Blog & Resources

For centuries, trusts have been formed to provide safety and protection for valued assets. Recent changes in the law have made this old institution even more popular by reducing trust’s ongoing maintenance costs. You might think that only the very wealthy need the protection of a trust, but the truth is that a trust is a huge benefit to anyone having an asset in need of protection from their children’s creditors, divorce or from self-destructive beneficiaries.

Parents are often tempted to place property in Joint Tenancy with children. Because the child becomes a co-owner of the asset, the child is able to have easy access to the account to help the parent pay bills and manage the asset. Further, at the parent’s death the asset automatically passes outright to the child. While this type of ownership might first appear convenient, it is important to realize the potential pitfalls that come with joint ownership. Sometimes convenience comes at a high price.

When most Philadelphians think about a will, they imagine a document that spells out how they wish their assets to be divided. While this is true, wills can do so much more.

A well-drafted Philadelphia will can appoint a responsible executor to manage your estate, name a responsible guardian to care for your underage children and ensure that your assets are divided as you wish at your death. While the will can address many of your goals, there are certain things that it cannot do, which is the principal reason why developing an estate plan must include more planning than simply drafting a will.

A revocable living trust is a trust created during lifetime over which the grantor reserves the right to terminate, revoke, modify, or amend. These trusts are generally used to avoid probate, provide assistance to a parent who needs help managing assets, address family situations, provide privacy and provide for orderly administration of assets after your death. During your lifetime, any assets in the revocable trust are used for your care. Because the trust is revocable the assets in the trust are still available to your creditors and are part of your taxable estate, but they are not part of you probate estate.

Any good estate plan considers the tax ramifications of your death and the possible ways to reduce those taxes. If your estate plan also includes giving money to charity, then a charitable remainder trust might be a useful tool that not only provides you with a way to fulfill your charitable gift, but also reduce your taxes.

It was not long ago when the definition of a family, and to whom a court would allow visitation to minor children, was simple; biological mother and biological father. Then times changed.

If you are reading this article, it is possible that by the time your issue appears before a magistrate or judge the rules in your county will have changed from what they are today. The rules, like the definition of family, are changing.

Reading the facts and the decision in Arrington v. Thrash , from the Mississippi Court of Appeals allow you to see the law change before your eyes. The court ruled that the facts and circumstances in that case justified an award of grandparent visitation comparable to that which would have been given to a noncustodial parent. The court reasoned that this decision was in the best interest of the minor child.

In estate planning, “my estate” can mean different things. Your probate estate includes all your assets that will pass through your will at your death, while your taxable estate includes all your assets that will be taxed at your death. Many assets are included in your taxable estate, but not your probate estate, such as assets in your revocable living trust, your IRAs, assets held jointly with a right of survivorship and all of your payable on death accounts.

The Montgomery County Register of Wills cannot hold or file your Will until after you have died. Your executor will go to the Register’s office in Norristown with the original Will, an original death certificate, an ID and a check. After verifying all is in order, the Register will then file the Will. There is no Pennsylvania procedure to hold Wills of the living.

If you are like most Philadelphians, you are provided the option of participating in a qualified plan program, such as a 401k, 503(b) or TIAA-CREF program. Otherwise, you may have an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) or a Roth-IRA that you have formed and funded yourself. These plans are designed to hold assets tax deferred and earmarked for retirement but, with the exception of a ROTH-IRA, when the funds are removed, the deferred income taxes come due.