With the death of Kal Zeff, a multifamily Denver, Colorado, real estate magnet, the story of his heirs beginning to liquidate his properties may seem sad at first, but we think it is worth a closer look, as there are many parts of this situation that we would be fortunate to emulate.
While Mr. Zeff’s estate is grand in size and complex in nature, we have been witness to many, much smaller, simpler issues that have unfortunately not been a smooth transition. Mr. Zeff has left his estate in a situation that has made it fluid for his heirs to do what they want without difficulties. Many dream of the children carrying on the family business, but in reality, this is not always the case.
The goal in any estate plan should be to effectuate an orderly tax efficient distribution to the next generation, while allowing for a continuation of the business, if any, or all, of the children choose to do so. While it is impossible to anticipate every nuance of the distribution, a focus on straight forward, less complex, transfers and distributions may help.
In our experience, here are a few key items to help streamline a smooth transition:
- Have your Wills, Trusts, deeds, titles, loan and other related documents in a safe place that someone, preferably your Executor, knows the location.
- Make sure you have a good Executor. This person will have a key role in the transition process. Your Executor should be familiar with your team of advisors i.e. Planner, Accountant, Estate Attorney.
- Let the heirs have a general idea where and what the assets are, and what direction they may be directed. Size and amounts are not the important part of this discussion, focusing on location and direction is a much greater concern.
- Allow the Children an easy way of selling the assets, they most likely will not want everything you have accumulated, and if they do, you will already know it. Pokes from the grave make for a funny story while living, but in reality can cause angst.
- Be sure to acknowledge all heirs, even if assets are not intended to be distributed to them, if not, the assumption may be that you have forgotten them.
- Fluid, simple, smooth process which is dynamic, and will continue to change from tax laws and important decision makers is key. Well written Estate planning documents will achieve this, do not attempt to over complicate the situation.
Your Financial Planning Advisor should monitor your situation for changes in tax laws, estate planning techniques, and most importantly, your wishes. The Estate Planning Attorney creates the documents, make changes as necessary, and may also communicate with you concerning changes in techniques or laws.
Lastly, while this information may seem easy and logical on first glance, completing a good Estate Plan is much harder than many realize, so do not get frustrated. Take your time, and review our items above.
Be sure to check with the appropriate advisor for directions, as we are not Estate Attorneys, and are not recommending any specific action, only sharing information from the previously well traveled, “path of hard knocks.”
Have a Great Day!
JK
214-706-4300
John Kvale
Donald Capone
5 Positives This Week, With A Personal Lead Off!
As we posted last week’s positives we felt the crowd beginning to take up residence on our Zig side, while the Zaggers were losing their footing. In the time it takes to snap your fingers, crowds once again left our side and took residence on the dark side, giving us a clear runway for this week’s positives:
So Here We Go:
Congratulations to Randi, Our Newest Full Fledged Attorney: Most of you know Donald’s wife has been completing law school for the last several years. This week brings official notice of what Randi and Donald had known for some time. It is now official, Randi is an attorney, and on her way to becoming one of the top public attorneys in the country. Well done Randi, and thanks for the lead in this week’s positives!
90 Day Treadmillers Continue to Impress: While is seems just like yesterday that earnings season began, it now is coming to an end. Lost in the shuffle of “To Greek or Not To Greek”, was an oustanding performance by publicly traded executives. This positive has gone somewhat unnoticed at this time, but continues to bring value to capital markets at the P, in the P/E multiple. As the P (Price) stays flat and the E continues to grow, values become less expensive. Well Done Fellas!
FOMC, Economy Doing Better: This point is a perfect example of why we Zig while others Zag, click here for the FOMC statement in it’s entirety, this is the first sentence from the Feds press release:
“Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in September indicates that economic growth strengthened somewhat in the third quarter, reflecting in part a reversal of the temporary factors that had weighed on growth earlier in the year.“
Here are a few dark side headlines from the next day, again showing why we Zig while others Zag:
“Fed Lowers Job Forecast” Wall Street Journal
“Fed Lowers US GDP forecast, Mulls More Actions” Economic Times
Here is a fellow Zigger, showing how the exact same item can be viewed in a totally different way:
“Upbeat Federal Reserve, Doesn’t Hamper Gold“ The Street
This is just another reminder why we keep on Zigging!
Economic Data Continues to be Positive: Name your economic report this week as Jobless Claims, Retail Sales, Productivity, and of course our prior mentioned Fed Policy meeting was positive. While none of the economic data is roaring, the data continues to “keep it’s feet moving” as our old football coaches used to bark, making for another positive this week in our book!
ECB Cuts Rates: A major positive splash that went unknown and unnoticed. Mario Draghi the newly minted ECB chief made his presence known with a rate cut. Recall, rate cuts are meant to spur growth and are a definite tailwind to economic prosperity. Draghi appears ready to take decisive action over the various big sister and little brother situation, which makes for our final positive of the week!
Stay tuned, and thanks for Zigging with us again this week.
Have a Great Day and a Super Weekend!
JK
214-706-4300
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Posted in A Look Back and The Week Ahead, General Financial Planning, Investing/Financial Planning, Market Comments
Tagged Economic Reports, Mario Draghi