Sharla and Jim Hales on their bicycle made for two at the Carson Valley Days Parade on June 8.
Minden attorneys Sharla and Jim Hales spoke at Minden Rotary during the month of May.
Sharla Hales gave her impressions from her first year as a county commissioner at the May 9 meeting, including:
1. The county is poised to do great things with County Manager Jenifer Davidson. Though young, she comes with extensive experience and preparation.
2. The county staff are excellent.
3. Commission work, including committee assignments, takes a lot of time. Having Lake Tahoe takes understanding and is complex.
The recently approved Strategic Plan includes noteworthy elements:
1. Open space - The county is reviewing the transfers development rights to make improvements. Conservation easements are very successful, but previous funding sources are no longer available. Ballot measures to create a quarter-cent tax have failed, but an improved measure will be coming forward. The BOCC supports a lands bill currently in Congress.
2. Workforce housing - The county will explore options.
3. Communication – The county is committed to better communication with residents and is implementing “Board Buzz” emails. There’s a sign-up link on the county website.
Other happenings:
1. Muller Parkway - Groundbreaking will be within the month. Bids came in within budget. Some sections await federal approval of stormwater drainage. The county will build two lanes.
2. The Justice Center is on track for infrastructure this year and building construction next year. The Sheriff’s office will remain in the current center.
3. The Airport is currently under county management and has a good advisory board.
4. China Springs budget is a challenge. They are cutting positions and hired a lobbyist to secure funding.
5. Vacation home rentals. The county has worked hard to balance rights of property owners who want to rent and those who don’t want renters nearby.
6. Tahoe Blue Event Center is highly successful.
7. Stormwater and roads have been a can kicked down the road. Hales is hoping to address them.
Jim Hales, a retired estate planning and litigation attorney, enlightened Rotarians on estate planning on May 30. Jim has been retired for 18 months, but summed up what he learned in a very quick 30 minutes.
He started by covering 1,000 years of history in four minutes. Originally the King of England owned everything. As England transitioned to private ownership Parliament passed laws to allow for transfer of ownership. Parliament first created the Statute of Deeds (which required that transfer of real property be done through written deeds) and then the Statute of Wills (which allowed property to be transferred after death through the use of wills). The United States generally adopted England’s laws. Starting in the 1960s trusts became a popular substitute for wills.
Hales summarized the four ways in which an estate can be left:
Intestate (no will) - estate commonly left to spouse and naturally born kids.
Will - which also allows you to designate a guardian of your kids.
Trust - which allows for more complex estate planning and can be used to avoid probate.
Transfer on Death - which is a more modern tool that allows the designation of a beneficiary on certain assets such as bank accounts and real property
And after 30 years of legal experience in the area, Hales identified nine ways he has seen estate plans go wrong:
Don’t tell anyone about your plan (for example, leaving one child out of the will and not telling the child until they find out after your death);
Fail to care for a special needs beneficiary;
Fail to address the impact of divorce or a second marriage;
Fail to address providing for a spouse married later in life;
Fail to address how property will be distributed when both spouses have children from previous marriages;
Fail to fund your trust and keep it funded;
Fail to pick the right person to be the Personal Representative / Trustee;
Fail to name the right guardian for your minor children;
Assume you don’t need an estate plan until retirement age (your adult children should at least be thinking about who would be the guardian of their children).
The Minden Rotary Club meets at noon every Thursday in the COD Casino Garage. Join us to learn and get involved in the community.
