Month: February 2012

Estate Planning Is For Everyone . . . Including You!

February 19, 2012 /

Many Grand Rapids families and families throughout Michigan have the misperception that estate planning is simply preparing for one’s death and is only necessary for the “wealthy.”  The truth is that estate planning is as much about passing values to loved ones as it is about passing material possessions.

So, it should come as no surprise that a February 16, 2012 Forbes article describes estate planning as “the most important love letters you’ll ever write,” encouraging readers to “find inspiration in knowing that you’re caring for the people and causes you love, even if you’re not here anymore.”

The Forbes article correctly concludes that estate planning is for every adult American (including us right here in Grand Rapids, Mi), and that everyone should successfully complete “thoughtfully prepared estate planning documents.” The complexity of those documents may change for more affluent people, but the need to care for loved ones and causes exists for everyone. And working with a qualified Grand Rapids, Mi wills and trusts attorney helps enlighten people as to all they can accomplish through the estate planning process.

I recommend you read the full article, titled The Most Important Love Letters You’ll Ever Write, by clicking here.

And you can read some of my blog posts on similar topics by clicking the links below:

Beware the Double Tragedy in Estate Planning

Family Stories as a Priceless Treasure

Non-Tax Reasons for Estate Planning

Michigan Legacy Planning . . . Not Your Regular Estate Plan

Life Is More Than Money: Leaving a Lasting Legacy

Michael Lichterman is an estate planning and business planning attorney who helps families and business owners create a lasting legacy by planning for their Whole Family Wealth™.  This goes beyond merely planning for finances – it’s about who your are and what’s important to you.  He focuses on estate and asset protection planning for  the “experienced” generation, the “sandwich generation” (caring for parents and children), doctors/physicians, nurses, lawyers, dentists, professionals with minor children, family owned businesses and pet planning.  He takes the “counselor” part of attorney and counselor at law very seriously, and enjoys creating life long relationships with his clients – many of which have become great friends.

Michigan Celebrity Dies Without An Estate Plan

February 12, 2012 /

If you are a sportsman who lived in Michigan over the past 30 years or so, the name Fred Trost may sound familiar to you.  Fred Trost was a celebrity among Michigan outdoorsmen, hosting “Michigan Outdoors” and “Practical Sportsman” on PBS.  I remember growing up watching his show, having an affinity to it over the others because he was from right here in Michigan.  Sadly, Mr. Trost passed away unexpectedly in 2007.

And to add to the shock, he died without an estate plan.  This caused no small problem in his family, with the in-fighting recently coming to an end with his wife winning a $195,000 lawsuit against his son (not her son).  You can read about it by clicking here.  Although we’ll never know, it is quite possible that much of the conflict and hurt could have been avoided with a caring and comprehensive estate plan.

You may say, “c’mon Mike, how could an estate plan have helped in this situation?  This was a matter of contract between his wife and his son.”  Well, you may be right.  But as a Grand Rapids, Mi wills and trusts attorney I’ve seen situations that were not too far off from this one that did not come to this level of conflict directly as a result of a caring and comprehensive estate plan.  Why?  Because the estate plan covered all the contingencies.  For example, in this case, Mr. Trost could have used an estate plan to say what would happen if he passed away before he received his anticipated inheritance and what would happen if his son received it as a result of Mr. Trost’s premature death (read the article to see how that caused a problem).  Or, he could have provided a way to “equalize his estate,” by using life insurance to make the monetary amounts more “fair.”  

One interesting item that was not mentioned in the article is what intrinsic value the show tapes had.  Sure, maybe they are financially valuable if they can be replayed, but I believe their bigger value to Trost’s wife is a way to remember the husband that she loved.  Remember, his “stuff” is still here, but he is gone.  When we lose someone for whom we care deeply, we usually look for something that reminds us of them.  It could be that the show tapes are that physical way for his wife to remember him.  Something of a family legacy.

Ultimately, we’ll never know what could have happened and how Mr. Trost’s family could have got along, because the fact is, he didn’t invest the time or money to do the planning that may have avoided it.  I encourage you to not make the same mistake.  Call us at 616-827-7596 to schedule a Peace of Mind Planning Session to help make sure your family is cared for and kept together in the most loving way possible.

Michael Lichterman is an estate planning and business planning attorney who helps families and business owners create a lasting legacy by planning for their Whole Family Wealth™.  This goes beyond merely planning for finances – it’s about who your are and what’s important to you.  He focuses on estate and asset protection planning for  the “experienced” generation, the “sandwich generation” (caring for parents and children), doctors/physicians, nurses, lawyers, dentists, professionals with minor children, family owned businesses and pet planning.  He takes the “counselor” part of attorney and counselor at law very seriously, and enjoys creating life long relationships with his clients – many of which have become great friends.

Watch Those Beneficiary Designations

February 4, 2012 /

Many families have retirement accounts and life insurance as a way to plan for the future.  As common as they may be, a lot of confusion remains about what happens with those accounts if something happens to you (the account owner and insured).  Many married folks believe they go to their surviving spouse and then maybe their kids.  Maybe yes, maybe no.

You see, retirement accounts and life insurance are what we call beneficiary designated assets.  This means that you instruct the retirement account custodian (the financial institution) and the life insurance company to distribute those asset to the person (or people) you name on a beneficiary designation form.  You may or may not remember filling one out, but you did.  As a Grand Rapids, Mi estate planning lawyer, I’ve seen many cases where beneficiary designations caused serious problems when the account owner passed away because they weren’t updated for changed life circumstances.

For instance, just this past week I had a family share just such a story with me.  They had a relative who got divorced 20+ years ago and who had a decent sized retirement account.  When he divorced his ex-wife, he decided to name his sister-in-law as the beneficiary on his retirement accounts because he did not want his minor children to receive the funds through the probate process.  By the way . . . that is NOT estate planning and is almost always a very bad idea from a planning standpoint.

So, time went on, his kids grew up into fine adults, and life kept rolling . . . until it stopped.  He died.  Guess what?  He never changed the beneficiary designation on his retirement account and it all went to his sister-in-law . . . his kids received NOTHING!  As you might expect, the kids challenged this by taking the sister-in-law to court.  The judge sided with the sister-in-law.  That may seem unfair, but the judge was correct.  The beneficiary designation is a contract you have with the financial institution that they are to pay the assets to the person (or people) you named – if they don’t, they are in serious trouble.

This is just one example of why it is SO important to review your financial planning and estate planning on a regular basis.  There are many more stories – some with more disastrous outcomes.  This is a large part of why we include ongoing 3-year reviews at NO CHARGE for all of our estate planning clients and why we are developing a ClientCare Plan Monitoring system for our clients.  Your life will change, the law will change, and  what you have will change . . . your plan needs to change with it so it doesn’t fail.

If you don’t have a plan in place for your family, call us right away to schedule a Peace of Mind Planning Session.  And if you have a plan but your planning experience was dry, transactional, not explained well, and form driven, give us a call for a plan review meeting. In both situations we will share with you how planning works and make sure you have an active role in designing your family’s estate plan – it is not one size fits all.  Call us at 616-827-7596.

Michael Lichterman is an estate planning and business planning attorney who helps families and business owners create a lasting legacy by planning for their Whole Family Wealth™.  This goes beyond merely planning for finances – it’s about who your are and what’s important to you.  He focuses on estate and asset protection planning for  the “experienced” generation, the “sandwich generation” (caring for parents and children), doctors/physicians, nurses, lawyers, dentists, professionals with minor children, family owned businesses and pet planning.  He takes the “counselor” part of attorney and counselor at law very seriously, and enjoys creating life long relationships with his clients – many of which have become great friends.