Speak Up For At-Risk Adults

June 15th is being recognized as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. Sponsors including the City of Denver, the Denver District Attorneys' Office, SeniorSource 9 News, Denver Health and 50 Plus Marketplace (along with others) are sponsoring a free resource fair for seniors, families, caregivers and service providers on Friday, June 15, 2012 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon at City Park Pavillion. Live entertainment features the Raging Grannies. For more information, go to Speak Up for At-Risk Adults.

James R. Wade to be Honored at DBA Senior Spring Banquet

James R. Wade will be honored at The University Club in Denver, Colorado on June 12, 2012 at the 14th Annual Denver Bar Association Senior Spring Banquet. The Denver Bar Association will honor those members who became lawyers in 1962 and celebrate 50 years of participation in the legal profession!

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.

Cost of Living Adjustments to Probate Code

Effective January 1, 2012, certain figures in the Colorado Probate Code were adjusted for inflation, pursuant to the 2010 addition of C.R.S. 15-10-112 to the statutes, but such adjustments are only made where the increase or decrease is in increments of $1,000. The Colorado Department of Revenue is supposed to release the numbers by February 1, but this was the first year for this requirement, and apparently they had not been informed by the legislature! The numbers that change are as follows:

Description	2011 amount	2012 amount
Initial intestate share for spouse where parent survives decedent	$300,000	$309,000
Initial intestate share for spouse where spouse has children from prior marriage	$225,000	$232,000
Initial intestate share for spouse where decedent had children from prior marriage	$150,000	$154,000
Supplemental elective-share amount	$50,000	$51,000
Small Estate Affidavit limit	$60,000 (as of August 2011, increased from $50,000)	$61,000
Exempt Property	$26,000	$30,000 per statute change, not COLA adjustment
Family Allowance	$24,000	$30,000 per statute change, not COLA adjustment

Note that the increase in the small estate affidavit limit to $61,000 creates a disconnect from the total of the Exempt Property and Family Allowance amounts.

SB 12-131 Passed by Legislature

This bill protects a personal representative and trustee from liability for distribution of an estate or trust without regard to a valid designated beneficiary agreement so long as the fiduciary does not have actual knowledge of such an agreement, and the fiduciary reviewed the county records for a recorded designated beneficiary agreement in the counties in which the decedent was domiciled within three years before death.

IRS Expands Penalty and Installment Payment Relief

The IRS announced that it has expanded its "Fresh Start" initiative to help struggling taxpayers by providing late payment penalty relief and making installment agreements available to more taxpayers. Failure to pay penalty relief applies to two categories of taxpayers: (1) wage earners who have been employed at least 30 consecutive days during 2011or in 2012 (up to the April 17^th filing deadline); and (2) self-employed individuals who experienced a 25% or greater reduction in business income in 2011, due to the economy. To qualify, the taxpayer’s income must not exceed $100,000 for single and head of household filers or $200,000 for joint filers. In addition, the 2011 tax liability due cannot exceed $50,000. To seek relief, the taxpayer must file Form 1127-A, Application for Extension of Time for Payment of Income Tax for 2011 Due to Undue Hardship. Those qualifying for relief will avoid the penalty until October 15, 2012, but will be responsible for interest on the tax until paid. With respect to installment agreements, the IRS has raised the threshold limit to $50,000, meaning that taxpayers who owe up to $50,000 in back taxes may qualify for an installment agreement without having to provide financial information to the IRS. In addition, the IRS extended the maximum term for installment agreements to 72 months.