In 2006, Neil Gaiman declared “My current crusade is to make sure creative people have wills”. As a lawyer and a Coraline fan, finding that quote made me a little giddy. He followed up that statement with a discussion about why it is so important for every person that creates things, no matter how small, to have a plan. I would paraphrase the article for you, but Neil ...
Almost everyone has a bank account once they reach adulthood. Most of us have a couple. Even if you have a simple checking account or a simple savings account, after a few years, it is easy to lose track of some important details of your account. When you are entering a long engagement or have just been married, make sure that all of your bank accounts still have terms and policies which are advantageous to your current stage in life. ...
As hard as it is to understand as a loving pet owner, the state of Minnesota (as well as most other states) considers a pet to be no different than any other personal property. This means that when you die, if you have not provided different directions in your will, your pet is given to your heirs in the same way as your car, bed, or any other tangible property. When you die without a will, the only people eligible to ...
A special consideration that comes up during the estate planning process is the treatment of firearms. Firearms are considered tangible personal property, which means they are treated like any other physical possession during the probate process. What throws a monkey wrench into this process is the fact that your gun is probably the most regulated piece of property you own. Federal firearms laws can create all sorts of headaches. Between the time of writing your will and your death, laws may ...
©renjith Krishnan I want to thank everyone who pitched in over the past week to make sure that we met our goal of $25,000 in planned charitable giving through our firm. With all of your support, we did more than meet it; we blew right by it. In only a week, the clients of Alex Bajwa LLC bequeathed $7,500 in their estate plans to such great causes as the Greater ...
©renjith Krishnan Perhaps my favorite thing about owning and running my own law firm is the fact that I get to run everything according to my own personal values. My wife and I are staunch believers in charitable giving. In that same vein I believe in encouraging others to donate to their favorite charities and community organizations. When this year began, I set several goals for Alex Bajwa LLC to accomplish ...
Many companies are pretty understanding when it comes to canceling or changing accounts due to the death of a partner, parent, or child. As I discussed in a previous post, however, sometimes a company will be less than cooperative about canceling or transferring an account. As the economy has slowed, many more companies are beginning to tow a hard line about canceling an account due to a death. Most of theegregious offenders seem to be telecommunications ...
One of the biggest confusions that people have when they sit down to look at a will and estate plan is whether they should incorporate a living trust (also known as an inter vivos trust or revocable trust) into their estate. Many attorneys suggest a living trust for almost every estate planning client. While there are perks to a living trust, the answer, like most issues in the law, is a bit more nuanced. The basic notion behind a living trust is that you ...
Wills for Superheroes: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
A reader recently asked me, in regards to estate planning, “what would Splinter and Leo, Raph, Don and Mikey need? And remember, you’re dealing with teenagers here.” This is a great question, and one that I have thought about once or twice myself. Superheroes face death constantly, and they rarely plan for it. In fact, many superheroes actually believe they are invincible and immortal. Because of these assumptions, the death of ...
I Made a Funny
Estate planning attorneys have an odd sense of humor. At the risk of sounding like Professor Frink, today’s light reading is a guide to some of the more entertaining estate planning humor that can be found on the web. Led Zeppelin Says You Need An Estate Plan: The Zucker Law Firm of Virginia has broken down how the lyrics of Stairway to Heaven are really Led Zeppelin plugging the importance of good estate planning. The Beatles Say You ...
