Texas Estate Planning

Blunders in Estate Planning May Lead to Breach of Family Harmony

The Financial Post’s recent article entitled “Avoid these five mistakes when estate planning to preserve family peace” provides us with some of the biggest mistakes:

1. Treating family members differently. People do this frequently. They may have valid reasons for doing so. However, it’s still not a great idea. Instead, comfortably tell your children in advance why you’re doing this. This will avoid anger and jealousy between the children when they discover this. Try to leave assets equally, even if you don’t think it is fair.
2. Pass the family vacation home to multiple children. It's best to either sell the home in your later years or, if you keep it, make sure it is openly discussed. You might set up life insurance to specifically pay taxes and perhaps one or two children, so the remaining children can afford to keep the cottage. Even so, a sale is the cleanest approach.
3. Don’t tell the children anything about your money. Not a good idea. This approach often eliminates any ability to understand what might be most meaningful to your children or beneficiaries. Maybe less so in terms of cash, but in terms of family heirlooms or property. Perhaps a favorite piece of furniture was really important to two children, but there was never any discussion about it. As a result, it’s now completely left to them to fight over. This may sound like a small issue. However, many families have split up forever over just this type of scenario.
4. Purposely or inadvertently leaving most or all assets to a new spouse. It can occur by accident due to poor planning around ownership titles, lack of pre-nuptial agreements or the unintended naming of beneficiaries on investment accounts or life insurance. However, sometimes, it’s meant to hurt the children. The hurt can certainly go both ways and is frequently a major issue when a spouse isn’t treated fairly. Ask an experienced estate planning attorney to walk through this with you.
5. Significant charitable giving. If your gifts to charity aren’t discussed with your so-called traditional beneficiaries, there can be conflicts with the charity that can be drawn out.

Communicate what you’re doing and why to your family.

Reference: Financial Post (Nov. 9, 2022) “Avoid these five mistakes when estate planning to preserve family peace”

 

What Should I Know about Charitable Gifts?

Sometimes as individuals and families increase in wealth, they want to give more to charities.

Some charitable donations may be tax deductible or be able to reduce tax liabilities. Let’s look at some suggestions if you decide you want to make charitable donations, according to WMUR’s recent article entitled “Money Matters: Considerations when making charitable gifts.”

First, it might be the time to establish a giving plan. The first step is to decide how much your family wants to give. When researching a charity, look at how the contributions will be used. Charity Navigator, a charity assessment organization, has a site to help you get started at charitynavigator.org. Each charity has a rating with additional information.

Besides annual giving, charitable giving can play a role in estate planning. Your estate planning documents can state these wishes, and sometimes, giving can reduce estate taxes. The federal government taxes wealth transfers during life and at death. Currently, these types of taxes are imposed on lifetime transfers exceeding $12.06 million per spouse at a top rate of 40%. States may also impose these types of taxes. Ask an experienced estate planning attorney about it.

To give to charity, you could include a bequest in your will or trust. Another option is to name a charity as a beneficiary on life insurance policies. Retirement plans such as IRAs, 401(k)s, and 403(b)s may also have a charity listed as beneficiary. If these plans are tax-deferred, then an advantage to using them to make charitable gifts is that a charity can get money tax-free that would otherwise be taxed.

You might also ask an estate planning attorney about a charitable lead or a charitable remainder trust.

Another option for giving is to use donor-advised funds, which gives the donor the tax benefit for making the gift all in one year but the option to make the actual gift later on.

A donor-advised fund is particularly useful for taxpayers who itemize deductions. This is an agreement between the donor and a host organization, which then becomes the legal owner of the assets.

You can tell the fund how to invest the contribution and how the money is disbursed. The fund controls the assets but usually will honor the donor’s requests.

Finally, you could set up a private family foundation. These are more complex but give you and your family control over the investment and distribution of the money. They work best when a significant amount of money is involved.

Reference: WMUR (Dec. 30, 2021) “Money Matters: Considerations when making charitable gifts”

Should I have a Charitable Trust in My Estate Plan?

Charitable trusts can be created to provide a reliable income stream to you and your beneficiaries for a set period of time, says Bankrate’s recent article entitled “What is a charitable trust?”

Establishing a charitable trust can be a critical component of your estate plan and a rewarding way to make an impact for a cause you care deeply about. There are a few kinds of charitable trusts to consider based on your situation and what you may be looking to accomplish.

Charitable lead trust. This is an irrevocable trust that is created to distribute an income stream to a designated charity or nonprofit organization for a set number of years. It can be established with a gift of cash or securities made to the trust. Depending on the structure, the donor can benefit from a stream of income during the life of the trust, deductions for gift and estate taxes, as well as current year income tax deductions when the assets are donated to the trust.

If the charitable lead trust is funded with a donation of cash, the donor can claim a deduction of up to 60% of their adjusted gross income (AGI), and any unused deductions can generally be carried over into subsequent tax years. The deduction limit for appreciated securities or other assets is limited to no more than 30% of AGI in the year of the donation.

At the expiration of the charitable lead trust, the assets that remain in the trust revert back to the donor, their heirs, or designated beneficiaries—not the charity.

Charitable remainder trust. This trust is different from a charitable lead trust. It’s an irrevocable trust that’s funded with cash or securities. A CRT gives the donor or other beneficiaries an income stream with the remaining assets in the trust reverting to the charity upon death or the expiration of the trust period. There are two types of CRTs:

1. A charitable remainder annuity trust or CRAT distributes a fixed amount as an annuity each year, and there are no additional contributions can be made to a CRAT.
2. A charitable remainder unitrust or CRUT distributes a fixed percentage of the value of the trust, which is recalculated every year. Additional contributions can be made to a CRUT.

Here are the steps when using a CRT:

1. Make a partially tax-deductible donation of cash, stocks, ETFs, mutual funds or non-publicly traded assets, such as real estate, to the trust. The amount of the tax deduction is a function of the type of CRT, the term of the trust, the projected annual payments (usually stated as a percentage) and the IRS interest rates that determine the projected growth in the asset that’s in effect at the time.
2. Receive an income stream for you or your beneficiaries based on how the trust is created. The minimum percentage is 5% based on current IRS rules. Payments can be made monthly, quarterly or annually.
3. After a designated time or after the death of the last remaining income beneficiary, the remaining assets in the CRT revert to the designated charity or charities.

There are a number of benefits of a charitable trust that make them attractive for estate planning and other purposes. It’s a tax-efficient way to donate to the charities or nonprofit organizations of your choosing. The charitable trust provides benefits to the charity and the donor. The trust also provides upfront income tax benefits to the donor, when the contribution to the trust is made.

Donating highly appreciated assets, such as stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds, to the charitable trust can help avoid paying capital gains taxes that would be due if these assets were sold outright.  Donations to a charitable trust can also help to reduce the value of your estate and reduce estate taxes on larger estates.

However, charitable trusts do have some disadvantages. First, they’re irrevocable, so you can’t undo the trust if your situation changes, and you were to need the money or assets donated to the trust. When you establish and fund the trust, the money’s no longer under your control and the trust can’t be revoked.

A charitable trust may be a good option if you have a desire to create a legacy with some of your assets. Talk with an experienced estate planning attorney about your specific situation.

Reference: Bankrate (Dec. 14, 2021) “What is a charitable trust?”

Who Owns Marilyn Monroe’s Estate?

Marilyn Monroe's photos and likeness are used to sell t-shirts, posters, coffee mugs, and, well, you name it. When she died in 1962, she left no family and had a net worth of $800,000, which is equivalent to about $7 million today. Monroe spent her money freely, and gave some to relatives, employees and strangers. After her estate was settled, her fortune had declined to about $370,000. In her will, she gave $10,000 each to her longtime assistant and her half-sister. She put $5,000 in a trust fund for the education of her assistant's child, and she left a $100,000 trust fund for her mother.
Celebrity Net Worth’s recent article entitled “How A Random Venezuelan-Born Actress Ended Up Owning The Rights To Marilyn Monroe's Estate” says that her physical property was left to her acting coach Lee Strasberg. In her will, Monroe gave Strasberg 75% of her intellectual property rights. The remaining 25% was given to her therapist, Dr. Marianne Kris.
Dr. Kris died in 1980, and her stake in the Monroe estate was given to the Anna Freud Centre for the Psychoanalytic Study and Treatment of Children in London. However, what happened to the Strasberg 75% share?
Just a few years after Monroe died, in 1966, Paula Strasberg died. In 1967, Lee re-married actress Anna Mizrahi, a 28-year-old from Venezuela. Lee died in 1982, so the actress was then the owner of 75% of Monroe's estate.
After taking over Lee's 75% share of the Monroe estate, she signed deals that used Monroe's name, signature and image on thousands of products and endorsements. Over time, Anna made Marilyn one of the highest-paid dead celebrities in the world, generating tens of millions in revenue and profits.
Eventually, Anna partnered with the celebrity management company called CMG. Years later, a lawsuit revealed that the CMG deal reportedly guaranteed Anna a minimum of $1 million a year. However, as it turned out, Anna made more than $7.5 million in licensing revenue in just the four years between 1996 and 2000, when she created Marilyn Monroe, LLC.
In January 2011, Anna sold her 75% stake in the Monroe estate to Authentic Brands Group for an estimated $20-30 million.
Reference: Celebrity Net Worth (April 2, 2021) “How A Random Venezuelan-Born Actress Ended Up Owning The Rights To Marilyn Monroe's Estate”

What are Three Areas of Giving Not to Skip?

It may be important to you that your family and the charities in which you believe, benefit from your success. Giving lets you practice your core values. However, for your giving to be meaningful, you need a plan to maximize your generosity.
Kiplinger’s recent article entitled “Gifting: 3 Areas You Shouldn't Overlook” advises that there are many things to think about before gifting, and although there are benefits to estate planning, there are other issues to consider.
Think about your gifting goals. Any amount given to a family member, friend, or organization will no doubt be treasured, but ask yourself if the recipient really wants or values the gift, or it only satisfies your personal goals.
As far as giving to a charity, you should be certain that your donation is going to the right organization and will be used for your intended purpose. Your giving goals, objectives and motivations should match the recipient’s best interests.
If gifting straight to a family member is not a goal for you now, but you want to engage your family in your giving strategy and decision making, there are several gifting vehicles you can employ, like annual gifts, estate plans and trusts. Whichever one you elect to use, it will let you place an official process in the works for your strategy. Family engagement and a formalized structure can help your gift make the greatest impact.
There is more to gifting than just determining who and how much. It’s critical to be educated on the numbers, in order to maximize your gift value and decrease your tax exposure.
You can now gift up to $11.58 million to others ($23.16 million for a married couple) while alive, without any federal gift taxes. The amount of gift tax exemption used during your life also decreases your federal estate tax exemption. You should also be aware that this amount will fall back to $5 million (and $10 million for a married couple) indexed for inflation after 2025, unless renewed.
If you transfer your wealth to heirs and beneficiaries early and letting it compound over time, you can avoid significant estate taxes. In addition, note the annual gift exemption because with it, you can gift up to $15,000 ($30,000 as a married couple) to anyone or any kind of trust every year without taxes.
An experienced estate planning attorney can help you create a giving strategy to achieve success for you and those you are benefiting.

Not Having a Will Should Scare You and Your Family

For families of people who don’t have a will, dealing with their estate is an expensive, stressful and time-consuming experience. A will isn’t anything to be afraid of, says the Herald Journal in the article “It’s Halloween, do you have a will?” Here’s a list of things not to do that should be useful for anyone who doesn’t have a will yet.

Don’t procrastinate. You can keep on waiting until there’s a better time, but life has a way of happening while we’re waiting. Now is the time to do your will. For your sake, and your family’s sake, don’t put it off any longer.

This is not a do-it-yourself project. No matter how simple you think your estate is, it isn’t. A form that you download from a website may not be legal in your state. Nothing can replace the sense of security that sitting down with an experienced estate planning attorney can give to you and your family. You’ll know that your will is legally valid in your state, follows all the right steps and was created for your unique situation.

An estate plan requires more than a will. There are many other documents and strategies to consider. Chances are that you already have more than a few other accounts to consider, like an insurance policy, investment accounts and jointly owned accounts. For an estate plan to protect you and your family, you’ll need a power of attorney, health care power of attorney, a living will and possibly a trust. A qualified attorney will help you coordinate all of your assets and make sure everything is properly prepared.

Don’t set it and forget it. Your life changes, and so should your estate plan. There have been some large changes to the tax law in recent years, and a number of bills are now pending in Congress that may bring even bigger changes in 2020. Your family may have celebrated a marriage, welcomed a new child or experienced a loss. All of these issues require updates to your estate plan.

Don’t hide your will and estate planning documents. Having all of these documents prepared properly is step one. The next step is to make sure that your family members know where the documents have been stored and how to access them. They should not be in a safe deposit box, as those are usually sealed upon the death of the owner. If you don’t own a waterproof, fireproof safe, consider purchasing one. Then tell a trusted family member where it is.

If charitable giving is part of your life, make it part of your legacy. Making a charitable gift as part of your estate plan can be helpful in reducing your estate taxes. It also sends a positive message about philanthropy to your family.

Make an appointment with an estate planning attorney to create your will, establish protection for yourself and your spouse in case of incapacity and create a legacy.

Reference: Herald Journal (October 26, 2019) “It’s Halloween, do you have a will?”

Charitable Spending Plan Creates Controversy

Recent news that a frugal and eccentric librarian left a $4 million charitable bequest to the University of New Hampshire where he worked at first caught the public's attention because of the uniqueness of the story. However, with those headlines falling out of the news, the story has taken a twist as many alumni are not pleased with how the university plans to spend the funds.

Robert Morin left instructions that earmarked $100,000 to the school library where he worked, but the remainder of the donation was given freely. The university quickly announced how it would spend it.

The plans include spending $1 million on a new football scoreboard, which has outraged some people who would rather the money be spent on academics.

The Independent reported on the controversy in "University to buy football scoreboard with thrifty librarian's money, outraging critics."

For its part the university states that in the last years of his life Morin had grown to love football and that he would approve of the plan. The controversy is, of course, part of a much larger debate about athletics and academics at colleges.

It is unlikely to be resolved any time soon.

One lesson for donors to keep in mind is that if they do not wish for their donations to be used in specific ways, then that needs to be stated in the bequest. What Morin would have wanted cannot be definitively known.

By not leaving instructions, it has to be assumed he wanted the university to spend the money however it sees fit.

A qualified estate planning attorney can help you clearly communicate your charitable intent.

Reference: Independent (Sept. 16, 2016) "University to buy football scoreboard with thrifty librarian's money, outraging critics."

Editor's Watergate Papers Donated to University

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."

 

Princeton's Largest Ever Bequest

William Scheide inherited a startling collection that his grandfather had started. The collection has been maintained at Princeton University since 1959. When Scheide passed away a few months ago, he left the entire collection to the university.

It is worth approximately $300 million.

Recently, Princeton released to the public the contents of the collection, as reported by The Telegraph in "Emily Dickinson's chocolate pudding recipe and nine other highlights from Princeton's $300m book haul."

Other highlights from the Scheide collection include:

• A copy of the original Gutenberg Bible
• One of Beethoven's musical sketchbooks
• Three original Shakespeare folios
• Handwritten sheet music from Bach, Mozart, Wagner and others
• An autographed speech by President Lincoln
• General Grant's copybooks from the last weeks of the Civil War
• A copy of the Koran from 1700

Even if you do not have an amazing collection to leave to your favorite charity, consult an experienced estate planning attorney for ideas on how to leverage what you do have for good.

Reference: The Telegraph (February 18, 2015) "Emily Dickinson's chocolate pudding recipe and nine other highlights from Princeton's $300m book haul."