Currently in Iowa, if a decedent owns personal property that totals $25,000 or less, and that property would normally pass under a Will or the intestate statute, you can skip probate with just an affidavit.  The governor recently signed a bill that increased that figure up to $50,000 (for deaths after July 1, 2018), along with a few extra new additions to the affidavit. So…what does that mean lawyer boy?  This: If the dead…

You gotta love email.  In seconds, I can transmit a message around the globe to one person or to hundreds of people, or I can share a photo of my dog, Georgia.  Or you can email your parents’ attorney and tell the attorney what changes to make to your parents’ estate plan to exclude one of your siblings.  Whoops. In Estate of Boman, decided earlier this year, the on-going feud between two sisters and…

This past year, I had the opportunity to go skydiving. What a blast! I had wanted to skydive for a while so I was anxious to jump out. However,  when you are on the edge of the plane door, looking out at the ground several thousand feet below you, a slight pause is a natural feeling. Thinking about your possible demise can be unnerving. Similarly, sometimes doing your estate planning can have the same feeling. …

Adoption can be a wonderful thing.  My niece, in this picture, is adopted and she is a wonderful addition to our family.  However, adoption can have some funky applications in the estate planning world.  A recent ruling from the Iowa Supreme Court was interesting on a couple of issues involving an adoption: To avoid paying inheritance taxes for a bequest to a non-lineal descendant, a nephew was adopted by his aunt. Even though he was…

It is hard to believe that my oldest daughter is heading off to college this week at Drake University.  I’m excited for her as she starts this next journey in her life.  In addition to getting all of the necessary supplies, such as towels, laundry bags, books, pepper spray, etc., it is also important that parents of college-bound kids have the kids sign power of attorney documents.  While we may still think of…

Not every marriage works out.  Duh.  Sometimes, after one ends, another marriage begins and several challenges begin.  You have the challenges of “mixing” families together, learning about snoring patterns, and discovering a new person.  You also frequently have the challenge of dealing with estate planning.  I’ll skip the issues with snoring and focus on some of the estate planning points. If you are smart…and brave…bring up the subject of a premarital agreement (or a “prenup”…

A financial advisor recently reached out to me regarding the impact of a Power of Attorney document concerning financial matters.  In particular, the question was whether the person signing the document (the “principal”) loses any power or authority once they sign the POA document.  As a reminder, the default rule (and recommended direction in my opinion) is that the agent’s power is immediate upon signing.  In other words, it is not necessary to…