Law Office of Cathleen A. Gulledge, LLC, lawyers in Wichita, KS, Kansas

Estate-Tax Valuation -- Other Assets

Life insurance on the decedent that is received by or for the benefit of the estate is taxed in the estate. (Note that many state death taxes do not require inclusion, or provide special partial exclusions for life insurance proceeds.) The amount should be the amount received by the beneficiary, including any dividends and premium refunds paid to the beneficiary.More...

Probate -- Inventory and Payment

Within one to three months (depending on the particular state) after the executor has been appointed, he is required by law to file a "complete" inventory of the estate's assets. The inventory is submitted to the court and, like all other papers submitted to the court, becomes a matter of "public record" (available to anyone who wants to look at it). Briefly, there are two reasons for the filing of the inventory. First, to indicate to the court the items of property for which the executor will later "account" to the court (tell the court in detail what he did with all these items when the estate is settled), and to let the beneficiaries, creditors, and all other interested parties know just what is included in the deceased's probate estate. If the executor delays or refuses to file an inventory, any interested party may ask the court to order him to file one, although if there are no disputes or contests, executors often file their inventories late.More...

The Body of a Will

Most of the formalities of a will come at the beginning of the will and at the end of the will. The initial clauses usually announce the intention of the testator to make a will. The closing clauses usually indicate that the will has been signed and witnessed as required. In between the initial clauses and the closing clauses is the body of a will. The body of the will is where the testator directs the disposition of his or her estate.More...

Basic Trust Types and Formation

An express trust can be either private or charitable. The main difference is that the beneficiaries in a private trust are identifiable persons while a charitable trust cannot be for the benefit of identifiable persons. A charitable trust must be for religious, charitable, educational, or benevolent purposes, and cannot name only a few individuals to receive the benefit. If a charitable trust fails to name a specific charity, a court will redirect the trust property to a recipient that most closely appears capable of carrying out the charitable purpose. More...

Trusts for the Disabled

When a family includes an individual who is disabled, a special trust or special trust provisions should be considered to protect the financial interests of that person. Of course, the term disability can have a wide range of meanings. Generally speaking, reference is to individuals who would not be able to care for themselves or whose interests would be better served by retaining control and management of the disabled person's inheritance or other assets in a trust.More...