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Millennials’ Changing Lifestyles: Estate Planning Provides Security

 

Millennials are members of a generational group who were born roughly between 1980 and 2000. The media in Maryland and nationwide thrives on charting the habits and trends of millennials. They are portrayed as independent, adventuresome, generally progressive, tech-savvy and entrepreneurial. As such, they appear to have little interest in the tedious activities of estate planning and wealth-building, which they believe are for the rich and elderly. They also tend to shun death and disability, dreary topics that challenge their typical self-image of immortality.

Indeed, a survey published in USA Today found that 78 percent of Americans under the age of 36 do not have a will or trust. But that is changing. Now the largest portion of the adult population, millennials represent a powerful voice for consumerism and social consciousness. Importantly, the baby boomers are preparing to transfer a sobering $30 trillion to Gen Xers and millennials in the coming years. As millennials acclimate to having a secure life, they increasingly embrace the values of marriage and family.

Moreover, they are accepting death as a given, while viewing disability and serious illness as age-neutral twists of fate. With their high-tech upbringing, millennials are accustomed to working with organized digital platforms. Estate planning, after all, is simply a structured program to protect and grow assets, engage in wealth-building and utilize effective mechanisms for wealth transfer. Millennials find the planning process to be user-friendly and systematically efficient.

There are numerous other reasons why millennials are becoming attracted to estate planning. When they engage in planning, they can:

  • Get organized about managing and growing assets;
  • Make powers of attorney and health care directives to avoid expenses in the event of incapacity;
  • Control the gifting of assets by percentages and to the desired persons;
  • Appoint an executor who will manage the estate;
  • Maximize the benefits of retirement accounts and other investments, while assuring updated beneficiary selections;
  • Provide life insurance to support a family and/or to finance the retention of a family business or other enterprise;
  • Control exactly how the executor disposes of family real estate, avoiding family discord in the process;
  • Get the peace of mind of knowing that pets will be cared for lovingly during disability or after death. This usually involves a pet care trust and appointment of a caretaker, thus saving pets from going to public shelters;
  • Designate how the testator’s digital and online accounts are to be handled, who controls them, and their disposition after death, thus avoiding costly disputes with online providers;
  • Save and preserve digitally stored photographs that exist on a person’s phones and computers at death;
  • Appoint a guardian for minor children should there be an unexpected tragedy;
  • Set up a living trust to avoid the public probate process, and thereby also cut out long delays and unnecessary fees and expenses;
  • Avoid discord between stepchildren and blood heirs;
  • Take advantage of tax benefits, reduce taxes, and pay necessary bills;
  • Control the disposition of personal property, valuable art, vehicles, heirlooms, and other valuable items;
  • Develop an ongoing relationship with an experienced estate planning attorney who knows your needs and how to fulfill your stated goals.

The process thus allows for one’s control over the assets and legacy that transfers to the next generation. It is said that wealth is not really wealth if it is not capable of being transferred to future generations. Inefficient planning or failure to plan can defeat that outcome. Estate planning in Maryland and elsewhere is not just about money. When done correctly, it also creates a legacy, reflects a person’s values, and avoids family discord. Building wealth includes protecting it, growing it and legally positioning it to be transferred efficiently to a spouse, children, grandchildren or charitable cause. Estate planning offers an arsenal of tools, including wills, testamentary and/or revocable living trusts, advance directives, and powers of attorney, through which the process achieves your goals and gives you peace of mind.

Information in this article is provided for educational purposes only and not intended to constitute legal advice. Please consult with a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for help with your specific situation

Having an experienced estate planning attorney can ensure that your wishes are outlined appropriately under Maryland law. The Law Offices of Elsa W. Smith, LLC can assist by drafting estate planning documents that secure your assets, honor your wishes, and safeguard against the public Maryland probate process. Contact us today in our Annapolis Office at 410-995-7719, in Laurel at 301-358-4340 or visit our website at elsawsmithlaw.com to learn how we can protect you, your family and your business.

 

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Contratos, el Estatuto de Fraudes y Otras Consideraciones

Hacer contratos no es algo que hacer sin asistencia profesional. La inversión de tiempo y dinero en la corrección de un error puede ir más allá del costo de tener un acuerdo válido preparado por una abogada con experiencia en derechos comerciales. En los negocios como en las transacciones personales, siempre es mejor buscar la protección completa de la ley.

En general, los requisitos para un contrato válido son una oferta, una aceptación y una consideración. Un oferente hace una oferta y la presenta al destinatario que puede aceptarla, rechazarla o hacer una contraoferta. Cuando se acepta una oferta o contraoferta, se realiza el contrato. Se examinan las manifestaciones y expresiones externas de las partes para determinar la existencia de una oferta y aceptación. Esto incluye decidir si hubo acuerdo mutuo entre las partes, es decir, que esencialmente aceptaron lo mismo.

Estas simples reglas no son tan sencillas en la vida real, y pueden surgir una gran cantidad de disputas sobre el significado de los conceptos anteriores. En Maryland, el consentimiento mutuo se decide según una prueba objetiva. Esto significa que la manifestación objetiva de las palabras y actos de uno se ve para determinar la intención de uno. Por lo tanto, si quisiera decir que no aceptaría un producto que es de color azul, pero todas las declaraciones y pruebas indican lo contrario, su deseo secreto no tendrá peso.

Cada contrato también requiere consideración, lo que implica un derecho, beneficio, precio u otro beneficio para una de las partes, y una tolerancia, detrimento, pérdida o responsabilidad asumida por la otra parte. La consideración establece una mutualidad de obligación. Tal mutualidad no existiría si una de las partes, por los términos del acuerdo, puede decidir por sí misma si cumple o no la promesa establecida. Esta sería una promesa “ilusoria” que no contiene ninguna consideración.

El Estatuto de Fraudes establece que ciertos contratos deben ser por escrito. Por ejemplo, un contrato para la venta o disposición de cualquier interés en bienes raíces debe ser por escrito y firmado por la parte a cargo o el agente de la parte. Además, el Estatuto de Fraudes requiere que la escritura identifique con suficiente precisión la propiedad del sujeto y que establezca todos los términos y condiciones de las promesas hechas. Varias otras disposiciones legales se refieren al requisito de que otros tipos de contratos sean por escrito.

Sin embargo, hay excepciones al requisito de escritura. Una excepción, por ejemplo, es donde hay un rendimiento parcial. Por lo tanto, una parte no puede eludir su parte de un acuerdo verbal después de permitir que la otra parte cumpla parcialmente la promesa acordada basándose en los alicientes del otro. No puede quedarse quieto mientras el pintor completa el 90 por ciento del trabajo de pintura en el interior de su casa, y luego le dice que no pagará. El hecho de que no haya un contrato escrito es una defensa ineficaz en esa situación.

Además, cuando alguien se enriquece injustamente a expensas de otro, se le puede exigir que realice la restitución al otro para evitar una injusticia. La doctrina del enriquecimiento injusto requiere prueba de que el demandante confirió un beneficio al demandado, que el demandado conoce o aprecia, y que sería fundamentalmente injusto permitir que el demandado mantenga el beneficio sin compensar al demandante.

Una demanda por incumplimiento de contrato debe presentarse dentro del límite de tiempo de la ley de prescripción. Por ejemplo, un contrato para la venta de bienes debe comenzar dentro de los cuatro años en Maryland bajo el Código Comercial Uniforme. Si el UCC no es aplicable, sin embargo, dicho contrato se rige por el estatuto de limitaciones de tres años bajo el Código de Cortes y Procedimientos Judiciales, Sección 5-101. En general, el período de tiempo comienza a correr en la fecha en que ocurrió la violación. Sin embargo, Maryland reconoce principios y doctrinas equitativos, como la regla de descubrimiento. La regla de descubrimiento dice que el límite de tiempo no comienza a correr hasta que una de las partes supo, o debería haber sabido razonablemente, lo que cometió.

La información de este artículo se ofrece solo con fines educativos y no constituye asesoramiento jurídico. Para obtener ayuda específica, consulte con un abogado autorizado en su jurisdicción.

Para asistencia con la redacción, interpretación o negociación de contratos, las Oficinas Legales de Elsa W. Smith, LLC están listas para ayudarlo en el Estado de Maryland. Contáctenos hoy para programar una consulta en Annapolis (410) 556-0077 o Laurel (301) 358-4340.

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Contracts, the Statute of Frauds and Other Considerations

Making contracts is not something to do without professional assistance. The investment of time and money in correcting a mistake can go far beyond the cost of having a valid agreement prepared by an experienced business law attorney. In business as in one’s personal transactions, it is always best to seek the full protection of the law.

Generally, the requirements for a valid contract are an offer, an acceptance, and consideration.  An offeror makes an offer and presents it to the offeree who may accept it, reject it, or make a counteroffer. When an offer or counteroffer is accepted, the contract is made. The outward manifestations and expressions of the parties are looked at to determine the existence of an offer and acceptance. This includes deciding whether there was mutual assent by the parties, i.e., that they essentially agreed to the same thing.

These simple rules are not so simple in real life, and a myriad of disputes can and do arise over the meaning of the foregoing concepts. In Maryland, mutual assent is decided under an objective test. This means that the objective manifestation of one’s words and acts are viewed to determine one’s intent. Thus, if you wanted to say that you would not accept a product that is colored blue, but all of the statements and evidence indicates otherwise, your secret wish will carry no weight.

Every contract also requires consideration, which involves a right, profit, price, or other benefit going to one party, and a forbearance, detriment, loss or responsibility undertaken by the other. Consideration establishes a mutuality of obligation. Such mutuality would not exist if one of the parties, by the terms of the agreement, can decide on its own whether or not to perform the stated promise. This would be an “illusory” promise that contains no consideration.

The Statute of Frauds dictates that certain contracts must be in writing. For example, a contract for the sale or disposition of any interest in real estate must be in writing and signed by the party to be charged or the party’s agent. In addition, the Statute of Frauds requires that the writing identify with sufficient definiteness the subject property and that it sets forth all the terms and conditions of the promises made. Several other statutory provisions deal with the requirement that other types of contracts be in writing.


However, there are exceptions to the writing requirement. One exception, for example, is where there is part performance. Thus, a party cannot escape his or her part of an oral agreement after permitting the other party to partially perform the agreed promise in reliance on the other’s inducements. You cannot stand by as the painter completes 90 percent of the paint job on your home’s interior, and then tell her that you will not pay. The fact that there is no written contract is an ineffective defense in that situation.

Furthermore, where someone is unjustly enriched at another’s expense, he or she may be required to make restitution to the other to prevent an injustice. The unjust enrichment doctrine requires proof that the plaintiff conferred a benefit on the defendant, which the defendant knows or appreciates, and that it would be fundamentally unfair to allow the defendant to keep the benefit without compensating the plaintiff.

A lawsuit for breach of contract must be filed within the time limit of the statute of limitations. For example, a contract for the sale of goods must be commenced within four years in Maryland under the Uniform Commercial Code. If the UCC is not applicable, however, such a contract is governed by the three-year statute of limitations under the Md. Courts and Judicial Proceedings Code, Section 5-101. Generally, the time period begins to run on the date when the breach occurred. However, Maryland recognizes equitable principles and doctrines, such as the discovery rule. The discovery rule says that the time limit does not begin to run until a party knew, or reasonably should have known, of the wrong committed.

Information in this article is provided for educational purposes only and not intended to constitute legal advice. Please consult with a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for help with your specific situation.

For assistance with Maryland and D.C. Probate/Estate Administration matters, contact the

Law Offices of Elsa W. Smith, LLC at

410-995-7719

Attorney Elsa W. Smith