“San Diego-based estate planning lawyer Daniel Printz tells us the myriad of things to be aware of when drawing up a Will, especially in the areas of child guardianship and business succession. Some of the case studies may highlight unfortunate situations, but fortunately for you listeners this was one of our best, most informative interviews thus far. We highly recommend sharing it with your friends and family!”

For a Rocket Lawyer podcast, this interview was fairly long; 23 of the 32-minute podcast consisted of my interview.  Rocket Lawyer is focusing on April as “Make-a-Will Month,” and I couldn’t be happier to be a part of it. 

HERE IS A LINK TO THE PODCAST: 22 Ep 20_ A Series Of Unfortunate Events – Make A Will Edition

Wills are, after all, probably the best bang for the buck in the estate planning arena.  Because of competition from online services, attorneys have dropped their prices for attorney-drafted wills to the point where it has essentially become a loss-leader.

Even so, it’s a vital piece of estate planning package, especially for parents with minor children who need to designate a guardian of the person and a guardian of the estate. While almost everyone could benefit from more sophisticated estate planning than a will allows, it is certainly true that a will is better than  no planning at all!

Wills with guardianship provisions for minor children can usually be drafted and executed in a single day. If you’re interested in finding out about our low prices for simple wills, give us a call right now at (858) 720-8250 – just ask for Daniel.

Despite the fact that 60% of Americans don’t have a basic will, they are very useful documents!  In addition to dictating where your property is to go when you die, and nominating an executor to handle your estate, the will is where parents of minor children nominate guardians to care for their children. 

Some attorneys prefer to have wills witnessed by three persons just in case, but it’s not necessary. If one of the witnesses turns out to be an ‘interested’ witness (in other words, stands to benefit from the will), the will is still valid, but the witness will be presumed to have obtained his bequest by duress or oppression, and will be prevented from inheriting unless he can rebut that presumption, or unless there are two other non-interested witnesses.

California also accepts ‘holographic wills,’ documents that are not witnessed, but where the signature and all substantive provisions are in the testator’s handwriting. However, courts are suspicious of these holographic wills and subject them to strict scrutiny.  When it comes to wills, I suggest you hire an attorney to draft you a simple will, or use an online service. If you use an online service, PLEASE have a lawyer look at the will afterwards to make sure you completed it correctly!

“My daughter has her biological father’s last name, but he isn’t on her birth certificate. He isn’t involved in her life. My husband wants to adopt her but we’re not sure what all we have to do in order to get it done. Also, my husband is in the military and we are currently living in California. My daughter, however, was born in Texas, which is also where her biological father is. Do we have to go by Texas laws? or California?”

And my answer:

“Unless your daughter is the subject of an ongoing family law case in Texas, jurisdiction in California is appropriate.  You will work with the Superior Court of the County in which you are living.  You will complete California mandatory forms Adopt-200 (to submit at hearing) Adopt-210 (to sign in court) and Adopt-215 (for the judge to sign).

You’ll take the forms to court and pay a filing fee. Soon thereafter, a social worker will meet with you and then write a report. When you receive a copy of the report, you’ll ask for a hearing date. Assuming all is well, you will bring the child with you to court on the hearing date, along with all of the forms, assorted friends/family, and at least one camera, and the three of you will leave court with a new familial relationship (and often with a new Teddy Bear for your daughter).

Best wishes to you.”

So you see… adoption can be a relatively straightforward and painless process, especially where one parent doesn’t need to be consulted – as he was left off the birth certificate!

LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 65 million members and growing rapidly. LinkedIn connects you to your trusted contacts and helps you exchange knowledge, ideas, and opportunities with a broader network of professionals.

Within LinkedIn is a Group designed exclusively for members of The Parent Connection to network professionally. In order to be accepted to the group, you must be a current member.

Joining is as easy as 1-2-3!

1. Create a professional profile at LinkedIn.Com.
2. Search under Groups for The Parent Connection.
3. Apply for membership.

Confused? Contact me directly at daniel@TheLegacyLawyer.com or Ann Carey-Scott at anncareyscott@san.rr.com for help.

See you online!
Daniel K. Printz, Esq.

Speaker Daniel K. Printz, Esq., teaches “Estates, Wills and Trusts’ in the University of San Diego’s intensive paralegal program. He will speak on the essentials of estate planning for young families at this seminar – free for Parent Connection members and $10 for non-members.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010. 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.  Scripps Coastal Medical Center. 2176 Salk Avenue, Carlsbad, CA 92008.  South Entrance.

To register, use this link and find our seminar “Wills and Trusts” through the pull-down menu: http://www.sandiegoparent.com/TPC/event/signup.html

• What is a guardian?
• How do I nominate a guardian?
• How do I choose a guardian for my child?

If you are interested in learning more about Guardianships and/or nominating a guardian for your child, see my powerpoint presentation – “Introduction to Guardianships”, available through Google Documents.

Want more information? Call the Law Office of Daniel K. Printz at (858) 740-4370.

Life insurance is a fantastic tool for these families.  While they remain relatively young and healthy, life insurance can be inexpensive and easy to qualify for.

I recommend obtaining life insurance sufficient to care for your spouse and children for a period of two years without that spouse working.  It’s difficult to overstate the debilitating effect the grieving process can have on a young family.  For two years, free your spouse from the need to (1) work to pay bills and (2) obtain and pay for outside child care.  By obtaining a term life policy for $500,000, $1 million, or even $2 million, a young parent can make sure that their spouse and children are well cared for while they recover.

Please understand – I don’t sell life insurance and I make no money off referrals to life insurance agents.  I’ve just seen how limited assets can compound the devastation of a young person’s sudden death.

Another type of insurance to consider while you’re young is long-term care and disability insurance, to cover events that disable a parent without causing death.

If you can’t decide what type of insurance you might need, or the levels needed, call the Law Office of Daniel K. Printz, or a local life insurance specialist!

Often, a person or couple will delay buying life insurance until they feel they can better afford it. However, that’s not wise. The older you get, the more expensive new life insurance policies become and the less insurable you become. At some point, life insurance will become unavailable to you, either due to age or to a medical condition. The best time to buy life insurance is while you are relatively young and healthy.

Why to buy life insurance? As a tool in estate planning, life insurance can:

1. Create an estate for your spouse or children.
2. Provide cash needed to settle your estate.
3. Allow you to give to charity without depleting your estate.
4. Cover estate tax expenses.

“What about going to www.SuzeOrman.com and clicking “will and trust kit” on the left side of the screen. She said on a recent show to use the password “peoplefirst” to get the documents for free.  I bought this package at a KPBS fundraiser a few years ago and it’s the one my family is using. ”

After a certain knee-jerk emotional reaction, I decided that I’d better check out the Suze Orman package before I criticized it.  After all, she’s strongly in favor of estate planning (a position I certainly agree with), and I’ve quoted her admonitions for years to clients.  I certainly would select Suze Orman over, say, legalzoom.

So I went online to check out her program.  I spent about 20 minutes on her site, enough to complete her Advance Directive and Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care (part of any attorney’s basic estate planning package).  I used it as any person would, filling in the form with my personal information and printing out the final document at the end.

 Aside from inputting personal information (address, phone, etc), the program only asked me to make a single decision: (1) to forbid organ donation or (2) to let my agent decide whether or not to donate organs.

 Here are my issues with the document I printed out: 

 1.  Organ Donation – the only choices were ‘no’ or ‘let my agent decide’.  The majority of my clients want to permit donation, but restrict donation to live transplants – otherwise you could end up used for scientific research or education.  Don’t you want a say as to whether you end up as an object for UCSD med students?

2.  No ability to input social instructions.

3.  No instructions regarding nursing care.

4.  No religious instructions.

5.  No burial/cremation instructions.

6.  No specific authority for your agent to select a primary care physician (and what will happen when your health coverage changes?)

7.  Most importantly, only two possible texts for end-of-life decisions (the ‘keep me alive at all costs’ text and the ‘let me die if the burdens of treatment outweigh the benefits of treatment’ text).  I provide my clients with an initial range of five choices, and then modify the texts to personally suit their wishes.

 Someday I’ll go back and do the living trust portion of the kit.  But if there are such large holes in a relatively simple document like a health care directive, what exists in a revocable living trust?  How about distribution to the children?  Do you want them to inherit at age 18?  Can you insert a Spendthrift Provision so they can’t pledge their inheritance as collateral against a loan?  What if you want to treat the children differently from each other?  Can you make sure your brother Egbert with the marijuana plantation isn’t named as the children’s guardian?

 I’ll leave you with Ms. Orman’s own words on the subject, from her disclaimers:

 ”NOTHING HEREIN IS OR SHOULD BE DEEMED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE, TAX ADVICE, ESTATE PLANNING ADVICE, OR ADVICE OF ANY TYPE REQUIRING LICENSING OR AUTHORIZATION UNDER ANY STATE OR FEDERAL LAW OR REGULATION.”  (Capital letters by Suze Orman)

… and …

“No book or form of other published material is a substitute for personalized advice from a knowledgeable lawyer licensed to practice law in your state. THEREFORE, CONSULT YOUR ATTORNEY.” (Capital letters by Suze Orman)

In my practice, I try to patiently walk  clients through the maze of choices they need to make as responsible parents.  Here are some of the topics every new parent should consider:

NOMINATING A GUARDIAN: Guardians are persons appointed by a court to care for minors too young to care for themselves. In a guardianship, the court appoints a “guardian of the person”, to make decisions about personal care, such as where the child will live and what kind of care they will receive. The court also appoints a “guardian of the estate” to handle the child’s financial affairs until he or she comes of age.

Choosing a person to nominate as guardian is rarely easy.  The place to nominate a guardian for your child is in your Will. You can use a Simple Will, Husband and Wife Wills, or a Pour-over Will attached to a Revocable Living Trust. The best choice for you will depend on your family and financial situation. We’ll provide you with the help you need to make the choice, and craft a nomination that can survive challenges by surviving relatives who might disagree with your choices.

INCAPACITY DOCUMENTS:  These days, estate planning is not just about your property; it’s also about you.  You may wish to consider signing an advance health care directive, formerly called a “living will”, which specifies your wishes about life-prolonging treatment should you become severely ill. There are also other documents, called durable powers of attorney, which can be used to give those you trust the power to look after your financial affairs while you cannot.  Without these documents, your spouse may not be able to handle all of your affairs!

If you don’t have Incapacity Documents, a court-overseen Conservatorship may be necessary, costing time, money, and invading your personal privacy. By crafting these documents while you are competent you may be saving your family from heartache and grief in the future.

PREVENT SQUANDERING OF ASSETS: Without a Will, or even with a Simple Will or Husband & Wife Wills, your children will be entitled to their whole inheritance when they reach the age of majority. Can you imagine having a windfall when you’re 18?

Sudden wealth and eighteen year-olds rarely go well together. They rarely have the maturity to resist temptation, and some are susceptible to swindlers. Left to his own devices, an eighteen year-old and his money will soon be parted.

Select a Testamentary Trust or Revocable Living Trust to delay the distribution of your assets until your children will be more mature. Also ask your attorney about Spendthrift Provisions, which will prevent your child from pledging his or her inheritance as collateral for a loan!

PRESERVE YOUR PROPERTY FOR YOUR CHILDREN: It’s important to minimize costs of administering your estate. There are many different costs associated with the passing of property on death. Doing nothing is the most inefficient way of going about things: a sizable portion of your estate may go to the government or lawyers, rather than to those you love.

With proper planning, some of these costs (such as probate fees) are completely avoidable. Others (such as federal estate tax) can be minimized. Without estate planning, though, you will leave less for your family.

Probate Fees are set by law in California and are based on your GROSS estate, without taking into account mortgages or other debts! Here is a chart that illustrates why you need to ask the Law Office of Daniel K. Printz to help you avoid probate:

Fair Market Value        Probate Fees                         Percent of Estate Lost

$200,000                        $14,000                                                     7%

$600,000                        $30,000                                                     6%

$1,000,000                     $46,000                                                     5%

$4,000,000                     $66,000                                                     3%