Anthony S. Park

It is helpful to know what happens to your probate vs. non-probate assets when thinking about your estate plan or your future inheritance. Do you really know how assets transfer upon your death? You may think there is a shortcut to use in your estate planning but read below to see what really happens. First, there are in-court and out-of-court assets. In-court means that there is a type of asset t...

We’ve previously talked about the “F.I.R.E.” movement (Financial Independence and Retire Early). Most people assume that early retirement is a universally good thing. But what are some of the unexpected drawbacks of leaving the workforce early? 1. Not as Happy as You Expected Generally, retirement makes you happy, but the increase in happiness was already priced in. It’s not like an instant happin...

What happens if the executor dies during probate? It depends on how far along you are in the probate process. Probate Court Process Just Started If no one has been officially appointed yet, you either restart the court process or amend your original papers . For example, Matt’s dad died and his mom hired a lawyer to start probate to appoint her as executor. But before it was finalized , she passed...

Bitcoin is getting more mainstream every day. But new bitcoiners need to be aware of the unclaimed funds problem. Hopefully we can contribute to a solution. How do Unclaimed Funds Work, Generally? The first level of prevention of loss is password recovery. This is not part of unclaimed funds, but for banks and other custodians. If your bank account is dormant (meaning no activity for a long time),...

A recent example of headaches and costs if you delay probate: Lou’s mom died owning a co-op apartment in New York. Since there was no mortgage, Lou and his sisters didn’t think there was any rush to deal with it. More than a year passed, and the co-op wanted clarity on who the legal owner is. Lou and his sisters each took turns saying they’d handle it, then dropped the ball. Finally, the co-op got...

Let’s review a real-world case study of a client’s plan to transfer his bitcoin upon his death. This looks like an elegant solution, so let us know if you see any major red flags! Cloned wallets and sharded seeds The client’s plan focused on clone wallets and sharded seeds . The plan starts with two clone hardware wallets. A hardware wallet is like a minicomputer that plugs into your USB drive, bu...

We’ve talked about mistakes when choosing the witnesses to your will ( 5 Mistakes With DIY Wills and Witnesses ) ,  but what actually happens if you can’t track down a witness during the probate process? Witnesses to a will cannot be found What does it mean when the witness cannot be found? First, it could be that the witness has passed away. Second, it could mean that they left the state or the c...

After we published When Does the Executor Tell the Beneficiaries , many listeners and clients have asked: how does the court know who to notify? Great question; the answer depends on who the heirs are. If survived by many heirs If the person who passed is survived by many heirs, the court relies on a system of checks and balances. The court sort of assumes that one of the other heirs will step up...

Many people make this mistake with personal property when creating their estate plan: They include a long laundry list of the tiniest items in their official, legal will. We’ll discuss why this can be a problem, and what you should do instead. Leaving personal property in a will It is very common to leave personal property in a will. However, it can cause problems during the probate process. Perso...

In Episode 206 we talked about how to set up a trust. This time, we’ll talk about how to manage a bitcoin trust as the trustee. How to Transfer Bitcoin to Trustee As we discussed in Episode 206 , there are a couple of ways to transfer control of the trust to the trustee. These are the dead man’s switch, sharding, and even old-school envelopes. The dead man’s switch requires the trust maker to hit...

In a recent case, Liz’s dad had bought a co-op with his girlfriend. Liz’s dad broke up with his girlfriend but continued to co-own the apartment as “ tenants-in-common .” Liz’s dad passed away, so what happens to the co-op now? What Happens When a Tenant in Common Dies? Unless there is a specific percentage for the tenants in common, the property divides equally. If they had owned as “joint tenant...

Recently, our solo ager client, Julie, moved into a long-term rehabilitation facility. Thankfully, her health is stable, but her bills are starting to fall behind. No plan: What is Article 81 Guardianship? An Article 81 guardian is someone that takes over your financial affairs when you have no prior plan. By walking you through this situation, we will show you what can happen if you fail to plan....

Going through probate is a grueling 1-to-2-year process. Would you want to go through all that if you don’t even get anything out of it? If you think the estate may be insolvent, consider hiring a professional executor. What’s an Insolvent Estate? An insolvent estate is when the decedent’s debts are greater than the assets. For example, the mortgage, credit card debt, and medical bills are greater...

Cryptocurrency (such as Bitcoin) is a new and unique asset. It’s sort of like cash, personal property, and intellectual property all in one. You need to plan for this type of asset in a different way than you would for your bank or brokerage account. If you want a revocable trust for your bitcoin, you’ll need both a legal plan and a technical plan. What to Include in Your Bitcoin Estate Plan? If y...

This is “Sam’s” cautionary tale of trying to DIY his dad’s estate over four years, with zero progress. I like to call this a Sisyphus story . Sisyphus was a figure from Greek mythology whose punishment for eternity was to push a heavy stone up a hill, but right when he would get to the top, the stone would come sliding back down to the bottom for him to start over again for all eternity. That is w...

Many of our Solo Ager clients want to make sure they don’t leave anything to a relative who is distant, estranged, or they just dislike. Here are a couple of common misconceptions - and the best solution. Can’t I just omit them from the Will? The assumption is, “If I omit them from my Will, they have zero involvement, right?” Unfortunately, that is not how the process works. They will still receiv...

Linda spent six months working with a general lawyer (meaning someone who practiced personal injury, litigation, and a dash of probate on the side). There was not much progress in those six months, so Linda became frustrated and transferred the case to us. Sadly, we had to basically start from scratch, because the general lawyer did essentially nothing. What causes probate delays? Bad lawyers In L...

Bitcoin is currently a popular topic. Here, we are discussing the risk of theft verses risk of loss with these types of funds, specifically why that matters in the context of estate planning. We are by no means experts in this subject, but we’ve done our homework. Estate planning for Bitcoin can feel like you are in a Divinci Code movie, with secret codes and memorized phrases. It can feel like a...

Another question that we receive often is “should I name a trust as beneficiary of my estate?” In a recent case, Rhonda reached out to us, because she wanted the benefits of a trust (avoid probate, reduce chance of a “will contest,” etc.), but she was not quite ready for the headache of a full-blown trust setup. In her particular situation, naming her trust as beneficiary makes sense. If you are c...

Instead of appointing a family member to administer an estate, you can hire a professional executor. We often get asked if this is a safe and better route. In a recent case, Sean contacted us to discuss this option. In his particular situation, he is from a blended family. His mother died and she is survived by three adult kids and a stepfather who was separated from his mother for a long time bef...

Happy New Year! Solo Ager experts Joy Loverde, Sara Geber, and Carol Marak were kind enough to share their thoughts with us on what Solo Agers should map out in the new year. Here are your seven new year resolutions from your favorite Solo Ager experts: Joy Loverde , is the author of two books, The Complete Eldercare Planner and Who Will Take Care of Me When I’m Old . She is an expert in this area...

You may be surprised to learn that we receive requests quite often from people who wish to change their probate lawyer. This was the exact situation one of our clients was facing recently. “Linda” started her probate case with another lawyer but realized along the way that he was not doing a good job. So, she reached out to us to take over the case. Here’s a look at how that works. First, from our...

In this case, “Robin,” a solo ager, is looking to update her estate plan. She is divorced and has two biological daughters. One is living abroad and one not on good terms with her mother. One lives too far away to be a part of the estate plan and the other has been neglectful and the relationship is strained. For these reasons, she does not want to give her inheritance either daughter. How to Disi...

Believe it or not, we have clients to do not wish to accept their inheritance. Although extremely rare, there is actually no legal obligation to accept, and it’s completely okay to decline. There are often situations where it is best. In a recent case, our client “Evette” lost her long-time boyfriend. They were never legally married but were practically husband and wife. Everyone knew them as a co...

Quite often we are asked by family members and heirs what the process is to sell a deceased person’s home. It can be a complex and typically you should have a lawyer, but this blog shares a general understanding of how it works and what you can do to get started. Did the Deceased Own Property? While most people assume that the decedent owned their home, we have seen on many occasions that isn’t th...