Idaho Law Blog

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.

By Lane V. Erickson, Idaho Estate Planning Attorney

Many times in my nearly 20-year career as a Idaho estate planning attorney I’ve had clients come to me and talk with me about how they can create a valid last will and testament in Idaho. During many of these meetings clients often bring to me the documents that they created from online services or from software kits that they purchased from an office supply store. Sometimes these documents are signed and sometimes they are not. Most regularly, these documents are not properly witnessed or notarized. When this happens, I have to tell my clients that the document they presented to me is not a valid last will and testament in Idaho.

To help you understand what creates a valid will in Idaho this blog will review the Toms v. Davies case which was decided by the Idaho Court of Appeals in 1995. Even though this case is over 20 years old it still provides a good deal of insight as to what creates a valid written last will and testament in Idaho, and how witnesses are important.

By Lane V. Erickson, Idaho Estate Planning Attorney

When it comes to Idaho estate planning we all tend to get into that Norman Rockwell state of mind from time to time, where everything is perfect and we are able to leave a sizeable inheritance to our children. But then reality kicks in and we can see that this may not actually be the case for us after all. This could be based on a number of factors, such as not having saved much money for retirement in our later years. Or perhaps we were dealt an unlucky hand and had sizable medical bills or other financial problems that plagued us during our lives. Regardless of the reason not everybody is in a position to leave an inheritance for their children.

If you are considering leaving an inheritance for your children here are a few things that you should keep in mind.