“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.

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 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%