Christopherson, Anderson, Paulson & Fideler, LLPSioux Falls Attorney | Estate Planning2024-01-05T20:55:02Zhttps://www.capflaw.com/feed/atom/WordPressOn Behalf of Christopherson, Anderson, Paulson & Fideler, LLPhttps://www.capflaw.com/?p=491372024-01-05T20:55:02Z2024-01-05T20:55:02Zreview and update your estate plan is a crucial step to ensuring your and your family’s wellbeing. The beginning of the year is the perfect time to take on this important task.
Reflecting on change
The start of the new year often comes with personal and family changes. Perhaps you welcomed a new member to the family, celebrated a marriage, or experienced the loss of a loved one. These life events can significantly affect your estate plan.
Even one small life change can throw off your entire plan in certain instances, which is why it is critical to review and update your estate planning documents regularly to reflect the current state of your life and your family, and ensure you document your wishes.
Evolving laws and regulations
Laws and regulations surrounding estate planning can change, affecting how your assets are distributed. Regularly reviewing your plan ensures it remains in compliance with the latest legal requirements. An outdated plan might not provide the protection you intended, making it essential to bring it up to date.
Financial adjustments
The new year often brings financial changes, such as new investments, property acquisitions, or changes to your income. You should ensure your estate plan includes these updates to ensure you distribute your assets according to your current financial situation and your wishes.
Protecting your loved ones
Your estate plan is a comprehensive tool to safeguard your loved ones. Regular reviews allow you to confirm that your designated beneficiaries, trustees, and guardianships are still suitable for your family.
These annual reviews provide you with an opportunity to make adjustments if circumstances change, ensuring your family is adequately prepared.
Why now?
Taking the time to review and update your estate plan at the beginning of the year sets a positive tone for the months ahead. It is a proactive approach toward securing your family’s future, providing you with peace of mind and your loved ones with the protection they deserve.]]>On Behalf of Christopherson, Anderson, Paulson & Fideler, LLPhttps://www.capflaw.com/?p=490452023-09-27T05:57:11Z2023-09-27T05:57:11ZDurable documents retain their authority until death
Power of attorney paperwork can play an important role in someone's care if they experience some kind of personal emergency. The agent that they named in their paperwork can serve as their healthcare proxy, making decisions about their medical treatment. They may also have financial power of attorney paperwork that designates someone to manage their resources.
Basic powers of attorney would theoretically lose their legal power when the South Dakota courts declare someone permanently incapacitated. Durable power of attorney documents, however, retain their authority even if the person who drafted them no longer has the legal capacity to speak on their own behalf. Durable documents essentially allow someone to name an agent to act on their behalf for the rest of their life should they become permanently unable to manage their own affairs.
In other words, durable powers of attorney can effectively let someone choose the person who would act as their guardian instead of leaving someone at the mercy of whoever requests that authority from the courts. Particularly if someone has a large family or significant resources, taking the time to choose the person they want to provide them with support might give them peace of mind regardless of what the future holds.
Adding the right documents to an estate plan can help someone derive longer-lasting and broader protection from the paperwork they create. Seeking legal guidance can help individuals to clarify which kind of estate planning documents they may benefit from drafting.]]>On Behalf of Christopherson, Anderson, Paulson & Fideler, LLPhttps://www.capflaw.com/?p=490442023-06-25T21:40:00Z2023-06-25T21:40:00ZChoosing someone to act as agent
One of the most important steps in the incapacity planning process is the selection of the appropriate agent. The adult putting together the plan will name someone they trust to assume financial and/or medical authority when they become incapacitated.
Some people name separate agents for medical and financial matters, while others choose a single person to handle their affairs. Durable powers of attorney will retain their authority even after someone becomes incapacitated and no longer has the ability to create new estate planning documents. Once someone has added powers of attorney to their estate plan, they know there will be someone to manage their affairs if they become unable to do so.
In scenarios where a testator has very specific personal medical care that they receive, they may also need to put together an advanced directive explaining their preferences on pain management, life support and even anatomical gifts. Proper planning ahead of time will help someone connect with medical care that aligns with their wishes and will also protect them from the financial hardship that could result from an inability to manage one's own resources.
Creating an estate plan that addresses future medical needs in addition to someone's death can give them the most robust protection possible regardless of what the future holds. Seeking legal guidance to better understand one’s options is generally a good place to start.]]>On Behalf of Christopherson, Anderson, Paulson & Fideler, LLPhttps://www.capflaw.com/?p=490432023-03-27T19:10:25Z2023-03-27T19:10:25Z1. Violations of state law
Someone can contest a will based on the claim that it denies them their statutory rights. Such challenges are almost always brought by spouses of the deceased, as state law grants them a right to a certain percentage of the estate. When an estate plan deviates from those rules, the surviving spouse may ask the probate courts to throw out the will or estate documents and uphold their right under the law.
2. Undo influence
Sometimes, people believe that an outside party influenced the testator to structure their documents in a certain way. For example, if a testator made changes in the last months of their life leaving everything to the child who moved in with them, it would be normal to worry that those changes were the result not of someone's true intentions but instead of the new beneficiary pressuring them into making those changes.
3. Lack of testamentary capacity
Sometimes people wait too long to start estate planning, or they decide to make changes later in life when they don't have the same cognitive capacity they had just a few years prior. When family members believe that someone created or altered their estate planning documents after showing signs of dementia or diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, they could challenge the validity of those documents by claiming that the older adult does not have the capacity to create legal documents.
Understanding the kinds of challenges that lead to estate litigation can benefit those who are serving as the representative of an estate or who are expecting to inherit one, as well as those who are preparing to create or adjust their estate planning documents.]]>On Behalf of Christopherson, Anderson, Paulson & Fideler, LLPhttps://www.capflaw.com/?p=490422022-12-16T23:15:35Z2022-12-16T23:15:35ZSellers sometimes want to back out of deals for all kinds of reasons
Your sellers may be trying to back out simply because nostalgia got to them and they no longer want to sell – and some may have another offer on the table that gives them more money or some other perceived advantage.
Whatever their reason for the switch, it may not matter unless one of the following is true:
The contract has not yet been signed. Until you have a signed agreement, you don’t really have a deal.
The contract is in an attorney review period. If there’s an attorney review clause in the contract, even a signed deal isn’t really solid until that ends.
There’s some flaw on your end. If you, as the buyer, agreed to certain terms and you don’t meet them, that can give the seller an escape hatch. For example, a failure to get your funding approved within a certain time limit could do it.
There’s a contingency that lets the seller out. Some sellers are savvy enough to include clauses that give them the right to back out of the deal if they’re unable to, for example, find a new home in their price range.
They have your agreement. If you want to let the seller out of the deal, you can – but you’re certainly under no obligation.
Aside from these situations, however, sellers can’t just decide to cancel a deal. If they do, you may be able to request damages for any losses you’ve incurred or even force them to go through with the deal they already made. If you’re a homebuyer and you encounter trouble, it may be time to get some legal guidance.]]>On Behalf of Christopherson, Anderson, Paulson & Fideler, LLPhttps://www.capflaw.com/?p=489682022-09-29T10:23:58Z2022-09-21T19:48:44ZDoes South Dakota impose an estate tax?
Most states in the country, including South Dakota, do not charge estate taxes. Regardless of how much property you have in your name when you die, the state of South Dakota won't demand tax payments based on the assets you want to transfer to the next generation.
However, you are still subject to federal estate taxes if you have a lot of property in your name when you die. If the total value of your estate, which includes several years of gifts before your death, is more than $12,060,000, you may have to pay estate taxes. The higher the value of your estate, the higher the tax rate. Some estates are subject to a 40% tax rate.
How do you avoid estate taxes?
Careful planning is the best solution for those who don't want a significant portion of their property to go into federal coffers when they die. The same resources while you are still alive, possibly by making certain strategic gifts, is a popular strategy. Transferring assets into a trust or arranging for their transfer directly to someone else's ownership when you die could prevent them from contributing to the value of your estate and reduce your chances of triggering an estate tax.
Understanding how estate taxes work in South Dakota can help those starting the estate planning process or reviewing their existing plans for oversights.]]>On Behalf of Christopherson, Anderson, Paulson & Fideler, LLPhttps://www.capflaw.com/?p=489672022-09-29T10:24:02Z2022-06-20T18:00:37ZYou could name a guardian
Perhaps the most important step to take as a parent with children is the process of selecting a guardian capable of caring for them in your absence. You need to choose someone who has the ability to provide for your children's needs and a willingness to step into what can be a very demanding role. Choosing the right guardian will ensure there is someone to help your children during what will be a very difficult time in their lives.
You can cover your debts and funeral costs
As morbid as it may be to consider, your children shouldn't have to worry about paying for your burial or funeral after your death. You can help take the stress off of your children and those caring for them in the days right after your death by planning adequately to cover interment costs and any debts. Carrying adequate life insurance or setting aside resources in your estate plan to cover financial obligations will ensure that your passing doesn't create financial hardship.
You can protect their inheritance
You need to think carefully about what property you hope to pass to your children and take the proper legal steps to ensure the smooth transfer of those assets. For many parents, the creation of an estate trust can be a smart move. Assets in a trust are subject to control by a trustee, who can be someone separate from the guardian caring for your children. A trust reduces the risk of financial abuse while your children are young or of them misusing and inheritance when they become adults.
Thinking about what your children may need in the future can help you properly protect them when creating an estate plan.]]>On Behalf of Christopherson, Anderson, Paulson & Fideler, LLPhttps://www.capflaw.com/?p=489652022-09-29T10:24:08Z2022-03-18T18:29:16ZPowers of attorney let you name the person who helps
Perhaps the biggest issue with a guardianship is how it strips someone of control. A professional with whom you have no long-term relationship or a family member with whom you have a strained relationship could be the one to sweep the guardianship.
To protect yourself from manipulation and mistreatment when you are vulnerable, you can draft powers of attorney now. Provided that you use the right language, their authority will be durable, meaning that the documents will continue to hold authority even when the courts declare that you have a lack of mental capacity.
You can name someone you trust to assume medical authority and possibly a separate person to handle your financial affairs. Powers of attorney allow you to grant access only to specific accounts or authority for specific decisions. They also give you an opportunity to provide guidance to the person you name who will act on your behalf.
Planning now means having security in the future
The best estate plans don't just protect the people you love if you die. They protect you right now and in the future. Since life is unpredictable, it is typically advisable for people to invest in protections for many possible future scenarios, including medical incapacitation.
Adding the right documents to your estate plan can protect you from an involuntary guardianship or a guardian who won't act in your best interests.]]>On Behalf of Christopherson, Anderson, Paulson & Fideler, LLPhttps://www.capflaw.com/?p=489612022-09-29T10:24:12Z2021-12-08T19:38:06ZAll private debts can lead to claims against the estate
Even if there are no living co-signers for the debts your parent had when they died, those creditors still have rights. So long as there are still assets in your parent's estate, they can seek repayment by making a claim against the estate in probate court.
You may have to empty your parent's bank accounts and sell some of their property to repay their credit cards or pay off a judgment. While you are not responsible for debts that exceed the total value of the assets in the estate, the state may require that you completely give up your own inheritance to repay those creditors.
If you retain assets for yourself or distribute them to other family members without paying off valid debts, you could be personally vulnerable to claims by those creditors. They can hold you financially accountable for the inappropriate distribution of estate assets.
Medicaid can also make claims for repayment
If your parent needed state-funded medical insurance other than Medicare in their golden years, the state may try to recover the money they invested in that care. Under the estate recovery program in South Dakota, your parent's estate can face claims for every cent the state paid on their behalf for hospital care or residence in a nursing home.
If your parent didn't plan ahead to protect their assets, you will have to ensure that you properly repay all creditors with a valid claim before you keep any inheritance for yourself. Understanding your responsibilities during the probate process can lead to better decision-making and less risk for you.]]>On Behalf of Christopherson, Anderson, Paulson & Fideler, LLPhttps://www.capflaw.com/?p=488902022-09-29T10:24:15Z2021-09-20T21:07:44ZDeclares ownership of property
What appears on a title and what was intended might differ. A plaintiff, the one filing the suit, may claim that the title itself was falsified. In real estate law, you're given time to present your case against a title or to defend it as accurate and true. Once a title action is decided, however, the owners listed on it become irrevocable.
Revises or interprets title clauses
Eliminating ambiguities is how the errors of a title in question are "quieted." To quiet in this case means to remedy. Defects might exist in a title, resulting from changes in estate owners or from a poorly drafted document. A case can be brought before a judge when a plaintiff contests the quality of a title along with any unprofessional errors it has. The result might be a revised title and thus new owners. Here are some reasons that revisions and clarifications are made in court:
- Death and probate hearings
- Lender and mortgage disputes
- Foreclosures and abandoned properties
- Taxes and beneficiaries
Establishes new titles
In real estate proceedings, it's possible to end a trial with a new title. A title might have never been found, resulting in one written up. Whether a title exists or not, the clauses and owners can be drafted instantly at the end of a verdict.
Protecting a title from future claims against it happens when you file a quiet title action properly. A plaintiff to who the court grants a title is given ownership of its property but with all disputes against that new title null and void.]]>