New York Estate Planning & Elder Law Blog

Here Comes the Estate Plan – Estate Planning For Newlyweds

Published on: November 30, 2016 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Newly married couples are embarking on a whole new life together. This new life comes with a number of changes. It is important to consider your estate planning as you begin your life together. Creating an estate plan that works for both you and your new spouse can ensure that you are on the same page when it comes to medical, financial, and end of life decisions.

Update Accounts and Beneficiaries

Many married couples consolidate their accounts. Checking and savings accounts are usually held jointly. Consider opening a joint bank account or credit cards to make paying for future expenses more convenient. Insurance plans, such as health, car, home, or life insurance often allow for family plans that include coverage for the whole household. Changing over to these plans can almost always provide the same amount of coverage for a better rate.

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.

Back to the Basics – The Gift Tax

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

Putting your assets in an irrevocable trust has a number of benefits, including: allowing the settlor, also known as the maker of the trust, to establish how his or her assets will be kept and eventually distributed, it allows the settlor to have access to the income produced by the trust, as well as the numerous tax benefits such as capital gains taxes being either deferred or in the event of gifting, avoided.

According to the Internal Revenue Service, the federal tax code applies a gift tax on an individual level, however, that tax does not apply to trusts. If you transfer funds from your personal account, whether it is a savings or checking, to another, in excess of $14,000 you will be subject to a tax for the gift made, however, the IRS does not place these same taxes on trusts, depending on how the gift was made.

If the beneficiary makes a discretionary gift to another, a gift that can be shown to be made for the immediate benefit of another, it depends on whether the donation is viewed as present or future interest in the gift. If it can shown that the gift was made for the future interest of another, the IRS will not subject the trust to gift tax, however if it can be perceived that the gift was made for a temporary relief of another, the gift tax will be applied to the donation made.

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 Impact of Long Term Care, Caregivers and Your Aging Parent’s Estate

Published on: November 23, 2016 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Nearly seventy percent of Americans who reach age 65 will require some form of long-term care support. Many of these seniors will need care for a number of years. On average, women require 3.7 years of care while men require only 2.2 years. Decisions regarding this care should not be made lightly. If you are the child of a senior citizen and are faced with making choices regarding the care of your parent, there are a number of factors to consider.

Time & Scope of Care

The first step in assess the level of care you parent or parents may need is to evaluate the amount of care required. Ask yourself:

Fiduciary Duties & The New Rule for Financial Advisors

Published on: November 22, 2016 | by Ettinger Law Firm

The New Rule

When consulting a financial advisor, we all assume that they would have our best interest in mind when determining where our portfolio should be invested and what investments best suit our interests, however, this has not always been the case. This year, the Labor Department issued new regulations that require industry professionals dealing with individual retirement accounts and 401k accounts to act on the best behalf of their clients.

Before this new standard was issued, financial advisors only needed to meet a suitability standard, meaning that the financial advisor only has to choose what is suitable for the portfolio, which is not always what is in the client’s best interest. A financial advisor under this standard could invest in a fund he found suitable, but may be more risky or expensive, although a similar option is available with a different fund. This suitability standard led to many advisors investing in funds they were personally interested in, sparking a need for change.

Estate Planning and Longevity

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

It may sound like common sense, but the older you are the longer you’re going to live. According to the Social Security Administration, men who reach age 65 can expect to live until age 84 and women who reach age 65 can expect to live until nearly 87. People are living longer lives and many Americans are living twenty years beyond their retirement. This increased longevity forces many people to change the way they view their later years.

Requiring Care

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, nearly seventy percent of people turning age 65 can expect to require some form of long-term care during their lives. Not only is the chance of needing long-term care high, many people are requiring care for a longer duration. This increased benefit duration affects women more than men. Women tend to need 3.7 years of care, on average, while men require only 2.2 years. Almost twenty percent of seniors will need care for more than five years.

The Importance of a Will: The Differences in the Estates of David Bowie and Prince

Published on: November 19, 2016 | by Ettinger Law Firm

David Bowie’s Estate

This year, we lost two music icons. While the death of Prince came as a surprise to the music community, David Bowie lost his battle with cancer. It was not surprising that David Bowie’s estate was left with almost $100 million dollars, a very large sum of money that was all properly distributed according to the terms of his will. Bowie outlined his wishes in his will, that was made over a decade ago, which even stating how he wanted to be cremated. The star died on January 10th, 2016, and in accordance with the terms of his will, his last wishes to be cremated were followed, on January, 12th. The will not only outlined how to distribute the estate, but also how and when funds set aside in trusts were to be distributed to his wife and children.

Additionally, the making of this will has provided a straightforward method to determine how future earnings from his music, past as well as unreleased, will be distributed. Bowie recorded a final few songs which are set for release at specific times in the future.

Choosing the Right Estate Planning Attorney for You

Published on: November 18, 2016 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Planning your estate is an important step in ensuring that you, your loved ones, and your estate will be taken care of in the event of your incapacity or death. A few documents can determine the type of medical attention you receive, who handles your financial matters, and how your estate is distributed after your passing. Choosing a knowledgeable and experienced professional to guide you through the estate planning process can protect your family from trouble in the future.

A Relationship Built on Trust

Choosing a legal professional can be difficult. One of the most important things to consider is trust. Your estate planning attorney should be someone that you are comfortable with. In order to fully plan out your estate, you will be faced with a number of difficult questions and what-if scenarios, such as “who will care for your children” and “do you wish to be kept alive by artificial means”. Hiring an attorney you feel comfortable with who is able to talk through these situations with you can make the process much simpler and less stressful. In many cases, the attorney who drafts your estate planning documents will also be working with your loved ones to ensure that your wishes are carried out after your death. Choosing someone your trust who is aware of your wishes can make this process easier.

The Importance of Vetting Your Elder Law Attorney or Trustee

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

Recently, in Ocean County, New Jersey, a well known elder law attorney was arrested and charged with stealing money from his clients. The attorney, considered an older adult himself, is charged with stealing over 1.2 million dollars over the course of five years from a number of elderly clients he served. A court order allowed officials to freeze the firm’s numerous bank accounts, seize billings records, and a number of other records implicating his crimes.

This attorney had a particular target on the elder population, however, he did not discriminate who he took money from when it came to clients. Notably, the attorney stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from clients suffering from dementia, clients who had elected him power of attorney (or so he had claimed) which allowed him to write checks from their accounts, depositing annuities proceeds into his account instead of the client, and misfiling legal fees. His behavior did not go unnoticed by some family members of clients, and when confronted, he claimed there were administrators errors and would issue repayments.

Important Questions to Ask Your Elder Law Attorney