Dear Readers: In my last post, My Best Friend, (Part 1), I promised you a list of ideas to write about and share with your designated caretaker and/or trustee of your Pet Trust.  Here it is.

When creating a Pet Trust, I encourage my clients to draft a paragraph or two about their pet and describe how they want them to be cared for.  Your specific directives can be included in your will or trust or can be attached as a separate document, along with a photograph.  Here are some ideas to consider:

• Age, medical history and current veterinarian
• Personality, favorite foods and normal time for meals
• Favorite toys and activities
• How he/she interacts with other pets
• Lifestyle (indoors, outdoors, or combination)
• Transportation issues, i.e., fear of crates or traveling in the car
• How well he/she acclimates to a new environment
• Your thoughts about euthanasia and when it is time

Planning ahead by creating a Pet Trust for your loved ones provides peace of mind.  Write and tell me something about your pet.

Interested in learning more?  Give me a call at 775-392-4223 or email me at feedback@dterralaw.com.

 

Having recently lost both of my beloved cats to illness and old age, I can surely relate to those who have gone through the same thing with their pets.  I miss them terribly and think of them every day.  Losing your best friend is overwhelming at first but time does heal, and we can cherish those memories with them forever.

Our pets are family: they rely on us to provide food and water, shelter, love and affection.  But what happens when we are not around anymore to provide for them?  Nevada law provides for the creation of a “Pet Trust” that does just that.  The provisions of a pet trust can be included in your Last Will and Testament and your Revocable Living Trust.  Many of my clients have taken advantage of these laws and have created plans for their pets in the event they outlive them.

The trust for your pet can be simple with a recitation of the statute, or more detailed and complex.  Typically, the grantor (person making the will or trust) sets aside a dollar amount from their estate to be paid to the pet trustee upon their passing. In the case of a living trust, the pet trust can become operative upon the grantor’s incapacity. The money in the pet trust can be used for food, shelter, medical care, training, etc. The most important decision, however, is to determine who will act as the trustee and caretaker of your pet. One trusted person can serve in both roles.

When my clients need a pet trust, I give them a list of ideas to help them write, in their own words, what they want the caretaker to know about their pet.  Stay tuned for the list.

Interested in learning more?  Give me a call at 775-392-4223 or email me at feedback@dterralaw.com.

 

Lawyers who do estate planning like I do must be able to explain legal concepts and show the logical steps in the process not only in words, but in charts, graphs, diagrams or even pictures.  Contrary to what you may have heard, we are all visual learners and when you combine the written word with a corresponding image, the magic happens.

To meet that need, I have created visual diagrams for my Nevada estate planning clients, both single and married.  These are “snapshots” of basic plans with descriptions of the documents you will need to prepare a comprehensive trust-based plan. You can find them on my website under Wills and Trusts, or just click on the links below and download for free:

SinglePlanVisual

MarriedPlanVisual

Your estate plan is unique to you and your family. Every plan is slightly different.  Let me create one for you.

Interested in learning more?  Give me a call at 775-392-4223 or email me at feedback@dterralaw.com.

 

It’s Spring and love is in the air.  The son of one of my friends recently got married in California to a lovely young woman (“mom approved” too!).  I wish the best for them in their new life together.

In Nevada, marriage creates a legal presumption that the property acquired during the marriage is community property, that is, belonging to the community of husband and wife.  Each spouse owns an undivided, one-half share in the community property.

In the context of an estate plan, clients often ask about what happens to their property when one of them passes away. Does my spouse receive all of my property?  Can I give my community property share to someone other than my spouse?  The answer depends on choices you make during the marriage and in the estate planning process.

In Nevada, a spouse can choose to give the other spouse all of their one-half share of the community when they pass away.  In the alternative, the spouse can give their one-half share of the community to someone else, leaving the surviving spouse with just their one-half share of the community.  Nine states currently have community property laws: Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.

Interested in learning more?  Give me a call at 775-392-4223 or email me at feedback@dterralaw.com.

 

Hello everyone, thanks for checking out my first post to the Law Blog.  My website has been up and running for quite a while, but I am just now taking the opportunity to write something that I hope will be of interest to my existing clients and anyone else visiting this site.

My law practice involves helping people resolve disputes involving real property, running their businesses, and helping them create comprehensive estate plans (wills and trusts) for the benefit of their loved ones.  In this Blog I’ll be covering some of the legal issues and questions that often arise in my day-to-day practice. I also welcome your comments and suggestions for future topics.

Here’s a simple one for today: What are the formalities required when executing a Last Will and Testament?  In Nevada, the person making the will must sign the will in the presence of two witnesses.  These two witnesses should not be beneficiaries of the will as state law precludes them from receiving gifts made to them under that will.  So, it’s always a good idea to have two disinterested persons serving as the witnesses.

Interested in learning more?  Give me a call at 775-392-4223 or email me at feedback@dterralaw.com.