My wife and I and another couple recently tried a new Salt Lake City restaurant. Frida Bistro. It was definitely a Top 5 experience. Incredible food, atmosphere and service. I highly recommend it. Entrees are $15-25. The restaurant is housed in a warehouse neighborhood, so don’t be shocked when you’re trying to find it. 700 South 545 West. The menu appears to be “Mexican” but I don’t think I saw burritos, tacos, or enchiladas. It is definitely upscale, but may be more Spanish than Mexican. Here’s the website: Frida Bistro Restaurant

Randall J Holmgren is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Life Is What You Make It” is a new book by Peter Buffet, son of Warren Buffet. Son, Peter, expresses gratitude to his famous, financial father for the “immaterial” wealth his father has given him. The monetary support from father has been sparse, and son, Peter, recognizes it and appreciates it. Click on this link for an NPR (National Public Radio) audio and print review of the book. I think you’ll enjoy it — no matter your own personal monetary wealth. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126538348

Randy Holmgren

Randall J Holmgren is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

People ask me “What’s the difference between an Executor and a Trustee?” They are similar, but different.

Similarities:

• They are each responsible for seeing that your wishes are carried out when you die. To ensure that your desires and instructions are carried out, choose someone who is dependable, responsible, and available to serve.

Differences:

• An executor takes care of administering a Will. That includes the process of “probating” the Will.
• A trustee takes care of administering a Trust. Where a client has properly “funded” and maintained his or her trust, there is no probate, so an executor is not usually needed.

Aside from the foregoing differences, the responsibilities of the executor or trustee will vary depending on your directitons, but some of the most common duties include:

• Locating and protecting the assets, determining “who gets what” and making sure the assets are properly distributed.
• Create an organizational method to keep track of important documents such as a death certificate and application for a federal tax identification number (EIN).
• Open checking and savings accounts for the estate. These will be used to hold any money owned by the deceased.
• Find out if probate is necessary and oversee the process. Again, with a Will, probate is usually necessary, and with a Trust, probate can be avoided. Funds like IRAs and 401(k) accounts, life insurance payouts, etc. usually don’t need to go through probate — as long as the beneficiary designations are done correctly.
• Notify any creditors, banks, lenders, or property managers of the death and close any accounts.
• Pay any debts and taxes owed.

Some of these tasks may seem overwhelming to the executor, especially in the midst of dealing with the death of a loved one. Seeking out the help of an estate planning attorney can help in getting things done smoothly, promptly and correctly. The attorney who helped prepare the estate plan may be a good person to contact for help.

Randall J Holmgren is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Yesterday (4/23/2010) my wife walked across a stage at Brigham Young University (BYU) and received her Bachelor of Arts degree. She started when she was 18. I interrupted the process by marrying her, hauling her away to my law school, and then she birthed our 5 children who are now mostly “raised.” A few years ago she decided she wanted to to finish earning her degree and graduate from college. It was a long and hard eight years for her. We live nearly 50 miles from the campus so she completed much of her course work by Internet without the benefit of in-class lectures, personal contact with professors, or study groups and other peer support. She is 50. We’ve cried off an on for two days as we’ve reflected on the process and how much more she appreciates the learning process than either of us did in 1980.

Yesterday was also our 30th wedding anniversary.

I’m now 55, and as I watched 6,000+ graduates file into the arena for the “Commencement” program, I realized that I may not have many years left. I’m 10 years away from the age when many people “retire” from employment. “That’s not very far away,” I thought. I thought of a neighbor, barely 70, who is in later stages of dying. We’ve been neighbors for 18 years. He has become a dear friend. When we moved into his neighborhood, he was just a couple of years younger than I am now.

I hope the foregoing doesn’t sound too self-indulgent. I don’t mean it to be. It’s been two days of reflection, memories, reminiscing, gratitude, and another awareness of “How Time Flies.” I just whizzes by. No one can stop it or slow it. The brake and accelerator are not given to us. All we can do is enjoy each day, as much as possible, and create as many good memories in a day as we can.

Randall J Holmgren is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

If you have a Living Trust, and you are relying on it save your survivors (family, spouse, relatives) the cost and hassle of probate, REMEMBER that it must be the owner of your assets at the time you pass away. For example, a surviving spouse met with me this week. She and her husband owned a vacation cabin in another state. My office had prepared a deed to transfer the cabin to their Trust, but the husband wanted to record it with the County Recorder instead of us mailing it to the Recorder for that purpose. We said “OK”. Many years passed. Husband has died, and the cabin is still titled in the name of husband and wife (with no rights of survivorship). Husband’s surviving wife can’t find the deed. So, in order to clear the title to husband’s one-half ownership, we’ll need to probate his estate in the other state. That cost, time and trouble could have all been avoided if husband would have recorded the deed (as he intended to do) or let us do it. We usually catch these errors with our clients during an annual review meeting, however, this couple had not accepted our numerous invitations to have free annual reviews. I hope this REMINDER helps you avert a problem like this one. Randy.

Randall J Holmgren is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

When parents age, and adult children reach out to assist them with activities of daily living, there is frequently a tension created between the children who are able to help, and do . . . and the children who are not able to help or won’t. This “TIME” magazine article is a good discussion of the issues. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1955601,00.html

Randall J Holmgren is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

It was automatically repealed at year end when Congress failed to pass legislation to extend the tax into 2010. So, people are now joking that this is a good time to help multi-millionaire parents die. The tax rate was 45%. It is now 0%. Estate-tax professionals anticipate that the tax will be reinstituted but, for now, it is gone.

Randall J Holmgren is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Today is the day after Christmas, 2009. I’m gearing up to try to write something interesting, regularly, about my estate-planning law practice.

As to the above topic, my friends, acquaintances (and clients) sometimes think that estate planning and financial planning are the same thing. They’re not. Here’s a short distinction.

Estate planning is your will or trust (or other entities designed to protect assets from various perils). An attorney usually handles your “estate planning”.

Financial planning deals with selecting investments to accomplish your financial goals. A financial advisor, stock broker, or financial planning helps with your “financial planning.”

Randall J Holmgren is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.