intestate succession laws in reno nevadaA very common question asked by estate planning clients is “what happens to my property if I am single when I die?  The answer to this question generally depends on three things: (1) whether you have a will, (2) the laws of the state you live in and (3) which of your relatives are still alive when you pass away.  This would be true even if you are married when you die.  Each state has its own set of “intestate succession” laws which determine where you property will go if you die without a will.  If you have a will, on the other hand, the terms of your will determine who will inherit your property.

Your will controls the distribution of your estate.

A will is an estate planning document that allows you to specify the individuals, institutions or other organizations (including charities) you want your assets distributed to when you pass away.  Whether you are married or single when you die, the terms of your will always determine where your property will go.  If you die without a will, or “intestate,” the laws of your state will determine how your assets are distributed.

The Intestate Succession Laws in Reno Nevada.

In Nevada, if you have children but no spouse, your children will inherit everything.  If your parents are living, but you have no children when you die, they will inherit everything.  Likewise, if your parents are deceased and you have no children, but your siblings survive you, they will inherit everything. If any of your siblings are deceased, the share they would have received will go to their descendants.

Children’s Shares in Nevada

If you do not have a will, and you have children, In Nevada they will receive what is called an “intestate share” of your estate.  The size of the share will depend on how many children you have, because they will share equally.  They must legally be your children; it will not go to step children.  If you legally adopt a child, he or she will receive an intestate share along with any biological children.  However, foster or stepchildren who have not been legally adopted do not receive a share.
If you have a child who was legally adopted by another family, that child will no longer be entitled to a share of your estate.  Men who have children born outside of marriage can only receive a share if paternity has been acknowledged or proved in court.  A child that was conceived by you, but not actually born before your death, will still receive a share of your estate in Nevada.

Other Intestate Succession Laws in Reno Nevada

There are a few miscellaneous rules or definitions that may apply to your particular situation.  For example, “half” relatives inherit as if they were “whole.” So, your brother with whom you share a mother, but not a father, will have the same right to your property as he would if you had both parents in common.  Citizenship does not affect inheritance, either.  Nevada also recognizes what is known as the “killer” rule, which provides that if someone commits a felony and it results in your death, that person cannot inherit any part of your estate. 
If you have any questions regarding inheritance and intestate succession laws in Reno Nevada, or need assistance in will drafting in Nevada, please give us call.

Many people who are not wealthy assume that trusts are only useful for high net worth individuals. They are under the impression that last wills are for "the rest of us."
This may be a mistaken assumption. All trusts are not created equal. Different trusts serve different purposes. Yes, there are trusts that are used to accomplish objectives that are needed primarily for the wealthy. On the other hand, there are other types of trusts that would not only be useful to high net worth individuals, but to the "mere mortal," as well.
One of these trusts is the revocable living trust.
The Value of a Revocable Living Trust
With a revocable living trust you as the person creating the trust will be referred to as the trustor. You name a trustee to administer the trust. You also name a beneficiary or beneficiaries who will receive distributions out of the trust.
At first you as the trustor can act as both the trustee and the beneficiary. Under this arrangement you do not surrender control of the assets while you are living. Further, because the trust is revocable, you can actually dissolve it at any time. You can also amend the terms and add or subtract beneficiaries as you see fit.
In the trust agreement you name a successor trustee who will assume this role after your death or incapacity. This is the individual or entity that will administer the trust in accordance with your wishes.
You can ask someone you know to act as trustee. However, there are other options. First of all, you may not have a personal relationship with anyone who has experience in asset management.
Secondly, even if you did know someone who is qualified, if he or she passes away or becomes incapacitated, you should have an alternate to replace them.
As an alternative you could name a trust company or the trust department of a bank to act as trustee.
When you convey assets into a living trust, your beneficiaries will receive their inheritances outside of the process of probate. When you use a will the estate must be probated before inheritances are distributed.
Probate can take a significant amount of time. There are also expenses incurred during probate. Probate costs will decrease the amount of the inheritances that will be received by the heirs.
With a living trust probate is not a factor. The trustee distributes assets to the beneficiaries in a fast and efficient manner.
Another benefit is the fact that you can include the selection of a disability trustee. If you were to become incapacitated and unable to handle your financial affairs, this disability trustee would administer the trust on your behalf, because you are still the primary beneficiary.

avoid probate in nevadaProbate stands in the way of your heirs and their inheritances when your assets are in your name at the time of your death. Nevada probate can take a significant amount of time (often a year or more), and most people would like their heirs to receive their inheritances in a more timely manner. For some, this wait is not a problem. For other families, however, there may be an immediate need for liquidity.

The waiting period is only one of the problems with the Nevada probate process. Expenses can accumulate during this process , and they can ultimately consume a noticeable percentage of the estate (often 4% - 8% or more if there is a contest). This is all money that could have gone to the heirs if probate was avoided.
It is possible to avoid probate in Nevada. There are a number of ways to go about it, and one of the most popular probate avoidance solutions is the revocable living trust.

Revocable Living Trusts

Once you convey assets into the name you have given to your revocable living trust you name a trustee that is empowered to manage the assets that are titled in the trust. You also name a beneficiary or beneficiaries who would receive distributions out of the trust. The nature of these distributions would be decided by you when you create the trust agreement.

Initially you may serve as both the trustee and the beneficiary. By doing so, you do not surrender control or beneficial use of the assets. You can distribute assets to yourself, manage your own investments, and change the terms of the trust agreement if you want to do so. Since the trust is revocable, you can even revoke it entirely if you ever choose to do so. Since the point is to facilitate the transfer of your financial assets after you pass away you name a successor trustee, and you name beneficiaries who will receive distributions out of the trust after you die.

Once the assets have been conveyed into the revocable living trust they are no longer considered to be probate assets under the laws of the state of Nevada. As a result, when the trustee distributes monetary resources to the beneficiaries of the trust these asset transfers are not subject to the process of probate.

Avoid Probate in Nevada

The creation of a revocable living trust is one way to avoid the probate process, but there are others as well. If you would like to discuss all of your options with a licensed professional please feel free to contact Anderson, Dorn & Rader, Ltd. to request a no obligation consultation.

We will listen carefully as you explain your objectives, gain an understanding of your unique personal situation, and make the appropriate recommendations. You can then go forward with a tailor-made estate plan that will facilitate a fast, efficient, and cost-effective transfer of assets to your loved ones when the time comes. To learn more, please download Anderson, Dorn & Rader, Ltd.'s free probate process report.

Estate planning is important for all able, competent adults. In spite of the obvious fact that everyone is going to die someday a minority of people actually have an effective estate plan in place. It is kind of hard to understand why so many people fail to plan ahead for something that is definitely going to happen. Yet, surveys consistently find that most people aren't properly prepared.
You may have every intention of planning your estate, and you may understand why it is important. However, procrastination can often times take hold. You expect to live a long life, and it seems as though you can start taking estate planning seriously after you retire and start to settle into your senior years.
This works out for some people, but others pass away before they ever get around to it. It is also not entirely uncommon for elders to become incapacitated and unable to make sound decisions.
Some 13% of people who are at least 65 are suffering from Alzheimer's disease. If you were in this position you may not understand the fact that you should plan your estate. Even if you do, your efforts may not be valid because you may not be of totally sound mind.
Some people know they should take action, but there are others who take a different approach. They believe that everything will just fall into place on its own after they pass away. These people are under the assumption that the government has it all figured out.
There are legal guidelines in place that would hold sway if you were to pass away without a last will or a trust that directs the transfer of your financial assets to your loved ones. These guidelines are the laws of intestate succession.
Someone who dies without a last will or a trust is said to have died intestate. Under these circumstances the probate court is required to distribute the assets that comprise the estate under the intestate succession laws.
These laws are pretty similar state-by-state, but there are some differences. The difference is largely centered around what your children may be automatically entitled to if you have a spouse when you pass away.
In Nevada your spouse would get everything if you had no children. If you had children but you did not have a spouse the children would get everything. If you have a spouse and children, your spouse would inherit all of the community property, and your spouse and children would share your separate property.
This is a glimpse at what happens if you die without a will or trust in Nevada. If you want to make sure that your own true wishes are carried out to the letter do the right thing and put an estate plan in place with the assistance of a qualified estate planning attorney.
 

The process of estate planning involves some very measured and informed decision-making. If you make certain assumptions as a layperson you may be making errors of commission and omission.
Because of the fact that there are websites on the Internet selling do-it-yourself generic, fill-in-the-blanks last wills, more and more people are getting the idea that they can go it alone. Unfortunately, this is increasing the numbers of people who are not properly prepared.
With a will, you need to consider the fact that your estate must be probated before the heirs receive their inheritances. The probate laws in the state of Nevada require rigid formalities that may cause delay and expense if they are not followed precisely.
When you work with a qualified estate planning attorney who is licensed in Nevada you can be certain that your will is properly constructed.
If you use a boilerplate document that you picked up on the Internet or at the book store you have no way of knowing if the will is truly up to par.
And then there is the simple fact that a last will may not be your best choice.
Last Will Alternatives
The probate process that we mentioned above is time-consuming, and, when all the costs, fees and expenses are considered, quite expensive.
There are effective ways to arrange for asset transfers to your heirs directly, outside of probate. One of them would be through the creation of a revocable living trust.
With these trusts you can retain control of the assets while you are alive and well. If you were to become incapacitated, your successor trustee would be empowered to handle your financial affairs, usually avoiding the need for a guardianship.
Upon your passing the trustee administers the estate outside the probate court and then distributes assets to the beneficiaries in accordance with your wishes.
Specialized Concerns
There is no one-size-fits-all estate plan because different families have different concerns. For instance, if you have estate tax exposure you must take steps to position your assets in a tax efficient manner to avoid a 40% hit.
If asset protection is a concern you would implement certain strategies that would not be important if you were not concerned about shielding assets from creditors and litigants.
Special needs planning is a factor for some people. You have to be careful about the way you set aside money for a person with a disability who is relying on government benefits like Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income.
People who are owners of small businesses are going to have estate planning concerns that differ from those who work for someone other than themselves.
These are just a few examples of the unique circumstances that require varied approaches.
Decision Makers
It is also important to include an incapacity component within your estate plan. The courts could, at considerable expense to your estate, appoint a guardian to manage your affairs if you don't take the appropriate action. This guardian may not be someone that you would have chosen.
You can select potential future decision-makers using an appropriate revocable living trust combined with a durable power of attorney.
All these solutions are best handled with a qualified estate planning law firm.

It is important to understand that estate planning documents do not exist in a vacuum. Estate planning is one of the most technical and dynamic areas of the law.  Properly planning an estate requires consideration of federal and state tax issues, state property law, state probate law and state trust law.  Estate planning documents must be carefully customized to meet each individual’s unique circumstances and objectives.  If they are not, unintended, and often costly, consequences may result.
Suppose you use a generic template that you find online to create a last will and testament or revocable living trust.  Are you sure that the documents that you wind up with will stand up to any challenges that may present themselves after your death?  Are you sure the tax sensitive provisions of your documents have been properly considered for your particular circumstances?  Could there be conflicting clauses that require your family to go to court to interpret the document after you have passed?  Has the document been thoughtfully drafted under state law so that your beneficiaries’ inheritances are protected from a divorcing spouse or other potential creditors?
Another thing to consider is best explained by way of example. Let's say that you never played golf before. You look into the bag and you see a lot of clubs, but you really don't know what club you should use. You may not use the right clubs as you try to negotiate the course without any information.  The same is true of estate planning. There are numerous different legal instruments that can be utilized.  Just arbitrarily deciding which ones you are going to use in a DIY last will and testament or revocable living trust is simply reckless.
These are a few things to think about, but if you would like to learn more of the facts we urge you to download our free report on DIY estate planning.  This special report goes into a good bit of detail about the dangers of do-it-yourself wills and living trusts.
We urge you to download your copy of the report. Access will be granted if you follow the simple instructions that you see after clicking this link: The Dangers of DIY Wills & Living Trusts.

The federal estate tax carries a 40% maximum rate, and the exclusion amount is $5.25 million in 2013. What this means in simple English is that only $5.25 million worth of assets can be passed on to your heirs before the estate tax is imposed. Married couples, with proper planning, can preserve the exclusion amount for both spouses for a combined exclusion of $10.5 million.
We also have an unlimited marital deduction that allows you to leave any amount to your spouse free of the estate tax, even if it exceeds the exclusion amount. That is, as long as you and your spouse are both United States citizens.
It is not entirely uncommon, however, for Americans to marry people who are citizens of other countries. At any given time we have a lot of military personnel stationed overseas, and sometimes they marry people that they meet in other countries.
Many civilians work abroad as well, and there are international dating sites that some people find to be appealing. And of course world travelers sometimes fall in love along the way.
Whatever path you may have taken to an international marriage you must concern yourself with the estate tax because the marital deduction is not extended to an American who is married to a non-citizen.
A partial solution could be the creation of a qualified domestic trust. With these trusts the beneficiary, your surviving spouse, can receive distributions from the trust for their needs according to an ascertainable standard established by the IRS.
What remains in the trust at the spouse's death would be subject to the estate tax. However, applying other strategies, it could be possible to avoid the estate tax, altogether.
To learn more about these trusts and other tax efficiency tools contact our firm to set up a free consultation.
 
 

People that have assets that exceed the exclusion amount ($5.25 million in 2013) most certainly need to discuss tax efficiency strategies with a licensed estate planning attorney who places an emphasis on wealth preservation.
However, there are those who the only reason someone would meet with an estate planning lawyer is to avoid taxes. They may reason that because their estate is less than the exclusion amount, there is no need for estate planning.  In fact, there are myriad concerns that can be addressed with a properly constructed estate plan that have nothing to do with tax exposure.
One of these concerns could be long-term access to financial resources. You may be concerned about leaving lump sum inheritances to certain people on your inheritance list. After all, you won't be around to help if someone in the family was to burn through his or her inheritance too quickly.
A way to respond to this would be to convey assets into a spendthrift trust. You appoint a trustee, and this could be a family member, the trust department of a bank, or a trust company. This trustee will administer the funds according to your stated wishes and distribute assets to the beneficiary in a measured fashion. The beneficiary will not be able to control the principal, which also means their creditors would not have access, either.
This is only one possible scenario. There are many others, including planning for blended families and providing for a family member with special needs without jeopardizing disability benefits.
Arranging for the transfer of your financial assets to your loved ones is a profound act. It is something that is best undertaken with the benefit of professional guidance.

On the Internet there are marketers that sell generic estate planning documents like wills and trusts.
Statistics tell us that most people don't have a comprehensive estate plan in place. Some of these people finally decide to put the procrastination behind them and they start searching for solutions. They come upon one of the sites, and they see an easy answer because the marketing materials can be convincing.
It is important to recognize the things that you can do on your own with a little bit of guidance and the things that are better left to licensed professionals. Consumer Reports, the highly respected magazine that has been informing people about the quality of various products and services for many years, advised against DIY wills last year.
Legal professors who examined documents constructed with online worksheets and downloads saw a number of different problems with them.
We endeavor to provide legal information that is truly accurate, covering every aspect of estate planning. To this end we have joined with the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys and compiled a series of special reports that are available for download on our website.
These reports examine wills, trusts, powers of attorney, legacy planning, asset protection, special needs planning, estate administration, and a number of other topics.
You can download these reports absolutely free of charge. To reach the page that contains a list of the reports and a brief description of each of them simply click this link: Free Nevada Estate Planning Reports.
If you have further questions after reviewing the information contained in the reports simply contact our firm to request a free consultation.

The estate planning process involves a number of different facets, including matters that the typical layperson may not consider. When you know the facts you understand why certain courses of action are recommended by estate planning and elder law attorneys.
On the other hand, when you harbor misplaced notions you may fail to act or take incorrect courses of action. With this in mind we would like to highlight two misplaced notions that can lead to negative consequences.
Incapacity Is Unlikely
You may feel as though it is unlikely that you will ever become unable to make your own decisions. If you feel this way you should ask yourself if you expect to live until you are at least 65.
If you say yes to the above, and you are correct and you do reach the age of 65, it is likely that you will live to the age of 80 at minimum.
Alzheimer's disease is very common among the elderly. 13% of those who are 65 years of age and older have Alzheimer's, and if you confine the sample to those 85 and up you are looking at a figure of 45%.
Given the likelihood of Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia, having durable powers of attorney naming agents to act on your behalf the event of your incapacity is important. Having a living trust is an even better plan.
I Don't Need a Trust
There are those who don't even consider the possibility of creating a living trust because they feel as though trusts are for very wealthy people. Of course, wealthy individuals and families should have a living trust at a minimum, but even those with modest means can benefit.
Living trusts are used to facilitate asset transfers outside of probate. Probate is the process of estate administration, and because it is done through the courts, it is time-consuming and often costly. If you create a living trust your heirs will receive their inheritances in a timely manner because these transfers are not subject to the probate process.
 

At Anderson, Dorn & Rader, we feel a responsibility to do everything possible to make accurate estate planning information available to members of the greater Reno-Sparks community.
Many people don't take action because they don't understand why action is necessary, or where to start. When you become apprised of the facts you are likely going to be motivated to take the appropriate steps for the well-being of those that you love.
There are many ways that we endeavor to make information available including the ongoing informative posts that we consistently offer here on our firm's blog.
We have also developed quite a library of informative estate planning reports that can be downloaded and read at your convenience. Currently we are offering access to our report on living trusts.
Should you be interested in downloading our free report (that is informational in nature rather than being promotional) simply click this link: Nevada Living Trust Report
A living trust can be a very attractive alternative to a last will as a primary vehicle of asset transfer. This is largely because of the fact that these transfers can take place directly between the trustee and the beneficiaries absent the need for probate court supervision.
This free report will provide you with all the details regarding the benefits of living trusts. There is no substitute for sound information coming from a truly reliable source, and we urge you to take advantage of this valuable educational opportunity.
We are available to provide you with information about our free educational Webinars that include a free consultation if you have further questions after you read the report. To register or get more information, simply give us a call at (775) 823-9455 or get in touch through the contact page on our website.
 

Imagine living with someone for 10 years as a committed partner. Your partner is diagnosed with a terminal illness and he or she creates the Last Will making you the executor and the sole heir. You have known this individual for 20 years and you have been made aware of the fact that he or she has never been married and had no children.
After your beloved one passes away you will be grieving and anxious to take care of final arrangements in accordance with the wishes of the decedent.  This is the situation that a woman named Flora Enchinton experienced recently. She was the partner of the recently deceased actor Sherman Hemsley. He was the individual who portrayed the character George Jefferson on the classic television sitcom The Jeffersons.
Hemsley apparently lived a simple life. He resided in El Paso, Texas with Enchinton and this is where he died. He reportedly had a much different personality than that of his on-screen alter ego. Hemsley was a shy, quiet, and unassuming man who had no interest in publicity or attention.
Flora Enchinton is being forced to deal with a difficult situation. The estate is being challenged by a Richard Thornton, who contends that he is the actor's brother. For some reason Thornton thinks that he is entitled to the assets that Sherman Hemsley accumulated throughout his life.
Because of the realities of probate law the court must hear his arguments and they are doing just that. As of this writing the body of the late actor is being held at the funeral home, and needless to say this is a source of great dismay for Flora Enchinton.

When you hear about the pros and cons of Last Wills versus revocable living trusts you may decide that, for you and/or your family, the latter choice is a better one. One of the best things about revocable living trusts is the fact that the resources that you utilized to fund the trust can be distributed to your heirs outside of the process of probate.
Probate is a legal proceeding that can be quite time-consuming. Even in simple uncontested cases involving pretty straightforward property transfers and little or no debt it can take a number of months, up to about a year. In more complex cases it can take years.
There is something to remember, however, when you are executing a revocable living trust. You are likely to still be in possession of some resources that you have not placed into the trust at the time of your passing.
If you do nothing to account for these assets their transfer would indeed be delayed as the probate process ran its course.
Making sure that you have a pour-over will to account for your remaining personal assets is something that is routine for experienced probate lawyers. With this instrument you express your desire to have these remaining resources "poured over" into your revocable living trust.
Some people and even inexperienced advisors assume that a pour-over will avoids probate on those assets that were not funded into the trust.  Just the opposite is true.  Experienced attorneys will provide a document that assigns non-titled assets to the trust, such as art work and furniture.  They will also give detailed instructions as to how to place specific assets into your trust.  Properly drafted powers of attorney allow others to place forgotten assets into the trust if you are incapacitated.
People who use do-it-yourself estate planning downloads, or place their trust in inappropriate advisors, may never include such details. These are good examples of why it is always advisable to engage professional expertise when you are executing important legal documents.

There is a lot to take into consideration from a legal perspective when preparing a Last Will.  It is not something that you would want to undertake on your own without any professional advice. While it is true that a will that you draft yourself can be valid the typical layperson could omit essential language or use language that results in unintended consequences.
Some do-it-yourself types may recognize the fact that they need guidance but are unwilling to engage professional help. If you start scouring the Internet you will find resources that will sell you worksheets and downloads that you can use to construct your own will. How effective are the products that these sites sell? This is a question that Consumer Reports had, and they put three of the most popular sites under the microscope.
Consumer Reports constructed Wills using these resources and passed them along to a trio of leading experts in the legal field. After hearing the responses that they got from the law school professors they reached a verdict: Don't utilize these DIY Wills if you want to be certain that your true wishes are carried out after you pass away.
Arranging for the transfer of your assets to those that you love the most after you pass away is a significant act, and it is one that is best taken with the assistance of professional guidance.

As reported by the National Association of Counties and the National Association of Medical Examiners, families everywhere are unable to afford the costs associated with burying their loved ones. Unable to afford their funeral services, some families have decided to forgo claiming their loved ones altogether. Some relatives have no choice but to leave their loved ones’ remains unclaimed at their local coroner’s offices. There is also an increase in the numbers of cremations. Traditionally, cremation services are less expensive than funeral services with open or closed caskets.
Many communities sponsor programs that offer low-income families reduced cost or free funeral services. If you’re unable to pay for a loved one’s burial services, you may want to consider asking for donations in lieu of flowers. You may also be able to qualify for some low-interest or no-interest payment plans if offered by your local funeral home.
With this in mind, this article may be your reminder to look into pre-need funeral planning to be certain your family is not left with the financial burden when the time arrives.  It is one of the easiest items to check off your to do list, but also easy to postpone.  No need to procrastinate; take care of this obvious need right away.

You may have heard the term “pour over” Will as it relates to estate planning and wondered what exactly a “pour over” Will is and how it differs from a regular Last Will and Testament. In essence, a pour over Will operates the same as any other Will, except that it has one primary purpose or goal -- to transfer estate assets into a trust upon the death of the testator, or maker of the Will.
People create living trusts for a variety of reasons. Tax advantages, probate avoidance, and control over assets are common incentives for the creation of a living trust. When you create a living trust, you fund the trust by titling the estate assets in the name of the trust. Sometimes, estate assets remain in the estate at the time of death that you wish to become part of the living trust. A pour over Will accomplishes this goal by including terms that direct estate assets to be transferred to the trust when you die.
There is one main reason why a pour over Will may be a good idea. In some cases, there is a legitimate reason why an asset cannot be placed immediately into the trust. Real property, for example, may need to be titled in your name for financing purposes. If you fail to later transfer it into the name of the trust, a pour-over will will do so after death.  A pour over Will, then, provides a safety net of sorts for anything that you forgot to transfer into the trust while alive. By including a pour over Will in your estate plan, you can be assured that assets that were inadvertently left out of the trust prior to your death will end up in the trust after your death. Keep in mind, however, that a pour-over Will is a safety net. It is a Will, so a probate of the assets will be required.  To avoid probate, you want to be vigilant in keeping your assets properly titled in the trust, if possible.

Anyone who owns a pet knows the love that can be shared between a human and an animal. Not surprisingly, many people want to make sure their pet is properly cared for in the event of their death in the same way they want to make sure family members are taken care of financially. One way to do that is to create a pet trust. Although a pet trust is a wonderful estate planning tool, be sure that you do not create a probate nightmare as a result of the terms of your pet trust as did the late Leona Helmsley.
For anyone not familiar with the story, Leona Helmsley was a New York hotel heiress who was known as the “Queen of Mean”. Upon her husband’s death, Helmsley bought a Maltese puppy whom she named Trouble. Trouble was an apt name as it turns out.
Helmsley created a pet trust for her beloved pooch and designated a whopping $12 million to fund the trust. As if this excessive amount was not enough to raise the attention of the probate court charged with overseeing her estate upon her death, she also disinherited many close family members, including some of her grandchildren. After a lengthy court battle, the trust was decreased by the court to $2 million and Trouble lived out the rest of his life in luxury.
Given Helmsley’s reputation, it may actually have been her intention to cause a probate battle upon her death; however, most people strive for the opposite--an estate free from challenges and lengthy probate battles. If your goal is to be sure your pets are cared for, by all means fund the trust with sufficient funds to care for your pet after your death.  In most states that authorize a pet trust, there is a provision that requires the principal of the trust to be a reasonable amount.  This opens the trust to challenge in a court if the remaining beneficiaries consider the amount you have specified to be unreasonable. Take a lesson from Leona -  steer clear of an excessive amount that begs for an estate challenge to be filed.

A supplemental needs trust, or SNT, is a very specialized type of trust that is intended to be created to help with the financial needs of a physically or mentally disabled individual or someone with a chronic illness. Assets held by an SNT may be used to cover expenses that are not covered by government funded programs like Medicaid, public housing or Supplemental Security Income. In many ways, a SNT operates just like any other trust; however, there are important distinctions. If you have a family member who is disabled or suffers from a chronic illness, you may not have considered creating a SNT based on your belief that you are able to cover the costs associated with your family member’s care yourself and therefore no need exists for a SNT. Although this may be the case, there are still a number of reasons why you may wish to consider creating an SNT.
The government programs that are available to your family member are there to help. They are available to all who qualify even if the applicant is from a family that is financially comfortable. A properly drafted SNT will not prevent your loved one from qualifying for government funded assistance.
Assets held in an SNT are also protected from a beneficiary's creditors or liabilities. In other words, if someone sues your loved one, the assets held in the trust cannot be touched which prevents your loved one from being an easy target for fraudulent lawsuits.  Your finances could take a down turn in the future. By creating a SNT now, you know that your loved one will be well-taken care of regardless of your financial situation.
By creating an SNT, you will know that your loved one will be able to maintain qualification for public benefits and will be financially secure even after your death without having to depend on other family members to care for him or her.  Planning for a child with special needs is highly technical and the stakes are high if a mistake is made. Even many estate planners do not have the knowledge or experience to plan in this are. Make sure that the furture of your loved one is placed in the hands of a qualified and experienced special needs planner.

Wealth Counsel
© Copyright 2020 Anderson, Dorn, & Rader, Ltd  |   All Rights Reserved  |
  Privacy Policy  
|
  Disclaimer  
|
Attorney Advertisement  
linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram