OCR Text |
Show The Garfield County Insider Page 6 COMMON (AND COSTLY) ESTATE PLANNING MISTAKES Law Offices of Barney, McKenna & Olmstead, PC Wills, Trusts & Probate – Business Law & Bankruptcy Real Estate - Contracts – Commercial Litigation Family Law & Divorce – Select Personal Injury i BARNEY MCKENNA OLMSTEAD FOUNDING PRINCIPLES - ENDURING LEGACY Offices: St. George, Utah (435) 628-1711 Mesquite, Nevada (702) 346-3100 ANTLER HUNTERS: STAY ON ROADS AND TRAILS The warmer weather is bringing more and more people into Utah's backcountry. But many of these folks aren't hiking or mountain biking—they're "hunting" for shed antlers. Every spring, shed antler hunters comb Utah's backcountry, looking for antlers that have dropped from the heads of deer, elk or moose. These animals shed their antlers every winter as part of their life cycle. Finding their antlers is a fun way to beat "cabin fever" and enjoy Utah's backcountry in the spring. If you decide to look for shed antlers this spring, remember to look for them only on foot. Keep your offhighway vehicle and truck only on roads and trails that are open to their use. If you take your OHV or truck off of legal roads and trails, you can do serious damage to the habitat that deer, elk and other wildlife rely on. Muddy and soft Because the ground is muddy in the spring, it's easy for vehicles to leave deep tracks this time of the year. Those tracks erode the soil. And that erosion reduces the ability the land has to support deer, elk and other wildlife. The scars that are left also take years to heal. The tracks are an eyesore that causes people to further oppose OHV use and shed antler hunting. Look for sheds on foot If you'll follow some simple rules provided by the Division of Wildlife Resources, you can have fun collecting shed antlers without damaging the landscape and causing animals stress: Once you arrive at your shed antler hunting area, park your vehicle and hunt for shed antlers on foot. Once you've found some antlers, pack them to the nearest road. Then leave them near the side of the road until you can drive back to pick them up. Please leave the area as good as you found it. Don't be responsible for more land closures and vehicle restrictions in Utah. Don't pick them up As you're collecting antlers, please remember that you may not collect antlers that are still attached to the skull. This restriction was enacted after DWR conservation officers discovered people were shooting trophy animals on their winter range. In the spring, they'd return and retrieve the heads and antlers of the animals they had poached. If officers stopped and questioned them, they would simply say that the animal the head and antlers belonged to must have died of natural causes, and they were lucky to find its antlers. Telling a shed antler from an antler that's still attached to a skull plate or that's been broken off of a skull plate is easy: Shed antlers—which are legal to possess—have a rounded base, commonly called a button or burr. Antlers that are attached to a skull plate or that have been broken off of a skull plate do not have this button or burr. And you may not possess them legally. Free shed antler course If you want to gather shed antlers in Utah between now and April 15, you must complete a free shed antler gathering course first. If you wait until April 15 or later to gather antlers, you don't need to complete the course. The free course is available at wildlife.utah.gov/shedantler. After you finish the course, make sure you print a certificate that shows you've completed the course. "And make sure you carry your certificate with you," says Mike Fowlks, Law Enforcement Section chief for the DWR. "By law, you must have your certificate with you while you're gathering shed antlers." If you have young children, and you've completed the course, your children don't need to complete it. As long as you've completed the course, your certificate will cover your kids too. Fowlks says if you complete the course, you can gather antlers across Utah. "Please remember, though, that many of the state's wildlife management areas are closed in the spring to protect wildlife," he says. For more information, call the nearest Division of Wildlife Resources office or the DWR's Salt Lake City office at 801-538-4700. March 17, 2011 Costly mistakes can be made when doing estate planning. In most cases, mistakes are made by wellintentioned people who failed to take advantage of opportunities to accumulate wealth, shelter assets from estate tax, and protect estates for future generations. Some common estate-planning mistakes are listed here. By exercising care now, you can save a fortune later. 1. Neglecting items of sentimental value Billy left a portion of his estate to his children in equal shares, and some to the stepmother of his adult children. Unfortunately, the will was silent as to distribution of his personal property, which included numerous paintings of purely sentimental value. The stepmother felt she was entitled to the paintings. The personal representative, however, distributed the paintings among the adult children. The stepmother hired an attorney to fight for the paintings, which were ultimately divided evenly among the four beneficiaries. But the legal fees far exceeded the value of the paintings, family relations were strained, and in the end nobody was happy. Solution: Some people wrongly believe that there is no place in a will for personal property that does not have significant monetary value. If you are leaving items of personal property, whether of actual or sentimental value, clearly state in your will how you want them to be distributed, or include them in the written list of specific gifts of personal property attached to your will. 2. Failing to secure the documents Patty's Uncle Bob, with whom she had a close relationship, died. Bob had prepared a will but it was nowhere to be found. Patty said Uncle Bob had promised her a substantial inheritance, but because the will was missing and she was not related to him by blood, the Court gave the entire estate to nieces and nephews who lived overseas -- and who Bob had never met! Solution: Make copies of your documents and store them in a safe place. Put the original in a bank safety deposit box; even if the key is lost and the whereabouts of the box is unknown, it can always be located by a vault box search. Give copies to your personal representative and attorney. And keep a copy in a safe place at home. 3. Keeping secrets An elderly woman named Gwen died and left $40,000 to her devoted caretaker. The other beneficiaries of Gwen's large estate included nephews and nieces who were jealous of the caretaker's relationship with their aunt. When the will was read, they expressed anger that Gwen had left money to her caretaker. They argued that the caretaker had exercised undue influence over Gwen, and therefore was not entitled to the bequest. Although the bequest was upheld in court, the chal- lenge was costly, caused delays, and upset Gwen's devoted caretaker. Solution: Make your feelings known to your personal representative and beneficiaries -- preferably before you die -- about which people you wish to leave bequests to. If you think this may cause conflict, explain in a letter why you feel the way you do; send the letter to all relevant beneficiaries and attach a copy of it to your will. Ideally, you should resolve potential disagreements and quell hostilities (as much as possible) while you are still alive. Jeffery J. McKenna is an attorney licensed in three states and serving clients in Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. He is a partner at the law firm of Barney, McKenna and Olmstead, with offices in St. George and Mesquite. He is a founding member of the Southern Utah Estate Planning Council. If you have questions or topics that you would like addressed in these articles please email him at jmckenna@barney-mckenna. corn or call 435 628-1711 Nationwide, a few highly-skilled heart care organizations were selected to be among the first to implant this small, sophisticated, life-saving device. Only one of them is in Utah. Visit healing forlife.com Intermountain Heart Services 're'117,144' 4* GARFIELD MEMORIAL HOSPITAL • VALLEY VIEW MEDICAL CENTER • DIXIE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER INTERMOUNTAIN MEDICAL CENTER • PRIMARY CHILDREN'S MEDICAL CENTER • MCKAY-DEE HOSPITAL CENTER LDS HOSPITAL • UTAH VALLEY REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER • LOGAN REGIONAL HOSPITAL |