A large number of individuals feel that adding their adult children to their banking accounts and property is a great way to keep those assets from passing through probate.  This usually causes more problems than it does by solving them.  Some jurisdictions will not allow an automatic transfer of those assets just like there is not always an automatic transfer of assets from a deceased spouse to the surviving one.

Additionally, the adult child has assumed some ownership of the account or property by having their name added.  This opens up those assets to any potential problems the adult child may run into.  A bankruptcy would open subject those assets to a possible seizure or dissolution.  The assets could also be subject to liens and/or garnishments if the adult child was involved in a serious automobile accident lawsuit.

Placing adult children’s names onto assets may also be looked upon as a gift by the IRS which could open up the gift of those assets to a hefty gift tax and could also reduce the total estate tax exemption.  There are estate planning tools which can accomplish the transfer of assets to children without subjecting those assets to the numerous problems discussed above.

Unfortunately, that is not always the case.  State laws do very, but if you die without a will (intestate), the inheritance from your estate will be divided among your spouse and children.

In Arkansas, if you have a spouse but no children, all of your assets pass to your spouse if you have been married for more than three years.  If you have a spouse but no children, only one-half of your assets pass to your spouse if you have been married less than three years.  If you have a spouse and children, your spouse will receive one-third of your assets and the remaining two-thirds will pass to your children.  If you do not have a spouse or children, then your assets will pass to your parents, then brothers and sisters then other relatives such as nieces, nephews, aunts and uncles.

Regarding land, if you have a spouse and children, your spouse will only receive a life estate in one-third of your land.  A life estate means that your husband or wife owns their share of the land only for their lifetime.  They do not have the right to say who gets the property at their death.

This is not what most people want to happen with their assets.  However, in reality, is it exactly what will happen with no planning or poor planning.

I wanted to speak to some of the more common “heir-ors” out there.  I’ll start with one of the big ones and address more in 2012.

Heir-or #1:  Only Rich People Prepare Estate Plans

Do you own anything?  If so, you need a will.  You see, a will allows you to designate who will receive your property should anything happen to you.  Continuing without one ensures that all of your assets will be distributed under the terms of your state’s “intestate succession” laws.  That means your money and property could end up with family members you haven’t spoken to in years instead of who you’d really like to see control your assets.  Failing to have a will in place is simply a decision to trust your assets to government bureaucrats who do not know you from Adam.

Do you have children?  If so, you need a will.  You will be able to name a guardian to take care of your children should you not be able to.  Without having this guardian clause in a will you will not be able to take part in the decision making process and a judge will decide where your children will live and who with.

Even if you think your situation if pretty straightforward, you may feel more comfortable hiring an estate planning attorney to help guide you the process.

I made my first trip to the West Coast in 2001.  It was a family vacation.  I am so much of a Raider fan that I located the office building headquarters of the Oakland Raiders and drove the entire family out there just so I could take a picture of the front of the building.  To make a long (and great) story short, we ended up seeing Al Davis getting into his car in the back parking lot.  I told him we were from Arkansas and he got out and talked with us for about twenty minutes.  It was fascinating.  He and ex-Arkansas Athletic Director Frank Broyles were pretty good friends and had even played golf together a few times.  Mr. Davis ended the conversation by thanking us for coming out and being Raider fans.  He slowly got into his car and the last thing he said to us was, “Don’t ever get old.” 

I am an estate planning attorney.  This blog is my only avenue to discuss my interests.  Since Al Davis passed away with a lot of wealth and a football franchise with an estimated worth of $761 million I decided I would combine the two.  Al Davis assumed the controlling interest of the Oakland Raiders in the early 1970′s.  He is more known for his controversial decisions in the 2000′s managing the Raiders than for changing professional football and creating the giant we all know today.  Al was the first coach to institute a true vertical attack passing game while he was in the AFL.  As commissioner of the AFL, he played the integral role in the AFL-NFL merger.  It was his idea for the best “old” AFL (now called the AFC) team to play the best NFL (NFC) team at the end of each year in a “Super Bowl”.  Mr. Davis sued the NFL for violating anti-trust laws when he wanted to move the Raiders from Oakland to Los Angeles and won.  Al Davis hired the first black coach, Art Shell, in the NFL.  He is widely known in the National Football League for going above and beyond the take care of former Raiders in dire straights coining the phrase, “Once a Raider, always a Raider.”  His other catchphrases are pretty much used on an everyday basis in the sports reporting world, “Just win, baby!”, “Commitment to Excellence” and ”The other team’s quarterback must go down and he must go down hard.”

The NFL bans outside corporations from owning franchises, requiring instead that the teams have a single principal owner.  Al Davis owned 47% of the Raiders when he passed.  Al battled the NFL, other NFL owners and other teams on a weekly basis.  His estate’s toughest battle will be dealing with estate taxes all the while keeping the Oakland Raiders intact and within the family.  The current estate tax exemption is $5 million.  That means anything over and above $5 million gets taxed at 35%.  It also appears that, on the outside looking in, Al Davis’s estate would owe $123 million to Uncle Sam for his ownership.  Carol Davis, wife of Al Davis, and their son, Mark Davis, will now own Al’s interest in the Oakland Raiders.  The real question then lies:  For how long?

It appears that Mr. Davis left some thorough and detailed estate and succession planning which ensure that the team will be owned by Carol Mark.  They can’t be forced to sell by their partners, by the league, or by operation of law.  As it relates to the other partners, the team operates as a limited partnership, with the Davis family being the sole and complete owner of the sole general partner.  Under the law of limited partnerships, that gives the Davis family full control over the business.  Mrs. Davis was married to Al for well over 50 years, and Mark is in his 50s.  They are a close family, and it’s believed that they have no desire to sell the team.  Mark grew up in and around the organization, and he has a passion for the franchise.

The other question of the estate tax still remains, however.  The large tax owed has caused many to speculate that the Davis heirs will
have no choice but to sell the team, like other NFL heirs have done.  But, in reality, Davis could have easily escaped estate taxes, at least for now.  The federal estate tax law includes an unlimited marital exemption.  This means that Davis could have passed as much as he wanted  onto his wife — both before he passed away through gifting, and after through his estate plan — and none of it would be subject to the 35% estate tax.  The fact that Al Davis has only one child removes one of the other potential catalysts for a sale.  If multiple children inherit a team and one or more want to cash out, the others may have no alternative to selling the team in order to raise the money to buy out a sibling or two.  The estate of Carol Davis may have to deal with this tax issue when she passes, but there are other ways that Al Davis may have planned for this as well.  He could have purchased life insurance to handle some of that brunt, he could have gifted some of the ownership away to his son or used other planning methods such as charitable giving.

Raider fans, myself included, can rest assured that the team will probably remain in the Davis family for quite some time due to Al’s planning.  The team is young and playing well.  It is still great to be a Raider fan.  Just keep winning, baby.

I want to thank and credit Andy and Danielle Mayoras and Kay Bell for supplying a lot of the information that I used.

An owner of any vehicle or boat can now transfer it upon his or her death to a designated beneficiary through the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).  What does this mean?  This means the vehicle or boat will avoid probate if you apply for a certificate of title/number and fill out the beneficiary designation form.  It is contractual, so it cannot be revoked by a will.  It can be only be revoked, or changed, by completing a revocation form with the DMV.

Also new to the DMV is the ability for an individual to declare on their driver’s license that he or she has a controlling living will.  This is a great way for medical providers to know that a living will is in place for that individual they are providing care for.  A living will is document that controls end of life decisions of whether or not one would like life-sustaining treatment that only prolongs the process of dying and is not necessary for comfort or to alleviate pain.

There are widespread changes to the durable power of attorney Acts.  A new Act was created and many amendments were made to the existing statutory language.  The Uniform Power of Attorney Act applies to durable powers of attorney (better known as durable financial powers of attorney or durable powers of attorney for business or financial needs) which allows powers of attorney created in Arkansas to be more specific and to fall under uniform application.  I am currently conforming all my existing clients’ durable powers of attorneys to the Uniform Act at no charge.

These changes will allow much more ease and flexibility in estate plans.  Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need help implementing any of these changes or if you would like to speak with me about creating an estate plan for you and your family.

Name: James Brown

Age: 73

Died: December 25, 2006, Atlanta, GA

Cause: Congestive heart failure due to pneumonia

Family: Six children named in will; many others contending paternity

Estate Mistake: Although he was known for keeping a very tight beat, he left a very loose will and sloppy estate planning, which led to multiple lawsuits and severe tax implications.  His will was contested by several parties, partly because he had not updated the document since 2000.

He also left his mansion and music rights to an irrevocable trust to benefit underprivileged students.  However, the trustees and family are still battling over it.  His assets were not well sheltered so an auction of his personal affects was ordered to help settle the tax bill.

Name: Howard Hughes

Age: 70

Died: April 5, 1976 (somewhere over Texas)

Cause: Heart failure while on a plane from Mexico to Houston for medical treatment

Family: No wife or children, but 22 cousins

Estate Mistake: Famed aviator/industrialist/film producer/eccentric left a $2.5 billion estate.  Thousands of people filed claims against the estate once it was in probate.  The estate lingered in probate for years as Mr. Hughes died without a valid will.  The estate was eventually spread among all 22 cousins and several other extended family members who filed valid probate claims.

Among the dozens of wills that surfaced after his death was the handwritten “Mormon Will” with misspellings and mistakes that inspired extreme skepticism.  The will, which named the church as a beneficiary, was produced by Melvin Dummar, a Utah service station owner who claimed to have rescued Howard Hughes out of the desert.  Dummar’s claim was finally thrown out of appeal in 1998.

Name: Warren E. Burger

Age: 87

Died: June 25, 1995, Washington, D.C.

Cause: Congestive heart failure

Estate Mistake: Even though Warren Burger was once the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, the 176-word will he left his two children failed to empower his executors and did not plan for estate taxes.

His $1.8 million estate lost $450,000 in federal and state estate taxes.  The estate was tied up in probate of which court costs and attorney’s fees took more out of the estate.  Additionally, even more money was spent because of expenses in going to empower the executors in probate which could have been avoided if the will had granted those powers automatically.

There is not a bright line rule for when one should review documents.  It’s a good idea to give your documents a yearly review to ensure laws have not changed and to ensure everything and every person listed are still around.  I, as well as most estate planning attorneys, do not charge to sit down with their existing clients on an annual basis to ensure everything is correct. 

I also recommend to revisit your documents whenever a life change occurs-new job, retirement, a move, new children and grandchildren, marriage, divorce and death.  Additionally, do not forget to review your beneficiaries with your life insurance agent and certified financial planner.

Name:  Sammy Davis, Jr.

Age:  64

Died:  May 16, 1990, Beverly Hills, CA

Cause:  Throat cancer

Family:  Daughter, two adopted sons, wife, two ex-wives

Estate mistake:  Although he made more than $50 million in the his lifetime, Sammy left $5 million.  The bigger problem was he owed $7 million in taxes and had no means such as life insurance to satisfy his the debt.  His widow, Altovise Davis, sold many of his personal belingings at auction to help pay the debt, but reportedly only got about $500,000.  In 2008, Altovise sued two former business partners she claimed tricked her into signing over rights to teh estate.  She died on March 15, alomst 20 years to the exact day of her husband’s death