Redkey Gordon P.C.

When Your Legacy is Land, Estate Planning is Especially Important

When the family business is farming, estate planning can protect your heirs and your land, creating a legacy for generations to come.

Farmers are well versed in the cyclical nature of life, particularly those who deal with livestock. But thinking about your own demise is different than considering the eventual end of animals bred and raised solely for consumption. Talking about death among family members is difficult. But planning in advance for the next generation will help with survivors' ability to work the land and continue a legacy.

A recent AgriNews article, "Estate planning can lessen grief for survivors," emphasizes that the land is key. It's the heart of the business. Estate planning is about protecting that land.

You should seek the advice of Robert A. Gordon of Redkey Gordon Law Corp, a qualified and experienced estate planning attorney who is well-versed in current estate laws and farm business operations in the state.

This conversation and the plans you make with his or her help could preserve family and business relationships, avoid giving any more to the government than necessary, and provide peace of mind to both you and future generations.

Robert A. Gordon of Redkey Gordon Law Corp, an experienced estate planning attorney may suggest a trust for your specific situation. One common issue with creating a trust without help is that you can miss a legal nuance in the move over process of the property. This will stall execution of a plan, so it's critical that you and your attorney think through the entire process to ensure what you want can happen without any problems.

Another common issue, especially with farmland, is thinking that dividing property equally is what you must do. Not so. If some of the heirs are not farmers, it might be easier to equally divide the money from selling off the land.

Protect your land and help your children, whether they intend to continue to work the land or seek a different business and lifestyle. Meet with an estate planning attorney who can help you with the process so that your wishes may be clarified and documented properly.

Reference: AgriNews (December 31, 2015) "Estate planning can lessen grief for survivors"

Why Are So Many People Moving to Oregon?

Americans are on the move and many of them are headed to Oregon. Boomers are driving much of this trend, as they seek an improved quality of life, lower taxes and warmer temperatures.

According to CNN Money, Americans are moving and Oregon, South Carolina and Vermont are heading up the list of the most popular places, as reported in "Oregon is the most popular state to move to."

Oregon leads the list as the top "moving to" destination in 2015 for the third year in a row. This is according to a study of 123,000 moves conducted by United Van Lines. Nearly 70% of the interstate moves in Oregon were people moving to the state, and the number of people moving to Oregon has increased by 10% in the past six years.

The research also showed that five of the ten states with the highest number of inbound movers are west of the Mississippi River, with the tech boom playing a large part in attracting new residents to the West Coast. However, that's just part of it.

With all the people relocating to Oregon, finding a home in the state's largest city has become a more expensive proposition: home prices in Portland have increased by nearly 11% in October from the same time in 2014!

In addition to the Pacific Northwest, the South was also a popular moving destination in 2014, and the state of South Carolina ranked second.

With more and more Baby Boomers getting ready to retire, the number of people getting out of the country's colder climates and into places with warmer weather is increasing. In fact, some states in the Northeast are having a hard time retaining their residents, with New Jersey experiencing the highest number of moves out of the state last year, followed by New York State.

These are the top 10 inbound states for 2015, according to United Van Lines (Moving to…):

1. Oregon
2. South Carolina
3. Vermont
4. Idaho
5. North Carolina
6. Florida
7. Nevada
8. District of Columbia
9. Texas
10. Washington

And here are the top 10 outbound states for 2015 (Moving from…):

1. New Jersey
2. New York
3. Illinois
4. Connecticut
5. Ohio
6. Kansas
7. Massachusetts
8. West Virginia
9. Mississippi
10. Maryland

Whether you are moving to a new state to retire or relocating for a great career opportunity, speak with Robert A. Gordon of Redkey Gordon Law Corp, an experienced estate planning attorney. You may need to make some changes to your estate documents to ensure that your wishes are in compliance with the laws of your new home state.

Reference: CNN Money (January 4, 2016) "Oregon is the most popular state to move to"

Can an Estate Plan Be Fair to Siblings When Circumstances are Different? Should it Be?

Fairness in estate planning is not always the same as making sure that everyone gets the same amount of dessert. Would you tell a hard-working kid that their lazy sibling gets more?

If you are preparing an estate plan and want to make sure that every one of your children receives the exact same amount of your assets because that's fair, you may want to reconsider. A post from New Jersey 101.5, "Being fair in estate planning," discusses the differences that take place during child rearing and even early adulthood that may redefine what you think of as fair.

While there's no easy answer to the question of what is fair, treating the children equally can be fair. But so can unequal treatment.

Let's look at how a parent treats a minor or young adult child. There are times when a parent simply needs to spend more on one child. The reason may be apparent—for instance, if one child has a disability or serious illness. But it can be more muddied when one child participated in costlier school-age activities, went to a more expensive college, or planned a more expensive wedding than the other kids. Even so, provided each child was given equal opportunities, the unequal financial support may not be a problem. Nonetheless, some parents believe that it's important to keep everything as equal as possible.

Continued parental support can be tougher when a child becomes an adult. Consider why an adult child is having financial problems. Is it because of poor work habits, a gambling or drug addiction, a divorce, or a disability? There are lots of situations with a multitude of factors, and each needs to be reviewed and handled differently based on that specific family's dynamic.

Most parents feel their children should inherit equally, but this assumes each child has similar needs and circumstances, has received similar support in the past from mom and dad, and has proven to be a responsible and capable adult. If this isn't the case, an unequal inheritance may be fair.

Providing additional financial support to one adult child over another via the parent's will should be within a parent's discretion. If so, parents need to let each child know their plans. This will help avoid surprises or hard feeling at the time of the parent's passing. Hopefully, the other adult children will not feel slighted if they understand the rationale.

Robert A. Gordon of Redkey Gordon Law Corp, an experienced estate planning attorney has seen the "fair" scenario play out in many cases and will be able to advise you about potential problems that may arise. Even with the best intention, your perceptions and wishes may not be welcomed by your heirs. However, not having a will is not the answer. If you don't have a will in place, or one that is properly prepared, state law will be applied to determine how to distribute your assets. One tip: state your wishes in a properly prepared will, and discuss your plans with your children in advance.

Reference: New Jersey 101.5 (January 4, 2016) "Being fair in estate planning"

Increasing Instances of Financial Elder Abuse

States are looking for ways to protect seniors from a dramatic rise in financial elder abuse, but the financial industry is not yet comfortable with the role of reporting.

The number of financial fraud complaints from people who are 60 years and older in 2014 more than doubled from 2010, as tracked by the FTC (Federal Trade Commission). The huge leap may in part be attributed to an improvement in reporting these complaints, but regardless, the jump is enormous and must be taken seriously. The financial industry is pushing back against calls for legislation, saying that proposed new laws could result in a vast number of false reports.

The Wall Street Journal says that American retirees are exercising greater control over their finances with the decline in traditional pension plans. The article, "Officials Seek Clampdown on Elder Fraud," explains that the complexity of managing and investing savings poses a challenge, particularly as the U.S. population ages. Especially with more people projected to get dementia, this may open up the door to more exploitation.

Fraud can be anything from sweepstakes scams and bogus investment schemes to dishonest caregivers or family members stealing the senior's savings. In some instances, investment advisers or stockbrokers have been found guilty of churning accounts through unnecessary trades, resulting in high fees or losses.

Statistics show that seniors lost at least $2.9 billion to financial abuse in 2010. That was an increase of 12% in two years, according to Met Life. To help prevent this, a coalition of state securities regulators is proposing a model state law that would require financial advisers — including brokers at large investment houses and independent advisers and their supervisors — to report suspected elder financial fraud to both a state securities regulator and an adult protective-services agency.

The bill would require immediate reporting by a financial adviser who "reasonably believes that financial exploitation" of an older person "may have occurred, may have been attempted, or is being attempted." The proposed legislation affords brokers and advisers civil immunity from privacy violations for reporting suspected fraud and gives them the authority to place a hold temporarily on suspicious account disbursements.

Supporters say advisers and brokers are in a prime position to flag early warnings about exploitation. However, financial-industry trade groups are pushing back, arguing that the reporting requirement would overburden state agencies. And some financial advisers worry they could be hit with a lawsuit if they miss an abuse case since about 40% to 50% of all "red flags" of suspicious activity turn out to be false. This is according to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, the main Wall Street trade group. But a "voluntary" reporting system would let securities firms look into these claims in-house before going to authorities.

Roughly half of the states require elder fraud reporting by certain financial professionals, but these laws don't always extend specifically to financial advisers. And all states have an adult protective-services agency to investigate reports of abuse, neglect, and exploitation of the elderly; however, dementia, embarrassment, or reluctance to report family members all contribute to low disclosure rates. In fact, a 2014 survey found that 44% of agency officials said financial institutions were frequently unwilling to provide a client's records, and 40% reported long delays obtaining these records.

Financial advisors say that when they suspect that one of their elderly clients is being taken advantage of, they are actually hampered by strict rules that govern the execution of trades and withdrawal processing. FINRA, Wall Street's own self-regulator, has recently drafted a set of rules that would allow firms to put a temporary hold on suspicious account disbursements, but there are no provisions for making reporting suspected fraud mandatory. There are also privacy laws that advisors say could be violated. This problem is not going away anytime soon – expect to see changes in the law and challenges in the coming year.

Reference: Wall Street Journal (December 29, 2015) "Officials Seek Clampdown on Elder Fraud"

New Year's Resolutions That Really Work

January 17 is typically when most New Year's Resolutions bite the dust. But surprisingly, those who make financial resolutions have a far greater success rate.

Money related resolutions fare far better than any other type of New Year's resolution, according to a survey conducted on behalf of Fidelity in 2015. Almost a third of those who made financial resolutions at the start of 2014 achieved their goals, and nearly three quarters met at least 50% of the goals that they set. Half of those who made financial resolutions believed that they were better off financially after their efforts during the year. That's a success rate worth celebrating!

NewsMax highlighted five tips the article offered for the New Year in its review of "Forbes.com: 5 Money Resolutions to Make in 2016:"

Begin your budget. You should know where your money is going, even though many folks don't like the results when they see how much money they're wasting.

Bolster your rainy day cushion. Nearly 30% of people in the U.S. have no emergency savings, according to a Bankrate survey — and many of those who do have these savings don't have enough. Financial experts recommend having enough cash in the bank to cover three to six months of living expenses.

Make a plan for tackling debt. Researchers have found that you are more likely to pay down your overall debt when you start by tackling the smallest balances first. Those small victories keep you motivated to keep moving forward.

Get your retirement number. Can you believe that less than half of U.S. workers know how much they'll need to save to live comfortably in retirement? Aim to save eight times your salary before you retire to meet basic income needs — shooting for twice your salary by age 40, four times your salary by 50, and six times your salary by age 60.

Find out your credit score. Those numbers matter — a lot. A good credit score means you'll pay less interest on loans for a mortgage, a car, or college. Here what can help boost your digits: pay bills on time, keep your overall credit card balance to less than 30% of your total available credit, and don't close your oldest accounts because it will shorten your credit history.

This is a good opportunity to review your financial portfolio and determine whether your asset allocation is still appropriate. It's normal to have some anxiety, especially after a year as volatile as 2015. During times of volatility, try to keep focused on long-term goals.

In addition to reviewing your investment options, you should review your retirement strategy and your estate planning. It's never fun to talk about estate planning, but it's important. Many people think a will is a "set it and forget it" type of thing. Not so.

Updating your estate plan should be done every few years, depending on your circumstances. Few lives are without changes in family relationships, jobs, economic status, birth, death, etc. All of these changes require a review of your estate plan. If you were so lucky to welcome a few grandchildren into the fold, you'll want to be sure they are included in your will. And if your year included a divorce, it's likely you don't want to give your ex-spouse your retirement accounts. Meet with Robert A. Gordon of Redkey Gordon Law Corp, an experienced estate attorney to ensure that your estate plan is up to date.

Reference: NewsMax (December 30, 2015) "Forbes.com: 5 Money Resolutions to Make in 2016"