Trusts and Estates Wills and Probate Tax Saving Strategies Medicaid

Schedule an in-office, Zoom or phone consultation Here.

Forbes loves to tell us who the happiest workers are, or what the healthiest careers are. But no one seems to talk about post-job satisfaction. While these types of articles are generally highly subjective, we can certainly look at professions that tend to produce happier retirees. Whether these can actually be ranked is another thing altogether.

The following list focuses on just 3 areas of health and satisfaction: smoking rates, self-reported job satisfaction, and obesity rates. Obviously, there are plenty of other areas that play a role in health and happiness, but these are generally good indicators as well.

Nurses

In this tight economy, people are always looking for value. Budget options are popping up in every industry, from substandard tires to refurbished televisions. Some even view legal services this way. Let’s face it; folks do not want to pay top dollar for a product they will never use. This is the plight of estate planning. The one who pays for a will or trust will never personally use it. Instead, that individual’s children will be using it to ensure things go right later. Even tools like powers of attorney are created many years before their intended use. Much like passive investing in a 401(k), these are purchases that may not truly prove their value for decades. Naturally, many are turning to low cost DIY form providers, and worse yet, office supply stores, in order to create their estate plan.

While the Internet is full of attorneys and other experts who strongly oppose these DIY options, you may be surprised how many lawyers love Legal Zoom and its kindred. Here are 3 big reasons why experienced attorneys love DIY estate plans.

Litigation is far more expensive than skilled estate planning

John Grisham, internationally recognized author known for writing captivating legal suspense and drama, released a slightly different type of book in 2013. While most of Grisham’s stories center on violent crimes and courtroom battles, Sycamore Row makes a stark departure into the world of probate law.

Sycamore Row begins with the suicide of a wealthy landowner, Seth Hubbard. He drafts a holographic will and instructions for a trusted employee to deliver it to a small town lawyer. Hubbard knows that his will undoubtedly is going to cause a stir and lead to a will contest by his children. After all, he left the majority of this estate to his African American caregiver. The story details the struggles and litigation of the will contest, which seeks to undo his last wishes.

Holographic Wills

Attorneys strongly advise gay and lesbian clients to prepare their estate plans, because the law generally would not offer many of the same protections as it does heterosexual couples. But following the recent Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, striking down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), misinformation abounds, especially on the Internet, regarding whether LGBT seniors should bother considering estate planning now that marriage is an option for all. The short answer is a resounding yes.

Here are just a few benefits of estate planning that elderly LGBT clients can and should take advantage of, regardless of their marital status.

Wills & Trusts

It seems estate-planning attorneys are often asked to help clients avoid probate. In fact, this is typically one of the first questions people ask in a consultation. There are likely many reasons why people are so focused on probate avoidance, not the least of which is probably a wide misunderstanding of the process. Perhaps family members have told horror stories of oppressive attorney fees or family feuds that destroyed close relationships. Nevertheless, probate is not a dirty word. While probate is a perfectly useful process for disposing of a person’s estate, there are a few points to consider.

A last will and testament does not necessarily avoid probate

Many people mistakenly believe that having a will means not having to go through probate. This is not always the case. While every state has different rules, New York only requires probate if a person dies with more than $30,000 of probate assets. Not every asset is subject to probate. For instance, joint accounts, properties held in joint tenancy, life insurance accounts, 401(k) accounts, generally any asset that has a beneficiary designation, and assets held in trusts are not included in the probate estate. The will simply tells the probate court what the decedent wanted. It also usually waives an executor’s bond requirement and provides a more streamlined method of moving through the process.

When it comes to deciding how to spend one’s later years, institutional care is nobody’s first choice. However, there are times when family and professional home healthcare are just not enough. Beginning in 2003, a new concept has been sweeping across the country – The Greenhouse Project. These alternative living concepts are unique and offer the greatest possible autonomy for older adults who wish to age in place in a comfortable, home-like environment, while still maintaining high levels of skilled nursing care.

How are Greenhouses different?

Unlike traditional nursing homes, which can hardly be described as “homes,” these dynamic group homes allow groups of seniors to reside together in actual homes that are adapted to provide the required levels of care. In these homes, medical devices are inconspicuously hidden in cozy, discrete cabinets and whiteboards. Residents have separate rooms and share a common area and open kitchen concepts. At times, small pets are allowed. Employees are encouraged to participate in the house’s activities and some even reside with the residents.

An estimated 50 million American households now include a child being raised by a grandparent. Even more households include multi-generational families, where 3 and 4 generations live together. Even the Whitehouse included such an arrangement, as President Obama’s own grandmother resided with his family until her death just before the 2008 election.

But with more Americans than ever raising their grandchildren, there is even more urgency for aging caregivers to consider early estate planning. Without wills, trusts, and powers of attorney, elderly grandparents may find their estates being paid to adult children who have no been a part of their lives for many years. Here are just a few ways that estate plans may be used to protect grandchildren and the grandparents who raise them.

Wills and Trusts

Americans love our furry friends. In fact, the richest dog in the world died in 2011. For those who don’t already know the story, Leona Helmsley was a wealthy hotel mogul who disinherited all her family and $12 million in trust for her dog, Trouble. She was known for her malcontent and often cruel nature, which earned her the title, “The Queen of Mean.” She died in 2007, but Trouble lived until 2011. Stories like this are becoming more common with time. Many people, however, wonder how they would possible create a trust for a pet. Fortunately, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) has several great tips that everyone should consider when planning a pet trust.

Identifying the beloved pet

A vehicle has a VIN number, a home usually has a PIN number and a deed, but a cat has no such “FUR number.” And, although we all like to think our pet is as unique as a snowflake, a bank’s trust manager or the relative you selected to be the trustee may not be able to tell your loveable cat from the neighbor’s stray. At a minimum, here are some options to consider:

When it comes to powers of attorney, there are two basic types: property and healthcare. The person selected to make decisions is called the agent, and the person granting the authority is called the principle. Property powers of attorney are designed to allow the agent authority to sign documents, open and close accounts, and make many other types of financial decisions for the agent. Healthcare powers of attorney are designed to allow the agent to make medical decisions for the principle. Elderly parents often choose to split these two major responsibilities between two or more of their adult children. While this may seem fair, there are a couple reasons why it may not always the best choice.

Power Struggles

Imagine one adult child, likely the one given healthcare decision-making powers, has very strong opinions about the type of healthcare that should be provided. For instance, perhaps this child wants the very best and most aggressive care available, regardless of cost. Now imagine that the other sibling holds the power of attorney for property and wishes to be as conservative as possible in order to preserve the inheritance and to ensure the money lasts for the parent’s entire lifetime.

Once upon a time, there were these somewhat sexist laws called “dower and curtesy.” These laws applied to the specific amount of a decedent’s estate to which his or her surviving spouse would be entitled. They were usually very different; men received more than women. Over the years, these laws were abolished and made way for their modern counterparts – the elective share. Most states have enacted some variation of an elective share statute, which states that surviving spouses are automatically entitled to a specific share – usually around one-third – of their deceased spouse’s estate.

While it may seem harsh to disinherit a spouse, there are often many reasons to do so. For instance, couples that marry late in life after raising their own children may each have substantial assets from prior marriages and from their working careers. Each person may wish to provide for their own descendants rather than seeing their entire estate pass to another family line. This is just one common example.

So, is it impossible to disinherit one’s spouse? Hardly. There are several ways to limit or eliminate a spousal inheritance.

Contact Information