Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog

CLE on Common Issues Involving Unusual Assets: What Estate Planners Need to Know

The American Law Institute is holding a webcast entitled, Common Issues Involving Unusual Assets: What Estate Planners Need to Know, on Wednesday, September 25 2019 from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm Eastern. Provided below is a description of the event.

Why You Should Attend
Sometimes it is a client’s most cherished possessions beyond financial accounts that require extra planning by the estate planner. These types of assets, often referred to as unusual assets, pose a unique set of problems when attempting to draft an estate plan that is suited to the client’s intentions. Issues can arise when these assets are highly regulated, hard to value, or the rules for handling a specific asset varies widely from state to state. What is the best way to deal with these out-of-the-ordinary items?

What You Will Learn
Join us for this 60-minute video webcast that addresses the challenges that surface when advising fiduciaries on the valuation , liquidity, transfer of control, and payment of taxes involved with the planning and administration of unusual assets, including:

• • Digital assets
  • Firearms
  • Children of new biology
  • Wine
  • Aircraft

Questions submitted during the program will be answered live by the faculty. All registrants will receive a set of downloadable course materials to accompany the program.

Who Should Attend
This accredited continuing legal education program will benefit all estate planning attorneys and professionals.

Anthony Bourdain's Will States he was Worth $1.2 Million, Majority Left to Daughter

The late chef and television personality Anthony Bourdain, 61, has had his will filed in Manhattan this week a month after his suicide in France. Recent "unreliable" reports have whispered that his estate was worth around $16 million, but in 2017 Bourdain himself stated that those were amount were inflated "by at least ten times" According to the documents filed in court, his estate was worth roughly $1.2 millionn, and the bulk of that was left to his 11 year old daughter Airane.

"Bourdain's property includes $425,000 in cash and savings, $35,000 in brokerage accounts, $250,000 in personal property, and $500,000 in 'intangible property including royalties and residuals' according to the documents filed."

The assets left to his young daughter will be placed in trust until she reaches 18, with her mother and Bourdain's estranged wife Ottavia Busia acting as guardian. Bourdain also left Busia his frequent flier miles with instructions to "dispose of [them] in accordance with what [she] believes to have been my wishes."

See Megan Sheets, Anthony Bourdain Leaves Majority of his $1.2 Million Estate - Which was Rumored to by Worth at Least $16 Million - to 11-Year-Old Daughter Ariane as Will is Read Less than One Month After his Suicide, Daily Mail, July 5, 2018; see also Julia Marsh, Anthony Bourdain Worth Only $1.21M at the Time of his Death, Page Six, July 5, 2018.

Special thanks to Joel C. Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.

Special thanks to Jim Hartnett (Dallas, Texas Probate Attorney) for bringing this article to my attention.

How to Include Valuable Art and Collectibles in Your Estate Plan

When a person purchases property believing it to be an investment, it is generally real estate or land. However, 80% of collectors of art see their collections as investments. The IRS defines collectibles under IRC Section 408(m) and could consist of works of art, rugs, antiques, any metal or gem (with exceptions), any stamp or coin (with exceptions), valuable alcoholic beverages or “any other tangible personal property." Proper planning of these unique items of personal property can alleviate unnecessarily high capital gains taxes to your heirs, income or estate tax penalties, or depreciation of the asset’s market value.

Below is a list of ways in which you can decrease disagreements and improve settlement of these types of assets.

1. Obtain one or more appraisals from certified experts and certificates of authenticity.
2. Keep detailed records of purchase date, price, appraisals, damages, insurance coverages and any improvements of individual items in collections.
3. Talk to your heirs and ask which items are most important to them.
4. Consider ways to equalize inheritance amounts and ways to respond to potential claims of fairness that may arise among your beneficiaries.
5. Consider taking advantage of annual or lifetime gift exclusions by gifting personal property during your lifetime.
6. Articulate in your estate documents who will bear the cost of storing or shipping items. Also, be aware of whether beneficiaries have the means to cover what could be expensive delivery of larger or fragile items they stand to inherit.
7. Understand potential benefits of gifting to charity.
8. Verify that your investment adviser, CPA, estate planning attorney and executor are aware of any collectibles that may have value.

See Dawn Doebler, How to Include Valuable Art and Collectibles in Your Estate Plan, WTOP.com, May 30, 2018.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.) for bringing this article to my attention.

Harvard Scientists Say These 5 Things Can Prolong Your Life by a Decade

A promise of adding a full decade onto one's life can be extremely enticing, but the manner is which to earn those extra years could be more difficult than a person may realize. It seems that studies are redundant with suggesting the common five habits: eat healthy, exercise, maintain a healthy weight, don't smoke, and limit alcohol consumption. If a woman is successful in adopting these customs, they could add up to 14 years to their lives and men could add 12 years.

There are ways to help these changes be more conceivable according to the National Institutes of Health. Becoming aware of your bad habits in your daily life and not taking on these challenges solo can heighten your ability to make this a permanent lifestyle transformation.

See Alessandra Malito, Harvard Scientists Say These 5 Things Can Prolong Your Life by a Decade, Market Watch, May 26, 2018.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.) for bringing this article to my attention.

Gordon Ramsay Says His Children Will Not See His $160 Million Fortune

Gordon Ramsay recently explained that his children will not be seeing any of his $160 million net worth—until they move out of his house that is. The reasoning? Ramsay wants to prevent his children from growing up spoiled. However, Ramsay and his wife do agree on one thing: the children get a 25% deposit on a flat but not the whole flat. The four Ramsay children earn their own money and pay for their own cell phones and bus fare, while donating much of their time to charities. Additionally, three of the children have a $62 weekly allowance, and their daughter who is in college has a $124 weekly allowance.

See Rachel Desantis, Gordon Ramsay Says His Four Children Won’t Inherit His Fortune, Daily News, April 10, 2017.

Special thanks to Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.

New Study Finds Link Between Excess Sugar & Alzheimer's

A new study’s finding claims that scientists have found a link between Alzheimer’s disease and excess sugar. More specifically, there is a correlation between a person’s blood sugar glucose and the disease, evincing that people with high sugar diets could be at a greater risk of developing the disease. An Australian university found that excess glucose damages an essential enzyme associated with inflammation response in the early stages of the degenerative neurological condition. Glucose can damage the proteins in cells through a reaction called glycation, which in turn damages an enzyme called macrophage migration inhibitory factor. Consequently, researchers believe that this process presents the “tipping point” in Alzheimer’s progression. Further, abnormally high blood sugar levels is a characteristic of diabetes, and these patients have an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s. 

See Excess Sugar Linked to Alzheimer’s: Study Finds a ‘Tipping Point’, Fox News, February 24, 2017. 

 

Family Starts Foundation After Son Dies from Food Allergy

A family is raising awareness on the life-threatening symptoms of food allergies after the sudden death of their son. After eating a nut contained in a piece of cake, a small blister appeared on the boys lip. Shortly after, he went into anaphylactic shock, and the administered EpiPens could not halt the outcome. To help raise awareness, the family has created the Red Sneakers Foundation in their son’s memory. With this foundation, the family hopes to launch educational programs, fund research, and contribute to the formation of public policy.

See Boy’s Death After Unknowingly Eating Nut in Cake Leads Family to Start Foundation, Fox News, December 6, 2016.

Tube Feeding Decline for Dementia Patients

A new national study has found that advanced dementia patients receiving a feeding tube has dropped more than 50%. It is becoming less controversial for surrogate decision makers to decline tube feeding and rely on hand feeding. Now, families and physicians are beginning to understand the negative effects of feeding tubes for those patients with the terminal disease. Feeding tubes do not keep dementia patients alive longer, and they cut out the needed social interaction of hand feeding. Today, more and more terminally ill patients are focusing on end-of-life quality rather than just being kept alive.

See Paula Span, The Decline of Tube Feeding for Dementia Patients, NY Times, August 29, 2016.

Special thanks to Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) & Lewis Saret (Attorney, Washington, D.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.

Has KFC's Secret Recipe Been Revealed?

Did Colonel Sanders’ nephew accidently reveal the secret blend of eleven herbs and spices for KFC’s fried chicken? KFC says not so fast, claiming that the recipe published in the Chicago Tribune is not authentic. The speculation started when a reporter interviewed Joe Ledington, a nephew of Colonel Harland David Sanders’ famed fried chicken empire. Ledington pulled out a scrapbook during the interview containing the will of Sanders’ second wife, which had a handwritten list on the back of the eleven herbs and spices. At first, Ledington told the reporter that it was the original recipe but later said he did not know. 

See Associated Press, The Colonel’s Secret Recipe Revealed? Not So Fast, Says KFC, NBC News, August 26, 2016.

Charity Wine Auctions Are Becoming More Popular

The article examines the growing popularity of charity wine auctions with celebrities. “Unlike many charity auctions, which are fixtures in affluent communities, the price of entry for wine auctions in places like Napa Valley and Naples would constitute a large charitable gift in itself.” The oldest charity wine auction in the United States is Auction Napa Valley where attendees bid on cases of wine after tasting it right out of the barrel. These private auctions have been successful at helping poorer residence in surrounding communities. These charity wine auctions can be complicated affairs that require meticulous planning. When planning these sorts of events it is a good idea to start small and stay focused. These types of events can do a lot of good for society if they are done right.

See Paul Sullivan, Charity Wine Auctions Are More Than Parties, The New York Times, January 29, 2016.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse for bringing this article to my attention.