Holt 1 21-2012

• 1. Holt Community Education January 21, 2012 This class is intended for educational purposes only and should not be deemed legal advice. Anyinformation you choose to share in this classroom setting is not subject to attorney-client privilege.

2. Wills vs. Trusts Whats the Difference?Last Will & TestamentLiving Trust Agreement Assets passing through will Assets passing through trustsubject to probate not subject to probate Court costs No court costs Public court file Private agreement Less control of assets More control of assets Provides for distribution of Provides for your care foryour assets at death your lifetime and distribution of your assets at death 3. Apple Trees & Estate Plans 4. Congratulations on your new apple tree! 5. Important Care/Watering Instructions:AT HARVEST TIME, DISTRIBUTE FRUIT EQUALLY TO CHILDREN. 6. To create a Will, youll need to supply someinformation about yourself and your family.Some law firms will request that you complete a fill-in-the-blank form about your wishes. 7. A Last Will & TestamentTells the Probate Court:- Who You Are.- Who Your Natural Heirs Are.- Who Will Raise Your MinorChildren and/or Manage theChildrens Inheritance UntilAge 18.- Who Should Settle Your Estate.- Who Should Receive Your Estate,And How it Should be DividedUpon Your Death. 8. At Your Death:With a Will, yourpersonal representativeadministers your assetsthat are subject toProbate. 9. At the death of the Testator, the job of the Personal Representative(formerly known as Executor) under a Will is to Probate the Estate. 10. Probate requires a serious of documents to be filed with the Courtand mailed to all Interested Parties. There are significant costs toprobating a Will, including Court Costs and Fees, Inventory Fees andAttorney Fees. 11. Probate takes a minimum of 8 months to a year, but can take as longas two- three years or many more, depending on the circumstances. 12. Once the Personal Representative has complied with all probaterequirements, the Estate may be distributed to those entitled to it, inthe shares or portions set forth in the Will. 13. Congratulations on your new apple tree! 14. Important Care/Watering Instructions:See Enclosed 15 Page Booklet for SitePreparation, Staking, Fertilization, Watering, Protection Against Deer, Avoiding Pests, Pruning Tips to Maximize Yield, Proper Harvesting,Fruit Packaging, Storage & Delivery. Added Bonus Apple Recipes for Success! 15. A Well-Drafted TrustAgreement States:- Who You Are- Who is Responsible forAdministering Your Trust- Who Receives Your TrustEstate, At What Time & ForWhat Purpose-What the Trustee Needs toKnow to Do Their Job 16. A Trust Agreement Takes A Little Extra WorkYoull typically do more work to SET UP a TRUSTthan you would with a WILL.Youll gather information about your assets, sothat your trust can be funded. 17. You may have to visit your banks, creditunions, and other financial institutions tofund or transfer your assets into your trust. 18. You can now do some of the work online.Be thorough. Double-check to make sure eachasset has been correctly funded to the trust. 19. You dont lose control over the assets inyour trust in fact, with a typicalrevocable trust, youll be serving asyour own trustee for your competentlifetime.So for example, when you go groceryshopping, you are using your powers astrustee to expend trust funds for yourbenefit.And there are no limits! 20. You can change banks or financialadvisors, you may sell your homeand buy a new one or even sellyour home and travel theworld, spending every last dime.Just because your assets are heldby a revocable trust doesntrestrict your ability to do whatyou please with your assetsduring your lifetime. 21. If you are unable to care foryourself, your successortrustee may take over the roleof administering the trust foryour benefit. 22. At Your Death:With a Trust, YourTrustee AdministersYour Estate Subject tothe Rules of the Trust. 23. By avoiding probate, your Trust minimizes costs andexpenses, saving more of your estate for your beneficiaries. 24. Trusts are often used to maintaincontrol of a beneficiarysinheritance, providing funds for acollege education, to buy a home orstart a business. 25. Same Apple Tree.Different Instructions.Which Estate Plan Would You Rather Have? 26. The Timeline IllustrationUnderstanding the Role of Potential Documents in Your Estate PlanToday IncapacityDeath Lets pretend that today we are meeting to sign some typical estate planning documents. You may recognize the names of some of these documents, as they may be part of your estate plan. 27. The Timeline IllustrationUnderstanding the Role of Potential Documents in Your Estate PlanToda IncapacityDeatyDPOA Eff. Immediately h DPOA Eff. on Incapacity One of the most simple, yet powerful documents is the General Durable Power of Attorney. There are two types of General Durable Powers of Attorney. The first is Effective Immediately. The second is Springing, or Effective Upon Your Incapacity. The person you nominate for this role is called your agent or attorney-in-fact. 28. The Timeline IllustrationUnderstanding the Role of Potential Documents in Your Estate PlanToda Incapacity DeatyDPOA Eff. ImmediatelyhDPOA Eff. on IncapacityHealth Care Power ofAttorney A Health Care Power of Attorney is effective only upon your incapacity. The person serving under a health care power of attorney is your patient advocate. Michigan law provides that 2 physicians or a physician and a licensed psychologist must determine in writing that an individual lacks the mental capacity to make their own medical treatment decisions before the document can be used. 29. The Timeline IllustrationUnderstanding the Role of Potential Documents in Your Estate PlanLIFETIME DOCUMENTSTodaIncapacity DeatyDPOA Eff. Immediately h DPOA Eff. on Incapacity Health Care Power of Attorney Last Will & Testament These documents appear on the LIFETIME side of the timeline. Next, lets take a look at another commonly used estate planning document, this time on the POST-DEATH side, the Last Will & Testament. The person who administers your will is called a personal representative. 30. The Timeline IllustrationUnderstanding the Role of Potential Documents in Your Estate PlanLIFETIMEPOST-DEATHTodaIncapacityDeatyDPOA Eff. ImmediatelyhDPOA Eff. on IncapacityHealth Care Power ofAttorney Last Will & Testament Revocable Living TrustUnlike the Last Will & Testament, a typical Revocable Living Truststarts on the LIFETIME side of the timeline, during which you maytransfer assets into your trust, and perhaps even serve as your owntrustee.The person administering your trust is called your trustee. This maybe you, or the person who takes over as your successor due to yourresignation, incapacitation or death. 31. The Timeline IllustrationUnderstanding the Role of Potential Documents in Your Estate PlanLIFETIMEPOST-DEATHTodaIncapacityDeaty DPOA Eff. Immediately hDPOA Eff. on IncapacityHealth Care Power ofAttorney Last Will & Testament Revocable Living Trust You serve as your own trustee for your lifetime, as long as you are competent to do so. A successor trustee or here, due to your may take over heredeath. due to your incapacity 32. Not all trusts are created equally JO ANNE HINDS REVOCABLE LIVING TRUST NO. 1 JO ANNE HINDS, currently residing at 999 MAIN STREET, ANYTOWN, MI 49999 hereby makes and establishes this revocable living trust, to be known as the JO ANNE HINDS REVOCABLE LIVING TRUST NO. 1 DATED MAY 12, 2010, reserving unto herself the exclusive right to amend or revoke the trust at any time during her lifetime, with JO ANNE HINDS as Settlor (hereinafter referred to asSETTLOR) and JO ANNE HINDS as trustee (TRUSTEE), for the purpose of providing asset management assistance during the lifetime of Settlor and to effect the distribution of the trust estate upon Settlors death. 33. Declaration and Agreement of Trust Jo Anne Hinds Trust1. My name is Jo Anne Hinds. My address is 999 Main Street, Anytown, Michigan 49999.2. I am the creator of this trust. Under Michigan law, the creator of the trust is known as the Settlor. I also serve as the initial trustee of my trust.3. The name of my trust is the Jo Anne Hinds Trust.4. The date of this trust agreement is October 11, 2010.5. I may change (amend) or cancel (revoke) my trust at any time during my lifetime, as long as I remain competent.6. I create this trust agreement to provide my trustee with instructions about how to manage my trust during my lifetime and how to administer my trust and distribute my assets at my death. 34. What Can You Do Yourself to Prepare? Make a list of yourbeneficiaries Note if there are stringsattached to the gifts Make a list of people youtrust to carry out your wishes(with at least one alternate) Make a list of special itemsyoud like to give Make a list of your assets real estate, financialaccounts, stocks, investments, businesses 35. Jo Anne Hinds - Attorney at LawAdvising Families Just Like Yours Since 1994 Wills, trusts, powers of attorney Estate planning for clients of all ages House calls exclusively, at no additional charge Weekday evening and Saturday consultations Free 30 minute initial telephone consultationsThank you for attending this community education class. Please complete the survey and be sure to include your email address!