San Antonio, TX Estate Planning

Late Iowa Attorney Being Sued for Estate Settlement Fraud

The parents of a Hudson boy who died in a 2011 water skiing accident said they were bilked by their former attorney.

Attorneys and estate executors should be trusted to do what is right when they represent your estate or the estate of your loved ones. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

A young man named Bodee Peterson died from injuries sustained in a water skiing accident in 2011. The family hired attorney David Alan Roth to press claims for the estate against the responsible party. A settlement was eventually reached.

The family is now alleging that Roth misled them about the amount of the settlement. Roth was to have set up annuities for Peterson's siblings, something he allegedly failed to do.

A surprise twist to the story? Roth committed suicide a few months ago.

Consequently, the Peterson family is pursuing its claims against his estate.

The WCF Courier has more of the story in an article titled "Bodee Peterson's parents file claim against Roth estate."

A key takeaway from this story is this: if you are overseeing a loved one's estate, it is very important that you hire the right attorney to pursue any claims that the estate has. In addition, stay on top of things. You should contact the attorney regularly so you know what is happening and make sure that the attorney is on top of things.

If you have questions regarding estate claims please contact us today to find answers and peace of mind.

Reference: WCF Courier (February 8, 2015) "Bodee Peterson's parents file claim against Roth estate."

Estate Planning Changes from Obama’s Budget Proposal

Just when you thought the estate tax laws were permanent, President Barack Obama comes out with a comprehensive plan for changes that would take away many strategies that save wealthy families taxes.

As we’ve said before, estate planning is not a one-time project. As life changes, you need to make adjustments to your plan. And the same notion goes for any changes in the law.

Now that President Obama has released the full details of his latest budget proposals and experts have had time to review them, details are emerging about some of the big changes that could be in store for wealthy families' estate plans if the budget proposals pass.

Forbes has a complete rundown of the proposed changes in an article titled "Obama Budget Would Upend Estate Plans."

While you will want to read the original article, here are some of the highlights:

• Reducing the estate tax exemption to 2009 levels and increasing the top tax rate.
• Reducing the lifetime gift exemption.
• Placing restrictions on grantor retained annuity trusts.
• Eliminating the step-up basis on capital gains for heirs.

President Obama has also proposed a whole host of other tax changes designed to force wealthy individuals to pay more in taxes. While not all of the President's proposals will pass Congress, many of them might.

Consequently, it is very important that you pay attention to what these tax hikes might mean for your taxes and your estate plan. If the laws change, you may need to change your estate plan as soon as you possibly can.

Be sure to consult an experienced estate planning attorney sooner rather than later. We are prepared to discuss the effect these changes may result in for your estate plan. click here to contact us today.

Reference: Forbes (February 5, 2015) "Obama Budget Would Upend Estate Plans."

A Super Bowl Win Won't Get Tom Brady out of Paying His Taxes

A Super Bowl win and a free truck? Tom Brady has a lot to celebrate. In fact, he’s so happy he may even give his new truck to a teammate. The catch? Something he may not celebrate is the tax bill to follow.

What did you think of this year’s Super Bowl? If you didn’t catch the big game, let me fill you in.

Seattle had the ball with a few seconds left and needed only to run the ball a couple of yards to enter the end zone, win the game and make history. Despite having one of the best running backs in football, Seattle chose to pass in a much criticized play.

The result of the play was an interception by a “Cinderella story” defensive back and a victory for the New England Patriots.

Patriots quarterback, Tom Brady, was awarded the MVP trophy for the game. Along with the honor, Brady won a new truck. It turns out, however, that Brady will have to pay income and gift tax on truck.

This tale is told in a recent Forbes article titled "IRS Is Coming After Tom Brady's Super Bowl MVP Truck".

The truck is considered a taxable prize, thus Brady has to pay income tax on it. Fair enough.

Yet Brady has also stated that he is going to give the truck to teammate Malcom Butler who made the interception to seal the victory.

The problem?

Because the truck is worth more than the yearly individual gift tax exemption (i.e., $14,000), Brady will have to also pay the gift tax on the truck if he follows through with his announced intentions. Butler, however, will not have to pay tax on the truck as there are no gift tax consequences for the recipients of gifts.

Fortunately, Brady will be able to lessen the gift tax bite if he and his supermodel wife engage in “gift splitting” to permit her individual gift tax exemption to be applied against the value of the gift.

Before making any sizeable gifts, be sure to consult with an experienced estate planning attorney.

Reference: Forbes (February 4, 2015) "IRS Is Coming After Tom Brady's Super Bowl MVP Truck"

Social Media Post Led Robbers to Steal Inheritance

Authorities said the men said during the robbery that they had seen recent social media postings from a resident that he had just inherited some expensive jewelry.

Social Media safety lesson: don’t post about your inheritance!

Police in Pennsylvania say that a 19-year-old made social media posts about some expensive jewelry he had recently inherited. Not a good idea, so it turns out.

This public posting led to a home invasion.

One morning armed, masked men invaded the poster's home and made reference to the social media posts during the robbery.

Penn Live has more on the story in an article titled "Pa. home robbed after man posts on social media about inheritance."

This story highlights why most estate planning attorneys advise their clients to keep their estate plans private. Other people do not need to know what someone else will or has inherited. Period.

Accordingly, if the wrong people learn about an estate plan or an inheritance, then they know whom to target for a robbery or other criminal activity.

For help on how to keep your estate plan or inheritance private, visit an experienced estate planning attorney.

Reference: Penn Live (February 8, 2015) "Pa. home robbed after man posts on social media about inheritance."