Wired describes the rise of obituary pirates hijacking online death notices and obituaries on YouTube.
U.P. Family Succession Planning
Planning for an orderly transition from one generation to the next
Monday, September 25, 2023
Saturday, August 19, 2023
My parent has died. What now?
At the directly-named URL https://www.deadparentswhatnow.com, a site that addresses some of the practical issues, with a lightly humorous touch, such as:
My parents have literally just died. Please help.
- One of the (hopefully) few times you need to determine how to get rid of a body.
I'm back at home now, but my parents are still dead.
- How to deal with people who want to bring you lasagna in the immediate aftermath.
My parents are dead, but I can't prove it.
- You may be without death certificates, but you’re never without errands.
My parents are dead, and I have proof!
- Death certificates in hand, you’re now ready to battle bureaucracy at every turn — assuming you don’t misread the fine print.
Are your parents not quite dead?
- You don’t just need a to-do list. You need a to-die list.
Saturday, February 4, 2023
IRA distributions under SECURE
Tuesday, January 31, 2023
Michigan Treasury Reports
The reported increases in statutory figures for 2023 are:
Spouse's intestate share | 2102, MCL 700.2102 | 273,000 |
Spouse's intestate share | 2102, MCL 700.2102 | 182,000 |
Homestead allowance | 2402, MCL 700.2402 | 27,000 |
Exempt property | 2404, MCL 700.2404 | 18,000 |
Family allowance | 2403, MCL 700.2403 | 33,000 |
Small estates | 3982, MCL 700.3982 | 27,000 |
Sworn statement | 3983, MCL 700.3983 | 27,000 |
Terminating small trusts | 7414, MCL 700.7414 | 91,000 |
Saturday, January 7, 2023
The new year
Happy New Year to all!
Federal figures that will apply for the living and those who die in 2023:
- The per-person amount that is exempt from gift reporting requirements: $17,000.
- The estate/gift tax exemption equivalent is now $12.92 million per person.
The State of Michigan will announce updated probate figures later this month at this site.
Sunday, November 13, 2022
Who decides?
TMZ has a story this morning: "Aaron Carter died without a will... so now the State of California will decide who inherits his estate."
This is commonly found on lawyers' web sites and blog posts. "If you don't have a will, the state will decide where your property will go." That statement is untrue.
Each state has intestacy statutes, which provide a priority of inheritance if a person dies without a valid will. Those intestacy provisions apply only to "probate assets," that is, assets owned by the decedent in his own name. They do not apply to assets held in trust, to jointly-owned property, to property with transfer on death directions, or to retirement accounts (unless the owner did not make a beneficiary designation.)
What is true is that, if you do not want that order of priority followed, you need a will, a trust, or some other mechanism to make sure that does not happen.
The intestacy statute is intended and designed to follow what most people would want to happen to their money. The priority is, in general, spouse, children, parents, siblings, their children (nephews and nieces), grandparents, and their descendants (cousins).
It is emphatically not the case that a probate judge in California will make a decision about who will receive Carter's assets. The court will simply follow the intestacy laws.
Saturday, October 29, 2022
Medicare Advantage?
It's Medicare open enrollment season. The Retire Early site offers Top 5 things your Medicare Advantage sales agent won't tell you.
Obituary hijackers
Wired describes the rise of obituary pirates hijacking online death notices and obituaries on YouTube.
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The Lion Cub deed is an elusive creature. It is fleetingly mentioned on the web sites of some Michigan estate planning and real estate attor...
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We recently posted our commentary on the use of a so-called “lion cub” deed, noting that two or more people who are granted ownership of re...
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From Bloomberg: The IRS is coming for your Venmo income. The IRS is reported to have imposed a new requirement for Form 1099-K, on which a...