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How inherited assets are treated in a divorce · The Legal Exchange

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: This is the Legal Exchange with Todd Lutsky from the
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  Speaker 1: law firm of Cushing and Dolan and Susan Powers of
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  Speaker 1: the Armstrong Advisory Group. Each week, Todd and Susan will
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  Speaker 1: discuss many topics, including estate planning, how to avoid probate,
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  Speaker 1: and protecting your money from a nursing home. If you
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  Speaker 1: Here are your hosts, Tod Lutsky and Susan Powers.
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  Speaker 2: Welcome into the Legal Exchange with Todd Latsky. I'm Susan Powers,
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  Speaker 2: a financial advisor the Armstrong Advisory Group, and I'm joined
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  Speaker 2: by Todd Lotsky, a partner with the law firm of
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  Speaker 2: Cushing and Dolan with a master's in taxation. Welcome Todd.
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  Speaker 2: How are you today?
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  Speaker 3: I am never better on you?
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  Speaker 2: I'm great, Thank you. What do you have for us
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  Speaker 2: this week?
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  Speaker 3: A couple of things to cases. We've got a Wisconsin
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  Speaker 3: Appellate Corps case dealing with inherited real estate and then
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  Speaker 3: how it's divided or not divided during a divorce. Is
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  Speaker 3: inherited property separate or not separate? Interesting case, and we're
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  Speaker 3: going to learn a lot about how to deal with
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  Speaker 3: real estate better than how this was handled, and of course,
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  Speaker 3: how to deal with real estate when you have a
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  Speaker 3: divorce and what kind of planning you should do after
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  Speaker 3: your divorce. Right, So then we go to New York
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  Speaker 3: and we have an appellate court case there where the
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  Speaker 3: divorce actually happens, and then there's they have this plan
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  Speaker 3: in place on you know, what happens to the property
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  Speaker 3: that was already left to the kids. How has that
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  Speaker 3: dealt with? And it's in a testamentary trust? And who
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  Speaker 3: should be the guardian of the kids? Is at the
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  Speaker 3: x spouse? Who should be the trustee of the trust?
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  Speaker 3: And then can you just remove the trustee very easily
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  Speaker 3: because the trustee is governing the money? And of course
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  Speaker 3: this is very good, very good. So you got to
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  Speaker 3: stay tuned for this one and we'll learn about that.
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  Speaker 3: But folks, both of these cases really deal with, you know,
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  Speaker 3: quite frankly, better planning. You know, you can to do
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  Speaker 3: a testamentary trust as a will trust. I don't even
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  Speaker 3: avoid probate. Folks trying to get started with your estate plan,
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  Speaker 3: sometimes you need to go back to the basics, which
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  Speaker 3: is exactly what this guide is about. It talks about
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  Speaker 3: all the things you need to think about in terms
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  Speaker 3: of getting started with your estate plan, from your age,
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  Speaker 3: your family dynamics, your value of your estate. Then it
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  Speaker 3: powers of attorney, how all those documents work, and most importantly,
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  Speaker 3: how the trust works and how it works from an
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  Speaker 3: estate planning and a nursing home planning. Basically, it's an
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  Speaker 3: estate planning fact pattern and I do like an engagement
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  Speaker 3: letter on how to plan for somebody worth about three
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  Speaker 3: or four million. You put your own assets in see
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  Speaker 3: Or visit our Instagram page for lots more information at
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  Speaker 3: Cushing Dolan PC Wisconsin. Here's what happened. In nineteen ninety four,
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  Speaker 3: Kelly's parents gave her so giving away real estates never
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  Speaker 3: a good idea, gave her one point eight five acres
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  Speaker 3: of vacant land that they ended up building a home on,
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  Speaker 3: or Kelly did. In nineteen ninety seven, she gifted forty
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  Speaker 3: three acres of land adjacent to the one point eight
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  Speaker 3: and in two thousand and two, Kelly, who now has
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  Speaker 3: the real estate, married Travis. In two thousand and seven,
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  Speaker 3: another gift was made of one hundred and thirty acres
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  Speaker 3: of undeveloped land to Kelly. Okay, all the parcels were
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  Speaker 3: titled solely in Kelly's name. In twenty twenty three, Kelly
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  Speaker 3: files for divorce. Shocker like this might not happen. She
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  Speaker 3: agreed that the one point eight five homestead acres should
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  Speaker 3: be divided because they lived there, but all the other assets,
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  Speaker 3: you know, the the one point five should be divided
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  Speaker 3: because because they you know, they live there, but everything
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  Speaker 3: else was inherited and treated only as her property. Well,
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  Speaker 3: Travis said, no, they all should be divided. Why because
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  Speaker 3: they used the land, They stored their belongings on the land,
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  Speaker 3: they fixed up the land. They Travis actually farmed the
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  Speaker 3: timber and got money from the land. Well, the trial
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  Speaker 3: court found that the forty three acres and the one
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  Speaker 3: hundred and thirty acres the other two gifts kept in
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  Speaker 3: Kelly's name alone, and she kept inherited money separate from
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  Speaker 3: the marriage, and she used the inherited money to pay
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  Speaker 3: all the real estate taxes and maintain the property, and
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  Speaker 3: therefore it's not subject to division. And did agree that
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  Speaker 3: the one point eighty five acres should be divided. So
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  Speaker 3: the court agreed with that, but said the other two gifts, no,
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  Speaker 3: those are not going to be divided. Well, as you
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  Speaker 3: might imagine, Travis didn't like that, so Travis appealed, and
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  Speaker 3: the appellate court affirmed the trial court, stating basically that
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  Speaker 3: Kelly received these parcels as gifts, and the character of
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  Speaker 3: the gift were preserved because of the way she treated
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  Speaker 3: it and owned it, and therefore Travis would be required
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  Speaker 3: to show that they lost their exempt status somehow, and
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  Speaker 3: Travis was not able to show that. So therefore the
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  Speaker 3: appellate court affirmed.
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  Speaker 2: Sounds like she might have been a little lucky with that.
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  Speaker 3: I think she was a lot lucky with that, Susan,
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  Speaker 3: and I think you're absolutely right. In fact, I'm going
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  Speaker 3: to talk about it right now. First of all, you know,
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  Speaker 3: giving away assets to children, especially real estate, nothing good
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  Speaker 3: comes from it. Now we always say that, right, but
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  Speaker 3: in this case, the result is very state specific. I
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  Speaker 3: think right, it may be even rare because if you
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  Speaker 3: gifted assets to kids and they later get divorced, those
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  Speaker 3: assets are generally subject to the marriage. Certainly here in
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  Speaker 3: Massachusetts they're subject to the marriage. So imagine you have
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  Speaker 3: to you have, you know, you have your house, you
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  Speaker 3: give it to your kids, and then the divorce occurs and
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  Speaker 3: you lose your house or you end up living with
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  Speaker 3: an in law. I mean, that's just nothing good comes
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  Speaker 3: from this. I know I'm extracting facts, but that's exactly
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  Speaker 3: what could have happened. What about taxes, Even if you don't,
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  Speaker 3: you're kid doesn't get divorced, and nothing bad really happens. Well,
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  Speaker 3: you know, when you give away an asset, like I
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  Speaker 3: suspect here, this property probably had very low basis. I
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  Speaker 3: suspect she bought this long time ago, probably inherited from
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  Speaker 3: her parents. Good points is, and it could even be
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  Speaker 3: could even be a much lower basis than I'm anticipating.
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  Speaker 3: So this means that when you give this to your child,
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  Speaker 3: you give the cost basis to the child. So in essence,
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  Speaker 3: you're locking in capital gain and giving them really a
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  Speaker 3: big tax bill. Yeah, tax liability. Remember, if you have
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  Speaker 3: a trust, you keep the assets in the trust. And
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  Speaker 3: if for whatever reason they did a trust that was irrevocable,
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  Speaker 3: right now, you keep the creditors away. You protect it
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  Speaker 3: from divorces, you protect it from basically family members, you
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  Speaker 3: protect it from the nursing home, and you preserve it
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  Speaker 3: for the kids, and you give the kids a step
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  Speaker 3: up in cost basis eliminating and he built in gain
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  Speaker 3: that you know, that's a very could be a pesky
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  Speaker 3: capital gains tax bill that you want to make sure
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  Speaker 3: you get rid of. Folks planning so much better than
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  Speaker 3: what she did here just giving away.
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  Speaker 2: Ask you just winging it, because what's to say that
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  Speaker 2: if she had put the money that she got as
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  Speaker 2: a gift into her joint checking account with Travis and
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  Speaker 2: happen to pay the tax bills with that, that would
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  Speaker 2: have been included as marital asset.
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  Speaker 3: Those it doesn't sound like she got lucky. Yeah, you're right.
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  Speaker 3: The way, she just happened to keep everything separate. Speaking
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  Speaker 3: of keeping things separate, let's talk about a prenup and
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  Speaker 3: a state planning. When clients come in with a prenup
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  Speaker 3: and they have to do a state planning. You know,
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  Speaker 3: I'm big on joint revocable trusts. I think they're really
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  Speaker 3: a good idea for a lot of people. Well, if
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  Speaker 3: you have a prenup, no, you can't do a joint trust.
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  Speaker 3: Why just like in this case, you got to keep
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  Speaker 3: the integrity of the separate assets. Your prenup describes certain
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  Speaker 3: assets as separate property and certain assets as marital property
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  Speaker 3: or joint property. You better keep it that way because
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  Speaker 3: if you dump everything into a joint trust and you
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  Speaker 3: put what was designated as separate assets on your prenup
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  Speaker 3: into a joint trust, you lose the protection of the
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  Speaker 3: prenup because now it's comingled. So keeping things separate, folks,
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  Speaker 3: when you have a prenup, just like here, the statute
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  Speaker 3: in Wisconsin seemed to say keeping things separate was better
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  Speaker 3: and somehow worked better for them. Well, you need to
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  Speaker 3: do that. When you have a prenup agreement and you're
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  Speaker 3: doing your estate planning, always keep things separate, otherwise you
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  Speaker 3: could blow your protections from the prenup. So that's just
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  Speaker 3: a lot to think about when you're dealing with real
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  Speaker 3: estate and divorces and you know giving away property, don't
• 9:58
  Speaker 3: do it, and folks don't not do your planning. If
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  Speaker 3: you need to learn how to get started in your
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  Speaker 2: You've been listening to Todd Lutsky, a partner with the
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  Speaker 2: law firm of Cushing and Dolan. I'm Susan Powers, a
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  Speaker 2: financial advisor with the Armstrong Advisory Group. We've got much
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  Speaker 2: Welcome back into the legal exchange with Todd Lotzki. I'm
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: Susan Power, the financial advisor with the Armstrong Advisory Group,
• 14:00
  Speaker 2: and I'm joined by Todd Lutsky, a partner with the
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: law firm of Cushing and Dolan with a master's in taxation.
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: Where we headed next.
• 14:07
  Speaker 3: Todd, Let's head over to New York. Still cold, Still cold,
• 14:11
  Speaker 3: go to Florida.
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: For a little bit.
• 14:13
  Speaker 3: I agree right behind you. Let's see so New York
• 14:18
  Speaker 3: appellate court case. Here an interesting situation. So Jennifer and
• 14:23
  Speaker 3: Delia are domestic partners and they had two kids together. Well,
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  Speaker 3: then they got separated. So Jennifer creates a will leaving
• 14:33
  Speaker 3: a probate, leaving her probatea state. Again, why is she
• 14:36
  Speaker 3: doing just a will, I don't know, But she does
• 14:40
  Speaker 3: a will leaving her probatea state to her kids held
• 14:43
  Speaker 3: in two separate trusts. So if it's a will, that
• 14:47
  Speaker 3: means it's a testamentary trust. These are things that you
• 14:49
  Speaker 3: might not think about if you're not a lawyer. These
• 14:52
  Speaker 3: are testamentary trusts, which means it's still going to go
• 14:54
  Speaker 3: to probate, and the trust is built into the will.
• 14:56
  Speaker 3: I'm already scratching my head. Why why are we doing that? Anyways,
• 15:00
  Speaker 3: she did it, and it was supposed to be held
• 15:03
  Speaker 3: in these trusts for these two kids until they reach
• 15:05
  Speaker 3: age twenty five. Okay. She decided to appoint Janet, her friend,
• 15:11
  Speaker 3: as trustee of the trust when she dies, and I'm
• 15:15
  Speaker 3: good with that. While April twenty twenty, Jennifer died before
• 15:20
  Speaker 3: either of the kids attained twenty five years of age,
• 15:24
  Speaker 3: Delia became the administrator of the estate and guardian for
• 15:28
  Speaker 3: the kids. Why she was administrator of the estate? That
• 15:32
  Speaker 3: part kind of blows my mind. Why wouldn't you.
• 15:34
  Speaker 2: Just make Jane separated?
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  Speaker 6: Yeah?
• 15:36
  Speaker 3: Yeah, Why wouldn't you just make Janet not the guardian
• 15:40
  Speaker 3: but the administrator of the estate and the trustee. But nevertheless,
• 15:44
  Speaker 3: Delia would have to be the guardian because she's the parent,
• 15:48
  Speaker 3: so that makes sense, so and the guardian of the kids.
• 15:52
  Speaker 3: And right away Delia started taking issue with Janet, of course,
• 15:57
  Speaker 3: because Janet controls the money, right basically saying she's upset
• 16:01
  Speaker 3: with how Janet is administering the trust and petitioned to
• 16:05
  Speaker 3: have her removed. Yeah. Well, the court dismissed that petition
• 16:10
  Speaker 3: pretty quickly and said it was not supported by any
• 16:12
  Speaker 3: evidence and it lacked good faith filing. Clearly, you just
• 16:16
  Speaker 3: filed because you're mad. Probably probably right. Well, needless to say,
• 16:22
  Speaker 3: Janet was not. Janet Delia wasn't thrilled with that approach,
• 16:27
  Speaker 3: so she appealed, and quite frankly, the appellate court quickly
• 16:32
  Speaker 3: affirmed the lower court, stating that the evidence showed that
• 16:37
  Speaker 3: Janet as trustee, was not delayed in depositing estate administration
• 16:42
  Speaker 3: monies into the separate share accounts for the kids, and
• 16:46
  Speaker 3: in fact deposited the money the same day and even
• 16:50
  Speaker 3: got counsel, went and got a consultation with people who
• 16:55
  Speaker 3: were familiar with money before she even transferred any of
• 16:59
  Speaker 3: the into any interest bearing accounts. So she was very
• 17:03
  Speaker 3: diligent in making sure. You know, she might not be
• 17:06
  Speaker 3: an expert, so she got help. Finally, she did not
• 17:12
  Speaker 3: inappropriately withhold distributions requested by Delia and basically said, Delia,
• 17:20
  Speaker 3: I'm simply asking you to provide me with invoices and
• 17:24
  Speaker 3: bills and things that support what you're asking for, and
• 17:28
  Speaker 3: the court said that was very good of her to
• 17:31
  Speaker 3: do that. Ary like, yeah, and so you're not exactly
• 17:35
  Speaker 3: and so you're not going to be removed. I just
• 17:38
  Speaker 3: love this case. I mean this case because I serve
• 17:41
  Speaker 3: as trustee a lot, and I tell people the same thing.
• 17:44
  Speaker 3: I go, we just need to document what we're doing
• 17:48
  Speaker 3: to make sure that everybody is getting with the money
• 17:51
  Speaker 3: and how they're supposed to get it, and we're following
• 17:53
  Speaker 3: the donors' wishes. And that's what a trust can do
• 17:57
  Speaker 3: for you, folks. If you haven't done your estate plan
• 18:02
  Speaker 3: look at what this did right even though it was
• 18:04
  Speaker 3: you know, sort of a testamentary trust, which I didn't love,
• 18:07
  Speaker 3: but it still worked. And so if you haven't ever
• 18:11
  Speaker 3: done your estate planning, you're wondering how to get started. Really,
• 18:13
  Speaker 3: this guide is for you. It helps you understand, you know,
• 18:17
  Speaker 3: what to think about before you go in terms of valuation,
• 18:20
  Speaker 3: family dynamics, types of assets you have, age, and then
• 18:25
  Speaker 3: talks about probate, talks about your basic will, health care, proxy,
• 18:29
  Speaker 3: power of attorney, and then ends by explaining how an
• 18:33
  Speaker 3: irrevocable trust works from you know, really soup to nuts,
• 18:37
  Speaker 3: how it works for taxes, how it works while you're living,
• 18:40
  Speaker 3: when you die, and is basically a fact pattern and
• 18:44
  Speaker 3: my engagement letter. That's really what this is. And folks,
• 18:46
  Speaker 3: you could put your own family into this guide and
• 18:51
  Speaker 3: see what kind of a state plan works for you.
• 18:54
  Speaker 3: So call and get the guide back to the basics
• 18:58
  Speaker 3: eight six six eight four eight five six nine nine
• 19:02
  Speaker 3: or Legal Exchange Show dot com again eight six six
• 19:06
  Speaker 3: eight four eight five six nine nine or Legal Exchange
• 19:10
  Speaker 3: Show dot com and head over to our Instagram page
• 19:14
  Speaker 3: at Cushing, Dole and PC for much more information. Well,
• 19:19
  Speaker 3: what do we learn from this case? Let's take a peek.
• 19:24
  Speaker 3: Divorce screams at you from this case. So just reminding
• 19:28
  Speaker 3: everybody when you get divorced, it's really important to update
• 19:33
  Speaker 3: your estate plan to provide for your family. She kind
• 19:38
  Speaker 3: of did here, so a little bit. I'm gonna give
• 19:40
  Speaker 3: her some credit. And it did work, so thank god
• 19:43
  Speaker 3: she did something. Yeah, still a little shocked at the
• 19:46
  Speaker 3: testamentary trust.
• 19:48
  Speaker 2: And there are legitimate circumstances where you would use a
• 19:52
  Speaker 2: testimonary trust, just not as your entire state plan as
• 19:55
  Speaker 2: probably well, right.
• 19:56
  Speaker 3: It's kind of a part of your plan perhaps for
• 19:58
  Speaker 3: certain assets that you can't, you know, maybe deal with otherwise.
• 20:02
  Speaker 3: But you know why you would why the lawyer would have,
• 20:05
  Speaker 3: you know, thought that we should go to Proby and
• 20:09
  Speaker 3: have a testamentary trust is the part I'm a little
• 20:12
  Speaker 3: taken aback by so that. But folks, just that's again
• 20:15
  Speaker 3: getting started with your estate plan. Now you know something
• 20:18
  Speaker 3: to talk about with the lawyer if they recommend one,
• 20:21
  Speaker 3: maybe question that all right, Well, here, whether you have
• 20:25
  Speaker 3: a large estate or not, the trust was important because
• 20:29
  Speaker 3: they were miners, right, you have miners. So the trust
• 20:32
  Speaker 3: planning here is so important because even if you don't
• 20:35
  Speaker 3: have a lot of money, but you have minor children
• 20:37
  Speaker 3: and they cannot own anything, but the trust can own
• 20:40
  Speaker 3: it for you. In this case, the guardian, you don't
• 20:43
  Speaker 3: want owning this stuff because the guardian happens to be
• 20:47
  Speaker 3: your ex spouse, So I don't want my assets owned
• 20:51
  Speaker 3: by the guardian. And notice the trustee she used was
• 20:54
  Speaker 3: not the guardian. Where the guardian had to ask the
• 20:58
  Speaker 3: trustee to get money to take care of the kids.
• 21:01
  Speaker 2: Which is balance is.
• 21:03
  Speaker 3: So appropriate, Susan, That's exactly what we want here, right.
• 21:08
  Speaker 3: So now the trustee of the trust can control the
• 21:12
  Speaker 3: distributions of the assets. But more importantly, when you draft
• 21:15
  Speaker 3: the document, you can control how the assets are held
• 21:20
  Speaker 3: and provide guidance to the trustee on how to distribute them.
• 21:25
  Speaker 3: Now Here they were only held till the kids were
• 21:27
  Speaker 3: aged twenty five, but you could have held them longer.
• 21:31
  Speaker 3: You could have provided a divorce language, you could have
• 21:33
  Speaker 3: held them for their whole life generation, skipping tax savings
• 21:37
  Speaker 3: and language like that could all be built in to
• 21:40
  Speaker 3: the trust so you can really control how and when
• 21:44
  Speaker 3: this comes out. You know. But even here holding it
• 21:48
  Speaker 3: till twenty five, and a lot of people say, well,
• 21:51
  Speaker 3: I don't mean to hold it till twenty five. What
• 21:53
  Speaker 3: it means is it's going to come out before the
• 21:56
  Speaker 3: kids are twenty five. They all think that they can't
• 21:58
  Speaker 3: get it twenty five. We're simply saying when you say
• 22:02
  Speaker 3: hold it till they're twenty five, meaning we just don't
• 22:05
  Speaker 3: want to dump all this money in the hands of
• 22:07
  Speaker 3: a sixteen year old, right But as they need it,
• 22:12
  Speaker 3: the trustee can make distributions for health, education, maintenance. That's
• 22:17
  Speaker 3: kind of great support, you know, provide food, clothing, shelter,
• 22:20
  Speaker 3: I mean, you can do that. The trustee can do that.
• 22:24
  Speaker 3: So here the trustee was really good at following the rules.
• 22:28
  Speaker 3: And notice by following the rules, they also were not
• 22:31
  Speaker 3: easily removed. You can't just remove a trustee because that's
• 22:34
  Speaker 3: the donor's wish. That really changes the terms of the trust.
• 22:38
  Speaker 3: That's a challenge. Yeah, when you change a trustee, you're
• 22:41
  Speaker 3: changing the terms of the trust.
• 22:43
  Speaker 2: She probably had a sneaking suspicion of what was coming
• 22:45
  Speaker 2: at her.
• 22:46
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I would think you're right now here. What I
• 22:49
  Speaker 3: like about it is that she followed the rules. She said, Look,
• 22:53
  Speaker 3: if you want the money, explain to me why you
• 22:56
  Speaker 3: want the money. Show me you spent money on some bill.
• 23:00
  Speaker 3: Show me a doctor bill, show me a tuition payment,
• 23:02
  Speaker 3: show me you know an invoice that you bought the
• 23:05
  Speaker 3: kids something. I just want to know trustees are allowed
• 23:09
  Speaker 3: and should do that. And again, we've been talking more
• 23:12
  Speaker 3: and more about the whole testamentary trust thing. I just
• 23:14
  Speaker 3: don't know why.
• 23:14
  Speaker 2: They did that.
• 23:15
  Speaker 3: But anyways, folks, get the guide back to the basics
• 23:19
  Speaker 3: and really give yourself an idea on how to start
• 23:22
  Speaker 3: kickstart your estate plan. It's the easiest thing in the
• 23:26
  Speaker 3: world to put off. But I think this is basically
• 23:29
  Speaker 3: a recommendation one of my engagement letters explaining an entire
• 23:32
  Speaker 3: estate plan and might be helpful eight six six eight
• 23:36
  Speaker 3: four eight five, six, nine to nine.
• 23:39
  Speaker 2: You've been listening to Todd Lutsky, a partner with the
• 23:41
  Speaker 2: law firm of Cutching and Dolan. I'm Susan Powers, a
• 23:44
  Speaker 2: financial advisor with the Armstrong Advisory Group. Todd will be
• 23:48
  Speaker 2: answering your listener questions when we return to the legal
• 23:51
  Speaker 2: exchange with Todd Lutsky.
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: There are many elements needed to build a successful estate plan,
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: and if you don't know where to start, Cushing and
• 23:58
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• 24:01
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• 24:04
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• 24:07
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• 24:10
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• 24:21
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• 24:28
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• 24:31
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• 24:34
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• 24:36
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• 24:39
  Speaker 1: exchange show dot com. That's Legal exchange show dot com.
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: The proceeding was paid for in The views expressed are
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: solely those of Cushing and Dolan. Cushing and Dolan in
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: or Armstrong Advisory may contact you offering legal or investment services.
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: Cushing and Dolan in Armstrong Advisory do not endorse each
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• 25:43
  Speaker 1: The proceeding was paid for by Armstrong Advisory Group, a
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  Speaker 1: visit USVII dot com. You're listening to the Legal Exchange
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: and it's time for Ask God, the segment where Todd
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: will answer your questions about anything and everything that's included
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: in the estate planning process. Once again, here's Todd Lutsky
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: and Susan Powers.
• 27:12
  Speaker 2: Welcome back, Tob. We have a few questions from listeners
• 27:14
  Speaker 2: for you. First question comes from Andrew and Revere, Mass
• 27:18
  Speaker 2: and Andrew writes, my dad passed away last year. Both
• 27:21
  Speaker 2: my parents kept separate financial accounts and only the house
• 27:24
  Speaker 2: was jointly owned. My mom may need nursing home care
• 27:28
  Speaker 2: in the next two years. I heard regardless of how
• 27:31
  Speaker 2: accounts are owned, while alive assets are considered belonging to them.
• 27:35
  Speaker 2: Both our dad's assets that we inherited in twenty twenty
• 27:39
  Speaker 2: five going to be included in mom's mass health determination.
• 27:44
  Speaker 2: So dad died, Yeah, left the assets to the kids,
• 27:48
  Speaker 2: the wife.
• 27:48
  Speaker 3: So when it was joint, I'm sorry, the house was.
• 27:51
  Speaker 2: Joint with mom, right, So Mom owns the house now,
• 27:54
  Speaker 2: but disinherited mom basically.
• 27:57
  Speaker 3: Regarding all the accounts the other stuff.
• 28:01
  Speaker 2: So if Mom goes into the nursing in which if
• 28:03
  Speaker 2: it would be two years, so that'd be three years
• 28:05
  Speaker 2: from the time that he died and disinherited her. How
• 28:08
  Speaker 2: do they look at that?
• 28:10
  Speaker 3: Yeah, so this is the greyest of gray areas, unfortunately
• 28:15
  Speaker 3: in the medicaid world. So there are these rules that
• 28:20
  Speaker 3: you have to look at that talk about disqualifying transfers.
• 28:25
  Speaker 3: So it's a pretty thick paragraph, and I'm not going
• 28:28
  Speaker 3: to recite the whole paragraph, but to give you an idea,
• 28:32
  Speaker 3: there's one section that says any action taken by you
• 28:37
  Speaker 3: that results in a formally available asset becoming no longer
• 28:44
  Speaker 3: available and you did not get fair market value in return.
• 28:48
  Speaker 3: That's a disqualifying transfer Number one. Number two, when you're married,
• 28:55
  Speaker 3: a transfer by one spouse is deemed a transfer by
• 28:58
  Speaker 3: both spouses. Okay, so it's not like I can just
• 29:02
  Speaker 3: give away assets and then apply for medicaid because my
• 29:04
  Speaker 3: wife didn't give any away. No, you're treated as a unit.
• 29:08
  Speaker 3: So that's going to be a problem. So it's I
• 29:12
  Speaker 3: think here, based on what I just said, the statute
• 29:15
  Speaker 3: would sort of catch that as you dying, you took
• 29:19
  Speaker 3: an action to deliberately disinherit your spouse, and therefore that's
• 29:27
  Speaker 3: a disqualifying transfer. I think as to the unit. Some
• 29:31
  Speaker 3: people argue, well, the dying part, you know, kind of
• 29:34
  Speaker 3: severs that. Well, there's also more in that statute that
• 29:38
  Speaker 3: says any failure to act or take a legal action
• 29:45
  Speaker 3: that would allow you to get an asset that you
• 29:47
  Speaker 3: would not otherwise get is also a disqualifying transfer because
• 29:51
  Speaker 3: you can't technically disinherit your spouse, right right, So if
• 29:55
  Speaker 3: you fail to pursue your rights against you know, the
• 30:00
  Speaker 3: forced share that you're entitled to as a spouse under
• 30:03
  Speaker 3: the law, the failure to act to get something is
• 30:07
  Speaker 3: also a disqualifying transfer. Now, I've never seen anybody really
• 30:12
  Speaker 3: pursue this, quite frankly, but I think it's I think
• 30:17
  Speaker 3: it's something that these people need to think about.
• 30:19
  Speaker 2: But if mom goes into a nursing home within two years,
• 30:22
  Speaker 2: they're going digging, They're going back five years. So if
• 30:25
  Speaker 2: there were accounts that were jointly owned or bank accounts
• 30:28
  Speaker 2: jointly owned, and then they'll see them switch over to
• 30:31
  Speaker 2: could be mean yad only and then he dies.
• 30:35
  Speaker 3: Well it depends when they Yeah, when that switch occurred.
• 30:37
  Speaker 3: Let's say that switch occurred way more than five years ago. Well, yeah,
• 30:41
  Speaker 3: if it was in mom's name right and then it
• 30:44
  Speaker 3: got switched out. But if it was already in the
• 30:47
  Speaker 3: kid's name as joint way more than five years ago,
• 30:50
  Speaker 3: then arguably when mom, when you go back five years
• 30:52
  Speaker 3: on mom's assets, they might not see it. But again
• 30:57
  Speaker 3: I'm we're speculating here. He completely so, so I think
• 31:01
  Speaker 3: at this point, you know, I think there's problems with this,
• 31:05
  Speaker 3: And quite frankly, that's exactly why you get this guide
• 31:09
  Speaker 3: to not do things like this, to not guess, to
• 31:13
  Speaker 3: not make gifts to kids. We saw that earlier in
• 31:15
  Speaker 3: the program giving away real estate to children, nothing good
• 31:18
  Speaker 3: comes from it. Well, giving away money to children even
• 31:22
  Speaker 3: less good things come from that. So I think rather
• 31:26
  Speaker 3: than do any of this, and quite frankly, folks, there's
• 31:28
  Speaker 3: no reason to disinherit your spouse, call and get the
• 31:31
  Speaker 3: guide back to the basics. This one actually explains an
• 31:34
  Speaker 3: irrevocable trust where they could have put the money in
• 31:37
  Speaker 3: and the house in and taken care of mom and
• 31:41
  Speaker 3: protected the assets and provided for the kids later. Folks,
• 31:45
  Speaker 3: this will help you get started and kick off your
• 31:47
  Speaker 3: knowledge about doing an estate plan. Call and get it
• 31:50
  Speaker 3: eight six six eight four eight five six nine to
• 31:54
  Speaker 3: nine or Legal Exchange Show dot com again eight six
• 31:58
  Speaker 3: six eight four eight five six nine to nine or
• 32:02
  Speaker 3: Legal Exchange Show dot com and for more information visit
• 32:05
  Speaker 3: our Instagram page Cushing and Dolan PC.
• 32:09
  Speaker 2: Our last question comes from Bill and weareham Mass and
• 32:12
  Speaker 2: Bill Wrights. I own several rental properties, including a two
• 32:16
  Speaker 2: family home where I live in one half and rent
• 32:19
  Speaker 2: the other. If I want to protect myself from lawsuits
• 32:22
  Speaker 2: by setting up an LLC, can I transfer the whole
• 32:25
  Speaker 2: property into it, even if it's my primary residence. Well,
• 32:29
  Speaker 2: I need to file a separate tax return if I
• 32:32
  Speaker 2: have all the properties in one LLC. And final question,
• 32:37
  Speaker 2: can I still move forward with my revocable trust planning
• 32:40
  Speaker 2: that I want to get done if he wants to
• 32:43
  Speaker 2: use an LLC as well?
• 32:44
  Speaker 3: Okay, so this is all about revocable trust planning first
• 32:48
  Speaker 3: and foremost all right, So let's focus on that. So
• 32:49
  Speaker 3: that's an easy one. So now we know what kind
• 32:52
  Speaker 3: of trust we're doing, right, And I think that's really
• 32:56
  Speaker 3: an important beginning for anybody who's doing their estate plan.
• 32:58
  Speaker 3: Think about what kind of trust I need? Revocable fine? Now?
• 33:03
  Speaker 3: Type of assets? Right, This is another thing to think
• 33:06
  Speaker 3: about when you're beginning your estate plan, which is what
• 33:09
  Speaker 3: the guide talks about. Type of assets. I got a rental,
• 33:13
  Speaker 3: but it happens to be a two family meaning I
• 33:16
  Speaker 3: live in one and I don't live in the other.
• 33:18
  Speaker 3: I mean I rent the other. So if I'm worried
• 33:24
  Speaker 3: about lawsuits, can I put the entire property because it's
• 33:27
  Speaker 3: not two deeds, right, it's one deed. Can I put
• 33:30
  Speaker 3: the entire property into the LLC? The quick answer is yes,
• 33:35
  Speaker 3: you can, and it will be protecting you from lawsuits
• 33:41
  Speaker 3: because they'll sue the company and not you personally, so
• 33:44
  Speaker 3: all your personal assets, money, bank accounts, investment, that's safe.
• 33:49
  Speaker 2: It would just be the property.
• 33:50
  Speaker 3: It would just be the property. Well, okay, that's one plus.
• 33:55
  Speaker 3: The negative I think you are going to have is
• 33:58
  Speaker 3: that I believe by putting it into a LLC, you're
• 34:01
  Speaker 3: no longer owning it and using it as your primary
• 34:04
  Speaker 3: residence because now it's commercial property. You're even going to
• 34:08
  Speaker 3: have to get you know, your homeowner's insurance adjusted because
• 34:11
  Speaker 3: it's now commercial property, which is okay, it's not a
• 34:15
  Speaker 3: big deal. But what you do give up is the
• 34:18
  Speaker 3: five hundred thousand dollars. Well, if you're married or single,
• 34:23
  Speaker 3: you know you're going to give up your five hundred
• 34:24
  Speaker 3: thousand dollars capital gains exclusion when you sell your house
• 34:28
  Speaker 3: if you're married two fifty if you're single, well, pros
• 34:33
  Speaker 3: and cons I suspect. Now, remember I would think that
• 34:37
  Speaker 3: if you're renting half, you would only get to offset
• 34:40
  Speaker 3: half to gain anyway, So keep that in mind.
• 34:44
  Speaker 2: And maybe if you don't plan on moving and you're
• 34:47
  Speaker 2: going to die in your home.
• 34:48
  Speaker 3: So now that you know the pros and cons, I'll
• 34:50
  Speaker 3: at least address the rest of the questions you know,
• 34:53
  Speaker 3: so can you do it, yes, pros and cons. Secondarily,
• 34:57
  Speaker 3: then can you put it in your revocable trust? App
• 35:00
  Speaker 3: absolutely not the real estate, the stock got it right.
• 35:04
  Speaker 3: You put the real estate, you deed the property into
• 35:09
  Speaker 3: the LLC, and you take back shares yep, and the
• 35:14
  Speaker 3: shares get deposited into the then by the trust into
• 35:19
  Speaker 3: the revocable trust in this case. And so now you've
• 35:22
  Speaker 3: got the probate avoidance, the bloodline planning, everything taken care of.
• 35:26
  Speaker 2: What about taxes?
• 35:27
  Speaker 3: And so now the nice part about this one is
• 35:29
  Speaker 3: it sounds like we're dealing with just one revocable trust,
• 35:32
  Speaker 3: whether it's a joint revocable trust, because if you happen
• 35:35
  Speaker 3: to be married a joint revocable trust will we find
• 35:39
  Speaker 3: or if you're single, you just have your revocable trust.
• 35:42
  Speaker 3: Either way, and either of those two situations, we're talking
• 35:45
  Speaker 3: about this being a single member LLC, which means one shareholder.
• 35:51
  Speaker 3: And so because it's a single member LLC, it's disregarded
• 35:55
  Speaker 3: for income tax purposes, no filing needed. Administratively simple, you
• 36:00
  Speaker 3: simply write a check once a year to the state
• 36:03
  Speaker 3: for five hundred bucks, which is tax deductible against your rent.
• 36:06
  Speaker 3: Pick up all the rent and expenses right on your
• 36:08
  Speaker 3: ten forty, folks, and you have no issues. So very simple,
• 36:13
  Speaker 3: but get your planning done, and folks, getting started is
• 36:17
  Speaker 3: sometimes the hardest part. This guide Back to the Basics
• 36:21
  Speaker 3: explains all the things to think about before you start
• 36:23
  Speaker 3: your planning, all the basic estate planning documents, and explains
• 36:27
  Speaker 3: an estate plan using an irrevocable trust and a fact
• 36:30
  Speaker 3: pattern of four million dollars. Get the guide eight six
• 36:33
  Speaker 3: six eight four eight five six nine nine or Legal
• 36:37
  Speaker 3: Exchange Show dot com and start your estate planning today.
• 36:41
  Speaker 2: If you have a question you would like to ask Todd,
• 36:43
  Speaker 2: visit his website Legal Exchange Show dot com and click
• 36:47
  Speaker 2: on the ask Tod tab. Maybe I'll be able to
• 36:49
  Speaker 2: read your question on the air, and hopefully his answer
• 36:52
  Speaker 2: will stop you from becoming one of his next real
• 36:55
  Speaker 2: life stories. You've been listening to Todd Lutsky, a partner
• 36:58
  Speaker 2: with the law firm of Cushing and Dolan. I'm Susan
• 37:01
  Speaker 2: Powers of financial advisor with the Armstrong Advisory Group. We'll
• 37:05
  Speaker 2: be back up with more after this quick break on
• 37:07
  Speaker 2: the Legal Exchange with Todd Lutsky.
• 37:10
  Speaker 1: There are many elements needed to build a successful estate
• 37:13
  Speaker 1: plan and if you don't know where to start, Cushing
• 37:15
  Speaker 1: and Dolan can help. Estate planning doesn't stop with a will.
• 37:18
  Speaker 1: Wills by themselves do not keep your estate out of probate,
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: which takes time, can be costly, and it makes your
• 37:24
  Speaker 1: estate of matter of public record. Many families use trusts
• 37:27
  Speaker 1: to help protect their assets. Trusts are tools that are
• 37:30
  Speaker 1: designed to help your assets pass privately, more efficiently, and
• 37:33
  Speaker 1: without court involvement. Cushing and Dolan have put together a
• 37:36
  Speaker 1: new guide called Back to the Basics, a complete guide
• 37:38
  Speaker 1: to an estate and asset protection plan. It explains in
• 37:41
  Speaker 1: clear terms how wills, trusts, and probate actually work and
• 37:45
  Speaker 1: why structure matters. Get your free copy today by calling
• 37:48
  Speaker 1: eight six six eight four eight five six ninety nine.
• 37:51
  Speaker 1: That's eight six six eight four eight five six ninety nine,
• 37:54
  Speaker 1: or you can request the guide online by visiting Legal
• 37:56
  Speaker 1: exchange show dot com. That's Legal exchange show dot com.
• 38:00
  Speaker 1: The proceeding was paid for and the views expressed are
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: solely those of Cushing and Dolan. Cushing and Dolan in
• 38:04
  Speaker 1: or Armstrong Advisory may contact you offering legal or investment services.
• 38:07
  Speaker 1: Cushing and Dolan in Armstrong Advisory do not endorse each
• 38:10
  Speaker 1: other and are not affiliated. Winter dates fill up fast,
• 38:13
  Speaker 1: so if you're thinking about escaping the cold, now is
• 38:15
  Speaker 1: the time to plan a getaway to the US Virgin Islands,
• 38:18
  Speaker 1: America's Caribbean paradise. Here you can fall naturally in rhythm
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: with the heartbeat of the islands. Spend your days on
• 38:24
  Speaker 1: powder soft beaches in crystal clear water, sailing, snorkeling, or
• 38:28
  Speaker 1: simply relaxing under the sun. Your evenings will be just
• 38:31
  Speaker 1: as memorable with world class dining, local cuisine, live music,
• 38:35
  Speaker 1: and unforgettable sunsets. Explore Saint Croix, Saint Thomas, or Saint John,
• 38:40
  Speaker 1: three distinct islands, each with its own vibe, its own flavor,
• 38:43
  Speaker 1: and its own way of helping you unplug and reset
• 38:46
  Speaker 1: this winter. Flights from New England could not be easier.
• 38:49
  Speaker 1: There's no passport required and there's no money to exchange.
• 38:52
  Speaker 1: Start planning your trip today because winter getaways don't last forever.
• 38:55
  Speaker 1: Head to visit USVII dot com for details and for
• 38:58
  Speaker 1: more information and gets it that jet on your dream vacation.
• 39:02
  Speaker 1: Discover why the US Virgin Islands are america Is Caribbean paradise.
• 39:06
  Speaker 1: Book your trip today at visit USVI dot com. That
• 39:09
  Speaker 1: to visit USVII dot com.
• 39:11
  Speaker 6: This is Michael Valila, adjudent of the Disabled American Veterans
• 39:15
  Speaker 6: Department of Massachusetts. The DAV of Massachusetts has helped me
• 39:18
  Speaker 6: and countless others adjust to civilian life through a variety
• 39:22
  Speaker 6: of incredible programs. Through our Local Veterans Assistance Program, we
• 39:26
  Speaker 6: provide necessary services to veterans in their communities, such as food, shopping, landscaping,
• 39:32
  Speaker 6: and companionship. But we need your support. You can help
• 39:34
  Speaker 6: by making a donation today. Please visit DAV fivek dot Boston.
• 39:39
  Speaker 6: That's DAV fivek dot Boston.
• 39:41
  Speaker 4: As you get closer to retirement, making sound decisions to
• 39:44
  Speaker 4: protect your assets becomes even more important, especially with increasing
• 39:48
  Speaker 4: cases of elder financial abuse. HI.
• 39:50
  Speaker 5: This is Mike Armstrong from the Armstrong Advisory Group. A
• 39:52
  Speaker 5: Bloomberg report from last September notes that older Americans are
• 39:56
  Speaker 5: losing an estimated twenty eight point three billion dollars to exploit.
• 40:00
  Speaker 5: Scam calls and fraudy emails are issues to beware of,
• 40:03
  Speaker 5: but there are other warning signs that may not be
• 40:05
  Speaker 5: easy to spot. Our new guide is called protecting Yourself
• 40:08
  Speaker 5: or a loved One from elder financial abuse. In it,
• 40:11
  Speaker 5: we discuss a variety of concerns to watch out for,
• 40:13
  Speaker 5: as well as steps that you can take to stay
• 40:15
  Speaker 5: ahead of potential problems. Call us right now at eight
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  Speaker 5: hundred three nine three for zero zero one and ask
• 40:20
  Speaker 5: for your free guide today. That's eight hundred three nine
• 40:23
  Speaker 5: three four zero zero one, or you can request the
• 40:25
  Speaker 5: guide online by visiting our website Armstrong Advisory dot com.
• 40:28
  Speaker 1: The proceeding was paid for by Armstrong Advisory Group, a
• 40:31
  Speaker 1: registered investment advisor. Nothing in the ad or any Armstrong
• 40:33
  Speaker 1: Guide a specific financial, legal or tax advice. Consult your
• 40:36
  Speaker 1: own financial tax into state planning advisors before making any
• 40:38
  Speaker 1: investment decisions. Armstrong may contact you to offer investment advisory services.
• 40:42
  Speaker 1: Your tune to the Legal Exchange with Todd Lutsky. If
• 40:45
  Speaker 1: you are a loved one needs a nursing homestay, call
• 40:48
  Speaker 1: Todd right now at eight sixty six eight four eight
• 40:50
  Speaker 1: five six ninet nine and let him make sure your
• 40:52
  Speaker 1: assets are protected. That's eight six six eight four eight
• 40:55
  Speaker 1: five six nine nine, or visit him online at Legal
• 40:58
  Speaker 1: Exchange Show dot com.
• 41:01
  Speaker 2: Welcome back into the Legal Exchange with Todd Lutsky. My
• 41:04
  Speaker 2: name is Susan Powers. I'm a financial advisor with the
• 41:06
  Speaker 2: Armstrong Advisory Group and I'm joined, of course by Todd Lutsky,
• 41:10
  Speaker 2: partner with the law firm of Cushing and Dolan with
• 41:13
  Speaker 2: a master's in taxation. Todd, I want to talk a
• 41:18
  Speaker 2: little bit about divorce where you mentioned it in both
• 41:21
  Speaker 2: of your cases today. It's popular, it is popular, and
• 41:25
  Speaker 2: you know what, there are a lot of folks out
• 41:27
  Speaker 2: there that are concerned about potential future divorces of their children,
• 41:32
  Speaker 2: and I just want to maybe have a quick conversation
• 41:35
  Speaker 2: about how parents can divorce proof their kids inheritance without
• 41:41
  Speaker 2: the kids having to have a prenup, because I think
• 41:43
  Speaker 2: a lot of people don't realize that's even possible.
• 41:46
  Speaker 3: I know that's a very good point. So remember, folks,
• 41:50
  Speaker 3: if you tell your children you know, you know I
• 41:55
  Speaker 3: would like you to get a prenup, you look like
• 41:57
  Speaker 3: a bad right, A bad.
• 41:58
  Speaker 2: Guy makes it courted Thanksgiving, it's at.
• 42:01
  Speaker 3: The very beginning. You know, you're trying to have a
• 42:03
  Speaker 3: nice relationship, and you're the you're the in laws that
• 42:06
  Speaker 3: have sort of said I'm suggesting that you get a prenup. Now.
• 42:08
  Speaker 3: Of course, your son doesn't have to say my parents
• 42:10
  Speaker 3: said we should get a prenup. But either way you're
• 42:13
  Speaker 3: putting the child in that position where they now have
• 42:15
  Speaker 3: to have that uncomfortable conversation with there soon to be spouse.
• 42:21
  Speaker 2: Yep.
• 42:22
  Speaker 3: Uh, And there's no way around it. Although today I
• 42:24
  Speaker 3: got to tell you a lot of couples on their
• 42:27
  Speaker 3: own are you know, they're more like, yeah, no, I
• 42:29
  Speaker 3: get it. It's like it's not as bad, but it's
• 42:32
  Speaker 3: still uncomfortable. There's just no way around it. So you
• 42:37
  Speaker 3: can tell your children, look, I'm worth you know, X
• 42:40
  Speaker 3: number of dollars in my estate and I don't want
• 42:44
  Speaker 3: you to lose this. So I'm going to take a
• 42:47
  Speaker 3: step in my estate plan. And it's up to you
• 42:51
  Speaker 3: whether you want to get a prenup for your own stuff,
• 42:53
  Speaker 3: because again, depending on your children, you know, they might
• 42:56
  Speaker 3: have assets of their own going into marriages of people
• 43:00
  Speaker 3: getting married later and later in life. So you can say, look,
• 43:04
  Speaker 3: for you take a step, if you want to take it.
• 43:08
  Speaker 3: I'm not going to, but I'm going to protect my
• 43:10
  Speaker 3: stuff for you.
• 43:12
  Speaker 2: Yep.
• 43:13
  Speaker 3: How do you do that? You set up a trust.
• 43:15
  Speaker 3: This trust, whether it starts out as irrevocable or revocable
• 43:21
  Speaker 3: matters not at all, because when you die is where
• 43:26
  Speaker 3: the language is that I'm talking about. So when you die,
• 43:29
  Speaker 3: the language says, divide my assets into let's say, equal
• 43:33
  Speaker 3: shares for my children, but hold it, don't pay it out.
• 43:38
  Speaker 3: And you put language in that says you can be trustees.
• 43:41
  Speaker 3: Say two kids, you know, Billy and Sally. I always
• 43:45
  Speaker 3: use and they will manage and invest the buckets. But
• 43:50
  Speaker 3: they don't own the buckets, which is key, and they
• 43:54
  Speaker 3: can't take the money out. They could give it to
• 43:57
  Speaker 3: each other. But you know, I think appointing a disinterested
• 44:01
  Speaker 3: trustees better. So you give them the power to remove
• 44:05
  Speaker 3: and replace and pick an independent trustee so they're the boss.
• 44:08
  Speaker 3: They're in charge. There's no downside of having a rogue
• 44:11
  Speaker 3: trustee here. And they just have to ask the trustee
• 44:15
  Speaker 3: for distributions when they want it college prep, school vacations, cars, boats,
• 44:21
  Speaker 3: ask They can still enjoy it, Oh, absolutely, and the
• 44:24
  Speaker 3: grand kids too. Yep, grand kids too. But the trustee,
• 44:28
  Speaker 3: disinterested trustee has sold discretion beautiful. So when the divorce
• 44:32
  Speaker 3: comes and let's say there's five million dollars in Billy's
• 44:35
  Speaker 3: bucket and the spouse wants two and a half million, yep,
• 44:40
  Speaker 3: because that's how it works. Billy says, ask Todd or
• 44:43
  Speaker 3: ask whoever the independent trustee is. And and when you
• 44:48
  Speaker 3: do that, the independent trustee simply says no or yes,
• 44:55
  Speaker 3: likely it would be no. But better than that, folks,
• 44:57
  Speaker 3: It's more about ownership. Right. If Billy never owned the
• 45:02
  Speaker 3: five million dollar bucket because the trust owned it, then
• 45:06
  Speaker 3: technically it's not a marital asset, which means it's not
• 45:09
  Speaker 3: available for the divorce, which means the expouse's attorney can't
• 45:17
  Speaker 3: even really ask the question give me the money. You
• 45:20
  Speaker 3: can't even ask for it because it's not it's not
• 45:23
  Speaker 3: a marital asset. Wow.
• 45:25
  Speaker 2: And if they stay married, they enjoy the funds together.
• 45:28
  Speaker 3: Great. Then it goes to grandchildren file a state tax
• 45:31
  Speaker 3: free because it's not owned.
• 45:34
  Speaker 2: Right, so skip a generation.
• 45:36
  Speaker 3: This is the power of tax free generational building wealth, folks.
• 45:40
  Speaker 3: Hard to see, but it's there, folks. This is just
• 45:45
  Speaker 3: a little piece of the state planning. Get the guide
• 45:47
  Speaker 3: back to the basics. It really has all this information
• 45:50
  Speaker 3: about how a state planning works to get started. Valuation
• 45:55
  Speaker 3: as age family dynamics, which we were just talking about,
• 45:58
  Speaker 3: Susan helps you figure out those issues. Then it talks
• 46:02
  Speaker 3: about the basic documents and goes on to really explain
• 46:05
  Speaker 3: how an irrevocable trust works to fill out this particular
• 46:08
  Speaker 3: client's situation. Put your own fact pattern in, get the
• 46:12
  Speaker 3: guide and see if this plan is right for you,
• 46:14
  Speaker 3: or which one is right for you eight six six
• 46:19
  Speaker 3: eight four eight five six nine nine or Legal Exchange
• 46:22
  Speaker 3: Show dot com Back to the basics eight sixty six
• 46:26
  Speaker 3: eight four eight five six nine nine or Legal Exchange
• 46:30
  Speaker 3: Show dot com, or visit our Instagram page Cushing Dolan
• 46:33
  Speaker 3: PC for more information.
• 46:36
  Speaker 2: So one of your cases today, Todd, you were talking
• 46:39
  Speaker 2: about a woman who only had the will right. So, yes,
• 46:42
  Speaker 2: that's right, she had just a will. If you have
• 46:44
  Speaker 2: someone who has a trust because they want a divorce
• 46:47
  Speaker 2: proof and do all these other things, does that mean
• 46:49
  Speaker 2: you don't need a will, you just need a trust?
• 46:53
  Speaker 3: Ummm no, okay. In fact, what does a will serve then?
• 46:58
  Speaker 3: If you have a trust? Yeah, it's a great I mean,
• 46:59
  Speaker 3: it's a fair question. So many people say that, they
• 47:01
  Speaker 3: say you know, because I always say you know. We
• 47:03
  Speaker 3: always say, Susan, we talk about a will being a won't.
• 47:06
  Speaker 3: You know, a will doesn't won't avoid probate, won't reduce
• 47:08
  Speaker 3: the state taxes won't protect it from the nursing home.
• 47:12
  Speaker 3: And certainly those are all true comments, right.
• 47:14
  Speaker 2: But your trust says where everything's going.
• 47:16
  Speaker 3: Right, Not only does the trust say where everything's going,
• 47:18
  Speaker 3: but as you saw here, even with the testamentary trust, yeah,
• 47:21
  Speaker 3: I went to probate, but at least it lived on right.
• 47:25
  Speaker 3: So I think here you know a regular living trust
• 47:29
  Speaker 3: fund it it avoids probate.
• 47:31
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 47:32
  Speaker 1: Good.
• 47:33
  Speaker 3: Second, it controls the assets in terms of well, let's
• 47:37
  Speaker 3: go to second. If you're married, it helps to shelter
• 47:40
  Speaker 3: estate taxes. It allows you to double your exemptions if
• 47:44
  Speaker 3: you're married, right, two million per person if you're married
• 47:49
  Speaker 3: in mass could shelter four million, fifteen million times two
• 47:54
  Speaker 3: thirty million if you're single, So I mean sorry, if
• 47:57
  Speaker 3: you're married for federal very good. So probate taxes. Next, control,
• 48:04
  Speaker 3: you're still in control if it's a revocable trust, and
• 48:07
  Speaker 3: you're really still in control if it's an irrevocable medicaid
• 48:11
  Speaker 3: type trust, different than irrevocable gifting trust, folks, But that's
• 48:15
  Speaker 3: a song for another day. But yes, and lastly, if
• 48:20
  Speaker 3: it's irrevocable medicaid, then it's protecting the assets from the
• 48:24
  Speaker 3: nursing home. But most importantly, to get to your point,
• 48:27
  Speaker 3: when you both die, regardless of the kind of trust,
• 48:31
  Speaker 3: it's going to provide for a distribution to your family
• 48:35
  Speaker 3: in that controlled fashion. So there's a lot that a
• 48:37
  Speaker 3: trust does that a will can't. So if all that
• 48:41
  Speaker 3: happens with the trust, why do you need a will? Oh? Yeah,
• 48:44
  Speaker 3: that was the question, wasn't it. Well, because I'm not
• 48:47
  Speaker 3: with you every day, thankfully, right phew. And when clients
• 48:51
  Speaker 3: do their planning, we do set up the trust and
• 48:55
  Speaker 3: we do fund the trust.
• 48:57
  Speaker 2: Yep.
• 48:57
  Speaker 3: But you know, you live on for many many years,
• 49:00
  Speaker 3: as you might buy another piece of property, a vacation home,
• 49:03
  Speaker 3: let's say, and forget to call your lawyer and say,
• 49:06
  Speaker 3: I want to put it in my trust. Well, now
• 49:09
  Speaker 3: you're going to die with a piece of a piece
• 49:11
  Speaker 3: of property in another state perhaps, So now it's going
• 49:15
  Speaker 3: to go to probate in that state. But your will
• 49:18
  Speaker 3: will catch it and it's a poor over will and
• 49:22
  Speaker 3: will cause the asset to be deposited into your trust
• 49:27
  Speaker 3: after death.
• 49:27
  Speaker 2: So it works with the trust.
• 49:29
  Speaker 3: Right could be it could be a piece of property,
• 49:32
  Speaker 3: could could just be a new brokerage account, could be
• 49:34
  Speaker 3: a new bank account.
• 49:35
  Speaker 2: Something without a beneficiary.
• 49:37
  Speaker 3: Yeah, you just put in your own name because it's normal,
• 49:39
  Speaker 3: it's natural, it feels right. Well, the will at least
• 49:44
  Speaker 3: puts it in the trust so as to make sure
• 49:48
  Speaker 3: it not only is sheltering it for taxes, but getting
• 49:52
  Speaker 3: where you want it to go for your family.
• 49:53
  Speaker 2: So it's a bit of a safety net, absolutely okay,
• 49:56
  Speaker 2: and I think it's needed.
• 49:57
  Speaker 3: It's definitely needed. Excellent, So so I think folks, those
• 50:01
  Speaker 3: are the kinds of things that you want to think
• 50:04
  Speaker 3: about when you're doing estate planning and getting yourself started.
• 50:08
  Speaker 3: Getting the guide is also not a bad idea. It
• 50:11
  Speaker 3: begins with valuation, age, family dynamics, type of trust, that
• 50:18
  Speaker 3: type of assets that you have, and then explains how
• 50:22
  Speaker 3: it works with an estate plan. In this case it's
• 50:24
  Speaker 3: an irrevocable trust. But nevertheless it gets you out of
• 50:29
  Speaker 3: the gate and explains all the basic documents as well
• 50:33
  Speaker 3: eight six six eight four eight five six nine nine
• 50:37
  Speaker 3: or Legal Exchange show dot com and you get started
• 50:40
  Speaker 3: with your estate planning today.
• 50:43
  Speaker 2: Todd Lutsky from the law firm of Cushing and Dolan,
• 50:46
  Speaker 2: thank you so much.
• 50:47
  Speaker 3: Thank you, Susan. Always a pleasure.
• 50:49
  Speaker 2: I'm Susan Powers, a financial advisor with the Armstrong Advisory Group.
• 50:53
  Speaker 2: We thank you for joining us and we'll be back
• 50:55
  Speaker 2: again next week on the Legal Exchange with Todd Lutsky.
• 50:59
  Speaker 1: There are any elements needed to build a successful estate plan,
• 51:02
  Speaker 1: and if you don't know where to start, Cushing and
• 51:04
  Speaker 1: Dolan can help. Estate planning doesn't stop with a will.
• 51:07
  Speaker 1: Wills by themselves do not keep your estate out of probate,
• 51:10
  Speaker 1: which takes time, can be costly, and it makes your
• 51:13
  Speaker 1: estate a matter of public record. Many families use trusts
• 51:16
  Speaker 1: to help protect their assets. Trusts are tools that are
• 51:18
  Speaker 1: designed to help your assets pass privately, more efficiently, and
• 51:22
  Speaker 1: without court involvement. Cushing and Dolan have put together a
• 51:25
  Speaker 1: new guide called Back to the Basics, a complete guide
• 51:27
  Speaker 1: to an estate and asset protection plan. It explains in
• 51:30
  Speaker 1: clear terms how wills, trusts, and probate actually work and
• 51:34
  Speaker 1: why structure matters. Get your free copy today by calling
• 51:37
  Speaker 1: eight six six eight four eight five six ninety nine.
• 51:40
  Speaker 1: That's eight six six eight four eight five six ninety nine,
• 51:42
  Speaker 1: or you can request the guide online by visiting Legal
• 51:45
  Speaker 1: Exchange Show dot com. That's Legal exchange Show dot com.
• 51:49
  Speaker 1: The proceeding was paid for and the views expressed are
• 51:51
  Speaker 1: solely those of Cushing and Dolan. Cushing and Dolan in
• 51:53
  Speaker 1: or Armstrong Advisory may contact you offering legal or investment services.
• 51:56
  Speaker 1: Cushing and Dolan in Armstrong Advisory do not endorse each
• 51:58
  Speaker 1: other and are not affiliated.
• 52:00
  Speaker 4: Life changes quickly as we age.
• 52:01
  Speaker 5: Technology is moving faster and is creating new risks for
• 52:04
  Speaker 5: families they didn't have to worry about before. One of
• 52:07
  Speaker 5: the biggest is elder financial abuse. Hi, this is Mike
• 52:10
  Speaker 5: from the Armstrong Advisory Group. I'm not talking just about scams,
• 52:14
  Speaker 5: but situations where more online accounts, digital payments and shared
• 52:17
  Speaker 5: access can slowly open the door to problems. Today, financial
• 52:21
  Speaker 5: exploitation doesn't always look obvious. It can show up through
• 52:24
  Speaker 5: unfamiliar transactions, misused powers of attorney, or pressure from people
• 52:28
  Speaker 5: who already have a role in someone's life. That's why
• 52:30
  Speaker 5: the Armstrong Advisory Group put together a new guide called
• 52:33
  Speaker 5: protecting Yourself or a loved One from Elder Financial Abuse.
• 52:37
  Speaker 5: To get your free copy, call eight hundred three nine
• 52:39
  Speaker 5: three four zero zero one. That's eight hundred three nine
• 52:42
  Speaker 5: three four zero zero one, or requested online at Armstrong
• 52:46
  Speaker 5: Advisory dot com.
• 52:47
  Speaker 1: The proceeding was paid for by Armstrong Advisory Group, a
• 52:49
  Speaker 1: registered investment advisor. Nothing in the ad or in any
• 52:51
  Speaker 1: Armstrong guide is specific financial, legal or tax advice. Cansult
• 52:54
  Speaker 1: your own financial tax into state planning advisors before making
• 52:56
  Speaker 1: any investment decisions. Armstrong may contact you to offer investment
• 52:59
  Speaker 1: advisory services. Winter dates fill up fast, so if you're
• 53:02
  Speaker 1: thinking about escaping the cold, now is the time to
• 53:04
  Speaker 1: plan a getaway to the US Virgin Islands, America's Caribbean paradise.
• 53:09
  Speaker 1: Here you can fall naturally in rhythm with the heartbeat
• 53:11
  Speaker 1: of the islands. Spend your days on powder soft beaches
• 53:14
  Speaker 1: in crystal clear water, sailing, snorkeling, or simply relaxing under
• 53:18
  Speaker 1: the sun. Your evenings will be just as memorable with
• 53:21
  Speaker 1: world class dining, local cuisine, live music, and unforgettable sunsets.
• 53:25
  Speaker 1: Explore Saint Croix, Saint Thomas, or Saint John, three distinct islands,
• 53:30
  Speaker 1: each with its own vibe, its own flavor, and its
• 53:32
  Speaker 1: own way of helping you unplug and reset this winter.
• 53:35
  Speaker 1: Flights from New England could not be easier. There's no
• 53:38
  Speaker 1: passport required and there's no money to exchange. Start planning
• 53:41
  Speaker 1: your trip today. Because winter getaways don't last forever. Head
• 53:44
  Speaker 1: to visit USVII dot com for details and for more information,
• 53:48
  Speaker 1: and get set to jet on your dream vacation. Discover
• 53:51
  Speaker 1: why the US Virgin Islands are America's Caribbean paradise. Book
• 53:55
  Speaker 1: your trip today at visit USVII dot com. That's visit
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  Speaker 1: USVII dot com.