Estate Planning

Estate Planning & Technology – Including a Digital Estate Plan

Published on: June 4, 2014 | by Ettinger Law Firm

In the Information Age our digital presence and assets are just as important as our physical estate. Digital assets consist of all of our property that exists online. This can include brokerage accounts, bank accounts, PayPal, and online currency such as bitcoin. However, our digital presence extends far beyond that into other areas such as social media accounts, email addresses, online subscriptions, documents, photographs, and digital music libraries. Over 75% of all Americans have some kind of social media account or have an account on a social networking website. When creating an estate plan you need to consider what your wishes are for your digital assets as well as how you would like them to be handled.

The first step in creating a comprehensive digital estate plan is to identify and organize all of your digital assets. A simple way to track these assets is to create an Excel spreadsheet. You can break your digital property into categories in addition to having all pertinent user names, passwords, and other information necessary for access. Excel sheets can be password protected, so for those who are worried about other people gaining access to their online accounts a level of security can be added. Other people keep track of accounts and information in a small notebook or other non-digital means.

The next step is deciding who should be the “trustee” of these accounts. This is the person who would manage all of your wishes for your digital property. This person would distribute assets, delete or erase accounts, or continue to manage any digital accounts that you have. Typically, a family member or friend is named as trustee, but the digital assets could be broken into separate groups with a different trustee for each. The best person, or people, to choose are those who will handle the assets according to your wishes.

The New Generation of Estate Planning – Young, Wealth, and Childless

Published on: June 2, 2014 | by Ettinger Law Firm

For those who are single or childless, estate planning options are vast and often complicated. It is estimated that over 17 million people who are retirement age are unmarried or childless facing this very dilemma. However, a new wave of estate planners are now facing the same issues of those retirees – the young, wealthy, and childless.

Since the tech boom in the 1990s, a considerable number of young entrepreneurs are becoming millionaires and billionaires. Due to their financial circumstances, these people are considering financial and estate planning at a much younger age. The vast majority of this younger generation is childless, some are unmarried, and all are considering what will happen to their wealth when they are gone. Because of this shift in wealth, estate planning attorneys are now stressing income, instead of age, as a more reliable metric for when you should be drafting a plan for your estate.

The most important thing to this new generation of estate planners is flexibility. When planning for the future at this age, there is a higher chance of changing circumstances both personally and financially. The probability of starting a family or having swings in finances is much greater in a person’s 20s and 30s than at the typical retirement age. Estate planning attorneys are now coming up with new and flexible options for this generation of young, wealthy, and childless clients.

Common Goals of Estate Planning for Married Couples

Published on: May 30, 2014 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Estate planning is meant to provide direction and security for loved ones when we pass away, but complications can arise in the estate planning process when structuring a plan as a married couple. Each person in the marriage has individual estate planning goals, tax-related objectives, and ideas for the future. However, upon probing deeper through the individual wants and needs of the spouses common goals run through the estate planning process of almost all married couples:

· Providing for family and loved ones

This is typically the top priority for all married couples. They want to know that their surviving spouse, children, grandchildren, extended family and friends are all provided for after they are gone. Even pets can be provided for if an estate plan is structured correctly.

Dealing With the Logistics of Estate Planning

Published on: May 28, 2014 | by Ettinger Law Firm

As discussed in a prior post, the estate planning process is not a do-it-yourself project. An experienced estate planning attorney is necessary to ensure that all of your wishes are met and that your loved ones are provided for after you pass away. However, after the estate plan has been created, what do you do with it? And what about all of the other, smaller details that come with incapacitation or passing?

New companies are springing up that deal with these specific issues. Instead of sticking the will in a manila envelope in a security deposit box or in the back of a filing cabinet, these companies store all of your estate planning documents online. Some companies allow you to do more than store your estate planning documents online. It helps you make all of the smaller decisions or even send out invitations to your memorial after you pass. These websites also provide for an executor or deputy to also have access to your plans so that they can be carried out once you have passed. These companies are also planning for their own demise – for example, Everplans has already enacted a plan that will allow users to access their estate planning materials up to fifty years after the company has been sold or dissolved.

For those who have already made all of the decisions about memorials, funerals, and smaller details there are still options for storing your estate documents securely online. Dropbox and SecureSafe are cloud storage options where you can upload your documents, and your executor or beneficiaries can access it from anywhere if they know the password. These options give you the benefits of online storage without needing to decide all of the extraneous options.

Having a Bon Voyage – Specifying End of Life Decisions that Lay Out Your Last Wishes

Published on: May 23, 2014 | by Ettinger Law Firm

It has been said that life is a journey, not a destination. So it makes sense that in our last days, on our final journey, we should strive to have a good one–a bon voyage.

While talking about end of life issues–particularly our own–can sometimes be uncomfortable, the best way to make sure that your end of life wishes are honored is to lay them out in writing and make sure that your loved ones are aware of them. Don’t miss the opportunity to have a bon voyage–take the opportunity to set out your end of life wishes and take control of your journey.

Unfinished Life Matters

Estate Planning is Not a Do-It-Yourself Project

Published on: May 16, 2014 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Recent economic times caused many people to take on a lot of home projects that they otherwise would have hired out to a handyman. While some do-it-yourself (DIY) projects turned out alright, people often found that seemingly easy projects were significantly more complicated than they had anticipated. Worse yet, sometimes these DIY projects even end with disastrous consequences, requiring calling in professionals to fix the job at greater hassle and cost than would have originally been incurred if the professional had been called in the first place.

The same can be said for estate planning.

DIY Estate Planning “Kits” And Pre-Packaged Computer Software Are Not The Answer

Prenuptial Agreements in NY – Part 2: Challenging The Validity Of A Prenuptial Agreement

Published on: May 9, 2014 | by Ettinger Law Firm

To challenge the validity of a prenuptial agreement, one looks to see if any of the above elements were abused or not satisfied. This can include–

1. Duress- A prenuptial agreement can be voided if one party was pressured or coerced into signing it. Duress also can be shown if the agreement was presented too closely to the wedding date and is not given enough time to think about the terms of the agreement before signing it. Some sources suggest that agreements signed within 60 days of the wedding may be challengeable based on duress. For example, duress has been shown where the wedding is only days away, the invitations have been sent, large sums have been expended, and cancelling the wedding would be costly and embarrassing. Another example is a case where the groom presented a prenuptial agreement just before the bride’s visa was to expire and told her to sign or the wedding would not take place prior to the visa’s expiration date.

2. Lack of mental capacity- Lack of mental capacity can be shown if the agreement was signed when one party was drunk or under the influence of drugs.

Prenuptial Agreements in NY – Part 1: Enforceability

Published on: May 8, 2014 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Every year, over 2 million people get married in the United States. In the same year, almost 900,000 people get divorced. Broken down even further, approximately 50% of all first marriages, 67% of all second marriages, and 74% of all third marriages end in divorce. With these statistics, it should be of little surprise that the use of prenuptial agreements is on the rise. However, one surprise may be that more agreements are being requested by women.

In New York, the state statutes have little to say about prenuptial agreements. Section 3-303 merely says, “A contract made between persons in contemplation of marriage, remains in full force after the marriage takes place.” This is because prenuptial agreements, by their nature, are highly customized and tailored to the couple who is entering into it.

In general, a valid prenuptial agreement requires the following–

Common Reasons for Contested Wills in New York

Published on: May 2, 2014 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Many people know that having a will is necessary in order to properly ensure the deceased’s wishes are followed and desired transfers are carried out once they are gone. However, the importance of having the proper documentation in place does not end there. Careful estate planning is crucial to a will being upheld as valid in the event it is contested. If estate planning documents are not properly executed, the document is in danger of being challenged and may be ultimately revoked.

Common Challenges to a Will

An estate planning document such as a will may be contested for a number of different reasons. Perhaps heirs are not satisfied with their inheritance, or maybe family members fear their loved one made a bequest against their will. No matter the reason, the fact remains that wills do get challenged. Some of the more common challenges involve the following:

Back to the Basics: What is the Difference Between Revocable and Irrevocable Trusts?

Published on: May 1, 2014 | by Ettinger Law Firm

While many New York residents familiar with and have an existing will in place in the event of their death, most people do not realize that estate planning documents extend far beyond a last will and testament. The world of estate planning documents includes not only living wills and advanced medical directives, but also trusts. Trusts offer several benefits associated with them, and come in two forms: revocable and irrevocable.

Benefits of Having a Trust

Trusts can not only provide for loved ones upon death, but they can provide for the person who created the trust during their lifetime. This is important in cases where the creator has a health issue, a mental disability or incapacitation, and other scenarios. Trusts can be administered without the need to involve a probate court, and can therefore protect privacy as to the contents of the trust. Trusts also serve as protection of assets for trust beneficiaries, and offer a wide variety of options in creating them to suit different needs.