Unclaimed Property

Did you know that the various states have millions of dollars in lost or forgotten assets from dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks, valuables left in safe deposit boxes and stock certificates? Because these properties were considered abandoned and unclaimed by the bank or company entrusted with them, they are turned over to the state, as required by law.

Common types of unclaimed property include:

• Bank accounts and safe deposit box contents
• Stocks, mutual funds, bonds, and dividends
• Uncashed checks and wages
• Insurance policies, CD's, trust funds
• Utility deposits, escrow accounts

The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators maintains a database of governmental unclaimed property records that you can search for free. It is located at www.missingmoney.com

Should You Make Your Home Jointly Owned With Your Child?

Are you considering making your home jointly owned with a child in order to avoid probate? Before you do, have you considered the 45% gift tax that you might be liable for? How about the capital gains tax problem you might be giving to your child? Are you willing to risk losing your home to your child’s creditors? Did you know that your son’s wife might become a part owner as well? Finally, are you certain that your child will allow you to sell your home if you ever want to?

Before you make your home jointly owned with your child, please consider the consequences carefully. There are likely better alternatives that will avoid probate while not having the potential negative consequences of joint ownership.

Chief Justice Warren Burger's Do-It-Yourself Will...costs his estate $450,000+

You would think that the Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court would know how to prepare his own Will. Sadly, though, Chief Justice Warren Burger's self-prepared 1 page Will resulted in unnecessary probate expenses, and likely cost his heirs over $450,000 in avoidable taxes.

According to the Associated Press article in the November 1, 1995 edition of the Marin Independent Journal, Justice Burger's Will, that he prepared on his computer,  was replete with misspellings, and lacked a number of ordinary provisions that resulted in needless probate expenses. Additionally, he failed to protect his heirs from estate taxes that were estimated to be in excess of $450,000.

Although he zealously guarded his privacy during his lifetime, Justice Burger's Will and probate record are available for public viewing at the Arlington County Courthouse.

All of this could likely have been avoided if Justice Burger had spent about $2,000 for  an appropriate estate plan by an experienced estate planning attorney.

If Justice Burger wasn't able to prepare his own estate plan, should you really be preparing your own?

Transferring Watercraft Title without Probate

After a family member dies you might wonder what you need to do to gain title to his or her boat or other watercraft. Well, it’s really quite similar to the process involved in transferring the title of vehicles. If there are no probate proceedings taking place there are a few simple steps that need to be taken to transfer the title of the watercraft.

Again, as long as there are no probate proceedings, and the combined value of all watercraft does not exceed $100,000, a surviving spouse, or next of kin needs only to submit to the Secretary of State a few things: 1.) an affidavit of kinship; 2.) the certificate of title for the watercraft; and, 3.) the death certificate of the decedent.