New York Estate Planning & Elder Law Blog

Divorcees, You Could Be Owed Extra Social Security benefits?

Published on: April 18, 2020 | by Ettinger Law Firm

The general consensus is that Social Security replaces around 40% of your pre-retirement income. The reality is that half of all single people depend on their Social Security benefits to replace close to 90% of their pre-retirement income, says the Social Security Administration (SSA). From the start, the only way for you to survive retirement is to cut your living expenses to 40% of your working income.

For married couples, the outlook is better. One spouse, usually the one who may never have worked or earned less than the other spouse, is able to receive Social Security benefits based on the other spouse’s work record. Because that spouse is married, his or her Social Security benefits will be higher than a single person. According to the SSA, only 21% of married couples depend on their checks for at least 90% of their retirement income.

If you are single and divorced, in some circumstances, you too can receive Social Security benefits based on your ex-spouse’s work record, even if your ex has remarried. You may be surprised to learn that there are few eligibility requirements you’ll have to meet in order to claim benefits based on your ex’s work record. To qualify for Social Security benefits based on your ex’s work record:

Distinguishing Between the Types of Guardianship in New York

Published on: April 16, 2020 | by Ettinger Law Firm

While most of us are familiar with wills, many people in New York are not certain about the role played by other estate planning tools like guardianships. In short, a guardian refers to a person who makes decisions for another individual, who is not able to make decisions on their own.

Guardianship is appointed for children, adults faced with development or intellectual disabilities, or incapacitated adults. In the state of New York, there are several types of guardianships, which vary based on the parties who are involved. This article briefly distinguishes the differences between these types of guardianship.

# 1 – Guardian of a Developmentally or Intellectually Disabled Adult

How much can you receive in divorce benefits?

Published on: April 15, 2020 | by Ettinger Law Firm

If you’re eligible for divorce benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA), you can collect up to 50% of the amount your former spouse is eligible to receive by claiming your benefits at his or her full retirement age (FRA).

Your FRA is either 66, 66 plus a few months, or 67, depending on the year you were born. The earliest you can claim Social Security benefits is 62. If you claim benefits before your FRA, your Social Security benefits will be permanently reduced by as much as 30%. You can only receive your full Social Security benefit amount if you claim benefits at your FRA.

You cannot double dip

Are You Still Concerned About Your Child’s Spouse?

Published on: April 12, 2020 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Estate planning around your child’s partner is concerning for many parents. Shielding your assets from your child’s spouse in the event of divorce is possible and can be a part of your estate plan. The reasons for wanting to shield your assets from your child’s spouse are varied and packed with emotions and feelings. Some parents wish to pass their property down within their own bloodline. Other parents themselves are also divorced and worry about how their child’s inheritance may wind-up down the road if there is a divorce or a new family in the picture. And some parents, even after years of their child being married, still do not like their spouse.

It is upsetting to a child when his or her parents disapprove of their spouse. Some families are discreet about their true feeling, while others make it well-known. No matter where you fall in the spectrum of possibilities, there are ways to prepare your estate plan that may take away some of your worries that your child’s inheritance will be squandered away when you die because of his or her relationships while avoiding the emotional time-bomb of revealing your true feelings about your child’s spouse to your child.

The most effective way to shield your assets from your child’s spouse is to have your child and his or her spouse enter a prenuptial agreement before they get married. While this may be the best solution, it is also the most emotionally charged and wrought with difficulties. If you push to hard, legally, it may be a ground to invalidate the prenuptial agreement, because such agreements need to be voluntary to be enforceable. Trusts are an emotion-free method to communicate and exercise your feelings about your child’s choices without articulately them to all who would here.

How Long You Can Expect Estate Asset Distribution to Take

Published on: April 11, 2020 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Regardless of whether you’re an estate representative, executor, or have any other connection to an estate being administered, it is common to wonder how long the estate asset distribution process will take. In reality, there is no fixed amount of time that estate distribution takes. Instead, this amount varies between estates based on various factors. While some people discover the probate process takes several months, other people find out that the estate administration process takes up to six months.

Why the Probate Process Takes Time

In short, the probate process can take a long time because it involves numerous steps. A person’s estate will be required to pass through probate if that person’s assets have more than a certain value or if the estate includes certain types of assets.

When Wills Aren’t Enough to Solve Estate Planning Disputes

Published on: April 9, 2020 | by Ettinger Law Firm

It’s a common occurrence. A person passes away and the terms of a will require that assets be evenly divided among family members. The deceased, however, forget to mention how personal assets should be divided. As a result, conflict arises among surviving loved ones about how these items should be divided.

Even though wills are involved, families can still encounter strong emotions. This is because the estate planning process involves several highly emotional elements: life, death, and money. While it might not always be possible to avoid estate planning arguments, there are several strategies reviewed in this essay that can greatly reduce the risk of estate planning disputes.

# 1 – Clearly Express Your Wishes with Estate Planning Instruments

Advice on Discussing Long Term Care with Parents

Published on: April 6, 2020 | by Ettinger Law Firm

It’s often the case that the most critical conversations are some of the most challenging ones to have. If you plan on discussing long term care with your parent or family member this year, it can help to be prepared. After all, this conversation will need to resolve many questions including how the care will be funded, who will be granted decision making responsibilities, and how your loved one will fund the associated costs.

# 1 – Do Not Hesitate to Have this Conversation

There are some vital statistics to understand about the care of an elderly loved one, First, no matter how many children a person has, one child is often tasked with providing the majority of care. Additionally, the challenges faced by adult caregivers has been long recorded. After all, caregivers commonly work long hours. Due to these challenges, it is in your best interest to have an estate planning conversation with your elderly loved one as soon as is reasonable.

Estate Planning in Turbulent Times – Additional Things to Consider

Published on: April 6, 2020 | by Ettinger Law Firm

We continue to wish you and your family safety and good health and hope that worldwide events unleashed by the pandemic we are experiencing does not keep you separated from your loved ones for too long. Wash your hands regularly and avoid touching your face. Limit your contact with other people and maintain cleanliness and good hygiene to slow down the spread of COVID-19.

We continue to discuss items you should review in your current estate plan to take into consideration the volatility of the financial markets and to compensate for financial losses your retirement plans may have experienced because of the losses. Ask your estate planning attorneys to help you consider the following changes to your estate plan.

Refinance intra-family loans to take advantage of lower interest rates.

Lessons Learned from Knives Out

Published on: April 4, 2020 | by Ettinger Law Firm

If you like murder mysteries and went to the movies this holiday season, there’s a good chance that you saw the film, Knives Out. So far, the film has brought in 70 million dollars in ticket sales and received substantial critical acclaim. Behind the story that makes this film intriguing is a backdrop of estate planning. While the film gets some things correct about estate planning, it gets other things wrong.

# 1 – “Will Readings” Are Not Common

During a critical scene, the surviving family gathers to hear the deceased patriarch’s will read. During this reading, an estate planning attorney sits behind a text and reads out the terms of the deceased man’s will. In reality, while many believe that there is a “reading of the will” after a person passes away, this does not occur in real life. Some people are surprised and others even disappointed when they find out will readings don’t exist.

4 Things to Remember about Irrevocable Trusts

Published on: March 30, 2020 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Irrevocable trusts provide the trust’s creator with certain protections. Despite the advantages that these trusts provide, trust creators must give up any control over assets that are placed within the trust. This article reviews 4 important things you must remember about irrevocable trusts in case you intend on making them part of your estate plan.

# 1 – How Irrevocable Trusts Function

Irrevocable trusts refer to trusts where the terms cannot be modified or altered after they are finalized. Instead, the person who creates the trust transfers their ownership of the assets in the trust to the control of the trust. Many estate plans make use of irrevocable trusts in combination with other estate planning documents. Placing assets in an irrevocable trust means that the assets are not subject to estate taxes. These assets are also shielded from creditors. In understanding how these trusts function, it helps to know what three parties are involved: