GRANITE LAW
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GRANITE LAW |
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Granite Law Newsletter: 2000 WinterWhen is a Trust a Good Idea?You see the ads. Avoid probate! Save Taxes! Is a trust necessary for you? First, the vast majority of people do not need to put their assets in trust. On the other hand, if your situation fits, a trust can ensure your assets go where you want and you can save substantially on federal estate tax. So what is a trust? It is just a legal arrangement for holding title for the benefit of one or more people. Here are some situations when a trust might be appropriate. Special Needs Trust: permits you to provide extra money to your special needs child without disqualifying her from government programs that usually pay the big expenses. By-Pass Trust: reduces your Federal estate tax on assets over $650,000 ($1 million by 2006). By leaving $650,000 to a by-pass trust instead of your spouse , you shelter twice as much from federal estate taxes. Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust: Insurance benefits may go directly to a beneficiary but they are included in your estate for estate tax purposes. This trust removes the insurance benefits from your taxable estate so your estate has more assets available for your heirs. Qualified Terminable Interest Property Trust "QTIP": lets you give your spouse a lifetime income, but determines where the principle goes after he/she dies. This works well for the so-called "blended families" where you want to make sure your children from your first marriage are taken care of. Charitable Remainder Trust: lets you take a tax deduction now, get income for the remainder of your life, and leave the principle to a charity. Children's Trust: 18 may be the age of majority, but most kids aren't ready for a big inheritance. This lets you determine at what age and under what circumstances they inherit your estate. If your particular circumstances fit, a trust should be considered. Trusts are not inexpensive, but are well worth the money in certain situations. Call David Jordan at 228-1151 or email him at jordan@granitelaw.com to discuss whether a trust would be of benefit to you and your family. Did You Know? According to the Internal Revenue Service: Less than 2% of the people who die have estates so large as to incur federal estate taxes. In a recent New York case, a son, who was a blind quadriplegic, left a life insurance policy to his father in his Will. Unfortunately, he never changed the beneficiary designation from his ex-wife to his father. The result: the ex-wife got the policy. The Moral: Make sure you have changed your beneficiaries; a Will does not trump an insurance policy beneficiary designation. A couple sued the Bally Health Club for loss of consortium contending that the club was at fault for the man having an affair with a woman he met online. He met the woman in an Internet chat room while home recuperating from a cut to his hand sustained on a towel dispenser at the club. If not for the injury, the suit argued, the man would not have been home to start the affair. No word on the outcome. Loislaw Did you know that JG&W has access to more than 18 million law-related documents-1,300 databases consisting of federal and state law, education materials and other legal information for all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and the 18 most important federal law libraries? We do! Loislaw provides comprehensive legal and related information to law firms on the Internet as well as on CD-ROM. Now, JG&W has instant access to case law, statutory law, constitutions, administrative law, court rules, and other authority. Now that's a resource! And you thought Concord had a lot of lawyers! One quarter of all the nation's lawyers live in just two states: California and Florida, and two thirds of all the world's lawyers live in the United States. "Most attorneys practice law because it gives them a grand and glorious feeling. You give them a grand and they feel glorious." -Milton Berle Here's Something To Think About A recent study by a subsidiary of the McKesson Company found that 48% of nearly 1,300 respondents had taken time off from work in the previous year for a law-related matter. Think of the implications. What does this cost your company in terms of impairment of productivity, team relationships, and the additional time to actually resolve these problems? A lot. Making legal services available is not just a slogan with us. At JG&W, we have instituted a unique program where employers can offer a free benefit to their employees. Over 3,500 employees of numerous companies and organizations in the greater Concord area have already taken advantage of this cost-free program. (See a partial listing below.) As employers, you have legal counsel. Shouldn't your employees have the benefit of such counsel for their concerns? If you would like to hear more about this program, contact Roy Weddleton at JG&W, at 228-1151. Partial List of Companies Participating in the JG&W Employee Assistance Program:
It sounds almost like the setup to a bad lawyer joke: Two law partners and buddies collide while skiing and one sues the other. Attorney Wilkie Cheong sued his partner and longtime friend Drew Antablin after Antablin shattered Cheong's fibula and tibia in the ski collision. "I was seriously injured and he had insurance," Cheong said. The judge tossed out the case, citing the assumption-of-risk doctrine. The two litigants remain partners and friends, Cheong said. -from Today's Legal News December 20, 1999 On The Lighter Side The Butt of Jokes The judge tripped and fell as he was stepping up to the bench. An attorney ran over to give him a hand and said, "I hope Your Honor is not hurt." The judge answered, "My honor is fine. It's my butt that hurts." Why lawyers often recommend settlement? When you go into court, you're putting your fate into the hands of 12 people who weren't even smart enough to get out of jury duty. A Hunting We Shall Go On a recent safari, a lawyer encountered a bull and a tiger. He shot the tiger first. He knew he could shoot the bull anytime. Who is that masked man? Some overprotective parents sued Disneyland because their children were traumatized when they witnessed the park's live mascots taking off their costumes. They lost. |
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