Estate Planning

Your June 21 article, "Living Trusts: A Shortcut Around Probate to Help Heirs," was very misleading. The statement that "serious estate planning should begin once an individual has a net worth . . . of $600,000" is hogwash! Estate planning is just as important for the average person as it is for the wealthy. Serious estate planning should begin with anybody who has an estate of more than $60,000 because that is when probate begins. The purpose of estate planning is to reduce or eliminate the federal estate tax, as well as to eliminate all probate.

"Spiritual" estate planning is becoming a hot topic for baby boomers who want to make sure their values are passed down along with their money, financial planners say. Bequests to charities are up 19% in a year, according to Charity Navigator, a nonprofit that monitors charities. But it goes beyond leaving money to a favorite group, said South Florida attorney Alice Reiter Feld. "It's leaving money with a purpose," she said. That extends into deciding how to give money, or not, to family members, Feld said.

A free forum on "Living Trusts and Estate Planning" will be presented from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Friday at the Cypress Senior Center, 9031 Grindlay St. The discussion will be led by Clifford P. Ricketson, a representative of the Alliance for Mature Americans. Topics will include how to avoid or reduce estate taxes and how a living trust allows a person to keep control of assets. Information: (714) 229-6776.

Dear Liz: We married late in life and each of us brought separate property to the marriage. One spouse has four children and the other none. We have a marital trust that allows for the spouse upon death to receive the entire estate. Upon the death of both spouses, how would you draft a provision that would allow the remainder of one spouse's separate property to be allocated to her children and the other spouse's separate property to be donated to a charitable foundation? Answer: Instead of allowing each other to inherit everything outright, you might want to consider a bypass trust.

Re the article on living trusts (June 21): The statement that "serious estate planning should begin once an individual has a net worth of $600,000" is hogwash. Serious estate planning should begin with anybody who has an estate over $60,000 because that is when probate begins. Your article is misleading. The purpose of estate planning is to eliminate the federal estate tax, as well as to eliminate all probate. Probate takes a long time. Probate is expensive. For example, Marilyn Monroe's estate took 18 years to settle, and probate fees were in excess of $1 million.

To help the community with estate planning, Mission San Juan Capistrano's newly established Estate Design Center will host its first monthly informational seminar today. Tax lawyers and financial planners will be on hand to present the free workshop. "Estate taxes can dramatically reduce the amount of wealth passed on to heirs," said mission administrator Jerry Miller. "We are providing these seminars as a public service."

How long has it been since you put your mutual funds through an estate-planning checkup? Heirs, death, taxes and probate are not the first things most people think about when they start investing. But such factors are important. For example, fund companies report dividends, account balances and the number of shares bought or sold. But they typically don't list any designated beneficiaries or remind investors to update their choices.

A public workshop on financial and estate planning will be held tonight at Cal Lutheran University. Speakers at the workshop "Wealth: Once You Have It, How to Keep It" will discuss investing in a changing world economy, the pitfalls and benefits of living trusts and wills, and money management for the very rich.

Estate planning is an often overlooked obligation that if neglected can wreak havoc with family members left behind. Thomas E. Stindt, a Woodland Hills lawyer and frequent correspondent to Legal View, shared his frustration about several neglectful clients in a letter earlier this year: "The accumulation of property over a lifetime of work and saving, and the growth of investments or a family business all involve a responsibility, and it is one which is frequently overlooked.

John R. Cohan, 70, an estate planning attorney who wrote a textbook showing other lawyers how to draft living trusts, died Dec. 29 in Las Vegas of complications following a heart attack. Cohan, who practiced with the Los Angeles-based firm Irell & Manella from 1955 until his retirement in 1994, wrote several books and articles on personal financial planning and taxation. Best known among his colleagues was "Drafting California Irrevocable Trusts and California Revocable Living Trusts."

Dear Liz: I have over $100,000 to invest, any suggestions? A quick and simple answer is fine. Answer: Your question doesn't have a quick and simple answer. How you should invest the money depends on too many factors, starting with what you plan to do with the money. If you want it to go toward your retirement and you have 20 years or more until you quit work, then putting some or all of the cash into a diversified mix of stock mutual funds or exchange-traded funds makes sense.

Dear Liz: I have always carried more debt on credit cards than I should have. However, I have always been responsible in making payments. Before the economic crisis, my credit scores were around 780 and I had all the access to credit I needed. But my lenders have slashed my credit lines and closed accounts. Suddenly I find myself using 90% of my available credit, not because I'm spending more but because my credit lines have been reduced. Last I checked, my scores were around 690, and I haven't had a late payment in more than seven years.

If you're rich, the best estate planning advice would be to die quickly. If you're not, the best advice is to either review or rewrite your estate planning documents to make sure your heirs aren't left high and dry if you die. That's because estate taxes that could allow Uncle Sam to nab up to 45% of your bequeathed assets are currently -- and very temporarily -- kaput. A decadelong phase-out of the estate tax eliminated the tax completely as of January. The catch: If nothing's done, estate taxes will boomerang back to historic levels in 2011.

Jodi Binstock has the long resume of a steadily employed Hollywood creative type: She has directed movies and plays, put in stints working for TV networks and had her share of fallow periods. Her income has gone up and down. And as the single mother of a 10-year-old, she's chosen frequently in recent years to bypass some well-paying but demanding gigs in favor of work that lets her get home by dinnertime. A decade of that, however, has left Binstock, 50, in a financial bind. FOR THE RECORD: Money Makeover: An article in Sunday's Business section that featured a financial makeover of Jodi Binstock identified her as the director of the online series "Web Therapy."

Chas Rampenthal expects to get more business in the wake of Michael Jackson's death, but he doesn't peddle CDs, posters or celebrity memorabilia. Rampenthal sells online wills. And as general counsel of LegalZoom.com, he noticed a sharp uptick in demand when model Anna Nicole Smith died in 2007, triggering a messy battle over her estate. "All that publicity reminded people they should have an up-to-date will," he said. The same could happen as Jackson's estate gets sorted out.

Chas Rampenthal expects to get more business in the wake of Michael Jackson's death, but he doesn't peddle CDs, posters or celebrity memorabilia. Rampenthal sells online wills. And as general counsel of LegalZoom.com, he noticed a sharp uptick in demand when model Anna Nicole Smith died in 2007, triggering a messy battle over her estate. "All that publicity reminded people they should have an up-to-date will," he said. The same could happen as Jackson's estate gets sorted out.

Estate taxes are becoming less of a threat to the average American family, but that doesn't eliminate the need for estate planning, experts say. To drive home the point, financial planners cite horror stories, such as this one about a Beverly Hills woman who died without a will. Under California law, her three daughters were entitled to share her estate equally. A probate judge put them equally in charge of making decisions.

Gerald M. Condon, 75, a Santa Monica lawyer who co-wrote a popular book about estate planning, died Aug. 31 at St. John's Hospital after a long battle with lymphoma, his son Jeffrey Condon said. Gerald Condon used the experiences gathered in 35 years of family inheritance planning in the 1995 book "Beyond the Grave: The Right Way and the Wrong Way of Leaving Money to Your Children (and Others)," written with his son Jeffrey.

A 6-foot-wide painting of toga-clad revelers in a lush landscape by Joseph Mallord William Turner fetched $13 million Thursday at Sotheby's in New York. "The Temple of Jupiter Panellenius Restored" by the 19th century British artist, sold by art dealer Richard Feigen, had an estimated price range of $12 million to $16 million. An anonymous phone bidder purchased the work. The price includes a commission. Feigen, 78, who attended the auction, purchased the Turner in 1982 at Christie's in London for 648,000 pounds.

Leona Helmsley was a nice mom -- to her dog. Just look at her will. The multimillionaire hotel owner, whose nickname was the Queen of Mean, left nothing to her late son's children when she died last year. But her beloved Maltese named Trouble got $12 million to keep him in the manner to which he was accustomed. It became a national joke, but it also put a spotlight on a serious concern.