Americans overtreated to death?

This very moving article about end-of-life issues is a good read. As an estate planning attorney, I discuss these types of matters at length with my clients, partcularly when drafting their health care directives.

It is interesting to me to read this, as I would concur that the vast majority of my clients indicate a desire not to be left on life support for inordinate amounts of time.

The Roth Estate Tax?

Here's and interesting idea coming out of Congress. I also like the author's discussion about the potential downside to the repeal of the estate tax.

Questions? Of course, contact your favorite estate planning attorney today!

Death in 2010

As I've mentioned to many of my clients, 2010 is a great year to die if you have a particularly large estate. This article from the NYT is particularly illustrative!

Richland couple finds stash of cash in furniture - Mid-Columbia News | Tri-City Herald : Mid-Columbia news

I have to say that I have had really good luck with estate sale companies. As a probate attorney, I have probated estates all over the State of Washington. I have actually found that most estate sale companies are surprisingly pleasant to work with, and impeccable when it comes to ethics and honesty. I reckon they know as I do that having a good reputation is more important than any few bucks you might make by being anything but ethical.

But I have to say this article really highlights the best in the people that work in the probate industry. Kudos to these folks for being upright and honest. If I'm ever probating an estate in the Tri Cities, I'll recommend them to my personal representative without a doubt.

The Disposition of Remains Document

WARNING, THIS POST CONTAINS VIDEO FOOTAGE OF AN EMBALMED HUMAN!

Probably not a common warning for most blog posts, but I stumbled across an interesting article that inspired me to talk briefly about one of the many tools in my belt as an estate planner: the Disposition of Remains.

This stand-alone document lives with your will, and specifies just what you want done with your body upon your death. While many of my clients default to pretty generic provisions -- cremation and then scattered by their family; burial on a family plot -- some of my clients are very directed in their dispositions: specifying what type of a funeral or wake the would want, paying for family members to travel to have their ashes scattered, and even naming a particular party planner to arrange a celebration of their life.

As creative as I've seen some of my clients' dispositions get, none of them have gone to this extreme:

You can read the full article here.

Of course, you'll want to consult with your favorite estate planning attorney to discuss just what cool things you can do with you body once you've shuffled off this mortal coil.

And please, always wear a helmet when you're riding your motorcycle. ;)

Where There's a MJ Will, There's a Way!

So, it looks as if Michael Jackson's will has been presented! It will be interesting to find out how good MJ was at keeping his affairs in order. I am left to ponder just when he last updated his estate plan.

According to the article, his mother had already petitioned to administer his estate. Here in Washington, his selection of an executor in his last will and testament would supercede his mother's petition as administrator. (An administrator is the title given to someone who is dealing with an intestate estate, or an estate where there was no will, while an executor is the title given when there was a will.) It will be interesting to see how this shakes out in the end.

So, for you occasional followers, I am not obsessed with Michael Jackson, simply a child of the 80s and therefore a student of his celebrity. I am certainly saddened by his loss, though you will not find me wailing on Hollywood Boulevard over his star. It has, nonetheless, given me some good fodder on here, so I will do my best to follow this and give you my estate attorney mpressions of what's going on!

Did MJ Have a Plan?

I have a hard time believing the rumors that Michael Jackson died without a will. In my day-to-day as an estate planning attorney, I come across many a wealthy client that, for any variety of reasons, has not completed their estate plan.

Surely, however, with the sea of attorneys that MJ has had around him over the years, someone must have thought to insist that he get his affairs in order! This article from Business Week is interesting regardless. I guess time will tell.

Interestingly another celebrity estate debate, the Anna Nicole Smith estate debacle, is coming to my home town of Seattle.

Have I mentioned that you should have an estate plan? ;)