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Granting a Power of Attorney allows for an individual to designate another person, commonly referred to as an attorney-in-fact, to stand in his/her place and to make legally binding decisions on his/her behalf.  A power of attorney may be as broad to include all personal and financial decisions that the granting individual could make under their powers, or it may be limited to a specific action or decision.

Powers of Attorney serve as a great estate planning tool in the event that you might become incapacitated or incapable of making decisions on your behalf.  An attorney-in-fact can be granted flexible powers to make decisions involving the maintenance and care-taking for you as well as managing your assets and investments.  Further, the attorney-in-fact can be authorized to make estate planning, tax and business decisions to best minimize tax liabilities on your behalf.

Setting up a proper power of attorney allows for the establishment of someone to manage your affairs without needing to go to court for a guardianship appointment.  Additionally, a power of attorney can be set up to only be in effect when your doctors have deemed you to be incapacitated.  Finally, powers of attorney also ensure that gay and lesbian couples will be able to have their partners be appointed to make these decisions as opposed to blood relatives who may not know all the details of your care-taking needs or financial affairs.

Powers of attorney can be as broad and defined as you want.  Please call the skilled professionals of Larsen & Teusink PC to discuss how we can help in drafting a power of attorney, as well as any estate planning needs you may have.  678.553.2923.

Posted under Estate Planning, GLBT Law, Probate Law

Not everyone has tens of millions of dollars on hand to leave behind to loved ones when they pass away.  The absence of great wealth, however, should not serve as an impediment to providing comfortable support for your survivors.  A great way to leave loved ones with adequate financial support after death is through the use of life insurance.

First, for State probate concerns, life insurance contracts and proceeds are non-probate assets and do not require court supervision, inventory, and public scrutiny.  Unlike wills, insurance contracts need not become a part of the public record when probating an estate.

Second, life insurance proceeds flow to the intended beneficiary free of income tax.  Internal Revenue Code section 101(a) provides that gross income does not include amounts received under a life insurance contract if those amounts are paid by reason of the death of the insured.

Third, with proper estate planning, life insurance proceeds can pass to the beneficiaries free of estate tax.  Under Internal Revenue Code section 2042, life insurance proceeds will not be subject to estate tax if the proceeds are not payable to the deceased’s/insured’s estate.  Also, life insurance proceeds will not be included in the deceased’s gross estate if the deceased relinquished all incidents of ownership over the insurance policy.  Incidents of ownership include (but are not limited to) the power to change beneficiaries, the right to borrow against the policy or offer it as collateral, and the power to assign or cancel the policy.  The policy holder needs to make sure that she/he relinquishes any of these incidents of ownership and does not die within three years of that relinquishment (under Internal Revenue Code section 2035, transfers made within three years of death are included in the decedent’s gross estate).

To avoid any gift tax consequences for the payment of insurance premiums, one should consider establishing an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust.  A person can use her/his yearly annual gift tax exclusion (a person is allowed to currently make $13,000 in gifts to another each year) to make the payments to the trust which in turn will make payments on the premiums.  This will help ensure that the beneficiaries and estate will not incur any estate tax liability on the life insurance proceeds.

The attorneys of Larsen & Teusink PC are skilled in establishing life insurance trusts and many other instruments to best organize and plan your estate.  Contact one of our professionals today to schedule a consultation and to start planning your legacy.  678.553.2923.

Posted under Estate Planning, Probate Law, Tax Law, Tax Planning

Contesting a will executed by a deceased loved one is a decision not to be entered into lightly.  There are issues of jeopardizing family harmony and updholding the departed’s last wishes with respect to his/her property.  There are many instances, however, where unfair and outside pressures resulted in the drafting of a new will or the alteration of an existing will, original beneficiaries may have a right to challenge the validity of a final will.

Most successful will challenges involve attacks on the lack of formal execution of the will or the presence of undue influence.  Georgia law requires a certain number of present, uninterested witnesses to view the testator (the person having the will made) sign and execute the will, after which these witnesses make their signatures on the will near the testator’s.  There exist issues for a formal challenge, including the capacity of the testator, presence of witnesses during execution, and many others.

The other most successful means for someone to contest a will is by proving the will was created through undue influence.  Although there is a lot of case law on the subject, in Georgia, undue influence usually involves a beneficiary of a will who pressured the testator into leaving him a considerable portion of the testator’s estate, while the testator was in a weakened or influencial state susceptible to such pressure.  The fact that the beneficiary is someone who would have not have inherited by State intestacy laws and/or had a confidential relationship with the testator can create a rebuttable legal presumption that the bequest was a result of undue influence.  Although there are many other ways to challenge a will, most contests focus on instances where the intent of the testator has been replaced with that of the beneficiary.

You should consult with an attorney as soon as possible to determine what rights to a will challenge you may have.  The attorneys of Larsen & Teusink PC have the knowledge and experience to preserve your rights and to help stop those who sought only to take advantage of your loved ones for their own personal gain.  Contact one of our professionals today to schedule an appointment.  678.553.2923

Posted under Estate Administration, Estate Planning, Probate Law, Probate Procedure, Wills

A typical belief for many married individuals with children is that when a person dies, all of their property, by law, will automatically pass to the surviving spouse.  This could not be further from the truth.

In Georgia, when a decedent dies without a will, intestacy laws require that a surviving spouse share in the estate of the deceased spouse in equal shares with the surviving children to the extent that the surviving spouse’s portion is not less than one-third share.  (O.C.G.A. 53-2-1).

Without a proper will designating a surviving spouse as the sole beneficiary of an estate, a family could find itself in the uneasy and delicate situation of having to divide up all of the deceased parent’s belongings.  This can lead to a lot of unnecessary stress and family infighting amongst relatives. 

Further, if the children decide to resolve the issue by simply gifting over to the surviving parent their respective shares of the estate, the children may incur gift tax liability on the transfer.  The children might also seek to disclaim their prospective interests, but this requires proper paperwork to be filed with the IRS, documents that will likely require drafting by an attorney, as well as adhering to strict rules as to access and control over the property by the persons disclaiming their interests.  This prospect would be more expensive in terms of legal costs than simply hiring an attorney to draft a will in the first place.

Larsen & Teusink, PC has drafted countless wills and legacy plans for many families in Georgia.  With their tax expertise as well, our attorneys will ensure that any tax liability that your estate may incur is minimal or eliminated altogether.  If you have any questions regarding the drafting your first will or reviewing your current legacy plan, please feel free to contact one of our attorneys at 678.553.2923 or visit our website.

Posted under Estate Planning, Tax Law, Wills