Estate Planning Videos

Estate Planning - Your Life Your Say, Healthcare Proxy

Estate Planning - Why you should NEVER keep a Will in a safety deposit box!

The simple answer to why you do not keep your Last Will and Testament in a safety deposit box is, it is harder to find and will cause significant additional ...wasted expenses to gain access. Simply put, if the person you named in your Last Will and Testament to be your Personal Representative (previously known as Executor) is not also named to have access to your safety deposit box, then the Bank where the box is located will require an order from the court granting you authority to access the box. Expect to pay an attorney $1,500.00 (which includes court filing fees), or for your DIYers, prepare yourself to spend 15-20 hours in finding the proper documents, completing them, determining the proper filing code, and filing the same. This time will also require you draft a proposed order granting you permission and other documents necessary to show the bank. If you make an error, the court will return your documents advising you of an error many times without telling you want is wrong. Once you obtain a court order and other documents, you may have to get them verified before presenting to the bank. Also, all the work you go through many not be acceptable to the bank because the order does not contain what the bank needs to follow the order.

Also, if the key to your safety deposit box is not findable, then the bank will require the safety deposit box lock corresponding to your key to be drilled. This will required you to coordinate with the bank a date and time for the Bank's chosen locksmith to meet and drill the box. Once the box is drilled, the lock will have to be replaced. Typical costs drill and then replace the lock hover around $2,000 as of the writing of this summary. Of course all the work must happen during banking hours.

The better way is to purchase a fire proof box and place your estate planning documents, including your Last Will and Testament therein. DO NOT LOCK THE BOX. If you lock the box, burglars that may invade your home will likely take it with them to open later away from the crime scene. You will have unwittingly given your original documents away. You will then pay your attorney more money to reproduce original documents again.
___________________________________________________________________________
About our Law Firm:

Crest Key Legal and Accounting is a law and accounting firm focusing personal, business, and international matters in Las Vegas Nevada.

Our firm takes a caring approach, and we are very much focused on improving the lives of everyone who walks through our doors. Our goal is to be your personal advisor, your business enabler, and your international envoy. Acting as a live connection to your interests locally or abroad, connect you to effective strategies for positive outcomes and work diligently to solve your problems.

Our approach is to build awareness of your individual situation by spending time with you and the asking questions relevant to your specific needs and desired outcome. Let us be your first advisor.
Through thoughtful dialogue it is our goal to help build awareness of your situation by understanding your circumstances, concerns, specific needs, and desired outcomes.

We are your FIRST ADVISOR – What does that mean? We pride ourselves on enabling business success by providing advice on business structures, maintenance, and planning. We are tax professionals who have been dealing with taxation matters, including tax controversies, for more than 20 years. Our work with businesses is a forward-looking approach to create evolutionary change for our clients.

Our Practice areas include:
Estate Planning
Probate Administration
Trust Planning
Trust Administration
Healthcare Directives
Revocable Trusts
Fiduciary accounting
Tax Preparation & Tax Planning Read More Great Articles @ https://www.crestkey.com/blog/Show More

Estate Planning - Naming a Guardian for minors in your Last Will and Testament.

Estate Planning - Protecting assets from creditors before and after death.

Asset protection has always been a popular subject for a long time. Nevada really did have an effective mechanism until the early 2000s to protect ones own assets from forfeiture. ...When someone talks about asset protection, they usually are talking about preventing a creditor from taken property away from them. Typical creditors cited as the scariest are judgement creditors. Another creditor typically named are ex-spouses; s/he is not going to get half of my property, bank accounts and land!

Here are some definition used throughout this summary to allow for ease of discussion:

Spendthrift Trust - A trust created to protect assets funded therein from the creditors of a beneficiary of the trust
Trustor - one who creates a trust (could be a self settled Spendthrift Trust) and funds it (transfers property like bank accounts, securities, real property, etc to a trust).
Trustee - one who manages the trust assets according to the language the Trustor placed into the trust.
Independent / Distribution Trustee - someone or entity in Nevada that possesses a right to say no to distributions to you that you as a beneficiary may request.
Beneficiary - an individual or entity named to receive future enjoyment of some sort from the trust assets. A discretionary beneficiary is one whose future enjoyment is dependent upon the trustees discretion. In other words, a discretionary beneficiary possesses a right to request distribution, not a right to demand.

In early 2000s new statutes were introduced in Nevada allowing an individual (a truster) to establish a trust and transfer assets to the trust that can benefit the same individual at some time in the future (discretionary beneficiary). Under prior common law of Nevada, no one was allowed to create a trust for their own benefit and protect assets transferred to the trust away from that person's creditors. Well, common law (law that has been created by the courts of the various states and federal government over time) can be superseded by legislative action creating statutes.

In the early 2000, the Nevada legislature and governor signed into law Nevada Spendthrift Trust statutes that allowed a trustor create a trust and fund then trust (transfer personal assets to the trust) and then name themselves as a future discretionary beneficiary.

The trick is, or more appropriately "the catch is" the Trustor cannot have complete control over the trust and the property transferred to the trust. Some one, under Nevada law must be able to say no to distributions to you from the trust - a distribution trustee.

This is the point where people freak out - I do not want to lose control over my property. Well then, you do not fit the requirements of the self settled spendthrift trust statutes. BUT all is not lost! Nevada law gives you the ability to fire a distribution trustee and hire another distribution trustee who will be more cooperative. This is a double edged sword - allowing you control over the distribution trustee, but if you fire too many distribution trustees a court would not believe you did not have control over the trust, and thus allow creditors access to the assets of the trust. In other words, the trust cannot be your check book.

This is a great asset protection, but first you must know the rules and how to properly navigate them to allow you maximum benefit while not abusing your control over the distribution trustee.
___________________________________________________________________________
About our Law Firm:

Crest Key Legal and Accounting is a law and accounting firm focusing personal, business, and international matters in Las Vegas Nevada.

Our firm takes a caring approach, and we are very much focused on improving the lives of everyone who walks through our doors. Our goal is to be your personal advisor, your business enabler, and your international envoy. Acting as a live connection to your interests locally or abroad, connect you to effective strategies for positive outcomes and work diligently to solve your problems.

Our approach is to build awareness of your individual situation by spending time with you and the asking questions relevant to your specific needs and desired outcome. Let us be your first advisor.
Through thoughtful dialogue it is our goal to help build awareness of your situation by understanding your circumstances, concerns, specific needs, and desired outcomes.

We are your FIRST ADVISOR – What does that mean? We pride ourselves on enabling business success by providing advice on business structures, maintenance, and planning. We are tax professionals who have been dealing with taxation matters, including tax controversies, for more than 20 years. Our work with businesses is a forward-looking approach to create evolutionary change for our clients.

Our Practice areas include:
Estate Planning
Probate Administration
Trust Planning
Trust Administration
Healthcare Directives
Revocable Trusts
Fiduciary accounting
Tax PreparationShow More

Estate Planning - Naming a Guardian for minors in your Last Will and Testament.

Estate Planning - Protecting assets from creditors before and after death.

Asset protection has always been a popular subject for a long time. Nevada really did have an effective mechanism until the early 2000s to protect ones own assets from forfeiture. ...When someone talks about asset protection, they usually are talking about preventing a creditor from taken property away from them. Typical creditors cited as the scariest are judgement creditors. Another creditor typically named are ex-spouses; s/he is not going to get half of my property, bank accounts and land!

Here are some definition used throughout this summary to allow for ease of discussion:

Spendthrift Trust - A trust created to protect assets funded therein from the creditors of a beneficiary of the trust
Trustor - one who creates a trust (could be a self settled Spendthrift Trust) and funds it (transfers property like bank accounts, securities, real property, etc to a trust).
Trustee - one who manages the trust assets according to the language the Trustor placed into the trust.
Independent / Distribution Trustee - someone or entity in Nevada that possesses a right to say no to distributions to you that you as a beneficiary may request.
Beneficiary - an individual or entity named to receive future enjoyment of some sort from the trust assets. A discretionary beneficiary is one whose future enjoyment is dependent upon the trustees discretion. In other words, a discretionary beneficiary possesses a right to request distribution, not a right to demand.

In early 2000s new statutes were introduced in Nevada allowing an individual (a truster) to establish a trust and transfer assets to the trust that can benefit the same individual at some time in the future (discretionary beneficiary). Under prior common law of Nevada, no one was allowed to create a trust for their own benefit and protect assets transferred to the trust away from that person's creditors. Well, common law (law that has been created by the courts of the various states and federal government over time) can be superseded by legislative action creating statutes.

In the early 2000, the Nevada legislature and governor signed into law Nevada Spendthrift Trust statutes that allowed a trustor create a trust and fund then trust (transfer personal assets to the trust) and then name themselves as a future discretionary beneficiary.

The trick is, or more appropriately "the catch is" the Trustor cannot have complete control over the trust and the property transferred to the trust. Some one, under Nevada law must be able to say no to distributions to you from the trust - a distribution trustee.

This is the point where people freak out - I do not want to lose control over my property. Well then, you do not fit the requirements of the self settled spendthrift trust statutes. BUT all is not lost! Nevada law gives you the ability to fire a distribution trustee and hire another distribution trustee who will be more cooperative. This is a double edged sword - allowing you control over the distribution trustee, but if you fire too many distribution trustees a court would not believe you did not have control over the trust, and thus allow creditors access to the assets of the trust. In other words, the trust cannot be your check book.

This is a great asset protection, but first you must know the rules and how to properly navigate them to allow you maximum benefit while not abusing your control over the distribution trustee.
___________________________________________________________________________
About our Law Firm:

Crest Key Legal and Accounting is a law and accounting firm focusing personal, business, and international matters in Las Vegas Nevada.

Our firm takes a caring approach, and we are very much focused on improving the lives of everyone who walks through our doors. Our goal is to be your personal advisor, your business enabler, and your international envoy. Acting as a live connection to your interests locally or abroad, connect you to effective strategies for positive outcomes and work diligently to solve your problems.

Our approach is to build awareness of your individual situation by spending time with you and the asking questions relevant to your specific needs and desired outcome. Let us be your first advisor.
Through thoughtful dialogue it is our goal to help build awareness of your situation by understanding your circumstances, concerns, specific needs, and desired outcomes.

We are your FIRST ADVISOR – What does that mean? We pride ourselves on enabling business success by providing advice on business structures, maintenance, and planning. We are tax professionals who have been dealing with taxation matters, including tax controversies, for more than 20 years. Our work with businesses is a forward-looking approach to create evolutionary change for our clients.

Our Practice areas include:
Estate Planning
Probate Administration
Trust Planning
Trust Administration
Healthcare Directives
Revocable Trusts
Fiduciary accounting
Tax PreparationShow More

Estate Planning - What is a Life Estate?

Estate Planning - Why you should NEVER keep a Will in a safety deposit box!

The simple answer to why you do not keep your Last Will and Testament in a safety deposit box is, it is harder to find and will cause significant additional ...wasted expenses to gain access. Simply put, if the person you named in your Last Will and Testament to be your Personal Representative (previously known as Executor) is not also named to have access to your safety deposit box, then the Bank where the box is located will require an order from the court granting you authority to access the box. Expect to pay an attorney $1,500.00 (which includes court filing fees), or for your DIYers, prepare yourself to spend 15-20 hours in finding the proper documents, completing them, determining the proper filing code, and filing the same. This time will also require you draft a proposed order granting you permission and other documents necessary to show the bank. If you make an error, the court will return your documents advising you of an error many times without telling you want is wrong. Once you obtain a court order and other documents, you may have to get them verified before presenting to the bank. Also, all the work you go through many not be acceptable to the bank because the order does not contain what the bank needs to follow the order.

Also, if the key to your safety deposit box is not findable, then the bank will require the safety deposit box lock corresponding to your key to be drilled. This will required you to coordinate with the bank a date and time for the Bank's chosen locksmith to meet and drill the box. Once the box is drilled, the lock will have to be replaced. Typical costs drill and then replace the lock hover around $2,000 as of the writing of this summary. Of course all the work must happen during banking hours.

The better way is to purchase a fire proof box and place your estate planning documents, including your Last Will and Testament therein. DO NOT LOCK THE BOX. If you lock the box, burglars that may invade your home will likely take it with them to open later away from the crime scene. You will have unwittingly given your original documents away. You will then pay your attorney more money to reproduce original documents again.
___________________________________________________________________________
About our Law Firm:

Crest Key Legal and Accounting is a law and accounting firm focusing personal, business, and international matters in Las Vegas Nevada.

Our firm takes a caring approach, and we are very much focused on improving the lives of everyone who walks through our doors. Our goal is to be your personal advisor, your business enabler, and your international envoy. Acting as a live connection to your interests locally or abroad, connect you to effective strategies for positive outcomes and work diligently to solve your problems.

Our approach is to build awareness of your individual situation by spending time with you and the asking questions relevant to your specific needs and desired outcome. Let us be your first advisor.
Through thoughtful dialogue it is our goal to help build awareness of your situation by understanding your circumstances, concerns, specific needs, and desired outcomes.

We are your FIRST ADVISOR – What does that mean? We pride ourselves on enabling business success by providing advice on business structures, maintenance, and planning. We are tax professionals who have been dealing with taxation matters, including tax controversies, for more than 20 years. Our work with businesses is a forward-looking approach to create evolutionary change for our clients.

Our Practice areas include:
Estate Planning
Probate Administration
Trust Planning
Trust Administration
Healthcare Directives
Revocable Trusts
Fiduciary accounting
Tax Preparation & Tax Planning Read More Great Articles @ https://www.crestkey.com/blog/Show More

Estate Planning - Your Life Your Say, Healthcare Proxy

Estate Planning - What Estate Planning is About