Douglas A. Turner, P.C.

More and more individuals are avoiding probate by using revocable trusts, payable on death designations and joint tenancy. The end result is that when a person dies, their money quickly disappears leaving the creditors of the deceased with nothing but an account due and owing. However, there are ways to recover from those who received [...]

Avoiding ancillary probate is easy. By putting real estate into something called a nominee trust or living trust, ancillary probate proceedings and the associated expense can be avoided. As an alternative to a living trust, a limited liability company can be created, the real estate transferred to the company and then ownership in the company can be transferred to the heirs through the primary probate proceeding…

Well, times have changed since I first wrote about the disposition of dead bodies. It used to be that an individual could not control what happened to his or her body after death. Well, that has changed. Colorado’s Disposition of Last Remains Act Several years ago, Colorado enacted the Disposition of Last Remains Act. In [...]

Many tax planning wills and trusts have a little secret hidden deep down inside – the up front expense of long-term estate tax planning. There is a cost to a will or revocable trust that creates irrevocable, tax planning trusts at death. A person should always review that plan and ask himself or herself, is [...]

Hurray! The federal estate tax exemption is 1.5 million this year. Hurray! A married couple with a tax planning estate plan can shelter up to 3 million from federal estate tax. Hurray! The federal exemption will go even higher in the year 2009. But … what about STATE estate tax? Oops! Well, listen up and [...]

Joint tenancy is a convenient form of ownership. It is a form of ownership that has been encouraged in the marketplace by financial institutions and, to some extent, by professional advisors. Joint tenancy, it is estimated, is utilized in most married couples’ estate plans. Because of the survivorship feature of joint tenancy, it is thought [...]

Beneficiary Designations and Beneficiary Deeds in Colorado Beneficiary designations have long been used to avoid probate upon death. Bank accounts, investment accounts, retirement accounts and life insurance can be transferred upon death by naming a beneficiary to the account or life insurance proceeds. However, when it comes to real estate, designating a beneficiary is not [...]

Ancillary Probate Can Cause Thousands If a person dies owning real estate outside of their state of domicile, their heirs may needlessly pay thousands in ancillary probate expense. The expense of ancillary probate can be avoided by using a beneficiary deed, a trust or a company. Colorado probate is a legal process by which title [...]

Collecting a Debt from a Deceased: What Happens to A Person’s Debt When He Dies? The death of a friend or working acquaintance is always a traumatic experience. However, if you are owed money, along with the sympathy card, send a written request for payment of any debts. Address that request to the personal representative [...]

Today I am going to write about something mundane and boring – unless of course you find yourself in this situation. In that case, it could net you about $30,000.00+. The topic is the exempt property allowance and family allowance. The Exempt Property Allowance and the Family Allowance When a person dies and a probate [...]