Our small but growing law firm is looking for a poised and capable Paralegal to stay on top of our bustling estate planning and probate practice. Sure, we need someone who rocks the basics: accurately preparing legal documents, happily communicating with clients by phone and email, tracking major deadlines, filing documents with courts and county recorders – typical paralegal duties. But we also need a systematic detail-master, who can keep probate accountings balanced to the penny, make ...
Who Does What? Roles to Fill in Your Trust
Part of creating a trust is determining who is best suited to handle different situations that could arise. During the trust design process, we will help you brainstorm who could make a good agent for your power of attorney, successor trustee, or member of your incapacity panel. The same person might not be the best fit for each role. Let’s take a look at each type of position and the responsibilities it encompasses: Successor Trustees Successor trustees manage your assets for you in ...
Two New Ways We Are Giving Back
We at Learned Lawyer are excited to make two announcements about ways we are trying to give back to our community: trees and name changes! Trees Our estate plans are complicated and thorough and for now it is still necessary to print them out and sign them by hand. So we burn through a ton of paper. To help, we have partnered with Rotary District 5400 and their tree-planting project. For every revocable living trust plan we prepare, we will donate one seedling that will be ...
Navigating the Probate Process — What to Do Now That a Loved One Has Died
If your loved one died recently, you are likely in turmoil. You may feel a variety of emotions -- grief, anger, or even relief. You also may be worried about what you need to do from a legal standpoint to wrap up a person's affairs. If so, you need to understand the probate process, and this post will help. What is Probate? Probate is a court process for wrapping up a deceased person's legal and financial affairs. Steps in the process may include the following: Appointment of a ...
Who Wants to Be a Trustee? – Part 4 – Compensation
So long as the trustee performs his duties and tasks properly, she is entitled to take compensation. However, if the trustee does not perform properly, she may be liable to the trust or its beneficiaries out of her own pocket. Compensation Some trusts set out a fee schedule for trustee compensation. If so, certainly the trustee should follow that schedule, or seek court approval to deviate. Other trusts say something flexible (but vague) like "reasonable" compensation. In determining ...
Who Wants to Be a Trustee? – Part 3 – Tasks
Trustees are obligated to meet their duties, described in Part 2 of this series. To do so, the trustee must complete a number of tasks throughout his or her service as trustee. Throughout, the trustee must consider whether he or she has the power to take a particular action. Well-drafted trusts include a lengthy section spelling out exactly what the trustee may do in administering the trust. Generally speaking, if an action benefits the beneficiaries, the trustee may do that act if ...
Who Wants to Be a Trustee? – Part 2 – Duties
In this second entry in our trustee series, we look at the duties a trustee must follow under state law. Here are the basics: Duty to Follow Trust Document Although perhaps it seems obvious, the trustee must follow the trust document. If there is any confusion, the trustee has to try to figure out what the grantor intended. So, a trustee must read (and re-read) the entire trust document to make sure she understands what the terms of the trust say. Then she has to follow those terms, even ...
Who Wants to Be a Trustee? – Part 1 – Overview
Estate planning attorneys use trusts to solve all sorts of problems for their clients. Any time there is a trust, there must be a trustee - the person who manages the assets in a trust. This post, along with the next several ones, will talk about what it means to be a trustee. Wait, what's a trust again? A trust is an agreement in which the grantor designates a trustee to manage assets for the beneficiary. One person might fill more than one of these roles. In a revocable living trust ...
Crazy Idaho Laws? No, Just Made-Up Internet “Fact”
I got sidetracked last night after the kids went to bed, because I ran across an article claiming, “These 14 Crazy Laws in Idaho Will Leave You Scratching Your Head.” Among the crazy laws claimed by the site are that it is illegal in Idaho to fish from the back of a camel or a giraffe. Apparently, these particular crazy “laws” have been spread far and wide on the Internet. A quick google search reveals countless websites repeating the “fact” that it is against the law in Idaho to fish from ...
What To Do When A Loved One Passes
The loss of a loved one, whether anticipated or not, is an awful experience accompanied by a variety of emotions — pain, anger, relief, guilt, and anxiety just to name a few. I am not qualified to help you work through a number of those emotions. But, I can help you understand the legal issues you might face, so that at least you can understand and anticipate what is to come as you wrap up your loved one’s financial affairs. The court process for wrapping up a deceased person’s affairs ...