“Barbie’s Estate Plan” by Attorney Melanie Marban (Audio)
Barbie is a well-known doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Inc. Her launch date was March 9, 1959, which makes Barbie 64 years old. As Barbie approaches the age where many Americans consider retirement, she is worried about what may happen to her estate. Here is what I believe would happen if Barbie attended one of our free estate planning seminars and came in for her complimentary consultation.
I ask Barbie to tell me about her family and her assets. Barbie has three younger sisters and many pets ranging from dogs and cats to horses. She owns the Barbie Dream House free and clear of mortgages. It is a beautiful home in Maryland with multiple rooms, stories, and a swimming pool. The home is near the water and the estimated value is $3.5 million. Barbie also drives a pink classic c1 convertible corvette. While she has had other vehicles over the years, Barbie has kept the corvette she is best known for. Of course, Barbie has had many jobs to afford her lifestyle. In fact, Barbie has had over 250 jobs throughout her life. She has been a flight attendant, astronaut, doctor, computer engineer, and fashion designer, just to name a few. All of these jobs offered different types of benefits such as 401K, 403B, Federal Employees Group Life Insurance, Thrift Savings Plan, and an IRA. Barbie also has a collection of designer clothes and shoes accumulated over the years. Barbie is concerned about keeping her estate away from her on again-off again boyfriend, Ken. While he did move next door to win her affection, she wants to be sure her assets only pass to her sisters.
Based off of Barbie’s assets and goals, I highly recommend she create a Revocable Living Trust. This tool will protect Barbie’s assets like the home and retirement accounts from probate. A Trust will pass her estate to her sisters as intended beneficiaries and keep it away from Ken. A Trust will also maintain any privacy she has left away from the public eye. Barbie can also build terms into the Trust for pet care. As for her large collection of clothes and shoes, Barbie has a choice to leave it for her sisters to sell and split the proceeds, or she can write a list of which items she specifically wants to gift to each sister. With a current net worth of $6 million dollars, Barbie will need to keep in mind Maryland’s estate tax threshold is $5 million dollars while the Federal estate tax threshold is $12.92 million dollars in 2023. This tax will sunset back to $5 million dollars if Congress does nothing by the end of 2025. Barbie will not need to worry about inheritances taxes as sisters are an exempt relationship. After our meeting, Barbie can go online and add a transfer on death beneficiary to the title of her car.
Barbie moves forward with engaging the firm! She sees the importance of having an estate plan in place and is excited to have peace of mind. I ask Barbie to go home and reflect on the idea of her legacy. Not just her “stuff” but her values, life lessons, and how we can preserve them in her plan. Finally, I let Barbie know she is our client for life and all check-ins and phone calls are complimentary with her plan.
If you are like Barbie and want to establish an estate plan that addresses your concerns and goals, contact us today!
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