Wills, Privacy and Joe Paterno

Wills are public records.  Any assets distributed by the will are also public.  In Hamilton County this info is all accessible  on-line.  

Joe Paterno's family recently was criticized because they asked for, and received, permission to keep his will under seal. After a bit of an outcry, they agreed to remove the seal.

A few thoughts on this issue:

1.  The will is vanilla - all of his assets will go to his trust agreement.  I see no reason to keep this info private other than general public figure hubris which thinks that laws and policies for everyone else do not apply to public figures.  c.f. Geithner, Tim and Rangel, Charles among others.

2.  By asking for an exception to the privacy rules, the family and its attorneys made this a public matter.  Now, they have attorneys in Cincinnati opining on the will and their privacy request when it would most likely have remained under the radar for everyone except those in State College.    

3.  The interesting info that the family would like to keep private is the net worth of JoePa.  This info could have been remained private if the trust were funded during JoePa's life, or if the financial assets had transfer on death designations.

I do not know if the assets were re-titled in his trust, but there is no excuse for not doing so.  Anyone who is  85 years old should make sure that his estate plan is current and assets are titled properly.  An 85 year old with an aggressive form of cancer should make sure to review his estate plan and asset titling as of yesterday.      

The Worst Estate Planning?

Fifteen years ago, a friend mentioned to me that divorce is the worst kind of estate planning.  Those words ring true not only for estate planning, but also financial planning.  Accordingly, here are 10 things a divorce lawyer will not tell you.

n.b.  It is purely coincidental that today is my 19th wedding anniversary.

Advice for Executors

In these 7 tips for executors, I think the two key tips are:

1.  Seek professional advice.
2.  Do not rush the process.  I advise my clients that the probate process is a marathon, not a sprint.  Of course, if the executor follows tip one, he would know this.  

You Have a Will, Now What?

Once you have a will, you should do the following to make the executor's eventual task easier:

1.  Inform your executor where the will is located.
2.  Place a list of your financial assets, including life insurance policies, with the will.
3.  Place a list of on-line passwords with the the will.
4.  Place a list of instructions about various items of personal property with the will.

Do not place the will in a safe deposit box - it will be inaccessible.

Living Wills - Making Them More Effective

Living wills are great conceptually, but can be vague when actually needed.  Some advisors propose making them more detailed and walking people through a lengthy series of questions about specific situations.  Because this topic makes clients squeamish on a good day, and because clients' wishes about death change as it becomes more imminent, people either would not complete a living will or it would not reflect their current wishes.  The proposed solution is no solution.

Instead, I recommend executing a health care power of attorney in addition to the living will.  The health care power of attorney allows  a family member to make decisions for the incapacitated client.  After executing the health care power of attorney, it is imperative to discuss wishes with the designee. Of course, with Obamacare's "death panels," perhaps this will all be moot.      

Avoiding Rogue Trustees

Choosing a trustee to manage funds for your children is second in  importance only to choosing a guardian for them.  I advise separating the trustee and guardian duties.   Unlike the author, if there is no perfect candidate, I recommend a bank or trust company rather than two "B" candidates.   After all two Bs, still average a B.  If there is not a suitable family member, go for the "A" of professional investments and management provided by a trust department.  

Telling Your Children About Your Estate Planning

What should you tell your children about your estate plan?

1.  Which child is in charge of the estate.
2.  Which child is in charge of the medical decisions and what your wishes are.
3.  Where the documents are located.

Do not tell them which child you love the most/least.