Cramer Law Center, P.L.

Anyone looking for Cramer Law Center, P.L., please note that Jeff Cramer is now a senior attorney with Williams Allen Casey, LPA. https://www.lifedesignlaw.com/. Jeff has found a new home to continue the personalized estate planning for which Cramer Law Center was known. You may reach Jeff at [email protected].

Cleveland Ohio | Williams Allen Casey LPA | United States Located in Cleveland, Ohio providing caring and compassionate legal services. Williams Allen Casey LPA offers estate planning counseling services through our LifeDesign Legal Services Program that ensures the highest rate of estate planning success.

The 3i team and I will be back in Jacksonville on April 5th for our annual client meeting. Looking forward to seeing old friends.

Friends and colleagues, I am pleased to share the news that I have joined the law firm 3i Law as Senior Counsel beginning today, October 1.

As many of you know I recently moved to Denver, where amid my brief retirement I was fortunate to find a group of likeminded professionals at 3i Law who share my unbridled enthusiasm and commitment to an efficient and practical approach to legal solutions. The firm is powered by the guiding principles of 3i - innovation, integration, and integrity - and I look forward to joining them in bringing these tenets to life in every daily interaction, big and small, with our clients.

You can learn more about 3i Law here: 3ilawfirm.com or send me a message, I would love to catch up and introduce you to my new team.

Cramer Law Center, P.L. updated their information in their About section.

We remain available to prepare estate plans and continue to offer virtual meetings through ZOOM video conferencing until further notice.

Cramer Law Center, P.L. updated their business hours.

Another in the long line of celebrity deaths without having an estate plan. For each celebrity, there also are thousands of regular people deaths without planning that throw their families into turmoil. I always ask "Why?", but there is never an answer.

Chadwick Boseman's Wife Files Probate Case After Actor Passes Away Without A Will Boseman not having a will in place at the time of his death is sparking renewed conversations about the importance of estate planning.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/25/arts/music/james-brown-will.html?campaign_id=2&emc=edit_th_20200627&instance_id=19814&nl=todaysheadlines®i_id=67849467&segment_id=32012&user_id=48ce3fcbd667717ad4aeea1f0dc699ca.

What a mess! Florida, like South Carolina, has an "elective share" law which protects a spouse from being disinherited. Failure to account for that in a plan, or by way of a prenuptial agreement, will result in a similar disaster.

James Brown’s Will: Is It Inching Toward Closure After 14 Years? A decision by the Supreme Court of South Carolina has raised expectations that the many legal fights over the singer’s estate may soon be drawing to a close.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/24/opinion/inheritance-tax-inequality.html?campaign_id=2&emc=edit_th_20200625&instance_id=19695&nl=todaysheadlines®i_id=67849467&segment_id=31791&user_id=48ce3fcbd667717ad4aeea1f0dc699ca

It is just a matter of time before estate planning options become more limited.

Opinion | Tax the Rich and Their Heirs How to tax inheritances more fairly.

The best time to do your estate planning was yesterday, but today is a close second. Tomorrow a distant third.

Financial matters: Why now may be the best time to do estate planning COVID-19 has produced catastrophic effects, and yet we will recover. In the meantime, plan and utilize the downturn to grow and protect your assets.

It should go without saying that good legal and financial planning is necessary if someone wishes to die at home. Frank family discussions also are necessary to work out the emotional and time issues involving family member caregivers.

Many Americans say they want to die at home. It’s not always easy to make that happen. Managing the end of life at home can be hard for the dying person and caregiver. Clear instructions and hospice can ease those hardships.

Heartbreaking.

Dementia takes us Piece by Piece, but this is the Last Piece to Go. Imagine visiting her, opening the refrigerator (when she still lived in her own home) and finding packets and packets of shredded cheese, some green with mold. You wonder what she's thinking—is she expecting a looming great cheese shortage?

Personal planning is more important than ever. But fewer people are recognizing this need. Relying on the government is not a plan.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/23/opinion/america-aging.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_191224?campaign_id=2&instance_id=14777&segment_id=19847&user_id=48ce3fcbd667717ad4aeea1f0dc699ca®i_id=678494671224

Opinion | We’re Getting Old, but We’re Not Doing Anything About It Like climate change, the aging of America demands a serious rethinking of the way we live.

Powerful words.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/21/opinion/sunday/marriage-money-death.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_191222?campaign_id=2&instance_id=14746&segment_id=19814&user_id=48ce3fcbd667717ad4aeea1f0dc699ca®i_id=678494671222

Opinion | The Poverty and Prosperity of Losing My Husband The financial planning he’d done his whole life paid off — to me, not him.

"Returning to fiscal responsibility through spending reform alone is neither just nor possible. The United States needs to reform its tax code in a manner that is more progressive and produces more revenue. But there are better approaches than a wealth tax, which would be highly distortionary and is unlikely to capture nearly as much revenue as its proponents claim. Making the income tax code more progressive and REFORMING ESTATE AND GIFT TAXES to eliminate the loopholes that allow wealthy Americans to pass on wealth to their children at very low tax rates would be a better first step."

This is from a CONSERVATIVE economist! (Henry Paulson) Buckle your seat belts, this election season is going to be a bumpy ride.

Sound planning can avoid this.

Opinion | Doctors are torturing dementia patients at the end of their life. And it’s totally unnecessary. Procedures can be so rough on frail bodies that patients may have even lived longer without them.

As a (slightly) older lawyer who laments the change in culture, decline of civility among lawyers, and resulting overall societal decline in the respect for law, I must conclude that we played a large part in bringing it on ourselves. Chasing the most dollars can never equal "serving in the best interest of the client". This article help explain how I went from being perceived as a lawyer to becoming seen merely as a "vendor of legal services" in the span of one career.

Being a Law Firm Partner Was Once a Job for Life. That Culture Is All but Dead. At the modern law firm, not all partners are created equal, and data and billings rule. In the new paradigm, lawyers are expendable, and partners may jump to a competitor for the right amount of money, taking clients with them on the way out.

Calling all billionaires! Jacksonville is a lovely, estate tax free city.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/20/business/economy/estate-tax.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_191021?campaign_id=2&instance_id=13240&segment_id=18083&user_id=48ce3fcbd667717ad4aeea1f0dc699ca®i_id=678494671021.

Estate Taxes Are Easy to Flee, but They Still Help States New research shows that even if wealthy residents move away, the revenue at death from those who stay outweighs any loss in income taxes.

Call me old fashioned, but creating your own electronic will? ----"Just Say No".

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/18/your-money/electronic-wills-online.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_191019?campaign_id=2&instance_id=13135&segment_id=18049&user_id=48ce3fcbd667717ad4aeea1f0dc699ca®i_id=678494671019.

A Will Without Ink and Paper New laws are allowing people to create and sign wills online without a lawyer or notary present, but experts say there are drawbacks.

Just sayin......

7 Ways That Beneficiary Designations Can Mess Up Your Estate Plan Beneficiary designations are a crucial part of estate planning, yet they are often overlooked. Make sure that your named beneficiaries are consistent with your estate planning documents so that you don't unintentionally undermine your carefully executed estate plan.

Couldn't have written it any better, so happy to share this article on electronic wills.

Electronic Wills Are Now Legal In Florida | Florida Probate & Trust Litigation Blog In 2017, the Florida Senate voted unanimously to authorize electronic wills (see here). Was that the end of the story? Nope. Former Gov. Rick Scott vetoed

We will be closed tomorrow, Wednesday, September 4, in lieu of the storm. Please be safe and heed all caution. We will return to the office on Thursday.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/29/opinion/sunday/dementia-assisted-living.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_190830?campaign_id=2&instance_id=11966&segment_id=16602&user_id=48ce3fcbd667717ad4aeea1f0dc699ca®i_id=678494670830
Strong opinions! Worth considering.

Opinion | How Not to Grow Old in America The assisted living industry is booming, by tapping into the fantasy that we can all be self-sufficient until we die.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/01/health/alzheimers-blood-test.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_190802?campaign_id=2&instance_id=11316&segment_id=15800&user_id=48ce3fcbd667717ad4aeea1f0dc699ca®i_id=678494670802
Wouldn't this be great news?

A Blood Test for Alzheimer’s? It’s Coming, Scientists Report A test that measures beta amyloid protein in the blood is more accurate than a brain scan and may indicate trouble years earlier.

Did you know ? Safe deposit boxes don't appear to be safe after all.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/19/business/safe-deposit-box-theft.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_190720?campaign_id=2&instance_id=10978&segment_id=15399&user_id=48ce3fcbd667717ad4aeea1f0dc699ca®i_id=678494670720

Safe Deposit Boxes Aren’t Safe When Philip Poniz opened Box 105 at his local Wells Fargo, he discovered it was empty — and that he was totally unprotected by federal law.

Congratulations to Clayton Miller on an outstanding trial victory achieved today! This hotly contested litigation has taken nearly 2 years to complete, but our client's position thankfully has been validated. Kudos to Clayton for his skill and determination.

Harper Lee’s Will, Unsealed, Adds Only More Mystery to Her Life

The will leaves everything to a trust, so Harper Lee's privacy is still protected.
Wills = public. Trusts = private.

nytimes.com In a will that she signed days before she died, Ms. Lee assigned her literary assets to a trust.

Complaints About Nursing Home Evictions Rise, and Regulators Take Note

Families should be prepared. One consideration is to appoint a patient care advocate familiar with discharge regulations to assist the family.

nytimes.com One reason for the evictions, legal advocates say, is that the residents’ better-paying Medicare coverage is ending and will be replaced by Medicaid.