Childish Behavior

Yesterday we talked about a few factors to consider when setting an age at which your young children will receive their inheritance. I'd like to talk a bit more about this subject over the next few days by looking at some of the different approaches to setting that age.

First we should talk about what circumstances lead to restricting your children from inheriting until they have lived a certain number of years. Most of the time, my clients who want to choose an age are new parents or the parents of a young family. Other reasons to set an age restriction include children who are irresponsible or children who are in a difficult or troubled relationship (such as a bad marriage). If you find yourself in one of these situations or have your own reasons for postponing the eventual distributions from your estate, you have lots of options for choosing the age at which your heirs will receive their inheritance.

The most common approach is simply choosing an age. Common choices include 18, 21, 25, and 30. What if your 19 year-old isn't responsible enough to handle $50,000 in cash? Or $500,000? Think about what you would have done at age 19 (or 21). See my point? But how do you choose an age at which your kids will be responsible with their inheritance without insulting them? You have a lot of good choices, and we'll start talking about them next time.

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Lawyer Joke of the Day

"You are a cheat!" shouted the attorney to his opponent.

"And you're a liar!" bellowed the opposition.

Banging his gavel loudly, the judge interjected, "Now that both attorneys have been identified for the record, let's get on with the case."

Planning Your Healthcare Future

Right now, you're feeling pretty healthy. You woke up, went to work. You might watch some baseball this afternoon. Maybe you're one of the few Americans who exercise regularly and eat healthy. You're seldom ever sick, and you look and feel great.

Or, maybe, like the rest of us, you have trouble finding the time and or motivation to get any exercise in. Eating right takes time and effort, too, and fast food is an easy and convenient option, especially with three kids in the back seat. You're a few pounds heavier than you'd like to be, and your blood pressure is in the red. You're a tutor, chauffeur, erstwhile cook, and occasionally parent to three miniature hurricanes and don't have time to finish washing the dishes or cleaning the house.

Now would be a perfect time to get your healthcare directive put in place.

I know, I know. You feel great, and you don't have the time. Why shouldn't you be able to put it off for awhile? Besides, it's not going to do you any good today, right?

Wrong. You're currently in a time in your life when you are fully aware and able to make decisions on your own. You do it when you choose your jogging route, and you do it when you run that red light because your 14 year old is late for school. But what happens when you get hit by some jerk in a Toyota Sienna who couldn't wait for the light to turn green? Or maybe, you swerve to avoid that crazy runner who just jumped out into the road and wrap your minivan around a pole. Now you're in a persistent vegetative state and need a ventilator and feeding to keep you alive. Maybe you need some kind of experimental surgery in order to survive, but the odds of success are slim.

The medical decisions in both of these situations are difficult for anyone to contemplate. Putting a healthcare power of attorney in place is a good start, but can you imagine making life-or-death decisions for someone else? Creating a healthcare directive (living will works too) allows you to make the really hard decisions ahead of time, taking the added stress and pressure off your loved ones.

Call an advisor today to learn more about using healthcare directives in your estate plan. Your family is counting on you.

*** No second-person pronouns were harmed in the writing of this blog. ***

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Lawyer Joke of the Day

Q: How many lawyers does it take to screw in a light bulb?

A: Whereas the party of the first part, also known as "Lawyer", and the party of the second part, also known as "Light Bulb", do hereby and forthwith agree to a transaction wherein the party of the second part (Light Bulb) shall be removed from the current position as a result of failure to perform previously agreed upon duties, i.e., the lighting, elucidation, and otherwise illumination of the area ranging from ...."