May 2012

      Volume 2, Issue 5 

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About the Author  

Terri R. Stallard is a Member of McBrayer, McGinnis, Leslie & Kirkland, PLLC and focuses her practice primarily in Estate Planning and Administration. Ms. Stallard is licensed to practice law throughout Kentucky, Georgia, and Tennessee, and the U.S. Tax Court. She received her J.D. from the University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law, M.A. in Taxation from Emory University School of Law, and B.A. from Transylvania University.  

Ms. Stallard has extensive experience in estate planning and administration and corporate law. She is currently responsible for clients located in Kentucky, Georgia, and Tennessee, as well as Florida residents. Some of the services she provides include; preparation of basic estate planning instruments including wills, revocable trusts, durable powers of attorney for financial matters and durable powers of attorney for health care; sophisticated estate planning for high net worth individuals including grantor retained annuity trusts, qualified personal residence trusts, charitable remainder trust and charitable lead trust, as well as succession planning for owners of closely-held businesses.

 

Ms. Stallard may be reached at (859) 231-8780, ext. 258, or at  [email protected].    
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Six Common Estate Planning Mistakes

 

Terri Stallard
 Terri R. Stallard
Attorney

For too many people, estate planning is avoided and underestimated. However, estate planning offers benefits to every estate, no matter the size. When utilized properly, estate planning can ease your worries about the future and ensure that maximum benefits flow to your beneficiaries. When thinking about your estate plan, or lack thereof, there are common mistakes that should be avoided.  

  

1. No Estate Plan. The biggest mistake is not to have an estate plan at all, which includes failing to have a will. Clients fail to realize the consequences of not having an estate plan. If no plan is in place, the State designates how property is distributed at your death. The State's intestacy statute predetermines to whom your property goes, and in what percentages. Suppose a man dies, leaving a wife and two kids. In Kentucky, the surviving spouse will receive half of the estate.  The remaining half will be divided equally between the children. The State has no discretion distributing your estate. Having an estate plan avoids state distribution of your property, and the undesired consequences that accompany it. Proper planning gives you the opportunity to make informed decisions while alive, and assures your property will be handled and distributed the way you wish.

 

Failing to make an estate plan also affects matters of incapacity and disability. Without a plan in place, you are unable to prepare for potential disability or incapacity, which will require the court to appoint a guardian to manage your medical and financial affairs. A court-appointed guardian may not be familiar with your life, and may be unaware of how you wish to handle your financial and medical affairs. However, with the proper documents, these problems easily can be avoided. You can preselect who will have a power of attorney, and draft a health care directive in the case of medical disability. Both documents guarantee that your affairs will be handled by the person you select, and decisions will be made according to your wishes.  

 

2. Do-It-Yourself Wills. Clients should be wary of do-it-yourself wills. Every estate is different, but most do-it-yourself wills are designed for basic estates and are not state specific. The forms fail to provide for idiosyncrasies associated with your individual estate; as such, they may fail to fully carry out your wishes. Clients should enlist the help of an estate planner to avoid this undesirable result. An estate planner can properly advise clients on the particularities regarding their individual estate, ensuring that the client's planning needs and wishes are met.  

 

Do-it-yourself wills also may cost more money in the long-run. Do-it-yourself wills are often ambiguous or silent as to important issues, resulting in discontent among beneficiaries and inviting will contests. Consequently, families often spend more on litigation than the deceased would have spent, if an estate planner had been hired in the first place.   

  

3. Outright Bequests to Children. Clients should avoid leaving outright bequests to minor children, to children with special or specific needs, and to adult children who would not realize the benefit of such bequest. Directing a child's inheritance into a trust for his or her benefit protects such beneficiary from possible "predators and creditors," those who would seek money from an outright bequest. An estate plan should be organized to pass assets to your intended beneficiaries in the most beneficial way. Estate plans that include trust can be arranged to restrict spending to certain purposes, restrict the times when money can be accessed, and restrict who can access the money.  

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Even though the content in the McBrayer, McGinnis, Leslie & Kirkland, PLLC newsletter is primarily informative, state and federal law obligates us to inform you that THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT. You have received this advisory because you are a client or friend of the firm.

   

Copyright 2011 McBrayer, McGinnis, Leslie & Kirkland, PLLC. All Rights Reserved.
 
McBrayer, McGinnis, Leslie & Kirkland, PLLC would like to congratulate Lisa English Hinkle for being selected by Business Lexington as a 2012 Leading Woman of Central Kentucky.

Business Lexington produces the special publication 'Leading Women of Central Kentucky', in conjunction with the non-profit organization Women Leading Kentucky, which highlights 21 of the most exceptional women in the region's professional world. The honorees were nominated by their peers and chosen not only for their professional accomplishments, but also for the love and effort they put into their community, their families, and other aspects of their lives.

 

 

Lisa Hinkle
Photo by Mick Jeffries
 

 

 

  

  

  

  

  

   

  

 

 

 

 

By Esther Marr

Business Lexington 

May 14, 2012  

   

Attorney Lisa English Hinkle has an impressive resume filled with professional honors and awards, published works and professional associations too lengthy to name. But if you ask what she considers her greatest accomplishment, her answer is always the same: "my children."

 

It's not surprising that Hinkle, who has taken pride in teaching her four children "to be kind caring adults who will make significant contributions to any community where they live," grew up with fine examples to follow in her own life.

 

As a young girl, Hinkle sought advice from her father and brother -- both past presidents of the Kentucky Bar Association -- when it came to tough decisions. Hinkle will admit it's their encouragement and guidance over the years that played a role in helping her reach the position she holds today as an attorney and member of McBrayer, McGinnis, Leslie, and Kirkland.

 

"I am blessed with a father who provides guidance and will answer questions at any time, day or night, and a brother who will tell me how to get something done," said Hinkle, a native of Bowling Green, Ky., who speaks with a sweet Southern accent. "Both are incredible role models. It is so important to have someone that you can feel that you can turn to and ask honest questions without pretense."

 

Hinkle's professional journey began upon her graduation from the University of Kentucky's College of Law. She completed three law clerkships and then had an opportunity to work as a staff attorney with federal judges and the Federal Trade Commission in Atlanta.

 

Following a one-year stint in that role, Hinkle moved back to Kentucky, where she was hired by McBrayer, McGinnis, Leslie and Kirkland. Hinkle's area of practice is health care. She assists hospitals with business planning and developing new services and also works with physicians who are in the beginning stages of building their own practices.

 

Hinkle said being mentored by Terry McBrayer during her first years with the firm helped her gain confidence and direction in her profession.

 

"Terry taught me that being a lawyer means that you work hard, but also that you treat everyone with respect, kindness and humility, regardless of their station in life," said Hinkle. "He also taught me that humor goes a long way in helping people come to terms and not to take myself so seriously."

 

As previously mentioned, Hinkle's community involvement runs deep, as she holds leadership positions in more than a half-dozen organizations outside her profession. While all are important, Hospice of the Bluegrass, in which Hinkle has held several roles over the years, is especially close to her heart. She has also especially enjoyed serving as community chair for the Pioneering Healthy Communities Task Force for the Bourbon County YMCA.

 

"It's an amazing group of committed citizens, and we are working on the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan for Bourbon County that will improve the quality of life," Hinkle explained.

 

One of Hinkle's goals within her profession is to pass on the wisdom she has obtained from past mentors by encouraging other women to succeed and creating opportunities for them to achieve their goals.

 

"I have two paralegals who have gotten their master's [degrees] in health administration; our law firm has paid for them to do it, and I'm so proud of them," said Hinkle. "I've personally tried to be supportive of helping women advance professionally, especially when they're single mothers."