West Newsmagazine 11-1-23

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WESTNEWSMAGAZINE.COM
November 1, 2023
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE
I 5
Clearing up some questions
related to Rockwood’s Prop 3
Will the Rockwood School District get a tax revenue windfall
from rising property assessments?
NO! RSD will NOT get a revenue windfall, due to a Missouri law. On September
28, 2023, the Rockwood Board of Education voted to LOWER the Rockwood
portion of your tax rate to offset rising property values, as is required by
Missouri’s Hancock Amendment. The new rate, approved by the Missouri
State Auditor, is $3.8907. This is a decrease of 25.76 cents.
Will this lower tax rate impact Prop 3?
The decrease in the tax rate has no impact on Prop 3. The benefit of the 2023
tax rate decrease will be realized by taxpayers in tax year 2023 and beyond,
regardless of Proposition 3 ballot results. The ballot language will not change,
and the timeline of the zero new taxes levy transfer detailed in Proposition 3 will
remain as is.
Will voting “no” on Prop 3 lower my tax rate even more?
Voting no would NOT lower your tax rate, because the remaining bonds in Debt
Service don’t pay off for 15 years. In addition, expenses related to maintaining
3.8 million square feet don’t disappear if the proposition fails. Also, safety and
technology needs for 20,000 students and thousands of staff don’t disappear.
If Prop 3 fails, there are only two choices available for funding these ongoing
expenses: bonds with millions wasted in interest, or a higher tax rate.
Will RSD default on their remaining debt if Prop 3 is passed?
NO! RSD will be able to pay off their existing bonds within their current maturity
schedules with the remaining tax rate in the Debt Service Fund because of
strategic refinancing that saved millions in interest.
Why TRUST Prop 3 for Rockwood?
The Rockwood School Board unanimously supports Prop 3 on the Nov 7th
ballot! In addition to annually receiving the highest level of independent financial
audit opinions, the district has earned multiple financial reporting and budgeting
awards, plus a AAA from Standard & Poor’s. Also, RSD spends less per student
than most area districts while outperforming them or matching their results. To
read more visit: https://tinyurl.com/RSDStewardship
Vote YES on Prop 3 on Nov 7th!
For more information:
RSD
Prop 3
FAQ
Prop 3
for a
Stronger
Rockwood
The Lost and Found Nephew
Law Matters
I prepared a
trust-based
estate plan for a
client. I
explained the
benefits in
avoiding probate
- more
privacy, less
cost. He understood.
He was close to his elderly aunt
who had never married. She had a
sizeable estate. Her attorney had
prepared a will-based plan for her.
When my client, the nephew, talked
to her about creating a trust, she told
him that her attorney said trusts were
not a good idea because you don't
have court supervision of the
administration of a trust. I know I'm a
little jaded after practicing law for as
long as I have, but I have to wonder
whether the attorney was also
thinking about the sizable probate fee
he hoped to get. In any event, the aunt
did not do a trust.
Time passed, and sadly, the aunt
died. When someone dies, all of their
accounts and assets get frozen until an
estate is opened. My client was named
as the personal representative, the
executor, and he came to me to
probate her estate.
When you open a probate estate,
among other things, you need to try to
contact potential heirs. In this case,
there was another nephew. No one
knew where he was, and there was no
record of him in the aunt's address
book or any letters or even Christmas
cards. After some sluething, my client
found an address for the cousin in a
remote town in Minnesota. So, we
sent him the required information,
hoping that would be the end of it.
We weren't that lucky.
The next thing that happened
was that I was contacted by an
attorney. He told me that he representated
the Minnesota cousin. He
said that his client had, in fact, been
very close to the deceased aunt and
called her regularly, although the
phone records didn't show that. He
said that my client had taken advantage
of the aunt and had her write his
client out of the will. He demanded
half of the estate.
I told my client that this was a
nuisance claim, and he could throw
some money at it to make it go away.
He authorized me to offer $20,000. I
called the attorney and offered
$5,000, and he accepted. That was a
small price to pay for what could
have been a protracted and terribly
expensive will contest.
If only the aunt had done a trust,
we could have avoided all of that.
Call if you want to talk.
Everyone’s experience
with estate planning is
unique and you don’t
always know what to
expect. Fred has gathered
some of the most
interesting examples he
knows into an entertaining
and educational book.
You Can’t Take It With You is available
to order online at www.law-matters.net
Fred L. Vilbig is an attorney with over 30
years of experience in the areas of wills
and trusts, small businesses, and real
estate. This column is for informational
purposes only. Nothing herein should be
treated as legal advice or as creating an
attorney-client relationship. The choice
of a lawyer is an important decision
and should not be based solely upon
advertisements.
Paid for by Prop 3 for a Stronger Rockwood; Treasurer Lana McPartlin
(636) 537-7884 | fvilbig@lawmatters.llc| www.lawmatters.llc