The 101 Biggest Estate Planning Mistakes E-Book

Herbert E. Nass

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 279

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2009

Beschreibung

A trust and estate lawyer to the stars offers an engaging look at how to avoid numerous estate planning mistakes In The 101 Biggest Estate Planning Mistakes, author Herbert Nass, an estate planner for some of today's most famous celebrities, offers an entertaining look at what not to do when setting up an estate plan, or administering an estate. By examining the mistakes made by some of the most well-known celebrities-from Bob Marley to John F. Kennedy, Sr. and Jr.-this book will guide readers toward making a successful estate plan and help them avoid many common pitfalls. Chapters cover such topics as: mistakes involving tangible personal property, real estate, executors and trustees, minors, or persons with disabilities; as well as disgruntled family and friends left behind. * Puts estate planning in perspective through entertaining examples of mistakes celebrities have made in developing their own plans * Taps into the voyeuristic interest we have in the lives of the rich and famous * Offers an insider's look at many fascinating wills of the rich and famous Given the emotional, financial, and legal issues that arise from the death of a loved one-and the substantial assets that are transferred from one generation to the next at this time-understanding estate planning is essential. This book will put you in a better position to make more informed estate planning decisions.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Praise

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Preface

Acknowledgements

CHAPTER 1 - The Single Biggest Mistake Is Not Planning for the One Certainty in ...

Mistake #1: No Estate Planning Whatsoever

Mistake #2: Out-of-Date Wills

Mistake #3: Losing Your Will

Mistake # 4: Do-It-Yourselfers and Handwritten Wills

Mistake #5: Not Signing Your Will because You Physically Can’t

Mistake #6 Not Properly Executing Documents

Mistake #7: The Best-Laid (Estate) Plans

Mistake #8: Dying Intestate, or Without a Will

CHAPTER 2 - Mistakes Involving Tangible Personal Property

Mistake #9: Nemo Dat Quo Non Habet (Latin for “He Who Has Not Cannot Give”)

Mistake #10: Not Properly Documenting the Delivery and Completion of a Gift

Mistake #11: Selling Valuable Tangible Personal Property Too Close to Death

Mistake 12: Bequeathing Tangible Personal Property That You Do Not Own

Mistake #13: Mentioning Too Many Details in Your Will

Mistake #14: Not Including Any Details in Your Will

Mistake #15: Not Providing Properly for the Care of Your Pets After Your Death

Mistake #16: Leaving Too Much Money for Your Pets After Your Death

Mistake #17: Giving the Same Tangible Personal Property Item to More Than One Person

Mistake #18: Not Properly Providing for the Disposition of Your Artworks After ...

Mistake #19: Not Providing for Your Tangible Personal Property in a Revocable ...

CHAPTER 3 - Mistakes Involving Real Estate

Mistake #20: Not Confirming How Title Is Held to Real Estate Before or Right ...

Mistake #21: Forgetting That Real Estate Usually Passes Subject to Loans and Mortgages

Mistake #22: Not Draining the Water Pipes in a Vacant House in Cold Weather

Mistake #23: Failing to Maintain Adequate Property and Casualty Insurance on ...

Mistake #24: Failing to Provide That Children, or Others, May Continue to ...

Mistake #25: Failing to Provide That Existing Leases Will Terminate on ...

Mistake #26: Owning Land, a House, or an Apartment in a Foreign Country

Mistake #27: Assuming That a Co-operative Apartment Building Board Will Always ...

Mistake #28: Placing Real Estate in a Trust Without Checking on the ...

CHAPTER 4 - Mistakes Involving Executors and/or Trustees

Mistake #29: Selecting Only One Executor in a Complicated Estate

Mistake #30: Selecting Too Many Executors

Mistake #31: Selecting an Even Number of Executors

Mistake #32: Selecting Executors with a Conflict of Interest

Mistake # 33: Not Compensating (or Under Compensating) Your Executors

Mistake #34: Not Selecting Your Spouse as an Executor

Mistake #35: Surprising Your Spouse with the Terms of Your Will

Mistake #36: Not Naming Your Children as Executors

Mistake #37: Naming Your Children as Executors

Mistake #38: Naming a Literary Executor in Your Will

Mistake #39: Naming a Corporate Fiduciary That Can Be Removed by an Individual Fiduciary

CHAPTER 5 - Mistakes Involving Guardians, Minors, or Step-Children

Mistake #40: Not Naming the Biological Parent as the Guardian of Your Minor Children

Mistake #41: Naming the Biological Parent as the Guardian of Your Minor Children

Mistake #42: Failing To Periodically Review Your Choice of Guardian(s)

Mistake #43: Assuming That Your Step-Children Have the Same Legal Rights as ...

CHAPTER 6 - Mistakes Involving Prior Marriages, Prenuptial Agreements, and ...

Mistake #44: Not Taking into Account the Terms of an Existing Separation or ...

Mistake #45: Entirely Disinheriting Children or Grandchildren Out of Stupidity ...

Mistake #46: Not Taking Your Spouse’s Legal or Statutory Rights into Account

Mistake #47: Putting Your Child in Charge of a Surviving Spouse Who Is Not His ...

Mistake #48: Assuming That Your Divorce Automatically Revokes Your Will in Its Entirety

Mistake #49: Not Updating Your Will at the Start of Your Divorce Proceedings

Mistake #50: Not Respecting the Validity of a Prenuptial Agreement

Mistake #51: Not Mentioning the Prenuptial Agreement in Your Will

Mistake #52: Failing to Fund a Revocable Living Trust During Your Lifetime to ...

CHAPTER 7 - Estate Planning Mistakes Involving Tax and Copyright Issues

Mistake #53: Eliminating Your Residuary Estate Because of High Taxes on Your ...

Mistake #54: Not Taking Full Advantage of the Available Tax Exemption Amount

Mistake #55: Not Having Assets Titled in the Name of Each Spouse

Mistake #56: Failing to Ascertain Whether Gift Tax Returns Were Ever Filed

Mistake #57: Failing to Pay the Five Percent Annual Minimum Distribution ...

Mistake #58: Not Having a Buy Sell Agreement in a Closely Held Business, ...

Mistake #59: Failing to Title Appreciated Real Estate in the Name of the Spouse ...

Mistake #60: Separating the Copyright Interest from the Actual Work of Art That ...

CHAPTER 8 - Estate Planning Mistakes Involving Disgruntled Friends and Family

Mistake #61: Lack of a No Contest or In Terrorem Clause in Your Will

Mistake #62: Using a One Dollar No Contest/In Terrorem Clause in Your Will

Mistake #63: Using a Codicil Instead of a New Will

Mistake #64: Impulsively Changing Your Will by Whipping Out a Quick “Down and ...

Mistake #65: Not Contacting the Attorney for the Beneficiary of a Will When ...

Mistake #66: Requiring Survivorship by a Certain Number of Days

Mistake #67: Not Including Your Long Time Secretary or Assistant as a ...

Mistake #68: Entirely Disinheriting Children or Grandchildren Out of Anger or Vindictiveness

Mistake #69: Failing to Mention the Names of the Heirs You Intend to Disinherit ...

Mistake #70: Directing That a Specific Attorney or Other Adviser Be Hired by ...

Mistake # 71: Not Taking Advantage of a Qualified Disclaimer within Nine Months ...

Mistake #72: Offering Too Large an Amount at the Outset of Negotiations

Mistake #73: Arguing with Your Attorney about Legal Fees

Mistake #74: Fighting with a Lawyer with “Criminal” Clients

Mistake #75: Having Your Former Mother-in-Law Own a Life Insurance Policy on ...

Mistake #76: Not Getting the Original Will Back from the Person Replaced as an Executor

CHAPTER 9 - Mistakes Involving Funerals, Burials, or Cremation

Mistake #77: Not Appointing Someone to Make Burial and Funeral Arrangements

Mistake #78: Spending Too Much on a Funeral or Burial

Mistake #79: Providing Overly Detailed Funeral and Burial Instructions in Your Will

Mistake #80: Prepaying for Your Funeral, or Not

Mistake #81: Directing That There Be No Funeral or Memorial Service

Mistake #82: Losing the Deed for Your Cemetery Plot

Mistake #83: Directing That Your Bodily Remains or Ashes Be Buried or Scattered ...

Mistake #84: Directing That Your Pet’s Remains Be Buried with Yours

Mistake #85: Getting Too Religious in Your Will

CHAPTER 10 - One of-a-Kind Mistakes by Celebrities and Icons

Mistake #86: Not Making Charitable Gifts in Your Will When Your Sons Are the ...

Mistake #87: Mentioning the Name of a Lawsuit Involving You in Your Own Will

Mistake #88: Leaving Your Estate to an Older Person Outright and Not in Trust

Mistake #89: Leaving It All to Your Girlfriend Who Has a Drug Addiction

Mistake #90: Making a Bequest with Politically Incorrect or Racist Strings Attached

Mistake #91: Not Properly Identifying an Organization That Receives a Bequest

Mistake #92: Not Providing a Way to Determine That Your Wife Has Regained Her Sanity

Mistake #93: Murdering Your Spouse (or Anyone Else)

CHAPTER 11 - Rookie or Boneheaded Mistakes

Mistake #94: Making a Material Misrepresentation on a Life Insurance Application

Mistake #95: Not Settling a Dispute When the Downside Is Much Greater Than the Upside

Mistake #96: Making Handwritten Changes to a Will after It Has Been Signed and Witnessed

Mistake #97: Acting as a Witness to a Will in Which You Are Named as a Beneficiary

Mistake #98: Removing the Staples from an Original Will

Mistake #99: Putting Your Original Will in a Bank Safe Deposit Box That May Be Sealed

Mistake #100: Preparing Only a Videotaped Will Instead of a Written One

Mistake #101: Owning a Large Amount of Life Insurance in Your Name Individually

About the Author

Index

Additional Praise for

The 101 Biggest Estate Planning Mistakes

“Estate mediators beware. This little book could put you out of business.”

—Robert B. Davidson, JAMS

“Herb Nass has once again written a book that is not only a valuable resource, but interesting and fun to read. If the book was called 102 Biggest Estate Planning Mistakes, the 102nd mistake would be to not read this book. As Herb Nass points out, “He who fails to plan, plans to fail.” I would recommend this book to all my clients.”

—Jeffrey S. Gerson, Director, Wealth Management Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, LLC

“Estate planning mistakes can and will have a profound impact on future generations. The 101 Biggest Estate Planning Mistakes is an entertaining view of serious personal business.”

—Peter C. Valente, Partner, Trusts & Estates Blank Rome LLP

“Who would believe that a book about estate planning could actually be fun to read? Attorney Herb Nass has organized 101 possible estate planning mistakes in a brilliant and lucid manner, and has made this a “must read” for anyone who is going to die, even if you are not planning to die anytime soon, and even if you are a lawyer. I loved it.”

—Raoul Felder, Raoul Felder and Partners, P.C.

“Herb Nass shows that in estate planning, common mistakes can lead to uncommon—and costly—consequences. Here’s a book that can help you avoid many of them.”

—Martin Grant, Financial Advisor Bernstein Global Wealth Management

“Herb Nass has a unique ability to convey important legal concepts in a straightforward, accessible style. The 101 Biggest Estate Planning Mistakes is no exception. Both professionals and laypeople will enjoy and benefit from this helpful book.”

—Peter Culver, Senior Director BNY Mellon Wealth Management

“Herb Nass’ latest literary legal gem will point laypersons in the right direction and is an invaluable desk book and guide for every estate planner.”

—William Schwartz, Esq., Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Copyright © 2010 by Herbert E. Nass. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], via fax at [phone] or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, [phone], via fax [phone], or online at www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

For general information on our other products and services, or for technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at [phone], outside the United States at [phone], or via fax [phone].

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. For more information about Wiley products, visit our web site at www.wiley.com.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Nass, Herbert E.

The 101 biggest estate planning mistakes / Herbert E Nass. p. cm.

Includes index.

eISBN : 978-0-470-55555-2

1. Estate planning--United States. I. Title. II. Title: One hundred one biggest estate planning mistakes.

KF750.N.7305’2--dc22

Dedicated to:

My wonderful wife Jodi, whose energy, resourcefulness, and effervescence continue to be great sources of inspiration and support for me; and

Our two impressive children, Stephanie and Teddy, who are growing up so beautifully and of whom we are very proud.

Thank you all for giving me the time and “space” to write this book.

H.E.N. May 31, 2009

Preface

As an attorney practicing in the area of estate planning and trust and estate administration for more than 25 years at a big law firm (Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison), at a medium-size law firm (Tenzer, Greenblatt, Fallon & Kaplan) and at a small law firm (Herbert E. Nass & Associates), I have seen and learned many things about the estate planning practice. I have witnessed, and often cleaned up, the problems that can arise when mistakes are made in the preparation of estate planning documents or in the administration of a trust or an estate. I have even made a few mistakes myself, but never the same mistake twice.