Chae Law's Podcast

What happens when you lease a safe deposit box and you pass away?  What happens when you jointly lease a safe deposit box with someone else?  What happens when you store your will in a safe deposit box?

Can I put my house in a living trust even if there is a mortgage? 

With today's technology with our smartphones, flash drives and small hard drives, there is no excuse in not preserving your precious photos and videos.  Also take advantage of using the free email services and create an account for your kids and send them emails with pictures everyday and create your own time capsule for them.  

Digital property, like your other property, should be considered in your estate planning.  And as we were taught in this digital age to always back up data, that need is never the more apparent with estate planning and passing on your legacy.  There is no excuse given the small flash drives and mini hard drives available on the market today.  Back everything up and store it safely in a fire-proof safe or in a safety deposit box and make sure your trustee and/or personal representative has a way to access the information.  

This episode is about Taxes.  We discuss Washington State's estate tax threshold or exemption as well as the Federal Estate tax exemption and threshold amount.  

The movie UP IN THE AIR, stars George Clooney who plays an executive who flies to different destinations to have a face to face with person he was firing.  He also has a presentation about fitting your whole life in a backpack.  This episode will use that backpack to illustrate how a living trust works.  

What is Estate Planning?  A different perspective from my previous video.  We dig deeper in a quasi game theory what if's from the first person perspective.  Who is in control, Who benefits and When.  

This episode is about Walmart secretly taking out life insurance polices on their own employees and collecting the proceeds when the employees died to the tune of $91.6 million dollars.  

Usually the biggest asset a young couple may have is their 401k account and/or Life insurance with their infant children as designated beneficiaries.  Now if the couple dies, what happens the life insurance proceeds?

Estate Planning is really about being in control not only of what should happen to your estate after you die, but also about being in control while you're alive.  The best time to plan is while you're vertical and still healthy.  A trust has a lot of flexibility and allows you to plan for events that occur while you are alive.  

Like a will, a trust is another legal document that may help you better plan for your state.  A trust is a legal relationship where a trustee holds property for the benefit of another (beneficiaries).  Some of the reasons why people are drawn to trusts is that it is private, provides more flexibility and creativity, avoids probate and allows for planning for events while alive i.e. mental incapacity.  

What are the essentials for a valid will?  

Estate plans are as diverse as people are.  The one size fits all DIY kits by Legalzoom and its ilk may seem enticing and money saving, but you have to be careful as these forms may not accomplish your estate plan goals and may also cost more to fix the problems.  

Terri Schiavo was in a irreversible comatose vegetative state.  Schiavo's husband argued that she did not want prolonged artificial life support but her parents disputed his assertions.  Costly litigation ensued.  A living will or Healthcare Advanced Directive could have helped the Schiavo case.   

You may have listed guardians for your minor children in the will, but what about for the immediate care of your children in the event that you and your spouse died.  It is important to choose someone who can step in immediately as the guardian.  

Durable Power of Attorney deals with financial matters whereas with the Healthcare Power of Attorney deals with healthcare issues and the person's body.  

It is important to do a financial checkup on a regular basis for yourself and for your partner.  Maintenance is important because if you ignore potential issues, the results can be as bad as a seized engine and blown head gasket. 

What is a power of attorney?  When is the power of attorney effective? 

Episode 8 discusses the awesome power of the Power of Attorney document and how the document is ripe for misuse, abuse and financial exploitation.    

This episode is about 3 ways life insurance may be distributed.  

Life insurance is a very important tool to have as part of your overall estate plan.  It is relatively inexpensive compared to the payout your beneficiaries will receive.  Your beneficiaries can also receive the money quickly compared to the slow arduous process of probate.  So life insurance bypasses the will.   In choosing Life insurance, carefully consider your short and long term needs against resources you already have such as savings, pensions and other benefits.  The difference will be the estimated amount of life insurance you would need.   Term insurance is also available.  Term insurance covers a specified number of years instead of your entire life.  This is beneficial for young people looking to start a business and trying to secure a loan with a bank.  Often times a bank will require you to get term insurance before they advance capital to you.   Consider the the following major areas when estimating life insurance: 1) costs of death 2) lost income 3)grief fund 4)educational expense 5)mortgage canceling option 6) unexpected emergencies.  

Jack and Jill have children from previous marriages.  Jack and Jill are newlyweds and they purchase a house together taking title under a joint tenancy with the right of survivorship essentially making them co-owners.   Jill has a daughter Samantha from the previous marriage.  Samantha is married to her husband and they live in a tiny apartment.  Jack has children from his previous marriage and they all own houses and are all doing very well financially.   Jack and Jill decide to remake their wills.  The intent was that if Jack and Jill died the house will go to Samantha and the remaining assets would go to Jack's children.   What happened when Jill died first? 

What is Estate Planning? For many, the notion scares them or the topic seems so dry.  It is unfortunate that many people have an aversion to Estate Planning.  Because after all this is about your loved ones and providing for your loved ones.  

What do Tupac Shakur, Bob Marley, Prince, Jimi Hendrix and Amy Winehouse all have in common?    

Do I need a Will?   Many people don't want to think about death until it is too late.  What people fail to realize is that there is still a plan in place for you courtesy of Uncle Sam (your government, courts) in other words the State under One-size-fits all standard in determining which heirs would inherit your estate.   Do you want the State in control or Do you want to be in control?