, there will be an administration. An administration is required when:

• An executor of the will (or administrator if no Will exists) must be confirmed by the court to handle necessary estate matters;
• Someone contests a succession matter;
• Succession assets need to be sold so the proceeds may be divided among the heirs;
• All of the succession funds need to be collected and deposited into a succession bank account prior to their distribution;
• Someone needs access to succession funds to pay succession debts and other administrative expenses; or
• For any other necessary reason.

If you'd like to find out whether a Louisiana succession should be "administered," simply shoot me an e-mail at paul@rabalaislaw.com, or post a comment to this Post, or give my office a call at (225) 329-2450.

Until next time...

Paul Rabalais

Rabalais Law Firm Scraps Voicemail

As of today, you'll get a live voice if you call our office at 225-329-2450. A few months ago we thought we'd implement a voicemail system whereby callers could route themselves to the appropriate person or the appropriate voice mailbox. It was not an improvement.

Now, when you call our office, you will get a live person. It might be our awesome receptionist, Laura, who is always willing to help. It might be Stephanie, who diligently handles most of our client documentation. It might be someone else, or it might even be me!!!

Your business is important enough to me so that whenever you call, day or night, I'd like to see that your questions or concerns are addressed immediately. Let me know what you think. Or even better...give me a call since you know that your call will be answered immediately.

Paul Rabalais

Estate Attorney Speaks To Investment Advisors

I had an opportunity yesterday to speak to a group of 15 investment advisors in the local office of a national investment firm. They appeared receptive to what I had to say. It was interesting to hear some of their questions that they asked me during our discussion. A few of the questions (along with my answers) are as follows:

Question: Paul, is there anything that you can recommend that we can give or show our clients that will answer questions like, "Do I need a Will?" or "What happens if I die without a Will?"

Answer: There a great book out called, Estate Planning in Louisiana: A Layman's Guide To Understanding WIlls, Trusts, Probate, Power of Attorney, Medicaid, Living Wills & Taxes." It's an easy read. I'll make sure you have one in your hand before I leave today.

Question: Paul, our home office discourages us from talking to our clients about Medicaid. Why is that?

Answer: Medicaid Planning is complicated. Advising your client to arrange their affairs in a way to qualify for Medicaid and protect their estate from the cost of long term care may constitute the rendering of legal advice which investment advisors (or any non-attorneys) may not do without violating the law.

Question: How can people effectively plan for Medicaid if they own annuities and IRAs?

Answer: It's possible, but more difficult. Some annuities may be transferred to grantor trusts without incurring taxes or surrender charges, but an IRA must be distributed to the IRA owner before it can be transferred to an individual or a trust.

Question: Is it true that if parents (with no Will) and children die in a common disaster, that the families' assets will go to the State of Louisiana.

Answer: Not likely. If the parents had siblings, the assets will go to those siblings (or other relatives if no siblings exist).

I made a few predictions about the future of estate planning. I predicted that the internet will have a greater impact, particularly because there are so many death-disposition alternatives and that certain investment companies are already permitting beneficiary designation changes online. I also predicted that video recordings will play a greater role in the future.

We then discussed how financial advisors and estate planning attorneys can work together to benefit the client and create long-term relationships between the attorney, the advisor, and the client. It was good stuff.

Until next time...

Paul Rabalais