July 2009 |
The Planner Alert Breaking news for clients and associates
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Invite an estate planning expert to speak at your next community, professional, or company event.
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Event Calendar - July/August
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Please tell your friends about these upcoming events! (Click any
course title for details)
- 7/9/09 5:30 PM Austin Cosmopolitan Rotary Club
- 7/16/09, 2:00 - 3:00 pm Georgetown Office
- 7/21/09, 2:00 - 3:00 pm or 6:00 - 7:00 pm, Austin Office
- 8/12/09, 6:30 - 8:30 pm, UT
8/20/09 2:00 - 3:00 pm or 6:00 - 7:00 pm, Austin Office
8/26/09 2:00 - 3:00 pm or 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm, Georgetown Office
- 7/16/09, 3:15 pm - 4:15 pm, Georgetown Office
- 7/21/09, 3:15 pm - 4:15 pm and 7:15 pm - 8:15 pm, Austin Office
- 7/29/09, 6:30 - 8:00 pm, Westlake High School, Austin
- 7/30/09, 6:30 - 8:00 pm, Westwood High School, Round Rock
8/20/09, 3:15 pm - 4:15 pm and 7:15 pm - 8:15 pm, Austin Office
8/26/09, 3:15 pm - 4:15 pm or 6:15 pm - 7:15 pm, Georgetown Office
IRA/401K: The Five Beneficiary Options
- 7/8/09, 6:30 - 8:00 pm, Westlake High School, Austin
- 7/16/09, 6:30 - 8:00 pm, Westwood High School, Round Rock
Events for Wealth Planning Professionals- 7/10/09 7:00 AM, Texas Society of CPAs Austin Chapter, Special Needs Trusts seminar
- 7/14/09 12:00 - 1:00 pm, Austin Office, CPA Lunch and Learn: 'Cash Balance Defined Benefit Plans'
- 7/15/09
12:00 - 1:00 pm, Austin Office, Interdisciplinary Lunch and Learn: Life
Insurance Trusts? Continuing Relevance for You and Your Clients
- 8/18/09 12:00 - 1:00 pm, CPA-Specific Complimentary Lunch and Learn, Topic TBA
- 8/19/09 12:00 - 1:00 pm, Interdisciplinary Lunch and Learn, Topic TBA
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Newsletter Archive (New Feature, Old Newsletters)
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Listen In: When to use an Elder Law Attorney
Online Services Offer Estate Planning for the Digital Age
Keeping Mom and Dad Safe at Home
Family Business?...You Might Flip For A FLP...
Reverse Mortgage Variation is Aimed at Seniors Looking to Downsize
Stimulus Payment to Social Security Recipients Arriving
Economic Stimulus Law: How Does It Impact You?
Listen In: 3 Reasons Why a Will is Not Enough
The Dangers of Joint Accounts
Understanding the New Economic Stimulus Law: How Does It Impact You?
What the Stimulus Bill Does for the Elderly
Time and Tide Wait for No Man
NYT RE: Estate Planning
Things to Remember at Tax Time
Tough Times Are Good Times to Trim Estates
Planning You Should Consider Now
New FDIC Rules: Are You Protected?
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Greetings to you from the attorneys at The Greening Law Firm, P.C.
Michael Jackson had what's called a pour-over will that designates his trust as the beneficiary of his probate estate. Unlike a trust, a will becomes public record as part of the probate process. This situation serves as a useful reminder of the importance of completely funding your trust. It remains to be seen what fraction of Mr. Jackson's assets were in his trust. Assets not in his trust may be made public record as this will goes through probate. We stand ready to serve you.
Happy Fourth of July!
Ronald G. Greening
The Greening Law Firm,
P.C. |
(Click here to view the actual, signed document) LAST WILL OF MICHAEL JOSEPH JACKSON
I,
MICHAEL JOSEPH JACKSON, a resident of the State of California, declare
this to be my last Will, and do hereby revoke all former wills and
codicils made by me.
I
I
declare that I am not married. My marriage to DEBROAH JEAN ROWE JACKSON
has been dissolved. I have three children now living, PRINCE MICHAEL
JACKSON, JR., PARIS MICHAEL KATHERINE JACKSON and PRINCE MICHAEL JOSEPH
JACKSON, 11. I have no other children, living or deceased.
II
It
is my intention by this Will to dispose of all property which I am
entitled to dispose of by will. I specifically refrain from exercising
all powers of appointment that I may possess at the time of my death.
III
I
give my entire estate to the Trustee or Trustees then acting under that
certain Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust executed on March 22,
2002 by me as Trustee and Trustor which is called the MICHAEL JACKSON
FAMILY TRUST, giving effect to my amendments thereto made prior to my
death. All such assets shall be held, managed and distributed as a part
of said Trust according to its terms and not as a separate testamentary
trust.
If
for any reason this gift is not operative or is invalid, or if the
aforesaid Trust fails or has been revoked, I give my residuary estate
to the Trustee or Trustees named to act in the MICHAEL JACKSON FAMILY
TRUST, as Amended and Restated on March 22, 2002, and I direct said
Trustee or Trustees to divide, administer, hold and distribute the
trust estate pursuant to the provisions of said Trust, as hereinabove
referred to as such provisions now exist to the same extent and in the
same manner as though that certain Amended and Restated Declaration of
Trust, were herein set forth in full, but without giving effect to any
subsequent amendments after the date of this Will. The Trustee,
Trustees, or any successor Trustee named in such Trust Agreement shall
serve without bond.
IV
I
direct that all federal estate taxes and state inheritance or
succession taxes payable upon or resulting from or by reason of my
death (herein "Death Taxes") attributable to property which is part of
the trust estate of the MICHAEL JACKSON FAMILY TRUST, including
property which passes to said trust from my probate estate shall be
paid by the Trustee of said trust in accordance of terms. Death Taxes
attributable to property passing outside this Will, other than property
constituting the trust estate of the trust mentioned in the preceding
sentence, shall be charged against the taker of said property.
V
I
appoint JOHN BRANCA, JOHN MCCLAIN and BARRY SIEGEL as co-Executors of
this Will. In the event of any of their deaths, resignations,
inability, failure or refusal to serve or continue to serve as
co-Executor, the other shall serve and no replacement need be named.
The co-Executors serving at any time after my death may name one or
more replacements to serve in the event that none of the three named
individuals is willing or able to serve at any time.
The
term "my executors" as used in this Will shall include any duly acting
personal representative or representatives of my estate. No individual
acting as such need post a bond.
I hereby
give my Executors, full power and authority at any time or times to
sell, lease, mortgage, pledge, exchange or otherwise dispose of the
property, whether real or personal comprising my estate, upon such
terms as my Executor shall deem best, to continue any business
enterprises, to purchase assets from my estate, to continue in force
and pay insurance premiums on any insurance policy, including life
insurance, owned by my estate, and for any of the foregoing purposes to
make, execute and deliver any and all deeds, contracts, mortgages,
bills of sale or other instruments necessary or desirable therefore. In
addition, I give my Executors full power to invest and reinvest the
estate funds and assets in any kind of property, real, personal or
mixed, and every kind of investment, specifically including, but not by
way of limitation, corporate obligations of every kind and stocks,
preferred or common, and interests in investments trusts and share in
investment companies, and any common trust fund administered by any
corporate executor hereunder, which men of prudent discretion and
intelligence acquire of their own account.
VI
Except
as otherwise provided in this Will or in the Trust referred to in
Article III hereof, I have intentionally omitted to provide for my
heirs. I have intentionally omitted to provide for my former wife,
DEBORAH JEAN ROWE JACKSON.
VII
If
at the time of my death I own or have an interest in property located
outside of the State of California requiring ancillary administration,
I appoint my domiciliary Executors as ancillary Executors for such
property. I give to said domiciliary Executors the following additional
powers, rights and privileges to be exercised in their sole and
absolute discretion with reference to such property: to cause such
ancillary administration to be commenced, carried on and completed; to
determine what assets, if any, are to be sold by the ancillary
Executors; to pay directly or to advance funds from the California
estate to the ancillary Executors for the payment of all claims, taxes,
costs and administration expenses, including compensation of the
ancillary Executors and attorneys' fees incurred by reason of the
ownership of such property and by such ancillary administration; and
upon completion of such ancillary administration, I authorize and
direct the ancillary Executors to distribute, transfer and deliver the
residue of such property to the domiciliary Executors herein, to be
distributed by them under the terms of this Will, it being my intention
that my entire estate shall be administered as a unit and that my
domiciliary Executors shall supervise and control, so far as
permissible by local law, any ancillary administration proceedings
deemed necessary in the settlement of my estate.
VIII
If
any of my children are minors at the time of my death, I nominate my
mother, KATHERINE JACKSON as guardian of the persons and estates of
such minor children. If KATHERINE JACKSON fails to survive me, or is
unable or unwilling to act as guardian, I nominate DIANA ROSS as
guardian of the persons and estates of such minor children.
I subscribe my name to this Will this 7 day of July, 2002
Signed 'Michael Joseph Jackson'
On
the date written below, MICHAEL JOSEPH JACKSON, declared to us, the
undersigned, that the foregoing instrument consisting of five (5)
pages, including the page singed by us as witnesses, was his Will and
requested us to act as witnesses to it. He thereupon signed this Will
in our presence, all of us being present at the same time. We now, at
his request, in his presence and in the presence of each other,
subscribe our names as witnesses.
Each of
us is now more than eighteen (18) years of age and a competent witness
and resides at the address set forth after his name.
Each
of us is acquainted with MICHAEL JOSEPH JACKSON. At this time, he is
over the age of eighteen (18) years and, to the best of our knowledge,
he is of sound mind and is not acting under duress, menace, fraud,
misrepresentation or undue influence.
Executed on July 7th, 2002 at 5:00 p.m., Los Angeles
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Practice Limited to Estate Planning, Estate
Administration, Probate, and Elder Law
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506 West 15th Street, Austin, Texas 78701, 476.0888 1601 Williams Drive Georgetown, Texas 78628, 931.0888
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The hiring of an attorney is an important decision. The items discussed in this newsletter are of a general nature and not intended to provide legal advice. Please consult with a qualified estate planning/elder law attorney to determine the best options for your personal circumstances.
In accordance with IRS Circular 230, the content of this newsletter is not to be relied upon for the preparation of a tax return or to avoid tax penalties imposed by the Internal Revenue Code. If you desire a formal opinion on a particular tax matter for the purpose of filing a return or avoiding the imposition of any penalties, please contact us to discuss the further Treasury requirements that must be met and whether it is possible to meet those requirements under the circumstances, as well as the anticipated time and fees involved.
To comply with the U.S. Treasury regulations, we must inform you
that (i) any U.S. federal tax advice contained in this newsletter was
not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by any person
for the purpose of avoiding U.S. federal tax penalties that may be
imposed on such person and (ii) each taxpayer should seek advice from
their tax advisor based on the taxpayer's particular circumstances.
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