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LEGAL NOTES
June 15, 2007 Vol. 23 No. 1
Tribute to
Our Beloved Eugene P. Elsass
As many of you may be aware, our senior partner, Eugene (“Gene”) P. Elsass, died in January of this year. Gene practiced law with our Firm for nearly 50 years. He is sorely missed.
Gene was committed to his family, his church, and our Firm. He cherished the time when his family was all together, especially holiday gatherings. Gene held old-fashioned ideals, and his standards for his children were high. He expected them to do their best in all areas of life and he believed that education was a life long and important process.
Gene was very active in his church and was a regular attendee who took sermon notes. He also sponsored a lecture series for his church. He was Chairman of the Endowment Committee and spent many hours helping plan for the expansion of his church in Sidney.
Gene valued his clients and was humbled by the confidence they placed in him. He challenged everyone at our Firm to remember that the client’s needs always came first. Although he stressed high standards for everyone at our Firm, he expected the most of himself. He truly modeled the behavior he expected in others.
Gene’s philosophy for life can be summed up with these simple words:
“Love your family; work hard; have fun; pray well; and trust God.”
Although our Firm saddened by the loss of our beloved senior partner, Eugene P. Elsass, we are nevertheless glad to have him stay with us as a “cheerleader on high” for our Firm. On Gene’s behalf, we would like to express his gratitude to his clients for their many years of patronage and confidence. Our Firm stands ready, willing and able to continue representation of Gene’s clients following in Gene’s tradition of professional and thoughtful work.
The articles in this issue of Legal Notes are inspired by Gene’s ideas for articles and/or his practice area.
Appoint a Representative to Take Care of your Funeral Arrangements
Ohio House Bill 426 took effect in October, 2006. This new law is designed to reduce complications which may arise concerning funeral and burial arrangements. This new law was enacted, in part, due to a controversial case in which the surviving spouse, stepmother to the decedent’s adult children, had the decedent cremated, that was directly contrary to decedent’s religious beliefs, according to the decedent’s adult children.
The new law permits persons to sign a form naming an agent to make funeral and burial arrangements. When differences of opinion among survivors are anticipated concerning funeral and burial arrangements, persons should sign the form authorized by the new Ohio law and name an agent so that complications can be reduced.
You do not need to use an attorney to complete the form, but as always, if you have any questions about completion of this form, please feel free to contact a member of our Firm.
Gifts From Your IRA to a Qualified Charity
You may be allowed to make gifts out of your IRA to a qualified charity during your lifetime. Individuals aged 70½ may transfer up to $100,000 per year directly from their IRA to the charity, with these guidelines:
- The charitable distribution counts toward the minimum IRA distribution requirements;
- Charitable distributions may be made in addition to any other planned charitable giving;
- The distribution does not generate taxable income, or a tax deduction so even non-itemizers can benefit.
There are some limitations. Distributions must be made to qualified charities and distributions may not be used to fund charitable remainder trusts or charitable gift annuities. There may be some state tax consequences. This deduction is available for a limited time, i.e. calendar years 2006 and 2007. To obtain the maximum benefit, you need to act by the end of 2007.
If you are interested in discussing gifts from your IRA to a qualified charity, please feel free to contact a member of the Firm. Please also seek tax counsel before a final decision.
Care of Elderly May Require a Geriatric Care Manager
As our population continues to age, many people in the baby boomer generation will soon be facing important decisions concerning the care of their parents and other elderly relatives. At times, those decisions will be complicated by geographic distances or other conflicting realities in the younger generation’s own lives.
One possible solution to this dilemma involves the retaining of a geriatric care manager. Among the functions taken on by such managers would be to act as a guide in finding rehabilitation and long-term care for seniors, to coordinate on-site visits or other care for the elderly, to oversee billing, and even to serve as a mediator between siblings and other relatives.
If you would like to discuss retaining a geriatric care manager, please feel free to contact our Firm.
Staff Notes
Elsass, Wallace, Evans, Schnelle & Co., L.P.A. is pleased to welcome Mrs. Kimberly S. Kislig to our staff as an associate attorney. Kim joins us from Dayton, Ohio, where she practiced for nearly four years for a large civil litigation defense firm. Kim’s background for the past two decades has been in the legal field and includes positions at the San Diego police department and the Arizona Superior Court. Kim will be focusing on the general practice of law, with an emphasis on the areas of commercial law, health care law, municipal law, employment law, and litigation support. Kim is a graduate of Ohio Northern University College of Law, from which she graduated with highest honors.
We are also pleased to welcome Ms. Kelly Rethman as a law clerk for the summer of 2007. Kelly is originally from Maria Stein, Ohio, and is the daughter of Denis and Gladys Rethman. Kelly received her bachelor’s degree in forensic psychology from Tiffin University in northern Ohio. While at Tiffin, she played both golf and threw javelin for the Dragons. Kelly has just completed her first year of law school at Florida State University College of Law.
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