Important PSA / Soap Box in light of what's happened with Boxx & WakeJunkie

[billybob]

Dang, glad I use scottrade. Marie sings?

Thanks!

[Coytee]

Reporting back ... have had POD's and TOD's and beneficiary designations and a trust established for years. How many weeks or months does that free me from the Marie Osmond sessions??

 

The penalty sheet is currently under review.  My people will get back with you.  That said, congrats! 

[Ceptorman]

Thanks Richard and everyone, lots of good info here, got me thinking now

[JL Sargent]

Per Richards advice in a previous conversation I have added PODs on all my father's accounts. Doing this should help avoid the probate process for these accounts! My mom passed away two years ago and Richards advice was a HUGE help.  I simply made sure that all their accounts were shared and I was able to transfer everything to my fathers name. It took some time to get it all done but It's worth it.

[muel]

OH NOOOOO!

 

Not money related but certainly an issue in case of my demise... !

It occurs to me that the church I attend and where my funeral service would very likely take place has Bose speakers.  Now, in life I have quietly endured the muffled amplification with a bit lip but the thought of my final exit and parting song spewing from those belch boxes makes me just a little bit sad.  Perhaps my time for action is now!?  Besides, I wonder how many members of the congregation have acquired hearing aids before really needing them?  

[BigStewMan]

No other heirs except a sister who doesn't need what I will have left. 

if it will ease your mind Chuck--I’ll take all of your audio gear (but, i don’t want it for a long while yet).

Edited January 17, 2015 by BigStewMan

[oldtimer]

I hope Thebes is reading this.  Remember, POD to Oldtimer for the P-funk collection (make sure the posters are included).

[Brac]

I'm gonna take the advise and make a point to do at least some of these this week. It's a bit confusing to me just what to do (when and if).  I see alot of people using trust but have never been able to figure out what advantage they create?

[prerich]

This is a PSA and I know that many will have read my concerns before.  If you haven’t then I hope this resonates with you.

 

We’ve recently lost Boxx and as of today, looks like Wake Junkie was given a scare with a second chance.

 

I think we all know intellectually that nobody is guaranteed ‘tomorrow’.  Hopefully, this will kick-start everyone into some reviews of your affairs and get things in order.

 

Do you have a checking or savings account that is in your name alone?

Do you have a brokerage account (non-IRA) that is in your name alone? 

Do you have any of the above that are in joint name with a parent or spouse?

Do you have beneficiaries on ALL your accounts, INCLUDING your 401K? 

 

In all the above examples (and for sake of keeping this post short, I’ll not (yet) get into any details…..if the thread withers away, it withers away.  If it creates another round of discussion then I’ll carry on as I’ve done in the past (or you can maybe search and read my old comments)

 

EVERYONE should go to your bank and put a “POD” (Pay on death) designation on EVERY account at your bank.

 

“Oh, but Richard, I have a WILL that takes care of that”

 

Bunk.  You are living with false confidence. (though technically, the statement is correct)

 

The Will simply says who gets it and that’s all.  The Will (for lack of better word) actually DICTATES that your things go through probate prior to your children getting them.  If you put a POD on your checking account, it will bypass probate and go MUCH quicker and much easier to your loved one(s).

Brokerage account(s)….  Put a “TOD” or Transfer on Death designation on them.  Again, a TOD (like POD) supersedes your will and allows the asset to totally bypass the probate process.

 

Oh, but I have my 40 year old daughter as my joint owner.  BAD BAD BAD idea.  Why?

 

Suppose she’s involved in a car accident or something in life (divorce?) where she gets sued.  All of “her” assets (1/2 of your account) can be attacked…..  do you want to have YOUR account involved in HER situation?  NO.  The way around it is make her POD/TOD beneficiary, give her power of attorney and be done with it.  You are now totally protected from her creating an issue.

 

I doubt that Boxx had any remote fear of anything being an immediate threat to him.  I doubt Wake Junkie expected his stroke.  Fortunately for Wake Junkie, he’ll read this and his light bulb will go off as to the wisdom of this thread.  Everyone understands and jumps to do these things once they've been awakened.

 

I'm just trying to wake you up prior to a more serious event waking you up (or perhaps, not waking you as in the case of Boxx)

 

Everyone (and I mean 100% everyone) needs to do something like this.  If you love your family, why would you choose to do something that will make their life that much more complicated when, at the stroke of a pen, you can simplify it for them?  (NOT having a TOD/POD on your accounts is every bit as much of a choice as having them)

 

I challenge everyone to contact your broker, contact your banker…..ask about a TOD or POD and get the forms.

 

Just remember, POD is done at the bank and TOD is done at the brokerage firm.

 

I challenge anyone who actually DOES this to report back to the thread!!!

 

The gauntlet has been dropped.  Guys, (gals?) show your family that you love them enough to take care of some of the little details.

excellent advise indeed!

[Mighty Favog]

the mandatory Marie Osmond listening session!

At ;east she's looking good these days...

Perhaps I'm trying to keep her all to myself?

She still has that 60-year old butt though....can't get past that. LOL' Edited January 18, 2015 by Mighty Favog

[Ski Bum]

 I see alot of people using trust but have never been able to figure out what advantage they create?

 

It's simple: the advantage of a trust is protection and control of your wealth.       

[Coytee]

I'm gonna take the advise and make a point to do at least some of these this week. It's a bit confusing to me just what to do (when and if).  I see alot of people using trust but have never been able to figure out what advantage they create?

 

Doing a trust (which I support 100%) is a lot more work....needs an attorney.....and will have some expenses involved.  I would urge anyone to investigate a trust to see if it makes sense.  From the point of view of probate, if you want to avoid it at all costs (like I do) then that would add more weight to a trust.

 

That said....  what if you don't want to spend the money....or the attorney can't visit with you for 3 months?  Doing the TOD/POD is a very effective (and free) way to get yourself down that path of no probate for those specific assets.

 

If a truck runs over you in two months, your beneficiaries / family aren't going to need immediate access to your car title....  they might however, need immediate access to your funds.

 

True story:  My cousin is a 'pay as you go' kinda guy.  Doesn't own a credit card (for whatever wisdom that might represent in today's world)

 

My aunt, his mother gave me powers of attorney and I spent (literally) four months getting her things in order.  She was in a nursing home so fortunately at this point in time, I didn't have any car nor home to worry about.

 

She wanted everything to go to her son.....so using my POA, I created a TOD & POD on all her accounts.

 

My cousins wife is a Paralegal.  Told him that when his mother passed, he would have a bi**h of a time dealing with her probate because he was out of state....and it would probably take minimum six months to get it taken care of through an attorney in his mothers state and the mail.

 

He told his wife that "Richard says everything is taken care of and I don't have anything to worry about"

 

His mother passed....  he didn't have enough available cash to bury her (she had plenty in her accounts).  He asked me if he could borrow the several thousand to have her cremated and then buried....  that I could have half of the accounts.

 

I said nothing doing.

 

She was adamant that she wanted him to have her accounts. 

 

We got to Ohio and walked into her bank with her death certificate in hand.

 

We walked out of her bank in roughly an hour (could have been sooner but, the gal we were talking to was cute).  So, we walked out of her bank in about an hour with all of her accounts cashed in and he had funds in hand to now pay for her funeral.

 

Had I not done that simple POD his wife was right....it would have been a royal pain in his hiney and taken much MUCH longer.

 

So, investigate a trust...it's a great idea.  Don't however, allow that false sense of security keep you from heading to the bank & brokerage firms.

 

If you initiate a TOD/POD on your accounts and later create a trust, your net paperwork for the ENTIRE process.....will be one single piece of paper.

 

(meaning, going from account without trust TO a trust is a stack of forms.  To make a 'pit stop' in the world of TOD/POD in the meantime while the trust is being created, adds a single piece of paper)

 

 

To add more specifically to what Ski Bum said...  look at it this way:

 

Setup:  You have a ner-do-well son who's always getting into trouble, be it drugs, fast cars, fast women, horny speakers....

 

You are comfortable in your life.  Not well off, not needy.  Your son is desperate for cash to do his failings.....

 

You have NO trust (but listened to me and have TOD/POD beneficiaries on your accounts)

 

You die with a will that says "my stuff gets split between my son & my (model citizen) daughter

 

Both get your $500K worth of CD's....  your daughter invests her $250K towards her new house or retirement.....your son snorts his $250K up his nose.

 

You didn't really do your son any favor now, did you?

 

Ahh....but you read this thread and instead created a trust in the year 2015 (not to suggest you're checking out this year)

 

In your trust, you can make some rules.  Yes, you can control your cash even though you are GONE.

 

You can stipulate for example:  My model citizen daughter gets her half of her inheritance with no strings attached, as long as she's of legal age......my son however....  he's currently 30 and he gets ONLY the dividend or interest income off the investments.  Furthermore, he ONLY gets them when he's 35....unless he uses said funds towards rehab.  If he is decreed to be substance free for a period of five (arbitrary number) years, then he has access to 10% of his inheritance every year for 5 years....then 20% for 2 years....then all of it.

 

You can make any kind of rules, stipulations you want.  Ok, so I don't know if you can make "any" kind....  but the point is, you CAN control the funds from the grave so if you have someone who will abuse the benefit they are inheriting, you can pull back on the reins a bit.

 

Might cause them to urinate on your grave....but at least you will know that you did everything you could do to keep them with a solid foundation.

[sheltie dave]

This should be mandatory for everyone to read and act on. If you have more than a couple thousand dollars, have kids, have a house, car, or other significant assets, all should be able to pass on to your desired heirs with an absolute minimum of fuss, muss, legal action, and time.

[Mallette]

I'd like, if the OP won't mind, to add an intangible to preparation for death I consider mandatory. 

 

Make sure those in your life have NO doubt how much you cared.  Write it down if you can't say it in person.  Lonelobo's piece to his dad and this thread got me to thinking about that.  It goes both ways, not just preparing for your death but for others, ESPECIALLY your parents.  His family, rather taciturn and low key Texas German Lutherans, didn't always express things to each other directly but the finding of that piece written years ago next to his dad's lounge chair in the home where he died speaks volumes for what counts when it comes to letting your parents know the value of what they did for you.

 

And it's the same for all those in your life.  Death doesn't knock, but simply crashed through the door like the DEA when you least expect it. 

 

While one of the commandments comes to mind, I'll keep it secular with the Beatles: "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make."^[

 

Dave

[tigerwoodKhorns]

Most importantly, consider an irrevocable trust to protect your assets in the event of a serious illness. A hospital/physician/nursing home can deplete your estate in a blink of an eye.

 

Counselor, please help me.  How do you avoid the huge tax consequence of an irrevocable trust? 

 

Nevada recognizes self settled asset protection trusts, but the tax hit is huge in an irrevocable trust.  Even capital gains go up.  What do you do if your major assets are items that are appreciating. 

 

An LLC with the membership owned by a normal trust is a good plan (takes 4 years for the lookback period) and the membership can pass, but if there is a creditor situation, you cannot make distributions (Nevada only allows a creditor a charging order).  So the funds will be stuck in the LLC. 

 

Please feel free to PM me if you fear giving legal advice in the open (liability -  I know). 

[Paducah Home Theater]

So for example, you have a massive stroke which leaves you in need of skilled nursing care - Medicaid will take virtually all of your assets before it begins to pay for your care. If your assets are protected in a trust, they can not be reached. However, it takes five years for your assets which are in the trust to be protected. So if you set the trust up today, you are at risk for five years.

True story, and I wonder how this is handled:

My grandmother put a bunch of stuff in a trust. 4 1/2 years later she has a massive stroke and goes into the nursing home. This nursing home only accepts cash so she's burning through cash left and right but it is going to run out sooner or later and might have to move. So my question is, will her farm be safe at that point, or are they going to look at when she went into the nursing home and power of attorney kicked in, which was less than 5 years after the fact?

[BigStewMan]

but the thought of my final exit and parting song spewing from those belch boxes makes me just a little bit sad.

donate your sound system to your church and tell them they have to have it hooked up BEFORE your funeral. 

[twk123]

 

but the thought of my final exit and parting song spewing from those belch boxes makes me just a little bit sad.

donate your sound system to your church and tell them they have to have it hooked up BEFORE your funeral. 

 

 

And if you have them play 'Freebird', make sure its the live version.

[muel]

 

but the thought of my final exit and parting song spewing from those belch boxes makes me just a little bit sad.

donate your sound system to your church and tell them they have to have it hooked up BEFORE your funeral. 

 

 

Not a bad idea!  The LaScala's came from a church originally anyway.