It should come as little surprise that Baby Boomers are evolving the notion of what it means to leave a legacy for those they love. A growing number of retirees are sharing life histories, ethical wills and video recordings to give their children and grandchildren a more complete understanding of their lives. This sharing of values, wisdom and accomplishment is being encouraged by some financial planners to complement traditional estate planning.

People are conveying their personal legacy in a number of different styles. They can be brief or book-length, and may include audio, video and photos. Whether it be in the form of an ethical will – a document sometimes referred to as a legacy letter or family love letter that provides a heartfelt personal message beyond the financial particulars.

These projects can be handled on your own, or you can seek the guidance of an expert. Paul Wilson, a retired psychiatrist in Bethesda, Md., decided to write a memoir to convey a better sense of who he was in his earlier life to his children and grandchildren. It’s something he wishes his own grandparents would have provided for him. He expects it to be close to 60 pages when complete, and is considering having it self-published to achieve a more polished final product. But regardless of the final product, the 80-year-old Wilson has found great pleasure and personal development in the process.

As a result of the growing interest in this area, more websites and books about ethical wills and other forms of personal legacies have arisen, in addition to entrepreneurial firms to help compile them. For example, the self-publishing house Author Solutions created a firm called Legacy Keepers a year ago. Drawing on a network of personal historians who conduct telephone or in-person interviews, Legacy Keepers turns the thoughts and recollections of customers into keepsake books or video and audio files. List prices range from $975 to $5,000.

Members of the Association of Personal Historians also offer personal legacy services through small businesses with names like Celebrations of Life, Looking Back for the Future and Your Story Here Video Biography.

To learn more about leaving your legacy in the form of an ethical will, contact attorney Marc H. Wander.

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Marc H. Wander is a partner of the Bloomfield Hills law firm of Witzke, Berry, Carter &Wander, PLLC. Marc has been licensed to practice law in Michigan since 1992. Marc’s practice is devoted to estate planning and business succession planning.  Marc is a member of the Probate and Estate Planning Section of the State Bar of Michigan and is a prior Chairperson of the Oakland County Bar Association Tax Committee. He is a frequent continuing education speaker to insurance agents, financial advisors, CPA’s and financial industry organizations. He has also been heard on WJR Radio. Follow Mark on Twitter @MarcWander

When it comes to next-of-kin laws and managing digital assets, each service functions differently insofar as notifying designated beneficiaries upon death or serious illness or injury. One example, is AssetLock, where beneficiaries can unlock an account by signing in to confirm the death. After the account is unlocked, information and instructions that were created by the user are delivered to the designated beneficiaries.

Price range of these services vary based on the amount of data stored and the number of beneficiaries designated. Services can cost between $1.50 per month to $30 per year to a $300 one-time fee. Like anything, it is important to find a plan that suites your individual needs. If you your estate is straightforward, a simple inventory stored in a secure place may suffice; but those with a more complex estate or with online businesses might consider an online service.

Shelley Walters-Walker, estate settlement services manager at Northern Trust, suggests referencing the digital assets inventory in estate planning documents such as a will or trust. Ask your attorney about including specific language that authorizes an executor or trustee, or in the case of disability, whomever has the power of attorney, to have access to your digital assets.

As it stands, the law is falling behind the fast-moving digital space, resulting in services that maintain their own sets of rules in terms of digital account access. In time, it is likely that the coverage of estate law will grow to include these assets as part of the estate planning process. But until then, address your online assets with your estate planning lawyer while you create or update your will.

The key to managing digital assets is to avoid being overwhelmed at the thought of it.  With a sea of hours spent online we often overlook how many different applications and systems in which we are creating a digital footprint, Walters-Walker says. Take the necessary precautions to ensure your heirs can access your digital accounts, either to collect on them, close them, or notify others of your passing.

Modern technology exists to simply our lives while we are living, but we are learning that without the necessary steps, it could complicate things significantly once we die.

Mr. Witzke practices in the areas of estate and gift tax planning, financial planning, retirement planning, charitable giving, elder law, and small business planning. He focuses on helping clients grow, protect, and transfer wealth efficiently. Mr. Witzke is a past president and board member of the Financial Planning Association of Michigan, a member of the board of directors for Leadership Oakland, and a member of the planned giving advisory committees of Wayne State University and the Community House in Birmingham. Follow Mr. Witzke on Twitter @gr8estatelawyer.

Terms and agreements for each online service vary regarding just what happens to a digital account after death. Facebook, for example, cannot be shut down completely without official documentation, such as a death certificate. Certain email services deny access to anyone without a password, however, Hotmail and Gmail have recently defined a next-of-kin process, which enables confirmed family members to access the deceased’s contact lists and close the accounts.

There are currently five states that either have or are enacting laws that will protect your digital legacy. Nebraska is the latest state to propose legislation to allow next-of-kin to control digital accounts after a user has perished. According to Adele McAlear, the creator of deathanddigitallegacy.com, the proposed bill is modeled after Oklahoma’s digital property management after death law, which passed in 2010.

Idaho passed a similar law in 2011, while Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Indiana have older legislation covering email and digital files. Sherry Walters-Walker, an estate settlement services manager at Northern Trust hopes for uniformity down the line, and that one day there will be laws that allow executors access to all accounts.

Laws are different for each service and state, contact Michael P. Witzke and discover Michigan’s next-of-kin laws regarding digital assets.

Mr. Witzke practices in the areas of estate and gift tax planning, financial planning, retirement planning, charitable giving, elder law, and small business planning. He focuses on helping clients grow, protect, and transfer wealth efficiently. Mr. Witzke is a past president and board member of the Financial Planning Association of Michigan, a member of the board of directors for Leadership Oakland, and a member of the planned giving advisory committees of Wayne State University and the Community House in Birmingham. Follow Mr. Witzke on Twitter @gr8estatelawyer.

If you have made protecting your assets a priority with the decision of a prenuptial agreement there are several factors to consider. You can be as specific as you desire. Some of the items may not be relevant to your situation. Consider the list and you will be certain to address most of the key issues.

1. Decide how all of your debts will be managed. Including debts incurred before you are married and those thereafter.
2. Ensure you disclose all of your assets, liabilities, sources of income, and any additional future assets, such as gifts or inheritances.
3. In the event that you  divorce or perish, decide who will get your primary or any vacation homes.
4. Determine the fate of any assets or property that you bring to your marriage. Typically, this will be separate property. But a decision needs to be made with your soon-to-be, as to what will happen to any post-marriage appreciation, earnings, or proceeds of that property.
5. Determine what will happen, if you divorce or die, to any assets or property you acquire after you wed.

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Marc H. Wander is a partner of the Bloomfield Hills law firm of Witzke, Berry, Carter &Wander, PLLC. Marc has been licensed to practice law in Michigan since 1992. Marc’s practice is devoted to estate planning and business succession planning.  Marc is a member of the Probate and Estate Planning Section of the State Bar of Michigan and is a prior Chairperson of the Oakland County Bar Association Tax Committee. He is a frequent continuing education speaker to insurance agents, financial advisors, CPA’s and financial industry organizations. He has also been heard on WJR Radio. Follow Marc on Twitter @MarcWander.

While it is not romantic, endearing, or without controversy, a prenuptial agreement must considered with the reality and prevalence of marriages that result in a legal separation, divorce or death. The prototypical prenup tackles financial issues such as real estate, division of bank accounts and potential support in the event of divorce or separation.

How to ensure you prenup holds up

Nearly one-third of single adults say they would ask a significant other to sign a prenup, according to a February survey of 2,323 adults by Harris Interactive.  It’s longer only a consideration for the rich and the famous. It is for people with assets and/or income that they wish to protect.

Only 3% of people with a spouse or fiancée have a prenuptial agreement, but that is a dramatic increase from the 1% reported when Harris conducted a similar study in April 2002. LeAnna Kruckeberg, 24, says that she has already told her boyfriend of one year that she would prefer him to sign a prenup if they get married. In LeAnna’s case, there is family money that she wishes to be passed down from generation to generation. Her boyfriend understands the stories of her relatives’ struggles, and he motivations for wanting the prenup.

For better or worse

A number of factors are fueling the surge in prenups. Personal-finance expert Suze Orman encourages every engaged couple to get one to protect their current and future assets in addition to shielding themselves in the event a mate secretly runs up massive credit card debt (which could damage  both partners’ credit scores).

More than one-third of adults — 36% — said prenups make smart financial sense, according to the Harris survey, up from 28% in 2002. In a recession, people want to hang onto the assets they have, so they increasingly look to these pacts as an option, says Robert Nachshin, co-author of the prenup guide I Do, You Do … But Just Sign Here.

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http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/perfi/basics/2010-03-08-prenups08_CV_N.htm

Marc H. Wander is a partner of the Bloomfield Hills law firm of Witzke, Berry, Carter &Wander, PLLC. Marc has been licensed to practice law in Michigan since 1992. Marc’s practice is devoted to estate planning and business succession planning. He is a former President of the Society of Financial Service Professionals-Detroit Chapter. Marc is a member of the Probate and Estate Planning Section of the State Bar of Michigan and is a prior Chairperson of the Oakland County Bar Association Tax Committee. He is a frequent continuing education speaker to insurance agents, financial advisors, CPA’s and financial industry organizations. He has also been heard on WJR Radio. Follow Marc on Twitter @MarcWander.

Among the plethora of Bush era tax cut and sequester debates, Congress must also address the expiration of the current estate tax law before the year’s end. As it stands, the federal estate tax exemption is set at $5.12 million and estates valued over this amount will be taxed at 35 percent. If no action is taken by Congress, the exemption will revert to $1 million and the estate tax rate will be 55 percent in 2013. It is estimated that 52,500 estates will be affected in the event Congress fails to act.

Business and farm lobbyists are fighting to rein in the estate tax, with many hoping to have the tax eliminated. In a full-force effort, they are trying to persuade Congress that resources needed for investment are being drained due to the constant changes in the estate tax rate, in recent years.

The GOP agrees, on the basis that decreasing the exemption and raising taxes on job creators in this economy rivals common sense. On the flipside, many Democrats repeatedly assert that in order to cut the deficit, the estate tax should return to the 2009 levels of a 45 percent rate for estates with a $3.5 million exemption.

Long-term and estate planning is subject to dramatic fluctuation if the estate tax plan expires without action. Currently, the federal unused spousal exclusion is portable, meaning, if one spouse dies and does not use all of the exclusion, the surviving spouse can combine the remaining amount with his or her exclusion. Also at risk of expiration, is the portability of the federal spousal exclusion in the event that the estate tax sunsets.

Witzke, Berry, Carter & Wander PLLC is keeping a close eye on the ongoing debates and how any estate tax decisions may affect you and your clients.

Mr. Witzke practices in the areas of estate and gift tax planning, financial planning, retirement planning, charitable giving, elder law, and small business planning. He focuses on helping clients grow, protect, and transfer wealth efficiently. Mr. Witzke is a past president and board member of the Financial Planning Association of Michigan, a member of the board of directors for Leadership Oakland, and a member of the planned giving advisory committees of Wayne State University and the Community House in Birmingham. Follow Mr. Witzke on Twitter @gr8estatelawyer.

A lifetime online these days means a wealth of usernames and passwords serving as the keys to a locked-box of digital assets. While people generally believe they will have time to their loved ones what they would like done with these assets, the reality, according to Adele McAlear, creator of deathanddigitallegacy.com, is that people are so concerned with the illness itself that they don’t think about their digital assets, and they are lost.

Russell Johnson, senior estate administrator at Northern Trust, learned first-hand just what happens when one of his clients died unexpectedly, at the age of 55, without a proper plan in place. His client, like many people nowaday, received all of his financial account statements electronically by email, and never printed them out. Without access to his email, Johnson had experienced tremendous difficulty trying to dig for information.

Lacking a proper plan for your digital assets could mean cash credits, photos, letters, social activity and the like are lost in the event of a death or serious illness or injury. The first step is to create a list of devices and accounts with usernames and passwords, according to John Romano, co-author of Your Digital Afterlife. Whether it is a text file, spreadsheet or piece of paper, make sure to list your computer, email, and primary accounts.

What is important to you and your family? Do you have family photos, blogs, or a music collection on iTunes that only exist online? Keep these things in mind as you create the inventory. After the inventory is created, have a simple conversation with an executor or loved one and tell them of its existence, location, and how to access it if something should happen.

The next step is to safely store your digital assets inventory. Be sure to make it accessible so you can keep the inventory up-to-date. User passwords constantly change while new accounts are added, resulting in an out-of-date and ineffective inventory.

For that reason, many people turn to an online digital estate-planning service like SecureSafe (securesafe.com), Legacy Locker (legacylocker.com) and AssetLock (assetlock.net). These services promise secure storage of digital documents, photos, passwords and other digital data.

According to a 2011 McAfee survey, the average value of personal digital assets was $55,000.

Read more: Wealth Magazine

Mr. Witzke practices in the areas of estate and gift tax planning, financial planning, retirement planning, charitable giving, elder law, and small business planning. He focuses on helping clients grow, protect, and transfer wealth efficiently. Mr. Witzke is a past president and board member of the Financial Planning Association of Michigan, a member of the board of directors for Leadership Oakland, and a member of the planned giving advisory committees of Wayne State University and the Community House in Birmingham. Follow Mr. Witzke on Twitter @gr8estatelawyer.