Archive for the ‘Executor’ Category
In the absence of a Will, the law in your jurisdiction and the Probate Court decides how your assets will be handled. Not your partner nor family! Most countries, states and provinces have a fixed formula for allocating your assets. Probably not the way you intended.
Many legal experts will confirm that too many Wills cannot be properly executed because they cannot be found.
Expensive and often futile searches are made by executors and their solicitors for the Will and safe deposit box locations after the death of the testator.
People today travel more frequently, change occupations, and move to other regions of a country or perhaps to a new country.
Sons, and daughters and partners often don’t know where the testator does their banking, “IF” they have a Will, where is it kept, along with other important documents, thereby adding further grief and anxiety to a family following a death.
Your “Honey Do List” should have two top of the chart functions to carry out.
1…Get on top of that effort to have a Family Will drafted:
2…Get that Wills Location registered with a worlds wills locations registry for your peace of mind.
Info on Wills Registries coming up.
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A reader asks…….Who starts this process ?
A formal written petition to the court along with a filing fee must be submitted to the court to start the probate process.
One of the courts first jobs is to approve or appoint someone to handle the affairs of the estate. This person is called the executor, administor or personal representative depending upon the rules of the state/prov, and whether the decedent died with or without a Will.
We will call this agent of the estate a “personal representative”.
Generally, the first thing the personal representative does is hire an experienced probate attorney, although that may not always be a legal requirement.
In many cases, hiring an attorney may become a practical necessity because probate paperwork and filing procedures can be very comlex.
Another step to follow.
Remember March 23rd, Diabetes Risk Test Day.
These Celebrities did not pay enough attention to their estate planning and Wills preparations and it cost them heavily !
W.C. FIELD’s estate was $884,680.00, settlement costs were $329,793.00 leaving $554,877.00 !
HUMPHREY BOGART’s estate was $808,378.00, settlement costs were $172,466.00 leaving $635,912.oo !
GARY COOPER’s estate was $4,339,968.00, settlement costs were $885,437.00 leaving $3,454,531.00 !
CECIL B. DeMILLE’s estate was $4,043,607.00, settlement costs were $1,396,064.00 leaving $2,647,543.00 !
WALT DISNEY’s estate was $20,982,796.00, settlement costs were $4,789,888.00 leaving $16,192,908.00 !
ELVIS PRESLEY’s estate was $6,332,882.00, settlement costs were $3,542,083.00 leaving $2,790,799.00 !
Probate fees can be very expensive ! At the moment, it is known that the average cost is between 2% and 4% of the gross value of the estate!
60% goes to lawyers, and 40% goes to personal representatives and others.
Remember, every dollar that goes to pay probate costs is a dollar that could benefit your family, and opportunities can be lost because the cumbersome probate system moves so slowly.
With ever-changing legal and taxation laws, planning your estate, with the best legal professionals guarantee’s the proper advice to suit each individuals personal situation. There are no short-cuts !
With the estate planning accomplished, take the next step to REGISTER THE LOCATION OF WHERE YOUR VALUEABLE DOCUMENTS ARE GOING TO BE STORED WITH A WORLDS WILLS LOCATION REGISTRY for easy retrieval when needed without costly legal searches.
REMEMBER, IT IS THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TESTATOR TO INSURE THEIR MOST RECENT WILL CAN BE FOUND !
Will Registry
Lawyers, notaries, financial planners and other estate planners ARE NOT automatically aware of the deaths of their clients, and thusly thousands of WILLS remain unclaimed in archives!
The old adage of “relying on others “ to remember the location of WILLS is not wise planning. Individuals do forget and become confused, particularily at distressing times. Those who knew the whereabouts of your Will may have moved away, lost touch, become mentally impaired or died…….and your next of kin may not know ,or recall, who holds the WILL or whether a WILL even exists!
A WILL is of no value, if it cannot be found when needed, so the proper sequence to follow for family peace of mind is as follows:
(A)…Complete your family will, Living will or Living trust !
(B)… Immediately REGISTER THE LOCATION of where the WILLS are going to be kept for quick retrieval when needed, with a WORLDS WILLS LOCATION REGISTRY
REMEMBER……IT IS THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TESTATOR TO INSURE THEIR MOST RECENT WILL CAN BE FOUND !
Can you be accused of poor estate planning and leaving messy details and anguish for your family because you did not leave a WILL ?
Can you be accused as well, that if you did leave a Will, did you register its location with a worlds wills location registry so it can be easily found when needed by the family and executor?
If you said YES to both accusations, you are joining some famous people like the following who died without a Will , and through poor estate planning lost a significant amount of their money in heavy settlement costs !
Clark Gable’s estate was $2,478,299.00. The settlement costs were $772,811.00, leaving a net estate of $1,705,488.00 ?
Al Jolson’s estate was $4,385,143.00, The settlement cost was $1,349,066.00, leaving a net estate of $3,036,077.00 ?
Marilyn Munroe’s estate was $544,810.oo. The settlement costs were $174,384.00, leaving a net estate of $370,426.00 ?
Franklin D Roosevelt’s estate was $1,940,999.00. The settlement costs were $574,867.00 leaving an estate of $1,366,132’00
( Once Wills go through the Probate Court, the Will information then becomes a public record in the courts,)
Do you want to lose an unnecessary amount of your money from your estate, and incurr additional legal costs through bad planning on your part ?
Isn’t the above history of these famous people enough motivation for you to investigate how YOUR estate planning can be handled to minimize your possible losses ?
will register
Why should you register the location of your Will……..if you have one?
SIMPLY……because if it cannot be found when needed, the effort and cost to draft your Will was a WASTE OF TIME !.
It will be lost foreever!
The worlds legal fraternity admits that too many Wills cannot be properly executed because they cannot be found when needed.!
Is that a gamble you are prepared to take ?
Wills
If you have been asked to be the Executor/Executrix of a family member or friend, would you consider it a respectful honor? It certainly would mean that you are highly respected by them, wouldn’t it ?
Would you know what that would mean ? Would you be hesitant because of that old “ feeling of the unknown ” ?
Would you be interested enough to find out what that would entail ?
Would you accept right off without knowing what would have to be done because they were a family member or a dear friend or a colleague?
The bold reality is, that it means a lot of detailed work to do it effectively.
The person you may have appointed as your power of attorney has the right to manage your affairs if you are alive, but unable to act for yourself. That authority however ends immediately on your death.
The person you have asked to be your executor/executrix takes over because you have given them the authority in your Will, to settle your estate.
While you are alive, you can help simplify the tasks of your executor/executrix by doing the following:
*1 Make sure that the person you asked to be your executor/executrix knows that they are your personal representative and tell them where the WILL (s ) or a copy is going to be kept? If you have registered the location of your WILL (s ) with a worlds wills location registry, tell them which one, and how to locate your WILL (s ) quite easily. It is not pleasant to have to fumble through the effects of a newly deceased loved one or friend.
*2 Make sure your WILLS are up to date. You can do this by getting in the habit of reviewing your Wills every two to three years:
*3 Make sure that the people named as beneficiaries are still alive and at a known address:
*4 Make sure that your bequests and instructions in your WILLS reflect appropriate and current wishes :
*5 If you have young children, be very careful about WHO you select as a guardian for them. For your comfort and satisfaction, keep these directions updated regularily as you and your children age:
*6 Before you ask someone to be your executor/executrix, assemble all the information they might need. Contact a lawyer, notary, financial planner, trust officer etc. who have free info that details the responsibility of executor/executrix appointees.
*7 Hand-out are often available free from banks, credit unions, trust companies, financial planners, lawyers, and notaries.
A Living Will…..? Your own Health Care Proxy….?
A Health Care proxy lists your wishes for medical treatment should you ever become unable to make those decisions yourself. It can also name the person whom you designate to make decisions for you.
A Format for you to think about:
*1…Most states/prov’s, permit you to have a health care proxy. This is also sometimes called a personal directive or power of attorney.
*2…Check with your legal professional re the specifics in your area.
*3…Recognize, that your Doctor will be bound by the directions you give in your proxy.
*4…Describe situations in which you want your health care proxy to take effort: For example, “This health care is to take effect if I am terminally ill or injured, comatose with little chance of recovery, or in a vegetative state “….is one way to describe your wishes.
*5…List treatments you do not consent to. Many people include such things as the use of a respirator, resuscitation, blood or blood products, life-sustaining medications , and even food and water.
*6…You can also list Nothing , and instead, state that you want the person you have designated to make decisions at that time!.
*7…Create your health care proxy by typing a document in which you state that it is a health care proxy or directive, and that your intention is to give directions to your doctors should you become incapacitated or comotose.
*8…State that you are authorizing this person, ( list the persons name, address, and telephone number) to make medical decisions for you should you be unable to.
*9…You may not need to name anyone,…. But Doctors will then take directions from your closest family members and will not discuss matters with partners or friends.
THE GOOD_ _ THE BAD _ _ AND THE UGLY _ _ _OF SOME PROBATE FEES !
Some families may consider the way probate fees are calculated as being unfair to the family.?
Some states/prov. laws, sets the fees that probate representatives may charge. Many allow representatives to charge any fee that the court would consider reasonable, without limitations. Others, limit the fees to a fixed percentage of the value of the estate. These fees can be expensive under either method.
Cosider the late William E. Boeing estate results showing a 47% reduction in the estate value ? The estate was valued at $22,386,158.00. total settlement costs were $10,589,748.00 , leaving a net estate value of only $11,796,410.00 ? By any standard, that is extremely expensive as most would agree.
Depending on how title was held on the date of death, a married couple could pay some form of probate fees on the death of each spouse. Again a firm reminder for individuals to use the services of a qualified legal professional when they start their estate planning to minimize these sometime costly fees.
Because a WILL only takes effect at the time of your death, the answer is NO. A Will has no control over events during your life.
When the word Probate is mentioned, many people think it is only something that happens when you die!
Most people unaware of these processes, do not realize that probate can also happen while you are alive. It might be referred to as a living probate, but in legal language it is called a “conservatorship “ or “guardianship proceeding ”
If you become mentally disabled before you die, the probate court will appoint someone to take control of all your assets and personal affairs.
These court appointed agents must file very strict annual accountings with the court, causing the entitre process to be very expensive, time-consuming and most of all, humiliating!