The recent Donald Sterling and Casey Kasem cases served to illustrate when Mental Disability Planning is made a part of the client’s Estate Planning. It was done in the Donald Sterling case inside of his Living Trust aka Revocable Living Trust. A mechanism was designed in the Trust so that Mental Disability Provisions could be used when needed to protect the person who makes the Trust. It was in the design of Mr. Sterling’s Revocable Living Trust. There was no such planning in place for Radio Icon Casey Kasem.
Since there was no Mental Disability Planning in place for Casey Kasem, when he declined mentally, his physical possession and care was an open issue and lead to lawsuits in both the state of California and the state of Washington by his adult children against their step-mother, Casey Kasem’s long-term later wife.
When we do Estate Planning for our clients we do Mental Disability Planning. Statistics show that we are 6 to 9 times more likely to become mentally disabled (mentally unable to handle our affairs) in a given year than we are to pass on. It is a needed and necessary part of your Estate Planning.
At the Law Firm of Steven Andrew Jackson, Attorney and Counsellor at Law, we have helped hundreds of families protect themselves and their loved ones, avoid Estate Taxes and Probate Costs, and keep their Estate Plans current with the law through The Customized Protective Estate Planning Solution™.