Author Archives: Skvarna Law

Joint Property Perils

rear view of young couple looking at their new house

If you designate someone as a joint owner and you die, you cannot control what they do with your property after your death. Perhaps you and your adult child co-owned a business. You may state in your will that the business should be equally shared with your spouse or divided between all your kids; however, the rights of joint owners take priority over the terms of your will, meaning the joint owner will now have full ownership and control over the property.

3 Celebrity Pet Trust Cases

A fashionable female Poodle dog posing as a charismatic diva, stylish and classy, dressed like a rich and elegant human celebrity

In a four-legged, furry version of the classic rags-to-riches story, wealthy Italian widow Maria Assunta rescued a stray cat from the streets of Rome and gave him a proper home and name: Tommaso. As Assunta’s health failed, she tried for several years to find an animal organization to entrust Tommaso with. When they could not find a suitable organization, Assunta left her $13 million estate directly to the cat. In fact, in her will, she named her nurse as caretaker. She died in 2011 at age 94. She knew that doing so would ensure caretakers would take care of her beloved Tommaso. 

Residuary Beneficiaries

residuary bequest word or concept represented by black and white letter cubes on a grey horizon background stretching to infinity

It is not unprecedented for a family to discover a high-worth asset such as artwork or sports memorabilia that belonged to a late relative but was not part of their estate plan. It is also possible that an asset not thought to be valuable turns out to be worth a great deal of money. 

Without Your Spouse: Estate Planning

estate planning sans spouse

A power of attorney addresses who can act on your behalf for financial and medical matters. In some cases, a power of attorney takes effect only if you are unable to manage your affairs; at other times, it can take effect immediately. A power of attorney can be general and grant another person broad authority to handle your affairs for you, or it can describe only those specific matters you want another person to handle on your behalf. 

Conditional Inheritance

Accept Terms of use concept. Businessman reading terms and conditions of website or application then click button to go Next Step progress. Tick check mark for agree to contract term and condition.

When raising children, most parents hope to shape their children’s behaviors, provide them with specific values, and help them become productive members of society. Parents often use a “carrot and stick” approach to get the desired outcomes, incentivizing approved actions with rewards and discouraging unapproved actions with punishments. 

Don’t Let Your Estate Plan Go Up in Smoke

As we get older, it is inevitable that we become more aware of our mortality. Reflections on life and death do not necessarily have to be morbid. They can also prompt us to take actions that focus on our legacy. Caring.com found that, in 2024, 43 percent of adults over age 55 have wills—down from 46 percent in 2023 and 48 percent in 2020

Estate Planning Priorities

Hand with marker writing the word Priorites

Many people want their loved ones to avoid the probate process because it can be expensive, time-consuming, and public. It can also be difficult for a loved one to manage while they are grieving. However, some people appreciate having a neutral third party (the judge) oversee the winding down of their affairs in the event there may is a conflict.

Addiction & Estate Planning  

Young man with hands clasped together addiction

Estate planning often involves dealing with difficult situations. Putting off thinking about these decisions is not the solution. By delaying making plans for how best to care for an addicted loved one when you are no longer around, you risk losing an opportunity and control that can further complicate matters. 

Snow White Estate

Snow White princess with the famous red apple.

Given Snow White’s young age when her father passed, it is likely that she was too young to manage a large sum of money or rule a kingdom without some guidance and oversight. Therefore, whatever he wanted to leave behind for Snow White could have been held in trust for her, either under his will as a testamentary trust or as a sub-trust of his revocable living trust. A trust would have allowed him to craft specific instructions on when and how Snow White would receive her inheritance. If the king created a separate sub-trust for Snow White, he could provide instructions so Snow White would receive her inheritance when the king died instead of waiting until her stepmother passed away to receive whatever was left over.

Gloria Vanderbilt: Estate Planning Lessons

Smiling senior 50s man sit relax on sofa in living room browsing internet on modern computer gadget, happy mature freelance worker rest on couch at home watch video surf wireless web on. Searching web

Before she died, Gloria Vanderbilt, heiress to the Vanderbilt fortune created by her great-great-grandfather, railroad and shipping tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt, told her kids she would not leave them an inheritance. Gloria was herself the beneficiary of a trust fund worth an estimated $2.5–$5 million in 1925, or around $35–$70 million today, and had a reported net worth of around $200 million when she passed away.