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estates

04.14.2021

Do I Need a Will?

One of the most frequent things I hear from potential clients is “I don’t have much, so I don’t need a will.” If you do not have substantial assets, then you may be wondering if this is true. Read More

11.23.2020

Why Do I Need a Power of Attorney or Advance Medical/Living Will Directive?

Without the right power of attorney – or any at all – the incapacitated individual’s family would need to go through the justice system to have a guardian or conservator appointed to represent them. Read More

10.26.2020

Simple End of Year Tax Planning and Wealth Transfer Tips

Believe it or not, the end of 2020 is quickly approaching (insert collective sigh of relief). While I think most of us are ready to start looking forward to 2021 and would prefer to not even have to utter the words 2020 anymore, now is the time to finish off the year strong by reviewing simple, yet important, year-end tax planning and wealth transfer tips.  When most people think of tax planning and wealth transfer, they may have in mind complex estate planning documents and an overload of legal and accounting advice.  But that doesn’t have to be the case.  Here are three simple tips that you can implement with relative ease, though you will want to consult your tax advisor first. Read More

07.29.2020

LEGAL UPDATE: Kentucky Changes Power of Attorney Law Effective July 2020

Right at two years to the date, Kentucky has again changed its power of attorney law by adopting parts of the Uniform Power of Attorney Act. Read More

03.11.2020

Five Things You Need to Know About Medicaid

Five Things You need to Know About Medicaid Read More

07.26.2018

Your next legal step after your divorce: change your will

By Elizabeth McKinney, Partner English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLP After you’ve completed your divorce, chances are, you want nothing to do with any more legal documents, courts or attorneys. It’s understandable. It’s a big process that can take a lot of time, and many find it to be exhausting. But you do have one more step to do as soon as your divorce is complete: change your will. I cannot stress enough how crucial this is – and how much it needs to be attended to right away. Most people create a will around the time their first child is born as a way of ensuring that their child’s welfare and their assets are protected. Typically, each spouse will leave everything to the other spouse. If you die, and your will is still in place from a time before you divorced, it will still be in force. Your ex will receive all of your assets. When a divorce becomes final, Kentucky law does automatically revoke the provisions of a will which provide for a distribution to a spouse, or appointment of the spouse as executor, trustee, or other fiduciary appointments.  Nevertheless, it is important to update your will after a divorce to designate who receives your assets, who serves as executor, etc. in place of the former spouse. Read More

06.23.2018

Consider Your Estate Plan Before Your Summer Vacation

By Heather Coleman, Attorney English, Lucas, Priest & Owsley, LLP Sweet summertime.  The sun shines bright, schools are out, and with no better time for a vacation, the roads and airports are jam-packed with travelers.  Whether scheduling a beach trip, a lake outing, or a mountain getaway,… Read More

06.06.2018

All about probate, part 2

Editor’s note: This is the second of two blog posts exploring probate: what it is, how it works and what Kentucky law has to say about this process. You can read the first in the series here. By Leah Morrison, Attorney English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLP Leah Morrison, attorney Probate is one of those things that people universally dismiss as an unduly burdensome process. In fact, many clients tell me they need a will or estate plan so that they can avoid probate. Outside of the small estate scenario that we explored in the first blog post, Kentucky law provides additional mechanisms for avoiding probate. Not everyone has a Will. Perhaps most often people do not want to write one because they don’t want to think about dying, or they plan to write one and simply put it off. Some purposefully choose intestacy. Even without any planning not all assets owned by the decedent are subject to the probate process. Probate assets include everything the decedent owned in his or her individual name. These can include: bank accounts; brokerage accounts; real estate held in the decedent’s individual name or in a tenancy in common; vehicles; furniture; jewelry; and an interest in a partnership, corporation, or limited liability company. Read More

04.19.2018

All about probate in Kentucky: Part 1

By Leah Morrison, Attorney English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLP Leah Morrison, attorney One of the most frequent reasons clients tell me they want to create a will, trust, or other estate documents is to avoid probate. People have come to see probate as an unduly burdensome process that can cost a lot of money and time, but in Kentucky, it’s not as bad as you might fear. Before we delve into it, let’s take a moment to review what probate is. Probate is the legal process by which the financial affairs of a deceased person are concluded. It is a court supervised process in which assets are accumulated and distributed in accordance with the decedent’s will or pursuant to the statutory plan of descent, and debts are gathered for payment. Although, in Kentucky, the supervision provided by the court is often times very minimal. While Kentucky’s probate laws are sufficient to ensure the deceased person’s assets are properly managed and distributed to the appropriate person, the requirements of the probate process are minimal enough that most people navigate it smoothly without incident. The one thing, though, to know is that probate does make your will public. Your will becomes a public document that is recorded in the court system, and is available to anyone who wishes to view it. Read More

11.29.2017

Common sense and trust distributions

By Leah Morrison, Attorney English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLP When it comes to planning to avoid or minimize Federal Estate tax, there are four (almost) magic words that frequently appear in trust documents: health, education, support and maintenance, known in the trust and estate law industry as HEMS. Outside of the tax advantages of including HEMS in a trust document, these words also impact the administration of the trust. When a trust includes HEMS language, beneficiaries from the trust may receive funds from the trust for those type of expenses, and those only. A trustee is placed in charge of the trust. That trustee usually has broad latitude in determining how many distributions are made from the trust and in what amounts – but HEMS language is included to limit what those distributions may be used for. Trustees must ensure that the distributions fall under those categories. Trustees are often a lay person, and in many cases, a family member. This can make things particularly sticky and confusing, especially if there are disagreements among family members. Read More