InterActive Legal

Session 1: What is Estate Planning? Estate planning involves both planning for death and planning for incapacity.  In this initial session, we will introduce legal issues and common documents applicable to both areas.  We will discuss how property is disposed of at death, how probate works, probate alternatives, and documents used when planning for death, including Wills and Revocable Trusts.  For incapacity planning, we will cover what powers can be delegated and how, introducing documents such as Durable Powers of Attorney and Health Care Directives.

Session 2: Transferring Property at Death Property is disposed of at death in a variety of ways, with some assets passing differently from others.  In this session, we will discuss using a Will and different types of trusts, different types of assets and how they pass, and whether to leave property outright or in trust.  Various types of specific bequests – personal effects, real estate, cash – will be described, along with common options of disposing of the residuary estate.  We will also highlight common provisions in the estate planning documents, such as naming successor fiduciaries and guardians, planning for an unexpected order of deaths, leaving property to minors, and more.

Session 3: Estate Planning During Lifetime Part 1: Incapacity Planning Planning for incapacity can be more important than planning for death, but the two often overlap.  In this session, we will discuss documents commonly used for incapacity planning, one of which is a Revocable Trust, which is also used to transfer property at death.  The speakers will cover how Revocable Trusts operate, and other options for naming someone to handle a client’s affairs in the event of incapacity, such as using a Power of Attorney or Guardianship.  We will also focus on health care directives, which allow a designated person to make health care decisions if the client is unable to do so.

Session 4: Estate Planning During Lifetime Part 2: Lifetime Transfers Lifetime transfers of property are a necessary part of estate planning – either because a client creates a Revocable Trust and must transfer assets to the trust, or because the client decides to make lifetime gifts.  In this session, we will first cover how Revocable Trusts are funded and then examine various types of lifetime gifts, including direct gifts to individuals and charities, and gifts to irrevocable trusts.  Irrevocable trusts are sometimes used for tax or Medicaid planning, or simply to facilitate making gifts to family members.  The speakers will introduce the concept of planning with irrevocable trusts to address these concerns. 

Session 5: Introduction to Planning with Trusts In this session, we will continue to examine when and why to use trusts instead of transferring property outright to the recipients.  Important factors may be that the client is in a second marriage, has minor beneficiaries, or beneficiaries with other special issues – like creditor problems or special needs.  We will discuss how trusts are created, administered, and distributed, different types of trusts, distribution standards, incentive language, and trust termination.  We will also introduce powers a trust beneficiary can hold, including the power to be a co-trustee or the sole trustee of a trust.

Session 6: Estate Planning for Married Couples Estate planning for a married couple may seem easier than planning for an umarried person, because spouses usually want their property to all pass to the survivor.  However, certain family situations and the realities of how property is owned can make planning for spouses more complicated.  The speakers in this session will start with a focus on property ownership, including a discussion of community property, tenancy by the entirety, and other types of jointly-owned property.  We will discuss the pros and cons of having spouses create joint trusts, how to address the possibility of divorce and/or future remarriage, and whether a spouse can be disinherited.  We will also briefly introduce the different tax consequences of leaving property to a spouse in different ways.

Session 7: Estate Planning for Descendants Most clients, whether married or unmarried, plan to leave their property eventually to their children.  This presentation will discuss various ways of doing just that, including simple gifts to children that also plan for the possibility of a child not being alive, as well as using trusts.  Trusts are often useful when the children are minors, but there are other alternatives for minors that we will cover as well.  The session will also examine different ways of naming guardians for minor children, how to factor in gifts made during lifetime, and planning for other special situations.

Session 8: Specific Topics By this time, the faculty will have introduced the idea that some assets are more challenging to plan for than others due to special rules about their transfer and perhaps their taxation.  Additionally, some client situations are more involved than others and require additional planning.  In this session, the speakers will discuss some special assets, such as retirement benefits, IRAs, business interests, and real estate.  They will also cover planning for business owners and clients with a higher net worth, who may need to consider estate tax planning as well.

Estate Planning Basics Series Week 1 Workshop Week 1 concept review:   Case studies and sample language  Q&A 

Estate Planning Basics Week 2 Workshop Week 2 concept review: Case studies and sample language  Q&A 

Estate Planning Basics Series Week 3 Workshop Week 3 concept review:  Case studies and sample language  Q&A 

Estate Planning Basics Series Week 4 Workshop Week 4 concept review: Case studies and sample language  Q&A