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Estate Planning News: January 2015
A Quarterly Compilation of Important Estate Planning News
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R & R
A "Just For Fun" Column
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For each quarterly newsletter, a member of our staff will share a recent trip, experience, restaurant, movie, etc., that provided them with some much needed Rest and Relaxation. We hope that this column gives you something enjoyable to read in addition to our extremely important, yet sometimes not always "fun", Estate Planning News.
Walt Disney World
Over the Thanksgiving holiday, my in-laws took my 3 year old and 18 month old to Disney World. Begrudgingly, they invited my wife and I to attend. Disney World remains a truly "magical place" for all ages. The joy of my children and the excitement in their eyes are memories that will be difficult for my wife and I to forget. Luckily, we took hundreds of pictures that can be used to refresh our recollections.
Some of the magical experiences were meeting Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and the many other characters. The park ride, "It's a Small World," proved a favorite of everyone from 18 months to 64, we all enjoyed it the first, second, third, and fourth time. The song plays often in my head along with images of my awestruck children. Additional Disney highlights for all ages were the safari ride in the Animal Kingdom and the Dumbo ride in Fantasyland.
My wife and I were "banished" to the Magic Kingdom one evening so the grandparents could have unfettered spoiling time. While there, my wife and I rode Space Mountain, the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train roller coaster, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - all great rides. We ate overlooking It's a Small World before watching the Electric Light Parade on our way to Cinderella's Castle for the fireworks display, which were both fantastic.
It was a very memorable trip. I know my three year old speaks for me when he asks daily, "When are we going back to Disney?"
R&R by: Logan K. Philipps
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Dear Friend of Resch and Root,
 We'd like to welcome you to the new year and our first eNewsletter of 2015. We are starting our new year with a Super Lawyer Rising Stars designation for one of our attorneys, take a look below to find out who received this honor. In this issue, we will discuss a few new opportunities available to you when it comes to accessing your estate plan documents. We look forward to having the option to better serve your personal preference when it comes to accessing and communicating these sensitive documents. We will also take a look at the subject of trust protectors and the role they play in estate planning.
As always, feel free to share with us any ideas you may have on upcoming eNewsletter issues or questions regarding topics that were discussed.
Regards,
F. David Resch
William K. Root
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Accessing Your Estate
Plan Documents
New Guidelines for 2015
Resch and Root, LLC is offering new Document Access Options offered to our clients. Today's world offers diverse methods for obtaining information. Resch and Root, LLC understands that each client has a personal preference for accessing and communicating the sensitive information contained in their Estate or Business Plan documents. Some prefer the immediate and broad access offered through the Internet. Others are comfortable only with hard-copy paper documents, while other clients find digital copies that can be controlled locally best fit their lifestyles. The enormous volume of document storage and diverse communication requests from our clients requires us to institute new guidelines for how we disseminate your documents.
Document Access Options
1) ClientDocx online document storage. Secure, convenient access to your important documents from anywhere in the world. Available 24/7 through Resch and Root's website, this online document vault can be customized to hold different types of information and tailored to allow access to trusted advisors and loved ones.
Annual Cost: $100/year. A $50 one-time set-up fee applies.
2) NEW: Hard-Copy documents. An Estate Planning Portfolio or binder containing your original documents is included as part of your initial Trust, Will, or Business document signing. Additional sets of hard-copy documents can be printed and mailed USPS-Priority Mail to trusted advisors and loved ones.
Cost per additional mailed set: $100.
3) NEW: Digital Media. A USB Flash Drive containing your Estate or Business Plan documents can be created and updated for subsequent amendments. We are also able to email scanned documents.
Cost per USB Flash Drive or scanned document email: $50. This flash drive can be updated at subsequent Review Meetings at no additional cost.
Scanned document email: $50/email destination
Our goal is to meet your personal preference for accessing Estate or Business Plan documents by offering a variety of options, while allowing us to manage the volume and diverse requests for information. Please be aware that Resch and Root, LLC may not have all your documents stored, therefore, we may need to ask that you deliver your documents to us for replication. We thank you for your cooperation and look forward to fulfilling your future requests for documents.
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Trust Protectors: Flexibility in Irrevocable Trusts
Trust protectors have an important role in estate planning that gives much needed flexibility to irrevocable trusts and also to revocable trusts when they become irrevocable at the trustmakers' death or disability. A trust protector is a person or entity who is granted certain powers under the trust to amend the trust to make needed administrative changes.
Trust protectors initially were appointed in trusts created for asset protection purposes. Trust protectors could oversee the activities of foreign trustees and remove if necessary. Today, trust protectors can remove domestic trustees but the role has expanded even further to also allow the protector to appoint successor trustees. Trust protectors can also serve as a mediator between the trustee and the beneficiaries.
Without trust protectors, trustmakers cannot amend or change irrevocable trusts or Revocable Living Trusts when they become irrevocable. This becomes particularly troublesome when unforeseeable changes occur, such as changes in tax laws or changes in beneficiaries' lives. Trust protectors can be given the power to amend the trust in both its administrative and dispositive provisions (for example, how a trustee resigns and at what age a beneficiary receives distributions from the trust) so that these changes can be addressed by amending the trust.
Today, trust protectors can perform a wide variety of duties, limited to the power the protector is granted in the trust. The most common powers trust protectors are granted include amending the trust, changing the governing law and situs of the trust, removing and appointing trustees, adding or removing beneficiaries, modifying distributions to beneficiaries, settling disputes regarding the interpretation of the trusts and terminating the trust.
The position of trust protector is relatively new to estate planning, and provisions must be drafted cautiously to address ambiguities that may arise. The complications and nuances of appointing trust protectors to manage administrative changes is another example why you should trust only experienced estate planning attorneys for your estate planning documents.
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2015 Super Lawyers Rising Stars
We would like to congratulate our attorney, Logan Philipps, on his 2015 Super Lawyers Rising Star designation. In order to be eligible for inclusion, a candidate must be either 40 years old or younger or in practice for 10 years or less. While up to 5% of the lawyers in the state are named to Super Lawyers, no more than 2.5% are named to Rising Stars. Don't miss his profile in the January issue of Columbus Monthly!
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Upcoming Events
Below are some events we will be participating in, please stop by and see us if you will be in attendance as well:
February 10: Special Needs Planning Discussion at Center for Autism Services & Transition (CAST)
April 9: What Parent's Need to Know - Guardianship, Transitioning and Special Needs Planning Presentation for State Support Team 11. For more information, please visit
http://www.sst11.org
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About Resch and Root, LLC
With over seventy years of combined experience, we have learned to listen.
We are attorneys and counselors at law specializing in estate planning and tax minimization.
Upon learning and understanding your needs, we craft solutions that accomplish your family's personal and financial planning goals. With our insights, knowledge and understanding, our experienced attorneys and staff will guide you through what for many can be a sensitive process. Our comfortable environment allows you to feel at ease while discussing these important decisions. Invite us to take care of your family while preserving your legacy. At Resch and Root, we are committed to providing you with the best gift of all. Peace of mind.
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