Wealth Preservation, Trusts and Estates

Estate Planning Seems Hard, Costly, and
Time Consuming?

Can Estate Planning Be Any Easier?

Many recent polls have concluded that
fewer than half of all adult Americans (44%)
even have a will much less an estate plan that
coordinates wills and assets to achieve what
they really want.

And, many Americans responding to a recent
AOL online poll said that they were more
concerned about maintaining their weight
than in doing a will.

Yet, almost 75% of those
polled said that
they should have a will.

In other words, we all know
we should but most of us don’t

-or if we do, they are out of date.

So what’s the problem?

Why don’t people
get to signing and updating their wills
and estate plans especially when the failure
to do it right can be so costly?

And, if the process is too hard, is there
an easier way to get it done the right way?

Here are the answers to a few of the most
important questions that families need
to ask about the ease and effectiveness of
estate planning and about how and why to
get it done.

Why don’t American families get to estate
planning even though they know it needs to
be done and they want to protect their heirs?

Again, according to the polling data Americans
say that they are too stressed about their day
to day activities to get that will done, AND
the process seems too complicated.

According to the survey, most families
whether affluent or moderately well to to agree,
“It Has To Be Easy.”

Why not use the internet?
Isn’t it safe and easy?

Most Americans still don’t trust the internet
for something this personal and complex.
And, internet based programs are often
not much less expensive than a lawyer when you
add up all of the smaller charges.

Finally, such programs do a bad job of helping
people with sophisticated needs to coordinate
their  documents, assets, and trusts in a cohesive
and easy to understand system.

Well, as lawyers who spend their lives helping
people to complete their wills and estate plans
including wills, trusts (when needed),
powers of attorney, medical powers, living wills
HIPPA authorizations, and all of the essential stuff
that makes life easy for our surviving heirs, reduces taxes,
protects them from law suites and divorce and many
other risks, we listen.

It’s now easier than ever to get a simple estate plan
or a complex trust based estate plan in force from
a lawyer who meets with you personally, customizes
your plan and helps you to structure and to coordinate
your assets to make the plan actually work.

The truth is, we haven’t really had to make too many
changes to achieve these goals for our clients.

For years, our clients have been raving about
our proprietary process.  And, while it may take a few weeks
to get an appointment (because we are client friendly and
good at what we do), the whole process for most people -
from start to finish- only takes two appointments and a
a few minutes to fill out some paper work and to
answer some well thought out questions.

Do many affluent clients and families take longer?
Sometimes.  But usually, they get the basic planning
in place within a few weeks and with a few appointments.

In fact, even clients who use advanced techniques
such as Irrevocable Trusts, GRATs, and Qualified
personal residence trusts to move assets out of their
estates for tax purposes often get these done in a short
amount of time.

And, the savings and protection can be substantial.

Do some families require more meetings or a
family meeting?

Sometimes families with closely held businesses or family
vacation homes will need or request an extra meeting and/or
one of our famous family meetings.  When family
meetings are used they usually help to improve the result
and help the next generation to understand and to more
easily do what needs to be done when the time comes.

Family meetings can involve as much or as little
financial detail as you want to share but they are
great at eliminating family disputes and the delays,
costs, and problems that arise when no one knows
what to do.

How does your process ensure that we get an
estate plan or will customized to our family’s needs
and goals at a fair price?

Well, a “fair price” is in the eyes of the beholder.
But, we don’t want or expect you to take a chance that
what we think is fair seems too high to you.

So we offer prospective clients the ability to meet with us,
to hear all the options, and to get a flat fee in advance for all
of the specific planning that they have selected. There is
no fee for that consultation.  We take all the risk.

How can we do that?  The truth is that almost everyone
who has one of those appointments hires us.

We know, from listening to clients that this
removal of risk makes for a trusting and effective
relationship right from the start.

And, if you want to know more before you start
working with us, you are also free to review our
extensive library of informative
reports, videos and articles on our two sites:

http://www.utbf.com/trust-estate

and

http://www.PaEstatePlanners.com

Watch, listen, and read what we write and produce
on a variety of topics and judge for yourself and
read what clients and other lawyers say about us
on rating services such as AVVO.com.

Want to read what other lawyers say about Dave?
AVVO Peer Comments* See notes below.

You can also see that David Frees has been a
“Top Lawyer” in the Main Line Today’s rating
of Trust and Estate lawyers, and that he has been
a SuperLawyer for many years.

How much homework is required?

We have created, based on over 25 years
of client appointments and experience, a
document – sent to you before your appointment -
that will walk you through the most important things
that you need to think about.  After your appointment,
we’ll review what  needs to be done and what you want
to do or what you want the lawyer to do for you.

If you’re so experienced, then isn’t this
very expensive too?

In the Trust, Estate, and Wealth Preservation
Section of the firm, this is what we do every day.

We invest hundreds of thousands of dollars
in software, training, and hiring of talented
people that make up the team that helps you.

Paralegals, an effective system and a focused
practice allows us to offer services that are
often very reasonable or appropriately expensive
depending on how advanced and sophisticated your
estate planning needs may be.

But, you’re never surprised by a bill
because you get to select your specific planning
tools and you always know, before you commit
to any costs, exactly what the fees will be.

I hope that this helps you to move out
of the majority of Americans who have no
will or an old and defective estate plan and
into the elite group of families and individuals
that have estate planning that will accomplish your
specific goals.

For a copy of our copyrighted Enhanced
Estate Planning Questionnaire or
any of our consumer reports or Affluent
Family Series of Reports, call 610-933-8069
or email dfrees@utbf.com.

For more reports and information call
David Frees at 610-933-8069.

*Please note, that at least one person mentions
the word “expert” when referring to David as a
trust and estate lawyer.  However, while this
is not true in all states, Pennsylvania lawyers
may not refer to themselves as experts in any field.
David limits his practice to trusts and estates but
wants to inform you that their is no such thing
as a trust and estates “expert,” in Pennsylvania.

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Avoiding The Federal Estate Tax – In 2010 and Beyond
What You Need To Know and Do In Your Estate Plan To Be Ready For 2011

The federal estate tax is currently not in effect.  However, it will return at rates and in amounts
that have not been seen for some time.  As of January 1, 2011 the IRS will be taxing all estates
of over 1 million dollars at rates of 42% to 55% depending on the size of the estate.

However, five billionaires have died since the federal estate tax was eliminated at 12:01 on January 1st 2010.
and as a result, their families will likely owe no tax as opposed to more than half of the estate value.
Since the federal estate tax ranges (when it is in effect) from a rate of 42% to 55% the federal government
has failed to collect billions in tax that it might otherwise have charged the billionaires’ estates.

The the deceased billionaires include, among others,  Mr Bell, the founder of Taco Bell, George Steinbrener, who
needs no introduction, and philanthropist and media billionaire Mr John Kluge.

The Federal Estate Tax and Billionaires

Kluge, who was well known in media circles, was the oldest member of the Forbes 400 Richest List
and had a net worth estimated to be in excess of $7 million dollars.

For more information on the federal estate tax click here.  For more information on Mr. Kluge, see the
The New York Times which carried an article on Mr. Kluge as well as USA Today, The New York Daily News, and
CBS news.

So short of dying in 2010 what do you need to know and to do before the tax is imposed on your family?

First, stay informed.  When you register for any one of our reports, you’ll be added to a list of smart consumers and you’ll
receive updates through our articles on what Congress is doing about the federal estate taxes. You can also peruse our articles, blogs, videos and checklists
that we provide at www.utbf.com/trust-estate and www.PaEstatePlanners.com.

Next, understand that even if your wills are designed to save on Federal estate taxes, they may no longer work properly and you might need to do more planning
to be prepared for 2011.  Just get advice that applies to your situation.

Finally, be an informed consumer about the options and planning techniques often used by those with larger estates but which might also work for
families with more modest affluence who will be taxed after January 1, 2011. Click here for a selection of our reports for executors, trustees, and those doing estate planning.

David M. Frees III has been awarded the AVVO lawyer rating services highest rating of 10.0 – Superb.

David M. Frees III on Wills, Trusts, Estates and Estate Tax

dfrees@utbf.com

610-933-8069

Law Offices In Malvern, Phoenixville and West Chester

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David M. Frees III on When to Share Your Will

The question of when, or even whether or not, to show adult or mature children your will or estate planning documents has no easy answer.

The best answer is that it depends.

In this, and a series of brief up coming posts, we’ll explore that question and the pros and cons of each option. In my experience (over 25 years of drafting estate planning documents for families and advising families at all levels of affluence), the answer varies depending on your personal circumstances and the particular documents. My answer, for example about when and how to share a broad durable power of attorney may be different than my answer about sharing and discussing a living will and medical power of attorney.

We will examine when to share the will, when to give an agent a copy of a medical or durable power of attorney, and when to share trusts and other documents.

Today we start with your question about when to share a will with family members.

In the case of wills, many clients never share the particulars of the will. They realize, that this document may change trough time and that who gets what assets may also change. Since no one really needs to see the document before your death, it may be enough to make sure that the family knows how to get your original will if you pass away. If you have only one or two children, and they are both appointed as co-executors, sharing that fact with them may also be prudent.

My clients who do not share the specifics of their wills, or copies of the documents, usually have a memo, or a binder. This documents contains copis of the necessary documents (in case of emergency) as well as instructions, locations or originals, passwords, and related information such as who the accountants, lawyers, insurance and financial advisers are and how to contact them.

More on these issues to come.

David M. Frees III is a lawyer with over 24 years of advising clients in the areas of trusts, estates, estate planning, and related legal matters. He has law offices in Malvern, Phoenixville, and West Chester and serves clients throughout Pennsylvania including Exton, Devon, Wayne, Chester Springs, Ardmore, Berwyn and many surrounding communities.

For a complimentary consultation call 610-933-8069 and mention PAESTATEPLANNERS as the code for your free consult.

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Do you have a son or daughter in college or entering college?

If you’d like more information or resources about paying for college, or the tax and gift tax consequences surrounding college educational expenses then read on.

David M. Frees III on When to use a Trust Protector

We know that paying for one or more children’s college educations can be a real hardship for many of our clients and for families in Pennsylvania generally.

So, we periodically try to find articles, resources and information for our clients and our blog readers as a way of adding value, and helping out.

For more information from the IRS and Dave Frees about tax issues surrounding college educations, gifting and loans, you should review IRS FORM 970 at www.PaEstatePlanners.com
There are also numerous considerations in your will, trust, and/or estate planning as children get to college and toward the college years.

Do you have enough life insurance for the next few years of high college expenses?
Should the college money go into trust or into a trust under your will?
Should your spouse be the trustee? What if that caused higher taxes?
Is your power of attorney updated in case of accident or illness rather than death?

If you or a loved one need a review of your will, trust, power of attorney or of any estate planning documents, you can s also receive a complimentary telephone or personal consultation.

To receive your review just call 610-933-8069 and mention FREE WILL REVIEW.

David M. Frees III, Esquire.

IMPORTANT BONUS: For the first twenty readers who call, comment below, or email Dave Frees at dfrees@utbf.com for a free consultation, you will also receive a copy of Paying For College an interview with a college funding expert.

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Frees has received AVVO's highest ranking of 10.0 Superb

Is A Bank Ever The Best Trustee?

There are many reasons to set up a trust (either during life or under your will). Some people set up a trust to protect a young child from having access to money at a young age. Others use a trust to protect and to provide for a child with special needs.

Many trusts are established to provide income and assets to a surviving spouse and then to pass on the assets to family members such as children and grandchildren.

Some of our clients set up GRATs and or nursing home trusts to move assets to the next generation, or to protect them from being lost to a nursing home.

And, with each situation where a trust is the best solution another equally important question arises: Who should be the trustee of this trust?

There are many possible trustees to choose from. For example, you can select the following a trusts of your Pennsylvania trust:

you
a friend
a family member
a professional adviser
a bank or trust company

However, depending on the purpose of the trust, you may need to limit cases where you name yourself or family members as trustees since a trust is often taxable or reachable by creditors in a lawsuit, when a family member, spouse, or parent is the trustee. In fact, there is a specific section of the IRC (Internal Revenue Code) (Section 672) that will cause such trusts to be included in a beneficiary’s estate and then taxed.

So, it may be that you want to avoid family members or at least make them a co-trustee. Also, family members are often unaware of all of the new rules which apply to trusts under the UTA (Uniform Trust Act) and the Prudent Investor Rule. Family members also often fail to file income tax returns for the trust or to keep the trust records properly. Accordingly, family members might actually end up exposed to liabilities and law suits that they never anticipated.

But, if you want to avoid using a family member as trustee, what are the alternatives?

Friends, Advisers, and Banks.

And, while many families have family members and friends that will undertake the risks of being a trustee, and who will seek the right advice to make sure that they follow the new legal compliance requirements of trustees, it may be that a bank or trust company offers a viable alternative and may be the best choice.

Banks are well insured, are highly regulated, have procedures and specific policies, and they regularly file the returns and keep the records accurately.

I know that almost everyone has heard about a beneficiary that did not like their bank trustee, but banks can be the best choice and that can be especially true when a family member or friend is appointed as a co trustee or a trust protector and can fire and hire bank trustees to ensure that the bank is charging appropriate fees, getting good investment returns and is looking out after the beneficiary.

Of course, there are advantages and disadvantages to each approach. But make sure that you discuss trustee selection with your lawyer and accountant because the wrong choice of trustee can mean that the trust will not work to accomplish your tax and planning goals.

For more on trust protectors and trustee alternatives click here and watch for upcoming posts.

David M. Frees III, Esquire
610-933-8069
dfrees@utbf.com

P.S. If you would like to create a trust now or under your will, please call

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If I named my child as a POD (pay on death) or FBO (for benefit of) beneficiary of a bank or stock account and that child is now in financial trouble, can I lose the accounts?

Click here for more essential information on POD and FBO accounts for your children and how to protect your accounts for yourself and for your heirs.

David M. Frees III on Pennsylvania law and the POD or beneficiary designation

Have questions about your estate planning and how your POD or beneficiary designations work with your estate planning documents?

Mention this blog post to receive a free consultation with David Frees or one of the trust and estate attorneys. Call Donna or Denise for more information at 610-933-8069 or email dfrees@utbf.com

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Local Trust, Estate and Will Lawyer David M. Frees III recently appeared on the PBS interview program – Spotlight. As many of Frees’ business and estate planning clients already know, in addition to being a respected Pennsylvania attorney practicing in the areas of trusts, estates, and wills, David Frees is also know outside of the practice of law as an expert in the field of family and inter-generational communications skills.

His recent interview included discussions and techniques from two of his books, The Language of Parenting: Building Great Family Relationships at All Ages and his essay on business communications skills – The Language of Abundance in Elite Books’ Einsteins Business. The techniques and strategies reviewed in these interviews included discussions of both family and business communications secrets.

To View Part One of the David Frees Interview (6 Minuets) on Family and Business Communications Skills here.

Frees was quoted as saying: “Those two skills are not as different as they might at first appear. There really is quite an overlap between my practice of law and my study, speaking, and writing on the topics of business and family communications skills.”

Frees added “Most of my clients really value the knowledge and experience that I bring to the estate planning process. I know how families communicate and I can bring this knowledge to their wills and trusts and attempt to avoid disputes.”

Because many of Frees’ clients are also business and family business owners, his knowledge of marketing, business, and family communications skills are also valuable to his clients.

“Quite a few of my clients have worked with me to grow and to pass on their businesses. Many families and business people just work with me to develop their estate plans and estate planning documents, but many others also value my business and marketing background and my skills as a business problem solver.” “I am always happy when I can help clients in multiple ways to not only pass on their businesses but to help them to solve lifetime problems.”

In fact, Frees’ firm, Unruh, Turner, Burke and Frees and David now represent the second and even the third generation of some families and some family businesses.

“That is really quite a nice compliment.” According to Frees, “When more than one generation of a family or family business continues to use our firm, we feel that we have done a good job for them. But, we are always looking for ways to further enhance our value to the client.”

David M. Frees III is a partner of Unruh, Turner, Burke and Frees and can be reached at
610-933-8069.

Frees provided the following additional resources for our readers:

Estate Planning Resources and Reports
Reports For Executors
General and News Updates on Wills, Trusts, Estates, Asset Protection, and Elder Law

These an many other resources are also available from Amazon and many resources can be read on the Amazon Kindle.

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David M. Frees III on News About Federal Estate Taxes That Might Matter To You

A new federal estate tax bill was introduced in the House Ways and Means Committee on October 22, 2009. This bill, known as HR 3905, is called the Estate Tax Relief Act of 2009. While the fate of the federal estate tax is up in the air, this bill might actually stand a chance of getting out of committee as a compromise bill before the end of the year.

It is different than some of the other House and Senate bills. It would slightly raise the exempt amount for next year but will provide for increases thereafter in the exempt estate and also provides for phased reductions in the rate of the tax.

Unlike some bills, it does not address the idea of a husband or wife getting a carry-over also knownas portability of the first spouses exemption.

A review of the bill’s specifics:

The bill will repeal the lapse of the Federal Estate Tax as of January 1, 2010.

It would establish a $3,650,000 exemption equivalent in 2010 (more than the current $3.5 million).

The bill then gradually increases the federal exemption equivalent to $5,000,000 by 2019 and would adjust for inflation thereafter.

This bill also contains reductions in the top estate tax rates over time with continued decreases to 35% by the 2019.

Bottom line? This bill appears to address some of the concerns of both parties and may be a politically viable compromise. If passed and then passed in a similar form by the Senate, it would still require many families to do careful estate tax planning before the death of the first spouse to avoid the tax.

We will continue to keep you posted. And, you can read the bill and track its progress here. Federal Estate Tax News on HB 3905

David M. Frees III has law offices in Malvern, Phoenixville and West Chester
Pennsylvania. These offices serve all of Chester and Montgomery County, Lancaster Berks and
Delaware Counties.

Attorney David M Frees III can be reached by phone at 610-933-8069 or 610-240-0750

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Have you thought about disinheriting a child or grandchild?
Do you intent to “write” an heir out of your will who might expect an inheritance?
Are you leaving one child more than another child?
Do you children have radically different needs and you are considering an unequal distribution or gift to your children?

David M Frees on disinheriting a child or grandchild and will contests

If you answer yes to any of these questions then your estate planning may not be as simple as you think. And, it is vitally important that you read this brief article and consider some of the options becasue all of these factors have lead and regularly result in will contests.

First, you may need an attorney that practices regularly if not exclusively in the area of trust and estates planning – a “will lawyer.” Why? Will contests can be expensive, time consuming and very disruptive to family relationships. An experienced lawyer will give you all of your options and will take precautions to ensure that your capacity is documented, that you wishes get carried out, and that family relationships can be preserved whenever possible.

Next, consider making a gift to a person who you might have initially left out of the will. This reduces the likelyhood that the omission will be viewed as a mistake. And, if you also include a special no contest clause in your will the party being given a gift has an incentive not to attack the document.

Such clauses typically provide that if a beneficiary challenges the will or trust, that they lose any gift to to them under the terms of the document. However, a child who is left nothing has no incentive to hold back and a contest is more likely.

It is also important to document that you have capacity to make the will and that you are not being influence by a family another member. We have a practice of asking a series of questions of each client, before the will’s witnesses to insure that the witnesses have an opportunity to verify that you know what you are doing, that all of the formalities are being observed, that the will is not invalid and that you are not under the influence of drugs or alcohol that might diminish your ability to understand everything that is occurring.

In this way, we can discourage will contest, and if they occur, we can minimize the lieklhood of success of the challenger and make sure that your wishes are actually carried out.

More to follow on avoiding a challenge to your will:
Consider a pour over will
Fund the trust
Coordinate with non probate assets
Get evidence from a doctor when desirable
Improve family communication
Consider a memorandum

David M Frees III practices in the areas of estate and trust planning and in representing
executors and trustees.

610-933-8069
Call Donna Brownback for an appointment or more information.
Mention the web site to receive more resources for clients and executors.

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Trust, Estates and Wealth Preservation David M Frees III

In many states, the fees that executors can charge are set by statute. In Pennsylvania, executor fees must be reasonable. They are always subject to court review. In general, many executors charge fees ranging from 1% to 5% of the estates value. The Supreme Court has ruled that a three percent fee is, on the face of it, reasonable, but subject to review.

If you would like more information about what you can charge as an executor, or, what an executor might charge your estate, you can review my article on executor fees by clicking the link to www.paestateplanners.com

David M Frees III, Esquire
For a copy of “The Ten Most Common Mistakes Executors Make and How To Avoid Them” please call one of my assistants and paralegals: Donna,Denise,Whitney, Matt or Tara.
610-933-8069

We have offices located conveniently in Malvern, Phoenixville, and West Chester Pennsylvania and represent clients through out Pennsylvania including such communities as Berwyn, Devon, Chester Springs, Exton, Gladwyn, Philadelphia, Spring City, Royersford, Sanatoga, Reading, Lancaster and many more.

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