29 April

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Naming a Guardian – Do You Need Court Approval?

If you have minor a child, or children, an important issue you’ll need to address in your estate plan is determining who will take care of your children if you suddenly pass away. This person would serve as a “guardian” for your children until they become legal adults. A question I routinely get asked by clients is whether the guardian they prefer to name will need to be approved by a court. Here’s the answer: it depends. A major factor that will influence a guardianship issue is where you reside. If you live in Maryland, you can actually name a guardian in your Will and not have to worry about court approval. Specifically, Maryland law states that “unless prohibited by agreement or court order, the surviving parent of a minor may appoint by Will one or more guardians and successor guardians of the person of an unmarried minor....

18 April

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Proper Medicaid Planning Is Essential for Long-Term Care

Posted by Bobby Feisee

in Bobby's Blog

The National Institute on Aging reports that roughly 70 percent of American over the age of 65 will need some type of long-term care. If that isn’t shocking enough, the NIA reports that over 40 percent of Americans will need some type of nursing home care at some point in their life. You may be thinking, “What’s the big deal?” Well, considering the fact that the annual cost of long-term care at a nursing home is over $100,000 per year, the “big deal” is financial – the cost of care could quickly wipe out your savings leaving you with very little, or nothing, to pass on to your loved ones. Typically, people pay for long-term nursing home care through one, or a combination, of these methods: (i) long-term care insurance; (ii) retirement funds; and/or (iii) Medicaid. In my experience, I have found that better results are achieved for the family if they...

07 April

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No Children? The Challenge of Deciding Who Receives Your Estate’s Assets

Posted by Bobby Feisee

in Bobby's Blog

Most people with adult children include them in their estate plan by giving them authority to make decisions on their behalf, and to ultimately inherit their assets. But what about couples who have no children? Estate planning for childless couples can actually be more challenging than for couples with children. How is it more difficult? Well, because there’s probably no default individual to empower to make decisions on your behalf, administer your estate, and determine who will inherit your assets. Childless couples usually look to siblings, extended relatives, charities, or close friends. Another issue for childless couples is the tendency to delay putting an estate plan together. They may think it’s not a time-sensitive task since they don’t have offspring to consider when they ;pass on. This is the wrong kind of thinking. What if you become incapacitated? If you don’t have a power of attorney, advanced medical directive, and...

02 April

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Battle Royal: IRS v. The Estate of Michael Jackson

Posted by Bobby Feisee

in Current Events

The King of Pop faced numerous legal challenges during his life, but arguably the biggest battle is taking place after his passing. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is seeking close to $731 million from Michael Jackson’s estate. Yes, you read that number correctly - $731 million. How did the IRS arrive at such a huge tax bill? Well, IRS auditors determined that the value of Mr. Jackson’s estate totaled $1.17 billion. This means his estate qualifies for the top rate of the estate tax – a staggering 40 percent, according to bankrate.com. Therefore, the total tax bill includes $525.6 million in taxes and $205.1 million in gross valuation misstatement and negligence penalties,according to Forbes.com. Obviously, Mr. Jackson’s estate challenges the calculation of such a huge tax bill. The biggest disagreements focus on the value of Mr. Jackson’s intangible and intellectual property (e.g., the King of Pop’s name, likeness...

25 March

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Turning Your HSA Into an Estate Planning Tool

Posted by Bobby Feisee

in Bobby's Blog

In a prime example of how estate planning is an ever-evolving area of law, there are some articles published recently discussing how you can utilize a health savings account (“HSA”) for estate planning purposes. Why should you consider an HSA as an investment vehicle? Well, consider the fact that this type of account has a rather tempting trifecta of features: (1) tax-deductible contributions (2) tax-free growth (3) tax-free distributions. These features offer major income tax advantages, according to an article published by Steven Latterell on Lexology.com. Along with the financial benefits, there is the simple fact that more people are going to access HSAs since many employees participating in employer-provided health plans are being offered health plans with extremely high deductibles (anywhere in the range of $4,000 to $10,000). This means, as more people utilize HSAs, they could become a rather large asset in an individual’s investment portfolio. Why?...

24 March

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Estate Planning – Hard Truths

Posted by Bobby Feisee

in Bobby's Blog

Richard Randall, the Chairman and CEO of the National Network of Estate Planning Attorneys, recently published a great article highlighting some hard truths about estate planning. Richard points out some serious flaws with how most people approach the estate planning process. Unfortunately, it's viewed as a "one and done" event without much discussion about proper maintenance and disclosures necessary to create a thorough estate plan. Check out the full article here: The Truth About Estate Planning ...

04 March

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Blended Families and Estate Planning

Posted by Bobby Feisee

in Bobby's Blog

If you, or your significant other, have been through a divorce, the impact on how you plan your estate can be significant. The absolute worst thing you can do in this situation is nothing and hope your loved ones just “figure it out.” What if your ex-spouse comes out of nowhere and claims they are entitled to certain benefits? It’s happened before. Check out this article I published a few months ago about a Maryland case that involved such a fast pattern: https://insightlaw.net/current-events/attack-of-the-ex-spouse-maryland-court-allows-former-wife-to-receive-50-percent-of-deceased-ex-spouses-pension-benefits. So what should you do? Well, a good first step is to review all of your current estate planning documents. This includes your will, durable power of attorney, insurance policies, any trusts, etc. A common mistake people make is not updating their documents and, suddenly, something happens and the relevant documents have outdated directives. For example, if you have a power of attorney naming your ex-spouse as the...

21 February

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Take Part in the Seventh Annual Virginia Healthcare Decisions Day

Posted by Bobby Feisee

in Bobby's Blog

Virginia is putting the spotlight on an important aspect of estate planning - healthcare directives. The Seventh Annual Healthcare Decisions Day will take place on April 16th. For more info, check out the Virginia State Bar's info page. So what is this day all about? Well, a critically important estate planning document is an “Advance Directive.” This document allows you to put your wishes regarding medical care in writing and lets your loved ones know the types of medical care you do and do not want in car you are unable to express your wishes. Generally, there are two types of Advance Directives you can utilize: 1. Advance Directive That Appoints an Agent This type of Advance Directive enables you to authorize another person (e.g., a spouse, child, or friend) to be your “agent” or “proxy” to make critically important healthcare decisions for you if you become incapacitated. In addition, you can specifically...

18 February

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Limiting Exposure to Liability Critical for Small Business Owners

Posted by Bobby Feisee

in Bobby's Blog

If you’re a business owner, one of the most important legal concepts you need to be familiar with is limited liability. You’re probably somewhat familiar with limited liability if your business is structured as an “LLC” (which stands for Limited Liability Company) or “PLLC” (which stands for Professional Limited Liability Company). Additionally, if you’re a shareholder, you enjoy limited liability for the actions of the corporation. However, courts across the country have recognized certain circumstances where a court can “pierce” the proverbial “corporate veil” and hold shareholders liable for the actions and/or negligence of a company. The standard used to pierce the corporate veil is murky at best. Many courts utilize different standards. Even courts in the same state apply different tests. Nevertheless, the fundamental idea behind disregarding limited liability is when the shareholder does not treat the corporation as a separate legal person. Courts reason that if you...

17 February

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The Long Goodbye – Living with Alzheimer’s and Why You Need an Estate Plan

Posted by Bobby Feisee

in Bobby's Blog

Alzheimer’s disease has made numerous headlines recently. Country music legend Glenn Campbell won a Grammy award for his heartbreaking song “I’m Not Gonna Miss You” which provides insight into the singer’s steady decline after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, the movie “Still Alice” was released, which is based on the best-selling book (same title). ABC News also did a report providing a glimpse into what life is like with Alzheimer’s. Check out the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL_Gq7Shc-Y It’s clear that Alzheimer’s is a cruel and tragic disease. It’s often referred to as the “Long Goodbye” because it doesn’t hit you all at once. You steadily fade away and, despite having the appearance of normalcy to the outside world, your mind is being ravaged by this awful disease. In some rare cases, people as young as 50 years of age have been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s. In my family,...