Living Trust FAQA living trust, also known as a revocable trust, revocable living trust, or inter vivos trust, is an alternative way to own property during your life and transfer property at your death. Living trusts have been in use for many years. You can create a living trust during your lifetime by signing a
Ding Dong, The Iowa Inheritance Tax is Dead
If you were luck to live until January 1, 2025, and you were worried about your beneficiaries having to pay Iowa inheritance tax when your estate is passed on to them, your worries are now over. The Iowa inheritance tax is fully repealed as of today!However, as a couple of remainders:If you died in 2024,
Your Voice, Your Choices: Thinking about Living Wills and Advance Directives
I’ll be the first to admit it: sometimes we breeze over the discussion of Advanced Directives and Living Wills discussion during estate plan consultations. And I’m pretty sure that a lot of clients don’t really grasp the depths of these critical documents. Here’s a pretty good guide and discussion of the issues and documents that
Who Should Handle Your Assets After Death? Professional or an Amateur?
Most people like to start with considering friends and family members as trustees. They are going to be most familiar with you and your family, and they will understand your family’s dynamics. In addition, family members often do not charge a trustee fee (although they are usually entitled to take a fee). Cost conscious clients
Iowa Inheritance Tax – A Thing of the Past in the Future?
Will Contests in Iowa Before Death? Nope.
Check out my post on the pre-mortem will contest on the Probate-Iowa blog. Too tired to click and just want the short answer? Can’t do it in Iowa. Have to wait until the person dies before you challenge the will.
Cheated Out of an Inheritance? Better Stay on Your Toes If You Want to File a Lawauit.
As I discuss in more detail on the post on my Iowa probate blog, a recent ruling from the Iowa Supreme Court significantly changes the time period in which to bring a lawsuit for interference with inheritance. In short: don’t wait very long.
Protection for Elders in Iowa From Financial Exploitation
What is “elder abuse”?As provided in Iowa Code 235F, elder abuse means any of the following:1. Physical injury to, unreasonable confinement, punishment or assault of a vulnerable elder2. Sexual offense with or against a vulnerable elder3. Neglect by a caretaker of a vulnerable eldera. Includes the deprivation of the minimum food, shelter, clothing,
Probate Issues in Iowa Now a Separate Blog
Way back in 2009, or whenever I started this blog, I posted about probate topics as well as estate planning. (I’m not sure I expected to be blogging still in 2020. My dream of retiring at age 44 and retiring to a caribbean island just didn’t materialize.) Then one day I looked at the site
COVID-19 and Suspension of Physical Presence for the Execution of Legal Documents
Each day gets crazier and crazier on COVID-19’s impact on our society, including in the estate planning world. Under Iowa long-standing law (Iowa Code sec. 633.279), when an individual signs their will, it is required that they sign in the presence of two individuals. This has been pretty strictly adhered to by Iowa