Attorneys don’t usually give out free advice, but attorney Maxwell McIntosh was doing just that Wednesday evening at Educational Complex High School. His subject was estate planning.
The program, sponsored by the Enterprise Zone Commission of the Economic Development Authority, attracted 35 people.
“Death is reality and something we all face, we don’t know when it will happen — young or old,” McIntosh said. “We all must think about estate planning.”
McIntosh defined an estate as anything one has ever owned, everything owed to them, and everything they owed.
“If you don’t do anything with your estate the decision will be made by someone,” McIntosh said. “The estate will go through probate.” He said he has seen estates go through probate in six weeks and some take as long as 25 years. Some people don’t care what happens after they are dead said McIntosh.
“Attorneys are the only ones who benefit if there isn’t a will,” he added.
McIntosh said to make a will the person needs to be of sound mind and it has to be in writing. The will must be signed at the end by the testator – the person making the will. The will must be witnessed and signed by two people who are not beneficiaries, and then notarized.
He told of the importance of safekeeping of the will and making it easy for the people following the deceased persons wishes. For $25 the will can be placed in a secure vault at Superior Court.
“It is really sad for people to be searching and digging for a will,” McIntosh said. He stressed the importance of record keeping of bank accounts, insurance policies and such.
He also spoke about trusts, which are very much like wills, where property is managed by one person for the benefit of another.
He said a lot of battles and fights start when people go into probate and some of those battles can be avoided with estate planning.
“And the more that you plan the less time and money spent with attorneys,” McIntosh said.
The EZ commission held the seminar because it is interested in what happens with estates in probate that leave buildings abandoned for years.
Nadine T. Marchena Kean, director of EZ, said there are 133 abandoned buildings in Christiansted, Frederiksted and Savan on St. Thomas in the enterprise zones. The zones were designated by executive order as areas distressed and in need of revitalization.
She says the buildings are in disrepair, crumbling and falling apart, because the building is tied up in probate court. The owners died and did not make proper arrangements for their estate leaving the building to multiple owners with all sorts of issues on how to divide up ownership.
Marchena Kean said EZ is working on legislation to help owners get an expansion of tax credits and benefits to help revitalize homes in the zones.
