Idaho Law Blog

5 Things to do Before you Meet with an Attorney to Probate an Estate

Published on: June 13, 2016 | by Racine Olson

Losing a loved one is difficult. Grieving with your loss while trying to navigate the probate process alone is more than most people can cope with. As a result, most people hire an attorney to help them complete a probate. Probate is the name given to the process of collecting and managing the assets; debts or taxes; and distributions of property of a person who has died. Once you found an attorney to help you through the probate process, there are 5 things you can do to prepare for your first meeting.

headstone

First, order and receive eight to ten (8-10) certified copies of the death certificate. Death certificates are used in planning and carrying out the probate process in many ways from providing a copy to the Court to forwarding copies to account holders and life insurance providers. If possible, bring at least one certified copy of the death certificate to your first meeting with your probate attorney.

Second, determine if there is an existing written Will, or written Estate Plan. Finding the original documents and providing these documents to your probate attorney will help in the determination of whether probate is required or not. For instance, if there is a trust, probate might not be necessary. If probate is necessary, many states require that the original will be filed with the Court during the probate process. Locating and bringing this to your probate attorney will avoid delays.

Top Three Ways to Kill the Value of Your Worker’s Compensation Case! (part 2)

Published on: June 13, 2016 | by Racine Olson

The second is stating you are better before you actually are. Times can be hard. Financial peace is a factor on everyone’s mind. If you are injured at work, you often want to get back as soon as possible. You know that the longer you stay off work, the higher your chances are of being fired. You have a family to provide for and feed and you need an income. After a few weeks of recovery, the insurance company may bring in something to sign asking if you need more medical attention or if you are fully recovered. Don’t ever say you are fully recovered. You let trained medical professionals make those decisions. You don’t know if in a few months you will need surgery or further treatment, and if you signed a document or state that you are fully recovered, you can be sure it will be used against you come settlement time. Be careful. Just allow your body to tell when you can return to work and just see how it goes. After the worker’s compensation insurance company pays benefits you will have time to see how you do. Be patient.

Who Will Decide What Your Estate Plan Will Be?

Published on: June 10, 2016 | by Racine Olson

Most clients I work with on their Estate Planning are shocked to learn that everyone has an Estate Plan, even when they have done nothing. There really are no exceptions to this. In Idaho, like most every other state, written statutes create a default Estate Plan for anyone who has not created one for themselves.

While this may seem intrusive, the reason the government has a default Estate Plan for you is because the law recognizes that when a person passes away, many people may make a claim to the decedent’s property. To avoid the potential chaos that could result from this problem, and to stop those that are unscrupulous, the law has created a systematic default Estate Plan for the distribution of a person’s belongings when they die. This is called the Law of Intestacy.

Probate

Essentially, if you die without a written Will, or Estate Plan, you die “Intestate.” If you don’t have a written Will as part of your Estate Plan then Idaho’s “intestacy” statutes and laws will automatically create an Estate Plan for you that determines who will receive your property when you die. In other words, if you don’t create an Estate Plan for yourself, the government has a default plan for you.

Top Three Ways to Kill the Value of Your Worker’s Compensation Case! (part 1)

Published on: June 9, 2016 | by Racine Olson

By Fred Lewis and Mckaid Shepard

Worker’s compensation cases are all about getting you fair compensation. There are ways you can really hurt your own claim. Don’t do it! There are three things that you should avoid in relationship to your worker’s compensation claim.

The first is inconsistency. Your creditability is key in your worker’s compensation case. Dates and descriptions of accidents are important. Not knowing how or when you got hurt can severely hinder your worker’s compensation case and cause you to settle for less. I’m sure you can see how reporting a date for your accident and then later changing it looks really bad. Mistakes happen, wrong dates can be reported. That necessarily won’t be your Achilles Heel if you described the accident accurately, but it can hurt. Be honest with your employer. Never exaggerate to make your injury sound worse. Doing this can come back to bite you.　 The best way to ensure that this doesn’t happen is report an injury right away. Don’t wait until it gets worse or say you will do it next week: report it right after the accident. Doing this will avoid a potential drop in value to your worker’s compensation case.

Two points of view in every case

Published on: June 7, 2016 | by Racine Olson

By Fred Lewis and Mckaid Shepard

Let’s first talk about yours and your attorney’s point of view on your Idaho worker’s compensation case. You and your Idaho worker’s compensation attorney, want the best possible outcome for your case. This means having good health care so you can recover from your injury and have all your medical bills paid, have your wage loss covered, your rating impairment paid, and your disability paid resulting from a work related injury. It isn’t about trying to get more money and sticking it to your employer. It is all about getting honest and fair compensation that you are entitled to.

The next point of view is your employer’s insurance company. They are there to protect the employer and pay out the compensation to you. They want to see the dollar amount low. They don’t want to pay out large sums. They want to save money where ever they can.

Turnaround Season is Here!

Published on: June 3, 2016 | by Racine Olson

It seems spring as finally arrived and with hints of summer in air. Summer is a busy time for the industrial field. Many companies shutdown for a few weeks and bring on a small army of temps and contractors to get their facility back up and running smoothly. To all those welders, iron workers, fabricators, laborers and carpenters: be careful. Industrial construction can be a dangerous business. I have seen many clients get severely injured due to a industrial construction accidents. Often these injuries are quiet serious, so be cautious. Often companies have protection against accidents such as work permits, HASPs, training and lock out tag out procedures. These precautions can help protect you, but they won’t stop every accident. You are the best safety precaution. Be alert, pay attention and plan ahead, doing these, even with the simplest of tasks, can reduce the chance of injury.

Most contractors or subcontractors are required to carrier their own worker’s compensation insurance. Let’s say you get injured and the contractor you work for doesn’t carrier worker’s compensation insurance you still may be covered. Idaho code 72-216 states that the employer of the contractor or subcontractor, who has complied with Idaho worker’s compensation law, is liable for the compensation of an employee of that contractor or subcontractor. If you aren’t sure if the contractor you work for has insurance, ask them.

If you were injured and feel you aren’t getting fair compensation contact me. I can help you get fair compensation. I have been representing injured workers in Idaho for 28 years. I have the experience and knowledge to assist you in your claim. Idaho worker’s compensation claims can be tricky to navigate, don’t do it alone. Get the fair compensation you deserve.

The 4 Things you Should Know about choosing Beneficiaries

Published on: June 2, 2016 | by Racine Olson

Deciding on and naming your Beneficiaries is an important part of your financial and Estate Planning. When I sit down with clients, many are surprised to learn that there are opportunities to name Beneficiaries both inside and outside of their Estate Planning. The purpose of this post is to describe in basic terms the 4 things you should know about choosing Beneficiaries.

1. First, you need to know the basics about Beneficiaries. Beneficiaries named in your Estate Planning usually occurs in your Last Will and Testament or in a Trust that you may have created. These Beneficiaries will receive the specific assets you designate from your estate. However, there are other Beneficiaries that you need to be aware of because you are able to name Beneficiaries for a broad range of assets, including retirement plans, annuities, life insurance policies and bank accounts. All of these assets fall outside of your Estate Planning and are not covered by your Last Will and Testament. Rather, these types of assets are controlled by the contract you signed with the company that holds these assets, accounts and contracts. On these contracts you can name different types of Beneficiaries such as individuals, charities, and/or trusts. Whether you can name young children under the age of majority — age 18 or 21, depending on the state in which you live – depends on the law in the state in which you live.

Law of Wills

When you name a Beneficiary, in your Last Will and Testament, typically, a probate will need to occur before the property or assets you designate can be transferred. However, your retirement plans, annuities, life insurance policies and bank accounts can pass directly to your named Beneficiaries and won’t have to go through probate. In addition, even if you’ve put in you Last Will and Testament, that you want your retirement plans, annuities, life insurance policies and bank accounts to go to a specific person, the contract you have with the Company that holds that contract, and the Beneficiaries that you name in that contract, will override bequests you’ve made in your will. Understanding these differences will help you in naming your Beneficiaries in each of these documents.

Non-Authorized Vehicles in Median

Published on: May 31, 2016 | by Racine Olson

The speed limit on several portions of the interstate system in Idaho is as high as 80 mph. Said otherwise, in those 80 mph sections, motor vehicles that travel at that speed are traveling at 117 ft./s. That is fast.

Scattered throughout the interstate are little “lanes” across the median, also known as emergency crossovers. These crossovers are designed and in place for authorized vehicles only, such as law enforcement, EMS, and maintenance crews. The drivers of these authorized vehicles are trained to use these crossovers safely due to a heightened danger to motorists on the interstate when they are used.

Crashes and resulting personal injuries are a common occurrence as non-authorized vehicles, or members of the general public attempt to use these cross-overs rather than using designated exits and on-ramps. The dangers arise as the motorist, who is presumably in the left, “fast” lane, slows down in order to enter the cross-over. Traffic approaching from the rear is coming up fast and because of the rapid pass of distance due to speed, the ability to perceive, react, and slow down is all extended. It is very common for these slowing motorists to be rear-ended, resulting in injury and death.

Helping Your Personal Representative

Published on: May 31, 2016 | by Racine Olson

A Personal Representative is an individual selected by you and identified in your Last Will and Testament. The role of a Personal Representative is to administer your estate and distribute your assets according to your wishes upon your death. It sounds easy, but often it is not.

When you pass, the first step for you Personal Representative is to get appointed by the Court. Once appointed your Personal Representative has, what is often, the difficult task of identifying and locating all of your assets. This includes bank accounts, investment accounts, retirement accounts, life insurance, real property, burial plots, vehicles, personal property and all other asset that you may have owned during your life. Identifying your assets often require the Personal Representative to search extensively through documents located at your house and to go through mail that is still being sent to your address. However, sometimes this is not enough to lead the Personal Representative to your assets. In today’s technological age, many people access their accounts online, eliminating the need for paper documents to be sent directly to their houses. This creates a problem for a Personal Representative as he or she may not become aware of certain assets that you may have had before your death.

Organizing and creating a list of your assets can be very beneficial to your Personal Representative. Nobody knows what assets you own better then yourself. By putting together a list of your assets with usernames and passwords when applicable, you will save your Personal Representative hours worth of time and effort that would otherwise be spent on searching for those assets. Once you have created a list of your assets, it is important to store them in a safe place and let your named Personal Representative or other individual that you trust know how to gain access to your list.

Patience is a Virtue!

Published on: May 31, 2016 | by Racine Olson

I have clients get frustrated and upset with how long their Idaho worker’s compensation case is taking. They see it cut and dried and should get compensation for their injuries. However, the Idaho worker’s compensation system is much more concerned for getting the case done right through a sometimes inefficient system litigation process than they are about getting it done fast. This puts a huge burden on the client and I know they have financial struggles and hardships brought on them by these injures. Waiting for compensation can seem like an eternity. Unfortunately Idaho worker’s compensation cases don’t just get settled over night. I wish it could happen that quickly and some cases do settle fast but most don’t. They take careful planning and preparation, which can take time. Also it can be a tactic by the insurance companies to delay and delay. They make the claimant desperate and willing to settle for anything they offer the claimant. Don’t let them do this to you. Don’t let them starve you out. We are here to help make your worker’s compensation case go easier and quicker. Give us a call we are here to help.