Archive for the ‘Testator’ Category
Will Registry
On a recent visit to our community laboratory for blood tests, it was the first time I ever heard of a lab nurse being asked by an elderly patient if she knew where she might go to get information about help in having a Will drafted.
We are aware that doctors and nurses in hospitals are often asked these questions but were surprised a laboratory nurse could be asked that.
The nurse offered good advice. Contact a seniors centre who could probably direct her to a lawyer or other legal professional to get answers to her questioins about Wills.
Medical laboratory professionals, otherwise known as lab technicians, perform tests that provide vital information about a persons health. In fact, up to 85% of the decisions about a persons diagnosis and treatment are based on lab tests provided to ones doctor. Without them Doctors could be guessing.
It is easy to see why these professionals are identified as the Diagnostic Engine of any health care system !
To have these people also direct patients to legal professionals to get answers about Wills is a much needed added plus in today’s world.
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A third step in the probate process:
During probate all assets in the Estate are usually FROZEN so that an accurate inventory and appraisal can be made.
That simply means, that during thios period NONE of the assets can be distributed or sold without written permission from the court.
Quite often the court will require formal written appraisals for many items, such as real estate, antiques, collectibles, automobiles, furniture and other valueable assets.
Here again, appraisal fees can become expensive and like All probate expenses, are paid out of the estate funds.
People can quite often make amazing savings on these time consuming efforts by the court, by making and having on hand their own up-to-date assets and possessions inventory recorded, and stored with the location of their Will.
Please mark on your calender, ONLY 13 days until the American Diabetes Risk Test offering on March 23rd. The time spent will be a good investment on your health.
Answering questions, the second major job of the probate court is to order that the decedents creditors have been notified so they can present their claims to the court for payment.
This requires the costly time consuming job of inventoring all of the decedent’s liabilities.
The creditors are notified either by notices in the local newspaper or directly by mail.
The state/prov. law, set a time table that the probate proceeding must be left open to allow creditors the chance to present their claims.
In most all cases the creditor period is several months long.
One can minimize that time by having a properly drafted Will with the specific information already outlined.
Individuals have the total freedom to take as much time as necessary to get the proper counselling with any number of available pr0fessionals, to draft up an almost fool-proof Will and Estate plan for the BEST PROTECTION of their families and assets avoiding higher fees for wasteful searches and higher taxes often looming.
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The Worlds Wills Locations Registies encourages everyone to take advantage of the American Diabetes Association Risk Test opportunity on Tuesday March 23rd.
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.
While the Winter Olympics are on in Whistler, British Colimbia, would you like to consider winning a Gold Medal as well ?
Do you realize that because you and your family have just completed your Family Will and a Living Trust, that you have qualified as the winner of a gold medal ? Well, at least, your family believes you are a gold medal winner for them, as you planned the protection of their future.
You mentioned you have three brothers, two of which are married and the third with a wedding in four months? You also revealed that you convinced the brother next to you, married with three children to also begin the planning of his estate for his family this month ?
That effort should qualify your brother then as a Silver Medalist shouldn’t it ?
The other two brothers however will not even qualify for the Bronze Medal because they do not as yet have any thoughts about estate plans for their loved ones.
Congratulations also to many others who took the vital planning step this month.
Permit us to also remind everyone of the Diabetes Risk Test Day, March 23rd. Only 25 days to go! Please request your glucose tolerance test to check if you have Type 2 diabetes?
In addition to the expense and frequent long delay of the probate process, a family may also be liable for death taxes.!
There are two types of death taxes in the USA. The federal tax and the State inheritance tax. Confirm with the gov’t officials in your area re their death tax procedure as you plan your estate and Will.
In the USA, the federal estate tax is one of the largest taxes a family will ever have to pay. !
It is a tax on your right to transfer property to others at your death.
Currently, in the USA. the federal estate tax rates are at 45% of every dollar in your estate over the amount of an exemption usually available. Always investigate your options in other countries.
Additional , most states have death or inheritance tax. !
The treatment by the courts and some legal professionals of some now deceased Celebrities Estates, is causing many of today’s Celebrities to re-focus their attention back to re-examine how their own status is with their legal advisors.
No longer, is it just good enough to work with only a lawyer, or notary, insurance advisor or financial planner, it is being discovered by some that one is far better off to work and plan with several of these legal professionals.
Take a look at the estate picture of the late Mr. JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER, SR. ?
HIS GROSS ESTATE SIZE WAS: $26,771,834.00. SETTLEMENT COSTS WERE: $16,991,640.00 LEAVING ONLY $9,780,194.00 ! FOR A 63% percent reduction !
AND ANOTHER WEALTHY INDIVIDUAL, MR. FREDERICK VANDERBILT: HIS GROSS ESTATE WAS $76,838,530.00. SETTLEMENT COSTS WERE $42,846,112.00 LEAVING ONLY $33,992,418.00 ! ( More than half eaten up by settlement costs ) !
A frequent question asked is “ DOES A WILL AVOID A DEATH PROBATE?
The answer, NO. The fact is if assets pass through a Will, probate is needed.! The word Probate comes from the Latin, and it means “ to prove the Will. ”
All property that is controlled by your Will must go through the probate court, and once your estate enters the probate process, it is trapped in the system until the judge releases it .!
Another question then is asked : “ Rather than a WILL, does a LIVING TRUST AVOID A DEATH PROBATE ?
The answer is YES!……. ALL ASSETS TRANSFERRED TO A LIVING TRUST COMPLETELY AVOID THE PROBATE PROCESS BOTH DURING YOUR LIFE AND AT YOUR DEATH ! Though this will cost more to set up, the savings can still be enormous.
That is why the position of this blog material suggests to involve as many of one’s family members in their Estate Planning process as possible for their protection.
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 ?