Month: September 2009

NFL Player Dies Without a Will

September 29, 2009 /

According to this Washington Post article, Sean Taylor, the late Washington Redskins safety, died without a will to give direction for the distribution of his nearly $6 million estate.  The bulk of the estate went to his daughter pursuant to Florida intestacy laws.  Now his mother is trying to lay claim to some of the estate.  Known for giving lavish gifts to various family members during his life, it seems rather significant that what little estate planning he did (joint account, life insurance beneficiary designation), did not include his mother.

Although Taylor’s estate was large, not having proper estate planning in place can cause these same problems for any other economic situation.  If you would like to keep this from happening to your family, please call our office at (616) 827-7596 to schedule a Family Wealth Planning Session.  To show my continued support for my loyal blog readers, I will waive the usual fee for this session for the first 5 families who call to schedule and specifically mention this blog post (a $500 value!).

ArtPrize and Estate Planning

September 27, 2009 /

artprize_logoIf you live in the West Michigan area, ArtPrize (http://www.artprize.org/home) is all the rage.  It’s what people are talking about and I am personally looking forward to a walking tour tomorrow.

Seeing and hearing about all the various art pieces, from sculptures to paintings, got me thinking . . . many of these pieces are quite valuable – have the artists or owners properly planned for what would happen to the treasured pieces if they pass away?  That’s right, estate planning plays a key role in ensuring that your prized possessions – intellectual, spiritual, and human assets – are dealt with according to YOUR wishes, not those of the state or courts.  Estate planning is not just about passing on your money.

If you want the peace of mind of knowing that your WHOLE wealth is properly planned, contact me for a Wealth Planning Session.  The first 5 people who do so and specifically mention this blog post will receive the Wealth Planning Session at no cost as my gift to my blog readers (a $500 value).

FAA’s Proposed Changes to Flight Training

September 19, 2009 /

According to this article (http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/1452-full.html#201085) on Avweb, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing several changes to its pilot, flight instructor, and pilot school certification rules.  Among other things, it is proposing the following changes:

  • The definition of “complex airplane” would include airplanes equipped with Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) engines
  • Pilots of single-pilot-certified light jets would be required to pass a proficiency check
  • Efforts to make it easier to issue U.S. certificates to foreign pilots
  • Commercial pilot requirements, both single-engine and multi-engine, would be changed by replacing 10 hours of complex airplane aeronautical experience with 10 hours of advanced instrument training
  • Flight schools would be excused from having ground school space if they offer internet-based ground school training
  • Students would be allowed to apply for a private pilot certificate and an instrument rating at the same time

These are just a few of the proposed changes mentioned in the article.  You can read the proposed changes in there entirety here (http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-20957.htm).  As these are only proposed changes, it will be interesting to follow them to see what comments are made and what eventually ends up making the final changes.

Inheriting as an Adopted Child

September 12, 2009 /

A recent case I handled help outline the rights of adopted children to inherit from or through their biological parent.  To my knowledge, and that of the attorney who served as public administrator and personal representative, this was a case of first impression in Michigan.  Neither of us was able to find a Michigan case directly on point.  The focus was how the Adoption Code and the Estates and Protected Individuals Code (“EPIC”) were to be read together given the change in treatment of adopted children brought about by EPIC in 2000.

Prior to EPIC, the Adoption Code cut off a cut off an adopted child’s ability to inherit from his or her natural parents, with the adoptive parents taking the place of the natural parents for inheritance purposes (MCL 710.60).  This was true even in the case of a step-parent adoption – where one natural parent’s parental rights are terminated and the adopted child is adopted by the spouse of the other natural parent.  As the late Walter Cronkite said, “and that’s the way it was.”

Along came EPIC, effective April 1, 2000, and amended the Adoption Code to include an exception for Section 2114(2) of EPIC.  Section 2114 of EPIC defines the parent and child relationship, specifically stating in paragraph (2) that “an adopted individual is the child of his or her adoptive parent or parents and not of his or her natural parents, but adoption of a child by the spouse of either natural parent has no effect on either the relationship between the child and that natural parent or the right of the child or a descendant of the child to inherit from or through the other natural parent.” What a mouthful.  What does it mean?  It means that there is an exception to the general rule that an adopted child is cut off from his or her natural parents for purposes of intestate succession – the exception is a step-parent adoption.  Because of EPIC, a child adopted by a step-parent continues to be able to inherit from or through his or her natural parents.

Without case law on point, this could be left up to interpretation . . . what does from or through mean?  How far up the line of ancestry does it go?  And on and on.  Our position was stated as follows: “the Adoption Code’s general rule terminating the ability of an adopted child to inherit from the parent whose rights were terminated is subject to the exception provided for in EPIC.  This exception applies to what is commonly referred to as a ‘stepparent adoption;’ where one biological parent’s parental rights are terminated and the spouse of the other biological parent adopts the child.  In effect, the adopted child has three parents for purposes of intestate succession: both natural parents and the adoptive parent.”  This case was the exact situation provided for by the Adoption Code and EPIC.  Those statutes allowed my client to inherit from his biological grandmother.  Because there was no surviving spouse and my client is the only lineal descendant of his biological grandmother through his biological father (her only child), he is entitled to inherit her entire estate through his biological father.

The Chief Judge of the Kent County Probate Court agreed with us and my client was able to inherit the entire estate, making him very happy.  If you live in Michigan, have any questions, and would like to schedule an initial consultation, please contact me.

Estate Planning for your Children’s Care (Guardianship)

September 5, 2009 /

First off, it has been far too long since I last posted.  A few crazy weeks of court hearings zapped what time I usually have to make informative posts to the blog.  You have my apologies and my promise to do my best to never go this long without posting again.

Yesterday, two things really caught my attention and reminded me how important it is for parents with minor children to have an estate plan.  Specifically, providing for guardianship of their children in their wills.

You may have heard of the controversial British public service announcement (PSA) against texting while driving.  It is a very graphic depiction of a severe car accident caused by a person texting while driving due to the graphic nature I am not posting a link to it here).  The entire video is troubling to watch, however I was particularly troubled by one scene.  A mother and father are in the front seats of the car, severely injured and unconscious (at a minimum).  They have a young daughter (maybe 4 or 5 years old) and a baby in the back seat.  Both children were properly in to their safety seats and had no injuries, and the daughter keeps asking her mom and dad to “wake up.”  As a dad, it broke my heart.  As an attorney it gave me a renewed sense of purpose to strongly encourage couples to plan for such an accident even though we all hope it never happens.  Hopefully the parents had a proper estate plan that provided guardians for their children and financial assistance for their care.  If not, a court would end up determining who would care for their children!

I also watched the movie “No Reservations,” starring Catherine Zeta Jones (CZJ) and Aaron Eckhart (AE).  I don’t want to ruin it for anyone who hasn’t watched it, so stop reading here if you don’t want to know what happened.  The short version is that CZJ’s adult sister dies in a car accident leaving a young daughter (maybe 7 or 8 years old).  It appears that the sister did proper planning, as there was documentation from a law firm stating that she wanted CZJ to be the guardian, and she indeed became the guardian.  The unique twist in this situation is that the sister was a single parent.  The father was never involved in the child’s life.  What would have happened if she didn’t have a proper estate plan?  I don’t know exactly, but there is a real likelihood that the daughter would have ended up with her father as guardian given that the law favors having a biological parent guardian.  Certainly this is not what the sister would have wanted.

Both of these situations could have ended up horribly for the children’s future care.  If you have minor children, you owe it to them to have a proper estate plan in place so that they are properly cared and provided for if, heaven forbid, you pass away.  If you have questions, please feel free to call or email me to schedule an appointment.  And give your kids a hug . . . they are a precious gift!