Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog

Smart Planning Includes Choosing Potential Guardians For Children

No parent wants to think about dying and leaving their minor or incapacitated children without a guardian. However, smart planning will always look at this unhappy but potential problem and make sure that the wishes of the parents will dictate who takes care of their children rather than an unfamiliar judge. One tip included in the article is to make sure that you have a redundant list that provides more than one set of names in the event the intended guardians are unwilling or unable to take care of the children. It is also prudent practice to check with the potential guardians to make sure they are willing to take on the responsibility.

See Kyle Krull, Picking Back-Up Parents for Your Minor Children, KyleKrull.com, May 5, 2015.

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

"Taxing Lessons" Website Offers Useful Tax Information in a "Fun" Format

Lorri Carpenter, a CPA licensed in Florida, is the author of Taxing Lessons where she condenses selected US Tax Court cases into interesting, informative summaries.

According to her website:

You read a synopsis of the facts, review the provided tax code citations–then answer the question: What would you decide? Comparing your answer to the court decision gives you the opportunity to update and enhance your knowledge. Who knew Taxing Lessons could be so much fun? You be the judge. Taxing Lessons presents US tax court cases in a format that puts you behind the bench.

Noel C. Ice's "Trusts & Estates" Website Updated

The extremely valuable website of Texas attorney Noel C. Ice (partner in the Fort Worth office of Cantey Hanger LLP), Trusts & Estates, has recently received a complete "make over."

You will find the same awesome material -- over 60 CLE articles and dozens of other resources -- but they are now easier to find and otherwise more accessible than previously.  Here is a direct link to a listing of his materials.

In keeping with his prior approach, Noel continues to make all of his writings available at no charge, where they can be viewed on screen, or downloaded as .pdf files that may be read and searched later.

 

Chicago Estate Planning Blog Now On-Line

Chicago attorney, Michael Booth, has recently started the Chicago Estate Planning Blog. He writes about current (and sometimes out of the ordinary) estate planning items in the news, and does his best to inject humor (at least as much humor as can be found in death and taxes) while educating his readers on how Illinois law would apply in various situations.  For example, one of his recent innovative postings is entitled  Estate Planning For Embarrassing Personal Property.

I recommend that you check out this well-written and innovative blog.

Consider Your Own Estate Planning Practice

Now that it seems BigLaw firms have cut their estate planning practices, solo and small firms are picking up the slack.  With the demand for estate planning services rising now that baby boomer retirement is cresting, here are a few steps you should take if you’re thinking of starting or expanding an estate planning practice.

First, get educated.  Instead of relying on your bar exam outline, educate yourself by buying practice guides or finding some at your local library.  You can also learn a lot, and knock out those CLE requirements, by attending the various all-day seminars promising to teach you everything you need to know.  Once you get the basics down, remember to continue educating yourself.  One way is to maintain a blog, which will allow you to research new practice issues on a continuous basis.

Next, consider online marketing by setting up your own website and blog or hiring a website to handle this task for you.  Also, realize the importance of word-of-mouth marketing in the estate planning field as referrals will likely make up the majority of your clients.  And speaking of referrals, try to network with good financial planners, CPAs, or life insurance salespersons, because referring them clients may result in future reciprocity. 

See William Peacock, Esq., Estate Planning: The Next ‘Growth’ Practice Area for Small Firms?, FindLaw, July 17, 2013.

Estate Planning Blog With a Focus on Elder Law, Asset Protection and More

Suprenant & Beneski, P.C. is an estate planning law firm focused on asset protection including long term health care, elder law, estate tax, and children including special needs beneficiaries. The family firm has a blog that suggests different estate planning tips, recipes, recommendations to learn about history, elder law, and many other topics. Recently, the firm wrote about different topics to consider when a client is entering a nursing home. The blog entry goes into detail about average nursing home costs, and how to protect your home from the nursing home costs. 

See Surprenant & Beneski, P.C. Blog, The SB Law Firm, Jun. 24, 2013.

Source for Estate Planning News

Estate Dispatch, sponsored by Estate Map, covers interesting estate planning news with a focus on digital assets.  Readers can also subscribe to their weekly newsletter, Heir-O-Smith. 

For more information, please click here.

New Blog for Estate Planners

The Law Offices of Robert H. Glorch recently developed a new blog concerning estate planning and administration in Illinois.  Palatine attorneys Robert H. Glorch and Jeffrey R. Gottlieb will use this blog to keep readers “updated on changes and developments effecting trusts and estates—tax changes, new Illinois statutes and court decisions, news events and comments on articles and publications.”

Visit www.illinoisestateplan.com/blog to learn more about this informative blog.

The Importance of Following IRS Documentation Rules

Steven J. Fromm (Attorney, Steven J. Fromm and Associates, P.C.) recently published a blog entry entitled IRS Slams Taxpayers: Attention to Tax Details Matter.  In the blog post, he discusses Durden, TC Memo, 2012-140.  Durden exemplifies that documentation rules imposed by the IRS should be followed meticulously if you want to claim a charitable deduction. Please click here to read the blog post about the taxpayers' unfortunate fate in Durden.

Fun blog for mid-lifers

Richard Barnes, a lawyer and author from Valdosta, Georgia, has recently started a blog for mid-lifers "trying to make sense of it all" entitled The Sunder Years.

Richard's initial postings are most interesting and I hope he continues to post on a regular basis to give us the benefit of his insights, wit, and humor.