Idaho Law Blog

By Lane Erickson, Idaho Estate Planning Attorney

For nearly 20 years I have been involved in estate planning and helping clients prepare their own personalized estate plans. During this time I have worked with many clients who have indicated to me their concerns about their children. Many times, my clients don’t have good relationships with their children. Sometimes this even includes children who are threatening or abusive towards their parents. In these instances, my clients often want to keep their estate-planning confidential so that their children will not learn what their plan is in distributing their assets after they pass away.

Because a person’s estate planning is their own personal property, they have every right to keep it confidential. Whenever I have a child of a client who wants to get a copy of their parents last will and testament or other estate planning documents, or when children are present when we are discussing these things, I always get permission from my clients before I provide any information or copies of documents to children. I also repeatedly remind my clients that their estate planning is their personal property and they have no obligation to share it with their family at all, including their children, if they choose not to do so.

By Lane V. Erickson, Idaho Estate Planning Attorney

As an Idaho estate planning attorney I am always keeping an eye out for interesting articles about estate planning and how it helps individuals in their lives. I recently came across an article talking about how an older woman in Texas was taken advantage of by the company providing her lawn care service. Apparently, this woman had entered into a contract to pay about $3,600 each year for her lawn care services. However, the owner of the company discovered that this woman was in the beginning stages of dementia. As a result of this he took advantage of her and over charge her for the services provided. Over a five-year period, the services that should have cost just a little over $16,000 were actually charged at a rate of closer to $50,000. Fortunately, this deception was discovere, and the owner of the lawn care services was charged with several crimes. The article I read did not indicate whether he was forced to pay back the money that was taken from this woman.

After reading this article, and several like it, it reinforced eyes to me the importance of having a basic estate plan for each adult. One of the most important documents in a basic estate plan includes a durable power of attorney. Below are three common questions I often get from individuals about a power of attorney and how it can help them in their lives.

By Lane V. Erickson, Idaho Estate Planning Attorney

In a shocking news report, a 92 year old woman living in Arizona shot and killed her 72 year old son after she learned he wanted to place her in an assisted living facility. According to news agencies Anna Mae Blessing, a 92 year-old resident of Fountain Hills, Arizona, used two handguns to attack and kill her 72 year old son. She also attempted to shoot her son’s girlfriend who was able to save her own life by successfully removing the handguns from Blessing. As reported by the Charlotte Observer:

“This is definitely an odd one,” Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Bryant Vanegas told news agencies. “There’s a lot of circumstances surrounding it, of course, but it’s definitely something you don’t see every day and it’s very unfortunate that this took place.” Police responded to the home and found Blessing sitting in a recliner, and arrested her there after she continued to refuse to follow their orders, police said in a probable cause statement filed with the Court.

By Lane V. Erickson, Idaho Estate Planning Attorney

Believe me, I totally get it. Most children do not want to butt into the private lives of their parents. Additionally, even when problems begin to exist, both parents and children are often in denial. The problem is that everyone ages, and as they do they lose the ability to do the things that they were once able to do before. This can include taking care of themselves or their spouse.

The good news is that there are actually things you can do to determine if your parents need help. Additionally, there are things you can do to actually help your parents when they need it. But let’s not get the cart before the horse here. Below are ways that you can determine if you need to provide your parents with some help. Additionally, you will see suggestions on things that you can do that will specifically help your parents.

By Lane V. Erickson, Idaho Estate Planning Attorney

My goal for each client is to complete their estate plan in the simplest and most efficient way possible. I believe that most people only need a simple plan without any embellishments or add-ons. I know I am more sensitive to recently because I’ve had several clients bring me large binders full of documents to review they received when they worked with other attorneys or financial providers. In reviewing these binders, I’ve found that about 90% of the documents in them are unnecessary.

An estate plan should be simple, and should have only what the client wants, and nothing more. At the Racine law office, we have provided Premier Idaho estate planning services for more than 70 years. Our goal is to understand and meet the specific and individual needs each client has. We do not insist that we provide our clients with large binders full of unneeded documents.

By Lane V. Erickson, Idaho Estate Planning Attorney

The best part of estate planning for me is helping each individual client with their own specific needs. When I am done crafting an estate plan for a client, I know that it does exactly what my client wants because I spend the time helping my client understand each of the options available to them.  My clients then make informed and well-thought out decisions about what they actually want in the estate planning.

In going through this process I have found that misunderstandings about Living Wills and other end-of-life documents are common. The reality is there are many documents a person can choose from when it comes to making end-of-life decisions.  These documents may sound like they do the same things but they don’t.   The purpose of this article is to help you understand what each of the various end-of-life documents can do for you. The main end of life documents include the do-not-resuscitate form, commonly known as a DNR, a standard living will, and a Physician Order for Scope of Treatment that people most often call a POST form. Below is a discussion of these documents so that you will have a better understanding of which document or combination so documents may be right for you.

By Lane V. Erickson, Idaho Estate Planning Attorney

The statistics are alarming! According to a recent survey 92% of adults under the age of 36 do not have a Will or any other type of estate planning document completed. Millennials, whose ages range from about 20 to about 36 years old, make up this group of severely unprepared adults.

The reason for this is understandable. In fact, many of my Millennial clients often tell me that because they were so young they didn’t believe that they needed any estate planning. While it’s true that the millennial generation has different needs than older generations, they still need to get at least a basic estate plan completed. The reality is that there are two main reasons for each Millennial to get their estate planning done. These reasons are listed below.

By Lane V. Erickson, Idaho Estate Planning Attorney

It’s fantastic that you were recently married! Congratulations! You have begun a chapter in your life that will be both rewarding and full of new adventures. Getting married is also one of the signs that you have matured and have become a real adult in society. As an adult, and now that you are a newlywed, there are some specific reasons why you should consider completing your own Idaho estate planning to protect yourself and your new spouse into the future.

Below is a list of the four main documents that are included in an Idaho estate plan that could help you and your family.

By Lane V. Erickson, Idaho Estate Planning Attorney

As a part of my Idaho estate planning practice over the last 20 years I meet with clients to discuss their questions and concerns about either creating an estate plan for them or how the estate plan that they have actually works. Often during these meetings my clients will ask me the question of what happens if one or all of their children die before they do.

This question is a good one because there are no guarantees in life. While it may seem unjust or unfair, parents sometimes do outlive a child or even all of their children. My job as an estate planning attorney is to look down the road of the future and see all the worst things that could possibly happen to my client. My goal is then to create a customized estate plan that will protect my client from these worst-case scenarios.

By Lane V. Erickson, Idaho Estate Planning Attorney

So you’ve worked hard your entire life and have put together a pretty good retirement plan for yourself. Your house is paid off, your cars are free and clear of any debts, and your investment and bank accounts are bulging. In your last will and testament you leave your vacation property to your children and a gun that has been in your family for a hundred years to your oldest grandson. You also leave all of your accounts to your children. You told your family all about your last will and testament and everyone knows what you are leaving them.

Originally you simply wanted your last years to be quiet and low key. But let’s say that you talked to some of your friends who are seeing the world. They tell you all about their latest adventures and eventually you change your mind and decide that you want to start traveling. You looked over the cruise ship brochures and you have several exotic destination cruises that you would like to do before you die. The only question is, how do you pay for it.