Asset Protection Category Archives

Can Elderly Parents Be Claimed as Dependents?

Published on: December 16, 2016 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Healthcare coverage has been an unsure and confusing issue for both young and elderly citizens over the past decade, with the potential to only become more complicated as a new president takes office. While laws have been amended throughout President Obama’s term to now allow young adults to remain covered under their parents insurance until they are 26 years old, there are no hard rules regarding whether parents can qualify under their adult childrens’ health insurance plans.

Narrow Exceptions To Covering Parents

There are limited situations in which an adult child could get their elderly or ailing parent covered under their company’s insurance provider, however, they must meet a number of requirements. Parents can be covered under their child’s insurance plan if they can qualify as a dependent and meet specific criteria. Dependents traditionally have been considered those children under the age of 26 who do not maintain coverage, spouses or domestic partners, however, parents can qualify generally if they meet the IRS definition of dependent upon their adult child.

Tax Identification Numbers For Trusts

Published on: December 3, 2016 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Trusts are common estate planning tools in which a person can transfer ownership of assets to the trust. While this person is alive, they retain control over the assets in their life. Upon their death, the assets are distributed to the beneficiaries named in the trust.

While the Person is Alive

A revocable trust uses the social security number of the person who created the trust. A revocable trust does not have to file its own tax return. All income is, instead reported in the same manner as any other income on the tax return of the trust creator. People who jointly own a revocable trust, such as a married couple, both hold the power to revoke the trust. This means that either person’s social security number can be used. Couples who file tax returns separately must be careful. The person who reports the income on their personal tax returns should be the same as the person whose social security number is used.

Executors, Trustees and Powers of Attorney: Blessing or Curse?

Published on: November 28, 2016 | by Ettinger Law Firm

When choosing the people you trust the most to serve as a part of your estate plan in any capacity, whether they be a family member, close friend or trusted individual in the community, it is important to understand the role that you are asking them to play. Serving as the executor of your estate, the trustee of your trust, as your healthcare representative or power of attorney is not a blessing. Making sure that the people you ask to fulfill these roles ahead of time understand that is crucial to ensuring that your estate plan is carried out effectively and to your wishes.

Managing Expectations

Many people feel that being chosen for one of these roles is a great honor. After all, being asked to serve as someone’s power of attorney or trustee means that there is a presence of trust in the relationship. After all, out of all the people who could have been chosen, out of all the people who could have been asked, you asked that specific person to handle your affairs.

The Pros and Cons of Adding Your Adult Child to Your Bank Account

Published on: November 25, 2016 | by Ettinger Law Firm

There comes a time in many people’s lives when their adult children begin to help out with daily tasks. For some people this includes writing checks and paying bills. Many people begin to wonder if they should take steps to make being taken care of easier for their caregivers. In these cases, the question arises “why not just add your adult child to your bank account?”.

The Pros

The most obvious and powerful positive for adding an adult child to your bank account is ease of access. As joint owner, your child will be able to access funds from the account in order to assist you with bill paying and other financial matters.

The Role of a Trustee and Their Discretionary Power

Published on: October 28, 2016 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Trustees serve a very important role in the effective administration of a trust. The maker of the trust document, the grantor, gives another neutral third party, the power to administer the terms of the trust throughout the lifetime of the grantor and after, if the terms of the trust provide so. The trustee is essentially in charge of managing all the assets of the trust, without taking an interest in them. While a trustee can also be the maker of the trust, many people elect another individual, or a corporate trustee to continue administering the trust upon their death.

There are some express terms that a trustee must follow, such as:

Keeping separate the investments and accounts of the trust,

Female Focused Estate Planning: Distributing Assets

Published on: October 28, 2016 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Estate planning is vital for all people wishing to have control over the distribution of their assets following their death. Women, in particular, should take time to plan their estates. In the U.S., women control nearly 40% of the nation’s investible assets and nearly half of those assets are managed solely by women.

Surviving Spouses

Many women outlive their husbands by a number of years. Outliving your partner tends to mean that you inherit their estate. Most spouses will be sole beneficiaries of each other’s’ estates. This means that the surviving spouse will be in full control over the final disposition of the assets. If your spouse didn’t make plans and you are aware of special instructions or requests they would have wanted, it is your job to make those plans now. For instance: if your spouse had children prior to your marriage and wanted them to have an inheritance but didn’t plan, it is now up to you to decide whether or not to include those wishes in your own estate plan.

Financial Elder Abuse: Warning Signs and How to Stop It

Published on: October 25, 2016 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Elder abuse has been an increasing trend over the past few decades, within roughly one in ten Americans over 60 years of age experiencing elder abuse, whether it be financial, harassment, sexual, physical, or passive abuse through neglect or deprivation. Of the elders subjected to abuse, over 90% of those Americans are abused by someone they know, either a family member, friend, acquaintance, medical staff employee, or caretaker.

Predators seek out opportunities with the elderly in order to become involved in their lives and then later exploit them in their most vulnerable state. Often times, an individual will claim to be helping the elder individual, either by assisting in caretaking or house keeping, and then will later bill them for an exorbitant amount of money or get ahold of their checking account to pay themselves.

Warning Signs

Back To Basics: Steps To Take Following The Death Of A Loved One

Published on: October 21, 2016 | by Ettinger Law Firm

The passing of a loved one is not easy. The closer you were to the deceased the bigger a toll that it takes on you mentally and emotionally. You may experience anger, frustration, and numbness as you seek to process the passing. As you begin to contemplate what you must do next, you experience a feeling of being overwhelmed with facing the unexpected. All of these feelings are a part of the normal process of grieving and it is typical for a person responsible for handling the deceased’s estate to feel overwhelmed. Thinking ahead of time and knowing what to expect can reduce these feelings and help make the overall process go more smoothly.

Beyond the Funeral Arrangements

Many people are already familiar with arranging a person’s funeral, burial or cremation. After you have made arrangements for a funeral service, a viewing, the burial, cremation or spreading of the ashes, there are still a number of actions that must be completed to wrap up the deceased’s affairs. It is of the utmost importance that you contact all relevant people and organizations that need to know of the deceased’s death.

Types of Special Needs Trusts

Published on: October 21, 2016 | by Ettinger Law Firm

There are three main types of trusts for special or supplemental needs. Each has their own specific purpose and use, and will apply differently for every party.

First Party Special Needs Trusts

The first party special needs trust was developed to be funded with assets owned by the trust beneficiary in order to help them qualify for government benefits. This type of trust is usually established when the intended beneficiary is about to receive either a lawsuit settlement, inheritance from an estate, a large gift, or assets, that would disqualify him from receiving supplemental security income. Supplemental security income has a qualifying threshold that the beneficiary must meet; the individual cannot possess personal assets that equal over $2,000.

What Assets Go Through Probate In New York?

Published on: October 17, 2016 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Probate is the legal process that takes place after a person passes away. It typically involves submitting a valid will to the surrogacy court in New York state, taking inventory of the deceased’s estate’s assets, paying off the estate’s liabilities and distributing the estate assets to the beneficiaries designated in the will. What assets go through probate though are not always what the deceased or the future beneficiaries expect. Only certain assets are considered probate assets and pass ownership through New York probate proceedings.

Probate Assets

Probate assets are those who are owned individually by the decedent or person who has passed away. These assets are a part of the decedent’s estate because they have not been disposed of through other testamentary instruments like a trust or been passed on through a survivorship right or named beneficiary designation. Typical examples of a probate asset is all the property left in a person’s residence, the residence itself, bank accounts and cars.