On The Beat - February 21, 2020 - Crowell, Gillis, & Cooper on Wills and Estate Planning

Troy Thompson sits down with Bill Gillis from Crowell, Gillis, & Cooper to discuss wills and estate planning

Troy: welcome to on the beat, everyone.

I'm troy thompson.

I'm in the studio with bill gillis from crowell, gillis and cooper and we're continuing our conversation about wills and estate planning, but i wanted to touch on something that we haven't talked about.

Welcome to the show, my friend.

William gillis: thank you.

Glad to be back.

Troy: okay.

What happens if i own businesses, apart from my personal assets, say my home and my personal 401k and things like that, that were put into our wills, but i also own some businesses or rental properties.

How does that all get covered within my wills and estates?

William gillis: well, typically, we want to provide for every asset that you may own.

A lot of times we have clients who have particular children involved in businesses with them and other children, not.

Other children maybe have moved away.

So we'd perhaps want to provide that business be a part of the child who's involved with its assets rather than the other children.

Troy: well, i do notice that when that does happen that there always seems to be a bone of contention within the family.

William gillis: well, typically where you favor one over the other, but a lot of times what we will do is we'll have that particular business be a part of that child's inheritance and the other children get other assets so that it evens out at the end of the day.

Troy: okay.

Should i be setting up some llcs over here apart from my private assets, but this is part of the business assets?

William gillis: well, it depends on what your assets are.

Troy: okay.

William gillis: for example, if you have rental property, there's liability exposure involved with rental property.

So we will typically put rental property into an llc so that if there is a liability issue above your insurance limits, then creditors may get that asset, but they can't come and get your other personal assets.

Troy: okay.

You may have touched on it, but i just want to ask you about the business succession.

How does that all work?

William gillis: well, and again, that's something that is part, not necessarily of estate planning, but family planning.

We used to think that businesses didn't survive from one generation to the next, and really not to the third, and people would think it was because of estate tax issues and those things, but the studies show that it is where there is no proper business succession.

The patriarch has created the business and the next generation does not have a clue how to continue that business and as a result it will fail.

Troy: i think it's a lot more in depth than just a normal will and estate planning.

William gillis: it is, indeed.

Troy: so that's something that you really do need to come in, sit down and go over this in great detail.

William gillis: and it's important in doing that, that you disclose to your counselor all of those assets and any idiosyncrasies within your family and within businesses so that you can be properly advised.

Troy: okay.

I've never asked you, bill, what other things that you do within your office?

What other services do you offer?

William gillis: well, we're basically a general services law firm.

Troy: okay.

William gillis: we do family law, domestic work, personal injury work, general business work, tk, the formation, and we're involved when companies want to merge and acquire other companies, criminal law, just basically a general services firm.

Troy: okay.

Something that i've noticed in america that people are getting married later and later in life.

And when that happens, you have more assets.

Do you do a lot of premarital contracts?

William gillis: we do.

Troy: like prenups?

William gillis: prenups.

There's some question in mississippi as to the validity of them.

They're very strict requirements if you're going to use one as to its execution.

For example, you can't do a prenup and waive what you don't know.

Troy: right.

William gillis: so when a couple who's about to marry comes to me and talks about prenup, there must be complete financial disclosure so that each knows what the other has and what they're potentially giving up.

And we also require that each have independent counsel.

I can't advise both of them.

So i will represent one and the other one will seek independent counsel of their own.

Troy: well, bill, always good advice.

William gillis: glad to be here.

Thank you.

Troy: alrighty.

If you want to find out more information about crowell, gillis and cooper, there it all is up on the screen.

We'll be back after this short break.