Although it is not common to suddenly receive a telephone call saying that you are the executor of a Grafton estate if you were unaware of the appointment, it does happen. For obvious reasons, it is best to discuss the appointment of executor with the person who you plan to nominate before including them in your Last Will and Testament. If someone created a Will and failed to discuss your appointment with you, now what do you do?

Although your first instinct may be to panic — don’t. The bottom line is that it remains your decision whether or not to accept the appointment. If you decide that you do not wish to serve as the executor, you can simply decline the appointment and the court will appoint someone else.

Assuming that you decide to accept the appointment, there are three important steps that you need to take immediately. Securing the decedent’s assets is the first of these steps. While a complete inventory and valuation will eventually need to take place, securing them to the best of your ability should be done now.

Petitioning the appropriate court to probate the decedent’s estate must also be done. The original Will should be filed along with the petition to probate.

Retaining legal counsel, as well as other professional assistance, should also take place shortly after you decide to accept the appointment. As long as he estate has sufficient assets, the cost of retaining legal assistance typically comes out of the estate assets.

The Law Offices of James A. Miller is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

The world lost yet another young star last July when singer Amy Winehouse died at the age of 27 from alcohol poisoning. Although young, Winehouse’s deep soulful voice shot her to the top of the music scene at an early age. As a result, she was thought to have left behind a sizeable fortune. She was also reported to have left behind a Last Will and Testament. Early reports were that she had even had the presence of mind to update her Will after her divorce from ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil. It appears as thought those reports were inaccurate.

Recent reports, based on filings in probate court, indicate that Winehouse died intestate. Winehouse never executed a Will. Since Winehouse died intestate, her parents will inherit her entire estate. Winehouse allegedly still had a close relationship to her ex-husband. In addition, she was said to be close to her older brother, Alex. Whether or not Winehouse intended for either of them — or anyone else — to receive anything form her estate we will never know. By not executing a Last Will and Testament, she lost out on the opportunity to leave anyone anything.

Winehouse provides yet another example of why estate planning is so important and why it should start at an early age. You never know when you will make your fortune — or when you will die. Your estate plan is the only chance you have to decide who will inherit your estate.

The Law Offices of James A. Miller is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

In today’s digital age, you can find almost any document on the Internet, including legal forms. For this reason, many people think that there is no reason to consult with an attorney prior to completing a Last Will and Testament. If the form can be found online, why spend the money for an attorney right? The truth of the matter is that the money you save by executing a do-it-yourself Will could cost your beneficiaries thousands in the long run, or could result in invalidating your Will altogether.

Your Last Will and Testament may be the most important legal document you create during your lifetime. Your Will is your only opportunity to decide who will receive your assets, including personal, sentimental, items upon your death. Your Will also determines who will oversee the administration of your estate when you die. If you have minor children, your Will allows you the option to nominate someone who you trust to become the guardian of your children in the event of your death. As you can see, your Will includes some of the most important decisions you will make during your lifetime.

Individual states have specific laws that govern how a Will must be executed and what language is required in a Will to effectuate certain decisions. Failure to abide by the laws of the state where you live can result in your Will being declared invalid. In addition, both state and federal tax laws have a direct and significant impact on your estate. Furthermore, tax laws change on a regular basis. Do-it-yourself Will kits often have outdated, incomplete or even incorrect information which could cost your beneficiaries thousands of dollars in taxes or completely invalidate your Will, making the money you saved pointless.

The Law Offices of James A. Miller is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Although financial advisors and attorneys have told us for years to start estate planning early on in life, many people put it off on the theory that “if I don’t have a fortune to protect yet then why do I need an estate plan?” The answer to that question is best illustrated by a recent example. Social media giant Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerburg and Dustin Moskovitz when the pair were still in their early 20s. Today, the pair are reportedly worth billions of dollars. Because they both created estate plans early on, they now stand to legally shift over $185 million to trust beneficiaries without paying gift taxes on the transfers. They did this by using an estate planning too known as a Grantor Retained Annuity trust, or GRAT.

Back in 2008, when both Zuckerburg and Moskovitz were both just 24 years old, they created a GRAT and used pre-IPO stock to fund the trust. A GRAT allows the grantor to fund the trust with assets of his choosing, in this case pre-IPO stock. The trust has a definite termination date, typically 5 to 15 years. During the lifetime of the trust, the grantor receives a yearly annuity. Upon termination of the trust term, the assets remaining in the trust are passed down to the beneficiaries of the trust. The key to a GRAT is to make the total annuity payments equal to the value of the assets used to fund the trust at the time of funding, plus an assumed interest rate. If the assets appreciate more than the assumed interest rate, the remainder is passed to beneficiaries with little or no gift tax obligation.

If you have been putting off creating an estate plan under the misconception that you have no need for one, now may be the time to reconsider that line of thinking.

The Law Offices of James A. Miller is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

If you are one of the many Worcester residents who has made charitable giving part of your daily life, then you should consider including your charities in your estate plan. Along with planning for your loved ones and family members in your estate plan, there is no reason that you cannot also include one or more charities as beneficiaries. Only your Worcester estate planning attorney can help you with the unique details of your estate plan; however, there are some key points to including charitable giving in your estate plan that may be beneficial to know ahead of time.

You may choose to provide a direct gift through your Last Will and Testament to the charity of your choice; however, a trust frequently offers probate and tax advantages that a direct bequest does not as well as more flexibility than a direct gift.

A charitable trust can be either a living trust or a testamentary trust.

If you establish a living trust, and distributions are to be made while you are still alive, then the trust will typically need to be an irrevocable trust.

The most common charitable trusts fall into one of two main categories — lead and remainder trusts

A Charitable lead trust provides income to a trust for a specific period of time and then gives the remainder to non-charitable beneficiaries, such as family members.

A charitable remainder trust provides income to non-charitable beneficiaries, such as family members, for a specific period of time, or life, and then gives the remainder to a charity.

A portion of the value of assets used to fund the trust may qualify as a current deduction for income tax purposes.

The amount that passes to a charity may qualify for an estate tax deduction upon your death, decreasing estate tax exposure.

You may be able to avoid paying capital gains taxes on assets that are used to fund a charitable trust.

The Law Offices of James A. Miller is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

As the world mourned the loss of singer, actress and producer Whitney Houston after receiving news of her death, her family began to make plans for what appeared to be a forthcoming battle over control of Houston’s estate. With the announcement this week that Houston left behind not only a Last Will and Testament, but a trust as well, everyone in Houston’s camp likely breathed a giant sigh of relief.

While Houston attained monumental success in her professional career, she was plagued by personal demons. Houston battled a drug and alcohol addiction as well as spending close to 20 years in a stormy relationship with singer Bobby Brown. Her marriage to Brown produced Houston’s only child, now 18 year old Bobbi Kristina. Bobbi Kristina was expected by most to inherit the bulk of, it not all, of Houston’s estate. The concern was that Bobbi Kristina reportedly battles her own drug and alcohol demons, making her potentially unfit to handle an inheritance valued at what she was expected to inherit. Houston’s family was concerned that Bobbi Kristina’s father would attempt to gain control over the inheritance by petitioning for conservatorship of Bobbi Kristina.

With the news that Houston left behind a trust, those concerns were all but abolished. While Bobbi Kristina did inherit all of her mother’s estate, Houston was smart enough to create a trust which allowed her to appoint a trustee of her choosing to oversee the management and distribution of the assets used to fund the trust.

The Law Offices of James A. Miller is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

If you are a philanthropist then you likely wish to include a mechanism to continue giving after your death in your estate plan. A charitable trust is often the perfect estate planning tool to accomplish this goal. Along with allowing you to continue to give to a cause that is dear to you, a charitable trust often offers attractive tax and probate avoidance benefits as well. If you want to combine charitable giving with non-charitable giving, either the charitable lead trust or the charitable remainder trust may be the solution. Both of these split interest trusts offer the ability to provide for both a cause and a loved one.

• Charitable lead trust: A charitable lead trust provides payments to a charity (or more than one) for a specific period of time after which the assets that remain in the trust pass to a non-charitable beneficiary. Often, the lead interest (portion that is paid out to the charity) will qualify for a charitable tax deduction. An example of a lead trust is as follows: You fund a trust with $150,000. The trust terms call for 5% of the trust assets to be paid out to a charity each year for ten years with the remainder interest paid to your children upon termination of the ten year term.
• Charitable remainder trust: A charitable remainder trust works in reverse of how a charitable lead trust operates. Both a charitable and non-charitable beneficiary are designated. The non-charitable beneficiary receives a portion or percentage of the trust for a specified period of time after which the remainder interest passes to the charity. In the above example, assume that the trust terms call for $1,000 to be paid to your son each year for his lifetime. After his death, the remaining trust assets will then pass to the named charity.

The Law Offices of James A. Miller is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

If you are in the process of creating an Auburn trust, you will need to appoint a trustee for your trust. Whether your trust is a simple pet trust, or a complex generation skipping trust, the choice of trustee is one of the most important aspects of creating your trust. Before making the decision, there are a few factors that you should take into account in order to ensure that you make the right decision.

• Willingness to Serve: Before spending a significant amount of time debating the suitability of a potential trustee, don’t forget to actually ask the person if he or she is willing to serve.
• Location of Trust Assets and Beneficiaries: Some trusts have significant tangible assets as part of the trust funds. If this is the case in your trust, you may wish to select a trustee who is physically located near the assets in order to better facilitate the management of the assets. Close proximity to the beneficiaries can also help with communication between the trustee and the beneficiaries.
• Trust Discretion: If your trust allows the trustee a significant amount of discretion with regard to disbursements to beneficiaries, be sure to select a trustee with sound judgment.
• Relationship of the Trustee to the Beneficiaries: Appointing an unpaid family member can certainly save a significant amount of money in some cases; however, when the trustee has a relationship with the beneficiaries, as is the case when you appoint a family member in many cases, you have the potential for a conflict of interest at some point down the road.
• Financial Ability and Experience: Not all trusts require the trustee to have a significant amount of experience or financial ability; however, if yours does, make sure you choose a trustee that has both.

The Law Offices of James A. Miller is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

You may have heard the term “spendthrift trust” at some point in time. Understanding how a spendthrift trust operates and what the purpose of one is can help you determine whether or not creating one should be part of your Worcester County estate plan.

All trusts require you, as the grantor, to appoint a trustee, name at least one beneficiary and designate assets to fund the trust. Trusts have become an increasingly attractive component of a Worcester County estate plan, in part because of the wide variety of trusts available for use. Specific purpose trusts allow the grantor to create the trust that works best for his or her specific needs and circumstances. A spendthrift trust, is a specific purpose trust that allows the grantor to retain additional control over the trust assets beyond that which a basic trust provides.

Although the trust terms go a long way toward retaining control over trust assets, once you create a trust and name a beneficiary, the beneficiary gains a legal interest in the trust assets. Unfortunately, this sometimes means that the beneficiary assigns his or her interest as collateral for a loan or loses his or her interest as a result of an unpaid debt.

By adding the appropriate state specific language into a trust you can create a spendthrift trust. The added language serves to prevent the beneficiary from assigning his or her interest to any third party for any reason. In addition, the spendthrift provision prevents a third party from reaching the trust assets as a mechanism to satisfy a debt owed by the beneficiary. Consult

The Law Offices of James A. Miller is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

As an Auburn resident, you have likely executed a Last Will and Testament at some point in time. If you are like many people, once you prepared and executed your Will, you put it safely away and haven’t given it much thought since. Updating your Will, however, can be as important as creating the Will in the first place. Many events or changes can prompt a Will update; however, there are three major life changes that always warrant considering a Will update.

A recent divorce is good reason to update your Will. If you are like many people, when you were married you executed Wills that gave the bulk of your estate to each other, known as reciprocal Wills. Now that you are divorced, however, you may not wish your ex-spouse to receive assets from your estate. If you fail to update your Will, however, that is exactly what may happen in the event of your death.

Marriage, is another important life change that prompts a Will update for opposing reasons. When you marry, you may wish to add your spouse to your Will to ensure that he or she receives assets from your estate or specific gifts upon your death.

The birth of a child or grandchild should also prompt a look at your Auburn Will. By naming your children or grandchildren specifically in your Will, you avoid the possibility of confusion or litigation regarding who your heirs are in the event of your death.

Consult with your Auburn Estate Planning attorney regarding updating your Will if you have experienced any of these major life changes.

The Law Offices of James A. Miller is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.