The story of William Roberts Lindsay is a sad, lonely, and slightly bizarre one.

Lindsay amassed a fortune as a successful investor in Los Angeles and retired to Las Vegas in his mid-50s for the desert climate and low tax regime. He was a bit of a recluse – he never married and named his barber, Elton Marvin, and his pet pug, Midget as his closest friends.

When he died, he left only Midget and some dog treats to Marvin and the remainder of his estate he left to Scotland.

Yes, Scotland. The land of William Wallace, bagpipes, castles, and kilts.

For at least the last 10 years, Lindsay had been supporting Scottish interests. He funded the William R. Lindsay chair in public health at Glasgow University, and two years ago he made a $4 million donation to the National Trust for Scotland, a charitable organization dedicated to preserving Scottish heritage and history. Interestingly enough, he had previously been turned down for another Scottish academic chair because he was believed to be a “crank.”

Yet, Lindsay had never been to Scotland. His entire vision of the country was shaped by the movie Brigadooon, based on the Broadway hit musical of the same name, and staring Gene Kelly as one of two Americans hoping to discover a hidden Scottish village that emerges from the mist just one day every 100 years.

But Lindsay’s ancestors hailed from Scotland and that connection was the last important thing to him, imaginary though the impression was.

He bequeathed his estate – minus the dog – to the NTS before shooting himself in his home in November at the age of 79.

Bi aig fois, a’ Uilleam. (Rest in peace, William.)

James D. Perry

Young, single people are the least likely demographic to have an estate plan.

Estate planning is primarily thought of as a means to distribute personal and real property upon death. Often, young people haven’t yet acquired a great deal of property, and they figure anything they do have will go to their living parents or siblings. Or, they may be holding off on planning their estate because of the eventual hope of getting married and expanding their family.

But estate planning deals with a lot more than just distribution of assets, and the most responsible thing to do is to prepare for the unexpected circumstances that can occur while working towards the life you want.

A strong estate plan also includes a durable power of attorney and an advance directive for health care. These documents are important because they dictate who will make decisions for you in the event you are incapacitated.

If you end up in the hospital because of a sudden illness or traumatic accident, bills will still come due, taxes must be filed, and financial decisions must be made. A durable power of attorney gives decision-making power to a trusted friend or family member during your incapacitation.

And, while you’re in the hospital, an advance directive for health care gives your designated agent the power to carry out your personal wishes for medical and life-saving treatment and end-of-life care.

In that same vein, singles should consider purchasing a disability insurance plan because they don’t have the second income of a spouse to fall back on in the event of an accident or disability.

Nothing incapacitates a person like a car accident or sudden illness – and no age group is immune to either – but responsible estate planning can prepare your life for your worst-case scenarios.

James D. Perry

Over my years of practice, I’ve seen an increase in the number of women looking to create an estate plan.

Estate planning is important for women because they have a greater likelihood of ending up alone later in life. Women have a longer life expectancy than men and tend to marry older men often making them the final word on disposition of family assets.

In my own case, I had the good fortune to convince my wife Patricia to marry me, despite the fact that I am six years older. As a bonus for me, she loves to cook and bought me my first order of “Grecian Formula” which “restores lost color to graying hair naturally.”

Deborah Jacobs, writing for Forbes Magazine, suggests that women ask themselves a few important questions to help them craft their best estate plan, inclusive of powers of attorney, guardianship, life insurance, wills, and trusts.

1. Whom can you trust? You should have a durable power of attorney giving a trusted family member or close friend the legal authority to make decisions for you should you become incapacitated due to mental illness, medical emergency, or accident.

2. Who would raise your children? It’s often the hardest question to ask because the thought of orphaning your children is so painful.  But not asking the hard questions can leave your children at the mercy of the court.  If you haven’t named a guardian, the court will need to name one.  This can lead to a custody battle between relatives wanting to take the children, or, the reverse, no one may want to take them.

3. Do you have life insurance? Life insurance can help replace lost income when a spouse dies, or it may cover state or federal estate taxes.  If you have life insurance through your employer or a pension plan, be sure to keep your beneficiary forms updated.  You may want to designate a family member as the owner of the policy to avoid the proceeds being taxed as part of your estate.

4.  Do you have assets of your own? The estate tax applies to each person individually.  California is a community property state, so property that is used jointly in the marriage (e.g., the marital home or a joint bank account) is presumed to be community property.  If you are trying to balance the tax burden, you may need to transfer title to one spouse individually.  Otherwise, you may be rebutting the community property presumption in court.

5. Is there money in the bank? If your spouse dies, you will not have access right away to his individual bank accounts.  You want to be sure that there is enough money in joint accounts or separate accounts to which you have access to cover immediate expenses until the spouse’s estate is settled.

6. Should you shed assets to save taxes? Before you start giving away the farm, you need to make sure you have enough money for yourself to live and pay emergency or final expenses.  You can give away as much as $13,000 individually per year tax free, $1 million over your lifetime.  This year is an anomaly in estate taxation (0% on estates, 35% on gifts), but starting Jan. 1, 2011, unless Congress acts, you will be paying the death tax and the gift tax at a rate of 55%.

There are a great number of estate planning and financial planning vehicles you can employ to transfer assets prior to and after death and to lower your tax bill.  Take stock of your goals and your financial reality, and then talk to your estate planning attorney.

James D. Perry

We never read about a perfect celebrity estate plan. An estate plan that can smoothly transfer assets is not newsworthy, and happy relatives rarely sue.

From what I have read, esteemed film actor Dennis Hopper made every attempt to create a solid estate plan. Unfortunately, his name and estate plan have been in the papers because of a singular unforeseen problem: one angry widow.

Early this year, Hopper filed for divorce from his wife of 18 years, Victoria Duffy. She responded by filing a complaint in court claiming Hopper had cut her out of his will at the behest of other family members. She claimed he lacked the mental capacity to change his will, a charge his doctors emphatically denied despite his declining health due to inoperable and terminal prostate cancer.

Because Duffy and Hopper were still married at his death, she stands to inherit a quarter of his sizeable estate and a $250,000 life insurance property, but a clause in their prenuptial agreement may strip her of all inheritance. According to the document, the couple must have been “married and living together” on the date of Hopper’s death.

The prenuptial agreement categorized any property purchased or acquired by Hopper during the marriage as separate property. Just prior to his death in May, Hopper signed an affidavit under oath accusing Duffy of stealing more than $1.5 million in valuable artwork from him – artwork that was considered his separate property.

Hopper had created a revocable living trust and funded it with assets including works from his art collection. Now his trust is suing Duffy, asking a court to compel her to return the property so it can be properly distributed to his named beneficiaries.

Hopper took the responsible steps executing a will, creating a trust and funding his trust. But, all the planning in the world won’t deter a person with enough money for a lawyer and a nasty grudge.

James D. Perry

The law is full of old rituals that today we would consider ridiculous.

For example, in early Bavaria, to convey real property by sale, by gift, or by will, one had to box the ears of young boys to seal the deal. The idea was that by creating a memory of pain in the child, he would be a good witness later in life if a dispute over the transfer ever arose. Without this formality, the conveyance was ineffective, even where the intended recipient took possession of the land and even if no dispute ever arose.

Thankfully today, the law has done away with such silly rituals. There are, however, three formalities you must follow too ensure that your property transfers upon your death in the manner and to the person your intend.

1) You must create a will. Write down all the property you own and to whom it should go upon your death. Without this basic document, all your property will be sent through the probate court and distributed to your heirs through the rigid state laws of intestacy.

2) You must sign your will. In California, this requirement can be filled one of three ways: you may sign the will yourself; your name may be affixed to the will by some other person at your direction and in your presence; or your name may be affixed by a conservator acting under court order.

3) Your will must be witnessed by at least two people. During your lifetime, at least two people who do not stand to inherit must sign your will as disinterested. Furthermore, they must be present and physically watching as you sign the will and they must be competent of the fact that they are signing your will.

If any one of these requirements is not met, the probate court can determine that you died without a valid will and the land that you wanted to go to your grandchildren may instead go to your son with a nasty gambling habit. Of course, there are some exceptions to these rules, but they too throw your intentions to the scrutiny of the court, which costs your estate time and money.

If you have any questions about the validity of your will, I urge you to talk to your estate planning lawyer.

James D. Perry

I read a news story from Wisconsin about a man who was accused of killing his parents in May. The man apparently had petitioned to be a co-representative with his sister of his parents’ estate.

The court found that he was incapable of being an executor because he was jailed on $1 million bond, but the article also noted that, if convicted of their murder, he also wouldn’t inherit.

Many states have these so-called “slayer rules” prohibiting murderers from profiting off the estates of their victims. These rules seem like common sense, fitting into our sense of justice, but they also serve to combat elder abuse and spousal murder.

Under California’s probate code, anyone who intentionally and feloniously kills a person is barred from inheriting any property or property interest from his victim regardless of whether the murderer is named in the will or whether the victim dies intestate.

Essentially, the murderer is treated as if he or she died prior to his victim, cutting off the possibility of inheritance. The murderer’s allotted share is redistributed to other heirs as directed by the will or by intestate law.

Sometimes, probate and estate law can be painfully complex, but sometimes the law just makes sense.

James D. Perry

Late-in-life second marriages are becoming commonplace in American society, and with it, anxiety has been rising among stepchildren. Estate planning lawyers have had to pay greater attention to the particular concerns and needs of blended families because also becoming more common is the courtroom brawls between stepparents and stepchildren and stepsiblings.

The first concern I hear from clients is often related to the financial security of the parents. If Mom moved into Stepdad’s home, what’s to keep Stepdad’s kids from kicking her out of the house if Stepdad were to die first?

The second concern is for the adult children’s prospective inheritance from their natural parent. Many state elective share laws dictate that when a person dies, the spouse naturally inherits a certain share of the estate, which will certainly cut into how much, if any, is left to the decedent’s natural children after the spouse dies.

In California, community property laws can be both a blessing and a nightmare for the adult children of a blended family. On one hand, generally, a surviving spouse doesn’t have a claim over to any property or account kept separately and in the deceased’s name.

However, any property that was held jointly (i.e., homes, common bank accounts) is presumed to be community property and, unless that presumption is rebutted in court, it passes entirely to the surviving spouse. And, even separate property may pass in whole or in part to the surviving spouse if the deceased partner leaves no will.

Older adults bring a greater amount of personal wealth into new relationships and, experts say, they are more practical about the financial realities their late-in-life marriage presents.

A prenuptial or postnuptial agreement can keep Mom in the house owned by Stepdad until her death at which point it passes solely to his children. Keeping property separate in trust accounts can prevent it from being transmuted into community property. And a clause inserted into Dad’s will can ensure that the separate property in his name passes to his children, not his spouse upon his death.

After you die, you could either be rolling in your grave because of the nasty legal battle you left your blended family or resting in peace.

James D. Perry

My wife and I are off to Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine for vacation before the summer days slip away.    I’ve left instructions with my capable staff on when and how to contact me if needed, with any luck they will be able to get by just fine without me for a couple of weeks.  It would be horribly irresponsible of me to not just show up on Monday morning without telling them or my clients that I will be away.

But what if I don’t come back?   What if I choke on a lobster tail or have the big one whilst trolling for trout on Lake Winamasake?   Well, all of you that were counting on me to help you with your estate plan are just going to have find help or a referral from my staff.   And let’s be clear:  you, like me and everyone else, are going to die.

You really have to come to grips with this concept before you make out your estate plan because death is not the last thing you will ever do.   Distribution of assets is the true final act, and since you’re not going to be around to do it, you need your own capable staff to carry out your business.

That staff is your estate plan.  Your will covers the “what” and “to whom” of asset allocation, and any trusts you create handle the “when” and “how.”

Once death occurs, planning pays off for your heirs if done right.  Other than state law, your estate plan is the only roadmap a probate judge, or your trust attorney can use to settle your estate.  And state laws don’t discriminate based on your spendthrift kids, your no-good brother, or your favorite niece.

Hopefully, I will eventually return safe and sound to my office in September and be available to settle any unresolved issues that came up during my vacation.

If I don’t come back, at least I know my own estate plan is complete.  If yours isn’t, get to it before that banana peel trips you up!

James D. Perry

One of my clients is an avid stamp collector. He has decided that upon his death, his modest collection will go to his granddaughter who grew up learning about and loving his hobby during their summers together.

Individuals pass more to their heirs than just real estate and money – a significant portion of wealth that is inherited comes in the form of art, jewelry, heirlooms and collections.

The difficulty in determining the value of these items and the fluctuations in tax law between this year and next are proving to be tricky for estate planning and estate settlement.

If an inherited asset that is appreciated in value is sold, the profits likely are subject to the capital gains tax. In previous years, capital gains taxes were measured based on the value of the item at the time of the of the original owner’s death under a step up in cost basis.

But, because the step up in cost basis has been suspended this year along with the estate tax, the capital gains tax against 2010 heirs will be measured based on the original owner’s purchase price – not the item’s current value – unless the estate’s executor includes that item as part of the $1.3 million step up that all estates get.

This could be a valuation and tax nightmare for my client’s granddaughter should my client die in 2010. The capital gains tax for collectibles is 28 percent. And many rare objects will require evidence of provenance and proof that taxes were paid on previous sales.

If you have rare collectibles or heirlooms that you intend to pass on, have the items appraised (every five years is recommended) and keep any papers of provenance and purchase in an accessible file. With the return of the estate tax in 2011, you might also consider donating rare collectibles to a museum or other charity, which would allow you to deduct a portion of their value from your estate leaving more to your heirs.

My client’s collection likely holds more sentimental value for his granddaughter than economic, but her grandfather’s pride in his stamps and meticulous record-keeping will protect her from terrible tax confusion when his collection finally becomes hers.

James D. Perry

With wills and trusts, people tend to “set it and forget it.” But it’s important to revisit your will and trust documents at least every five years, or whenever there is a major life event – new children, new son or daughter in law, new grandchildren, divorce, remarriage, new property, etc.

Guardianship appointments should be current if you have minor children so that you can designate who will care for them if you die.

Your beneficiary designation forms determines who will get your insurance and retirement accounts. This too, should be updated periodically. If you named a sibling or your parents as your beneficiary when you were younger on these forms, you might now want to make sure they go to your spouse or children instead. Many people aren’t aware that these forms override stated wishes in your will so you should consider these documents in tandem to prevent confusion.

Keep all these documents in a safe place – a fire-proof safe, a clearly marked file in your file cabinet, a shared folder on your home computer, or ask your lawyer to hold on to them – and make sure your loved ones know where they can find them if and when they need them.

In a medical emergency, or in moments of mourning, you will not want your family and friends to be in a frenzy when all they want is to honor your wishes and your memory.

If you haven’t started any of these documents, you should immediately create a balance sheet that lists the basic information about your assets and schedule an appointment with your estate-planning attorney as soon as possible.

James D. Perry