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Burkhardt Law

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New Real Estate? Don’t Forget About your Estate Plan

During the Pandemic, many people changed the way they work and those changes may have made them rethink where their real estate.  Some businesses changed to a work from home model or a hybrid model of working from home some days and from the office some days.  These changes meant for some they could move further away from their office since they were going to work from home anyway.  Or maybe they were working from home a few days a week.  And some with school age children had to have their children learn virtually from home.

Last year my children went back and forth at different times of the year between all virtual, hybrid, and in-person learning.  My husband began working entirely from home and I was working a hybrid model of a few days at home.  Having 4 people in the house trying to be on phone calls or zoom calls at the same time could be loud and distracting.  My family had been living in a 3 bedroom home, my children’s bedrooms were too small to add a desk, my “office” was set up in our master bedroom, and my husband’s “office” was in the basement but was in an open space with no door to close.

We decided we needed more space in our real estate.  We needed to be able have separate work spaces where we didn’t have to hear each other’s calls and could have quiet to concentrate on our work.  Like many people, who were suddenly spending more time at home, we decided if we were spending so much time at home, we needed more space.  We decided to move into a larger home where I now get my own home office that is not in my bedroom.  I can close the door from the distractions.  My husband also is now able to have his own office as well with a door he can close. My husband spends the majority of his days on phone calls and prior to us moving he constantly had to tell the kids to be quiet.

If you have also moved recently or plan on doing so soon, don’t forget to think about your existing estate plan.  If you have a Trust you may want your Trust to own your real estate.  If you already purchased your home and it was not put in the name of your Trust you should think about calling an attorney who can prepare a Special Warranty Deed, to transfer the ownership of the home from you to your Trust.

If you haven’t already moved but plan to soon and have a Trust, the closing company preparing your new deed should be able to do this.  Just make sure you inform them when completing the closing paperwork.  Some mortgage companies will not allow you to put the deed in the name of the trust at closing.  If this is the case, an attorney should be contacted to transfer the property after the mortgage closing.  If you don’t have a trust and your estate plan consists of putting beneficiary designations on all your assets to avoid probate upon your death, you should contact an attorney after closing to prepare a beneficiary deed for your real estate.  This will allow your real estate to pass to the beneficiaries of your choosing and avoid the need for Probate.

-Lisa Villareal

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What is the Best Estate Plan? Different Estate Planning Options

Often when I help clients form an estate planning options, they need to decide if a trust is the best for their loved ones.  And for many reasons the trust can be the best option.  However, what’s right for one client may not be the best for another.

I was just speaking with a client yesterday and their estate planning options were either beneficiary designations or a trust.  Both had benefits and disadvantages.  The client wanted to know which plan would be best for them.  In the end I recommended a trust because they had multiple children.  However, a trust isn’t automatically “better” than another plan. While a trust has many advantages and many great reasons to use one, a trust can make things more complicated.

For very simple estate plans, i.e., there’s one adult beneficiary who’s good with money, the appeal of using beneficiary designations can be the simplicity.  A trust upon someone’s death often requires a new tax ID number, separate tax filings, and can require interpretation or assistance in making sure all the terms are met.  Beneficiary designations, on the other hand, only require a death certificate. So, a trust can be overly burdensome, especially for simple plans where the people involved may not have a lot of experience with legal documents.

However beneficiary designations have a lot of downsides.

  • First, you have no control after you pass. The money goes to the beneficiary and that’s it.  You can’t tell them what to do or not do with it.  If you have minor children or someone who is bad with money, even just wanting something specific with real estate, beneficiary designations may not be a good plan for you.
  • It’s also much harder to plan for contingencies. Many beneficiary designations only allow a primary beneficiary.  So, if something happens to that primary beneficiary and you don’t (or can’t) update your plan, that asset will end up in probate.
  • Another major problem is that there’s no one person in control. Each beneficiary receives their share, so any expenses that are paid are paid by an individual, not the estate or by everyone.  That person then needs to work with the other beneficiaries to pay bills and make sure everyone pays their share.

So, when deciding between estate planning options, there’s advantages and disadvantages to trusts and beneficiary designations.  It’s best to evaluate your options, knowing the good and bad of all possible estate plans, then choose based upon your family and which path will be easier for your loved ones.  Maybe that’s simple beneficiary designations or maybe that’s a trust.  A good estate planning attorney can help you explore all the estate planning options and help decide what’s right for you.

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Planning for Pets – Burkhardt Law Firm

I know so many people who with more time at home during the pandemic have adopted a new pet.Villareal Dogs

Maybe its their first pet, or maybe it is an additional pet for the family. For many people, they love their pets so much, sometimes as much as their human children.  I know my in-laws have 8 dogs, all poodles and chihuahuas (well I think it is 8, I can’t keep track as they are always rescuing more all the time, so hard to keep track) (pictured are two of their furry children), and pretty sure they love their pets as much as their children.  They barely leave town because they have so many dogs to care for.  We have to go to them to visit because they just can’t leave their beloved dogs.  So what would happen to their dogs if they could no longer handle their own finances or if they passed away?  Many times when a pet owner passes away, their pets end up in a shelter and sometimes end up being put down.  Did you know when you’re planning for your estate that you can also plan for your pets?

You can plan for your pets for when you’re still living but just not making your own financial decisions.  If you have a financial power of attorney executed, naming someone you trust to make financial decisions for you when you are no longer able, you can grant your agent the power to take care of the financial expense of caring for your pets.  We draft our documents to include the power for your agent to pay the costs and expenses associated with the care of your pets.

Planning for your pets after you pass is also possible.  Some clients choose to include provisions in their trust that provide who they would want to care for their pets when they are gone.  They may list backup caretakers for the pets as well incase someone they chose is unable or unwilling to care for the pets.  We have even had clients designate who the Trustee should contact to arrange for the care of their pets if they can’t find a proper home for the pet or pets.  You can even have your Trustee distribute money to the pet’s caretaker to help cover the cost of providing care for the pets.

-Lisa Villareal

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Trusts: Do you need a Trust?

Often times people know someone who have a trust and so they think they need one too.  Not every estate plan needs to have a trust.  Every family has different circumstances, so just because your friend has a trust doesn’t necessarily mean that you need a trust.

There are some benefits of having a trust in addition to a will.  Assets held in trust avoid probate.  However, a trust is not the only way to avoid probate.  Proper beneficiary designations on all assets can also avoid probate. Therefore, if you’re only creating a trust because you think you need one to avoid probate, you might reconsider.

However, if you want to control your money after you’re gone, a trust is the easiest way to do so.  If you don’t want your child to receive a big inheritance all at once, a trust can be set up to distribute the inheritance over time, at ages that you decide.  You might choose to leave a certain amount upon the child’ s graduation from college, and then give a certain percentage of the inheritance when they are 25, or 30, or whatever age you feel appropriate.  If there are drug or alcohol abuse issues, a trust can help control how money is spent for a beneficiary.  A trust may help protect assets from a divorce. If you have a child with special needs, a trust is a good tool to provide for your child.

If you have young children a trust can help provide for them and can avoid probate for a conservatorship.  A minor can’t just be given all the assets, so by creating a trust, a trustee will be able to distribute money for the child until they are old enough to handle the money themselves.

It generally costs more to set up a trust.  If your circumstances warrant having a trust the extra cost shouldn’t deter you.  However, if there isn’t as much of a reason to control the assets, and you properly title all assets with beneficiaries, the cost maybe an unnecessary expense.

It is a good idea to speak with an attorney who can ask questions about your family circumstances to help you determine whether or not a trust would be needed to meet your needs and wishes.  They will be able to help you understand the pros and cons of implementing different estate planning tools.

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Not Just One – Using One Beneficiary, Instead of Multiple

In the past month, I’ve talk to two different clients who have listed one person as a beneficiary on an asset when the asset is meant to go to multiple people or another person entirely.  If you have done this, please stop reading, and go change it right now!

Now the most common place I see this is for minor children.  Parents will put the person who is supposed to use the money for the child as the beneficiary on life insurance.  Now, I really dislike this for two major reasons.  First, that person is the legal owner of the money and does not have a legal obligation to use it for the child.  Well, if you trust that person enough with the money, hopefully that’s a non-issue.  But even if that’s not an issue, what happens if that person inherits the money then dies?  Chances are it will not go back to the children, but rather a spouse or that person’s children.  Just best to avoid by planning properly for minor children.

The other time I see people do this is for real estate.  They want to avoid a beneficiary deed where all the beneficiaries (and their spouses) must sign and make decisions together; instead they put one person on the beneficiary deed and tell them their wishes.  But the problem is that person has no legal obligation to share the money as instructed.  Further, while there may not be a tax consequence, there are likely extra tax returns that should be filed (which probably won’t be).  In the end, it causes a bigger mess than just creating a proper estate plan with a trust.

Finally, the biggest asset this is a problem with is traditional retirement money.  Instead of listing all the beneficiaries on an IRA, I had a client only list one sibling and ask them to share that money among all eight siblings.  Again, this person has no legal obligation to share, which makes me wary, but even more importantly there is likely to be a tax problem here.  Traditional retirement money has not had income tax taken out of it yet and so when the account is liquidated, income tax is paid at that time.  So, if a person inherits the retirement money, then liquidates it to divide it, that person will be paying a lump sum of taxes.  Instead, by listing all intended beneficiaries, each beneficiary will have the option to retain the retirement money as an inherited IRA, and only pay taxes in small amounts each year.  A much more tax efficient option.

So, if you have set up your plan listing one person instead of all the intended beneficiaries, you might want to reconsider your plan and even start thinking about a trust.

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Trust versus Beneficiary Designations

At least three times a week I am asked the difference between a will and a trust.  There are a few differences, but first I always like to point out that a will requires probate to be effective.  So, when planning for a client, I don’t often like to compare a will and trust, but rather a trust and beneficiary designations.

You can use both beneficiary designations and a trust to avoid probate, but the main reason a people choose a trust is control.  To me, control is the best reason to plan with a trust.  Legally, a trust is an entity that separates the control of assets from the use or benefit of those assets.

For families with minor children, I almost always recommend a trust.  Without a trust, even using beneficiary designations, you cannot avoid probate.  Minors cannot be in control of their own money, so a trust allows a legally responsible adult to make decisions over the assets for the benefit of the children.  It then sets up ages or life events when the children get the money.

Another common reason I recommend trusts are when there is real estate involved.  In Missouri, if a person has their name on real estate, their spouse also must sign off on any real estate transactions even if the spouse is not on the real estate.  So, if a person leaves real estate to someone through a beneficiary deed (the way to put beneficiaries on real estate), everyone on the deed plus their spouses will need to sign for the property when it is inherited.  Often, my clients would rather not involve the spouses or even have all beneficiaries make decision on the property.  Instead, they do a trust where one person makes decisions on the real estate and multiple people have the use or receive the proceeds.

One of the final reasons clients use a trust is to control how the money is paid out.  If a beneficiary is not responsible enough or has an addiction where the money would be harmful if the beneficiary had full access to the money.  In those situations, the trust can allow another person to use the money for the beneficiary or to give out money in regular installments like an allowance.

There are, of course, other reasons I consider trusts.  Family dynamics, contingencies, real estate.  However, when it comes down to it, the reason my clients choose a trust over a will or, more appropriately, beneficiary designations is it gives them control over how the money will be left.

 

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Don’t Forget…. To Title Your Assets!

I meet with most of my estate planning clients three times and in each of those meetings I (try to) emphasize that an estate plan is truly controlled by how assets are titled. Of course the legal documents are important, I wouldn’t have a job if they weren’t. But the documents I create don’t mean anything unless we know how the assets are titled.

This is because it is really how an asset is titled that determines where the asset goes and if it will have to go through probate.

If there is a co-owner with a right of survivorship (this is generally called Joint Tenants with Right of Survivorship or JTWROS), then the property passes to the co-owner. This is also where trusts fall. In order for the trust to control, the title must be in the name of the trust and the trust must be the owner. The new owner under this ownership will have control and ownership completely outside of probate.

If there isn’t a trust as the owner or there isn’t a co-owner, then you look to see if there are beneficiaries. If there are beneficiaries, then they then own the property. And when I say beneficiaries, I also include Transfers on Death (TODs) and Payable on Death (PODs) designations. Again, these beneficiaries take ownership without probate.

It is only after ownership or beneficiaries that a will would control. If there are no co-owners and no beneficiaries, then whomever would get the property under the will is the new owner. However, a will must go through probate to transfer the property to the new owner.

And finally, if there are no co-owners, no beneficiaries, and no will, then intestate law controls and heirs get the asset. But again, the heirs would have to go through probate to gain access to the asset.

So, do me a favor, if you or a loved one has assets you’re worried about going through probate, CHECK HOW THEY’RE TITLED!

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What Type of Estate Plan Do You Need? Choosing the Right Estate Plan

When I work with clients, I see so many different family types and not everyone has the same needs. There are some generalities that I use to guide what plans the different type of families need. For instance, I think most families with minor children need a trust. However, even then, not all clients fall into those generalities. That’s why it’s so important to evaluate each family’s need individually through a consultation. However, even at the end of the consultation, I think it’s extremely important for a client to understand and choose their own estate plan. Part of this is understanding the documents and how they work, which I’ve explained many times. But another large part of choosing the right estate plan is knowing the different considerations that go into the plan.

One of my first questions when sitting with a new client is always about their family and who we’re planning for. The more complicated a family is (i.e. step-children, half-siblings, etc) the more likely a trust or a more complicated plan will be needed to ensure things go where they are intended. Missouri law only provides for a very traditional family and even then isn’t often what clients would want. Thus, legal documents are needed to change these “default” laws and the more certainty a client needs of where assets will go, the more complicated the documents get. It’s also important to know if there is anyone who would potentially challenge a plan.

But the biggest question and concern for me is if there is a need for control. This normally applies because there are minor children who cannot legally handle money for themselves. However, if there’s a beneficiary who just makes bad financial decisions or has a substance abuse problem a trust might also be necessary. There’s also a limited ability to keep spouses or in-laws away from a plan if they could potentially cause problems through a divorce or other issues.

Finally, assets also are an important part of deciding a plan. If there are extremely limited resources, it’s hard to justify the expense of a more complicated plan, but it might also be worth it if any of the above are concerns. However, the type and location of assets also may make a trust worth it or not. For instance, with real estate anyone listed on a beneficiary deed plus their current spouse must sign on any sale of that real estate. That can cause major problems if there are multiple people involved and not all work together. The need for one person to make decisions on real estate may be enough to justify a trust. However, on the other hand, if most of the assets are liquid (retirement money, bank accounts, etc.) and it’s simply a matter of dividing money, then a trust might be overly complicated.

There are so many factors that go into what kind of plan fits a family. However, the more you know about the process and why a particular plan might be right, the better decision you can make for your loved ones.

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Being a Parent: Planning for Children

When I first began my law firm, I started estate planning thinking of my brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews. Then when I had my first born almost three years ago, my perspective changed dramatically. Now as we prepare for our second child, I thought I would take a moment and reflect on how our estate plan has (and hasn’t changed) since children have come along.

The benefit of drafting your own legal documents is you can think ahead and prepare them for changes in the future. So, our documents from five years ago included provisions for future children. However, anytime a new addition is added to the family, the estate plan needs to be reconsidered.

This might mean a completely new structure. Going from a will to a trust. But it also means updating children’s names and very simple updates to make sure everyone is included.

It’s also an opportunity to make sure the people handling money and in charge of the children’s well-being are still appropriate. We had the trustee and guardian decided before Duncan arrived, but it’s amazing how the logically decision became so much harder once my son was actually here. In the end, I believe we made the right decision and we have not changed it. However, it’s mainly because I realize there is no right answer and no one can truly take our place if we aren’t here to parent. We can only choose and hope the transition would be as easy as possible.

Finally, it’s also a great time to review assets and make sure all assets will avoid probate and are included in your plan. If you’ve never talked to a financial advisor, it’s a great time to review life insurance as well as planning for the children’s future with 529s or other investments.

Now, I know many of my clients have children that are all grown up. However, those grownup children might have to start thinking about their own children. So, even if you’re not preparing for your own minor children anymore, it’s worth mentioning to your children for your grandchildren.

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The Hierarchy of Estate Planning

After writing every month for the last 3 plus years, I sometimes find new topics to blog about difficult. But I often try and reflect on the most common topics that my clients have brought up over the last month. And this month I spent a lot of time explaining what I call the hierarchy of estate planning.

This is certainly not an official term or a concept I’ve seen discussed a lot, but I think it describes some of the concepts of estate planning quite well. What I’m really referring to is what controls a plan. Now, I’ve discussed this before and it also ties into the concept of inconsistency within an estate plan, but hopefully I can explain it just one more way for it to make sense.

How assets are titled control an estate plan. I break it down into four categories:

1 – Ownership/Titling

2 – Beneficiaries

3 – Wills

4 – Intestate Law

To determine how an asset would pass upon a person’s death, first look at who owns the property and how it is titled. If there is a co-owner with a right of survivorship (this is generally called Joint Tenants with Right of Survivorship or JTWROS), then the property passes to the co-owner.  This is also where trusts fall.  In order for the trust to control, the title must be in the name of the trust and the trust must be the owner.

If there isn’t a trust as the owner or there isn’t a co-owner, then you look to see if there are beneficiaries. If there are beneficiaries, then they then own the property. And when I say beneficiaries, I also include Transfers on Death (TODs) and Payable on Death (PODs) designations.

It is only after ownership or beneficiaries that a will would control. If there are no co-owners and no beneficiaries, then whomever would get the property under the will is the new owner.

And finally, if there are no co-owners, no beneficiaries, and no will, then intestate law controls and heirs get the asset.

So if you are trying to determine who would get an asset upon someone’s passing, take a look at the hierarchy of estate planning and figure out which category would control.

Burkhardt Law Firm

Phone: (314) 518-1581
Email: mburkhardt@burkhardtlaw.com
Address:
2333 Grissom Dr., Suite 107
St. Louis, MO 63146