270.781.6500

Blog

04.14.2015

8 steps to take if you’re involved in a car wreck

Car wrecks occur every day by the thousands. Sometimes they’re slight fender-benders, but other times these accidents cause injuries that can impact the quality of life of those involved. Having a plan in place if you’re involved in a car wreck can help you if you are not severely injured. Talking through your plan with your family can prepare you and is an excellent step to take. We’ve outlined eight steps we would tell any clients to take if they are involved in an accident. If anyone in your vehicle is injured and needs immediate medical attention, call 911 as soon as you can. It’s important to get an ambulance headed your way as soon as possible, particularly if you are in a rural area. This can take time, as can the ambulance ride to a medical center, and time is your greatest enemy when you’re injured. If you or someone in your vehicle is severely injured, the rest of this list doesn’t matter. Nothing is more important than getting them the help they need to survive and recover. Read More

04.08.2015

Annulment versus divorce matters at tax time

In our last post, we discussed how divorce affects an estate plan. A thorough review of all estate documents is critical post-divorce to ensure you’ve covered every conceivable scenario and changed every document necessary. Allowing an attorney to do that review for you is always in your best interest, as attorneys have a keen eye for details and wording that may escape even a close reader who does not have legal training. Taking this matter one step backwards, though, we’re examining annulment versus divorce in this post. While both lead to the same conclusion – you’re no longer married – these two scenarios have very different consequences when it comes time to pay taxes. Both parties may file as married at tax time if they were still legally married at the end of the calendar year. Options include filing a joint tax return, as many married couples do, or checking the married but filing separately box. Read More

04.02.2015

A divorce can affect your estate plan

Hardly anyone goes through the process of putting together a comprehensive estate plan with the intentions of getting divorced from their current spouse thereafter. It is, however, a fact of life that becomes reality for a large portion of society. Divorce can affect more than just a person’s emotions and wallet. Here is a brief overview of the effect of divorce on your estate plan. The Will In Kentucky, a divorce or annulled marriage “revokes any disposition or appointment of property made by the will to the former spouse, any provision conferring a general or special power of appointment on the former spouse, and any nomination of the former spouse as executor, trustee, conservator or guardian, unless the will expressly provides otherwise.”  KRS 394.092.  The statute goes on to provide that property that would have passed to the former spouse by will now passes as if the former spouse predeceased the decedent.  Put simply, Kentucky law basically “removes” the former spouse from your will, unless you expressly provide otherwise. Read More

03.26.2015

Six Things to Do When You Have a Child

Having a child can be exciting (and stressful).  Probably the last thing you might think to do when having a child is to update an estate plan, but it’s absolutely necessary.  Here are 6 things to consider when you have a child. Read More

03.26.2015

Tennessee car wreck case brings choice of law dispute to Tennessee Court of Appeals

The Tennessee Court of Appeals in Nashville has upheld a choice of law provision that was included in an auto insurance policy. In Williams v. Smith, a couple and their young child were injured in a Putnam County, Tennessee car wreck that was caused by another driver. The accident was a head-on collision. At the time of the accident, the couple was headed east in a vehicle they borrowed from a North Carolina couple. Although the vehicle was registered in North Carolina, the owners of the vehicle secured liability insurance in Missouri in order to cover their college-age daughter while she was away at school. The accident policy included a Missouri choice of law provision and included uninsured motorist coverage of $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident. The policy did not include underinsured motorist coverage because it is not required under Missouri law. The driver who caused the Tennessee car wreck carried the minimum liability limits of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per incident as required by Tennessee law. Following the crash, the hurt family sought additional damages from the company that insured the vehicle they borrowed in a Tennessee court. Although the accident occurred in Tennessee, the issue in the case surrounded whether North Carolina or Missouri law applied to the insurance dispute. Since North Carolina requires a driver to carry liability coverage of $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident, the at-fault motorist would be considered an uninsured motorist under North Carolina law. If, however, Missouri law controlled, the man was simply an underinsured motorist, and the family was not entitled to collect additional benefits. Read More

03.23.2015

Protecting your home from creditors while you’re still living

Many elderly clients feel the need (and rightfully so) to plan for the protection of their home from creditors, including government interests, during their elder years and after their death. It is too often forgotten the planning tools available that provide benefits now rather than later. In line with our recent posts regarding… Read More

03.19.2015

Tips from a Kentucky estate lawyer: how to pass on memorabilia and collections in your estate

Many people collect all kinds of things, and these collections come to hold tremendous sentimental and in some cases monetary value. As people age, they begin to think about who they would like to have certain items or entire collections, and sometimes, bold relatives or friends suggest they'd like to receive something special to remember you by. Gifts and promises of gifts are also made to honor a special relationship. These type of collections can cause significant arguments after you are deceased. The best way to avoid such disputes is to clearly specify in writing exactly who is to receive what items. Verbally telling a relative or friend what you would like for them to have upon their death, and giving away significant items while you're still living, causes confusion and prompts some to get greedy. It's the last thing anybody wants after they're gone.   Read More

03.18.2015

Warren County car accident case verdict affirmed by Kentucky Court of Appeals

In an unpublished opinion, a couple was apparently injured in a Warren County car accident case that involved three vehicles. According to the couple, they were hurt when their truck was struck from behind by a minivan that was rear-ended by another car while stopped at a traffic light. As a result of their harm, the couple filed a personal injury lawsuit against the driver of the minivan and the car operator in Warren County Circuit Court. Prior to trial, the couple resolved their claims against the driver of the car through mediation. Because of this, the motorist did not participate in a subsequent jury trial between the couple and the minivan driver. Still, jurors were provided with apportionment instructions related to both the minivan operator and the car driver at the close of trial. Following trial, the jury issued a verdict stating the driver of the car breached his duty to maintain reasonable control of his vehicle. In addition, the jury absolved the minivan operator of liability. The Warren County Circuit Court then issued a final judgment dismissing the couple’s complaint against the minivan driver. Read More

03.16.2015

Kentucky Appeals Court overturns jury verdict in bike accident case

The Kentucky Court of Appeals has ordered a new trial after evidence was improperly excluded in a bike accident case. In Motorists Mutual Insurance Company v. Thacker, a Pikeville, Kentucky resident was struck by a motor vehicle while riding her bicycle near Palm Beach, Florida. As a result of the crash, the woman endured multiple broken bones and a traumatic head injury. The woman also apparently required psychiatric treatment following the bike accident. After the driver’s liability insurer paid the woman the full policy limits of $20,000 for her accident injuries, she filed a lawsuit in Pike County Circuit Court seeking underinsured motorist (UIM) benefits from her own auto insurance company. Following a trial, a jury returned a $3.9 million verdict against the woman’s UIM insurer. The jurors also found that the woman was 50 percent responsible for her injuries. The trial court offset the financial compensation the woman received from the motorist’s liability carrier before awarding her more than $1.9 million. The UIM insurer then appealed the jury’s verdict to the Kentucky Court of Appeals. Read More

03.13.2015

Estate Planning: Social Media and the Digital Age

Social media accounts include Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Foursquare, Vine and many others. Virtually everyone these days has some variety of social media accounts, whether it be Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, or some other form of social media (the list appears to be never-ending).  Encompassing more than just social media, nearly everyone has Internet and other electronic accounts that require maintained passwords to access.  What happens to a person’s social media accounts when that person dies?  Who has a right to access the password-maintained accounts?  Fortunately, these issues are starting to receive attention and are being addressed. Facebook now allows its members to designate a “legacy contact” to manage the deceased persons account (to some degree) posthumously, a feature just added a few short months ago.  Facebook's newsroom states: Facebook is a place to share and connect with friends and family. For many of us, it’s also a place to remember and honor those we’ve lost. When a person passes away, their account can become a memorial of their life, friendships and experiences. Today we’re introducing a new feature that lets people choose a legacy contact—a family member or friend who can manage their account when they pass away. Once someone lets us know that a person has passed away, we will memorialize the account and the legacy contact will be able to: Write a post to display at the top of the memorialized Timeline (for example, to announce a memorial service or share a special message) Respond to new friend requests from family members and friends who were not yet connected on Facebook Update the profile picture and cover photo If someone chooses, they may give their legacy contact permission to download an archive of the photos, posts and profile information they shared on Facebook. Other settings will remain the same as before the account was memorialized. The legacy contact will not be able to log in as the person who passed away or see that person’s private messages. Alternatively, people can let us know if they’d prefer to have their Facebook account permanently deleted after death. Read More