Shields and Boris Blog on Elder Care, Health Care, and Caring in General

Finding Tips On Estate Planning at the Theatre

When a will isn’t enough

If you’ve prepared a will, it may be tempting to pat yourself on the back and consider your estate planning duties done.  Unfortunately, it isn’t that easy.  There are a number of different types of property that don’t pass via a will, so you’ll need to address those items separately.

What can’t be covered in your will

Not all assets or type of property can be passed on through your will.  You’ll need to do more than just prepare a will if you have property or assets that fall into any of the following categories:

• Life insurance with a named beneficiary
• Retirement plans like 401k or IRA plans paid to a named beneficiary
• Bank accounts paid upon death to a named beneficiary
• Stock accounts transferred-on-death to a named beneficiary
• Income savings plans
• Property held in joint tenancy
• Property held in a trust

This is one reason that it is so important that you speak with an experienced, qualified estate planning attorney when preparing your will / estate plan.  You don’t want to leave a tangled mess of assets for your estate administrator or your heirs to sort through after you pass.  A complete estate plan will take all of these factors into consideration.

Avoid Pitfalls of Medicaid

What's So Bad About Probate?

Probate is a court proceeding. 

Nobody (except attorneys who do so for a fee) likes going to court.

It takes time. 

When we have to probate an estate, we usually tell clients to expect the process to take about a year. 

You have no privacy. 

All the details of your will, your beneficiaries, your assets and expenses are public record for anyone, even a nebby neighbor, to do what they want.

It is expensive. 

In Pennsylvania, attorneys can charge a "reasonable fee" to go through probate.  On a typical estate this "reasonable fee" is usually 3 to 7% of your gross (not net) estate.

AAPR did a study about probate and called it a "cash cow" for attorneys.  The old attorney joke is how do you make a lot of money as an estate planning attorney?  You write a lot of wills and outlive your clients.  Why make an attorney a beneficiary" of your estate?  Learn how you can avoid probate, and preserve your assets for your loved ones. 

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