I am mentoring a less experienced attorney who agreed to help a couple change the guardians named in their Wills. Once she saw the Will, she knew she was in over her head because the Will "pours over" into a trust. She asked to see the trust and the couple gave her an unsigned draft of a different trust, not the same parties, name or date as the one referenced in their Wills. They don't know what trusts they have or what they say. They are reluctant to look for the original trust documents or to tell her ... << MORE >>

Today a man called me hoping I had some ideas. He was personal representative of an estate. His nieces are the heirs of the estate. The nieces are late teens and early twenties. Their mother died without a will or any other form of estate planning.

The caller is concerned that at least one of them won't just waste their inheritance, but will use the money to ruin her life. I didn't enquire as to the specifics, but he called it "handing her a loaded gun." 

I ... << MORE >>

Don't want to turn this blog into "all seminars, all the time", but one of our CFP Partners in Planning, Randy Anderson, regularly holds these educational programs on Social Security. This one is near our office in Arvada. Randy has helped educate me on benefits available to seniors, so he might be able to teach you a thing or two.

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My colleagues at Wealthcounsel are putting on a webinar.

The Family Estate Plan

Why You Should Have One, and What Happens If You Don’t

Register now for this free webinar!

March 22, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. E.D.T.

Speaker:
Randy Gardner, J.D., LL.M., MBA, CPA, CFP®

It’s a common myth ... << MORE >>

According to this article from Investment News, studies done in the last ten years indicate that over 90% of baby boomers may be helping out their kids financially well after the kids have reached adulthood.

The article's main message concerned the effect this gifting has on retirement. However, as an attorney with a specialty in estate planning, I focused on different concerns. First, how does this pattern of lifetime gifting affect the client's estate ... << MORE >>

Came across this site the other day. It appears to be an Excel spreadsheet of all of the decedent's probate cases filed in Colorado on a particular day.

The wordpress site on which this information is kept is password-protected, but I was able to find it just with a Google search for one of the personal representative's names.

Since probate cases ... << MORE >>

Another example of alleged abuse by an agent under a power of attorney.  The Denver Post reports a man is accused of using his grandmother's money for his personal use and now she is out of money.  The grandson and his wife are facing criminal charges. << MORE >>

It's here!

I'm really excited to be announce that the second edition of Your Legacy: Meaningful Estate Planning arrived in our offices today. This is the book I co-authored with other estate planning attorneys to help explain estate planning choices and consequences especially for Colorado residents. We've covered the effect of the tax law changes over the last few years and added some new topics.

Let me know if you'd like to take a look at a copy. ... << MORE >>

It appears to be hitting critical mass, the dissatisfaction of many timeshare owners who find that they are perpetually bound to pay annual association dues for a timeshare they no longer want.   If they don't pay the dues, they get sued. And yes, we have seen our clients get sued when they try to "walk away" from their timeshare.

There are so many people trying to get out of timeshares that the scams are abundant. We have ... << MORE >>

Some time ago I came across this news story about a bankruptcy in Las Vegas. What I found interesting was the allegation by creditors that the bankrupt party had "taken numerous steps to benefit himself financially, such as transferring $7 million to other companies outside the reach of the creditors ..."     The defense is that these transfers were "proper and properly recorded."
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