A power of attorney is a document which provides authority for an individual to act on behalf of another. Most commonly, discussions of powers of attorney relate to either a financial power of a attorney or a power of attorney for health care. These powers of attorney should be included in every individual’s estate plan as early as possible to help avoid the necessity for court intervention in the event that an individual becomes mentally incompetent.
Over the years as an estate planning attorney I’ve had an opportunity to meet with many individuals whose circumstances are quite varied. Some of these individuals have many children and grandchildren, and some of them have none at all. Right in the middle I’ve had some clients who have only one child. This circumstance is unique and requires planning and some deliberate thought. Here are 4 estate planning tips for parents who have only one child in Idaho.
1. ESTATE PLANNING DOES MORE THAN GIVE YOUR PROPERTY AWAY
What if you are a non-Indian and purchase land within the borders of an Indian reservation? Are you submitting yourself to regulation by the Tribe and the jurisdiction of the tribal courts for matters related to your property and the use thereof? Probably not. The United States Supreme Court has explained that, as a general rule, tribes do not possess authority over non-Indians who come within the borders of an Indian reservation. This rule is particularly strong when the non-Indian’s activity occurs on land that the non-Indian owns in fee simple.
A good illustration of this rule is found in Evans v. Shoshone-Bannock Land Use Policy Commission, a Ninth Circuit case dealing with land located in Pocatello and within the borders of the Fort Hall Reservation. Evans, who inherited this land in fee simple, was not a member of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. He obtained a building permit from Power County—not from the Tribes—and began constructing a residence on the inherited property. The Tribes’ Land Use Policy Commission requested that Evans submit a building permit application and fees to the Tribes, but Evans refused. Eventually, the Tribes served a complaint on Evans from the Shoshone-Bannock Tribal Court, and Evans responded by seeking in federal court a declaration that the tribal court lacked jurisdiction.
In the estate planning discussions I have with my clients the concept of being fair with distributions made to children often comes up. It’s not surprising because parents most often really do want to be fair with their children. However, I have come to learn that parents who attempt to be fair in the distribution of their estate through their Idaho estate planning often cause more problems than they solve. Here are 3 reasons why your estate planning does not need to be fair to your children.
1. THE LAW DOES NOT REQUIRE FAIRNESS
“Subletting” or “subleasing” occurs when a landlord rents a property to a tenant who then rents the property to another tenant known as the “subtenant.” A tenant may seek a subtenant so he can share rent expenses or he may want to find a subtenant while away for an extended period of time. In Idaho, subletting is legal unless the lease agreement between the landlord and the original tenant expressly prohibits it.
When a sublease exists, the original tenant is solely responsible for fulfilling the terms of the original lease with the landlord. For example, let’s say a tenant rents a larger, three-bedroom home for $1500 a month and then sublets two rooms to two roommates. Even if all three roommates agree to pay $500 a month, the original tenant is still responsible to pay the landlord the entire $1500 each month. It is no defense that the two subtenants did not pay their $500 because the landlord only has a contract with the original tenant, not the subtenants. (Similarly, the subtenants cannot enforce any of their contractual rights against the landlord.) This does not mean that the original tenant cannot seek reimbursement from the subtenants; it just means he can be evicted if he doesn’t pay the full $1500, whether from his own funds or with help from the subtenants.
Donald Trump received the majority of Idaho votes in the recent election and more than twice as many votes as any other candidate. However, his policies could be a big problem for Idaho. President Trump’s plans to crack down on illegal immigration could weaken a significant part of Idaho’s economy: the undocumented workforce. Even if these workers are not deported, Trump’s recent actions, including ramping up immigration raids, have made undocumented immigrants grow uneasy, with some afraid to go to work.
Without the immigrant workforce, some Idaho business owners don’t believe their industries are sustainable. For example, Terry Jones, the owner of the dairy farm on Rim Fire Ranch in Emmett, Idaho, explained there aren’t enough Americans willing to fill the dairy industry jobs. He may have a point. About 2 in 5 workers in the Idaho dairy industry are immigrants. “The reason we have those individuals working for us,” Jones explained, “is because they are skilled; they know how to care for the animals.”
As an Idaho estate planning attorney I’ve seen all kinds of clients come into my office with questions about their Idaho estate planning. One thing that I find troubling is when parents begin discussing how to make distributions to their children in an unequal way based on what I considered to be arbitrary or silly reasons. To be clear, each individual is entitled to make whatever decisions they choose in their estate planning. This could even include the drastic act of disinheriting a child if a parent chooses to do so. However, I usually have frank discussions with my clients about their decisions to make sure that they fully understand the ramifications of what they are doing. One of the discussions that I have often with my clients is about creating a plan of unequal distributions among their children. Here are what I consider to be 3 bad reasons for treating your children differently in your Idaho estate planning.
1. YOUR CHILD’S SPOUSE
One of the common exemptions to the overtime requirement of the Fair Labor Standards Act is the “Motor Carrier Exemption.” This exemption applies to employees who: 1) work for a motor carrier or motor private carrier, 2) are drivers, driver’s helpers, loaders, or mechanics whose duties affect the safety of operation of motor vehicles in transportation on public highways in interstate or foreign commerce; and 3) are not covered by what is known as “the small vehicle exception.” Each of these three items is discussed in more depth below.
The NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) reports that each year almost 10,000 people die on our nation’s roadways as a result of impaired driving. The number of lives lost is the equivalent of 20 jumbo jets crashing. Between the hours of midnight and 3 a.m., a life is taken every 23 minutes as a result of a drunken driving crash.
The Idaho Department of Transportation, Office of Highway Safety will launch its annual safety campaign “Mobilization – Impaired Driving” on March 10 and will continue the push to raise public awareness through March 20th. Impaired driving crashes are those where the investigating officer has indicated that alcohol and/or drug impairment was listed as a contributing factor in the crash. Idaho had 96 fatalities in 2013 as a result of impaired driving which represents 45% of all fatalities. The cost to Idahoans of crashes caused by driving while under the influence was approximately $750 million in 2013.
Alcohol impairs your ability to drive and it also impairs your judgment about whether or not you can or should be driving. All too often, people think they are okay to get behind the wheel because they are not falling down drunk. Crash studies indicate that driving while slightly impaired or with a bit of a “buzz” will cause a person to be a danger to others.
The saying that the only constant in life is change, is as applicable to estate-planning as it is to any other aspect of your life. There is no doubt that as time goes on change will occur in your life. But, change doesn’t have to unsettle your estate planning. with a solid estate plan any of the changes that occur can be anticipated and can be planned for. Here are 4 tips for how you can prepare your Estate Planning to deal with the changes in your life.
1. PLAN FOR EXPECTED CHANGES
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