James R. Wade’s 50th Year of Practicing Law!

This year marks the 50^th year of practicing law for James R. Wade! To date, he has had a long and distinguished career which includes his stint as a Denver Probate Judge, as the author of The Colorado Probate System and the Colorado Law of Wills, Trusts and Fiduciary Administration. He has served as advisor to various national commissions on probate and trust law standards and is a member of the National College of Probate Judges, the International Academy of Estate and Trust Law, and the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. Mr. Wade is a member of the Joint Editorial Board for the Uniform Estate and Trusts Acts. His practice focuses on the areas of estate and trust planning, estate and trust administration, and estate and trust litigation. For more information, go to the firm's website at http://www.wadeash.com/.

May, 2012 Fraud Alert

This month's Consumer Fraud Alert which is issued by the Denver District Attorney's Office is titled Identity Thieves Benefit by Stealing Social Security Numbers. The Alert lists some common signs that should alert you to the fact that you may have become a vicitim of identity theft, as well as the steps to take if it happens. For more information, go to May 2012 Consumer Fraud Alert.

Do You Have a Social Media Will?

Have you thought about what will happen to your social media accounts (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.), your paypal account, etc. when you die? You may have executed a written Will to take care of your home and other assets, but what about your online assets? For more food for thought, go to The Hot Button Blog.

James Wade & Herb Tucker Speaking at 32nd Annual Estate Planning Retreat

James Wade and Herb Tucker (along with Keith Lapayude) will be speaking at the 32nd Annual Estate Planning Retreat to be held June 7-9, 2012 in Breckenridge, Colorado. The session, entitled "How to Attack and Defend Expert Witnesses in Trust and Estate Litigation" will cover many topics including the selection and engagement of experts, deposing and cross-examining your opponent's expert and evidentiary rules regarding the qualification of experts. For more information, go to 32nd Annual Estate Planning Retreat.

The U.S. Supreme Court and Frozen Sperm

On May 21, 2012, the Supreme Court ruled in Comm’r of Social Security v. Capato, No. 11-159 that Social Security benefits are payable only to "children" as defined in applicable state law, and that under Florida law in that case, children conceived after the decedent’s death using his frozen sperm were not his "children." Effective July 2010, Colorado adopted changes to the Uniform Probate Code, in which children conceived within three years after the decedent’s death using frozen sperm in certain circumstances will be "children" for purposes of the Colorado intestate statutes and class gifts. C.R.S. 15-11-121(8). Therefore, after July 2010, a Colorado decedent will have a different result than the Capato case. For more information about this topic, go to our June 2010 Wade Ash Newsletter or go to the Wall Street Journal article.