Hoagland, Longo, Moran, Dunst & Doukas

When you are planning your estate, you should be aware of the way your assets - such as bank accounts and real property - are titled, and the specific beneficiaries of your accounts, pension plan, or 401k.

Bank Accounts. With regard to titling your bank accounts, a problem can arise when you title bank accounts as a matter of convenience, rather than executing a power of attorney. For example, if you put your child’s name on a bank account so they can write checks on your behalf, when you pass away, your child will be considered to be a part owner of that account if there is an “and” or an “or” on the account and they will get the proceeds of that account, even if that was not what you intended. The better option would be to give that person a signature power or a specific power of attorney for that account.

Real Estate. Real Estate can be held in several different ways:

1. If you hold property as a Joint Tenant, the survivor will automatically become the owner of the entire property after the first person dies.
2. If property is held as Tenants in Common, then the property is passed to whomever is named in your will or by intestacy if you do not have a will.
3. If you hold a property with your spouse, it is presumed that you hold it as Tenants by the Entirety, which is the same as Joint Tenants with right of survivorship, unless you specifically title it as Tenants in Common.
4. If you retain a life estate in your property, you will have life time rights to the property while you are alive and the remaindermen (such as your children) are entitled to the property after you have passed away. As the life tenant, you still own a percentage of the property and if the house had to be sold, your percentage of the proceeds would be based upon your age and life expectancy and the applicable IRS rate for the month the property is sold.
5. Another option that can be used is to deed the entire property to your child or children and sign a lifetime lease. In that case, you still have life time rights to the property while you are alive but you no longer own a percentage of the property.

Pension Plans. You should be aware of the income tax consequences of the beneficiary of your pension plan or 401K. The beneficiary has to pay income tax when the money is withdrawn. If your spouse is the named beneficiary, he or she can roll it over until they are 70 ½ years old and then start drawing on their minium distributions. If the beneficiary is not your spouse, they need to begin to draw on it right away, but it can be done throughout their lives. If you name your testamentary trust as the beneficiary because you have younger children and do not want them to receive all of the money at age 18, and your will is not properly drafted, the trustee will have to take all of it out within five years and pay the income tax when the money is withdrawn. However, if the will is properly drafted, the beneficiary of the trust can gradually take out the money throughout their lifetime under the minimum distribution rules as if the beneficiary was specifically named, rather than the trust.

At Hoagland Longo, we believe that a commitment to diversity is the foundation to long term success. We believe that nurturing and cultivating diversity of thought, action and background enhances our ability to serve our clients, our employees and our community.

We are actively committed to advancing diversity at the Firm by striving to ensure that fairness, respect and expansion of professional opportunity for all employees remains integral to our recruiting, education, retention and promotion initiatives. The Firm does not discriminate on account of race, creed, color, national origin, nationality, ancestry, age, marital status, gender, sexual preference, disability, or obligation for service in the Armed Forces of the U.S. We are committed to the expansion of opportunities for minorities and women within the legal profession and strive to create an inclusive environment where all of our employees can develop professionally and succeed in the practice of law. The Firm is committed to increasing diversity in significant ways consistent with the overall objective of the Firm simply because it is the right thing to do.

We firmly believe that a commitment to diversity not only enriches our work environment, but also leads to a higher work quality and empowers us to bring a broad perspective to the problems facing our clients. To this end, our goal continues to be the fostering of diversity as part of the Firm's culture. However, we recognize that a commitment to diversity requires consistent attention and effort.

As part of our ongoing commitment to diversity, we have established a standing Diversity Committee, which seeks to educate, recruit and retain a diverse workforce that respects and values differences among people. The Diversity Committee is comprised of some of the Firm's leading practitioners with diverse backgrounds, including partners, associates, and administrators; men and women; and racial and ethnic minorities as well as non-minorities. These individuals share a strong commitment to increasing the Firm's diversity and using their unique experiences and backgrounds to support and further this goal.

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