How to protect assets for kids with financial issues.

There are many reasons why parents may want to consider protecting their kids’ inheritance for them in an asset protection trust. Some of these include: They are bad with money; they are disabled and depend on government programs; they have creditor issues or face bankruptcy; they have lawsuits against them; or they are in high-risk professions for being sued. As you can see, the reasons can range from negative behaviors, to things beyond their control, to having achieved some level of success.

What if your spouse remarries after you die?

One of the things that couples should consider when doing their estate planning is: What happens to my assets if my surviving spouse remarries? Many people worry that their assets will eventually go to their surviving spouse’s new partner, rather than the kids, and they are right to worry. That is how things end up most of the time. But there are some ways that you can plan to avoid that happening, if this is a concern that you have.

Guardian Panel: When you can't decide on one guardian

From time to time, I get a clients who has too tough of a time deciding on who the right guardian for their kids will be. In some scenarios, the best solution for that is a Guardian Panel. A Guardian Panel is a group of people who are named to make a decision together about who the guardian should be and/or where the children should live, at the time that the parents are unable to care for the children any longer. Anyone can use a Guardian Panel in their estate plan, but there are a few specific situations in which it especially makes sense.

Beneficiary designation pitfalls

There are some major estate planning mistakes that people make with their beneficiary designations on life insurance and retirement accounts. Let’s go through a few of the most common ones that estate planning lawyers see happen every day when we administer estates.

Can I just add my adult kids to my deed?

I get this question from time to time: Can I just add my adult kids to my deed so they get my home when I die? And the answer is: It depends. The only way to know if you should do this is to work with a real estate or estate planning lawyer. Not a paralegal. Not an online program. Not your cousin who does criminal law. An actual, real live lawyer who practices in the areas of real estate and/or estate planning, and can advise you on the ramifications of your choices and prepare the deed properly so that you don’t screw everything up.

How much does a simple will cost?

The most common question that I get and that I see online in different forums where people can ask legal questions is, “How much does a simple will cost?” The answer to that is that there is no such thing as a simple will, at least at my office. We create plans that involve a variety of documents based on the client’s needs, and we plan for incapacity as well as death. Another way I could answer that question is to ask: “How much does a conservatorship cost?” or “How much does a probate costs?” or “What is the cost of doing things the wrong way?” These are all risks that you take by approaching estate planning with the attitude that your situation is simple and that your estate plan should be cheap. So if you ask yourself what the costs are of a conservatorship, probate, or worse, screwing up your plan, you’ll see that a “simple will” actually costs thousands of dollars, and maybe even your family’s well being and your own legacy.

Estate PlanningCandice AistonSeptember 9, 2019Aiston Law, LLCwills, trusts, conservatorship, probate

How to Get Your Aging Parents to Talk about and Do Their Estate Planning

As a Gen X kid with Baby Boomer parents, I have found that our generations have very different ideas when it comes to talking about death and money. Boomers often seem averse to discussing these matters, for many reasons. Sometimes they think it’s crass for their kids to be asking them about what they’re “getting.” Sometimes they feel shame about discussing money and death. Sometimes they were just raised to believe that discussion about money and death (like religion and politics) is impolite. Whatever the reasons your aging parents might have for being tough to crack when it comes to these discussions, I have some tips on how to get them to talk and do their estate planning.

Back to School: Emergency Contacts

It’s Back-to-School time, which means that you have to fill out those “emergency contact” forms again. It’s important that you fill them out properly, naming emergency contacts who have the legal authority to care for your kids and who know what the plan is and who they should contact if something happens to you, the parent. I thought I’d put together some tips for parents who are filling out these forms.

The 3 Legal Documents Your College Kid Needs

When your adult (18+) child is going off to college, there are three important legal documents that are important for her/him/them to execute before leaving. (Actually, anyone over age 18 needs these documents.) These documents will allow parents to help their child in the even their child has an emergency or iso other wise incapacitated and unable to manage financial and health decisions. It happens more frequently than you would think. College kids experience mental health issues, get in accidents, and get serious illnesses like meningitis. Having the correct documentation to be able to get information and act on it in vital.

Revocable Living Trust, Living Will, Will - What's the difference?

Many people get the terminology mixed up when discussing estate planning, so I thought I’d break down some of the commonly confused terms: revocable living trusts, living wills, and wills. Each of these is a distinctly different thing with its own purpose.

How to name guardians for your kids

A huge percentage of parents who haven’t done their estate planning yet are stuck on who to name as guardians for their kids. Here in Portland, Oregon, so many people have moved here from other places, and so they might not have any family in town, and they might have moved here to get away from a family or cultural dynamic that they don’t want their kids to be a part of. This makes choosing guardians difficult.

How to protect your assets from divorces and creditors: Lessons from 'Big Little Lies'

I have been watching an HBO show called Big Little Lies, which is a fantastic show, but also has some lessons on estate planning. [Spoilers!] In a recent situation this season, a character named Renata (on the left in the photo above) learns that her husband is in trouble for insider trading, and that because of the way they own their assets as a married couple in the state they live in (California), everything they have is at risk and they must declare bankruptcy and sell off everything that the bankruptcy trustee tells them to sell—their home, Renata’s wedding ring, everything. To make matters worse, Renata finds out at the bankruptcy hearing that her husband has been procuring sexual favors from the nanny and promising her additional compensation for her services. This is all a huge blow to Renata, who came from a poor background, worked for everything she built, and is now having everything taken away due to her husband’s actions.

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