Vermont Estate Planning Blog

We were so proud to be able to support our local school at the Essex Invitational.  We received the following note from Heidi Stewart of Essex.

Thank you so much for being a sponsor for the New England qualifying track meet! Hundreds of Vermont's best track and field athletes competed in the Essex Invitational in hopes to go on to compete at New Englands this Saturday. Nothing could have been possible without the contributions of our amazing sponsors! Thank you again for sponsoring and attached I sent along pictures of the front and back of the t-shirt and the program, that was bought by hundreds of families, that contains the business' name. 

Thanks again!

Heidi Stewart

Q: What do you need when you have 3 lawyers up to their necks in cement?

A: More cement.

Jarrett & Luitjens is proud to co-host its 4th Annual Golfing4Life Tournament on July 24th at the Links at Lang Farm.  Last year we raised over $10,000, funds which directly benefit the Cancer Patient Support Foundation of Williston’s Emergency Relief Fund.   To join the fun and support this worthy cause, contact Holly Keough for more information.

The road to eligibility for long-term care Medicaid benefits can be long and winding, so it can be tempting to board a magic carpet ride and try a so-called “Medicaid” trust, more descriptively referred to as an irrevocable income-only trust.  The theory behind such a trust is that assets owned by the trust are protected from creditors, primarily in consideration of long-term care costs and the desire to become eligible for government benefits.  However, there is no free ride, and transferring assets into an irrevocable trust comes with risks and costs.

IRREVOCABLE: As its name suggests, you cannot change the terms of the trust.  If circumstances change requiring a modification, you would need Court approval and/or consents of all interested parties.
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Without question, the most common misunderstanding about a Will is that it avoids probate.  THIS IS FALSE.  It’s almost the same as believing the bank will accept your Monopoly money.

Imagine this: your uncle passes, and you are named Executor in his Will.  Can you take a copy of that Will to his bank and access his funds?  Not unless you are the Hulk using your super strength to open the bank vault at night!  The Will on its own carries no legal authority.

Two little girls were having a heated argument about who had the better dad. One girl declared, “My dad’s a carpenter and builds buildings.”   Her friend replied, “Well, my dad’s a lawyer and makes loopholes.”

Estate/transfer tax

Vermont estate tax exclusion:

$2,750,000

Federal estate tax threshold:

$11,400,000

Federal gift tax exclusion (annual):

$15,000

Vermont Medicaid

Community Spouse Resource Allowance: $126,420

Minimum Maintenance Needs Allowance (spousal allocation): $2,114

Home Equity Limit (singles): $585,000

Freezing Credit: A new federal law effective 9/21/18 permits consumers to freeze their credit, free of charge.  For more information, visit:

https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2018/06/free-credit-freezes-are-coming-soon-0

Lawyer Joke

Q: What do you have when a lawyer is buried up to his neck in sand?

A: Not enough sand.

Games are usually a lot of fun, but you don’t really want to play hide and seek with your estate planning documents.  After you have signed and implemented your plan, you may want privacy, but you should not hide your documents from everyone.  If you excel at concealing, it may not be found when needed.  How and with whom you share will depend upon the document and your goals, but here are some considerations:

Will—while this document has no effect until after death, it has zero effect if never discovered; you can store the original:

¨ In a fire-proof safe at home. if someone else knows location and its key

¨ In a safe deposit box at a bank, if someone else has joint access and a key to the box; without a surviving joint owner, no one will be allowed in the safe deposit box after your death without Court authority; if the joint owner cannot locate a key, there will likely be additional procedures and costs involved in accessing the box

¨ At the Probate Court in the county in which you live, for a modest fee (currently $30); however, if you move out of the county or update your will, it will be necessary to either retrieve your original will or replace it with the updated version

Trust—a revocable living trust is effective during your lifetime, and the Trustee may need to produce a copy of it, or a Certificate of Trust, when managing its assets.
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