Legal Matters

Brought to you by: Community Partner Holliman & Holliman, www.hollimanlegal.com

1. I’m too young to need an estate plan. Accidents happen at all ages. Even if you are single with no children, you must decide who will get your assets. You may not want your assets to go to parents or to siblings or only to one parent or to one sibling. Regardless of your age, you need an estate plan. You may want to bequeath assets to friends or to charity. You have the right to decide how your assets are distributed, but it takes an estate plan to make it happen. If you have minor children, you absolutely need an estate plan to name who will take care of your children. Family fights over custody are common.

2. I don’t have enough assets to need an estate plan. the key question is, “Do you have assets that are important enough to you that you want to control who gets the assets?” If so, you need an estate plan.

3. My spouse gets everything anyway. Not necessarily. Without a will or trust, your spouse may not receive everything due to Alabama intestate law. It is entirely possible that your parents or your children could receive some assets rather than your spouse.

4. I can’t decide how to divide things up. Would you really want Alabama intestate law to decide who gets your assets? Hint: The answer is NO. Wouldn’t you prefer to make a decision that you can change later if needed instead of leaving it to chance and the State of Alabama?

5. I can’t decide who to put in charge. If you do not make this decision, the State will assign a lawyer to the task. You could name an unrelated third party rather than a family member. You can always change your nomination in the future if you later feel the person is no longer a good choice.

6. It costs too much. An intestate estate generally will cost more than an estate plan. An administration following intestate law is more complicated and can allow more opportunities for family to fight in court– all of which increases the costs.

Don’t let excuses determine your family’s future. Work through your concerns with an experienced estate planning attorney who can help you make the right decisions for you.

-Melanie B. Holliman, JD

Partner at Holliman & Holliman, PLLC

www.hollimanlegal.com

205-663-0281

No representation is made that the quality of the legal service to be performed is greater than the quality of service performed by other lawyers.

Legal Matters

presented by: Frank S. Buck P.C., Personal Injury

What to Do to Protect Yourself. Due to the hectic demands of life, we often find ourselves on the road. Daily interstate travel brings many drivers in frequent contact with larger vehicles like 18-wheelers or semi-trailer trucks. Many truckers work lengthy hours, driving long distances hauling cargo, which can result in fatigue and distracted driving, both of which can lead to catastrophic crashes. In addition, truckers often face strict delivery deadlines, causing some to disregard speed limits. Many drivers do not realize how different a car wreck involving an 18-wheeler is from one involving two average vehicles. 18-wheeler trucks can weigh up to 80,000 lbs. which often causes serious and substantial damage to the cars involved in this crashes and sometimes fatal consequences. One in every eight automobile wreck fatalities involves a large truck like an 18-wheeler. If the past is any indication, more people will be killed in traffic accidents involving large trucks this year than have died in all the domestic commercial airline crashes over the past 45 years. Because of statistics like these, there are strict laws and regulations that apply to trucking companies and their drivers, which do not apply to non-commercial drivers. Examples of such regulations include limitations on the amount of time that truck drivers can spend driving before they take a break and what they can haul.

If you are in a wreck with an 18-wheeler, it is important to call an attorney who handles trucking collisions immediately. The trucking company will begin investigating the wreck right away with a team of experts and lawyers on the case to protect itself, so time is of the essence for you to hire an attorney to begin investigation to protect yourself.  There is valuable evidence such as black box data or other GPS recording devices from the truck that need to be preserved promptly by an experienced attorney working on your behalf. A “black box” is a recording device that is triggered by certain events to start recording important data about the truck and its movement and speed. Black box data can provide critical evidence later for an expert such as an accident reconstructionist to determine what happened in the wreck. If this data is not requested early, there is nothing preventing the trucking companies from destroying it. It is also important to document the wreck with photographs of the vehicles at the scene of the collision to show exactly what occurred. An attorney can also investigate the background of the trucking company as well as the driver. It is important to have someone who will fight for you after an 18-wheeler collision.

Frank S. Buck, P.C., Attorneys at Law have been offering professional legal services and serving Alabama citizens for over 44 years. We have experienced trial attorneys who have over 100 years of combined trial experience. You can reach us 24 hours a day at 205-933-7533 or visit us at www.franksbuckpc.com. Please call us for a free consultation.

Click Here To Learn How To Reach A Christian Audience in Alabama.

Legal Matters

Brought to you by: Community Partner Holliman & Holliman, www.hollimanlegal.com

Thinking of your loved ones? Do more than send them valentines and flowers. Use your estate plan to put your love into action.

If your spouse’s eyes glaze over when you want to talk about finances or estate plans, you can still make life easier for your spouse by organizing this info all in one place. Include an updated list of all your key contacts such as your accountant, financial planner or advisor, and estate planning attorney, and keep it in a place that your spouse would know to find it. Update your net worth statement with all accounts and assets the two of you own and make sure you include whose name(s) is on each account or asset. Be sure to include life insurance policy details, pre-paid burial plans, funeral preferences, and digital identity info such as online bill payments and passwords. Do not keep these files in a bank box.

Next, think about your adult children and their strengths and weaknesses. Talk to your estate planning attorney if one of them can’t manage money or has a stormy marriage that could end in divorce. If your adult children are your beneficiaries in your estate plan, you can build in protections from your child’s creditors or divorcing spouse by using the correctly structured trust. Consider if your children’s strengths make them good candidates to serve as your durable power of attorney, executor, healthcare power of attorney, or other roles that will become more important as you and your spouse age. Remember that your estate plan should address your late life as well as after you’re gone.

Next, think about your grandchildren and their future needs such as college, support if they are permanently disabled, and their interests in your hobbies or collections. Keep in mind that divorce decrees will impact their lives if they are part of blended families. Also, make sure that your estate plan addresses future grandchildren.  

You can’t control the future, but you can make sure that your estate plan expresses your deep love for your loved ones much better than a valentine covered with hearts. Changes in your financial affairs, your family members through deaths and divorces, and your designated agents occur more often than you think. Consult with your attorney especially if your estate plan needs to be updated, and then let your loved ones know just how much you love them.

-Melanie B. Holliman, JD

Partner at Holliman & Holliman, PLLC

www.hollimanlegal.com    

205-663-0281

No representation is made that the quality of the legal service to be performed is greater than the quality of service performed by other lawyers.

Legal Matters

Brought to you by: Community Partner Holliman & Holliman, www.hollimanlegal.com

When several members of a family work in the same business, just being family does not provide enough structure to handle succession planning or asset protection from creditors and taxes. A family limited partnership can also help avoid family contention. After all, disagreements over who is the favorite son, daughter, nephew, or niece are very common and can impact long-term relationships.

Families who share family businesses, real estate, publicly traded and privately held securities or other assets can use a limited partnership (LP) or limited liability company (LLC) to manage the business relationships among family members. When these assets are rapidly growing in value, families also use family limited partnerships for tax planning, creditor protection planning, and succession planning. 

A family limited partnership (FLP) is a holding company owned by two or more family members and has two classes of owners – general partners (GPs) and limited partners (LPs). The assets held in an FLP may be owned by different members of the family currently, and the FLP can be structured with pro rata shares of the FLP which can help with succession planning. The GPs, often parents, manage and control the FLP and its assets and may be the primary or only current owners of the business.  However, an FLP can also be structured to redistribute the ownership over time and define future GPs. The LPs are often the adult children or grandchildren of the GPs and are passive owners of the FLP. They have an economic interest and benefit from the FLP’s income, but do not manage or control the FLP. The LPs receive a pro rata share of the FLP’s income and are liable only to the extent of their investment in the FLP. This limitation of liability can be very valuable if the LPs’ personal assets differ a lot in size.

Obviously, a family limited partnership requires a good bit of thought and discussion with your family and your experienced estate and business planning attorney. Consider it as a New Year’s resolution to check into the possibilities for your family situation.

-Melanie B. Holliman, JD

Partner at Holliman & Holliman, PLLC

www.hollimanlegal.com    

205-663-0281

No representation is made that the quality of the legal service to be performed is greater than the quality of service performed by other lawyers.

Legal Matters

Brought to you by: Community Partner Holliman & Holliman, www.hollimanlegal.com

The value is so much more than the net dollars from assets minus liabilities. By keeping an accurate record of accounts, whose names are on the accounts, as well as the dollar value on a regular basis, you can make more informed decisions for the coming year, strategize for tax purposes, and make sure that your estate plan still reflects the beneficiaries you’ve chosen in case of a surprising demise.

With the major stock market changes recently, you may not be as well off as you think once you update your net worth. Meeting with your financial advisor to consider rebalancing your portfolio before the end of the year could improve your tax situation next April. If your asset protection plan contains a donor-directed trust fund, you may find you have fewer assets to donate this year. Checking the current dollar value of your assets also assesses if your estate plan still prorates the shares you want each beneficiary to receive as inheritances. If you are lucky enough in have major increases to your net worth, you may want to look into trusts with your estate planning attorney to protect privacy from probate which is public record.

Life happens when you blink. Think back over this year. You may have changed banks, bought or sold a house or property, added new family members through marriages or births, lost family members through divorces or deaths, changed jobs, and other major changes. These factors may require adjustments to your estate plan, and the sooner the better considering the “triple-demic” expected this winter – COVID, pneumonia, and influenza – any of which could take out someone of any age. Many pundits suggest you run your personal finances like your own business… well, it is your business! A regularly updated net worth helps you do just that.  Regardless of the size of your net worth, it’s good to know if you are growing your estate, treading water, or sinking into debt. A year-end net worth review can help you make decisions regarding big purchases, vacations, or even new job opportunities. Consider your team of advisors as your board of directors – financial advisor, accountant, and of course, your estate planning attorney. Let them help you run the “business” side of your life in the direction you want to head. Now that’s the added value of a net worth summary updated year after year.

-Melanie B. Holliman, JD

Partner at Holliman & Holliman, PLLC

www.hollimanlegal.com    

205-663-0281

No representation is made that the quality of the legal service to be performed is greater than the quality of service performed by other lawyers.

Legal Matters

Brought to you by: Community Partner Holliman & Holliman, www.hollimanlegal.com 

Have you seen U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in the news recently? On August 10, 2022, President Biden signed the PACT Act of 2022 or its full name, The Sergeant First Class (SFC) Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act. This law made sweeping new changes to help Veterans and others get the benefits they deserve. 

Let’s compare what benefits were available and to whom prior to this law and what benefits are now available and who is eligible for them related to Camp Lejeune. Between specific dates in 1953-1987, hundreds of thousands of people at Camp Lejeune drank and bathed in the water including Veterans, their families, workers, and service people. Prior to the PACT Act and beginning as late as 2017, if you were a Veteran, a Reservist, or a Guardsman with an illness that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) considered to be a “presumptive illness,” you only had to prove you had the disease and you were at Camp Lejeune in the required time period. In other words, normally a “connection” or “nexus” between your injury or illness and your military service is required, but with the PACT Act, the VA automatically assumes the connection.  

After your claim’s evaluation, you were awarded a disability rating between 0% and 100%. If you had other illnesses or injuries, these could be combined to get a higher rating. For example, if you retired from the military and were awarded a 40% rating, you could receive your retirement pay and service-connected disability benefits at the same time. One needs to achieve or be awarded a 50% rating to get both retirement pay and service-connected disability benefits at the same time. With proper application and proof, family members of service members with one of these presumptive illnesses could receive health benefits, too.  

Enter the Pact Act of 2022. This act provides the ability to sue the federal government for the suffering and loss associated with exposure to these toxic chemicals in the water at Camp Lejeune. As a Veteran, you may very well have both avenues open- a service-connected claim and a lawsuit- even if you were previously denied a service-connection for this type of claim. It’s extremely important that you carefully research for an attorney with the right expertise to help you with these claims.  

-John R. Holliman, JD

Partner at Holliman & Holliman, PLLC

www.hollimanlegal.com

205-663-0281

No representation is made that the quality of the legal service to be performed is greater than the quality of service performed by other lawyers.

Legal Matters

Brought to you by: Holliman & Holliman, LLC, Estate Planning, hollimanlegal.com 

October is a busy month with art festivals and Halloween, but it is also the month for Mental Health Awareness Week on October 2-8, Stroke Prevention Day on October 29, and Domestic Violence Awareness recognized with purple ribbons all month. These three situations have legal protections that you should know if a family member or heir has one of these issues.

Domestic Abuse. In a domestic abuse situation, the abuser often attempts to control and dominate the victim mentally, physically, and financially. Preventing an abuser or spendthrift spouse from access to an inheritance gives your heir more power and options. A good estate planning attorney can create a spendthrift trust in your estate plan for an adult heir with an abusive spouse or mental health issues. If your adult heir is the one with spendthrift tendencies, a spendthrift trust can protect the adult heir, too. 

Mental Health. According to John Hopkins Medicine, one in four Americans have a diagnosable mental disorder. A durable power of attorney and healthcare power of attorney for a family member or heir with mental issues can help in future crises. Thinking long term with no crisis in sight, one grandmother set up a trust in her estate so that her grandson with significant mental disabilities would be cared for by a guardian and conservator long after she was gone. The parents were not viable options. An estate planning attorney can advise you about whether a guardian or a conservator is right for your situation.

Stroke. The CDC reports that in 2020, someone in the U.S. has a stroke every 40 seconds or about 795,000 people a year. Strokes remain a leading cause of death even though huge advances in treatment now exist. A complete estate plan including financial and healthcare power of attorney and healthcare directive can be invaluable when an individual has a stroke. While the stroke victim is in rehab, the financial power of attorney ensures that bills are paid. If the stroke victim doesn’t recover, the healthcare directive and healthcare power of attorney allow someone to make the hard decisions about life support based on the stroke victim’s preferences. And with about 37% of Americans living alone, it’s important to have an estate plan in place to manage any eventuality.

Make sure your estate plan can manage these situations.

-Melanie B. Holliman, JD

Partner at Holliman & Holliman, PLLC

www.hollimanlegal.com

205-663-0281

No representation is made that the quality of the legal service to be performed is greater than the quality of service performed by other lawyers.

Legal Matters

Brought to you by: Community Partner Holliman & Holliman, hollimanlegal.com

Yes, 70 may be the new 50, and grandparents are redefining their roles by living more active and longer lives. More often than you might think, adult grandchildren are faced with helping their grandparents plan their golden years. Families are getting smaller and live so far away that your parents or siblings may not be available to take care of grandparents. In fact, your grandparents may be more open to sharing and working with an adult grandchild on their plans than with their own children. Consider these three key areas for subtle discussions with grandparents.

1. Independence. Many grandparents strongly prefer to live in their own homes as long as possible and do not want to move in with any of their children. You could gently encourage your grandparents to consider other options by taking “field trips” to visit independent care, assisted living, and nursing homes nearby. Take careful note of their preferences.

2. Healthcare. Find out if your grandparents have long-term care policies. Make sure each has a current Durable Powers of Attorney (with a backup!), Power of Healthcare decisions, Advance Directives for healthcare, living wills, possibly DNR orders (do not resuscitate) to share with doctors and medical facilities, and prepaid burial plans, plots, or other plans such as donating their bodies to medical research. A current list of medications is always handy for doctor visits as well as medical emergencies.

3. Financial Affairs. Make sure your grandparents have someone set up with financial power of attorney to handle bills when needed. Remember that the various powers of attorney can be split among people with different expertise. You can learn who your grandparents’ team is — CPA, investment advisor, estate planning attorney, and executors — without necessarily getting “into their business.” Asking for their recommendations for your own plans is a great conversation starter.

Make sure that their financial management is still good. Some studies found that financial literacy peaks in the late 40s or 50s and declines after 60. On the flip side, financial confidence increases up to age 85. Now that’s a potential problem! One adult son had to file for conservatorship when his 86-year-old dad started giving inordinate amounts of money to a caregiver of his invalid wife. You are truly blessed if you have grandparents, so take care of them!

-Melanie B. Holliman, JD 

Partner at Holliman & Holliman, PLLC

www.bradfordholliman.com

205-663-0281

No representation is made that the quality of the legal service to be performed is greater than the quality of service performed by other lawyers.

Legal Matters 

Brought to you by: Community Partner Bradford & Holliman, www.bradfordholliman.com 

While attending a baby shower, a friend in her late 60s wondered if the parents-to-be had taken time to consider very carefully who they would like to be their baby girl’s guardians if they were both gone. That’s so much more important that the nursery wall color.

Sometimes a guardian choice is obvious such as a sibling whose parenting style you like. But siblings often live far away. Perhaps close friends are better choices so your children would already know them well, and your children’s day-to-day life would have more continuity after major trauma. If you’ve set up trusts for your children through your estate plan, the trustee is another possible guardian. However, you may like your trustee’s financial expertise more than their parenting expertise.

Not only is selecting potential guardians for your children a major decision, but your will should include at least two backups of either couples or single individuals. When reviewing their five-year-old will, one couple was stunned to realize that of the three couples they had selected, all three were now in drastically different situations. The wife of their primary choice had died, and her husband was dealing with grief and had moved to Georgia. Their secondary choice had divorced and had a complicated relationship. The third couple had divorced, and both had married other people. This situation is a perfect example of why we encourage clients to review their wills at least every three years.  

Your own life may change in ways that should trigger a reassessment of your choices of guardians such as moving to a different state. If you have more children, perfectly competent guardian possibilities with larger families of their own may become inappropriate because they would be stretched too thin to raise your children, too. Obviously, you need to keep your wills updated. Long before you meet with your estate planning attorney, talk seriously with each potential guardian, and get their agreement to serve as guardian. Ask them to let you know if their situation changed in ways that would prevent them from accepting the responsibility. And then update your will.

-Melanie B. Holliman, JD 

Partner at Holliman & Holliman, PLLC

www.bradfordholliman.com

205-663-0281

No representation is made that the quality of the legal service to be performed is greater than the quality of service performed by other lawyers.

Legal Matters

Brought to you by: Community Partner Holliman & Holliman, www.bradfordholliman.com 

Veterans and their families make up nearly 400,000 of Alabama’s population which ranks 7th highest per capita in the nation. The Veterans Administration (VA), several non-profit and volunteer organizations, and VA-accredited Alabama elder law attorneys help veterans understand Alabama’s VA benefits. 

VA-accredited Alabama elder law attorneys develop strategies that consider veteran benefits and any civilian work benefits both while the veterans are alive (disability benefits) and for their families, after they are gone (Aid and Attendance). These attorneys can assess veteran benefits in the context of long-term care, Alabama Medicaid, asset protection, conservatorships, wills, and trusts.  

The attorneys can explain both pension and service-connected claims and Department of Defense benefits so that a veteran can make the best choices at the right times. Sometimes, a non-service-connected pension is a better choice. Without understanding CRSC (Combat-Related Special Compensation) and CRDC (Concurrent Retirement and Disability) payments, a veteran could lose out on benefits. Many veterans are eligible for Tricare for Life or CHAMPVA health insurance which provide important free health coverage. VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (VA DIC) is best known for benefits for veterans’ surviving spouses and children, and perhaps “loco parentis.” It is easy to miss these options without VA-accredited legal advice. An article by Military.com outlines other Alabama veteran benefits including:

• Ad valorem property tax exemption on home and 160 acres if the veteran meets certain criteria
• Ad valorem property taxes exemption on VA-specially adapted homes
• State, county, and city income tax exemption on military pay, survivor benefits
• No license or ad valorem tax on motor vehicles paid by VA
• 5 points added to state employment exam scores, and 10 points for spouse of certain disabled or deceased veterans
• Tuition waiver for Purple Heart Medal recipients to two and four-year technical, community, or junior colleges
• Alabama GI-dependent scholarship that waives $250 per semester hour and $1,000 for books per semester for up to five years if certain criteria are met
• Free admission to state parks
• Discounted fishing licenses to 20% disabled veterans
• Special hunting license for disabled veterans
• In-state license fees for non-resident active-duty military and families
• Free retired military pistol permit
• Alabama State Veterans Cemetery in Spanish Fort, Alabama

Alabama’s four existing VA homes have waiting lists ranging from 80 to 350+. With projections of 1,440 veterans needing care by 2045, the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs is building a fifth veterans’ home for long-term care located in Enterprise that will house some 175 veterans after it opens in 2023. If you are a veteran or a veteran’s family, thank you for your service! Please consider talking to a VA-accredited attorney about your VA benefit options soon.

-Melanie B. Holliman, JD 

Partner at Holliman & Holliman, PLLC

www.bradfordholliman.com

205-663-0281

No representation is made that the quality of the legal service to be performed is greater than the quality of service performed by other lawyers.