Ed Lowe Law LLC

08/07/2023

We’re fond of saying “everyone needs an estate plan.” Is it possible that not everyone needs an estate plan? After all, your estate only exists (1)💀if you die and (2)🏠💰if you own anything. Savvy planners can develop methods to stave of death indefinitely (though at the cost of your very soul) and some may just eschew worldly possessions altogether. For them, estate planning is just a fascinating subject that they need not concern themselves with.

For others who own things and will one day die, estate planning is a must. It’s so important that the state has its own plan in store for you if you don’t get around to creating your plan yourself. Incapacitated? The state can appoint a conservator to oversee your money and care. Dead? The state has laws that can dictate where the assets of your estate end up.

Do you want to decide these things yourself? Then you, my friend, are interested in estate planning. The first step in your estate planning journey is understanding that you need an estate plan. The second step is getting educated, which is why we’re happy to host a multitude of free estate planning crash courses. Sign up for one at https://www.edlowelaw.com/seminars.

🎶Wouldn’t it be nice if we could come up with a How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying song parody with an estate planning theme? Alas, none in the office are so musically gifted. When I passed the bar, as a brash young man, I said to myself “now brash young man, don’t get any musical parody ideas.” Well I stuck to that, and I haven’t had one in years! Attorneys play it safe, after all. Post your best effort in the comments!🎵

07/09/2023

📢 Attention everyone! 📢

Some of you may have come across a recent bone-chilling tax article: IRS Quietly Changed the Rules on Your Children’s Inheritance. See here: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/irs-quietly-changed-rules-children-094042166.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=ma

But fear not, my friends! Let me clarify the situation for you. The truth is that Revenue Ruling 2023-2, which has been making headlines, merely formalized what tax and trust attorneys have been aware of and practicing for years. There have been no recent rule changes that endanger your child’s precious inheritance, quiet or otherwise.

In a nutshell, Revenue Ruling 2023-2 states that assets which are not part of your estate when you die will not receive the coveted step-up in basis. Hardly a new change, this concept has been a fundamental principle of tax planning since time immemorial, harkening back to the days when early humans pondered the complexities of tax and asked themselves, "Should I give my cave to my children now, thereby excluding it from my estate for estate tax purposes, or should I consider its step-up in basis for capital gains tax purposes?"

What’s the key takeaway here? You need to decide whether to prioritize (1) capital gains planning or (2) estate tax planning. At the moment, estate taxes only come into play if your estate exceeds $12.92 million, so most people will focus on capital gains tax benefits. But remember, individual circumstances vary, and it's crucial to engage in this kind of planning under the guidance of a knowledgeable trust and tax attorney. For more, visit https://www.edlowelaw.com/

06/12/2023

A health care representative is a person you appoint to make medical decisions on your behalf if you become unable to make medical decisions for yourself due to illness, injury, or incapacitation. They act in accordance with your previously expressed wishes or make decisions they believe are in your best interest.

Connecticut allows you to name your health care representative. As such, an Appointment of Health Care Representative is a vital component in almost everyone’s estate plan.

If you have not named a health care representative, and you are unable to make medical decisions on your own, the courts will appoint a decision maker for you by way of the Conservatorship process. A conservator of the person will have much of the same decision-making authority as a health care representative, but only after the probate court work has been completed. It’s a popular notion that spouses or other family members are automatically given medical decision-making authority over an incapacitated person. Au contraire! Family members might receive special consideration from the court while a decision is being made, but the ultimate decision of who should make medical decisions will reside with the court itself.

All the more reason to simply prepare an Appointment of Health Care Representative while you’re healthy so you have the peace of mind knowing that you are in control of who is in charge when worse comes to worst.

For more, visit https://www.edlowelaw.com/

05/25/2023

dreams about just like the rest of us! I’m sure you've all already memorized this lyric from her hit song Anti-Hero:

🎵I have this dream my daughter-in-law kills me for the money
She thinks I left them in the will
The family gathers 'round and reads it and someone screams out
"She's laughing up at us from hell"🎵

We're all die hard Taylor fans here at Ed Lowe Law, and we’re all captivated by estate planning as a profession. Dare we combine the two? Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for? Taylor brings up some fun estate planning topics in this lyric:

🔴Slayers Never Prosper: Taylor has a nightmare where a family member murders her to get their inheritance. That daughter-in-law better be good at covering her tracks, because if you are discovered to have murdered someone, you are automatically removed from that person’s will. These “Slayer Statutes” exist in every state. Interestingly enough, Connecticut’s Slayer Statute does not mention trust estates, so if you want your murderer to still be able to inherit you might want to consider trust planning as an avenue!

🔵The Reading of the Will: A popular trope, but if it ever occurs in real life it’s because someone involved has a flair for the theatrical. In reality, the will must be recorded with the probate court and every beneficiary is entitled to receive a copy of that will.

🟢Required Beneficiaries: Our society, born from a hereditary empire, still nurtures the insidious idea in all of us that we are entitled to what belongs to family by virtue of blood. You can give to whomever you wish and disinherit whomever you wish…if you take the proper steps. Even with substantial planning in place, surviving spouses may still have rights to a deceased spouse’s estate. Extra care must be taken if you intend for a spouse not to inherit. Your assets, your decisions, and you won’t even go to hell!

05/16/2023

🤩People are champing at the bit for Friday's Estate Planning Event! A big thanks to The Wayne Norman Show for letting us talk a little bit about the event on today's show. What a great guy to talk to, and what a great guest Ed Lowe was.

What is Wayne Norman Interviews? Listen in to WILI 1400AM and 95.3FM live from Willimantic, CT! Missed an interview or want to re-listen? That's what we have this podcast for! For more information, check out our website at http://www.wili.com !

05/12/2023

🚶You’re just walking down the street, enjoying the beautiful day, then BAM💥you’re thinking “oh boy I hope my assets pass to my beneficiaries with minimal taxes and fees!”🤔

And what was just an ordinary, beautiful day becomes a BREATHTAKING day🤩(if you’re anything like Ed Lowe, who eats and breathes tax, trusts, and estates).

Archie the Corgi and Felix the Cat agree. Archie is a more ardent fan of estate planning than Felix, who likes tax a little more.

We Frequently Share the Values and Most Up to Date Information During Our Educational Seminars. They Are Free to Join.

05/10/2023

Today I learned that Old Saybrook is the final resting place of several notable people, including the Honorable Judge Bruce M. Wright, who lived out the twilight years of his long and fascinating life in peaceful Old Saybrook.

A remarkable intellect, Judge Wright was awarded a scholarship to attend Princeton University, but was denied admission when the school’s dean discovered Judge Wright was a black man. This moment, atop all of the other moments of racial discrimination Judge Wright experienced in his life, helped shape his judicial philosophy, particularly in regard to the 8th Amendment.

Judge Wright was simultaneously beloved and excoriated as a jurist. Judge Wright was not shy in saying that the American justice system was tainted by prejudices against race and class, and he sought to champion the 8th Amendment by ensuring no excessive bail was posted for suspects not convicted of a crime. He was well known for setting very low bail for poor and minority suspects, sometimes choosing not to set any bail at all. Innocent until proven guilty!

Judge Wright’s bail policies were very similar to other judges at the time, but his practices were examined much more closely because of his race and outspokenness of racism and classism inherent in the justice system. This earned him the epithet “Turn ‘Em Loose Bruce” in the tabloids, though he preferred the nickname “Civil Wright.” Following his judicial career he authored Black Robes, White Justice, which examined the role of race in the judicial system. His activism and passion for justice was inspired by Frederick Douglass and his well-known final advice to young black Americans seeking to challenge injustice, “Agitate! Agitate! Agitate!”

In his later years, Judge Wright kept himself occupied with travel and even worked as a greeter for Wal-Mart in Old Saybrook to help keep his socially minded intellect sharp. He died in his sleep in his Old Saybrook home at the age of 87.

Death comes for us all, be it in our sleep or in the pursuit of a righteous social cause like so many who fought and continue to fight for equal justice. Everyone needs to make sure their affairs are in order before they’re greeted by their Maker. The first step is knowing what the possibilities are. All are welcome to join us and learn the basics at our Estate Planning 101 event at the Old Saybrook Fire Dept. Banquet Hall next Wednesday, May 17, at 10:00am. Call 203-951-5435 or visit https://www.edlowelaw.com/seminars to reserve your seat.

05/10/2023

Today I learned that Rocky Hill is both the birth place and final resting place of Captain Jarvis E. Blinn, captain of the 14th Connecticut Infantry in the U.S. Civil War, who died in the Battle of Antietam, the “bloodiest day in American history.”

Captain Blinn was well-liked by his fellow soldiers, and possessed an "expression of quiet but earnest resolve tinged with a dash of sadness in his air.” Only a week after enlisting, he was chosen and commissioned as Captain. Barely a month after enlisting in the Union Army, Captain Blinn marched to Maryland and the fateful Battle of Antietam.

Captain Blinn and his soldiers had taken a forward position in the battle before being ordered to fall back. As the order was given, Captain Blinn was shot through the heart by a Confederate soldier. A man who called it like he saw it, Captain Blinn stated “I am a dead man,” before dying immediately thereafter. He was 26 years old.

The battle was a pivotal victory for the Union, and without it many scholars believe the war would have ended very differently. Captain Blinn’s earthly remains were transported back to his native Rocky Hill, and buried in Center Cemetery where his worn gravestone can be seen and honored today. He was survived by a wife, two young children, and the country he fought and died to preserve.

Death comes for us all, whether it’s in the service of the principles we hold so dear or the cruel passage of time itself. Everyone needs to make sure their affairs are in order before they’re Glory bound. The first step is knowing what the possibilities are. All are welcome to join us and learn the basics at our Estate Planning 101 event at the Rocky Hill Senior Center next Tuesday, May 16, at 7:00pm. Call 203-951-5435 or visit https://www.edlowelaw.com/seminars to reserve your seat.

Be sure to remember Captain Blinn this Memorial Day, along with all the other soldiers who were taken far too early because of war.

05/06/2023

🐦Steady and ready, Lil' Eddie.

When it comes to elder law, trusts, estate planning, Medicaid, and probate you want an attorney who has the experience, knowledge, and positive disposition to handle your case. We offer these services and more for less. Call 203-951-5435.

05/03/2023

Present company excluded right? ..... right?!

05/02/2023

Today I learned that Wethersfield is the final resting place of Elizabeth Canning, the subject of one of the most famous unsolved mysteries of the colonial era!

Elizabeth was an 18 year old maid who disappeared on New Years Day, 1753. A month later she miraculously reappeared, claiming to have been abducted and held captive in a loft before finally escaping. The people she accused were tried and convicted, but the Judge felt something was amiss…

The case was all the English public could talk about. Eventually, the accused were pardoned and Elizabeth was found guilty of perjury. Her sentence was transportation to that most grotesque of British penal stations: Connecticut.

In Wethersfield, she lived with notable Methodist minister Elisha Williams and his family, married John Treat (a relation of former Governor Treat) and begat a daughter and two sons before dying at the young age of 38. Despite extensive investigations and numerous theories, the truth of what really happened to Elizabeth during that missing month remains a mystery to this day. Some believe that she was telling the truth and was unjustly accused, while others think that she fabricated the story for attention or to avoid punishment for her own misdeeds.

What does this have to do with estate planning you ask? Elizabeth has taught you to make sure your estate is able to hold and manage the rights to your mysterious and provocative life story!

If you’re in Wethersfield, the perfect time to learn about the basics of your estate planning is May 16🔹7:00pm🔸at the Rocky Hill Senior Center. Register for this event by calling us at 203-951-5435 or on our website https://www.edlowelaw.com/seminars.

Read more about Elizabeth on her extensive Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Canning?wprov=sfti1

04/23/2023

The majority of Americans have NO estate planning. Not even wills🤢🤮
What that means in the Comments.