Parman & Easterday’s Blog

INTRODUCTION
By now most of America is familiar with the tragic events of Terri Schiavos life. No matter how you may feel about the moral and political issues that have arisen, most Americans would agree that they would not want their families to suffer through the 15-year ordeal that Terri and her family endured. Fortunately, there are means within easy reach of any American to plan for end-of-life medical decisions.

Born to Mary and Robert Schindler on December 3, 1963, Theresa Marie Schindler had a typical, happy childhood. The Pennsylvania native enjoyed spending time with her two siblings, listening to music and drawing sketches. In November 1984, at just under 21 years of age, Terri married Michael Schiavo. By age 26, Terri was employed and living in Florida with her husband.

Sadly, it was at this age that Terris life took a devastating turn. In February 1990, Terri suffered a heart attack that deprived her brain of oxygen for five minutes, damaging it severely. She slipped into what doctors call a “persistent vegetative state,” in which she lost the brain functions that control judgment and reason. She could not communicate and her only movements were minor reflexes. Terri could not even survive without the assistance of a feeding tube.
This report will tell you how the proper estate planning tools can guarantee that your end-of-life decisions are carried out. Click below to learn more about:

* Legal Options that can Prevent Family Turmoil: Healthcare Power of Attorney and Living Will
* Why Estate Plan Reviews Are Essential
* Why You Need to Update Your Estate Plan Due to Life Changes

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This Report is Compliments of Parman & Easterday. If you would like a hardcopy of this report please email lparman@parmanlaw.com or call (405) 843-6100.

Some people mistakenly believe that drafting a will avoids the costly, time-consuming legal process called probate. Read this article to find out about wills, probate and Living Trusts.

Although Probate is supposed to ensure that possessions pass on to your loved ones as you wish, in reality, it has become a costly, time-consuming and bureaucratic process that seems to serve the needs of everyone but you and your loved ones.

Want the intimate details of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’ life? You don’t have to read the tabloids or the latest unauthorized biography. You can peruse the details of her finances and last wishes for her loved ones in the public records of the state of New York. And thousands have.

Can you imagine anything more ironic? The most private public figure of the 20th century, Mrs. Onassis went to great lengths to avoid the paparazzi’s camera. And in the end, for what? Because she used a will to dispose of her assets, she ensured that details of her $200 million estate and the terms of her final wishes would be made public.

Why You Don’t Want To Be Caught Dead With a Will

Even if celebrity status hasn’t thrust you into the public eye, you can still learn from Mrs. Onassis’ mistakes.

Throughout the centuries, property holders have used wills to convey their worldly goods to their loved ones and a legal process called “probate” has developed to administer property disposed of by will. It’s often a long, drawn-out process that seems to serve the needs of everyone but you…and your loved ones.

Click below to learn more about Probate and solutions to avoid Probate from the following sections:

* How Probate Works
* The Public Eye
* The Waiting Game
* Paying the Piper–and the Rest of the Band
* Death, Taxes,and Death Taxes
* Avoiding Probate
* The Solution: The Revocable Living Trust
* How a Living Trust Works
* Your First Step in Designing Your Living Trust

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This Report is Compliments of Parman & Easterday. If you would like a hardcopy of this report please email lparman@parmanlaw.com or call (405) 843-6100.

For seniors, the debate over Wills versus Probate holds special meaning, because the vast majority of Probate cases revolve around the affairs of those Americans ages 60 and over.

Want to see two groups who make the Republicans and Democrats look like one big, happy family? Then put into one room those attorneys who believe in probate and those who prefer their clients manage their affairs with a Revocable Living Trust. You’ll get as contentious an assembly as you could possibly hope for.

For seniors, the debate has special meaning, because the vast majority of probate cases revolve around the affairs of those Americans ages 60 and over. This report from the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys explores the reasons for the debate and offers guidelines to help seniors steer clear of the fray.

What Probate Does

Just what is probate? First, it’s important to note that it comes in two “flavors.” Living Probate is a legal process that determines your fate when you cannot-generally because you’ve been disabled by injury, illness, or mental capacity.

Death probate is the process that disposes of your estate after you die. Having a will virtually guarantees that your estate will go through probate. But then again, so will dying without any estate plan at all.

While probate attorneys might be happy with these definitions, Trust attorneys would draw your attention to all the problems that come with probate: red-tape, expense, publicity, delay, loss of control, and in the case of “living” probate, potential for personal humiliation.

Click the registration link to learn more about Probate from the following sections:

* The Impact on seniors
* How Probate Affects Seniors’ Families
* What AARP Has to Say About Probate
* Why Attorneys Disagree About Probate
* Is Probate Even Necessary?
* How to Avoid Probate with a Living Trust
* Just for the Wealthy
* Getting the Most From Your Living Trust
* Penny Wise, Pound Foolish

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This Report is Compliments of Parman & Easterday. If you would like a hardcopy of this report please email lparman@parmanlaw.com or call (405) 843-6100.

Trust Administration is the process people often find themselves in unexpectedly, after the death of a spouse or parent who created the trust prior to passing on. It comes during a very emotional time, and often brings with it difficult and complex financial and family issues. The task of reviewing the trust and finding and valuing the assets of a recently deceased family member can be daunting, as can be the complexities of estate tax law. What is important to remember for anyone administering a trust is that there is a definite process to follow, and resources to assist you as you assume this new role.

After finding a firm emotional foundation, it is time to address the task of administering the trust set up by the deceased.

Click below to learn more about Trust Administration from the following sections:

* A Tale of Two Estates
* Take Action
* Stages of Trust Administration
* Common Funding Pitfall
* Trustee Responsibility & Liability
* Income Tax Consequences
* Additional Pitfalls
* Role of the Attorney
* Don’t Delay
* Definitions & Checklist
* Frequently Asked Questions

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This Report is Compliments of Parman & Easterday. If you would like a hardcopy of this report please email lparman@parmanlaw.com or call (405) 843-6100.

If you have a dog, cat or other pet, you know that the unconditional love and affection our pets devote to us improve the quality of our lives in ways nothing else can. This is why they deserve our respect and dedication even after we pass away or become incapacitated.

Unfortunately, if a pet owner becomes unable to care for his or her pets they often end up living on the street. Thousands of pets are orphaned every year in the United States. To prevent your pets from adding to this sad statistic, you need to plan now for their care in the future.

One way to do this is to include your pets in your estate plan. This can be as simple as incorporating provisions for them into your Will or Living Trust. A Durable General Power of Attorney will allow an agent of your choosing to spend funds that have been allocated to your pets as he or she sees fit in the best interest of your pets.

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This Report is Compliments of Parman & Easterday. If you would like a hardcopy of this report please email lparman@parmanlaw.com or call (405) 843-6100.

Joint tenancy ownership of property is sometimes used as a substitute for an effective estate plan. Is this a good idea? Read this article to find out.

Although Joint Tenancy offers some short-term conveniences, in the long run it poses a host of problems that can cost you and your loved ones many times the expense and headaches you thought you were avoiding.

For the vast majority of American couples, “till death do us part” also means “till death do we hold our property in Joint Tenancy.”

It happens almost automatically. When you and your spouse open a checking account, buy a car, purchase a home, or acquire just about any other asset you can think of, the first–and usually only–impulse is to put the title in both your names as Joint Tenants.

Married couples aren’t the only ones relying on Joint Tenancy. This ownership strategy is widely used by friends, life partners, parents and their children, among others. It’s an ownership method so pervasive, many consumers often say they know of no others.

Why is Joint Tenancy so frequently employed? Ironically, otherwise well informed consumers choose Joint Tenancy because they’ve heard it is a cost-free replacement for a will and that it avoids probate. These consumers focus on the fact that at the death of one of the owners, Joint Tenancy–or more precisely, Joint Tenancy with Right of Survivorship– immediately passes full ownership of an asset onto the surviving Joint Tenant by operation of law. So, yes, it does circumvent probate and avoid the need for a will. At least for the moment.

What all too many Americans unfortunately overlook is the fact that Joint Tenancy only temporarily avoids probate. It also brings with it a slew of problems that more than make up for any short-term convenience it provides. In fact, Joint Tenancy can end up costing you–and your loved ones–many times the expense and headaches you thought you were avoiding.

Click below to learn more about Joint Tenancy from the following sections:

* Probate, After All
* Losing Control
* The $675,000 Question
* Capital Gains Exposure
* Joint Tenancy and Gift Taxes
* Exposure to Risk
* Alternatives to Joint Tenancy

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This Report is Compliments of Parman & Easterday. If you would like a hardcopy of this report please email lparman@parmanlaw.com or call (405) 843-6100.

For most of our lives the greatest risk to our well-being isn’t death. It’s the ever-growing likelihood of becoming seriously ill or injured.

As Carolyn Henderson* anxiously watched her husband’s flickering vital signs on the Intensive Care Unit monitor, she considered the irony of their circumstances. When she and Kirk planned how they might spend their thirtieth wedding anniversary, this sickbed vigil was the farthest thing from their minds. But then on the very day they planned to celebrate 30 years of marriage, Kirk Henderson, a robust, health-conscious, ex-pro football player in his mid-fifties, unexpectedly suffered a stroke. As the hours ticked by with no sign that Kirk would regain consciousness, Carolyn considered for the first time that he might not pull through.

Although Kirk didn’t die, he hasn’t fully recovered either. Today, two years after his stroke, the aftermath of his illness has rendered him barely able to walk or use his right arm. His speech is slurred, his thinking processes are still muddled, and he will probably need physical therapy for the rest of his life. Carolyn tries not to dwell on the remnants of her husband’s illness, emphasizing instead on the miraculous progress he has made in so many areas. But just when she starts to think things are returning to normal, she’s reminded that in the eyes of the law, her husband is as good as dead.

Declared mentally incompetent in a court of law, Kirk Henderson no longer has the right to make any decisions for himself. He can’t sign a check, conduct a financial transaction, or even decide how he wishes to be cared for.

When they least expected it, the Hendersons discovered what insurance companies have been trying to tell us for years. For most of our lives, the greatest risk to our well-being isn’t death. It’s the ever-growing likelihood of becoming seriously ill or injured. And when illness or injury make us unable to manage our affairs for ourselves, we may face an ordeal nearly as debilitating as our disability itself. It’s a legal process commonly called Living Probate, and for those who must endure it, it is often a living nightmare.

Click below to learn more about Living Probate from the following sections:

* WHAT IS LIVING PROBATE?
* PUTTING YOUR FATE IN THE HANDS OF STRANGERS
* POWER OF ATTORNEY: PROVIDING A FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY
* DURABLE POWER OF ATTORNEY: BETTER, BUT STILL NOT BEST
* HOW THE HEALTH CARE POWER OF ATTORNEY SOLVES HALF THE PROBLEM
* A REVOCABLE LIVING TRUST GIVES YOU CONTROL OVER ALL ASPECTS OF YOUR LIFE
* GETTING STARTED

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This Report is Compliments of Parman & Easterday. If you would like a hardcopy of this report please email lparman@parmanlaw.com or call (405) 843-6100.

INTRODUCTION
The unhappy truth about marriage is that 2.5 million of them end in divorce each year. For first marriages, this typically happens somewhere around the 11th anniversary. If youre married or you have children or other heirs who are married, perhaps youve considered the effects that divorce could have on your life, the holdings in your estate, and mutual family members. If so, youve done more thinking than most. This report can help familiarize you with some important concepts about being prepared for divorce, should it come your way.

Most people dont consider the types of changes that can occur when the specter of divorce enters their lives or the life of an intended beneficiary. But as you might imagine, divorce makes it that much more important to have legal affairs updated and reviewed. Without strict planning, a divorce could have devastating consequences on your family.

Unfortunately, the sky-high divorce rate continues to rise in America. And its important to acknowledge this reality. Although emotional upheaval may seem difficult as a result of a divorce, the hard work associated with returning your life to normalcy doesnt end with divorce. Its important to know how divorce dramatically effects your estate plan.

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This Report is Compliments of Parman & Easterday. If you would like a hardcopy of this report please email lparman@parmanlaw.com or call (405) 843-6100.