Latest / The Legal Exchange / Changing beneficiaries after your spouse dies

Transcript

Changing beneficiaries after your spouse dies · The Legal Exchange

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: This is the Legal Exchange with Todd Lutsky from the
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: law firm of Cushing and Dolan and Susan Powers of
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: the Armstrong Advisory Group. Each week, Todd and Susan will
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: discuss many topics, including estate planning, how to avoid probate,
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: and protecting your money from a nursing home. If you
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: need assistance in any of these areas, or have a
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: question about another issue that may affect your future, call
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: eight six six eight four eight five six ninety nine
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: to make an appointment. That's eight sixty six eight four
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: eight five six ninety nine. Operators are standing by. Now
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: Here are your hosts, Todd Lutsky and Susan Powers.
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: Welcome into the Legal Exchange with Todd Lutsky. I'm Susan Powers,
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: a financial advisor with the Armstrong Advisory Group, and I'm
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: joined by Todd Lutsky, a partner with the law firm
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: of Cushing and Dolan with a master's in taxation. Welcome Todd.
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: How are you?
• 0:52
  Speaker 3: I'm never better in you?
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: I'm well, thank you. What do you have for us
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: this week?
• 0:55
  Speaker 3: Couple of things. I've got a North Dakota Supreme Court
• 0:59
  Speaker 3: case dealing with property when it's sold in a trust
• 1:06
  Speaker 3: if it's designed to if the property was supposed to
• 1:09
  Speaker 3: go to each kid, multiple properties, but then they all
• 1:13
  Speaker 3: get sold, do each kid share equally in the money
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: or do they follow the proceeds? Or is there a
• 1:19
  Speaker 3: drafting problem here? You can only imagine what these kids
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: are going to go through in this case. But all
• 1:24
  Speaker 3: the way up to the North Dakota Supreme Court, we
• 1:27
  Speaker 3: will deal with that and explain to you some drafting issues.
• 1:31
  Speaker 3: I actually got a real life story similar to that
• 1:33
  Speaker 3: coming up as well next week or so. Texas Appellate
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: Court case another one there. So this is one where
• 1:42
  Speaker 3: a husband and wife actually created a revocable joint trust
• 1:47
  Speaker 3: but granted each other a general testamentary power of appointment,
• 1:51
  Speaker 3: and of course the surviving spouse exercised that power, and
• 1:56
  Speaker 3: that's where things went awry for the kids and the grandkid,
• 2:00
  Speaker 3: and that's where the lawsuit will come into play. So
• 2:02
  Speaker 3: I will be explaining the differences between a testamentary general
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: power of appointment in a trust and a limited power
• 2:09
  Speaker 3: of appointment testamentary as well, and what all that means
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: and how important those powers can be in your trust drafting.
• 2:18
  Speaker 3: But folks, a lot of what I have to talk
• 2:20
  Speaker 3: about is this new guide, which is people who might
• 2:24
  Speaker 3: not plan like this, which I agree the planning is
• 2:26
  Speaker 3: better to do, but sometimes they just say, you know,
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: I'm going to take a short cut. I'm going to
• 2:31
  Speaker 3: give my house to my kids and reserve a life estate.
• 2:34
  Speaker 3: How many times do we hear that?
• 2:36
  Speaker 4: Right?
• 2:37
  Speaker 3: And you might be one of those people who have
• 2:38
  Speaker 3: done that. Now I'm not saying they're horrible. There are
• 2:42
  Speaker 3: pros and cons, and please call and get the guide
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: this month. It's new for the month calculating the consequences
• 2:49
  Speaker 3: of a life estate pros and cons. You'll find more cons,
• 2:54
  Speaker 3: I think than pros. But there's also multiple ways to
• 2:57
  Speaker 3: do it. One is better than another. That explain the
• 3:00
  Speaker 3: gift tax, the income tax, the control issues, the creditor
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: issues that go along with giving up some of your house.
• 3:09
  Speaker 3: Probably not the best way to go, but learn about
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: it and then decide what's right for you. Uh eight
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: six six eight four eight five six nine nine or
• 3:20
  Speaker 3: Legal Exchange Show dot com again eight six six eight
• 3:24
  Speaker 3: four eight five six nine nine or Legal Exchange Show
• 3:28
  Speaker 3: dot com. Now off to North Dakota we go. Supreme
• 3:33
  Speaker 3: Court case. So what do we have we have, we'll
• 3:38
  Speaker 3: call it Gayale. They use Gic, We'll call it Gale
• 3:41
  Speaker 3: and her husband. They created a revocable trust in ninety
• 3:45
  Speaker 3: seven and they transferred several parcels of farmland to the
• 3:48
  Speaker 3: trust and at the the at death the remaining income
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: and principle or to go to the kids. Each kid
• 3:56
  Speaker 3: was to get a specific parcel of the far armland. Well,
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: during Gail's life she became ill. The husband had already died,
• 4:07
  Speaker 3: she had become ill, so they appointed a bank as
• 4:10
  Speaker 3: a backup trustee. Well, Gail needed money so that she
• 4:16
  Speaker 3: could care for herself as her she was declining, and
• 4:20
  Speaker 3: the trust of course had no money. It was real
• 4:22
  Speaker 3: estate rich and cash poor. So the trustee in the court,
• 4:27
  Speaker 3: they went to the court to say, we want to
• 4:28
  Speaker 3: sell the real estate to get money take care of Gail.
• 4:32
  Speaker 3: That was in July of twenty twenty three. Well, that
• 4:35
  Speaker 3: made sense, right, They believe this was a reasonable way
• 4:38
  Speaker 3: to generate money. So in addition, the court said, well,
• 4:42
  Speaker 3: you can sell all the real estate, not just one
• 4:45
  Speaker 3: or two parcels, because it would be in the best
• 4:47
  Speaker 3: interest of all the beneficiaries to do that, because otherwise
• 4:50
  Speaker 3: you could be inadvertently adversely affecting some of the beneficiaries
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: whose property you sold. Right, you can't pick and choose,
• 4:59
  Speaker 3: so sell it all. So they did that way they
• 5:03
  Speaker 3: could distribute what's left equally to the kids. That was
• 5:06
  Speaker 3: the thought. Okay, you could see where this is going.
• 5:10
  Speaker 3: So February twenty twenty four, not long later, they petitioned
• 5:13
  Speaker 3: the court for a final distribution. Well, Luke, one of
• 5:18
  Speaker 3: the children, objected, stating that each child should should be
• 5:22
  Speaker 3: getting the proceeds from the sale of their particular property
• 5:26
  Speaker 3: that would have been allocated to them. But the court
• 5:32
  Speaker 3: granted the bank's petition to say no, equally is the
• 5:35
  Speaker 3: way it should go. Luke appealed, Well, the Supreme Court reversed. Really,
• 5:42
  Speaker 3: and it's all about determining the intent of the donor.
• 5:48
  Speaker 3: I get what was drafted. Of course, drafting is most
• 5:51
  Speaker 3: important to be clear to prevent this, but when you're
• 5:53
  Speaker 3: not clear, you kind of need to help understand what
• 5:59
  Speaker 3: was the donor intent. That's always what the court wants
• 6:03
  Speaker 3: to satisfy, and so you know, one do they want.
• 6:08
  Speaker 3: The goal was to provide for each other first, which
• 6:10
  Speaker 3: it did, and then the second goal was Luke and
• 6:14
  Speaker 3: the brother one brother, we're supposed to farm the land
• 6:19
  Speaker 3: and pay rent to the siblings, and therefore each child
• 6:24
  Speaker 3: getting money related to their land sold is more in
• 6:29
  Speaker 3: line with the donors intent, So Luke wins. And that
• 6:36
  Speaker 3: might be again look at external evidence here to help
• 6:41
  Speaker 3: prove what the donors intent was. Well, if these two
• 6:44
  Speaker 3: boys were getting the land, the farmland, which is probably
• 6:48
  Speaker 3: the bigger piece, and their job was to run it
• 6:50
  Speaker 3: because they wanted to run it, well, when they're done
• 6:52
  Speaker 3: running it, they should be able to sell it and
• 6:54
  Speaker 3: get the money. But meanwhile, while they're running it, they said,
• 6:56
  Speaker 3: you're obligated to pay your brothers and sisters rent. Yep,
• 7:01
  Speaker 3: for this to collect rent. Somehow weird arrangement, but that's
• 7:06
  Speaker 3: what they did. And so they said, well, look it
• 7:08
  Speaker 3: must have been the donors wish to you know, allow
• 7:12
  Speaker 3: them to have the proceeds. But trust it and say that. Right,
• 7:17
  Speaker 3: So you needed clarity, you needed the donors intent, folks,
• 7:21
  Speaker 3: tips and lessons here, right.
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you will. You very often have people say, oh,
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: I want this property to go to you know, billy,
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: But you have language in there that deals with if
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: you sell it before you die.
• 7:33
  Speaker 3: Yeah, there's there's a couple of things. We do have
• 7:35
  Speaker 3: some language for selling after you die, but let's talk
• 7:38
  Speaker 3: about that. If you if you're talking to a client, right, so,
• 7:41
  Speaker 3: if you truly want to give kids unequal pieces of land,
• 7:47
  Speaker 3: well you're certainly allowed to do that, but put a
• 7:49
  Speaker 3: no contest clause.
• 7:50
  Speaker 5: In so they can't complain, right, right, first and foremost,
• 7:53
  Speaker 5: put that no contest clause in.
• 7:56
  Speaker 3: Secondly, you know, whenever people try to hold let's just
• 8:00
  Speaker 3: move off that for a minute and say, what if
• 8:01
  Speaker 3: I'm trying to hold this specific Oh I love this
• 8:05
  Speaker 3: cape property, I love this beach house, I love this island,
• 8:09
  Speaker 3: you know whatever, And I know my family is gonna
• 8:11
  Speaker 3: want it, So I'm gonna hold that in trust and
• 8:13
  Speaker 3: they can all share it. Well, that's also a recipe
• 8:16
  Speaker 3: for disaster. Yeah, right, because if there's no money in
• 8:19
  Speaker 3: the trust to pay the bills, all they're gonna do
• 8:22
  Speaker 3: is fighting.
• 8:22
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and one might not want and one might not
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: live near there.
• 8:25
  Speaker 3: It's exactly right. They're they're gonna fight about it. They're
• 8:28
  Speaker 3: not gonna want it, They're gonna you know who uses
• 8:29
  Speaker 3: it when, So keep that in mind when you're drafting.
• 8:33
  Speaker 3: But coming back to this idea, you know, if you're
• 8:35
  Speaker 3: giving real estate per kid and you want them to
• 8:38
  Speaker 3: have it, then you must put language in the document
• 8:41
  Speaker 3: that says what happens if this property is not in
• 8:47
  Speaker 3: existence on the date of death.
• 8:49
  Speaker 4: One.
• 8:49
  Speaker 3: You should always put language in that says this property
• 8:52
  Speaker 3: to Billy or any replacement property. Okay, so now I've
• 8:57
  Speaker 3: covered the replacement property good. But also in the event
• 9:02
  Speaker 3: there is no such property in existence, then the proceeds
• 9:07
  Speaker 3: from the sale of that property should go to Billy
• 9:10
  Speaker 3: and any other child, right, however you want to define it,
• 9:14
  Speaker 3: or if the property is not in existence, then I
• 9:18
  Speaker 3: want the money added to the balance of the trust
• 9:22
  Speaker 3: to be divided equally among the kids. Could you be
• 9:25
  Speaker 3: very clear?
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you want to keep your options openly. In this case,
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: she'd sell land to pay for her care.
• 9:30
  Speaker 3: That's right, and that's okay, But make sure when you
• 9:33
  Speaker 3: draft you cover the language, right, take care.
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: Of yourselves first.
• 9:37
  Speaker 3: If that language is in there, then we don't have
• 9:40
  Speaker 3: this dispute. We know exactly what the donor's intent was
• 9:44
  Speaker 3: with regard to the real estate. So unless you want
• 9:47
  Speaker 3: to do that, make sure you put that language in
• 9:49
  Speaker 3: there to cover all of these things. And again, you're right,
• 9:52
  Speaker 3: we have language in there that says sell the property
• 9:55
  Speaker 3: unless all the kids want it and buy each other
• 9:58
  Speaker 3: out who doesn't want it for fair market value. So
• 10:00
  Speaker 3: we're always treating him equally. That's if we're treating him
• 10:02
  Speaker 3: equally right, So you can cover it that way as well, Folks,
• 10:05
  Speaker 3: lots to think about when you're doing your estate planning,
• 10:07
  Speaker 3: and lots to think about if you've just decided to
• 10:10
  Speaker 3: skip this and do a simple life estate deed, or
• 10:13
  Speaker 3: if you're thinking about doing one. Get the guide Calculating
• 10:17
  Speaker 3: the Consequences of a life Estate eight six six eight
• 10:20
  Speaker 3: four eight five six ninety nine.
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: You've been listening to Todd Lutsky, a partner with the
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: law firm of Cushing and Dolan. I'm Susan Power as
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: a financial advisor with the Armstrong Advisory Group. We've got
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: much more to come when we return to the legal
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: exchange with Todd Lutsky.
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: Life estates carry a higher risk of income tax penalties
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: and hidden gift issues, and while they can be beneficial
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: in some cases if you use one, you need to
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: be aware of the pitfalls they make.
• 10:45
  Speaker 4: Us.
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: Cushing and Dolan are experts in other law and have
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: nearly forty years of experience helping families with their estate planning.
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: Their new guide called Calculating the Consequences of Life Estates
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: can help you make the right decisions about how to
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: protect your assets from probate and the nursing home. Life
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: estates are not simple documents and can create the potential
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: for you to lose control of your estate. So if
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: you haven't done your planning yet, now's the time to
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: learn about the effects that life estates can have when
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: it comes to protecting your assets. Call Cushing and Dolan
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: today at eight sixty six eight four eight five six
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: ninety nine and request their new guide called Calculating the
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: Consequences of Life Estates. That's eight six six eight four
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: eight five six nine nine, or request the guide online
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: at Legal exchange show dot com. The proceeding was paid
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: for and the views expressed are solely those of Cushing
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: and Dolan. Cushing and Dolan and or Armstrong Advisory may
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: contact you offering legal or investment services. Cushing and Dolan
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: and Armstrong Advisory do not endorse each other and are
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: not affiliated. If you're looking for the perfect place for
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: your next vacation, look no further than the US Virgin Islands.
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: Act fast and take advantage of a special promotion to
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: Saint Croix. Experience a five like no other and receive
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: a two hundred and fifty dollars per person airfare credit
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: and a free hotel night when you book a five
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: night minimum stay with any participating hotel before June thirtieth,
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: twenty twenty five. Saint Croix is known for its incredible
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: history and spectacular architecture, along with world class cuisine, incredible
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: golf courses, and a wide variety of water sports. From
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: the moment you arrive, you'll fall naturally in rhythm with
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: the heartbeat of the islands. There's no money to exchange,
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: and travel from New England could not be easier. Quoted
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: one of the top twenty twenty five Caribbean destinations by
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: US News and World Report, America's Caribbean paradise is waiting
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: for you the experience of vibe like no other on
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: the island of Saint Croix. Go to visit USVII dot
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: com and use the code Vibe twenty twenty five for
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: more information and.
• 12:30
  Speaker 4: Book your trip today.
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: That's visit USVII dot com and code vibe twenty twenty five.
• 12:37
  Speaker 6: In today's economic climate, managing your finances can be a
• 12:40
  Speaker 6: full time job. This is Mike Armstrong from the Armstrong
• 12:42
  Speaker 6: Advisory Group, and our experienced team of advisors understands the
• 12:45
  Speaker 6: challenges that exist and the questions you may have when
• 12:48
  Speaker 6: it comes to.
• 12:49
  Speaker 4: Your own financial strategy.
• 12:50
  Speaker 6: Our new guide is called what can a Financial Advisor
• 12:52
  Speaker 6: Do for Me? In it will help you find answers
• 12:55
  Speaker 6: to some of those questions. At Armstrong Advisory we can
• 12:57
  Speaker 6: provide you with information that may help you with decisions
• 13:00
  Speaker 6: about your investments. Our team can also advise you of
• 13:02
  Speaker 6: the need to work with a professional in other areas
• 13:04
  Speaker 6: such as taxes, estate planning or insurance. Understanding the role
• 13:07
  Speaker 6: these elements play in a well rounded financial plan is
• 13:10
  Speaker 6: extremely important. Give the Armstrong Advisory Group a call at
• 13:13
  Speaker 6: eight hundred three nine three four zero zero one and
• 13:17
  Speaker 6: ask for our new guide today. That number again is
• 13:19
  Speaker 6: eight hundred three nine three four zero zero one.
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: The proceeding was paid for by Armstrong Advisory Group, a
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: registered investment advisor. Nothing in the ad or in any
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: Armstrong Guide a specific financial, legal or tax advice. Consult
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: your own financial, tax and estate planning advisors before making
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: any investment decisions. Armstrong may contact you to offer investment
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: advisory services. You're listening to the Legal Exchange with Todd Lunsky,
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: an expert in elder life planning and taxation. Need help
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: with your estate plan? Com Todd right now and make
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: an appointment. Eight six six eight four eight five six
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: ninety nine. That's eight sixty six eight four eight five
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: six ninety nine.
• 13:53
  Speaker 2: Welcome back into the Legal Exchange with Todd Lutsky. I'm
• 13:57
  Speaker 2: Susan Powers, a financial advisor with the Armstrong Advisor Group,
• 14:00
  Speaker 2: and I'm joined by Todd Letsky, a partner with a
• 14:03
  Speaker 2: law firm of Cushing and Dolan with a masters in taxation.
• 14:08
  Speaker 3: Well where am I going?
• 14:10
  Speaker 2: I know exactly where you go. And you're going to
• 14:11
  Speaker 2: talk about changing beneficiaries after your spouse dies. I am
• 14:15
  Speaker 2: in a dangerous territory Texas.
• 14:17
  Speaker 3: Appellate Court case. So in this case, Richard and Barbara
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: created a revocable trust in twenty eleven. I'm going to
• 14:25
  Speaker 3: assume it was a joint trusted. They didn't say, but
• 14:29
  Speaker 3: it must be. And it had a testamentary general power
• 14:33
  Speaker 3: of appointment given to each of them in favor of
• 14:35
  Speaker 3: whoever the surviving spouse is well. Barbara died in January
• 14:41
  Speaker 3: of twenty twelve, and the trust then broke down into
• 14:45
  Speaker 3: a marital share and a remainder share, which means it
• 14:47
  Speaker 3: was a joint trust. So that those are the buckets
• 14:50
  Speaker 3: that are designed to shelter assets from state taxes. We've
• 14:54
  Speaker 3: all learned that Richard then in his will later decided
• 15:00
  Speaker 3: to exercise his testamentary general power of appointment, which is
• 15:04
  Speaker 3: how you do it, and he must have changed some
• 15:07
  Speaker 3: of the beneficiary language, and he added an arbitration clause. Okay,
• 15:15
  Speaker 3: by the way, an arbitration clause is in case anyone
• 15:17
  Speaker 3: wants to fight this, you have to go to an arbitrator,
• 15:21
  Speaker 3: not to.
• 15:21
  Speaker 2: Court rather than court. Yep.
• 15:23
  Speaker 3: So, in March of twenty twenty one years later, Richard
• 15:27
  Speaker 3: dies well, the grandkids file in action. Grandkids file in
• 15:31
  Speaker 3: action arguing that Richard only partially exercised his general power appointment,
• 15:36
  Speaker 3: so they must have been saying they should be getting
• 15:39
  Speaker 3: something over the survivor's trust. Well, the children, which would
• 15:45
  Speaker 3: be the parents of the grandkids, right, the children moved
• 15:49
  Speaker 3: to compel the arbitration agreement, and the court denied the motion. Well,
• 15:57
  Speaker 3: the kids appealed saying no, no, no, to go to
• 16:00
  Speaker 3: the appellate court and use our arbitration agreement here doesn't
• 16:02
  Speaker 3: make sense. The appellate court reversed, which I'm okay with here.
• 16:07
  Speaker 3: So let's see. They stated that, listen, an arbitration agreement
• 16:12
  Speaker 3: must be a must be supported by mutual assent. Right,
• 16:17
  Speaker 3: that makes sense. A unilateral instrument like a will becomes
• 16:21
  Speaker 3: enforceable when the beneficiaries accept by actual performance. So here
• 16:29
  Speaker 3: the arbitration agreement was supported by mutual assent. Why because
• 16:33
  Speaker 3: the grandkids had taken mutual beneficial interest under the will.
• 16:38
  Speaker 3: They took what they were entitled to. So because they
• 16:43
  Speaker 3: actually benefited from the will, they've assented.
• 16:47
  Speaker 5: So they've agreed to it by to the arbitration. Yes,
• 16:50
  Speaker 5: what they got by acceptance. So in essence, the suit
• 16:54
  Speaker 5: also comprised a dispute under the will, and the will
• 16:59
  Speaker 5: was an action against the trustees of the trust, and
• 17:02
  Speaker 5: therefore it was within the scope of the arbitration agreement.
• 17:05
  Speaker 5: So this just simply says, I know you hate this.
• 17:09
  Speaker 5: We're reversing saying yes.
• 17:11
  Speaker 2: I'll think about what you've done, allow.
• 17:13
  Speaker 3: The arbitration agreement to exist and go back to the
• 17:16
  Speaker 3: court to see who wins what. The issue wasn't so
• 17:19
  Speaker 3: much about who wins what here, but this whole idea
• 17:22
  Speaker 3: of general powers of appointment, limited powers of appointment, testamentary
• 17:27
  Speaker 3: versus non testamentary. Folks, What am I talking about. I'm
• 17:31
  Speaker 3: going to explain all that before I do. I just
• 17:33
  Speaker 3: want to mention a lot of people don't do this stuff,
• 17:37
  Speaker 3: and they might just put their house in a life
• 17:39
  Speaker 3: estate arrangement or maybe some other property in a life
• 17:43
  Speaker 3: estate arrangement. I don't know why they would do that.
• 17:45
  Speaker 2: A way, don't do it.
• 17:47
  Speaker 3: Don't do it. These life estates are when you take
• 17:50
  Speaker 3: your house and you give it to generally your children.
• 17:53
  Speaker 3: I'm just going to use that as an example and
• 17:55
  Speaker 3: retain the right to live there. There are income tax consequences,
• 18:00
  Speaker 3: gift tax consequences. You've given up a tremendous amount of control.
• 18:04
  Speaker 3: How do I sell the house later? How do I
• 18:07
  Speaker 3: change my mind later? These are all problems. They could
• 18:10
  Speaker 3: come up as life goes on for you. You might
• 18:13
  Speaker 3: want to move. You're gonna have all kinds of issues.
• 18:16
  Speaker 3: These are the issues that are explained in calculating the
• 18:18
  Speaker 3: consequences of a life estate that guide for the month. Please, folks,
• 18:22
  Speaker 3: if you've done one, get it so you can learn
• 18:25
  Speaker 3: what you've actually done. If you're thinking about doing one,
• 18:28
  Speaker 3: get it and maybe you won't or you'll figure out
• 18:32
  Speaker 3: the right way to do it. Eight six six eight
• 18:35
  Speaker 3: four eight five six nine nine or Legal Exchange Show
• 18:39
  Speaker 3: dot com again eight six six eight four eight five
• 18:43
  Speaker 3: six nine nine or Legal Exchange Show dot com.
• 18:47
  Speaker 2: So in this case, it doesn't sound like it was
• 18:49
  Speaker 2: a second marriage. Just sounds like the kids and the
• 18:53
  Speaker 2: grand kid. The kids didn't like the fact that the
• 18:54
  Speaker 2: grandkids were getting a cut.
• 18:56
  Speaker 3: Something happened and we don't know what it was. Again,
• 18:58
  Speaker 3: that wasn't the issue. The issue is all about whether
• 19:00
  Speaker 3: or not the general power of appointment could be actually
• 19:03
  Speaker 3: ex honored or the arbitration clause rather got it. So
• 19:08
  Speaker 3: let's talk a little bit about this, right, What what
• 19:10
  Speaker 3: is it? So a general power of appointment generally means
• 19:15
  Speaker 3: that the surviving spouse or whoever has the power, can
• 19:19
  Speaker 3: change the revocable joint trust after one's spouse dies, even
• 19:24
  Speaker 3: though it's irrevocable. Now, remember when one spouse dies, it's irrevocable.
• 19:27
  Speaker 2: And meaning how they're going to leave things.
• 19:29
  Speaker 3: Well, general power of appointment means you can change it
• 19:32
  Speaker 3: pretty much without limit. There's no limitation on it. You
• 19:36
  Speaker 3: can appoint assets to anybody you want, including yourself, your estate,
• 19:42
  Speaker 3: your creditors of your estate, anybody. There's there's no limitation
• 19:47
  Speaker 3: in that general.
• 19:50
  Speaker 2: No class years.
• 19:52
  Speaker 3: You kept catching right on. So that's a very powerful
• 19:55
  Speaker 3: general power of Appointment's very broad, and it explains to
• 19:59
  Speaker 3: me me how they were actually able to add an
• 20:02
  Speaker 3: arbitration agreement because it's really no limitations to what you
• 20:05
  Speaker 3: can do. But you know what, folks, I'm always thinking
• 20:09
  Speaker 3: about taxes, and I'm like, why on earth would an
• 20:13
  Speaker 3: attorney draft this with a testamentary general power appointment. I
• 20:18
  Speaker 3: don't know the facts. Maybe there was a reason why
• 20:20
  Speaker 3: I'm saying that is. Remember this broke down into the
• 20:23
  Speaker 3: marital share and remainder share on the first death, which
• 20:26
  Speaker 3: means it's supposed to shelter assets from a state taxes.
• 20:30
  Speaker 3: If you're the surviving spouse and you have a testamentary
• 20:33
  Speaker 3: general power of appointment over the entire trust, all of
• 20:37
  Speaker 3: those assets are going to be included in your estate
• 20:39
  Speaker 3: when you die, so.
• 20:40
  Speaker 2: You don't do anything towards reducing your estate taxes with
• 20:43
  Speaker 2: that type of.
• 20:43
  Speaker 3: Thing, nothing, so be careful. That's general. Powers appointment are great,
• 20:47
  Speaker 3: they're powerful. There can be used, but you have to
• 20:50
  Speaker 3: understand the effect of dying owning one or having one.
• 20:55
  Speaker 3: You don't even have to exercise it. If you died
• 20:59
  Speaker 3: with the ability to appoint where the assets in the
• 21:03
  Speaker 3: trust go, including to yourself or your estate, then they
• 21:09
  Speaker 3: will be included in your estate even though you don't
• 21:12
  Speaker 3: exercise it. So that's very important, very different than a
• 21:16
  Speaker 3: limited testamentary power appointment, which is what you were saying, Susan.
• 21:19
  Speaker 3: This is where you know you usually say that I'm
• 21:22
  Speaker 3: going to appoint the assets equally or unequally to a
• 21:25
  Speaker 3: specific class of people like kids and kids, grandkids, great
• 21:31
  Speaker 3: grand kids, or nieces, nephews or siblings. Yeah, you define
• 21:37
  Speaker 3: the class right, and but it specifically not to yourself,
• 21:42
  Speaker 3: not to your estate, not to the creditors of your estate.
• 21:45
  Speaker 3: So now I know it won't cause inclusion into that
• 21:51
  Speaker 3: person's estate when they die. That is the really big
• 21:55
  Speaker 3: difference between the two. And yes, from a testamentary stamp point,
• 22:00
  Speaker 3: that means that you exercise it by changing the will.
• 22:05
  Speaker 3: You go into your will to say I exercise the
• 22:09
  Speaker 3: power given to me and the trust and I'm going
• 22:12
  Speaker 3: to change paragraph X, Y and Z of the trust
• 22:15
  Speaker 3: YEP through my will, which by the way, causes you
• 22:19
  Speaker 3: to go to probate when you do that. So just
• 22:22
  Speaker 3: people always forget that. But again that's a small price
• 22:24
  Speaker 3: to pay if you really wanted to change it. So
• 22:27
  Speaker 3: having this power of appointment does offer great flexibility. However,
• 22:33
  Speaker 3: you know, remember and second marriages, be very careful. You
• 22:37
  Speaker 3: might not want to give this testamentary power of appointment
• 22:42
  Speaker 3: in a second marriage situation, right because the surviving spouse
• 22:46
  Speaker 3: could technically disinherit your kids, right, even if it's limited
• 22:50
  Speaker 3: to kids of all generations, and you include all the
• 22:54
  Speaker 3: kids right from both marriages. So you got to be
• 22:57
  Speaker 3: very careful again when it comes to drafting the doc.
• 23:00
  Speaker 3: Like we learned in the prior case selling real estate,
• 23:04
  Speaker 3: directing where the proceeds go, drafting is key. Putting in
• 23:08
  Speaker 3: a general or testamentary power of appointment very important when
• 23:12
  Speaker 3: you are dealing with drafting. Folks, learn how to do
• 23:18
  Speaker 3: your estate planning well in this case, whether or not
• 23:21
  Speaker 3: you want a life estate arrangement, some people are okay
• 23:24
  Speaker 3: with it, but if you've done one. It has plenty
• 23:27
  Speaker 3: of pros and cons that go with it. Get the
• 23:29
  Speaker 3: guide eight six six eight four eight five six nine
• 23:34
  Speaker 3: nine or Legal Exchange show dot com.
• 23:37
  Speaker 2: You've been listening to Todd Lutsky, a partner with the
• 23:39
  Speaker 2: law firm of Cushing and Dolan. I'm Susan Powers, a
• 23:43
  Speaker 2: financial advisor with the Armstrong Advisory Group. Todd will be
• 23:46
  Speaker 2: answering your listener questions when we return to the Legal
• 23:49
  Speaker 2: Exchange with Todd Lutsky.
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: Life estates carry a higher risk of income tax penalties
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: and hidden gift issues, and while they can be beneficial
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: in some cases, one you need to be aware of
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: the pitfalls they make cause. Cushing and Dolan are experts
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: in elder law and have nearly forty years of experience
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: helping families with their estate planning. Their new guide, called
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: Calculating the Consequences of Life Estates, can help you make
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: the right decisions about how to protect your assets from
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: probate and the nursing home. Life estates are not simple
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: documents and can create the potential for you to lose
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: control of your estate. So if you haven't done your
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: planning yet, now's the time to learn about the effects
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: that life estates can have when it comes to protecting
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: your assets. Call Cushing and Dolan today at eight sixty
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: six eight four eight five six ninety nine and request
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: their new guide called Calculating the Consequences of Life Estates
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: that's eight six six eight four eight five six nine nine,
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: or request the guide online at Legal exchange show dot com.
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: The proceeding was paid for and the views expressed are
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: solely those of Cushing and Dolan. Cushing and Dolan and
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: or Armstrong Advisory may contact you offering legal or investment services.
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: Cushing and Dolan and Armstrong Advisory do not endorse each
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: other and are not affiliated.
• 24:53
  Speaker 6: Developing the right financial strategy can be complicated, especially in
• 24:57
  Speaker 6: today's economic climate. Hi, this is Mike Armstrong from the
• 25:00
  Speaker 6: Armstrong Advisory Group. One of the most important pieces to
• 25:02
  Speaker 6: this puzzle is the trust you have with the advisor
• 25:05
  Speaker 6: you choose to work with. We've written a brand new
• 25:07
  Speaker 6: guide called what Can an Advisor Do for Me? In it,
• 25:10
  Speaker 6: we discuss a host of reasons why picking the right
• 25:13
  Speaker 6: one can be critical to your.
• 25:14
  Speaker 4: Peace of mind as you age.
• 25:16
  Speaker 6: A financial advisor is much more than someone who simply
• 25:18
  Speaker 6: manages your money. A financial advisor can help you understand
• 25:21
  Speaker 6: the strengths and weaknesses of your portfolio, the various changes
• 25:24
  Speaker 6: you may need to make to achieve your goals, and
• 25:26
  Speaker 6: the way you may be able to protect your assets
• 25:29
  Speaker 6: as you enter your retirement years. Call us right now
• 25:32
  Speaker 6: at eight hundred three nine three four zero zero one
• 25:35
  Speaker 6: and ask for our new guide today. That number again
• 25:37
  Speaker 6: is eight hundred three nine three four zero zero one.
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: The proceeding was paid for by Armstrong Advisory Group, a
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: registered investment advisor. Nothing in the ad or any Armstrong
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: Guide a specific financial, legal, or tax advice. Consult your
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: own financial tax into state planning advisors before making any
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: investment decisions. Armstrong make contact you to offer investment advisory services.
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: If you're looking for the perfect place for your next vacation,
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: look no further than the US Virgin Islands. Act fast
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: and take advantage of a special promotion to Saint Croix
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: experience of vibe like no other and receive a two
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: hundred and fifty dollars per person airfare credit and a
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: free hotel night when you book a five night minimum
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: stay with any participating hotel before June thirtieth, twenty twenty
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: five Saint Croix is known for its incredible history and
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: spectacular architecture, along with world class cuisine, incredible golf courses,
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: and a wide variety of water sports. From the moment
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: you arrive, you'll fall naturally in rhythm with the heartbeat
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: of the islands. There's no money to exchange, and travel
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: from New England could not be easier. Quoted one of
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: the top twenty twenty five Caribbean destinations by US News
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: and World Report, America's Caribbean paradise is waiting for you
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: the experience of vibe like no other on the island
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: of Saint Croix. Go to visit USVII dot com and
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: use the code Vibe twenty twenty five for more information.
• 26:47
  Speaker 4: And book your trip today.
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: That's visit USVII dot com and code Vibe twenty twenty five.
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: You're listening to the Legal Exchange and it's time for
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: Ask toddcon where Todd will answer your questions about anything
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: and everything that's included in the estate planning process. Once again,
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: here's Tod Lutsky and Susan Powers.
• 27:11
  Speaker 2: Welcome back, Todd. We've a few questions from listeners. First
• 27:14
  Speaker 2: question comes from Paul and Camden, Maine, and he writes,
• 27:17
  Speaker 2: I'm considering putting my home into an irrevocable trust to
• 27:21
  Speaker 2: protect it from nursing home costs. How does that impact
• 27:24
  Speaker 2: my ability to sell it later if I decide to downsize?
• 27:28
  Speaker 3: So quick answer? Really does it? Longer explanation of that answer?
• 27:35
  Speaker 3: So one, if Ron sets up the irrevocable trust, I'm sorry, Paul,
• 27:40
  Speaker 3: my mistake. If Paul sets up the irrevocable trust, he
• 27:44
  Speaker 3: would not likely be the trustee.
• 27:46
  Speaker 2: Right, Why do you why do you not have them
• 27:48
  Speaker 2: be their own trustee? Todd?
• 27:51
  Speaker 3: Just over the years we've learned we've won the battle,
• 27:54
  Speaker 3: so you don't have to worry if you've done it.
• 27:56
  Speaker 3: But just no reason to have it challenged where they say, oh,
• 27:59
  Speaker 3: well you can get paid as a trustee and therefore
• 28:01
  Speaker 3: somehow that gives you access to the money and the
• 28:04
  Speaker 3: trust and making things accountable for Medicaid. It hasn't worked.
• 28:08
  Speaker 3: Their arguments have not worked. But I just say, why
• 28:11
  Speaker 3: go down that road?
• 28:12
  Speaker 2: Sure a more conservative Yeah, there's no reason to.
• 28:15
  Speaker 3: I just instead give someone like Paul, the creator of
• 28:19
  Speaker 3: the trust, the power to remove and replace the trustee.
• 28:22
  Speaker 3: You like that, You, Paul, you are still directing the trustee.
• 28:26
  Speaker 3: I have to lay this out so you understand how
• 28:28
  Speaker 3: we can get to the selling. So let's say his
• 28:30
  Speaker 3: son's the trustee. So he points the son as trustee.
• 28:33
  Speaker 3: He has the power to remove and replace the trustee,
• 28:35
  Speaker 3: and he's basically going to tell the trustee when we
• 28:38
  Speaker 3: want to sell good So he's kind of controlling or
• 28:43
  Speaker 3: directing the trust Now we get to the point where
• 28:46
  Speaker 3: he says, I do want to sell yep. Okay, well, Paul,
• 28:50
  Speaker 3: you're going to tell the trustee time to put the
• 28:52
  Speaker 3: house on the market. Trustee says no, no, I really
• 28:56
  Speaker 3: like that. Yeah, this is a nice house. I've always
• 28:59
  Speaker 3: wanted to inherit this house, right right, And then Paul says, okay,
• 29:04
  Speaker 3: well that's great. I'm going to remove you as trustee,
• 29:07
  Speaker 3: so you're out. Other bad things will happen too, I'll
• 29:09
  Speaker 3: explain those later. But your sister's not going to be
• 29:12
  Speaker 3: trustee or anybody you want. And so yes, now likely
• 29:16
  Speaker 3: you're going to go down the wrung and find someone
• 29:18
  Speaker 3: who will cooperate, and you'll get the household. So on
• 29:21
  Speaker 3: the market it goes. Now, when it's on the market,
• 29:24
  Speaker 3: what's going to happen? The money is going to go
• 29:26
  Speaker 3: the house is going to go out to the buyer.
• 29:28
  Speaker 3: And this is what the trustee is signing all the paperwork.
• 29:31
  Speaker 2: So to the listing agreement, the P and S agraw
• 29:34
  Speaker 2: for all that stuff.
• 29:35
  Speaker 3: Okay, P and S d'ed out.
• 29:37
  Speaker 2: Yep.
• 29:38
  Speaker 3: Opens the bank account to receive the money, deposits the
• 29:41
  Speaker 3: money into the new trust bank account.
• 29:43
  Speaker 4: Yep.
• 29:44
  Speaker 3: Property sold seems easy enough, just like you would do
• 29:48
  Speaker 3: it if it was on your own in your own name. Yep.
• 29:52
  Speaker 3: And that is true tax side of the equation our trust. Anyway,
• 30:00
  Speaker 3: these irrevocable trusts are grant or trusts for income tax purposes,
• 30:04
  Speaker 3: which simply means that you're the owner for income tax.
• 30:08
  Speaker 3: So if you're selling your primary residence even though it's
• 30:11
  Speaker 3: owned by the trust, you get to keep your If married,
• 30:15
  Speaker 3: five hundred thousand dollars capital gains exclusion or if single,
• 30:20
  Speaker 3: two hundred and fifty thousand dollars capital gains exclusion to
• 30:23
  Speaker 3: offset the gain. Yep. Good, So no adverse tax consequence,
• 30:29
  Speaker 3: same tax you pay whether you sold it from the
• 30:32
  Speaker 3: trust or your name personally.
• 30:35
  Speaker 2: And that money's now in the trust, So what can
• 30:37
  Speaker 2: he do with that?
• 30:37
  Speaker 3: Now the money's in the trust and he's probably homeless, which.
• 30:40
  Speaker 2: Is right, not a great thing.
• 30:41
  Speaker 3: So now we're going to buy another house anywhere you want.
• 30:44
  Speaker 3: You can move to New Hampshire, move to the Cape,
• 30:47
  Speaker 3: or if.
• 30:48
  Speaker 2: You change states, do you need to change your trust?
• 30:50
  Speaker 3: You do not, you do not. The trust will go
• 30:52
  Speaker 3: with you. So you could. Then the money would go
• 30:55
  Speaker 3: out at your direction and the new house would come
• 30:59
  Speaker 3: in and perfectly okay, And you have the money to
• 31:03
  Speaker 3: do that because you sold and now you're living in
• 31:06
  Speaker 3: this new house. In the new house is just as
• 31:09
  Speaker 3: protected as the old house.
• 31:11
  Speaker 2: Was, so it doesn't restart your five year o'clock does not.
• 31:14
  Speaker 2: But now he's downsizing. So now he's got money in
• 31:16
  Speaker 2: the trust. What does he do with that money? What
• 31:18
  Speaker 2: can he do?
• 31:19
  Speaker 3: He would do exactly what he would do with that
• 31:21
  Speaker 3: money if he was sold it on his own. He'd say,
• 31:24
  Speaker 3: I've got this bucket of money. He'd call Susan and say,
• 31:26
  Speaker 3: help me invest it, and then you get it invested,
• 31:29
  Speaker 3: and he's going to live off the income, okay, which
• 31:32
  Speaker 3: would be his goal anyway. So, folks, what you're learning
• 31:35
  Speaker 3: from this is maybe what many people are afraid of.
• 31:39
  Speaker 3: Oh my gosh, it's irrevocable. I can't do anything. I
• 31:42
  Speaker 3: hope you got from this that you can do an
• 31:44
  Speaker 3: awful lot, an awful lot, almost everything you could do today,
• 31:49
  Speaker 3: unlike folks calculating the consequences of a life estate situation.
• 31:55
  Speaker 3: Let's compare that which is the guide for this month,
• 31:58
  Speaker 3: to what we just said. When you set it up.
• 32:01
  Speaker 3: There could be a gift tax problem because you gave
• 32:03
  Speaker 3: it to the kids. There can be an income tax problem.
• 32:07
  Speaker 3: Try selling it. You need capital gains tax issus. There's
• 32:10
  Speaker 3: all kinds of problems that could exist when you do
• 32:13
  Speaker 3: this loss of control, et cetera. Call and get the
• 32:16
  Speaker 3: guide calculating the consequences of a life estate and see
• 32:21
  Speaker 3: where you are eight six six eight four eight five
• 32:25
  Speaker 3: six nine nine or Legal Exchange Show dot com again
• 32:29
  Speaker 3: eight sixty six eight four eight five six nine nine
• 32:33
  Speaker 3: or Legal Exchange Show dot com.
• 32:35
  Speaker 2: Our last question comes from Ron in Eastiam, mass and
• 32:38
  Speaker 2: Ron writes, my father passed away after four years in
• 32:42
  Speaker 2: the nursing home. He had a life estate in his home,
• 32:45
  Speaker 2: and I am the owner. Will Medicaid be able to
• 32:48
  Speaker 2: come after the home to cover his long term care
• 32:51
  Speaker 2: costs that they paid for?
• 32:52
  Speaker 3: So because we're in Massachusetts was what we're talking about. Yeah,
• 32:57
  Speaker 3: he's in mass The answer is no, okay, flat. So
• 33:02
  Speaker 3: estate recovery is what you're alluding to here, Susan, And
• 33:05
  Speaker 3: they do have a state recovery in Massachusetts. But the
• 33:09
  Speaker 3: beauty of the estate recovery statute in Massachusetts is they
• 33:14
  Speaker 3: are limited to getting items that are in your probate estate.
• 33:20
  Speaker 3: So what that means is that a life estate, when
• 33:25
  Speaker 3: you die evaporates. It's gone the moment you die, and
• 33:30
  Speaker 3: that item, that house, while fully included in your gross estate,
• 33:37
  Speaker 3: is not at all in your probate estate. And so
• 33:42
  Speaker 3: while it's subject to death taxes and getting a step
• 33:45
  Speaker 3: up in basis all good stuff, it just passes immediately
• 33:49
  Speaker 3: to the remainderment. There is no ability for the estate
• 33:54
  Speaker 3: recovery unit to get it.
• 33:56
  Speaker 2: So unlike where I think about everything you had an
• 34:00
  Speaker 2: ownership interest in on the day you die, like life
• 34:02
  Speaker 2: insurance where they include that, they pull that in a
• 34:06
  Speaker 2: life estate, it's a little magic wand I think it's
• 34:09
  Speaker 2: just evaporates.
• 34:10
  Speaker 3: Let's expand on what you just said, because I think
• 34:12
  Speaker 3: it's important for people to understand. Let's use life insurance
• 34:15
  Speaker 3: as an example. If for some reason you were able
• 34:19
  Speaker 3: to die with life insurance. It's unlikely if you're on
• 34:22
  Speaker 3: Medicaid that you would have had it, but maybe someone
• 34:27
  Speaker 3: like if you had term insurance and the kids are
• 34:30
  Speaker 3: paying the premiums to keep it going, the beneficiary would
• 34:34
  Speaker 3: likely be the kids. And so if the beneficiary is
• 34:37
  Speaker 3: the kids, that also avoids probate and would not be
• 34:41
  Speaker 3: subject to a state recovery. But the bigger issue is
• 34:44
  Speaker 3: lots of times when there's no planning done and people
• 34:47
  Speaker 3: die just with the house in their name and more
• 34:51
  Speaker 3: on Medicaid because we could shelter the house because it's
• 34:55
  Speaker 3: a house, and under the last minute rules it's considered
• 34:59
  Speaker 3: non countable.
• 35:00
  Speaker 2: It doesn't sound like there's a spouse in this case.
• 35:03
  Speaker 3: It does not. So if there, if you died as
• 35:06
  Speaker 3: a single person with the house in your name, yes
• 35:08
  Speaker 3: we might have been able to get you on Medicaid,
• 35:10
  Speaker 3: but they'd put a lean on the house, right, and
• 35:12
  Speaker 3: so that would be an estate probate asset recoverable by
• 35:17
  Speaker 3: the estate of Now with a life estate, you don't
• 35:20
  Speaker 3: have that at least, I say pros and cons here, folks,
• 35:23
  Speaker 3: that's what the guide is all about. Pros and cons
• 35:25
  Speaker 3: with the life estate. I guess that's one pro is. Yes,
• 35:29
  Speaker 3: it ultimately would be protected from the nursing home and
• 35:32
  Speaker 3: it would avoid estate recovery when you die.
• 35:37
  Speaker 2: But if you look at the percentage of people that
• 35:39
  Speaker 2: actually go into the nursing home, it's more likely that
• 35:43
  Speaker 2: you'll run into the problems that go hand in hand
• 35:45
  Speaker 2: with have a life estate in owning it, right, right.
• 35:49
  Speaker 3: So trying to sell it and yeah, things that you
• 35:51
  Speaker 3: might want to do while you're living, and credit or
• 35:53
  Speaker 3: protection kids get divorced while you're living. I mean, think
• 35:59
  Speaker 3: about those, folks. If the kids get divorced while you're living,
• 36:02
  Speaker 3: you know, that's a really big big deal. Oh yeah, right,
• 36:06
  Speaker 3: And you can contrast us a little bit with New Hampshire.
• 36:08
  Speaker 3: New Hampshire has expanded a state recovery where life estates.
• 36:12
  Speaker 3: They will go after the life estate value on the
• 36:16
  Speaker 3: date of death. But again that could be a very
• 36:18
  Speaker 3: small number. Remember if you die and you're ninety years old,
• 36:20
  Speaker 3: it's only like ten percent of the value of the estate.
• 36:23
  Speaker 3: But sometimes you have to reserve a life estate when
• 36:25
  Speaker 3: you do your planning. Folks, learn about life estates. We
• 36:29
  Speaker 3: just touched the tip of the iceberg here. Eight six six,
• 36:32
  Speaker 3: eight four eight, five six nine nine, or Legal Exchange
• 36:35
  Speaker 3: Show dot com. Calculating the Consequences of a life estate.
• 36:39
  Speaker 2: If you have a question you would like to ask Todd,
• 36:42
  Speaker 2: visit his website Legal Exchange Show dot com and click
• 36:45
  Speaker 2: on the ask Tod tab. Maybe I'll be able to
• 36:48
  Speaker 2: read your question on the air, and hopefully his answer
• 36:51
  Speaker 2: will stop you from becoming one of his next real
• 36:53
  Speaker 2: life stories. You've been listening to Todd Lutsky, a partner
• 36:57
  Speaker 2: with the law firm of Cushing and Dolan, susan powers
• 37:01
  Speaker 2: of financial advice with the Armstrong Advisory Group. We'll be
• 37:04
  Speaker 2: back with more after this quick break on the Legal
• 37:07
  Speaker 2: Exchange with Todd Lutsky.
• 37:10
  Speaker 1: Life estates carry a higher risk of income tax penalties
• 37:12
  Speaker 1: and hidden gift issues, and while they can be beneficial
• 37:15
  Speaker 1: in some cases, if you use one, you need to
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: be aware of the pitfalls they make cause. Cushing and
• 37:20
  Speaker 1: Dolan are experts in elder law and have nearly forty
• 37:23
  Speaker 1: years of experience helping families with their estate planning. Their
• 37:26
  Speaker 1: new guide, called Calculating the Consequences of Life Estates, can
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: help you make the right decisions about how to protect
• 37:31
  Speaker 1: your assets from probate and the nursing Home. Life estates
• 37:34
  Speaker 1: are not simple documents and can create the potential for
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: you to lose control of your estate. So if you
• 37:39
  Speaker 1: haven't done your planning yet, now's the time to learn
• 37:41
  Speaker 1: about the effects that life estates can have when it
• 37:44
  Speaker 1: comes to protecting your assets. Call Cushing and Dolan today
• 37:47
  Speaker 1: at eight sixty six eight four eight five six ninety
• 37:49
  Speaker 1: nine and request their new guide called Calculating the Consequences
• 37:52
  Speaker 1: of Life Estates that's eight six six eight four eight
• 37:55
  Speaker 1: five six nine nine, or request the guide online at
• 37:58
  Speaker 1: Legal exchange show dot com. Proceeding was paid for and
• 38:00
  Speaker 1: the views expressed are solely those of Cushing and Dolan.
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: Cushing and Dolan and or Armstrong Advisory may contact you
• 38:05
  Speaker 1: offering legal or investment services. Cushing and Dolan and Armstrong
• 38:07
  Speaker 1: Advisory do not endorse each other and are not affiliated.
• 38:10
  Speaker 1: If you're looking for the perfect place for your next vacation,
• 38:13
  Speaker 1: look no further than the US Virgin Islands. Act fast
• 38:16
  Speaker 1: and take advantage of a special promotion to Saint Croix,
• 38:19
  Speaker 1: experience a.
• 38:20
  Speaker 4: Vibe like no other, and receive a two.
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: Hundred and fifty dollars per person airfare credit and a
• 38:25
  Speaker 1: free hotel night when you book a five night minimums
• 38:27
  Speaker 1: day with any participating hotel before June thirtieth, twenty twenty five.
• 38:31
  Speaker 1: Saint Croix is known for its incredible history and spectacular architecture,
• 38:35
  Speaker 1: along with world class cuisine, incredible golf courses, and a
• 38:38
  Speaker 1: wide variety of water sports. From the moment you arrive,
• 38:41
  Speaker 1: you'll fall naturally in rhythm with the heartbeat of the islands.
• 38:44
  Speaker 1: There's no money to exchange, and travel from New England
• 38:47
  Speaker 1: could not be easier. Quoted one of the top twenty
• 38:49
  Speaker 1: twenty five Caribbean destinations by US News and World Report,
• 38:53
  Speaker 1: America's Caribbean paradise is waiting for you the experience of
• 38:57
  Speaker 1: vibe like no other on the island of Saint Croix.
• 38:59
  Speaker 4: Go to visit USVII dot.
• 39:01
  Speaker 1: Com and use the code Vibe twenty twenty five for
• 39:03
  Speaker 1: more information.
• 39:04
  Speaker 4: And book your trip today.
• 39:06
  Speaker 1: That's visit USVII dot com and code Vibe twenty twenty five.
• 39:11
  Speaker 7: Hi, I'm Michael Valila, adjued of the Disabled American Veterans
• 39:14
  Speaker 7: Department of Massachusetts. The dav of Massachusetts provides thousands of
• 39:18
  Speaker 7: hours of voluntary services at our VA Medical centers and
• 39:21
  Speaker 7: soldiers' homes, and is the only DAV department in the
• 39:24
  Speaker 7: country to lead a veterans housing initiative for both single
• 39:27
  Speaker 7: veterans and those with families. These programs are critical to
• 39:30
  Speaker 7: serving our veterans and their time and need. You can
• 39:32
  Speaker 7: help our great American heroes by making a donation today.
• 39:36
  Speaker 7: Please visit DAV fivek dot Boston. That's DAV fivek dot Boston.
• 39:41
  Speaker 6: In today's economic climate, managing your finances can be a
• 39:44
  Speaker 6: full time job. This is Mike Armstrong from the Armstrong
• 39:47
  Speaker 6: Advisory Group, and our experienced team of advisors understands the
• 39:50
  Speaker 6: challenges that exist and the questions you may have when
• 39:53
  Speaker 6: it comes to your own financial strategy. Our new guide
• 39:55
  Speaker 6: is called what can a Financial Advisor Do for Me?
• 39:58
  Speaker 6: In it will help you find answers to some of
• 40:00
  Speaker 6: those questions. At Armstrong Advisory we can provide you with
• 40:02
  Speaker 6: information that may help you with decisions about your investments.
• 40:05
  Speaker 6: Our team can also advise you of the need to
• 40:07
  Speaker 6: work with a professional in other areas such as taxes,
• 40:10
  Speaker 6: a state, planning, or insurance. Understanding the role these elements
• 40:13
  Speaker 6: play in a well rounded financial plan is extremely important.
• 40:16
  Speaker 6: Give the Armstrong Advisory Group a call at eight hundred
• 40:19
  Speaker 6: three nine three four zero zero one and ask for
• 40:22
  Speaker 6: our new guide today. That number again is eight hundred
• 40:25
  Speaker 6: three nine three four zero zero one.
• 40:27
  Speaker 1: The proceeding was paid for by Armstrong Advisory Group, a
• 40:29
  Speaker 1: registered investment advisor. Nothing in the ad or in any
• 40:32
  Speaker 1: Armstrong Guide a specific financial, legal or tax advice. Consult
• 40:35
  Speaker 1: your own financial tax into state planning advisors before making
• 40:37
  Speaker 1: any investment decisions. Armstrong may contact you to offer investment
• 40:40
  Speaker 1: advisory services. Your tune to the Legal Exchange with Todd Lutsky.
• 40:45
  Speaker 1: If you are a loved one needs a nursing homestay,
• 40:47
  Speaker 1: call Todd right now at eight sixty six eight four
• 40:50
  Speaker 1: eight five six nine nine and let him make sure
• 40:52
  Speaker 1: your assets are protected. That's eight sixty six eight for
• 40:55
  Speaker 1: eight five six nine nine, or visit him online at
• 40:58
  Speaker 1: Legal Exchange show dot.
• 41:01
  Speaker 2: Welcome back into the Legal Exchange with Todd Lutsky. I'm
• 41:05
  Speaker 2: Susan Powers, a financial advisor with the Armstrong Advisory Group,
• 41:09
  Speaker 2: and I'm joined, of course by Todd Lutsky, a partner
• 41:12
  Speaker 2: with the law firm of Cushing and Dolan with a
• 41:14
  Speaker 2: master's in taxation. So Todd, how do you actually create
• 41:19
  Speaker 2: a life estate.
• 41:21
  Speaker 3: Uh yeah. So one of the problems, I guess, if
• 41:25
  Speaker 3: you want to call it that on the pros and
• 41:27
  Speaker 3: cons of these life estates is you know, how do
• 41:30
  Speaker 3: you create it? And there are two ways. So one
• 41:34
  Speaker 3: of the maybe the most common way to create it
• 41:37
  Speaker 3: is many people go out and say, here's my house.
• 41:39
  Speaker 3: I'd give my house to my kids. I reserve a
• 41:43
  Speaker 3: life estate to me. So that's one one way. Now
• 41:48
  Speaker 3: what the kids are owners of the remainder interest and
• 41:53
  Speaker 3: I retain the right to live there.
• 41:54
  Speaker 2: Okay, lots of problems with that.
• 41:57
  Speaker 3: We'll come back to that. The other way, or I'll
• 42:00
  Speaker 3: say the less bad way, and the way I would
• 42:02
  Speaker 3: do it sometimes is to create a life estate, transferring
• 42:11
  Speaker 3: the house to an irrevocable trust and retaining the right
• 42:17
  Speaker 3: to live there. This is way better because I've not
• 42:21
  Speaker 3: given it away to the kids. Just to give you
• 42:24
  Speaker 3: the big picture, right, that's kind of the two big
• 42:27
  Speaker 3: distinctions between the two. There's lots more, but that's the
• 42:31
  Speaker 3: two ways to create it.
• 42:32
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 42:33
  Speaker 3: I like the second way way.
• 42:34
  Speaker 2: Better, right, because you would never set up a life
• 42:38
  Speaker 2: estate with the kids as the remainder owners.
• 42:42
  Speaker 3: Yeah, correct, I probably would agree with you on that
• 42:46
  Speaker 3: you hate to make carte blanche answers, But this is
• 42:48
  Speaker 3: about as carte blanche as you can get with me,
• 42:50
  Speaker 3: because I would say, yeah, I can't really see a
• 42:53
  Speaker 3: reason why I would ever subject my client to the
• 42:58
  Speaker 3: kids being the owner of the property while I'm alive,
• 43:03
  Speaker 3: right or while they are alive, because of all the
• 43:07
  Speaker 3: negatives that go with it. Yep.
• 43:08
  Speaker 2: So a lot of times when people have a life
• 43:11
  Speaker 2: estate with their kids as the remainders, there could be
• 43:14
  Speaker 2: a lot of do it yourselfers that are doing that
• 43:16
  Speaker 2: because it certainly does not seem to me that it
• 43:19
  Speaker 2: would be sound legal advice to do it, though we
• 43:22
  Speaker 2: have heard it in the past. Right, So, when you
• 43:25
  Speaker 2: give your house to your children and retain a life estate,
• 43:30
  Speaker 2: does that protect the entire home from nursing home costs?
• 43:34
  Speaker 2: And if it does, how long does it take?
• 43:36
  Speaker 3: Yeah, so again there are pros and cons, and this
• 43:38
  Speaker 3: would be a pro for doing this. The answer is yes,
• 43:42
  Speaker 3: once you complete that setup, it takes five years like
• 43:48
  Speaker 3: anything else.
• 43:49
  Speaker 2: So you don't save time by giving it to your kids.
• 43:52
  Speaker 2: It's equal, It's neutral from a time perspective.
• 43:54
  Speaker 3: Some people think setting up a trust versus giving it
• 43:57
  Speaker 3: to the kids is different in the waiting period, it
• 44:00
  Speaker 3: is not. It is the same. So you gain nothing
• 44:04
  Speaker 3: from the perspective of getting it done quicker. Yeah, okay,
• 44:08
  Speaker 3: and so one once you complete that five years, it's done.
• 44:13
  Speaker 3: And then I think the second part of your question,
• 44:16
  Speaker 3: or the first part of your question, was how much
• 44:18
  Speaker 3: of the house is protected, because you've kind of bifurcated
• 44:23
  Speaker 3: the ownership by putting the remainder interest in the trust
• 44:27
  Speaker 3: and keeping the right to live there. But yet one
• 44:32
  Speaker 3: hundred percent of the property would be protected from the
• 44:38
  Speaker 3: cost of long term care. But please don't think you
• 44:41
  Speaker 3: can do this with a non home vacation home and
• 44:45
  Speaker 3: reserve a life state. Then one hundred percent is not protected.
• 44:49
  Speaker 2: So can you only have one life estate?
• 44:53
  Speaker 3: Arguably you could set up as many life estates as
• 44:56
  Speaker 3: you want. However, the only you will protect all of
• 45:02
  Speaker 3: the real estate, the one hundred percent of the property,
• 45:06
  Speaker 3: is if you do it with your primary residence. Okay,
• 45:09
  Speaker 3: otherwise you are going to subject the value of the
• 45:12
  Speaker 3: life estate always remains at risk to the nursing home
• 45:18
  Speaker 3: if it's not your primary residence. Got it, So you
• 45:21
  Speaker 3: really wouldn't do more than one life estate. So best
• 45:24
  Speaker 3: answer I could give you. Folks, you're listening to us
• 45:27
  Speaker 3: talk about the consequences of a life estate, which is
• 45:31
  Speaker 3: exactly the name of the guide we're giving away. There
• 45:35
  Speaker 3: are pros and cons, there are tax issues, there are
• 45:38
  Speaker 3: creditor issues, there are control issues, selling, rebuying, living. There
• 45:44
  Speaker 3: you know you need to understand how they work. And folks,
• 45:48
  Speaker 3: if you've done a life estate and you're wondering what
• 45:51
  Speaker 3: you got yourself into, please get the guide. Maybe you
• 45:54
  Speaker 3: can figure out how to get out of it. If
• 45:56
  Speaker 3: you've not done one and you're thinking about doing one,
• 45:59
  Speaker 3: please call and get it before you do one, so
• 46:02
  Speaker 3: that you can decide, Wow, maybe I don't want to
• 46:04
  Speaker 3: do a life estate and maybe planning is a better option. Folks,
• 46:08
  Speaker 3: get the guide Calculating the Consequences of a Life Estate
• 46:12
  Speaker 3: eight six six eight four eight five six nine nine
• 46:16
  Speaker 3: or Legal Exchange Show dot com again eight six six
• 46:20
  Speaker 3: eight four eight five six nine nine or Legal Exchange
• 46:24
  Speaker 3: Show dot Com.
• 46:25
  Speaker 2: So let's say you've done this set up Todd, and
• 46:28
  Speaker 2: you have a life estate and your kids Unfortunately they're
• 46:31
  Speaker 2: the remainders, but it's there. What happens if you decide
• 46:34
  Speaker 2: you want to sell your home. Like if you're not
• 46:36
  Speaker 2: even dealing with the nursing home, maybe you don't go
• 46:38
  Speaker 2: into a nursing home, but you just want to sell.
• 46:41
  Speaker 2: What happens to the proceeds of the home if you
• 46:43
  Speaker 2: don't really own the big piece of it?
• 46:45
  Speaker 3: Right, well, you don't own a piece of it. I
• 46:49
  Speaker 3: don't know how big it is. The big part we
• 46:50
  Speaker 3: need to address, but you're right, there is two parts
• 46:54
  Speaker 3: to this house. Now call it X and Y equals
• 46:58
  Speaker 3: one hundred percent of the value. So I've got a
• 47:01
  Speaker 3: million dollar home. Let's say X plus Y equals a
• 47:05
  Speaker 3: million dollars. So if we want to go to sell
• 47:08
  Speaker 3: it and we're dealing with it owned with the children, is.
• 47:11
  Speaker 2: That life estate with the kids is the remainder?
• 47:13
  Speaker 3: So we're in that first calculation. So now if you
• 47:17
  Speaker 3: want to sell it, the first thing you need to
• 47:19
  Speaker 3: do is ask the kids. What do you mean, Well,
• 47:23
  Speaker 3: they have to agree?
• 47:24
  Speaker 2: Oh, permission, Yeah, you do, ask them for permission.
• 47:27
  Speaker 3: Because they have to sign off. I don't remember X
• 47:30
  Speaker 3: plus Y equals one hundred percent. So if they own,
• 47:33
  Speaker 3: why they need to sign that's the question.
• 47:36
  Speaker 2: Why?
• 47:38
  Speaker 3: So they they have to sign? And then X is
• 47:41
  Speaker 3: a life estate piece that's mom and dads of the world.
• 47:44
  Speaker 3: They would have to sign. So both have to sign
• 47:47
  Speaker 3: to sell. So if we do that and we get
• 47:50
  Speaker 3: past the permission stage, which you can already tell I
• 47:53
  Speaker 3: don't like you don't like it, I do not like it,
• 47:56
  Speaker 3: then you have to calculate the allocation of the money,
• 48:01
  Speaker 3: proceeds and gain proceeds and basis. And that's done based
• 48:06
  Speaker 3: on an IRS table based on how old you are
• 48:10
  Speaker 3: life tenant, so the X people YEP, and the applicable
• 48:15
  Speaker 3: federal interest rate in effect for the month in which
• 48:18
  Speaker 3: you're selling. So you go find the interest rate, find
• 48:21
  Speaker 3: the table, go down the table to your age and
• 48:24
  Speaker 3: across the table, and you will find a percent.
• 48:28
  Speaker 2: Can you give us an example of what one would be.
• 48:30
  Speaker 3: Yeah, So let's say you're eighty yep and you're selling.
• 48:34
  Speaker 3: The percent is probably somewhere around twenty percent.
• 48:38
  Speaker 2: So you only you sell the house if they give
• 48:41
  Speaker 2: you permission to do so, you're only getting back twenty
• 48:44
  Speaker 2: percent of.
• 48:45
  Speaker 3: The of the million in our case, right, So a million,
• 48:48
  Speaker 3: you get two hundred thousand.
• 48:49
  Speaker 2: So they get the eight hundred thousand, kids get eight
• 48:51
  Speaker 2: hundred thousand. I don't enjoy that.
• 48:53
  Speaker 3: It's not fun. So, but you can do it. The
• 48:57
  Speaker 3: other problem is, and again, the older you get smaller
• 49:00
  Speaker 3: the percentage. The younger you are the bigger the percentage.
• 49:04
  Speaker 3: But if you sell it now, you get a portion
• 49:07
  Speaker 3: of the gain as well. Same eighty twenty split, right,
• 49:11
  Speaker 3: you get a portion of the gain. So you get
• 49:13
  Speaker 3: twenty percent of the gain.
• 49:14
  Speaker 2: Can you still use your two fifty or five hundred dollars?
• 49:16
  Speaker 3: That absolutely can. Okay, that's great, but the kids ten't.
• 49:20
  Speaker 2: Because eventually they'll move out, right, I hear they do.
• 49:23
  Speaker 3: If they're not living there, and I hope they move out,
• 49:25
  Speaker 3: that they don't own it as a primary residence. They
• 49:29
  Speaker 3: are going to get hit with the capital gains tax
• 49:32
  Speaker 3: that might have been lessened had we not done it
• 49:35
  Speaker 3: this way.
• 49:35
  Speaker 2: So even if they're good kids and they're willing to
• 49:38
  Speaker 2: give you back the eight hundred thousand, it's going to
• 49:40
  Speaker 2: be with a haircut for taxes.
• 49:42
  Speaker 3: That's right. Well, see you jumped ahead. First, I got
• 49:44
  Speaker 3: to pay the tax. Then you got to say I
• 49:47
  Speaker 3: got two hundred thousand dollars. I didn't pay any tax
• 49:50
  Speaker 3: X life tenant because it's my home. But I can't
• 49:54
  Speaker 3: buy I can't buy a house for two hundred thousand dollars. Kids,
• 49:57
  Speaker 3: give me some money. Now, there could be a gift
• 49:59
  Speaker 3: tax ramification to the children on top of the capital
• 50:03
  Speaker 3: gains tax they paid in the giving back of the
• 50:08
  Speaker 3: money to go ahead and do it. Plus then it's
• 50:10
  Speaker 3: all at risk for the nursing home all over again. Yeah, folks,
• 50:14
  Speaker 3: this is just one example of one calculation that you
• 50:19
  Speaker 3: could run into when you have a life estate created
• 50:22
  Speaker 3: with the remainder interest being that children, as we go
• 50:25
  Speaker 3: through the month will learn about other ways to own it.
• 50:29
  Speaker 3: But this way creates a lot of problems again pros
• 50:32
  Speaker 3: and cons folks. Please get the guide Calculating the Consequences
• 50:36
  Speaker 3: of a Life Estate eight six six eight four eight
• 50:39
  Speaker 3: five six nine nine or Legal Exchange show dot com.
• 50:44
  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 Power as a financial advisor with the Armstrong
• 50:51
  Speaker 2: Advisory Group. We thank you for joining us today and
• 50:54
  Speaker 2: we'll be back again next week on the Legal Exchange
• 50:57
  Speaker 2: with Todd Lutsky.
• 51:00
  Speaker 1: Life estates carry a higher risk of income tax penalties
• 51:02
  Speaker 1: and hidden gift issues, and while they can be beneficial
• 51:05
  Speaker 1: in some cases. If you use one, you need to
• 51:07
  Speaker 1: be aware of the pitfalls they make cause. Cushing and
• 51:10
  Speaker 1: Dolan are experts in elder law and have nearly forty
• 51:12
  Speaker 1: years of experience helping families with their estate planning. Their
• 51:16
  Speaker 1: new guide called Calculating the Consequences of Life Estates can
• 51:19
  Speaker 1: help you make the right decisions about how to protect
• 51:21
  Speaker 1: your assets from probate and the nursing home. Life estates
• 51:24
  Speaker 1: are not simple documents and can create the potential for
• 51:27
  Speaker 1: you to lose control of your estate. So if you
• 51:29
  Speaker 1: haven't done your planning yet, now's the time to learn
• 51:31
  Speaker 1: about the effects that life estates can have when it
• 51:33
  Speaker 1: comes to protecting your assets. Call Cushing and Dolan today
• 51:36
  Speaker 1: at eight sixty six eight four eight five six ninety
• 51:39
  Speaker 1: nine and request their new guide called Calculating the Consequences
• 51:42
  Speaker 1: of Life Estates. That's eight sixty six eight four eight
• 51:45
  Speaker 1: five six ninety nine, or request the guide online at
• 51:47
  Speaker 1: Legal exchange show dot com. The proceeding was paid for
• 51:50
  Speaker 1: and the views expressed are solely those of Cushing and Dolan.
• 51:52
  Speaker 1: Cushing and Dolan and or Armstrong Advisory may contact you
• 51:55
  Speaker 1: offering legal or investment services Cushing and Dolan and Armstrong
• 51:57
  Speaker 1: Advisory do not endorse each other and are not affiliated.
• 52:00
  Speaker 6: Developing the right financial strategy can be complicated, especially in
• 52:03
  Speaker 6: today's economic climate. Hi, this is Mike Armstrong from the
• 52:06
  Speaker 6: Armstrong Advisory Group. One of the most important pieces to
• 52:09
  Speaker 6: this puzzle is the trust you have with the advisor
• 52:12
  Speaker 6: you choose to work with. We've written a brand new
• 52:14
  Speaker 6: guide called What Can an Advisor Do for Me? In it,
• 52:17
  Speaker 6: we discuss a host of reasons why picking the right
• 52:19
  Speaker 6: one can be critical to your peace of mind as
• 52:22
  Speaker 6: you age. A financial advisor is much more than someone
• 52:24
  Speaker 6: who simply manages your money. A financial advisor can help
• 52:27
  Speaker 6: you understand the strengths and weaknesses of your portfolio, the
• 52:30
  Speaker 6: various changes you may need to make to achieve your goals,
• 52:33
  Speaker 6: and the way you may be able to protect your
• 52:35
  Speaker 6: assets as you enter your retirement years. Call us right
• 52:38
  Speaker 6: now at eight hundred three nine three four zero zero
• 52:41
  Speaker 6: one and ask for our new guide today. That number
• 52:43
  Speaker 6: again is eight hundred three nine three four zero zero one.
• 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 a specific financial, legal or tax advice. Consult
• 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. If you're looking for the perfect place for
• 53:01
  Speaker 1: your next vacation, look no further than the US Virgin Islands.
• 53:05
  Speaker 1: Act fast and take advantage of a special promotion to
• 53:08
  Speaker 1: Saint Croix. Experience a vibe like no other, and receive
• 53:11
  Speaker 1: a two hundred and fifty dollars per person airfare credit
• 53:13
  Speaker 1: and a free hotel night when you book a five
• 53:16
  Speaker 1: night minimum s day with any participating hotel before June thirtieth,
• 53:19
  Speaker 1: twenty twenty five. Saint Croix is known for its incredible
• 53:22
  Speaker 1: history and spectacular architecture, along with world class cuisine, incredible
• 53:26
  Speaker 1: golf courses, and a wide variety of water sports. From
• 53:29
  Speaker 1: the moment you arrive, you'll fall naturally in rhythm with
• 53:32
  Speaker 1: the heartbeat of the islands. There's no money to exchange,
• 53:35
  Speaker 1: and travel from New England could not be easier. Voted
• 53:38
  Speaker 1: one of the top twenty twenty five Caribbean destinations by
• 53:41
  Speaker 1: US News and World Report, America's Caribbean paradise is waiting
• 53:44
  Speaker 1: for you. The experience of vibe like no other on
• 53:47
  Speaker 1: the island of Saint Croix. Go to visit USVII dot
• 53:50
  Speaker 1: com and use the code vibe twenty twenty five for
• 53:53
  Speaker 1: more information and book your trip today. That's visit USVII
• 53:57
  Speaker 1: dot com and code vibe twenty twenty five.