Suttons Bay Law

The corresponding picture of my 16-year-old son, Tucker, with this blog post, was recently taken at a hockey tournament in Cleveland, Ohio. Tucker, by all accounts, is one of the best goal scorers for his team. For the first two games of the tournament, Tucker was repeatedly frustrated by missed opportunities and some remarkable goalie saves that sent him into the tournament semi-final game with no goals. The first two periods of the semi-final game were more of the same. Tucker worked and worked, but no goals. He kept focused and worked hard in the third period and then, with 30 seconds left, he seized an opportunity and scored the game-winning goal. The picture was taken right after the goal was scored. Success at last!

As I reflect on Tucker’s experience, it occurred to me that his path to success in that situation mirrors how we, as adults, should pursue success. Dr. Alan Zimmerman, in his internet newsletter “Tuesday Tip” recently commented on the various studies that have been conducted about achieving “success”. In his newsletter, Dr. Zimmerman cites four key elements of success which is first to “toil awhile” and secondly “to endure awhile”. The last two steps of success are to “believe always” and the final step being “never turn back”. Dr. Zimmerman states, “the folks who make it in this world…the folks who become truly successful…continue to toil and endure in spite of their problems, challenges, and setbacks. Successful people know that hard work does not prevent problems. It simply gets them through the problems.”

In summary, Tucker’s accomplishments have made me very proud of him as a hardworking and dedicated young man. That being said, his accomplishments also reminded me of the important lesson of what it takes to be truly “successful”. We are facing challenges in today’s world that are unprecedented. However, we still have the ability to be a success, survive the challenges, and become better people through the process.

Dan A. Penning
(a.k.a. Proud Father)

Tags: Suttons Bay Depot by Dan Penning
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DIVORCE / SECOND MARRIAGES / FAILURE TO PLAN

LET THE DEATH WARS BEGIN!

If you have been divorced and are now remarried, you should take great caution in planning your estate and assets in the event of your disability or death. If you also have a child or children from a previous marriage or with someone you never married, these are all special situations that should be examined to avoid future problems. No estate plan is just that – no plan. These situations are ripe for conflict and lawsuits when someone plans poorly or not at all. We call these cases “death wars”. These cases literally drain tens of thousands of dollars out of an individual’s estate with respect to attorneys’ fees and court costs where, with a little expenditure of time and a fraction of the money, the whole war could have been avoided.
The best approach when getting married for a second time, or any time, is to see an attorney well in advance of the wedding date to discuss your situation. This is especially true when one or both of you have children from a previous marriage or relationship.

The following are the 10 most common causes of “death wars”:

1. Spouses lie about the value of assets or when or how the assets were acquired.

2. Spouses conceal a child from a prior relationship or marriage from their current spouse.

3. Couples fail to create pre-nuptial or post-nuptial agreements.

4. Spouses fail to change estate plans that they may have created before meeting their current spouse.

5. Spouses fail to consider that, by default, a spouse is the beneficiary of the other spouse’s qualified retirement plan such as a 401k or 403b account creating a different disposition of these assets other than as intended by the deceased spouse.

6. Failure to plan where spouses have a significant disparity in the age; and the age of one spouse is the same or close to the ages of the other spouse’s children from a previous marriage or relationship.

7. Failure to double-check beneficiary designations on life insurance policies that were in effect before meeting the individual’s current spouse.

8. Failure by spouses to review and address changes in estate plans when there has been a significant change in the health or wealth of the other spouse which may impact their ability to take care of themselves in the event of the death of the other spouse.

9. Failure to give consideration as to how real estate is titled when purchased with a second spouse.

10. Failure to clearly define the ownership and intended disposition of assets without title such as family heirlooms, jewelry, etc.

If you or anyone you know is planning on getting married for a second time or getting married with unique circumstances with respect to age, children from previous relationships or marriages, or any other unique circumstances, please feel free to refer them to us for estate planning review.

Dan A. Penning

Tags: Estate Planning, Know Your Business by Dan Penning
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According to a 2007 census bureau survey, some 6.2% of children ages 5 – 15, a total of 2.8 million children, have disabilities. Individuals with disabilities are living longer than ever. Many disabled children will outlive their parents who support them. The Wall Street Journal published an article on October 9, 2008 titled “An Estate Plan Built for Special Needs”. The piece emphasized the need to make sure that relatives’ estate plans are coordinated. The article pointed out that often times, grandparents and parents of disabled children do not coordinate their plans which can result in a disqualification of the disabled child for certain medical and other supplemental government benefits. In addition, unless a qualified trustee or guardian and conservator are appointed in a parents’ estate plan for their disabled child, assets can be squandered by unscrupulous individuals in charge of these assets. If you have or know of anyone with a special needs child, please do not hesitate to refer them to us for a consultation and review.

Dan A. Penning

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Tags: Know Your Business, Special Needs Children by Dan Penning
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