My parents have always raised us with their traditional values and beliefs.  I have been blessed with healthy parents whom are still with me and able to enjoy my daughter and pass along the same traditions to her.

Typically when people think about estate planning they think about the basics: who gets what and how much.  When clients leave my office they know differently.  It is about more than money and “things”.  It is about making certain that your children are continued to be raised with values, traditions and beliefs that, as parents, you want to see they are continued to be exposed to. It is about encouraging your children to succeed and continue to be exposed to religious education and family values.

We are not your typical estate planning law firm.  We work with our clients to determine how to pass along values and traditions by discussing options; what will work best for their family.  We explore guardian options and what specific concerns they may have.

As part of the plan, our clients are provided with a Guardian Letter.  This is a letter from the natural parents to the guardian where the natural parent can express their feelings on how they would like their child raised.  They can express their desire that they attend a certain church because maybe it has been a big part of their lives.  In addition they can express their values regarding volunteering or learning to save or education.  Leaving the guardian with guidance in their own words is invaluable not only to the guardian, but to the children.  It is  leaving a little piece of the past for the future.

According to the North Carolina Court System Website:

“A will is a written document in which you direct who is to receive your property upon your death. If you have any real property (land) or personal property (cars, jewelry, money) that you want to give to a specific person you must have a will. Otherwise, the property will pass to persons in accordance with the Intestate Succession Laws.”

Which then begs the question, what are Intestate Succession Laws?

Again, the North Carolina Court System offers a definition:

“These laws set forth how property is to be distributed when someone dies without a will. Generally, the property will pass to your surviving spouse and children, but not in equal shares.”

So why have a will? If upon your death, you want to give your real property or personal property to a specific individual, or individuals, then you need a will. Otherwise, the Intestate Succession Laws will dictate how your property is distributed upon your death.

You might think that you can write your own will, or use a “do-it-yourself” will form to assist you in writing your own will. Typically, this is a bad idea.

Now you might be thinking, “But you’re an estate planning attorney, of course you think writing my own will is a bad idea. You want my money!”

Well, don’t take my word for it. Take the recommendation of the North Carolina Courts:

“You should contact a lawyer for assistance in making a will, to ensure that it is properly drafted and correctly signed and witnessed. If a will is not prepared as required by law, it may be deemed invalid. An invalid will is useless, and your property will pass to your heirs by Intestate Succession.”

While drafting documents is important and necessary, building lifetime relationships with my clients is just as important. Submit your request for a free North Carolina estate planning phone consultation. I would be happy to discuss with you the best way to ensure that your property passes according to your wishes.

Insurers and individuals who suffered losses in New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle’s fatal plane crash in Manhattan in 2006 have agreed to accept $2 million and drop the pursuit of almost $60 million in property and personal injury claims against the estates of Lidle and his flight instructor, a mediator in the case said Tuesday.

The claimants accepted the $2 million because Lidle, 34, and the instructor who died with him, Tyler Stanger, 26, had $1 million liability policies each, and the estates had no other assets worth pursuing, says Michael Cohan, who assisted the mediator in the case, retired New Jersey Superior Court Judge Marina Corodemus.

Investigators never determined which man was at the controls when they attempted a turn over the windswept East River on Oct. 11, 2006, in Lidle’s Cirrus SR-20 aircraft and slammed into a high-rise apartment building. Some residents were injured, debris rained down on pedestrians and property damage was in the millions.

Lidle had obtained his pilot’s license earlier in the year and the National Transportation Safety Board ruled that the pilots’ inadequate planning, judgment and airmanship in trying to make a 180-degree turn led to the crash.

Cohan, of counsel to Corodemus & Corodemus in Iselin, N.J., says the $2 million will be split among insurance companies that paid $16.5 million to 11 property owners, six property owners who had further claims and five personal injury plaintiffs.

He says Circuit Judge John Laurent in Polk County, Fla., the probate judge of Lidle’s estate, approved the settlement on Sept. 22, but has not ruled on whether to release Corodemus’s report, which contains a breakdown of the distribution of the $2 million.

“No one wanted to go after the personal assets of the estates,” says Gerald Kirby of Feldman, Rudy, Kirby & Farquharson in Westbury, N.Y., who represented Allstate Insurance Co. and Encompass Insurance Co., which were seeking recovery for property damage claims they paid.

Kirby says his clients paid claims of more than $1 million. Asked how much of that they will receive in the settlement of the subrogation claims, he says, “peanuts.”

Cohan says Corodemus was called in as mediator at the suggestion of the lawyer for the Stanger estate, Eugene Massamillo of Kaplan, Massamillo & Andrews of New York. Cohan says Massamillo, who did not return a call for comment, was familiar with Corodemus’s work as the New Jersey state court judge in charge of mass tort litigation for 10 years before her retirement in 2004.

Cohan says one personal injury claimant, whom he did not identify, did not accept the settlement.

Lidle’s widow and Stanger’s estate have filed a product liability suit in California against the aircraft’s manufacturer, Cirrus Design Corp.

The greatest fallacy most people have about estate planning is the belief that if they die intestate (or without a will) all of their property will go to their spouse.  In fact, it is this belief that keeps many people from creating an estate plan until after one spouse dies.  But this is not necessarily true.  What happens to your estate depends on many factors, including the state in which you live, whether you have children, your marital status and whether you’ve been married before, etc.  There is absolutely no one answer to the question “What happens if I die without a will?” Are you sure you want to take your chances with what might happen?

Another issue that most people just don’t understand is that probate is more often than not a very time consuming and expensive process.  There is a good likelihood that your loved ones will need access to your estate in the months following your death—unfortunately they are not likely to get it!  Probate court calendars, informing creditors, looking for other possible heirs, other family members contesting decisions—all of these and more can keep your estate tied up in probate for months or years, and unavailable to the people who need it most.

And perhaps the least understood drawback to refusing to create an estate plan in a down economy is that the probate courts may force your heirs to sell valuable assets at a time when property values are at their lowest. This alone could result in significant losses to the estate you pass on to your beneficiaries, not to mention probate fees and estate taxes that could have been saved had you planned ahead.

Estate planning may feel like an unnecessary expense, but the more you understand the more you realize just how essential it is.  Creating your estate plan now could be the best investment you make in your family’s future.

If you conduct the majority of your business in another state, and the majority of your assets are in another state that is where the primary probate of your estate will be.  If you have any property in North Carolina, you can do what is called an Ancillary Estate.