Baron Law LLC Now Hiring Paralegals and Office Admin.

/in /by

Baron Law LLC is currently hiring paralegals and office management.  Details for this position are detailed below.

Hours: 20-30 per-week

Pay: $20.00 – $32.00 per-hour depending on experience.

Remote Workplace: Applicant would be able to work remotely most of the time while coming into the Independence office as needed. During the temporary pandemic, the office would only be utilized once or twice a week. This position is expected to be full-time once COVID has settled down with benefits. This position is currently a 1099 position.

Experience: Ideal applicant would have some paralegal experience (greater than one year) in estate planning, probate, and/or elder law.

Skills: Detail oriented individual who is a self starter and able to manage multiple tasks. Must have ability and experience to use Microsoft word and excel. Must have ability to work remotely and manage office tasks such as drafting, coordinating with clients, writing letters, managing software systems, completing probate forms and filing, ect. Although not required, experience with Quckbooks Online and Clio would be greatly considered.

Education: High School diploma or greater.

To apply, submit your resume to dan@baronlawcleveland.com. 

Covid-19 Photo

COVID-19 and the Continuing Importance of Powers of Attorney

/in /by

Certainty in this uncertain time is peace of mind many families are finding themselves without. The Covid-19 pandemic is highlighting harsh realities of life all of us were aware of but chose to ignore. One such reality is the importance of comprehensive and up-to-date estate planning. Many parents, grandparents, established business owners, and seasoned professionals are all awaking everyday to the potential of expensive and long-term hospitalization with the chance of persisting and life-changing health consequences. One can’t fight Covid-19 directly, it isn’t a person or thing to combat with force or wit, however, mitigation and foresight are always available. Estate planning will allow you to proactively get your affairs in order and, worst case scenario, if you become infected, allow you to rapidly and intelligently respond in a way that meets you and your families unique needs. Whether you have no estate plan or are looking to update an existing plan, where should you start? Given the current health crisis, taking a look at your powers of attorney, or POAs, is a good place to start.

Power of Attorney

A comprehensive estate plan provides the instructions necessary for estate administration, via a will, while tax relief and flexibility with asset distribution can be accomplished via trusts. Critical issues and decisions during life, however, must be addressed separately. That is where your powers of attorney come into play. A power of attorney comes in many forms, but its primary purpose is to grant authority to one or more responsible parties to handle financial or health decisions of a person in the event of illness or other incapacity. Life, and its associated obligations and burdens, tend to continue regardless of one’s physical or mental health. As many families are finding out, the bills keep coming due regardless of COVID-19. Powers of attorney are protection that ensures affairs are handled and medical wishes are followed even if you are lacking capacity in mind or body.

In your estate plan you will want both a financial power of attorney and a healthcare power of attorney. Both are agency agreements that grant another individual the authority to make decisions, within a certain sphere of decisions whose terms you dictate, on your behalf. A financial power of attorney, as the name suggests, grants your agent the authority to make financial decisions for you. Managing investments, buying selling land or property, representing you in business negotiations, etc. Healthcare power of attorney works the same way but with healthcare decisions. If you are incapacitated or otherwise can’t decide for yourself, your agent will decide who your doctor is, what treatment you undergo, what medication should be administered, etc.

As always, the terms, powers, and limits for your agents are decided by you in the documents that appoint your agent. If you want to add limits on how long they are appointed, what issues they can or cannot decide, or when exactly their powers manifest, you can do so. Furthermore, you always possess the authority to dismiss them outright or appoint someone new.

Powers of attorney are important to have because spouses or family members will face difficulty and frustration gaining access to things like bank accounts and property that is in your name only. This can be especially damaging within the context of business or professional relations in which the “gears of industry” must keep moving. Regrettably, if an individual trusted to handle the business if something happens doesn’t possess the authority to so, significant or even fatal business consequences may result. The same goes for medical decisions, often treatment decisions must be made right there and then. Hesitation may mean permanent damage or death to you and if someone doesn’t have express authority to make those decisions, things get confusing, messy, and take a lot longer.

If you decide not to draft one or more powers of attorney and you end up incapacitated, then, in certain situations, a court is forced to appoint either a guardian or conservator and the family is effectively cut off from independently managing the relevant affairs of the incapacitated family member. Further, if a court is forced to action, the entire process will take longer, cost more, be public knowledge, and is immensely more complex than it otherwise should be. Having an experienced Ohio estate planning attorney draft the appropriate POAs can avoid a lot of headache and save a lot of money down the line.

Even with the uncertainly pandemics bring, certain estate planning questions always linger. Who will manage my finances and investments if I am sick or incapacitated? Who will pick what doctor treats me or if a risky but potentially lifesaving procedure should be performed? What if I am put on life sustaining medical support? In what situations and for how long will I remain on such support, if I want to be on it at all? These types of issues and questions also must be addressed and accounted for by your estate plan. That is why finding and working with experienced Cleveland estate planning attorneys are so critical. These types of decisions and potential consequences for your life and wellbeing are not things that should be done on the fly or with doctors and stressed out family members demanding a decision. Unfortunately, with COVID-19 cases becoming more and more prevalent with each passing day, the necessity of proper POAs is crystal clear and those without these documents are scrambling to find estate planning attorneys who are open and still taking clients. If your estate planning documents, especially POAs are out of date or incomplete, contact a local estate planning attorney right away. Courthouses and government agencies are closing daily, and you don’t want to find yourself without the stability of critical legal documents during this most unstable time.

COVID-19, for good or ill, has and will continue to change how we live, work, and survive. Fortunately, one aspect of life that has largely gone untouched is estate planning. Estate planning was smart to do before Covid-19 and it still is. Northeast Ohio has felt the touch of this disease like every county in the world has. Cleveland estate planning attorneys are working around the clock to meet the historic demand for quick and immediate estate planning and are currently utilizing more teleconferencing and remote legal services than ever before to make their existing and new clients comfortable and secure. Social distancing and stay-at-home orders are all proactive protection measures that the majority of Americans are following, even if they cause financial hardship or social strain. Estate planning also represents a proactive protection measure, however, it seldom causes any financial or social pain, it actually prevents them. As such, it’s strange that 50% of people don’t even have a simple will. Considering the ongoing crisis, make sure you and your family are in the 50% that protects, not the 50% leaving everything to chance.

Disclaimer:

The information contained herein is general in nature, is provided for informational and educational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal or tax advice. The author nor Baron Law LLC cannot and does not guarantee that such information is accurate, complete, or timely. Laws of a particular state or laws that may be applicable in a given situation may impact the applicability, accuracy, or completeness of the preceding information. Further, federal and state laws and regulations are complex and subject to change. Changes in such laws often have material impact on estate planning and tax forecasts. As such, the author and Baron Law LLC make no warranties regarding the herein information or any results arising from its use. Furthermore, the author and Baron Law LLC disclaim any liability arising out of your use of, or any financial position taken in reliance on, such information. As always consult an attorney regarding your specific legal or tax situation.

CARES Act – What Every Business Owner Should Know

/in /by

The Covid-19 Economic Relief Package was approved on Monday, March 30th. This unprecedented $2 trillion dollar stimulus package may be incredibly beneficial for our clients, especially business owners.  Here are some of the more significant points you should know:

  • Single-households that earn $75,000 or less a year (as per their latest tax return) will be supplied with a one-time payment of $1,200.
  • Couples who earn $150,000 annually will receive a one-time payment of $2,400 with an additional $500 per child within that household.
  • These benefits are capped around the $99,000 income level and tapper between $75,000 and $100,000.

Small business protection and aid is a major component of the stimulus package. The key points include:

  • Businesses and nonprofits with 500 or fewer employees are generally eligible for assistance. Further, self-employed workers and gig workers also qualify. Qualified borrowers must have been in business before February 15, and must have paid employee salaries and payroll taxes or contractors.
  • The program is meant to ensure that businesses have the funds to pay their employees and to prevent layoffs. Loans offered through the program are forgivable, if used for their intended purpose: As long as a business receiving a loan maintains the average size of its workforce, it will only need to pay back the interest accrued, and the principal will effectively become a grant.
  • Businesses can receive loans up to $10 million at up to 4% interest rates, depending on how much they paid their employees between January 1 and February 29.
  • Loans are provided through banks, credit unions, and other lenders, and are guaranteed by the Small Business Administration. Loan applications should be submitted through lenders who are partnered with the Small Business Administration.

Link to the 2020 Stimulus bill: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6819206-CARES-ACT-FINAL-TEXT.html

Trust Adminstrator

What is an Administrator of an Estate?

/in /by

Managing the affairs and obligation of a recently departed is no easy task. That is why most people take the time to plan their estate. Estate planning, at its fundamental essence, is leaving a plan and instructions for those who survive you regarding what to do with the “stuff” you leave behind. People are living longer than ever before and, consequently, are leaving more behind. Often without a proper plan in place, the loved ones and family members left to organize and account all the leftover worldly possessions are hard pressed to do everything required from them by a probate court within the statutory time limits.

Dying without a will, only exacerbates this difficultly and lengthens the time it takes to administrator an estate. Bluntly, dying without a will, or dying with an invalid will, is never a preferential option. Most people already have a very limited understanding of the probate process, and if you throw intestate succession and administration, with all the accompanying issues and legal winkles, a difficult and trying process only becomes more so. As such, consult with an experienced Ohio estate planning attorney to either properly plan your estate so dying intestate doesn’t happen to you or, for those facing an instate administration, find out all the answers you need regarding what, how, and when to administrate an intestate estate.

What does dying intestate mean?

When a decedent does not have a valid will in existence at the time of death, a decedent is deemed to have died intestate and Ohio intestacy laws govern how estate assets are managed and distributed. There are two primary situations when a person is deemed to have died intestate, 1) there was no last will and testament, or 2) they had a last will and testament, but for some reason or another, it was found invalid.

Ohio intestacy laws may be avoided altogether with proper estate planning, a major aim of which is to ensure you have a will and that it is valid. It is important to note, however, that sometimes intestacy laws will control even if a valid will is subject to probate administration, an experienced estate planning attorney can inform you of these circumstances. Conversely, sometimes Ohio intestacy laws may not apply even if a decedent died intestate. As such, since the controlling law for dying without a last will and testament can vary dependent on circumstance, meeting with an estate planning and/or probate lawyer is highly recommended.

What is an administrator?

In the context of intestate estate administration, an administrator is, for the most part, functionally identical to an executor. Executors, however, are appointed in the last will and testament by the decedent while administrators are appointed by the probate court in the absence of an executor appointment. Note, however, that Ohio has explicit Ohio residency requirements for intestate administrators. Thus, out-of-state residents can only be named executors and cannot serve as administrators.

Why is an administrator needed, what do they do?

The duties of an administrator aren’t easy. The duties of an administrator are specific to each particular estate, however, there is a “core” group of duties and tasks each one must fulfill. Every administrator must:

  • Conduct of thorough search of decedent’s personal papers and attempt to create a complete picture of their finances and family structure.

 

  • Take possession, catalogue, and value all estate property.

 

  • Maintain and protect estate assets for the duration of the probate proceedings.

 

  • Directly notify creditors, debtors, financial institutions, utilities, and government agencies of decedent’s death.

 

  • Publish notices of decedent’s death, usually a newspaper obituary, which serves as notice and starts the clock running on the statute of limitations for creditor claims on the estate.

 

  • Pay or satisfy any outstanding debts or obligations of decedent.

 

  • Represent decedent during probate court proceedings.

 

  • Locate heirs and named beneficiaries and distribute respective assets at the appropriate time.

These duties occur during the probate process, which is a major reason why probate takes many months to complete. Especially within the context of intestate probate administration, where no preplanning, accounting, or collection of information regarding the decedent’s estate was likely done.

Because intestate administration is such a time-intensive and laborious process, many people take the time to plan their estate and attempt to avoid probate entirely. Often trusts are a good option to avoid probate. With trusts, estate assets can be distributed right away, no executor or administrator is needed, and many mornings, which otherwise would be spent in probate court, are freed for personal enjoyment. Contact an Ohio trust attorney to see if avoiding probate through the use of trusts is right for you and your family.

Disclaimer:

The information contained herein is general in nature, is provided for informational and educational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal or tax advice. The author nor Baron Law LLC cannot and does not guarantee that such information is accurate, complete, or timely. Laws of a particular state or laws that may be applicable in a given situation may impact the applicability, accuracy, or completeness of the preceding information. Further, federal and state laws and regulations are complex and subject to change. Changes in such laws often have material impact on estate planning and tax forecasts. As such, the author and Baron Law LLC make no warranties regarding the herein information or any results arising from its use. Furthermore, the author and Baron Law LLC disclaim any liability arising out of your use of, or any financial position taken in reliance on, such information. As always consult an attorney regarding your specific legal or tax situation.

Helping You and Your Loved Ones Plan for the Future

GST: Generation Skipping Transfer Tax

/in /by

Staying abreast of current tax changes is critical to getting the most “bang for your buck” when it comes to estate planning. 2018 had significant, albeit likely temporary, increases in the federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions. For example, individuals who previously used their previous lifetime gift tax exemption amounts can now effectively double the amount of assets and money that can be transferred without incurring any federal gift tax consequences. As such, it is a good idea to reevaluate your current estate planning to determine if your estate planning goals are being met and if there are now unexploited taxation opportunities with the recent changes in law. For example, many people, in light of the increased lifetime gift tax exemption amount and generation-skipping transfer tax exemption amount, are making gifts to children, grandchildren, or close family friends with either outright distributions or through new or existing trusts. The first step, however, in manipulating recent changes in federal law to your personal benefit is understanding the underlying tax structures. One significant theory of taxation is the generation-skipping transfer tax. This tax, however, is only one of many which may affect your estate, as such, contact an experienced Ohio estate planning attorney to make sure the most goes to your friends and family.     
 

  • What is the GST Tax? 

First question is the most common, what is the generation-skipping transfer tax? The generation-skipping transfer tax or, “GST”, is a flat, 40% tax on transfers to specific persons, sometimes called “skip persons,” such as grandchildren, other family members more than one generation from you, nonfamily members more than 37.5 years younger than you, and also certain trusts. Whether or not transfers to a particular trust are subject to GST taxation is primarily focused on who are named as beneficiaries and their generational status to the grantor(s). Avoiding GST taxation and preserving the most amount of your money and assets is one of the primary goals for you and your estate planner.     

  • How is it triggered? 

GST taxation can be triggered either intentionally or unintentionally via transfers of assets or money. Intentional transfers, such as purposefully leaving bequests, trust distributions, or inheritance to “skip persons.” Unintentional transfers, such as children predeceasing grandchildren and an estate plan failing to take this possibility into account when calculating future distribution structures.   

When a particular transfer is deemed to trigger the GST tax, the next step is to calculate whether it falls into any exemption categories and if there is any money left in any of those categories to shield the transfer from GST taxation. The two major exemptions are the annual gift tax exclusion, currently $14,000 per recipient; $28,000 for married couples, and the Unified Tax Credit, approximately $11.8 million lifetime exemption and approximately double that amount for married couples.   

  • How do I use exemptions to avoid GST?  

Utilizing tax exemptions to avoid GST essentially boils down to properly documenting and earmarking transfers that may trigger GST taxation and filing any appropriate paperwork with the IRS. Again, regardless of whether these transfers are made during the grantor’s lifetime or at their death, as long as transfers either skip a generation or are made in trust for multiple generations, GST taxation must be considered and addressed.  

Estate planners take the transfers you want to make, then plot different tactics for transfer dependent on your overall goals and realities for your particular estate. Many, few, or no options may be available to avoid GST in your circumstances. Sometimes certain gifts are not applied toward the exemption, such as “annual exclusion” gifts and direct payments for medical or education purposes, thus these can be made completely tax-free. Other times decisions have to be made to temporary hold off on a transfer or to shift a transfer to another spouse to use their tax exemption amounts. Furthermore, the estate planner must decide whether to file a gift tax return or plan the transfer so it appears as an incomplete gift. Just because a transfer looks like it falls within the bounds of a taxation exemption doesn’t mean the transfer magically is ignored by the IRS, your estate planning still has a lot of paperwork and legal leg work to do.    

  • How to Avoid GST with trusts 

Trusts provide a multitude of estate planning benefits, one of the most popular uses for them is minimizing or avoiding estate taxation, in this context, GST taxation. A-B trusts, bypass trusts, and dynasty trusts are all examples of trust vehicles that can mitigate or completely avoid any concerns you might have with generation-skipping transfers. Trust use here primarily concerns manipulating trust funding and available exemption amounts in conjunction with the practical needs of you and your family. Each trust type, however, has their own benefits and disadvantages. As such, it is important to talk with an Ohio estate planning attorney to find out the pro’s and con’s of using a trust in your circumstances.  

Regardless of whether a trust is right for your estate planning goals, now is the time to review your current estate planning documents to ensure they remain in accordance with your intent and the recent changes in law. Often many estates are planned around and use trusts that are funded according to formulas tied to now changed federal estate exemption amounts. As such, with the recent increased estate tax exemptions, such trusts may be funded with significantly larger amounts than you anticipated when you originally met with your estate planner. Further, a comprehensive review of your trust and estate planning documents will allow you to assess their effectiveness in light of the changes to the law, changes in your personal life, and changes to your estate planning goals.    

Disclaimer: 

The information contained herein is general in nature, is provided for informational and educational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal or tax advice. The author nor Baron Law LLC cannot and does not guarantee that such information is accurate, complete, or timely. Laws of a particular state or laws that may be applicable in a given situation may impact the applicability, accuracy, or completeness of the preceding information. Further, federal and state laws and regulations are complex and subject to change. Changes in such laws often have material impact on estate planning and tax forecasts. As such, the author and Baron Law LLC make no warranties regarding the herein information or any results arising from its use. Furthermore, the author and Baron Law LLC disclaim any liability arising out of your use of, or any financial position taken in reliance on, such information. As always consult an attorney regarding your specific legal or tax situation.