New York Estate Planning & Elder Law Blog

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.

Female Focused Estate Planning: Parental Plans

Published on: October 26, 2016 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Many single mothers often overlook estate planning. It can be easy to put off these important decisions. Life is busy and making plans for your demise is something that no one wants to make time for. Well laid estate plans are the greatest possible gift you can leave your family.

Guardians

According to the U.S. Census Department, 81.7 percent of custodial parents are mothers. For single mothers, planning for the care of their children is one of the primary concerns of their estate plan. While no mother wants to even consider what will happen to their children if they aren’t around to raise them, not having control over that decision is even more alarming.

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: How to Include Health Care in Your Estate Plan

Published on: October 24, 2016 | by Ettinger Law Firm

For people who reach age 65, the odds of needing long-term care benefits during their lifetime are nearly 70 percent. People are living longer and in turn needing care in their old age. On average men require 2.2 years worth of care and women require 3.7 years. Preparing for this level of care and any other type of medical care you may receive requires forethought and careful planning.

Appointing a Health Care Agent

We’ve previously discussed in this blog New York’s Family Health Care Decisions Act and the appointment of a patient’s family member or close friend to act as a surrogate decision maker for a patient who has become incapacitated. This act allows close relatives to make decisions even if the patient had never given them decision making power.

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.

The Insolvent New York Estate

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

The legal entity that owns and controls a person’s property after they die is known as an estate. The person who leaves behind an estate is called the decedent. It is customary for the decedent to appoint someone to administer the estate and act as the executor of the estate in his or her last will and testament.

The executor of the estate fulfills many roles and responsibilities for the estate throughout the probate process. One of the most important duties that an executor performs is to pay off any final expenses that the decedent incurred as well as to pay off any debts and claims against the estate. New York Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act dictates what debts and expenses should be paid out of a decedent’s estate first. However, sometimes it is not possible for an estate to satisfy all of its debts and obligations.

The Insolvent Estate

Special/Supplemental Needs Trust

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

Special needs trust are a type of trust by which the beneficiary is provided for through the trust income, but has no control over the distributions of the trust. Generally, special needs, or supplemental needs trusts, have been used to provide for those loved ones with disabilities or who are unable to care for themselves any longer.

Once a special needs trust is established, family or a loved one can put the assets in the trust for the benefit of the beneficiary in order to provide them with any number of resources they feel the beneficiary deserves. The trust funds can be used to compensate for additional medical bills not fully covered by insurance, for personal leisure, travel, or anything the grantor feels the beneficiary may want or benefit from.

Eligibility for Benefits & Being a Beneficiary

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.