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‘Your Family Matters’ attracts overflow crowd
RICHARD WEINER
Legal News Reporter
Published: September 17, 2015
Over 200 people turned out to listen to and participate in the first presentation of “Your Family Matters: Options to Protect Your Heirs and Assets,” a combined effort of three Summit County offices—probate court, the clerk of courts, and the fiscal office—to educate the public about end-of-life property issues.
This first in a series of offerings held Wednesday, Sept. 9, at the main branch of the Akron-Summit County library on “tools to… help plan for the future,” attracted a diverse crowd of mostly middle-aged people who filled a main meeting room and spilled out into two other rooms and a hallway, far exceeding the expectations of the program coordinators, who had set up one room for about 50 people.
The overflow crowd listened to presentations and received handouts from Summit County Probate Judge Elinore Marsh Stormer, Summit County Fiscal Office Chief of Staff Jack LaMonica, and Summit County Clerk of Court’s Title Division Manager Lisa Lemmon. The panel discussed in great detail all of the government paperwork that has to be navigated to make sure that a person’s property transfers the way that person wants it to.
Although the seminar was billed as “not offering legal advice,” all of the information came from the people who actually administer these government documents.
Particularly through the Q&A period, the presenters tried to make clear what a layperson could do, and when an attorney or an estate planner would need to be called in. In addition, it was clear that the presentation was designed around the needs of most of the inhabitants of Summit County, as, at one point, Judge Stormer said that people above a certain level of net worth (in the millions) “were at the wrong seminar.”
The program began with Judge Stormer noting that most people want to learn “how to avoid” her probate court. “There are,” she said, “two things you can count on—taxes and death. But we are not talking about death. This is about life, about planning, about family, about what you want to have happen.”
Saying that probate court “will go to extreme lengths to make sure that a will is executed,” Judge Stormer spent much of her time discussing the ways that property can pass to an heir outside of probate.
She discussed “advanced directives” like living wills and “do not resuscitate” forms, as well as powers of attorney, joint-and-survivorship deeds, life insurance and the function of beneficiaries, various types of bank accounts and dower rights, among other topics.
LaMonica followed Judge Stormer with a discussion of deed transfer processes and fees, and spoke about the fiscal office’s programs to “set the table for the golden years.” He then spent time discussing the homestead exemption, combining adjacent real estate parcels, and many of the various forms that the fiscal office uses to transfer property upon an owner’s death.
Lemmons spent her time discussing transferring automobiles and other property that is titled at her office at death, which may transfer in or out of probate, depending on the circumstances. In addition, she discussed other vehicles, like RV’s, that have to go through probate.
The formal presentations were followed by a very lively and personal question-and answer period emceed by Judge Stormer.
The discussion period could have gone on for much longer than the scheduled half hour, as people from the main room and the overflow crowd quickly peppered the presenters with their real-life questions. As Judge Stormer controlled the Q&A, various staffers from the fiscal office were also able to contribute their particular expertise.
A number of responses referred the questioners to attorneys, estate planners, or the website of the Ohio State Bar Association, but, for the most part, people’s questions seemed to be answered to their satisfaction.
In the end, Judge Stormer emphasized the point that people, “can avoid probate, if they set up everything correctly….Make sure that the family knows what you want by telling them what you want.”
“Your Family Matters” will also be presented several more times, including:
• Sept. 29 at 6:30 p.m.: Ellet Branch Library, 2470 E. Market St., Akron
• Oct. 4. at 9:15 a.m.: House of Our Lord, 1650 Diagonal Rd., Akron
• Oct. 8. at 6:30 p.m.: Green Branch Library, 4046 Massillon Rd., Uniontown
• Oct. 20. at 6:30 p.m.: Northwest Branch Library, 1720 Shatto Ave., Akron
Additional locations for future presentations will be announced at a later time.