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Ultimate Curriculum 4 Adult Education

Estate Planning


Common Estate Planning Mistakes 
 How to Avoid Them 

An estate plans that works melds counseling-based estate planning to meet changing client objectives and a shifting legal environment.

Mistakes, such as, not updating after 3 years your current plan, unfunded living trusts, pre-2001 marital trusts, poor choice of substitute decisions-makers, lack of or inadequate disability planning, failure to plan for the payment of long-term care, and (mis)use of joint tenancy with adult children, will be examined so you can avoid these pitfalls. Also addressed are the hidden traps in beneficiary designations of retirement plans, insurance and annuities.


Joint Tenancy
The IED of Married Couples

Many married couples have all assets joint with right of survivorship. Upon one owner's death; his or her share of the asset passes to the remaining owner(s).

While there are advantages to joint ownership, there are many pitfalls to keep in mind. Unintended consequences abound to end up with your children disinherited or you home being sold to satisfy your adult child's debt. Students will learn how to see this IED, and avoid its explosion.

Beneficiary Designations
 The Hidden Trap 

Key assets, insurance, retirement and annuities pass via beneficiPlary designation. Despite methodical estate planning, many families will un-intentionally disinherit loved ones or have an un-necessary probate often triggered due to failure to integrate and coordinate the beneficiary designations. 

This in depth course will also address how to properly title a beneficiary designation.

Get That Will Written!


It’s never too early to get your “last will and testament” written. If you don’t have a will, you’re taking your chances at protecting your spouse, your kids, and your hard-earned finances. The financial security of your family is simply too important to put off. Learn what should be written in your will, the typical costs associated with writing a will, and what other considerations, resources and alternatives are available to you. In this two hour class, get the information you need to make informed decisions.


Many Power of Attorneys fail because of family disputes, poorly written documents or “off-the-shelf” products. As life expectancies continue to climb, it’s more important than ever to know how to appoint the right person to control your financial affairs when you can’t. Learn how to use co-agents, disclosure requirements to family members and to help build family harmony around this sensitive and important matter.

Get That Medical Directive Written!

The Virginia Department of Aging has stated that medical directive forms can be completed without the assistance of a lawyer, but you may want to consult one to ensure that you have completed it correctly. This class will ensure that you do so, especially considering that on July 1, 2009 the Advanced Medical Directives in Virginia were changed. This class is taught by an attorney who specializes in medical directives. Materials will be provided.

Non-Citizen Spouses
 Dual Citizen Estate Planning

Married couples in which one spouse is a non-citizen are treated differently than married couples where both spouses are U.S. citizens.

Generally, assets that pass between spouses at the first death are free from estate taxes due to the Unlimited Marital Deduction, no matter how large the estate. However, where the surviving spouse is a resident non-citizen, the Unlimited

Marital Deduction is not automatically available. Instead the IRS treats it as a gift, and limits it in amount. Learn how to use a QDOT. In addition, we will examine the concept of world wide taxation of property by the IRS at death of dual citizens who own property in different counties and how to plan ahead for tax efficient transfers.

PROBATE

Coaching-How to Control 
  Costs of Estate Administration 

This course will demonstrate 2 to 5% is too much to pay a lawyer or trust company to administer your pareents estate. Teachnicqes to control efficiency, cost and timely completion ofthe the administration will be discussed in detail. 

Students will leave the course knowinng how to preserve the legacy for the heirs, not the lawyers.

Probate: What Is It   
and How to Avoid It?

If you have a will; your estate will be probated. The laws have changed to make probate more efficient process. How to maximize these rules, interact with the Commission or Accounts when the executor inventors the estate and accounts on expenditures and distributions to heirs is one of the keys. 

Some estates, avoid probate by beneficiary designations of life insurance and annuities and retirement plans.Key factors in deciding to use a will or trust to avoid probate all together will be explored ion class discussion. 

From this, you should learn the answer of how best to handle your family's estate.

Don’t Let Probate Get You Twice 

Many own a second home or have bought a new home in anticipation of retirement in North Carolina, Florida, and other venues. Sine satisfy their drive to live in different locations with timeshares. Others have the family beach house at the shore in New Jersey that, hopefully, will be kept in the family over many generations. This course will explore different types of title for real property and family agreements to protect one's retirement and the legacy property, especially when one property is located outside of Virginia.

Selecting Your Executor

What are Fiduciary's Duties? Upon death a fiduciary called an executor or trustee is appointed. This is true even if you don't have a will or any estates plan. 

Why not take control and learn the 5 most import factors in appointing a fiduciary. The level of the executor or trustee's knowledge, capability with money and the understanding to manage the estate will be thoroughly examined. Most that attend walk out of the class with a firm sense of the person they will appoint executor of their will or trustee of their trust.

Blood Line Estate Planning for Your Children, 
Grand Children, Great Grand Children

Many smart parents employ some form of estate planning, most commonly with trusts. However, the manner in which the trust is structured can greatly affect whether your dispositive wishes are fulfilled. 

Without proper planning, circumstances such as a child's divorce or financial irresponsibility can result in unintended beneficiaries of your hard-earned assets. 

Elder Law

How To Protect Your Wealth When Re-Marrying

Why does one newly wed tend to have more wealth than the other?
How To provide for surviving spouse and children from prior marriages? How to change onerous QTIPs and Pre Nuptuals from earlier marriages be changed?

This practical course will address what often is not talked about until its too late --planning prior to the remarriage for the protection of all parties. In addition special post marital planning techniques will be revealed, and students shown haw to avail themselves of them without disruption of the family unit. 

Many older adults live together rather than marry due to property agreement and trusts they entered into in earlier parts of thehir lives. These agreements, using select methodologies, can be adjusted to build family harmony.

Seniors Survival Kit

Coordination of financial and estate planning will be thoroughly examined. The use of different types of trusts as different times of life for different purposes will be explained in plain English, including trusts to protect your residence.

Maximizing Capital Gain Exclusions  In Sale of Home

Many real estate markets around the country have experienced a dramatic decline in home values in recent years. If you are on a 'rolla coaster" with the wave upwards now down ward, you may be wondering what will happen when you sell your home. Do I owe capital gains? If the house is below market, can I take a deduction? The Obama administration is working on government offers to the homeowners that qualify. Property law, tax, government benefits from the Obama plan and use of a Revocable Living Trust are examined in this course.


Classes Addressing Special Circumstances

Special Needs Trusts for Special People

10% of our population copes with special needs that exist because of a disability, such as Autism, Down syndrome, traumatic brain injury and a variety of mental illnesses.

Planning to protect loved ones from conservatorship, probate, and avoid loss of government benefits will be presented in this practical course on the “ins and outs of special needs planning.


PET Estate Planning

Companion pets are popular in Northern Virginia. Close to 90% of pet owners view their animals as family members. But less than 25% have included their pets in their estate plan. After the owners death, pets without a plan are often destroyed. Recent Virginia law allows for a trust to be created for the care of a designated domestic or pet animal, which is legally enforceable and fair to the family.

Unmarried Couples and Unequal Rights 

Over 50% of couples that live together in the Unitied States are unmarried, You will learn, amongh other things 'how to" provide for the support of the surving partner
manage 'divorce' support and the forced, fire sale of the house limit tax liabilities at death protect the survivng partner's assets from the deceased partner's debts

This course addresses the estate planning for young professionals as wells as older adults who believe 'living together' solves problems and makes life easier. In fact unmarried couples, irrespective of sexual orientation, have none of the rights of a married couples. One can be denied visitation to a sick partner, pay shocking taxes at the first to die, and find one owns the house with the deceased partners's parents. Planning ahead is more, not less, important for an unmarried couple. Strategies will be explored and an unmarried couples. Actual property document will be distributed in class for unmarried couples.