July 2012      

Team Tisser Foundation (TTF) is a non-profit corporation founded by Doron M. Tisser and his wife Laurie. TTF raises money for various charitable purposes and does not focus on any one charity or charitable purpose. The goal is to raise as much money as possible to "Help Make A Difference" by "Improving Life for Others." TTF has made donations to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Challenged Athletes Foundation, as well as charities helping people affected by natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and the Tsunamis. Since 2000, TTF has donated over $250,000 to over 40 different charities. Friends and clients generally donate money to TTF to support Doron's participation in triathlons and marathons. If you would like more information about TTF, please contact Doron at [email protected], or visit www.teamtisser.org

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About
Doron M. Tisser

Doron M. Tisser has specialized in estate and gift planning, tax planning, trust and probate administration, charitable giving, buy-sell agreements and related areas for over 30 years. Mr. Tisser is one of less than 100 attorneys in California who has been designated as both a Certified Specialist in Probate, Estate Planning and Trust Law, and as a Certified Specialist in Taxation Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. He was chosen by his peers as a Super Lawyer for 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012 for Southern California, and enjoys an "a.v." rating by Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, which is the highest possible rating and is based on ethical considerations and legal skills. Mr. Tisser has published over 65 articles and chapters in books on various estate and tax planning subjects and is a frequent speaker and lecturer at estate and tax planning seminars. Mr. Tisser competes in triathlons, including Ironman races, and raises money for charities through Team Tisser Foundation, a non-profit corporation he co-founded with his wife Laurie.

What’s Happening

Doron M. Tisser will be the guest speaker on the Cindy Rakowitz Radio Show Thursday, July 12, 2012 at 7:00 a.m. You can listen live at www.voiceamerica.com or download the interview in perpetuity in the networks archives at www.voiceamerica.com and search for host Cindy Rakowitz show, Stars of PR, Episode Listing.

Doron M. Tisser has started training for a marathon to be run later this year. Doron trains for and runs these races to raise money for charities through Team Tisser Foundation (TTF), a non-profit corporation co-founded by Doron and his wife Laurie. TTF has given over $250,000 in grants to various charities over the last 10 years. If you would like to donate money to TTF, please visit TTF’s web-site at www.teamtisser.org.

If you would like Doron M. Tisser to speak to your group or organization about the new estate tax laws, trust administration or other estate planning subjects, please contact Laura Stein at [email protected] or call Laura at (818)226-9125.

THE SANDWICH GENERATION AND ESTATE PLANNING

The term "sandwich generation" refers to a generation of persons which has children of their own and also has living parents. The sandwich generation is sandwiched between a younger generation and an older generation, and helping both generations financially.

For purposes of this article, we will refer to the older generation as the “parents”, the sandwich generation as the “children” and the younger generation as the “grandchildren.”

As parents are living longer, they need more help from their children, both physically and economically. This can put a burden on the children who are also helping to take care of the grandchildren.

Lifetime Responsibilities to Parents

If parents do not have enough money to live in a comfortable manner, it becomes the burden of the children to assist the parents financially.

Even if the parents have more money than they need for the rest of their lives, it is likely the children will bear the burden of taking care of the parents. For example, there may be care-givers that need to be hired and supervised and the parents’ bills need to be paid. In addition, if the parents no longer drive, the children may have to drive the parents to doctor appointments, beauty salons and other places the parents need to go to.

A big issue that has arisen today is which of the children will take responsibility for the parents? If the children all get along and can work together, they can divide the responsibilities among them. If they do not agree, then resentment and animosity can result between the children.
Even if they can agree on dividing the responsibilities, where the children live will impact who bears the burden of taking care of the parents. For example, if the parents and their daughter’s family live in Los Angeles, but the son lives in New York, the son will not be able to help get the parents to their various appointments; on the other hand, the son may be able to help with the financial aspects of the parents’ lives.

If the parents will not have enough money to live comfortably and it makes sense economically to do so, the children may want to look at buying long-term care insurance on the parents to help pay for the cost of care-givers or facilities into which the parents may have to be placed. If the parents cannot pay the insurance premiums, the children should discuss sharing the cost of the premiums among themselves.

Another issue is who should be named as the agent to make medical decisions for the parents on their Powers of Attorneys for Health Care?

When the children discuss these responsibilities among themselves, it is important that they do so in a way that will not cause animosity or friction among themselves.

Responsibilities to Parents at Death

I recently read that because of medical advances, a 65 year old man has a 60% chance of living to age 80. His chance of living to age 85 is 40%. A 65 year old woman has a 71% chance of reaching age 80 and a 53% chance of reaching age 85.
[1]

Unfortunately, many parents are outliving their children. This creates a further burden on the children. As parents live longer, the impact of estate planning by the children has a direct effect on the parents.

As an example, if a son has living parents, it is typically presumed that he will outlive his parents. In planning his estate, however, it is important to consider what will happen if the son is providing financial support for his parents and the parents outlive him.

If the son sets up trusts for his wife and children, the trustee of those trusts will not be allowed to use the money in the trusts to provide for the parents' support since the parents are not beneficiaries of the trusts. In this case, the son may want to set up a separate trust for his parents for their lifetimes in case they outlive him. The trustee of this trust will use the money for the parents and when the parents die, the remaining trust money will go to the son’s spouse or children. If the son outlives the parents, then the trust for the parents is ignored and the assets go to the wife and children.

On the other hand, if the parents have substantial net worth and they leave their assets to the children, those assets will not only be subject to estate taxes when the parents die, they also will be subject to estate taxes when the children die. This double estate tax can be avoided by the parents placing the inheritance for their children into a Heritage Trust, which should avoid estate taxes when the children die, yet allow the children to use the inheritance during their lifetimes (while having the assets protected from creditors and spouses). For a discussion of Heritage Trusts, go to www.tisserlaw.com and look at the Publications section for the April 2011 Newsletter on Heritage Trusts.

Regardless of the parents’ situation, both financially and otherwise, the children should take their parents’ situation into account when doing their own estate planning.


[1]
Social Security Period Life Table, 2007

Tisser Law Group | 5425 Farralone Ave, Suite 100 | Woodland Hills | CA | 91367

[email protected] – Doron M. Tisser, Esq.
[email protected] – Brian H. Standing, Esq.
[email protected] – Armine Bazikyan, Esq.
[email protected] – Judy Schwarz, Legal Assistant

[email protected] – Erica May, Legal Assistant

[email protected] – Laura Stein, Admin. Director
[email protected] – Amber McBride, Practice Coordinator
[email protected] – Heather Lanet, Admin. Assistant
[email protected] – Zion Dungo, Admin. Assistant
[email protected] – Jesus Esteves, Admin. Assistant  
This Newsletter is intended to provide legal information only; legal information is not legal advice and you should consult with qualified legal counsel prior to implementing any estate planning. The transmission or receipt of information to or from this Newsletter is not intended to create, and does not create or constitute, an attorney-client relationship. No portion of this Newsletter may be reproduced or used in any manner other than for the private information of the reader without the express written consent of Tisser Law Group. The testimonials throughout this Newsletter were provided by actual clients. To maintain their privacy their names may have been abbreviated. Please note that testimonials do not warrant, guarantee or predict your particular results. Copyright � Tisser Law Group 2010. All Rights Reserved.