For cost and registration information, contact:
Jonathan Cook
National Business Institute
1218 McCann Drive
Altoona, WI 54720
(800) 909-7689
jonathan.cook@nbi-sems.com

Title:  Strike While the Iron is Hot: Why 2011 is the year to make major estate planning changes.

Speaker: Daniel K. Printz, Esq., has represented California individuals, families, and corporations for the last eleven years. His practice provides estate planning and business law services. His estate planning practice focuses on asset protection, tax minimization and wealth transfer planning. He has taught “Estates, Wills and Trusts” in the University of San Diego Paralegal Program since 2007.

Information: I will be discussing key aspects of the 2010 Tax Relief Act, and how they translate into significant changes to planning strategies and trust drafting. Specific topics include exemption portability, the 2011 “gifting bubble”, modifications of the AB trust, and vital safeguards.

The program will be on Monday, June 27, 2011 from 6:00-7:00 pm at Barcelona 222, on the USD Campus at 5998 Alcala Park, San Diego, CA 92110-2492. Cost is $19 for USD Paralegal Alumni Association members and $29 for non-members. Call (619) 260-4579 for more information.

Register online and pay by credit/debit at www.sandiego.edu/paralegal Payment can also be made by check – contact the paralegal program for more information.

I hope to see you all there!

It’s surprisingly hard to buy a house. In today’s depressed housing market, home prices and interest rates are low. Normally that would mean that homes would be rapidly purchased, thus driving up home prices. But here in the “Great Recession,” buyers are finding it hard to qualify and often need to provide significant down payments.

More and more often, young people and couples are turning to parents for help in making that house purchase. From an estate planning perspective, the devil is in the details; the success of the transaction will lie in making the proper choices given the facts.

First, you need to decide whether the help is a gift or a loan. Second, you need to decide if there will be any type of security if it is a loan.  Third, you need to decide how to treat the assistance in the parents’ estate plan (will or living trust).

If the assistance is a gift, then the advantage to the parent is that they move some money out of their estate, thus reducing potential estate taxes on estates over five million ($5,000,000).  The disadvantage to the parent is that they might have to pay gift taxes on the transfer.

If the assistance is a loan, then there are two advantages that leap out. First, the parent can can secure the loan with a lien against the home. This would be a second, since the mortgage company is going to take the first position as the primary lender. Second, as a lender, the parent is creating a stream of income, essentially creating an annuity earning some interest.

The disadvantage of a loan is that if the parent suddenly needs money, the parent can’t pull the money out of the house, the way they could if they had put the money into a different investment vehicle like a mutual fund.  Also, if the child doesn’t pay back or misses payments, they are unlikely to enforce the lien, thus making the lien a hollow threat.  Finally, if the assistance the parent provides is to actually co-sign the loan, then they could be on the hook for the entire loan amount if child defaults, goes bankrupt, passes away, and can suffer credit blows from late payments.

Parents who want to help out should always remember that their investment could be lost due to child’s creditors foreclosing on the home with no other security.  Therefore, it’s the assistance, rather than the investment, that should be the driving motivation.

Whatever choices the family makes, the parent’s act should be memorialized in a writing so it can be understood in the context of their estate planning.  If this was a gift, was it an advance on their inheritance that should be taken into account when diving property among children?  If it was a loan, will it be forgiven on parent’s passing or should it count against the inheritance?  The idea here is to minimize the possibility of litigation between children on the parent’s passing by making the parent’s wishes about the assistance to that one child very clear.

If you’d like to help out your child with buying a house, or if you need assistance from your parent with a purchase, sit down with a certified financial planner and with an estate planning attorney to make sure it’s done right.  You can call my office at any time for a free consultation at (858) 720-8250.

A great additional resource can be found here – a comprehensive review of parent/child mortgage help advice!

As so often happens, the most important story is the one not told.  Yesterday, Inside Edition broke the news that the late Tony Curtis, who passed away in September of 2010, had specifically disinherited his children in his will. To the tabloids, what is important here is that, five months before his death, Tony Curtis re-wrote his will.  (Amusingly, some have referred to five months before his death as his “last days.”)

I haven’t personally seen the will, so I’m don’t know whether Inside Edition is correct in it’s implied allegation that Mr. Curtis apparently didn’t leave anything to his children. After all, he could have easily provided for them in other ways (life insurance, direct beneficiary investment accounts, etc.).

Assuming that they are correct,  what is astonishing is not that he disinherited his children, which frankly happens often enough not to produce comment by estate planning attorneys like myself, but that he chose to do so publicly when it would be so easy to privately leave his estate to his widow, Jill Vandenberg Curtis.  Let me quote InsideEdition.com:

“INSIDE EDITION has obtained the will, written five months before his death from cardiac arrest last year at age 85. His children are listed by name, including Jamie Lee. Then there’s this statement: “I acknowledge the existence of my children…and have intentionally and with full knowledge chosen not to provide for them.”  Instead, Curtis leaves his estate to his widow, Jill.”

Ignore for a moment that Tony Curtis has joined a long line of celebrities who fail to consider the ramifications of the Probate process.

Instead, consider this: Tony Curtis could have accompished the exact same thing, disinheriting his children and leaving his entire estate to his wife, and done it privately, without his widow and children being exposed to our prying eyes.

If Tony Curtis had made a trust, then his will would simply direct that his entire estate be distributed to the trust. Then, in the trust document, which would remain private, he could direct that everything be distributed to his wife.  Voila!  The exact same result, but without dragging the family through the tabloid mud. After all, it’s really none of our business.

Furthermore, by using a trust, he could have easily left something to his favorite charities, to particular friends, or to his grandchildren or great-grandchildren, who one assumes are too young to have voiced disapproval over Mr. Curtis’ life choices. It begs the question: was the omission intentional? Did he actually desire this result, or did he just not ask anyone’s advice? I think it was the latter – most people simply don’t know the right questions to ask.

Ironically, Jill Curtis’ response to the tabloid reports was: “Tony’s last will and testament and his passing wishes . . . are private family matters.” Sadly, they’re not private at all. But they could have been. 

“What would happen to my children if something happened to me and my spouse? How do I protect my children as a new parent?” With simple estate planning, you can easily ensure that your children would be raised by the person you choose and that your children would not inherit everything at age 18, but at the ages and stages you want them to inherit. 

San Diego’s “The Parent Connection,” a non-profit sponsored by Scripps Hospitals, is hosting a seminar with guidance for new parents.

Estate planning and early financial decisions are  important for every new parent.  Making plans for your possible death or incapacity is an important part of your new responsibilities.  It may not be an pleasant task, but that doesn’t mean that you can just cross your fingers and hope that the worst won’t happen to you.  A well-versed estate planning lawyer can walk you through the maze of choices you need to make as a responsible parent.

Daniel K. Printz, Esq., an estate planning attorney and adjunct faculty member at the University of San Diego, and Kristin Barron, a financial planner,  will discuss how to avoid probate, how to be prepared to cover the issues of incapacity, how to secure your financial future as well as your child’s college education. You’ll have the opportunity to learn about 529 plans, education and Roth IRAs, UTMA accounts and alternative investments.

Date: Saturday, January 22, 2011          **** Activities will be available for children ****

Time: 9:30 am to 11:30 am

Location: Scripps Coastal Medical Center, Eastlake — 971 Lane Avenue, Chula Vista, 91914 

This event is free for Parent Connection members, $10 for nonmembers. Registration for nonmembers will be reimbursed; provide receipt at the event.  Register by calling the Law Office of Daniel K. Printz at (858) 720-8250 OR online at http://www.sandiegoparent.com/TPC/event/signup.html.

PURPOSES OF AN INTERNATIONAL TRUST

There are two main purposes of an international trust for U.S. citizens.  The first is to combine domestic and offshore assets into a unified estate plan with a common trustee and set of instructions.  The second use of interantional trusts is for asset protection.

ASPECTS OF AN INTERNATIONAL TRUST

International trusts for asset protection are refered to as “Asset Protection Trusts.”  The countries which provide for Asset Protection Trusts are: The Cook Islands; Nevis; Belize; Bahamas; the Channel Islands; Switzerland; and, Liechtenstein.

According to Jacob Stein’s treatise on asset protection, common provisions enacted among some, but not all, of these countries are:

1. there is no recognition of foreign judgments with respect to trusts
2. there is a very short statute of limitations on fraudulent transfers
3. to establish a fraudulent transfer the creditor must show that the debtor was insolvent, and must establish the debtor’s intent to “hinder, delay or defraud” beyond a reasonable doubt;
4. the anti-duress provisions are incorporated into the statutes; and
5. spendthrift protection is extended to self-settled trusts.

CAUTIONS REGARDING INTERNATIONAL TRUSTS

Two things should be noted.  First, transferring your assets offshore does nothing to relieve a U.S. citizen from declaring income for tax purposes; we must declare non-domestic income and capital gains.  Also, there has been an increase in regulation regarding reporting requirements – as a result, some resident trustees in the foreign jurisdictions have either retired or greatly reduced the number of separate trusts they are willing to handle at a time.

Before implementing any estate planning, financial planning, or tax planning strategy, be sure to consult with and heed the advice of a professional certified to assist you with these matters!

1. Minor Children

Parents of minor children want to make sure that responsible parties are prepared to step in and raise their children if they cannot. They will want to appoint a Guardian of the Person and a Guardian of the Estate, who may or may not be the same persons.

2. Incapacity

Clients want to make sure that if they are temporarily or permanently incapacitated, a person they trust is nominated to handle their health care and property decisions. At the same time, the client can give instructions, such as end-of-life guidelines or property desires.

3. Distributions

Clients want to make sure that their assets go to certain persons on their death. The creation of a will, or a will and trust, is necessary to accomplish this goal. There are four types of beneficiaries; specific/direct; contingent; alternative; and, residuary.

4. Probate

Clients want their estates to avoid probate, which will eat away at their beneficiaries estate and cause significant delay in the transfer of assets. The only way to do this is to place all assets in probate avoiding devices, such as life insurance, pay-on-death accounts, and living trusts.

5. Estate Taxes

As of 1/1/2011, all estates over $1M will be taxed at 55% on transfer to non-spousal beneficiares. Clients who are married can easily save $550,000 on said transfer with the creation of a trust! Other strategies, such as inter-vivos transfers, can also significantly reduce taxation.

In her article on MSN.com’s MoneyCentral, Karen Hube cites postponing estate planning as one of “New Parents’ Top 10 Money Mistakes.” In her online “Wills and Trusts Special”, financial guru Suze Orman states: “If you cannot agree on guardianship for your child, you will be leaving that decision to the state. The state will assign someone to care for your child. Be smart and make that decision before it is too late.”

Advice on how to choose and nominate guardians for your children will be just part of Mr. Printz and Ms. Barron’s 2-hour seminar and workshop. Mr. Printz will discuss the questions most often raised by new parents: Who do I nominate as my child’s guardian? Should that person also control her money? Can my children stay in the family home, or will they be relocated? Ms. Barron will discuss educational financing, 529’s, and UTMA accounts.

Mr. Printz has been an attorney for the past ten years, since graduating in 1999 from San Diego’s Thomas Jefferson School of Law in Old Town. The Law Office of Daniel K. Printz is located at 5631 Palmer Way, Ste. C, Carlsbad, CA 92010. Mr. Printz specializes in estate planning and probate, and for the past three years he has taught “Estates, Wills and Trusts” in the University of San Diego’s intensive paralegal program. Mr. Printz, his wife Erica, and their 2 ½ year old son Samuel live in the Old Creek neighborhood of San Marcos, just west of San Elijo Hills. Mr. Printz can be contacted at (858) 740-4370 or by email at daniel@TheLegacyLawyer.com.

March 23, 2010 at the Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quarter: 401 K Street, San Diego, CA 92101. (619) 231-4040. 

9:00 A.M. – 4:30 P.M.

This is an intermediate level seminar designed for those specializing in estate planning and administration. Seminar led by: Meredith G. Alcock, Esq.; Audrey J. Grossman, Esq.; David P. Jones II, Esq.; and, Daniel K. Printz, Esq.

6.0 units of CLE for Attorneys and Paralegals. 6.0 units of specialization in the area of estate planning for the California Board of Legal Specialization.

Cost: $339 first attendee; $329 each additional. Audio Recording: $339. Manual only: $99. CD and Manual only: $199.

Enroll at: http://www.thelegacylawyer.com/first

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