Attorney Jennifer O'Neill Speaks at November Meeting

Elder Law Attorney Jennifer O'Neill was the featured speaker at the meeting of the River Falls Area Retired Educators' Association on November 9, 2017 held at St. Croix Lanes in River Falls.

About two dozen members listened to an excellent presentation on estate planning. While many associate an "estate" with the Rockefellers or the DuPonts, Jennifer pointed out that all of us have an estate if we own anything. An estate is anything we leave behind after our deaths--a house, savings accounts, IRAs, or anything else of value. Estate planning is simply using the legal tools needed to assure that your estate goes to those for whom you intended it.

Jennifer informed us that there are three options or tools that can be used to disperse your assets:

Option 1--Do Nothing. If you die without a will--or intestate--the state distributes your assets along bloodlines for three generations, first to your spouse, then to children, siblings, and other surviving blood relatives. This option requires that everything goes through probate, or court-supervised distribution of your estate's assets.

The probate process requires that 1) heirs/beneficiaries are identified; 2) assets are identified and accounted for; 3) outstanding debts are identified; 4) outstanding debts are paid; and 5) remaining assets are distributed

Option 2--Wills.  Wills also require probate to be put into effect. Wills identify heirs and beneficiaries. They can also nominate a personal representative or executor. Important to know that wills are public documents that anyone can access. A will identifies the amount of an estate, its beneficiaries, and any other information contained within that document.  Probate also costs money--to file legal documentation and to hire an attorney to do the legal footwork necessary.

Option 3--Trusts.  Jennifer pointed out that trusts allow for much greater freedom and privacy than the previous two options. A trust is a private agreement that is kept in the family involving three parties:  1) grantor--the person who creates the trust; 2) trustee--the person who manages the trust. For most people, the grantor and the trustee will be the same for a long time--until the grantor becomes unable to manage the trust due to physical or mental disability or death; 3) beneficiaries--the persons or organizations receiving the grantor's assets.  Trusts, according to Attorney O'Neill, are becoming more and more popular because they allow families much more privacy and control.

We want to thank Jennifer O'Neill for her excellent presentation and the time she took to answer our questions. We greatly appreciated the time she took to share her expertise with us. It was informative, entertaining, and useful.

River Falls Area Retired Educators' Association presents programs that help us as members in our retirement--to learn new things, to be entertained, to come together as former educators. We are also focused on guaranteeing that our retirements remain secure by joining with WREA in protecting our pensions and protecting public education in our state and nation.

If you are interested in joining us, our next meeting is on December 14, 2017, at 11:00 a.m. at St. Croix Lanes in River Falls.