New York Estate Planning & Elder Law

What Legal Documents Should You Have? / Greenwich, CT & White Plains, NY

“A majority of retirees—53%—have a last will and testament. However, most lack six other crucial legal documents.”

You might think that the coronavirus pandemic has caused everyone to get their estate planning documents in order, but the 20^th annual Transamerica Retirement Survey of Retirees found that 30% of all retirees have nothing prepared—not even a will. That’s not good, for them or their families, says this timely article “6 Legal Documents Retirees Need—but Don’t Have” from MSN Money.

The survey revealed some troubling facts:

Only 32% have a Health Care Proxy (in some states a Health Care Power of Attorney or Medical Proxy), which allows named persons to make medical decisions on the retiree’s behalf.

Only 30% have an Advance Directive or Living Will, sharing their end-of-life wishes for medical care.

A mere 28% have a designated Power of Attorney, so an agent can act on their behalf to pay bills and manage finances if they are too sick to do so.

Worse, only 19% have written funeral and burial arrangements. Their families will be left to make all the decisions.

18% have a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) waiver, which is needed so someone else may speak with health care and insurance providers on their behalf.

11% have a Trust of any kind.

The study shines a bright light on a big problem that will be faced by families, if their elders have not taken steps to prepare for incapacity or death. Ignoring the problem does not make it go away. It becomes more complicated, expensive and stressful for the loved ones left behind.

These documents and a last will and testament are needed so families have the legal right to take care of their loved ones while they are living, as well as handle their estates after they pass.

Without them, the family may find themselves having to go to court to have a guardian appointed in the event their senior loved ones are too ill to manage their financial affairs.

If the loved one should die and there is no will in place, the court will rely on the state’s estate laws to determine who inherits assets. An estranged family member could end up owning the family home and all of its contents, regardless of their absence from the family.

An experienced estate planning attorney can work with the family in a safe, socially distanced manner to create the necessary documents created before they are needed.

Reference: MSN MONEY (Dec. 15, 2020) “6 Legal Documents Retirees Need—but Don’t Have”

For more information on asset preservation and estate planning, please visit my estate planning website.

What You Should Never, Ever, Include in Your Will / New York, NY & White Plains, NY

“A last will and testament is the foundation of an estate plan, which lets you plan for your estate after you’re gone. However, there are certain things that you might not want to put in your will.”

A last will and testament is a straightforward estate planning tool used to determine the beneficiaries of your assets when you die and, if you have minor children, nominating a guardian who will raise your children. Wills can be very specific but can’t enforce all of your wishes. For example, if you want to leave your niece your car, but only if she uses it to attend college classes, there won’t be a way to enforce those terms in a will, says the article “Things you should never put in your will” from MSN Money.

If you have certain terms you want met by beneficiaries, your best bet is to use a trust where you can state the terms under which your beneficiaries will receive distributions or assets.

Leaving things out of your will can actually benefit your heirs, because in most cases, they will get their inheritance faster. Here’s why: when you die, your will must be validated in a court of law before any property is distributed. The process, called probate, takes a certain amount of time, and if there are issues, it might be delayed. If someone challenges the will, it can take even longer.

However, property that is in a trust or in payable-on-death (POD) titled accounts pass directly to your beneficiaries outside of a will.

Don’t put any property or assets in a will that you don’t own outright. If you own any property jointly, upon your death the other owner will become the sole owner. This is usually done by married couples in community property states.

A trust may be the solution for more control. When you put assets in a trust, title is held by the trust. Property that is titled as owned by the trust becomes subject to the rules of the trust and is completely separate from the will. Since the trust operates independently, it is very important to make sure the property you want to be held by the trust is titled properly and to not include anything in your will that is owned by the trust.

Certain assets are paid out to beneficiaries because they feature a beneficiary designation. They also should not be mentioned in the will. You should check to ensure that your beneficiary designations are up to date every few years, so the right people will own these assets upon your death.

Here are a few accounts that are typically passed through beneficiary designations:

• Bank accounts
• Investments and brokerage accounts
• Life insurance polices
• Retirement accounts and pension plans.

Another way to pass property outside of the will is to own it jointly. If you and a sibling co-own stocks in a jointly owned brokerage account and you die, your sibling will continue to own the account and its investments. This is known as joint tenancy with rights of survivorship.

Business interests can pass through a will, but that is not your best option. An estate planning attorney can help you create a succession plan that will take the business out of your personal estate and create a far more efficient way to pass the business along to family members if that is your intent. If a partner or other owners will be taking on your share of the business after death, an estate planning attorney can be instrumental in creating that plan.

Funeral instructions don’t belong in a will. Family members may not get to see that information until long after the funeral. You may want to create a letter of instruction, a less formal document that can be used to relay these details.

Your account numbers, including passwords and usernames for online accounts, do not belong in a will. Remember a will becomes a public document, so anything you don’t want the general public to know after you have passed should not be in your will.

Reference: MSN Money (Dec. 8, 2020) “Things you should never put in your will”

For more information on asset preservation and estate planning, please visit my estate planning website.

Why Planning Tasks Don’t Stop Because You’ve Retired / Greenwich, CT & New York, NY

“Building enough wealth to sustain yourself in retirement is a monumental achievement. However, financial planning doesn’t end when you no longer rely on a paycheck.”

How you handle money and legal matters during retirement is more important than during your working years. It’s harder to bounce back from financial setbacks when you aren’t getting a regular paycheck. Managing finances and legal affairs to keep your savings intact and your estate plan current is part of your new responsibility as a retiree, says a recent article “7 Money Moves You Should Make After Retiring” from MoneyTalksNews.

1. Review estate planning documents. One of the most important documents is your will, but you also need to review any power of attorney and trust documents. A will is used to specify what you want done with your property after you die. What happens if you die without a will? The state will step in and make those decisions for you.

If you marry, divorce, inherit or buy property, you should update your will to reflect your changed circumstances. The arrival of a new grandchild may make you want to change your beneficiaries.

Reviewing your will after retirement and then periodically afterwards can put your mind at ease. If you don’t have a will, now is the time to have one created with an experienced estate planning attorney. You also need a power of attorney, a health care proxy, and possibly a living will.

2. Review named beneficiaries. Beneficiary designations require updating anytime there is a change in your life. When you purchase life insurance, enroll in a pension plan or open an individual retirement account, you are often asked to name a beneficiary–the person who will inherit the proceeds when you die. These instructions take precedence over instructions in a will.
3. Prepare for your funeral. No one wants to consider their own mortality, but helping your loved ones be financially prepared for your funeral is a gift. By planning your own funeral, including making arrangements for funds to be available to pay for it, you save your family of the burden of having to plan and pay for a funeral while they are grieving your loss. Planning in advance also gives you an opportunity to decide what type of funeral you want.
4. Consider trimming transportation costs. If your household has two cars, but you could manage with one, consider paring down this expense. Seniors tend to pay higher rates than young people, so this is one way to trim your monthly expenses.
5. Review emergency fund status. Having money set aside for unexpected expenses is more important now than when you were working. An emergency fund can help you avoid taking money out of retirement accounts, which costs you not only the funds themselves, but the potential growth of the funds and any taxes that might be due on withdrawals.
6. Plan for Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) and taxes. Once you celebrate your 72^nd birthday, you’ll need to start taking RMDs from tax-deferred retirement accounts. If you miss an RMD deadline or don’t take out enough, you may have to pay a 50% tax penalty on the amount of money you did not withdraw. RMDs are treated as taxable income, so they may impact your federal income tax rate, as well as the “combined income” formula used to determine the extent to which your Social Security benefits are taxable.
7. Do you still need life insurance? If your family is not dependent upon your income, now might be the time to drop life insurance policies. The main purpose of life insurance is to provide an income stream for loved ones if you should die unexpectedly when you are working and raising a family. However, if you are retired, your children are grown and your spouse is not relying on your income, it may be time to let the policies lapse. On the other hand, if you can afford the premiums and wish to leave the proceeds to your spouse or your children, by all means keep the policy. However, check the beneficiary designations.

Reference: MoneyTalksNews (Oct. 9, 2020) “7 Money Moves You Should Make After Retiring”

For more information on elder law, retirement planning and estate planning, please visit my estate planning website.

What Needs to Happen after a Spouse Dies? / White Plains, NY & New York, NY

“The list of things you need to do after someone dies can seem endless, especially during a time when you are also grieving.”

Making funeral arrangements, paying medical bills and closing down accounts are just the start of the tasks that a surviving spouse must take charge of, advises the recent article “Checklist for Handling the Death of a Spouse” from U.S. News & World Report. It can be overwhelming, especially with the intense emotions that come with such a huge loss.

Having a checklist of specific tasks may make this difficult time less stressful. This is because you will be able to see what has been accomplished, and what is yet to come.

Start by getting organized. Make a list of what you need to do and add to it as you think of new tasks. You should also track what you are doing, using a notebook to keep a record of who you spoke with and when. If you need help, don’t be afraid to ask a family member or trusted friend. Being organized is a big help when there are so many things that need to be done during such a hard time.

Review your spouse’s will and estate plan. Gather all the documents, from their last will and testament to insurance policies, trust paperwork and related documents. Call your estate planning attorney since she can help you with settling the estate.

Identify the executor. If you are the executor, then you are the person in charge of managing the estate, including distributing assets. If someone else has been named, contact the person and be sure they are still willing and able to undertake the responsibilities.

Obtain original death certificates. All of the financial, legal and property matters will require an original death certificate with a raised seal. It’s easier to have more than you need so order ten to fifteen.

Talk with other professionals. The financial advisor, CPA, and insurance broker, in addition to the estate planning attorney all will need to know that your spouse has passed. You will also need to notify the Social Security Administration. If your spouse was receiving benefits, depending upon when in the month they died, you may need to return money.

Avoid any big decisions. This is not the time to sell the house, move to another state or make any other life-changing decisions unless you must for financial reasons.

Carry out your spouse’s wishes. There is comfort in carrying out your loved one’s wishes. Giving money to a charity as per the will’s direction or handing a prized possession to a family member who will treasure it can be heartwarming, since it reminds you of the values that your spouse held dear.

Take time for yourself and your loved ones. Mourning and healing from loss are not easy. Take the time to process the loss and grieve with other family members. Find comfort from those you love.

Reference: U.S. News & World Report (Aug. 28, 2020) “Checklist for Handling the Death of a Spouse”

For more information on elder law and estate planning, please visit my estate planning website.

Nothing is Certain but Death and Taxes / New York, NY & Greenwich, CT

“Most of us have heard the quote from Benjamin Franklin, ‘In this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes.’”

No one actually enjoys paying taxes, and few of us really want to think about our own death, but both require advance planning and careful consideration, advises Ohio’s Country Journal in the article “Death and Taxes.”

Think about how quickly the year has gone. Doesn’t it feel like only yesterday you were making New Year’s resolutions? Then it was tax season, which for more people is worse than going to the dentist. While we all know we should see our dentist on a regular basis, we also like to forget that we need to tackle our estate plan.

Preparing for taxes and death: neither one is associated with warm, fuzzy feelings, but we still need to plan for it. This is to avoid burdening our families and loved ones. It’s hard enough to grapple with loss and grieving, but to be completely unprepared, makes matters worse for those who are left behind. Here are some suggestions to prepare for these certainties of life.

Have a last will and testament prepared. Work with an estate attorney who is licensed to practice in your state. It doesn’t matter if you have a simple life or a complicated one. You need a will.

Designate a power of attorney. Choose someone you trust to be able to sign important documents and take care of business, if you are unable. It does not have to be a family member. Sometimes a trusted advisor is the best candidate for a POA.

Have a Health Care Proxy. Again, choose someone you trust who will make the decisions you want. Talk with them about what you want and put your wishes in the document.

Create a master file and tell someone where important papers can be found. The documents include insurance policies, mortgages, wills, trusts, POA, health care proxy, information about bank accounts, investment accounts, retirement plans. Don’t leave out contact information for your estate planning attorney, CPA, financial advisor or healthcare providers.

Plan your funeral service. Describe what you would like to happen, in as much detail as you can manage. This will help your family immeasurably, so they won’t be left wondering what you’d want or wouldn’t want. If you plan on being buried, purchase a plot. If you want to be buried with your spouse, purchase two adjoining plots.  Consider pre-paying for your funeral by purchasing an irrevocable or revocable pre-need agreement.

Don’t forget digital assets. Make a list of all your digital accounts, usernames and passwords. If possible, name a person to handle your online accounts. Some digital platforms allow you to designate a person to manage your accounts, access your data and close your accounts. Others do not. If you have valuable data online, from business records to family photos, make sure you’ve planned for these assets.

All these items can be updated, as needed. In fact, every three or four years, you should update your estate plan, so that it is current with changing laws and doesn’t miss any opportunities. The same goes for large events in life, including births, deaths, marriage and divorce. Speak with an experienced estate planning attorney to make sure you are ready for the sure thing.

Reference: Ohio’s Country Journal (August 26, 2019) “Death and Taxes”

For more information on asset preservation and estate planning, please visit my estate planning website.

Preparing for the Time When You Pass Away / New York, NY & Greenwich, CT

You need to make the decision to create an estate plan and then you need to gather facts.

In order to create an estate plan, there are certain steps you need to take in order to organize your affairs, according to The Daily Courier in "I'm dead. Now What?"

These steps include:

• Gathering all your important financial documents in one place. This includes all of your bank account information, your retirement account documents, your regular bills and anything else that is important. Make sure that someone in your family knows where to find everything.
• If you want to make sure your family gets the pieces of your property they want and that they will not fight unnecessarily over things, talk to your family members about any possessions of yours that they treasure and make a list of who wants what possessions.
• Once you have your financial documents in one place and you know who wants what, it will now be easier for you to go to an estate planning attorney to formalize your wishes concerning your estate. While you are at the attorney's office, make sure that you also get a new power of attorney and a new health care proxy document that reflects your current wishes regarding agents and their decision-making powers.
• Finally, you should make your own funeral arrangements so your family will not need to worry about making them while they are grieving you.

Reference: The Daily Caller (Jan. 11, 2018) "I'm dead. Now What?"

For more information on asset preservation and estate planning, please visit my estate planning website.

Market for Selling Human Bodies Not Well Regulated / Greenwich, CT & New York, NY

Medical researchers and students create demand for cadavers.

People can give the remains of their loved ones to companies that will cremate a small portion to give to the families and sell the rest to researchers. However, that market is poorly regulated, according to Reuters in "In the market for human bodies, almost anyone can sell the dead."

There is a large demand for human bodies. Medical researchers and students need them for a wide variety of purposes.

Because of medical research, there is a demand for human bodies and there are willing donors to give up human remains for research purposes, since many families cannot afford to pay funeral expenses.

Investigators have found many troubling problems with some of these companies.

The article details what was found at one company. Investigators discovered that the company was thawing a dead body outside using a garden hose. They also found cardboard boxes that had once held human remains stacked in a dumpster.

The ideal solution is to plan for your funeral and how to pay for it at the same time that you create an estate plan.

Pre-planning for your funeral takes the burden off of your family at a difficult time.

Reference: Reuters (Oct. 24, 2017) "In the market for human bodies, almost anyone can sell the dead."

For more information on elder law, asset preservation and estate planning, please visit my estate planning website.

Cemetery Acquired for Burial of Indigents / New York, NY & White Plains, NY

Florida community addresses problem of high cost of funerals and burial of indigents.

Funerals and burials are not a minor expense and a Florida county had such a significant problem of disposing of the bodies that they have acquired a cemetery, according the Tallahassee Democrat in "A priceless burden: Indigent burials at Leon County's 'pauper's cemetery'."

The cemetery previously belonged to a hospital, but the county purchased it to dispose of the remains of the indigent as inexpensively as possible. Graves are marked with the most basic of markers and no actual funeral services are allowed at the cemetery.

The deceased are buried as quickly and with as little fuss as possible.

This is an issue that could get worse before it gets better.

Elderly people are living longer and in greater numbers. That makes it likely that many more elderly will pass away in the future after they have run out of their own money.

The burden to bury them will be on the government.

Reference: Tallahassee Democrat (June 24, 2017) "A priceless burden: Indigent burials at Leon County's 'pauper's cemetery'."

For more information on elder law, asset preservation and estate planning, please visit my estate planning website.

Business in Ghana Will Customize Your Coffin / Greenwich, CT & White Plains, NY

A coffin no longer has to have a basic rectangular shape.

The standard rectangular coffin no longer has to be the norm due to the focus of a business in Ghana, according to the Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog in "The First Family of Custom Coffins."

A family in Ghana is in the business of creating coffins in the shape of just about anything, so that people can be buried in something that represents their life. A YouTube video of their work is available at the blog's website.

This is part of a larger trend concerning death and funerals. People are choosing to turn away from traditions in place of specific ways for the deceased to be remembered. The trend includes everything from humorous obituaries to lavish services and now, custom coffins.

Many families find that by customizing the funeral experience in an unusual, nontraditional way, they get a better sense of closure and peace.

There is a potential downside to this trend, however.

The unusual arrangements are often made after the deceased has passed away. That leaves open the question of whether it is how the deceased would like to be remembered.

An estate planning attorney can guide you through the process of creating an estate plan to meet your unique circumstances.

Reference: Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog (Dec. 30, 2016) "The First Family of Custom Coffins."

For more information on asset preservation and estate planning, please visit my estate planning website.

It May Not Be Easy to Learn Actual Cost of a Funeral / New York, NY & Greenwich, CT

Planning and paying for your funeral through estate planning may be a good idea but finding out the actual cost of the funeral isn't always easy.

A survey conducted recently to learn how easy it is to find out the cost of a funeral in advance ran into some interesting information as reported in Elder Law Answers "Getting Funeral Pricing Information Is Difficult, Survey Shows."

The Funeral Consumers Alliance and the Consumer Federation of America conducted a survey of 150 funeral homes in the U.S. to see how easy it was to obtain information about funeral costs. The groups found that only 25% of the funeral homes revealed costs on their websites. Alarmingly, 16% did not reveal prices on their website or after being asked by email and phone.

The Federal Trade Commission requires that pricing information be given over the phone or by a price list when customers visit the funeral home. The consumer groups are calling for the FTC to expand the rule to make disclosing prices on funeral home websites mandatory.

Obtaining funeral costs and getting an estate plan often go hand in hand. Many people choose to provide the funds for their funerals in their estate plans and it is difficult to do so without having some idea of the costs.

An estate planning attorney could give guidance on finding the pertinent information or estimating the cost.

Reference: Elder Law Answers (April 12, 2016) "Getting Funeral Pricing Information Is Difficult, Survey Shows."