I’m really upset that NBC has cancelled Law and Order, the 20-year crime show whose scripts are often “ripped from the latest headlines”. I watched one last week where I was able to figure out the plot way before I usually do. The police were suspicious when several very wealthy people met their demise in 2010. Some deaths seem accelerated, one seemed prolonged in 2009 until New Year’s had passed. They were all connected to a CPA who would, conveniently, manage the estate assets for the heirs. So, were the heirs in on the scam? Their motive: A 0% estate taxes if their last surviving parent died in 2010!
Everyone in my business has been joking for a while that 2010 is definitely the year to die, if you’ve got more than $1,000,000 in assets. The elimination of the estate tax was high on president George W. Bush’s agenda back in 2001. But in order to get Congressional approval, he had to agree to its elimination for only one year (2010) before the tax returned in 2011, at the 2001 rates: estates over $1,000,000 will face an estate tax of up to 55%. Roughly two percent of heirs in the U.S. are faced with estate taxes. My conservative friends do like to rail about them (even though their estates may never be large enough to be affected. And, with proper planning, there’s really no need for anyone’s family to face estate taxes.) The Obama Administration may not push to extend the 0% rate. The government, after all, does need all the dough it can get. Or, maybe, Congress will just let the 2001 rates return on January 1, 2011. After all, the executive and legislative branches have been kinda busy these last few months.
And the prosecutors on Law and Order? They eventually were successful in getting someone to squeal on that CPA and one of the greedy heirs. It was a great episode. Just another reason why NBC is nuts to have cancelled the show. Just one more season and Law and Order would have been the longest running series in television history. But then they cancelled “Medium” last year and it’s now going strong on CBS. Hey, CBS….want another one?
I hope you and your family have a great Memorial Day holiday. It’s a time to thank those who have served our country….both in the past and now. Until next time, here’s to good planning!
It’ll be a packed house on Thursday in a federal courtroom in Boston. On the docket is the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, that draconian law that defines marriage as between one man and one woman. Gay couples believe DOMA disciminates against them by denying more than 1,100 benefits of marriage that have always been afforded to married heterosexual couples.
This will be the first time opponents of DOMA will be able to present their case against the law in court. I think it’s fitting the first courtroom arguments are here in Massachusetts, where gay marriage first became legal. Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders sued on behalf of three widowers and seven married gay couples here in the Bay State. It was a lawsuit by GLAD that delivered marriage equality in 2004.
Even though the Obama Administration says it agrees DOMA should be overturned, government attorneys say it’s still law and they want the suit thrown out (huh?). GLAD attorneys want the court to throw out DOMA by ruling in their favor without a trial. Stay tuned. Until next time, here’s to good planning!
Here’s something I bet you’ve never thought about: how would your family or business partners access your online address book and emails if you die suddenly? So much of our lives have moved online, it’s an integral part of who we are and how we manage our businesses. And, if heirs have to sell a business after a death, not having access to all a company’s information may affect the sales price or even the sale itself. So, what to do to retrieve our online identity?
There are companies out there that will keep track of all this digital information, for a price, of course. Some web sites like www.MyLastEmail.com will store email messages and send them out after a client dies. Then there’s www.BCelebrated.com that will allow you to write your own autobiographical memorial (is that a little creepy?). One that caught my eye is www.LegacyLocker.com that works like a digital safe deposit box. You can store all your passwords with them (which Legacy Locker folks cannot see). That information will get transferred to your heirs or business associate when you die.
Another online service will be debuting next month that will add additional services: deactivating accounts and posting a final update on Facebook and Twitter. I can see the posting now: “I’m sorry to report that I won’t be able to keep in touch in the future…..”. So, wherever there is a digital question, there is an online solution. There are no details too small in estate planning. Check it out. Until next time, here’s to good planning!
The start of a new year is always a good time to review your financial, business and life priorities. I always recommend writing down goals, both long term and through the end of the year. Here are a few suggestions:
* Be more consistent in your budgeting, saving and investing. There’s something every month you can do without to tighten your budget. And saving regularly into an emergency fund or for retirement will only result in good
* Did you increase your monthly contributions to your employer’s retirement plan, like a 401(k)? Are you saving to a Roth IRA? The maximum contributions to a 401(k), 403(b) or Thrift Savings Plan is $16,500 in 2010. If you’re over 50, you can put in an additional $5,500. The maximum for Traditional and Roth IRA’s is $5,000 ($6,000 for the over-50 crowd)
* Don’t forget that you can make your 2009 contribution to your IRA until April 15, 2010
* Double check your beneficiaries on your life insurance, retirement plans and other assets. If you got married, divorced or had some other major life event, you want to make sure your assets go where you want them to go
These are just a few ideas. I’ll post some more later this week. Have a great one and until next time, here’s to good planning!
Two conflicting Massachusetts laws came to a head recently in a Superior Court in Springfield. The issue was whether a widow would have to pay her husband’s $45,000 nursing home bill which was left after he died. The nursing home, East Longmeadow Management Systems, Inc. (that’s a warm and fuzzy name, huh?) sued Mrs. Wilson, trying to put a lien on her home to satisfy the debt. The wife had never signed a contract accepting financial responsibility for any services and, moreover, Mr. Wilson was never on the deed of the home. The Mrs. argued she should not be liable.
So, here’s the conflicting scenarios: 1) a 1974 law stated that “a married woman shall not be liable for her husband’s (or husbands’?) debts, but a married woman shall be jointly liable for her husband’s debts, to the amount of $100, for ‘necessaries’ furnished with her knowledge or consent”. 2) a 1979 statute says that “both spouses shall be jointly or separately liable for debts incurred on account of ‘necessaries’ furnished to either spouse”. Case law is clear that medical and hospital bills could be “necessaries.”
So, how did the judge rule? In favor of the 1979 statute, so Mrs. Wilson has to pay. It’s not clear if she has to cough up money now, or whether the debt can be satisfied after she dies and her house is sold (the method of choice for asset recovery under Medicaid). Nursing homes are getting more aggressive in their collection efforts. Please don’t ignore these issues. Discuss them with family and get your assets protected. Until next time, here’s to good planning!
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