Gifts To Grandchildren

Gifts given to grandchildren by grandparents can be a great blessing.  Kelly Greene wrote an article in the Wall Street Journal September 14, 2012, titled "Are You Coddling Your Grandkids?"  In her article, Ms. Greene indicates five ways to give to a grandchild something and at the same time not creating a sense of entitlement from a grandchild.
First, Ms. Greene says you must, "Pare your gifts to offset the pain."  In other words, don't give to the extent that you jeopardize your own financial care.
Second, Ms. Greene say you might consider making a gift a loan rather than an outright gift.  If the loan is handled properly, it might be a good way to help the grandchild and at the same time allowing them to make their own way in the world.
Third, Ms. Greene says a grandparent can create teaching moments.  Gifting stock or investments rather than cash can be a way of teaching grandchildren the value of money as an example.
Fourth, Ms. Greene says it is a good idea to delay a grandchild's gratification.  Gifting money at certain dates or events rather than on a regular basis can help grandchildren rely on their own resources first.
Fifth, Ms. Greene counsels to practice equality.  One of the most common reasons for litigation between family members if perceived favoritism. 
As you choose to gift assets, it is wise to take into account the feelings of family members and how said gifts will affect them in the long run.

Movie Review: Scavenger Hunt

Here's an inventive way to give away your estate. Have your relatives participate in a scavenger hunt where the winner inherits all. Scavenger Hunt (1979) is exactly that. In this comic movie, the relatives and even the servants compete for the prize: the $200 million dollar estate.

Check out this review.

William Shakespeare and Edward De Vere's Estates

No matter which side you take--William Shakespeare is "the" William Shakespeare or Edward De Vere is "the" William Shake-speare--it is of interest to look how their heirs inherited each of their estates.

The Stratfordian Shakespeare's Will

William Shakespeare of Stratford prepared a will before he died.

To his daughter Judith he willed:
- 100 pounds for a marriage portion and another 50 pounds if she renounced any claim to the Chapel Lane cottage.
- An additional 150 pounds if Judith lived another three years, but forbade her husband any claim to it unless he settled on her lands worth the 150 pounds.
- If Judith did not live another three years, the 150 pounds was to go to Shakespeare's granddaughter Elizabeth Hall.
- A silver bowl
To is sister, Joan Hart, he willed:
- 30 pounds
- Life estate with nominal rent in the Western of the two houses on Henley Street, which Shakespeare himself inherited from his father in 1601.
To Joan Hart's sons, his nephews, he willed:
-5 pounds to each of Joan's three sons.
To his granddaughter, Elizabeth Hall, he willed:
- All his silver plates, except the silver bowl left to Judith.
To the poor of Stratford he willed:
-10 pounds to the poor of Stratford.
To his friends he willed:
- His sword and various small bequests to local friends.
- Memorial ring to be bought for his lifelong friend Hamnet Sadler
- Memorial rings to be bought for John Hemynges, Richard Burbage, and Henry Cundell
To his wife, Anne, he willed:
- His "second best bed."
To his daughter, Susanna and Son-in-Law, John Hall, he willed
- "All the Rest of my Goods, Chattels, Leases, Plate, Jewels & Household stuff whatsoever after my debts and Legacies paid & my funeral expenses discarded."

Oxfordian Shake-speare's Estate

Edward De Vere was the 17th Earl of Oxford. He inherited the Oxford estate when his father died. Titled property usually was inherited by the oldest son in a nobleman's family. Edward De Vere had only one living son, Henry, from his second wife, Elizabeth.

Edward did sell some of his estate during his life, and established a trust fund for his three living daughters from his first wife, Anne. His three daughters, Elizabeth, Bridget, and Susan all married men of title as well.

The remaining estate went to his second wife, Elizabeth, and his son, Henry, who became the 18th Earl of Oxford.

What About Steve Jobs's Estate Planning?

Now that Steve Jobs has died there is speculation in the news regarding what place in technology ingenuity Apple, Inc. will play in the future. A less public issue of speculation is what will happen to Mr. Jobs's estate. Mr. Jobs during his life has been private regarding his philanthropy endeavors. Laurene Powell Jobs, Steve Jobs's widow, has very quietly been involving herself with education issues, women's issues, and other philanthropic causes. Two organizations founded by Ms. Powell Jobs are College Track and Emerson Collective. Both organizations strive to help individuals help themselves. Most likely, Ms. Powell Jobs will continue using Mr. Jobs's estate to further philanthropic causes important to both Ms. Powell Jobs and her deceased husband, Steve Jobs.

From our perspective as estate planners, the critical point is that Mr. Jobs seems to have done his estate planning right. We can say this because so little is being said (can be said) about it in the news. It seems everything has been done privately, confidentially, and competently. No news in estate planning is good news.

Here is an article with the Wall Street Journal touching on this issue.

Movie Review: Greedy

The movie Greedy (1994, rated pg-13) is about an extremely wealthy uncle (Kirk Douglas) who knows his greedy relatives (Ed Begley, Jr., Phil Hartman, Michael J. Fox) want his money. He puts them through various tests including hiring a beautiful nurse from England. While watching the fun, it is of interest to see all the estate planning issues a family can actually go through.

Protecting a Child From Him or Herself

The Wall Street Journal has an interesting article today regarding children who are not good with money then receiving an inheritance. The article explains ways of protecting that "spendthrift" child from blowing their inheritance. The full article can be read here.

We are experienced in "spendthrift" issues. Check out our website here.

Book Review: "Preparing Heirs"

Preparing Heirs by Roy Williams and Vic Preisser gives five steps in transferring family wealth successfully. The fives steps are as follows:

• Assessing Your Wealth Transition Plan


• Taking Action on Plan Deficiencies


• Preparing the Heirs


• The Heir's Self-Preparation Responsibilities


• Continuing Evaluation and Measurement

The book also gives examples of families that have successfully transferring wealth to future generations and those who were not successful. A good read. You can find the book here.

A Family Business That Is Still In The Family

Sometimes it is hard to get a family business past the first generation. A success story is L.L. Bean founded by Leon Leonwoood Bean. He began his business selling the "Maine Hunting Shoe" which is now called the "Bean Boot." The success of the business can be boiled down to staying true to the original business policy--quality outdoor products, especially good boots. In 1960, Leon Gorman, Mr. Bean's grandson, took the company from being a $4 million company to a $1 billion company. Mr. Gorman stepped down in 2001, but the business is still run by the family. L.L. Bean continues to be successful selling outdoor products, especially the "Bean Boot."

Read a fun article about Mr. Bean in the Wall Street Journal here.

Unique Way Of Sharing Wealth During Life

Jennings Osborne died this past Wednesday, July 27, 2011. He was the founder of the Arkansas Research Medical Testing Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. With the money he made from his testing center, Mr. Osborne turned to philanthropy. Mr. Osborne would host free tailgate parties before University of Arkansas Razorbacks' football games. He would sponsor fireworks displays. But the thing he became famous for was creating Christmas-light displays.

Mr. Osborne started his Christmas-light displays with his own home. In 1993, his neighbors sued saying his three million lights, two 80-foot Chrstimas-tree-shaped masts, and other Christmas paraphernalia was a nusance to the neighborhood. He lost. But this did not stop him. Instead, he began creating big Christmas displays elsewhere like the governor's mansion in Little Rock, Arkansas, former President Jimmy Carter's home in Plains, Georgia, Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and Elvis Presley's Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee.

Here is a nice obiturary article from the Wall Street Journal written by Stephen Miller regarding Jennings Osborne.

See us here for information regarding estate planning.

Pre-nup Contested on Claim Spouse is Rich

As reported by tmz, George Lazenby, who once played James Bond in 1969, is challenging his prenuptial agreement on grounds that his estranged wife and Baltimore native Pamela Shriver has a much bigger house and is so rich it makes him feel bad, and that his kids don't take him seriously. Pamela Shriver is a former tennis professional with 22 Grand Slam doubles titles and a 1988 Olympic gold medal. Lazenby is asking a judge to void the prenup and award him $16,133 in monthly support.

He says his wife is "30 times a millionaire" and he has only a million. Boo hoo. Is Lazenby essentially asking the court to void a prenup because it hurts his pride that his wife is so much richer than he? Not a very convincing argument. We say that if the pre-nup is valid, it's too late to change his mind now.

In Utah, courts do in fact honor pre-nuptial agreements, but only if they meet strict criteria. Pre-nuptial agreements are clearly the type of document you want a competent attorney to draft. At Hughes Estate Group we draft pre-nup agreements. We recently had one of our agreements challenged and upheld in litigation. We can help you do these agreements right.

Lost Inheritances

The Sacramento Bee reports that California's unclaimed property program is sitting on billions in forgotten money owed to thousands of businesses and individuals. It's from dozens of sources: overlooked bank accounts; stocks, bonds and dividends; uncashed paychecks; abandoned safe deposit boxes; misplaced insurance policies; utility bill refunds; or even that security deposit from your first college apartment.

In the last five fiscal years, California's unclaimed property office has returned $1.37 billion from more than 1.4 million accounts held by individuals and businesses, according to state controller's spokesman Jacob Roper.

How could so many lose track of so much?

"A lot of larger assets we're holding are inheritances that people don't know about," said Ruth Holton-Hodson, who oversees the state's unclaimed property program. "Older generations were very private about their incomes and often didn't share that with their children. They search our site and find, 'Oh, my goodness, Grandma had a bank account or Aunt Sally had 15 shares of GM.' "

In California you look at www.claimit.ca.gov or call 800-922-4647. In other states and Canada the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators has a site at missingmoney.com.

At Hughes Estate Group, we see unclaimed property issues as a sign of extraordinarily poor or nonexistent estate planning. Even for those with plans in place, the lesson here is simple: COMMUNICATE. You must communicate with your beneficiaries and fiduciaries where a complete list of all your assets and your will and trust can be found when you are gone.