Ask an Attorney: Watch out for schemes, swindlers

People sometimes come into our office because they feel that someone is trying to swindle them.

It is a fact that there are people out there who will try to take advantage of you, and some of these people prey on people in communities like Green Valley.

There are a few, by now, well-known scams that have been used to get money from trusting people.

For example, there is the wealthy foreigner who needs assistance in transferring large sums of money from his homeland.

The foreigner claims that he will compensate you generously if you provide him with some money up front to facilitate the transfer.

Send that money only if you enjoy making contributions to crooks, because you will never see the promised compensation.

Most schemes are a little more subtle than this. If you get the slightest feeling that someone is trying to take advantage of you, do not hesitate to ask them some questions about their background, their education, what licenses or credentials they have, and also how they will be paid from the transaction they are recommending to you.

There is a non-profit education and counseling center called “HELP”, the purpose of which is to provide impartial information to older adults and their families on eldercare, law, finances and more.

They have created a form called “ASK FIRST!” which you can access at help4srs.org.

Do not hesitate to ask the questions suggested on the form when dealing with people in financial matters.

P.S. — Let me know of any scams that people have tried to pull on you or someone you know.

P.P.S. — If you have money that you want to give away to someone other than the purported finance minister of Nigeria, I can recommend some good charitable organizations, such as the Rotary Club of Green Valley (full disclosure: I am a member).

This month’s question: My husband and I do not have much confidence in the man that is getting married to our daughter.

If our daughter dies before us, will he inherit her share of our estate?

Answer: If she dies before you do, he will not.

However, she has the right to dispose of her property as she chooses, and unless you put restrictions on the manner in which she is receiving the money, then her spouse could receive her share upon her death.

One way to avoid this scenario would be to put your daughter’s share in trust for her lifetime, giving her limited access to the money while she is alive.

Then, upon her death, the trust you have created for her could specify that the money would pass to either her children (your grandchildren) or to some other beneficiary that you specify in the trust.

Alternatively, you could give your daughter a power of appointment over the money in her trust, but limit the power so she could not appoint her husband as the beneficiary on her death.

There are some issues that you should consider.

First of all, your daughter might resent the fact that you are restricting her inheritance.

Also, you would need to choose an appropriate trustee to handle your daughter’s share in case she became incapacitated and upon her death.

You should note that such a trustee could charge a fee.

Your daughter could be trustee during her lifetime (although this would create the possibility that she would just choose to ignore the terms of the trust), but if something were to happen to her, someone else would need to be in charge of the money, preferably someone other than her husband.

There might also be an issue regarding generation-skipping tax since your money wouldn’t go outright to her but rather would go to your grandchildren.

You would want to talk about this with your attorney or accountant.

Andy Heideman’s column appears as a public service. It is not intended as legal advice and addresses only general propositions. If you have a question about a matter that affects you, contact an attorney. If you have a question to ask Heideman for this column, call his Green Valley office at 625-4405 or e-mail him at aheideman@ duffieldlaw.com.