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Gratia Schoemakers

Divorce

3 Things You Must Do Once Your Divorce Is Final

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The divorce process can be long and expensive.  However, the work does not end once the divorce decree is signed. In order to ensure that your assets and estate planning wishes are carried out in light of this major life change, there are three things you must do as soon as possible.What’s Next?

Change Beneficiary Designation On Life Insurance

A life insurance policy is a contract between you and the insurance company.  You designate the beneficiary (the individual(s) or entity who will receive the proceeds upon your death) and the insurance company will pay them when you die. Because the beneficiary designation is a legally binding contract, the insurance company has to pay the individual listed as your beneficiary. If your ex-spouse is listed as the beneficiary, they will pay the funds out to him or her.  It does not matter to the insurance company if the two of you are now divorced.

Update Beneficiary Designation On Retirement Plans

Although state law may automatically revoke a designation on a retirement plan if the ex-spouse is listed, federal law states that the last named beneficiary is the one who is entitled to the funds. Depending upon what type of retirement account you have, it might be the state law that controls or the federal law.  To be on the safe side and avoid a potentially long and costly battle for your family, it is best to change the beneficiary as soon as possible.

Create or Revise Your Estate Plan

If you and your former spouse had a joint trust, you will need to have your own individual trust created to hold the assets that are now in your name only. In this new plan, you will need to think about who to name as the trustee and beneficiary. If you have minor children, you may also need to consider who is going to be the individual to manage those assets on behalf of your children. In many cases, you probably don’t want your ex-spouse in these roles.

If you do not have any estate planning documents in place, now is the perfect time to get everything in order. After going through the divorce, you probably have a good idea as to what assets you own and the value of them.  This will be very helpful as we discuss the right estate plan for you.

Your estate plan is more than just a trust.  It can include documents such as a financial power of attorney and healthcare power of attorney.  Whether you have them already or need to have ones executed, this is a crucial time to review them.  Chances are you no longer want your ex-spouse to have the authority to sign documents on your behalf or make medical decisions for you.  To avoid confusion by third parties as to who should be acting on your behalf, make sure to call us so we can update these essential documents.

We can help you cross the finish line

Divorce can be a long process.  Before taking those next steps into your new life, call us, so we can make sure that you cross the finish line with documents that are able to carry you and your wishes forward.

Contact us today.  We’re here to help.

Which Life Events Require an Immediate Estate Plan Update?

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Estate planning is the process of developing a strategy for the care and management of your estate if you become incapacitated or upon your death. One commonly known purpose of estate planning is to minimize taxes and costs, including taxes imposed on gifts, estates, generation skipping transfer and probate court costs. However, your plan must also name someone who will make medical and financial decisions for you if you cannot make decisions for yourself.  You also need to consider how to leave your property and assets while considering your family’s circumstances and needs.

Since your family’s needs and circumstances are constantly changing, so too must your estate plan. Your plan must be updated when certain life changes occur. These include, but are not limited to: marriage, the birth or adoption of a new family member, divorce, the death of a loved one, a significant change in assets, and a move to a new state or country.

Marriage: it is not uncommon for estate planning to be the last item on the list when a couple is about to be married – whether for the first time or not. On the contrary, marriage is an essential time to update an estate plan. You probably have already thought about updating emergency contacts and adding your spouse to existing health and insurance policies. There is another important reason to update an estate plan upon marriage. In the event of death, your money and assets may not automatically go to your spouse, especially if you have children of a prior marriage, a prenuptial agreement, or if your assets are jointly owned with someone else (like a sibling, parent, or other family member). A comprehensive estate review can ensure you and your new spouse can rest easy.

Birth or adoption of children or grandchildren: when a new baby arrives it seems like everything changes – and so should your estate plan. For example, your trust may not “automatically” include your new child, depending on how it is written. So, it is always a good idea to check and add the new child as a beneficiary. As the children (or grandchildren) grow in age, your estate plan should adjust to ensure assets are distributed in a way that you deem proper. What seems like a good idea when your son or granddaughter is a four-year-old may no longer look like a good idea once their personality has developed and you know them as a 25-year-old college graduate, for example.

Divorce: some state and federal laws may remove a former spouse from an inheritance after the couple splits, however, this is not always the case, and it certainly should not be relied on as the foundation of your plan. After a divorce, you should immediately update beneficiary designations for all insurance policies and retirement accounts, any powers of attorney, and any existing health care proxy and HIPAA authorizations. It is also a good time to revamp your will and trust to make sure it does what you want (and likely leaves out your former spouse).

The death of a loved one: sometimes those who are named in your estate plan pass away. If an appointed guardian of your children dies, it is imperative to designate a new person. Likewise, if your chosen executor, health care proxy or designated power of attorney dies, new ones should be named right away.

Significant change in assets: whether it is a sudden salary increase, inheritance, or the purchase of a large asset these scenarios should prompt an adjustment an existing estate plan. The bigger the estate, the more likely there will be issues over the disposition of the assets after you are gone. For this reason, it is best to see what changes, if any, are needed after a significant increase (or decrease) in your assets.

A move to a new state or country: for most individuals, it is a good idea to obtain a new set of estate planning documents that clearly meet the new state’s legal requirements. Estate planning for Americans living abroad or those who have assets located in numerous countries is even more complicated and requires professional assistance. It is always a good idea to learn what you need to do to completely protect yourself and your family when you move to a new state or country. We are here to help you get fully settled in and build a plan to protect you and your family.

How to Protect Your Child’s Inheritance from His or Her Untrustworthy Spouse

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Parents who develop an estate plan often do so to provide for their heirs financially. Many want to make sure hard-earned assets, family heirlooms, or closely held businesses stay within the family. Indeed, a common question is what cost effective options are available to protect one’s children’s inheritance from a spouse in the event of untrustworthiness or divorce. Thankfully, there are many ways to structure your child’s inheritance to help ensure it will remain in the family for future generations. Let’s look at a few of the options now.

Create a Trust

A trust involves three parties: (1) the person creating the trust (you might see this written as the “settlor,” “trustmaker,” or “grantor.”), (2) the person or entity holding the trust property for the benefit of the beneficiary, known as the “trustee”, and (3) the person(s) that benefit from the creation of the trust, known as the “beneficiaries.” Choosing a trustee who is independent can be a great way to eliminate any arguments that one beneficiary has more control to receive assets than what is actually provided in the trust documents than other beneficiaries, a helpful situation when you have an untrustworthy son- or daughter-in-law.

A lifetime trust is a type of trust that – as is evident from its name – lasts for the lifetime of the beneficiary and passes to the next generation of beneficiaries upon his or her death. It is commonly referred to as a “generation-skipping trust” and can also dramatically reduce or eliminate estate taxes. Assets in a lifetime trust are protected against commingling in the marriage and, therefore, cannot be pursued by a spouse. When assets are held by a trust your children – and, by extension, their spouses – cannot access these assets. Therefore, even in the event of a divorce, an ex-spouse cannot pursue them.

Use Prenuptial Agreements

In addition to creating a trust to protect your children’s inheritance from an untrustworthy spouse, your children can use a prenuptial agreement as a tool for asset protection. A prenuptial agreement is a document that details an agreement between your child and his or her spouse about the characterization of assets owned at the time of marriage and those earned after marriage. This legal document also provides the couple to agree upon the division of assets in the event there is a divorce. Because enforceability of prenuptial agreements varies by state, it is important to seek the advice of a legal professional before drafting and signing the contract. It may be an uncomfortable suggestion to bring up with your children, but it can be an incredible benefit in the event of a later divorce.

Other Planning Ideas

Beyond the actual legal tools, it is important for you to let your wishes be known to the family. One way to do this is to have a family discussion about your estate plan, explaining your intentions and reasons as to why it is set up in this manner. Additionally, using clear language in your estate planning documents that specify the intent or purpose in leaving the inheritance to benefit descendants – and not their spouses – can further solidify your wishes are followed. Finally, choosing a trustee that is independent will keep control over the funds in the trustee’s hands and not your child’s untrustworthy spouse. This will also allow you to manage or overcome any conflict that you may not have been expecting.

Bottom Line: Seek Out Estate Planning Help

If you wish to make sure your descendants receive a portion of your estate, discuss these intentions with your children and devise an estate plan that will guarantee this desire is fulfilled after your passing. Whether you have no estate plan, or have one that more than a few years old, sit down with an estate planning professional to create or update this plan to suit your goals.

Call today and find out how to better protect your family.

How You Can Build an Estate Plan That Includes Asset Protection

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Much of estate planning has to do with the way a person’s assets will be distributed upon their death.  But that’s only the tip of the iceberg.  From smart incapacity planning to diligent probate avoidance, there is a lot that goes into crafting a comprehensive estate plan.  One important factor to consider is asset protection.

One of the most important things to understand about asset protection is that not much good can come from trying to protect your assets reactively when surprised by situations like bankruptcy or divorce.  The best way to take full advantage of estate planning in regards to asset protection is to prepare proactively long before these things ever come to pass — and hopefully many of them won’t.  First, let’s cover the two main types of asset protection:

Asset protection for yourself:

This is the kind that has to be done long in advance of any proceedings that might threaten your assets, such as bankruptcy, divorce, or judgement.  As there are many highly-detailed rules and regulations surrounding this type of asset protection, it’s important to lean on your estate planning attorney’s expertise.

Asset protection for your heirs:

This type of asset protection involves setting up discretionary lifetime trusts rather than outright inheritance, staggered distributions, mandatory income trusts, or other less protective forms of inheritance.  There are varying grades of protection offered by different strategies.  For example, a trust that has an independent distribution trustee who is the only person empowered to make discretionary distributions offers much better protection than a trust that allows for so-called ascertainable standards distributions.  Don’t worry about the complexity – we are here to help you best protect your heirs and their inheritance.

This complex area of estate planning is full of potential miscalculation, so it’s crucial to obtain qualified advice and not solely rely on common knowledge about what’s possible and what isn’t.  But as a general outline, let’s take a look at three critical junctures when asset protection can help, along with the estate planning strategies we can build together that can set you up for success.

Bankruptcy

It’s entirely possible that you’ll never need asset protection, but it’s much better to be ready for whatever life throws your way.  You’ve worked hard to get where you are in life, and just a little strategic planning will help you hold onto what you have so you can live well and eventually pass your estate’s assets on to future beneficiaries.  But experiencing an unexpected illness or even a large-scale economic recession could mean you wind up bankrupt.

Bankruptcy asset protection strategy: Asset protection trusts

Asset protection trusts hold on to more than just liquid cash.  You can fund this type of trust with real estate, investments, personal belongings, and more.  Due to the nature of trusts, the person controlling those assets will be a trustee of your choosing.  Now that the assets within the trust aren’t technically in your possession, they can stay out of creditors’ reach — so long as the trust is irrevocable, properly funded, and operated in accordance with all the asset protection law’s requirements.  In fact, asset protections trusts must be formed and funded well in advance of any potential bankruptcy and have numerous initial and ongoing requirements.  They are not for everyone, but can be a great fit for the right type of person.

Divorce

One of the last things you want to have happen to the nest egg you’ve saved is for your children to lose it in a divorce.  In order to make sure your beneficiaries get the parts of your estate that you want to pass onto them — regardless of how their marriage develops — is a discretionary trust.

Divorce asset protection strategy: Discretionary trusts

When you create a trust, the property it holds doesn’t officially belong to the beneficiary, making trusts a great way to protect your assets in a divorce.  Discretionary trusts allow for distribution to the beneficiary but do not mandate any distributions.  As a result, they can provide access to assets but reduce (or even eliminate) the risk that your child’s inheritance could be seized by a divorcing spouse.  There are a number of ways to designate your trustee and beneficiaries, who may be the same person, and, like with many legal issues, there are some other decisions that need to be made.  Discretionary trusts, rather than outright distributions, are one of the best ways you can provide robust asset protection for your children.

Family LLCs or partnerships are another way to keep your assets safe in divorce proceedings.  Although discretionary trusts are advisable for people across a wide spectrum of financial means, family LLCs or partnership are typically only a good fit for very well-off people.

Judgment

When an upset customer or employee sues a company, the business owner’s personal assets can be threatened by the lawsuit.  Even for non-business owners, injury from something as small as a stranger tripping on the sidewalk outside your house can end up draining the wealth you’ve worked so hard for.  Although insurance is often the first line of defense, it is often worth exploring other strategies to comprehensively protect against this risk.

Judgment asset protection strategy: Incorporation

Operating your small business as a limited liability company (commonly referred to as an LLC) can help protect your personal assets from business-related lawsuits.  As mentioned above, malpractice and other types of liability insurance can also protect you from damaging suits.  Risk management using insurance and business entities is a complex discipline, even for small businesses, so don’t only rely on what you’ve heard online or “common sense.”  You owe it to your family to work with a group of qualified professionals, such as us as your estate planning attorney and an insurance advisor, to develop a comprehensive asset protection strategy for your business.

These are just a few ways we can optimize your estate plan in order to keep your assets protected, but every plan should be tailored to an individual’s exact circumstances.  Give us a call or contact us today to discuss your estate plan’s asset protection strategies.

Discretionary Trusts – How to Protect Your Beneficiaries from Bad Decisions and Outside Influences

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Leaving your hard-earned assets outright to your children, grandchildren or other beneficiaries after you die will make their inheritance easy prey for creditors, predators, and divorcing spouses.  Instead, consider using discretionary trusts for the benefit of each of your beneficiaries.

What is a Discretionary Trust?

A discretionary trust is a type of irrevocable trust that is set up to protect the assets funded into the trust for the benefit of the trust’s beneficiary.  This can mean protection from the beneficiary’s poor money-management skills, extravagant spending habits, personal or professional judgment creditors, or divorcing spouse.

Under the terms of a typical discretionary trust, the trustee is limited in how much can be distributed to the beneficiary and when the distributions can be made.  You can make the terms and time frames as limited or as broad as you want.  For example, you can provide that distributions of income can only be made for health care needs after the beneficiary reaches the age of 21, or you can provide that distributions of income and principal can be made for health care needs and educational expenses at any age.

An added bonus of incorporating discretionary trusts into your estate plan is that the trusts can be designed to minimize estate taxes as the trust assets pass down from your children to your grandchildren (this is referred to as “generation-skipping planning”).  In addition, you can dictate who will inherit what is left in each beneficiary’s trust when the beneficiary dies, which will allow you to keep the trust assets in the family.

While the distribution choices that can be included in a discretionary trust are virtually endless (within certain parameters established under bankruptcy and creditor protection laws), the bottom line is that a properly drafted discretionary trust will protect a beneficiary’s inheritance from creditors, predators, and divorcing spouses, avoid estate taxes when the beneficiary dies, and ultimately pass to the beneficiaries of your choice.

Where Should You Include Discretionary Trusts in Your Estate Plan?

Discretionary trusts should be included in all of the trusts you have created that will ultimately be distributed to your heirs, including:

  • Your Revocable Living Trust
  • Your Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust
  • Your Standalone Retirement Trust

What Should You Do?

If you are concerned that your children, grandchildren, or other beneficiaries will not have the skills required to manage and invest their inheritance or will lose their inheritance in a lawsuit or divorce, then talk to your estate planning attorney about how to incorporate discretionary trusts into your estate plan.