Our firm is committed to bringing good estate planning information to the community here in the greater Davenport area, and we do this through a number of different channels.

Electronically we have this blog that provides a regularly updated stream of content, and we also offer an extensive library of free estate planning reports that are available for you to download at your convenience.

Absorbing the facts so that you can go forward in an intelligent and informed manner as you prepare for the eventualities of aging and your eventual passing is important. There are various things that can be overlooked, and many people are quite surprised when they begin to see a more complete picture.

Another way to obtain valuable estate planning knowledge is to attend one of our seminars. We have released our schedule for May, and we invite you to attend one of these information sessions. We will be visiting Clinton, Dubuque, Maquoketa, and Eldridge so you should be able to identify a seminar that is convenient for you to attend.

It should be noted that these seminars are being offered totally free of charge. We do ask that you register for the seminar that you would like to attend so that we can reserve a seat for you.

By clicking the following link you will see a list of the May seminars that we are offering. When you find the seminar that you want to attend simply click the “Register” button and we will be sure to reserve your space: Duffy Law Office May Estate Planning Seminars.

Duffy Law Office is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

There are some estate planning myths in circulation, and if you buy into them you may be unnecessarily steering clear of a totally beneficial course of action. With this in mind let’s take a look at three of the myths that we have heard about revocable living trusts.

Myth # 1: Living trusts are for millionaires. If you are person of relatively ordinary means you have no use for a trust.

This is absolutely false. In fact, the super rich have concerns that are really not addressed by revocable living trusts at all.

The most common reason why people opt for revocable living trusts is because of the fact that they enable probate avoidance. Probate is a legal process that can be very time-consuming and costly.

Myth # 2: You will lose control of your assets if you place them into a revocable living trust.

The operative word to recognize here is “revocable.” Revocable living trusts are just that; you can revoke the trust entirely if you want to at any time. And, while you are still alive you can retain total control of the resources by acting as both the beneficiary and the trustee.

Myth # 3: It is too expensive to work with an estate planning lawyer to draw up a living trust.

This is another absolute fallacy. You have to state your wishes in some way, and when you use a last will rather than a trust the estate must be probated.

It is true that it is less expensive to have a last will drawn up. But, there are considerable expenses that go along with the probate process. These expenses can be exorbitant if somebody wants to challenge the will.

In the end you may well get better value for your dollar by executing a revocable living trust.

Duffy Law Office is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

The federal estate tax is unified with the gift tax, and they both carry a maximum 40% rate. So, you can’t just give gifts of significance to others in a tax-free manner to avoid the estate tax.

When you think about the word “gift” you naturally envision a direct transfer of something. However, in the realm of taxation funding certain types of irrevocable trusts can be construed as taxable gifting by the IRS.

With the above in mind you could choose to place your home into a qualified personal residence trust. It would become the property of a beneficiary that you choose when you create the trust after the term of the trust expires.

This removes the home from your estate, reducing your estate tax exposure. However, the funding of the trust is an act of taxable gift giving.

If the gift is taxable, why would you want to place the home into the trust in the first place? The answer is because the value of the gift for tax purposes will be significantly less than its actual fair market value.

This is because you are retaining interest in the property while you live in it for a period of time that you determine when you draw up the trust agreement. So on day one of the execution of the agreement the beneficiary is really not receiving a gift that is equal to the full value of the home because he or she can’t occupy it or sell it.

If you would like to learn more about these trusts take a moment to contact our firm at (563) 445-7400 to arrange for a free consultation.

Duffy Law Office is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Those who inherit significant fortunes are clearly going to have certain advantages. However, they also have extraordinary responsibilities with regard to wealth preservation.

We have a powerful source of asset erosion built into the economic system. In the United States we have an estate tax, and at the time of this writing it carries a 40% maximum rate. Every time a given generation passes along wealth to the next this 40% levy is potentially applied.

There is an exclusion, but right now it sits at $5.25 million. That may sound like a lot of money to some people, but if you are in possession of tens of millions, hundreds of millions, or billions of dollars it is next to nothing relatively speaking.

A recent article that is published on the Wall Street Journal website talks about the evaporation of large inheritances. By the end of the third generation on average only 10% of  an original family fortune remains.

It is true that some people make very bad financial decisions that contribute to the above statistic. Market conditions are certainly going to be a factor as well. However, when you are faced with recurring estate tax levies generation in and generation out you’re going to be hard-pressed to retain control of the family wealth.

If you are interested in wealth preservation we invite you to contact our firm to set up an informative initial consultation. We are experienced wealth preservation strategists, and we would be glad to assist you.

You can give us a call at (563) 445-7400 or contact us electronically by clicking this link: Wealth Preservation Consultation

Duffy Law Office is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

The Internet is full of marketers looking to turn a profit, and there is certainly nothing wrong with trying to improve your bottom line. However, as consumers we must be vigilant so that this bottom line is not padded at our expense

You can purchase the ability to use web-based tools that enable you to create your own estate planning documents including revocable living trusts. Should you create your own living trust using one of these downloads or worksheets?

We can get into that subject, and we certainly will in another blog post. But for now let’s go in another direction.

How do you even know that a revocable living trust is really the right legal device for you?

Some people are in professions that are especially vulnerable to legal actions. These individuals need asset protection.

There are families that include a member with special needs. These families may want to place assets into a trust for the benefit of this individual.

Estate tax exposure is something that high net worth people must contend with, and these individuals are going to be looking to implement estate tax efficiency strategies.

Because a revocable living trust is in fact revocable the grantor of the trust retains incidents of ownership. He or she can simply dissolve the trust and go forward with the funds, and the grantor may also act as trustee and beneficiary while the trust is in place.

As a result, these trusts do not provide asset protection; they do nothing to provide tax efficiency; and they are not the right choice for a beneficiary with special-needs.

It is not wise to make assumptions regarding estate planning vehicles. Discuss everything with a licensed estate planning attorney to be certain that you are proceeding in the optimal manner for your own well-being and that of your loved ones.

Duffy Law Office is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

It is important to recognize the evolving nature of an estate plan. Let’s say that you are a young couple who has just had your first child. At this point you definitely want to create an estate plan.

This plan will probably start with a last will that includes the choice of a guardian who would care for the child in the event of the death of both parents. You also must consider the financial end of things with regard to the child’s welfare. This can be addressed by taking out adequate life insurance and arranging for it to be captured by a testamentary trust for the benefit of the child.

Everyone should also execute advance health care directives such as a living will and a medical durable power of attorney.

Depending on your exact situation there may be other concerns to address in your initial estate plan.

This first consultation sets the stage for future interactions because estate planning is indeed an ongoing process. You may have future additions to the family, your financial situation could improve considerably, and there could be changes to laws that are relevant to your existing plan.

As life goes on adjustments to your estate plan are invariably going to be necessary.

At your initial consultation you are setting the stage for a long-term relationship with your attorney, so you should be forthcoming about your  goals and attempt to develop a particular comfort level. As the years pass this relationship will strengthen, and in fact these relationships often extend to multiple generations.

We are grateful you follow us and value your comments and input.  You Can Also Find Us Online: Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn Thanks again.

Ryan M. Denman and Dennis D. Duffy

Duffy Law Office

Duffy Law Office is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

A significant percentage of marriages end in divorce, and in most cases these divorced individuals have children. Most people who do in fact get divorced eventually remarry. It should be mentioned that second and third marriages fail at a higher rate than first marriages.

In fact, most second and third marriages end in divorce.

The above facts raise some profound estate planning questions. What should you do if you are a divorced parent who decides to get remarried?

From the start statistics indicate that there is a very good chance that the marriage will not last. If you simply allow your assets to merge with those of your new spouse you are certainly taking a leap of faith when it comes to your own financial well-being.

You are also trusting that your spouse would take adequate care of your children financially if you were to die first.

One way that this type of situation can be addressed would be through the execution of a premarital agreement followed by the creation of a qualified terminable interest property trust or QTIP trust.

Once your personal assets have been delineated via the execution of the prenuptial agreement you place resources into the trust. If you predecease your spouse he or she will be able to receive distributions out of the trust for life.

However, your surviving spouse will not be able to decide who inherits the remainder. You select this beneficiary when you draw up the terms of the trust, and this would be your children if your intention was to protect their interests.

Duffy Law Office is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

A lot of people automatically assume that they should use a last will as a vehicle of asset transfer. Though most individuals are aware of the existence of trusts many are under the impression that trusts are only useful for people who are extraordinarily wealthy.

In fact, this is really not the case at all. People of ordinary means can definitely benefit from the creation of trusts.

When you use a last will to direct the transfer of your assets to your heirs your estate must be probated. This process is time-consuming, and it can be costly.

On the other hand, with a living trust assets are distributed to the beneficiaries by the trustee outside of the probate process.

When you create a revocable living trust you may also include an incapacity component. By naming a disability trustee you would have a hand-picked decision-maker in place to handle your financial affairs if you were to become incapacitated.

This is a very surface explanation, but we are now offering a comprehensive free report on the subject of living trusts and why they are so popular. To obtain your copy of this valuable report click this link and fill in the field that you see to the right of the page: Iowa Living Trust Report

After you read the report you may feel as though you would like to go forward and create a living trust. Should you be interested in doing so give us a call at (563) 445-7400 to set up a free consultation.

Duffy Law Office is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

When you understand the benefits of intelligent advance planning you are generally motivated to take action. The majority of people do not have all of the appropriate estate planning documents in place, and one of the reasons for this is because many don’t understand why it is important.

Our firm is very committed to education and outreach. To this end we offer free estate planning seminars to people here in the greater Quad Cities area on an ongoing basis. We are very excited about our upcoming seminars that will be taking place in the month of February.

These seminars are once again absolutely free to attend, and we provide free refreshments along with some very valuable information.

We do ask that you register for the seminars so we know how any people to expect. There is significant space available but it is limited so we urge you to register for the seminar that you would like to attend as soon as possible.

This can be done over the phone by calling us at (563) 445-7400 or electronically by clicking one of the “register” links on this page: Davenport Area Estate Planning Seminars

The schedule is as follows:

Area: Bettendorf, IA
Date: Tuesday, February 05, 2013
Time: 02:00 PM – 04:00 PM
Location: The Lodge
Address: 900 Spruce Hills Drive

Area: Davenport, IA
Date: Wednesday, February 06, 2013
Time: 02:00 PM – 04:00 PM
Location: Clarion Hotel & Conference Center
Address: 5202 Brady Street

Area: Eldridge, IA
Date: Wednesday, February 06, 2013
Time: 06:30 PM – 08:30 PM
Location: Quality Inn & Suites
Address: 1000 E. Iowa Street

Area: Bettendorf, IA
Date: Thursday, February 07, 2013
Time: 06:30 PM – 08:30 PM
Location: The Lodge
Address: 900 Spruce Hills Drive

Duffy Law Office is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

When people try to create Trusts for themselves instead of using an experienced estate planning attorney, they quite often make mistakes. This is often true for people who even have some level of expertise and should know better.

Consider the case of Joseph Mohamed, Sr. He is a real estate broker and a licensed real estate appraiser. Mr. Mohamed has been very successful in his career. So successful, that he could take advantage of a Charitable Remainder Unitrust. This is a highly specialized Trust that allows someone to donate land to a Trust, continue using the land during their lifetime, take tax deductions for the value of the property, and leave the remainder of the land to charity after they pass away. Mohamed donated $19 million dollars worth of land to such a Trust.

However, when he attempted to take a tax deduction, the IRS disallowed it. The regulations say that the land must be independently appraised before it is put in the Trust. Mr. Mohamed’s own, expert opinion was not allowed. He did later get an independent appraisal in the hopes that the IRS would allow it. However, a tax court ruled that it was too late and that Mohamed cannot get a deduction.

The bottom line is that even if you think you know what you are doing, you should hire an attorney to create your Trust.

Duffy Law Office is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.