Estate Planning, Probate & Elder Law Attorneys

» Protecting Estate Planning Information & Documents

The following is a description of a potentially valuable service provided by Estate++ . This description was supplied through the courtesy ofJames Bell, Vaulting Systems International. via Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog

» Facebook and "My Own Last Wishes"

I've been spending a lot of time on Facebook lately, as my classmates and I reconnect and make plans for the (gulp) 20th reunion of the Marshall (Michigan) High School Class of 1988, this summer or fall.

As you may know, Facebook allows you to add applications to your profile page -- for photos, music, something called SuperPoke (don't ask), etc. Anyway, one of the applications is something called "My Own Last Wishes." Here's how it is described by its creators:

If you died tomorrow, would your family or friends know what your own last wishes would be? Would they know if you wanted to be an organ donor or what to do with your beloved pet? Would they know whether you wanted to be cremated and your ashes scattered on your favorite hiking trail or if you wanted to be buried dressed as Elvis, along with your prized bowling trophy, and accompanied to your gravesite to the strains of “Blue Hawaii”?

‘My Own Last Wishes” lets you give your family and friends a roadmap for your final journey and more.

I know that "My Own Last Wishes" is really just like any other application -- it's intended to waste a bit of time on the internet. But you can probably see the problem with this, can't you?

-Very few Americans have a Will. Presumably (hopefully) they understand that they need one, and that "My Own Last Wishes" is not a substitute for one. This doesn't create a legally-binding document.

-I also question whether "My Own Last Wishes" can even do what it says it's trying to do: "give your family and friends a roadmap for your final journey and more." How does your family know that you are on Facebook? Or know how to access your account? Or know that Facebook is where you listed your last wishes? And will they find all of this out soon enough after your death to cremate you, or bury you like Elvis?

»  Sandwich Generation Survival Skills
Watching after your parents and raising your kids while working a job is stressful. Be prepared.

» Confess Your Tax Sins To Sweeney Todd
There’s a new movie out called Sweeney Todd. I haven’t seen it yet, but it has all the features I look for in a flick: revenge, dark humor, and even a little singing (ok, I confess that last one is a lie — I despise musicals). The people marketing the movie are doing something fun [...]

» A Peterson Update

Sorry I've been so bad at updating here lately! Last week our three-person family racked up three flus, bronchitis, and a double ear infection.

So, to get back to "news," there's some movement in the Drew Peterson case. (You'll remember that Mr. Peterson is the Bolingbrook, Illinois police officer whose fourth wife Stacy disappeared under mysterious circumstances.) You will recall that wife #3, Kathleen Savio, died from drowning. In her bathtub. Right before her divorce from Mr. Peterson was finalized.

I previously blogged (here) about how Ms. Savio's family was seeking to re-open her estate. The goal appears to be to file a wrongful death action against Mr. Peterson. The most recent step, taken recently, was a ruling by the Will County State's Attorney's office that Ms. Savio's death was indeed a homicide (here is the article). Now, of course, Ms. Savio's estate would still have to prove that Mr. Peterson did indeed kill Ms. Savio. This doesn't appear to be a case involving Illinois's so-called "slayer statute" (which prevents a person responsible for an individual's death from inheriting from the individual) -- my understanding is that Mr. Peterson didn't inherit much, if anything, at Ms. Savio's death.