The presentation establishes the necessary components of an effective estate plan. The seminar is presented in a case study format profiling the life of Bill and Mary Jones. Several scenarios are used to relay the impact of estate planning issues relating to probate, disability due to incompetence, protection of government benefits for special needs loved ones, second marriages, unmarried couples, minimization of federal estate tax and preserving the family legacy. Wills, living trusts, powers of attorney and health care directives are all represented in the presentation, as well as long term care and Medicaid planning. At its conclusion, the audience will have a clear understanding of their estate planning options and be equipped to make the choices needed for themselves and their loved ones. You won’t want to miss this seminar – it’s informative and easy-to-understand! TO RESERVE YOUR SEATS AND FOR DATES, TIME AND LOCATION VISIT  http://www.sinclairprosserlaw.com/local/estate-planning-seminars.aspx

SinclairProsser Law, LLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

KRIS-LEIGH SEVERNA PARK

Invites you for a comprehensive

Estate Planning seminar

Presented by

SinclairProsser Law

Sponsored by the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys

The number of subjects encompassed under the topic of estate planning is enormous.This presentation establishes the necessary components of an effective estate plan. Several scenarios are used to portray the impact of estate planning issues relating to probate, disability due to incompetence, protection of government benefits for special needs loved ones, second marriages, unmarried couples, minimization of federal estate tax and preserving the family legacy. Wills, living trusts, powers of attorney and health care directives are all explained in the presentation, as well as long term care and Medicaid planning. At its conclusion, the audience will have a clear understanding of their estate planning options and be equipped to make educated choices for themselves and their loved ones. You won’t want to miss this seminar – it’s informative and easy-to-understand!

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

 3:00 to 4:30 p.m.

Kris-Leigh Assisted Living

831 Ritchie Highway

Severna Park, MD 21146

Seminar attendance entitles you to a Free estate planning consultation (value $300) at any of our four office locations (Annapolis, Millersville, Bowie and Waldorf). 

PLEASE RSVP by May 6 to 410-975-9919

SinclairProsser Law, LLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

  The presentation establishes the necessary components of an effective estate plan. The seminar is presented in a case study format profiling the life of Bill and Mary Jones. Several scenarios are used to relay the impact of estate planning issues relating to probate, disability due to incompetence, protection of government benefits for special needs loved ones, second marriages, unmarried couples, minimization of federal estate tax and preserving the family legacy. Wills, living trusts, powers of attorney and health care directives are all represented in the presentation, as well as long term care and Medicaid planning. At its conclusion, the audience will have a clear understanding of their estate planning options and be equipped to make the choices needed for themselves and their loved ones. You won’t want to miss this seminar – it’s informative and easy-to-understand!TO RESERVE YOUR SEATS AND FOR DATES, TIME AND LOCATION VISIT  http://www.sinclairprosserlaw.com/local/estate-planning-seminars.aspx

SinclairProsser Law, LLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

  Whether you have a Will or a Living Trust, it is important to review your estate plan every five years, or sooner if you have a change in your family or assets.  There may be significant changes in the law that would require you to update your documents.  For example, in Maryland on October 1, 2010, the Legislature enacted the Maryland General and Limited Power of Attorney Act.  As a result, some individuals were now at risk of having their previously prepared durable power of attorney rejected by a bank or financial institution.

Changes in your family are especially important reasons to update your documents.  If you have recently married or divorced, your documents should be changed.  Healthcare Powers of Attorney and Directives may have your ex-spouse as your decision maker.  If you are separated, you should speak with your estate planning attorney to learn about the consequences of dying while separated.  Your spouse, unless there is a valid prenuptial agreement, is still entitled to all or a portion of your estate.  The marriage of a child beneficiary may make you rethink the distribution plan for his or her share.

Asset protection and special needs planning are additional reasons to review and possibly update your estate plan.  Perhaps one of your beneficiaries now has serious creditor issues or is involved in bankruptcy.  If you want to ensure that he receives his inheritance or can at least benefit from it, then a Discretionary Trust with a 3^rd party trustee be appropriate.  Likewise, if a beneficiary has now become disabled and is receiving government assistance, such as SSI or Medicaid, it is extremely important that she receives her share in a special needs trust.  It may also be necessary to make sure that your documents cover the potential for a beneficiary becoming disabled as well.

As you can see, it is not only important to review and update your plan periodically, but it also may be a necessity.  In fact, our office not only offers our current clients free consultations to review their estate plan, but we also send out a reminder letter every five years.  Now is as good a time as any to get started.

SinclairProsser Law, LLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

   At a recent AAEPA event the topic of planning for blended families was discussed.  I realized that planning for the American family is not as straight forward as it used to be.  Oftentimes assumptions are made as to how a family will plan and need to be corrected.

When I sit down with new clients for the first time, I am just as eager as they are to ask questions.  The questions cannot just stop at “how long have you been married” and “how many kids do you have?”  Now I must ask, is this your only marriage? Do you have children from the previous marriage? Do you have children together?  Have you adopted your spouse’s child?  Do you keep your assets together or separate? And the list goes on.

Also, in some instances the spouse without the children will include the other spouse’s children as their own.  I have been told by a client when addressing the child as “her son” that “he’s our son”.  The age of the child at the time of the remarriage can often determine whether the new spouse feels that child is his.  If a couple has been married before and don’t have any children together, I will recommend two separate trusts; one for the husband and one for the wife.  This will allow for the assets to be titled separately and for separate distributions while still qualifying for any special tax planning for a married couple.  However, a couple may tell me that they don’t want separate distributions and what’s mine is hers and what’s hers is mine.  Then I will prepare a Joint plan.

Likewise, if a couple has been together twenty years, after previously being married and have no children at all and still want their assets to be kept separate.  This may be because each accumulated their own wealth prior to this marriage and feel it should not be commingled.  I no longer jump to conclusions or have a preconceived notion about how a client will plan because each family is different.  I always say, each person has a story to tell and more importantly a need to tell someone who will listen.

A qualified estate planning attorney will be able to help you develop the proper estate plan to fit your needs.

SinclairProsser Law, LLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

  “Estate Planning for Blended Families” by Attorney Paula M. Mattson-Sarli

SinclairProsser Law, LLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Don’t forget to tune in today to WNAV Radio on 1430 AM or 99.9 FM @3:50 p.m to listen to Attorney Paula M. Mattson-Sarli discuss “Estate Planning for Blended Famiies”

SinclairProsser Law, LLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

On September 12, 2004, I received a call from my oldest brother who lived in California at the time.  My father had been found in his apartment and the police discovered my brother’s number near the phone.  My father was only 59.  Although he was a lifelong smoker with emphysema and COPD, it never occurred to me that he could die.  I was unprepared.

I was in the last year of Law School at the time.  I had no idea what my father had done to prepare his estate, if anything.  It turns out he did not have a Will.  My other brother and I would soon learn what that meant and how much easier things would have been if he did.

The first thing we did the next morning was to go to the local funeral home where my father had been taken.  We didn’t know if my father had life insurance or a prepaid funeral plan.  He did not.  Fortunately he had enough cash in the house that we were able to pay for some of the funeral expenses.

I realized that we knew very little about my father’s finances.  I knew he banked at Tower Federal Credit Union and Navy Federal Credit Union, we started there.  They wouldn’t talk to us.  My father had not put our names down as payable on death beneficiaries and we had no right to access the money unless we opened an estate.

Our father’s estate consisted of two vehicles, two bank accounts and a loan.  Due to the fact that the value of his estate was over $30,000, it was considered a Regular Estate, which meant that we had a lot more to do.  If we just had the vehicles to contend with, this would have allowed us to open a small estate and pretty much open and close it in one day.

Here are the highlights and lowlights of my father’s probate:

1)      My brother and I filed a Petition for Regular Estate and requested that we serve as Co-Personal Representatives.  We were required to post a bond to protect the estate for creditors and other heirs.  We went to an insurance company near the courthouse and secured a bond and paid a premium of about $180.00.

2)      We had to open an estate account at a bank, which required obtaining a tax ID number for the estate.

3)      My father had inadvertently left my mother, his ex-wife, as beneficiary on one account so she received that money, which I am sure he would have been happy about.

4)      My mom had to pay inheritance tax of 10% on the house since they owned it as Joint Tenants with Rights of Survivorship, which was approximately $7000.00

5)      My father had several years-worth of unfiled tax returns.  He had tax taken out of his paychecks; however, he just never filed the returns.  If he had, some years he actually would’ve been entitled to a refund.  Instead with penalties and interest he owed over $30,000.  Over the next two years, I negotiated with the IRS, providing copies of medical records and was able to negotiate it down to $1,800.00.

My father’s death taught me a lot about the need for a proper estate plan and the hassle of probate.  It also taught me that some, if not all of it, could have been avoided if we had just had a conversation.

SinclairProsser Law, LLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Probating My Father’s Estate by Attorney Paula M. Mattson-Sarli

SinclairProsser Law, LLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Don’t forget to tune in today to WNAV Radio on 1430 AM or 99.9 FM @ 3:50 pm to listen to “Your Estate Matters” with Attorney Paula M. Mattson-Sarli.   The topic is “Probating My Father’s Estate”.

SinclairProsser Law, LLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.