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Look Back Memphis Trivia Contest

QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY WIS LAUGHLIN:

1. How did you get into estate planning?
2. How would you define estate planning?
3. Is it planning for death?.
4. What is Probate?
5. What does the executor have to do?:
6. What if a person dies with no will?
7. What are the legal fees for the Probate Process?
8. Does an executor get paid?
1. 9. Is there some way to avoid the Probate Process?
2. 10. What is a Revocable Living Trust?
3. 11. What other documents are important?
4. 12. What about taxes?
5. 13. How much does an RLT cost?

QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY JO GARNER :

1. What are some situations you see in the mortgage office with families trying to plan for the future for their loved ones?

REAL ESTATE TIP OF WEEK – (Wis Laughlin)

ANNOUNCMENTS

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Good morning, Memphis. Good morning to the IHEART listeners out there. You’re on the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe program. I’m Jo Garner your host, mortgage professional with Evolve Bank and Trust. Do you need a solution to a real estate challenge? Do you have a question about your real estate property or the financing on it?-maybe a problem with your house because of the people living under the same roof? –not sure I can help you with the last one—but SOMEBODY out there might be able too. Just call us at (901) 535-WREC or (901) 535-9732. Our general topic today is ESTATES AND TRUSTS AND HOW IT RELATES TO YOUR REAL ESTATE, THE MORTGAGE AND YOUR LIFE. We have Attorney Wis Laughlin in the studio with us to share his insights on the topic. Wis, thank you for coming in for a cup of coffee and some conversation on a Saturday morning. You’ve taught us a lot at Talk Shoppe about estates and trusts and how they affect us. Tell our audience a little about yourself and what you do?

<Wis’s intro>

(Jo) At some point or other we will all have to deal with the topic of estates, trusts or probate. Better to have planned and prepared when that day arrives. One of our Talk Shoppe sponsors talks about how you helped make it so much easier for her. She was unexpectedly called on to be the executrix on two different estate situations back-to-back—one was her neighbor’s and then on the heels of that one, her husband passed away rather unexpectedly and you had prepared documents ahead of time that helped make that process a little smoother. When you lose someone close to you, don’t want to have to be trying to figure out all the estate stuff because it’s an emotional time.

<short comment from Wis>

(Jo) The mortgage market this week was most uncharacteristically quiet when the big jobs report was released showing unemployment at its lowest in 6 years. Normally the mortgage-backed security market does flip flops when the fur flies with economic reports –but not yesterday. It was like the mortgage market just yawned, rolled over and kept napping. Mortgage rates held onto the level where they dropped on October 1^st.30YR FIXED – 4.125 FHA/VA – 3.75 15 YEAR FIXED – 3.375-3.5 5 YEAR ARMS – 3.0-3.50% depending on the lender

But there’s no time for napping if you need to refinance your house or if you want to buy a house or two, or three. Bloomberg Radio said yesterday that it is to the point where rates –at least on the bank side– will HAVE to go up again soon.

<Wis comments>

You can be a winner in this market today if you have been renting but now you’re buying a home that is more spacious with more amenities than what you had on the rental unit AND your house payment is LESS than rent AND you choose to write off the mortgage interest to reduce your taxes.
You can be a winner in this market if you can buy another house to add to your rental property portfolio and put very little down and lock in an ultra low mortgage rate with a low payment. Ching! Ching! The lower your payment, the higher profit margin you can enjoy.
You’re a winner in this market if you can finally refinance your house to a lower interest rate on a special HARP or streamline refinance program that doesn’t require a full appraisal—getting a loan that doesn’t require ANY appraisal at all. Even if you DID have to have an appraisal, several areas around the Memphis have gone UP in value. You may be able to refinance today when you couldn’t a few months ago.

If you fall into this category or know someone who does, please call me or my very experienced assistant, Susan Belew. We would love to help you get some bragging rights on your mortgage refinance or on a mortgage to buy a house. Call us right now on the air at (901) 535-WREC or (901) 535-9732 or you can reach Susan or me directly OFF the air at 901 482 0354. That number again is (901) 482-0354 or catch us on our blog www.MortgageLoansBlog.com

Being a winner with some winning terms on your mortgage is great for your bank account, but its great for the SOUL too. It’s a nice feeling knowing that you grabbed an opportunity and now can sit back and enjoy the benefits.

Wis Laughlin is an attorney and tax expert and estate planner and sets up trusts too. Wis, as you have explained at Talk Shoppe many times, avoiding a long drawn out probate process is good for the bank account and can feel good too. What are some ways you can avoid an expensive Probate Process? <Wis launches his topic>

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^2nd segment after 9:15 break—It’s time for the Look Back Memphis Trivia Contest brought to you by notable Memphis historian Jimmy Ogle. Jimmy Ogle gives free walking tours in Downtown Memphis during the Spring and Autumn. Go to jimmyogle.com for the 2014 Spring season schedule and locations. Our Look Back Memphis Trivia Contest SPONSOR is Marlene Foster of ADT Security Services—the number one security system. Give Marlene a call at 901 232-6277. She will take good care of you Marlene is giving away a $25 gift card to the first person who calls with the correct answer to our Trivia Contest. If you know the answer, call us on the air at (901) 535 WREC. (901) 535 9732.

Here’s our trivia question : Who am I? (go to hints)
Garner # 30 10/01/14
3. Danny Thomas Boulevard
4. Question: I travel north and south in Downtown over a large drainage system and have several historic connections with a railroad and a hospital?
Hint: A portion of me covers the Gayoso Bayou.
Hint: The terminal for the first railroad to connect the Atlantic Ocean with the Mississippi River (1857) was located on my roadbed for many years.
Hint: My early namesakes were Wellington and Charleston.
Final Hint: My name comes from the founder of the first integrated hospital in Memphis.
Answer: Danny Thomas Boulevard. When the original streets of Memphis were laid out in 1819, the Gayoso Bayou (swamp) restricted the eastern boundary. Memphis later covered that swamp with a concrete storm drain system, and then placed the terminal for the Memphis & Charleston Railroad above (1857). Called Charleston and in some parts Wellington, as Memphis grew eastward, east/west oriented avenues eventually crossed over the bayou and land was filled in between for development.
10. Then after the opening of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in 1962, the City of Memphis renamed the thoroughfare Danny Thomas Boulevard for the hospital’s founder. Today, the success rate for cures at St. Jude is 94% and the cost is $2 million a day, as no child pays for their care and is received regardless of race, creed, color or nationality. Over 8,000 patients are treated annually – the true Miracle of Memphis!
1. Jimmy Ogle gives free walking tours in Downtown Memphis during the Spring and Autumn, with the Autumn tours beginning September 14 (Bridge Walk) and September 16 (Union Avenue Manhole Cover & History Tour). Go to jimmyogle.com for the 2014 Autumn season schedule and locations.Shelby County Courthouse: Third Thursday each month at 12:00 noonBRIDGE WALKS: Memphis & Arkansas Bridge; meet at Crump Park
  (Exit 12C, Metal Museum Drive) 2:00 p.m. on Sundays – October 19 and November 9
  
  TUESDAY TOURS: Tuesdays at 11:45 a.m. for about four blocks from a different street corner each week, beginning again on September 16!

QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY WIS LAUGHLIN:

14. How did you get into estate planning? Straight out of law school, I was hired by the IRS as an attorney in their national office in DC to answer difficult questions. I studied taxes and estate planning at Georgetown Law School. After 5 years, I returned to Memphis, I worked with my father, a former Probate Judge with 50 years practice. I have practiced in tax and estate planning for over 35 years and the Memphis Estate Planning Council designated me as an Accredited Estate Planner.
15. How would you define estate planning? Is it planning for death? No. Estate Planning should protect your property and family throughout your life as well as afterward.
16. What is Probate? Probate is the process in which the Probate Court declares verifies that a Will is genuine, gives the Executor authority over the property of the deceased person, and administers dozens of bureaucratic rules to make sure the Will is carried out and that all parties are protected.
17. What does the executor have to do? Just a few of the duties:
1. find the heirs, and give them a copy of the will within 60 days,
2. inventory and value the personal property within 60 days,
3. notify and satisfy creditors,
4. locate, protect and insure all property,
5. sell or distribute the property,
6. meet countless deadlines, with penalties if you missed
7. file income tax returns
8. file death tax returns with Tennessee,
9. get permission from the Dept. of Revenue to sell investments
10. distribute the estate to the heirs,
11. get permission from the Dept. of Tenncare to close the estate
12. prepare a set of financial statements for the estate or obtain permission from the heirs to forego a formal accounting.
13. 18. What if a person dies with no will?
14. 19. Everything is more complicated and expensive.
15. 20. 1. The Probate court appoints an “administrator” to manage the estate
16. 21. 2. Under state law, the surviving spouse shares the estate equally with his children, but receives not less than one third.
17. 22. 3. If there are minor children. the court selects a guardian for your minor children, who must account.
18. 23. 4. At age 18 the children receive their share outright.
19. 24. 5. Bonds and accountings are required.
  2. 25. What are the legal fees for the Probate Process? According to the Probate rules, over $22,000 for a $500,000 estate.
  3. 26. Does an executor get paid? Yes, an executor is entitled to be paid, although an executor who is a family member may not ask for it. This is a big job.
    1. 27. Is there some way to avoid the Probate Process?
      1. If you have simple desires. If you have only one or two persons you want to benefit, you can set up bank and brokerage accounts and real estate so that they go to those persons at your death.
      2. However, if you think you will want to benefit minors or persons not capable of managing property, you will need a trustee and a trust to manage their interests. A revocable living trust is ideal.
28. What is a Revocable Living Trust? A revocable living trust (RLT) is a legal relationship created by a trust agreement, under which the Grantor gives money or property to a Trustee, who manages the property on behalf of beneficiaries you name. You are the Grantor and the Trustee and the Beneficiary during your life, as long as you are able. The trustee pays Trust income to you or your spouse during your lives and thereafter pays your children.
1. An RLT is called “living” because it exists during your life. It is called “revocable” because you can change or cancel it.
2. During your life

ü owns & organizes your assets

ü manages your estate when you cannot

ü handles your medical affairs

c. After you die, the RLT

ü avoids Probate, because the RLT, not you, owns your property

ü organizes, manages, protects & distributes your assets

ü You pick the successor trustee.

ü Avoids “ancillary probate” of real estate in other states.

ü You can include almost any instruction that you can imagine. You can motivate your family.

29. What other documents are important?
1. Durable general power of attorney (DPOA).You can avoid a guardianship by executing a Durable Power of Attorney. The DPOA authorizes an “attorney in fact,” to take any legal action on your behalf, such as signing contracts for you.
2. An “Advance Care Plan” allows you to tell the hospital to withhold selected treatments if you end up with specified medical conditions. It also allows you to name people to make medical decisions for you if you are unable
3. 30. What about taxes? Because you create and control the RLT, all property placed in it are treated as if it were yours, so you keep using your social security number and reporting income on your return.
4. 31. How much does an RLT cost? With the suggested DPOA, ACP & a backup will, in Shelby County costs under $2,000–$3,000 for an average couple, but I can usually prepare a package for under $2,000

QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY JO GARNER :

2. What are some situations you see in the mortgage office with families trying to plan for the future for their loved ones?

(Jo) My favorite story is the one where I had a 92 lady call me up on the phone. She had been referred to me after her husband passed away. She and her husband had refinanced their home down to a 15 year loan a couple of years before he died because her husband was determined to get the house paid off sooner. After his death, my feisty client informed me that she still had a lot of living to do and wanted to enjoy the rest of her life spending time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren at their cabin by the water. The high 15 year note was cramping her style—and after I met this lady in person I assure you—she DID have style. She went on to remind me she was 92 years old and never planned to pay the house off. “I’m not gonna’ worry about getting this house paid off before I die—I’m going to enjoy life—let the kids worry about the house after I’m gone. I want a 30 year loan with a really low payment. You don’t have a problem giving a 92 year old lady a 30 year loan, do you?” I assured her I was more than fine with giving her a 30 year loan. We both laughed. But she got her 30 year, low payment loan and off she went to have some fun at the cabin with the people she loved.

Other people are like this lady’s husband. They want more than anything to get the house paid off BEFORE they retire so they go for a rate in the 3’s with a 10 or 15 year term and eliminate 10 or more payments on the old loan by doing that. Yesterday I talked with a gentleman who told me, “ I want to lower my interest rate and even if I have to pay a little bit more per month than what I’m paying now, I want to try for a 15 year loan so I can shorten my mortgage by 10 years. We looked at two options that eliminated 10 whole years off his mortgage saving him about $133,000 in total payments and since the interest rate of around 3.5% was so much lower than the rate he had on his old loan, the payment did not go up too much even by shortening the term.

And people who are renting and buying their first home with a payment less than what they would pay in rent. This has been happening numerous times with young families having children and wanting room to grow.

Customers selling or renting their current home and downsizing to make life a little simpler. Also people who are buying rental property with the plan that the rental income will supplement their pensions

4^th SEGMENT- THE REAL ESTATE TIP OF THE WEEK- Wis offers give a practical, money-saving, time-saving real estate tip

Jo’s announcements: Talk Shoppe offers free education and networking to anyone interested in real estate or in business. This week Joe Rojas of Alliance Title and Escrow will be sharing “Tips On How To Have A Smooth Closing.” Talk Shoppe events are free at the YMCA Corporate offices 6373 Quail Hollow Rd 2^nd floor Memphis (at the corner of Massey Rd and Quail Hollow) 9A to 10A Wednesday the 8^th of October 2014. For more information go to www.TalkShoppe.BIZ

Join the Y now through Oct 5th and make a donation to G, Jim, Go! to help the children of LeBonhuer and we will waive the $75 joining fee. It’s Your Health, Their Hope – For more info go to www.ymcamemphis.org

To hear today’s podcast of the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe and others, go to www.MortgageLoansBlog.com

Transitional Music: “If You Get There Before I Do” by Collin Raye; “You Raise Me Up” by Josh Groban; “Forever Young” by Rod Stewart; “Memphis” by Johnny Rivers

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About Harry W. (Wis) Laughlin:

Tax, Estate, Transactional Lawyer, Speaker, Writer, 3^rd generation lawyer 35+ years, Former IRS Attorney, Accredited Estate Planner by Memphis Estate PL. Council, Former Corporate Counsel (901) 218-7820

Location

Industry

Executrain

Speaker

Harry W. Laughlin, attorney

January 1985 – Present (29 years 10 months)Greater Memphis Area

Wis presents seminars on tax, estate and business planning, including ,
> Where There’s a Will, There’s Waste — try Revocable Living Trusts,
> Are You Overtaxed?
> Business Tax Tips — Nickel and Dime the IRS to Death!
> Contract Wisardry,
> Buying, Selling Businesses,

Talk Shoppe (The Marketing Group) (901) 482-0354

Accreditted Estate Planner

National Association of Estate Planning Councils

September 1982 – Present (32 years 2 months)

Organization that encourages working together of all professions that engage in estate planning, insurance, trustees, attorneys, CPA’s

ABOUT JO GARNER:

Jo Garner’s Bio

www.MortgageLoansBlog.com www.MoneyShoppe.NET (901) 482 0354 jogarner@mindspring.com

Jo Garner is a mortgage officer with extensive knowledge in tailoring mortgages to her customers who are refinancing or purchasing homes all over the country. She offers conventional, FHA, VA or other loan programs for refinancing and purchases.

Jo can help you look at rent vs buy, when it makes sense to refinance, how to get the best deal on your home purchase financing.

Jo Garner has been in the real estate/financing business for over 20 years. She got her start in Portland, Maine where she first began her real estate career. She received her real estate education from the University of Southern Maine and was personally mentored in San Diego, California by Robert G. Allen, author of Nothing Down, Creating Wealth and The Challenge.

On moving back to West Tennessee in 1987, she went into business buying and selling discounted owner-financed notes secured on real estate. In 1990 Jo went to work for a residential mortgage company and has been a mortgage loan officer for over 20 years. Her goal is to offer excellent, affordable service to her customers, tailoring the loan programs to the specific needs of her clients.

In addition to her work in the mortgage field, Jo Garner is the primary sponsor and founder of Talk Shoppe in Memphis. www.TalkShoppe.BIZ She was also the editor of Power Shoppe, a free weekly ezine designed for real estate professionals and others indirectly connected to the real estate industry and currently publishes on her blog www.MortgageLoansBlog.com .

For real estate financing solutions, plug into the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe program. You can find mortgage rates, FHA Streamline refinance with no out-of-pocket costs, refinancing options, home purchase loan programs, answers and real estate, money-saving tips and more.

P: (901) 482-0354 | E: Jo@JoGarner.com

P: (901) 482-0354 | E: Jo@JoGarner.com

ESTATES AND TRUSTS AND HOW IT RELATES TO YOUR REAL ESTATE, THE MORTGAGE AND YOUR LIFE

About Harry W. (Wis) Laughlin:

Speaker

Harry W. Laughlin, attorney

Accreditted Estate Planner

National Association of Estate Planning Councils

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