Ohio Probate Lawyer Blog

Living trusts are an increasingly popular estate planning tool because they allow for both control and flexibility: the creator (also called settlor or grantor) of the trust can use and control trust assets just as if they were in his or her own name during life; after death, assets in the trust pass seamlessly to named beneficiaries under the guidance of a successor trustee. An attractive feature of living trusts for many people is that assets in a trust do not need to go through the probate process. Another advantage of living trusts is the ability to change, or even revoke them, if the settlor wishes. Here's what you should know about revoking or amending a living trust.

When Should You Revoke or Amend a Trust?

Any major life event should prompt you to at least review your estate plan, and possibly to update it. Such events include marriage, divorce, the death of a spouse, and the birth or adoption of a child or grandchild, among others.

If you find your trust is no longer adequate for your needs, the question becomes: do you amend or revoke it? Unless your original purpose for creating the trust no longer exists, an amendment is probably preferable. Read More

Probate litigation is on the rise, in Ohio and across the United States. One possible reason for the uptick in cases is tied to the increase in divorce over the last several decades. More people divorcing means more people remarrying, which means children from a first marriage might be pitted against a stepparent or step-siblings when it comes time to inherit. Of course, there are other reasons there might be an fight over a will or trust. A close relative who receives a smaller inheritance because of a bequest to a friend or caretaker might be suspicious that that person exerted "undue influence" over the deceased. Much, if not most, probate litigation regarding the validity of a will or trust is based on claims of undue influence. Let's take a look at what is involved in identifying (and proving) undue influence.

Proving Undue Influence in Ohio

The same scenario could be looked at in two completely different ways. Let's say that Mary is an older woman with limited mobility whose only child, Jeff, lives across the country. He rarely visits Mary, though he calls once a week or so. Mary has a neighbor, Tim, who drops by regularly. He helps her with things like cha… Read More

You likely already understand how important it is to have an estate plan, especially if you have significant assets. You may even have a plan, carefully crafted in conjunction with your estate planning attorney to achieve your goals. There is one step you probably haven't taken, though: discussing your estate plan, and its context, with your heirs. Here's why transparency matters in estate planning, perhaps more than ever.

Your parents may not have discussed their estate planning with you, except perhaps in the most vague of terms, such as where to find their will when the time came. They may have felt uneasy telling you details of their estate plan, and you may have felt even more uncomfortable asking. In the not-too-distant past, money was not something polite people discussed, even among family.

But there may have been another reason for your parents' reticence: a confidence that when it came time for you to manage their estate, you would have the experience and presence of mind to do so. Ask yourself this: are your children prepared to manage the legacy you plan to leave them? If not, how do you plan to change that? The reality is that you cannot do so unless y… Read More

Can a trust be changed after its creator has died? Unfortunately for beneficiaries, the answer is an almost certain "no." Let's talk about how trusts operate, and what that means for beneficiaries after the death of the trust creator, also known as the grantor, settlor, or trustmaker.

There are various types of trusts, but the most common and well-known is the revocable living trust, often just called a "living trust." Like all trusts, revocable living trusts involve three parties: the grantor; the trustee, to whom the trustee gives property to hold and manage; and the beneficiary, who benefits from the assets in the trustee's care. The trust instrument is the document that creates the trust, defines the rights and responsibilities of the parties, and sets the terms of the trust.

When someone makes a revocable living trust, they can occupy all three roles: grantor, trustee, and beneficiary. In most ways that matter, things are much the same as when the grantor owned the property in their own name. The grantor has complete control and use of the property in the trust, can make changes to the terms of the trust, and even end the trust altogether. The ability to termi… Read More

Very few people are eager to go into a nursing home or assisted living. Yet, as we age, that level of care becomes a necessity for many people. If physical infirmity doesn't keep us from caring for ourselves, memory issues, such as Alzheimer's, may cause us to need long-term care. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), over 40 percent of people will need care in a nursing home at some point, either on a temporary or permanent basis.

As of 2015, the most recent year for which figures are currently available, the median cost of a private nursing home room in the Dayton, Ohio area exceeded $100,000 annually. This figure is unlikely to decrease in the future.

Given the likelihood of needing care and the expense of skilled nursing care, there is an overwhelming expense looming for many families. Some people who can afford it and qualify for it purchase long-term care insurance. Many people also consult an elder law or estate planning attorney about Medicaid planning, with an eye to reducing countable assets so that they can qualify, sooner, to have Medicaid cover the cost of a nursing home stay.

What many people do not consi… Read More

Making a will is an intensely personal undertaking, and it frequently happens that the testator (person making the will) decides on a distribution of assets that at least one heir is unhappy with. In those cases, or in situations where there is conflict among family members, the testator may be worried about someone contesting the will after his or death. Enter the "no-contest" clause, also called an in terrorem clause.

What exactly is a no-contest clause? Just what you might expect: a provision that if an heir challenges a will in court and loses, he or she will inherit nothing. Because challenging a will successfully is not easy to do, the presence of a no-contest clause may be enough to discourage an heir who is simply trying to grab a bigger piece of the pie or make trouble for estranged family members.

Of course, in order for a no-contest clause to be effective as a deterrent, there must be some risk involved in challenging a will. If an heir has been disinherited altogether, or left a nominal amount, it may be worth it from his or her perspective to challenge the will. The "teeth" of the no-contest clause lie in the provision's… Read More

For various reasons related to tax issues and drafting challenges, joint trusts have not historically been popular with Ohio estate planning attorneys. Due to changes in tax law in the past several years (most notably an increase in the amount couples can exclude from estate tax), joint trusts have become a more attractive option for many couples. What is a joint trust, and should you consider having one?

Basics of Joint Trusts

All trusts have three roles: the grantor or trustmaker who creates the trust; the trustee who manages trust assets and makes distributions, and one or more beneficiaries, who receive distributions from the trust. A trust may be revocable during the grantor's lifetime, or irrevocable, meaning that the grantor gives up all control of assets once they are in the trust, and the grantor cannot revoke or amend the trust without the permission of all beneficiaries.

A joint trust is a revocable trust. Both parties to the trust are grantors of the trust, as well as both trustees and beneficiaries. In short, they have complete control over all trust assets, just as they did when those assets were in their own name before they were placed in t… Read More

The Ohio probate process can be daunting to navigate at the best of times, but when the estate includes rental property, the process becomes even more complex. If you are serving as executor or personal representative of an Ohio estate that includes income property, there are some important factors you must take into account. Here are some things you need to consider if you are dealing with rental property in probate.

Consideration #1: How the Property was Titled

If the deceased owned rental property, you, as executor, may need to step in and take action regarding the property, but this depends on how the property was held. If the property was held in trust, it will not need to go through probate at all, and will be managed by the named trustee.

If the property was not held in trust, but was held jointly with another person, the form of ownership will be important in determining what happens next. If the property was held as joint tenants with rights of survivorship, it will not go through probate. The surviving joint tenant(s) will automatically take the deceased person's interest in the property. If the property was held as tenants-in-common, there is no… Read More