21 January

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Why Your Estate Plan Needs to Include Your Pets

When designing an estate plan, many individuals forget to include provisions for the care of their beloved pets. Approximately 63% of all households own at least one pet, yet less than 20% of pet owners included their pets in their estate plan. Quite often, we meet with prospective clients that have never been asked by other attorneys about including pets in their plan. For many people, their pets are considered important members of the family. Having the pet end up at a shelter or with an uncertain future is a pet owner’s worst nightmare. Planning for the care of your pets...

07 January

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New Year’s Resolution – Review Your Estate Plan

Posted by Bobby Feisee

in Bobby's Blog

With a new year comes resolutions. Some people may plan to get into better shape. Some people may plan to get out of credit card debt. But everyone should make a resolution to review their estate planning documents. To help get you started, we put together a brief checklist of topics and issues you and your loved ones need to review in your estate plan. You should make this a yearly habit. That is why, at InSight Law, we have a formal maintenance plan for all of our clients to update their estate plans and make adjustments as events in our their...

17 December

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Holiday Season Good Time to Discuss Estate Planning with Loved Ones

Posted by Bobby Feisee

in Bobby's Blog

Your parents are getting older and you may be wondering if they have a plan in place just in case something awful suddenly occurs. However, it is difficult to have that conversation since it is an uncomfortable subject to talk about and you may not be in close proximity to your loved ones. The holiday season provides the perfect opportunity to have that conversation with your loved ones since everyone is together and can participate. It may not be the most “holly jolly” subject, but it needs to be done. Being proactive and getting your family on the same page will...

17 December

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Should You Adopt the Zuckerberg Strategy and “Donate” to an LLC?

Posted by KarenLewis

in Current Events

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg made headlines after announcing that he would be “donating” the bulk of his $45 billion fortune to charity. In some corners, Zuckerberg was derided since his “donation” was to a Limited Liability Company, as opposed to a charitable trust or actual charity, according to the Washington Post. The Zuckerberg-Chan Initiative (the LLC) will receive $45 billion worth of Facebook shares that Mr. Zuckerberg owns. So, in reality, no real charitable donation was made. Though, Zuckerberg has publicly stated that his LLC will focus on important charitable and public causes such as curing disease, advancing...

03 November

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Long-Term Care – Why You Need to be Prepared

Posted by KarenLewis

in Bobby's Blog

It is an undeniable fact - we are living longer. By the year 2050, people in their 90s will increase four fold. That means the number of senior citizens (i.e. age 65+) will more than double, according to an article by J. Brendan Ryan. Many seniors need long-term care. In fact, over ninety percent of seniors’ health care costs today are attributable to chronic diseases like arthritis, diabetes, etc. The likelihood of a senior citizen needing long-term care at some point in their lives is extremely high – nearly 70 percent. Millions of unpaid caregivers helps the sick, elderly and disabled. This...

27 October

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The Burden of Inheritance

Posted by KarenLewis

in Bobby's Blog

Many people mistakenly believe that inheriting a large estate is some wondrous thing akin to winning the lottery. All of sudden, you are presented with access to vast sums of money, large pieces of property, etc. Such assets can completely change your standard of living. Nevertheless, there are numerous “burdens” associated with inheritance. One of the biggest burdens is the emotional trauma associated with inheritance. We must not forget that someone died in order for an estate to be distributed. Along with the emotional toll of inheritance is the large amount of time and work that must go into properly distributing a...

20 October

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Estate Planning Takeaways from Lamar Odom’s Medical Nightmare

Posted by KarenLewis

in Bobby's Blog

Former NBA star Lamar Odom was on the verge of death totally incapacitated. He needed the assistance of a breathing tube and many worried he would suffer permanent, debilitating brain trauma. Fortunately, his health has improved and it looks like he will pull through, but this incident is a prime example of why it is so important to regularly review and update your estate planning documents. Lamar Odom was married to Khloe Kardashian, but the couple was not on good terms and had signed divorce papers, but they were not finalized. This meant Kardashian possessed legal authority to make medical decisions...

09 October

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Dispute Over Robin Williams’ Estate Ends

Posted by KarenLewis

in Bobby's Blog

Robin Williams' widow and three adult children from previous marriages ended their legal dispute over the legendary comedian's estate. Mr. Williams' estate had an estimated value of $100 million and the dispute centered on a myriad of personal items. Mr. Williams died in August of 2014 and his children were the beneficiaries. However,the actor also included a provision in his plan that provided for his wife, Susan Schneider Williams, whom Mr. Williams married fairly recently in 2011. Schneider argued that she was not receiving enough money to maintain the home she owned with Mr. Williams in Tiburon, California.Meanwhile, his children claimed their stepmother was "adding insult to a terrible injury" by trying to...

22 August

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Same-Sex Couples May Need to Review Estate Plans

Posted by KarenLewis

in Bobby's Blog

Obergefell v. Hodges, the historic Supreme Court decision requiring all states to recognize legally valid same-sex marriages, will certainly have rippled effects in the estate planning world. Why? Because couples in the LGBT community need to now review their estate plans to determine whether the language used to transfer assets to their significant other is still legally accurate and valid. Many states, including Virginia, did not recognize same-sex marriage prior to the Obergefell decision, so many LGBT couples opted not to put together estate plans where their significant other received assets for fear that they may not be legally valid upon...

28 July

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Slammed: IRS Takes Big Chunk Out of Detroit Pistons Owner’s Estate

Posted by KarenLewis

in News

Who says the government is broke? The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) just took $388 million from the estate of Detroit Pistons owner Bill Davidson, according to Forbes.com. A dispute arose after Mr. Davidson passed away and the IRS claimed it was owed $2 billion in estate, gift, and generation-skipping taxes. The IRS argued that the Davidson Estate undervalued corporate stock and improperly valued self-cancelling installment notes (SCINs). As to the stock, the IRS said that the estate low-balled the value of privately held Guardian stock held in trust for Davidson’s children and grandchildren. Mr. Davidson’s estate took the IRS to U.S. Tax Court challenging...