IRS Increases Standard Mileage Rate for Balance of 2011

The Internal Revenue Service has announced an increase in the optional standard mileage rates for the final six months of 2011. The rate will increase to 55.5 cents a mile for all business miles driven from July 1, 2011, through Dec. 31, 2011.

Order Your Estate Plan Online!

Save time and money by ordering your estate plan through our new EstatePlansDirect.com service. Unlike document preparation services such as LegalZoom, a licensed attorney will prepare your estate plan and, if you have any questions about your plan, will answer your questions.

Our EstatePlansDirect.com service is available in several states, with more states being added. 

Visit www.EstatePlansDirect.com for more information

Ladybird Deed

A "ladybird deed" is a type of deed (Quit Claim or Warranty) in which the maker retains a life estate in the property being conveyed (i.e. the right to continuing living there until death), and retains the right to change the remainder interest (i.e. who gets it when the maker dies). Thus, it is easiest to think of it a having the same effect as a beneficiary designation on real estate.

It has primarily been used in the past as a Medicaid planning device, but is being used more frequently as an estate planning tool.

If a client is not going to have a trust, it is a way to transfer your real estate at the time of your death, and thereby avoid probate. If client has a trust, using a ladybird deed for the client's home still qualifies the home as an exempt asset for Medicaid purposes, but avoids probate by having the home go to the trust when the client dies. This, also, avoids the home being subject to Michigan's Medicaid Recovery Law, under which the State is to go after your probate estate when you die in order to recover assets to re-pay the Medicaid that was paid on your behalf.

Thus, the ladybird deed avoids probate and Michigan's Medicaid Recovery Law.

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.