Start the New Year with Estate Planning To-Do’s

Estate Planning, Executor, Health Care, Power of Attorney, Trustee / Advance Directive, Beneficiary, Directive, Estate Planning Attorney, Executor, Joint Tenancy With Right of Survivorship, JTWROS, Medical Power of Attorney, Online Accounts, St. Petersburg Estate Planning Attorney, Successor Trustee

Families who wish their loved ones had not created an estate plan are far and few between. However, the number of families who have had to experience extra pain, unnecessary expenses and even family battles because of a lack of estate planning are many. While there are a number of aspects to an estate plan that take some time to accomplish, The Daily Sentinel recommends that readers tackle these tasks in the article “Consider These Items As Part of Your Year-End Plan.”

Review and update any beneficiary designations. This is one of the simplest parts of any estate plan to fix. Most people think that what’s in their will controls how all of their assets are distributed, but this is not true. Accounts with beneficiary designations—like life insurance policies, retirement accounts, and some bank accounts—are controlled by the beneficiary designation and not the will.

Proceeds from these assets are based on the instructions you have given to the institution, and not what your will or a trust directs. This is also true for real estate that is held in JTWROS (Joint Tenancy with Right of Survivorship) and any real property transferred through the use of a beneficiary deed. The start of a new year is the time to make sure that any assets with a beneficiary designation are aligned with your estate plan.

Take some time to speak with the people you have named as your agent, personal representative or successor trustee. These people will be managing all or a portion of your estate. Make sure they remember that they agreed to take on this responsibility. Make sure they have a copy of any relevant documents and ask if they have any questions.

Locate your original estate planning documents. When was the last time they were reviewed? New laws, and most recently the SECURE Act, may require a revision of many wills, especially if you own a large IRA. You’ll also want to let your executor know where your original will can be found. The probate court, which will review your will, prefers an original. A will can be probated without the original, but there will be more costs involved and it may require a few additional steps. Your will should be kept in a secure, fire and water-safe location. If you keep copies at home, make a note on the document as to where the original can be found.

Create an inventory of your online accounts and login data for each one. Most people open a new account practically every month, so keep track. That should include email, personal photos, social media and any financial accounts. This information also needs to be stored in a safe place. Your estate planning document file would be the logical place for this information but remember to update it when changing any information, like your password.

If you have a medical power of attorney and advance directive, ask your primary care physician if they have a means of keeping these documents, and explain how you wish the instructions on the documents to be carried out. If you don’t have these documents, make them part of your estate plan review process.

A cover letter to your executor and family that contains complete contact information for the various professionals—legal, financial, and medical—will be a help in the case of an unexpected event.

Remember that life is always changing, and the same estate plan that worked so well ten years ago, may be out of date now. Speak with an experienced estate planning attorney in your state who can help you create a plan to protect yourself and your loved ones.

Reference: The Daily Sentinel (Dec. 28, 2019) “Consider These Items As Part of Your Year-End Plan”

What Goes into an Estate Plan?

Estate Planning, Guardian, Personal Representative, Power of Attorney, Probate, Protecting Children, Trusts, Wills / Beneficiary Designations, Estate Plan, Guardians, Health Care Directive, Medical Power of Attorney, Special Needs Trust, St. Petersburg Estate Planning, Testamentary, Trusts, Will

The thought of creating an estate plan can be intimidating, but this article from Brainerd Dispatch, “Navigating your estate plan,” wisely advises breaking down the process into smaller pieces, making it more manageable. By taking it step by step, it’s more likely that you’ll be comfortable getting started with the process. The first step is understanding what goes into an estate plan.

What goes into an estate plan? — Deciding what goes into an estate plan that fits your life and accomplishes your goals should be done with the help of an estate planning attorney.

Start with Beneficiaries. This may be the easiest way to start. If you have retirement accounts, like IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s or other retirement accounts, chances are you have already written down the name of the people you want to receive your assets after you pass away. The same goes for life insurance policies. The beneficiary designation tells who receives the assets on your death. You should also note that there are tax ramifications, if you don’t have a beneficiary. Your assets could become taxable five years after you die, without a named beneficiary.

Be aware that no matter what your will says, the name on your beneficiary designations on these accounts determines who gets those assets. You need to check on these from time-to-time to be sure the people you have named are still the people who you want to receive your accounts. You should review the designations every time you review your estate plan, which should be every three or four years.

You should also name a contingent beneficiary on all accounts that allow it. The contingent beneficiary is the person who will receive the asset is the primary beneficiary is unable to receive it for any reason.

Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way. The will is a key ingredient that goes into an estate plan. It can be used to ensure that your family has the management assistance they need, and, if you have minor children, establish who will raise them is you’re unable to (in fact, a will is the only way you can name a guardian for your children.)

Not having a will leaves your family in a terrible position, where they will have to endure unnecessary expenses and added stress. Your assets will be distributed according to the laws of your state, and not according to your own wishes.

Directives for Difficult Times. Health care directives give your loved ones direction when a difficult situation occurs. If you become incapacitated, through an accident or serious illness, the health care directive tells your family members what kind of care you want—or do not want. You should also name a health care surrogate, so that a person can make medical decisions on your behalf if you’re unable to speak for yourself. Working with an estate planning attorney who is licensed in your state is is important for this item because different states have different laws concerning naming a healthcare surrogate and the decisions they can make.

In addition, you’ll need a financial power of attorney. This allows you to designate someone to step in and manage your finances in the case of incapacity. This is especially important if you are single, because otherwise a court may have to name someone to be your financial guardian.

What About Trusts? If you own a lot of assets or if your estate is complicated, a trust may be helpful. Trusts are legal entities that hold assets on behalf of your beneficiaries. There are many different types of trusts that are used to serve different purposes, from Special Needs Trusts that are designed to help families plan for an individual with special needs, to revocable trusts used to avoid probate and testamentary trusts, which are created only when you die. An estate planning attorney will know which trusts are appropriate for your individual situation.

Working with a qualified and experienced estate planning attorney will help you understand what goes into an estate plan that makes the most sense for you and accomplishes your goals.

Reference: Brainerd Dispatch (Aug. 11, 2019) “Navigating your estate plan”

How Do I Create a Medical Power of Attorney?

Estate Planning, Health Care, Living Will, Power of Attorney / Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare, Estate Planning Lawyer, Healthcare Directive, Healthcare Power of Attorney, Living Will, Medical Power of Attorney, St. Petersburg Estate Planning

A medical power of attorney is a legal document (also called a healthcare power of attorney or durable power of attorney for healthcare) that names an agent to make medical decisions on your behalf, explains Yahoo Finance’s recent article, “How to Set Up Medical Power of Attorney.” A medical power of attorney gives a family member or a trusted friend (a “healthcare agent”) the legal authority to make health decisions for you.

How do I create a medical power of attorney — The medical power of attorney is one of several documents that should be part of your estate plan.

This isn’t the same as a living will, which is a document that details what you’d like your healthcare team to do, if you become incapacitated. You may have a living will and a medical power of attorney. If decisions must be made about resuscitation and life support, recording those wishes in a living will, removes those difficult decisions from your agent.

When you’re thinking about a person to be your healthcare agent, find someone with whom you’re comfortable discussing health-related issues. Select a person you trust with your life and who will assume this responsibility if and when the time comes. Your agent must be your advocate, execute your wishes and make wise decisions, even when friends and family are telling them otherwise.

Here are some general guidelines for healthcare agents that you should avoid. Don’t choose:

Your healthcare provider or the person who owns a health or residential facility in which you’re residing;
A person whose job it is to medically evaluate you, such as a physician;
A person who works for a government agency that is financially responsible for your care unless she’s a blood relative;
The same person as your court-approved guardian or conservator; or
A person who’s already a healthcare agent for more than 10 other people.

It’s important to also name a backup agent, in the event that your primary healthcare agent can’t make decisions on your behalf.

The medical power of attorney is one of several documents that should be part of your estate plan. Meet with an estate planning attorney to make sure that you have the correctly prepared documents you need to protect yourself and your family.

Reference: Yahoo Finance (May 8, 2019) “How to Set Up Medical Power of Attorney”

Singles Need Two Key Estate Planning Documents

Estate Planning, Health Care, Living Will, Power of Attorney / Designated Beneficiary, Estate Planning Attorney, HIPAA, Living Will, Medical Power of Attorney, Power of Healthcare Attorney, Single

eA woman is shopping, when suddenly she is struck by abdominal pains that are so severe she passes out in the store. When she comes to, an EMT is asking her questions. One of those questions is “Do you have a living will or a medical power of attorney?” That was a wake-up call for her that she needs these key estate planning documents, and should be for other singles too, says Morningstar in the article “2 Estate-Planning Tools That Singles Should Consider.”

Key estate planning documents — There are two key estate planning documents that all single adults need to have.

People who are unmarried and don’t have children often think they don’t need any kind of estate plan. However, the truth is, they do. For singles, power of attorney, medical power of attorney and a living will are especially important.

What is a Living Will? A living will is sometimes called an advance medical directive. It details your wishes, if you are in a situation where life-sustaining treatment is the only way to keep you alive. Would you want to remain on a respirator, have a feeding tube or have other extreme measures used? It’s not pleasant to think about. However, this is an opportunity for you to make this decision on your own behalf, for a possible future date when you won’t be able to convey your wishes. Some people want to stay alive, no matter what. Others would prefer to turn off any artificial means of life support and be allowed to pass away naturally.

Having a Living Will spares your loved ones from having to guess about what you might want to happen.

A Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare? This is a legal estate planning document that gives a person you name the ability to make healthcare decisions for you, if you can’t speak for yourself. To some people, this matters more than a living will, because the durable power of attorney for healthcare can convey your wishes in situations, where you are not terminally ill, but incapacitated.

Find someone you trust, whose judgment you respect and have a long, serious talk with them. Talk about your preferences for blood transfusions, organ transplants, disclosure about your medical records and more. Doctors have a hard time when a group of relatives and friends are all trying to help, if there is no one person who has been named as your power of attorney for healthcare.

What else does a single person need? The documents listed above are just part of an estate plan, not the whole thing. A single person should have a will, so that they can determine who they want to receive their assets upon death. They should also check on their beneficiary designations from time to time, so any insurance policies, investment accounts, retirement accounts, and any other assets that allow beneficiary designations are going to the correct person. Some accounts also do not permit non-spouses as beneficiaries. As unfair as this is, it does exist.

The takeaway here is that to protect yourself in a health care emergency situation, you should have these key estate planning documents in place. Speak with an experienced estate planning attorney. This is not a complicated matter, but it is an important one.

Reference: Morningstar (April 23, 2019) “2 Estate-Planning Tools That Singles Should Consider”

Estate Planning for Parents with Young Children

Estate Planning, Guardian, Health Care, Inheritance, Living Will, Power of Attorney, Protecting Children, Trustee, Trusts, Wills / Beneficiary, Estate Plan, Guardian, Medical Power of Attorney, Minors, Power of Attorney, St. Petersburg Estate Planning Attorney

Attorneys who focus their practices on estate planning, know that not every story has a happy ending. For some of them, estate planning for parents with minor children is a professional mission to make sure that young families are prepared for the unthinkable, says KTVO in the article “Family 411: Thinking about estate planning while your kids are young.”

It’s a very easy thing to forget, because it’s so unpleasant to consider. The idea of becoming seriously ill or even dying while your children are young, is every parent’s worst fear. But putting off having an estate plan that prepares for this possibility is so important. Doing it will provide peace of mind, and a road forward for those who survive you, if your worst fears were to come true.

Estate planning for parents with young children should start with a will. In a will, you’ll name a guardian. The guardian is the person who would be in charge of raising your children and have physical custody of them. Don’t assume that your parents will take over, or that your husband’s parents will. What if both sets of parents want to be the custodians? The last thing you want is for your in-laws and parents to end up in a court battle over custody of your children.

Another important document: a trust. You should have life insurance that will be the source for paying for the children’s education, including college, summer camps, after-school activities and their overall cost of living. The proceeds from a life insurance policy cannot be given directly to a minor. The guardian will hold proceeds until your child becomes an adult.

However, what if your son or daughter turned 18 and were suddenly awarded $500,000? At that age, would they know how to handle such a large sum of money? Many adults don’t. A trust allows you to give clear directions regarding how old the child must be before receiving a set amount of money. You can also stipulate that the child must reach certain milestones (like completing college) before receiving funds.

Estate planning for parents with young children should also include a Healthcare Power of Attorney for medical decisions. That allows a named person to make important medical decisions on behalf of the child. For medical decisions, it is best to have one primary person named. In that way, any care decisions in an emergency can be made swiftly.

While you are creating an estate plan with your children in mind, make sure your estate plan has the same documents for you and your spouse: Durable Power of Attorney, Healthcare Power of Attorney, a HIPAA Release and a Living Will.

Speak with a local estate planning attorney who has experience in estate planning for parents with young children.

Reference: KTVO.com (Feb. 6, 2019) “Family 411: Thinking about estate planning while your kids are young”

Start the New Year with Estate Planning To-Do’s

What Goes into an Estate Plan?

How Do I Create a Medical Power of Attorney?

Singles Need Two Key Estate Planning Documents

Estate Planning for Parents with Young Children

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