What are Some Estate Planning Tips for People Without Kids? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

If you and your spouse don’t have children, the focus of your financial legacy may be quite different from what it would be if you were parents.

Motley Fool’s article, “5 Estate-Planning Tips for Child-Free Couples,” suggests that you may want to leave some of your money to friends, family members, charitable organizations, or your college. No matter the beneficiaries you choose, these estate planning tips are vital for childless couples.

  1. A will. You need a will because couples without children don’t have natural heirs to inherit their wealth. If you die without a will, your assets should go to your spouse. If neither of you has a will, the state intestacy laws determine which of your family members inherit from you. The family of the first spouse to die may be disinherited.
  2. A power of attorney. Who will make financial decisions for you if you and your spouse become incapacitated? You can select a person to do this with a power of attorney (POA). You can name a person to pay bills, manage your investments and handle property matters if you’re unable to do so yourself.
  3. Up-to-date beneficiaries. If you have retirement accounts or life insurance policies, the distribution of the proceeds at your death is made by a beneficiary designation, not by your will. A frequent beneficiary error is not keeping those designations current.
  4. Give money to charity now. You may think about leaving your assets to organizations that have enriched your life. You can set up a trust to be sure that your money goes where you want. Work with an experienced estate planning attorney.
  5. Remember the pets. If you have furry children, plan for their care when you’re not around to tend to them yourself. One option is to name a person to take care of your animal in your will. You can also put money into a trust specifically intended for the animal’s care or designate an organization that will provide lifetime care for your pet with money you earmark to that purpose.

Remember that child-free couples need an estate plan just as much as couples with children.

Reference: Motley Fool (September 9, 2019) “5 Estate-Planning Tips for Child-Free Couples”

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So, You Have to Manage Someone Else’s Money – Now What? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

This sounds like a disaster in the making. A durable power of attorney document must follow the statutory requirements, must delegate proper authority, must consider the timing of when the agent may act and a host of other issues that must be addressed, warns My San Antonio in the article “Guide to managing someone else’s money.”

A durable power of attorney document can be so far reaching that a form downloaded from the Internet is asking for major trouble.

Start by speaking with an experienced estate planning attorney to provide proper advice and draft a legally valid document that is appropriate for your situation.

Once a proper durable power of attorney has been drafted, talk with the agent you have selected and with the successor agents you want to name about their roles and responsibilities. For instance:

When will the agent’s power commence? Depending on the document, it may start immediately, or it may not become active until the person becomes incapacitated.

If the power is postponed, how will the agent prove that the person has become incapacitated? Will he or she need to go to court?

What is the extent of the agent’s authority? This is very important. Do you want the agent to be able to talk with the IRS about your taxes? With your investment advisor? Will the agent have the power to make gifts on your behalf and to what extent? May the agent set up a trust for your benefit? Can the agent change beneficiary designations? What about caring for your pets? Can they talk with your lawyer or accountant?

When does the agent’s authority end? Unless the document sets an earlier date, it ends when you revoke it, when you die, when a court appoints a guardian for you, or, if your agent is your spouse, when you divorce.

What does the agent need to report to you? What are your expectations for the agent’s role? Do you want immediate assistance from the agent, or will you continue to sign documents for yourself?

Does the agent know how to avoid personal exposure? If the agent signs a contract for you by signing his or her own name, that contract may be performed by the agent. Legally, that means that the cost of the services provided could be taken out of the agent’s wallet. Does the agent understand how to sign a contract to avoid liability?

All of these questions need to be addressed long before any power of attorney papers are signed. Both you and the agent need to understand the role of a power of attorney. An experienced estate planning attorney will be able to explore all the issues inherent in a durable power of attorney and make sure that it is the correct document.

Reference: My San Antonio Life (Aug. 26, 2019) “Guide to managing someone else’s money”

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Preparing for Alzheimer’s – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

Once there has been a diagnosis of dementia, there are a number of issues that families need to address, including legal issues. The best way to approach this task, says being patient in the article “Alzheimer’s and the Law” is to meet with an estate planning attorney who can guide the family in planning for the future and creating the needed documents.

The conversation will start with who should be named to two different kinds of power of attorney. One is for the durable power of attorney, which will give the named person the ability to manage any business decisions, sign contracts and deal with insurance companies. This document will need to be inclusive so the agent can act for the person who is going to be incapacitated.

Next, there will need to be a healthcare power of attorney. It should be complemented by a living will, which states what kind of lifesaving measures you would want if you were to be declared terminally ill. The healthcare power of attorney also allows a person to be named to make medical decisions if the person with dementia can no longer make good decisions on their own behalf.

As long as the doctor has not yet declared the person incapacitated, they can sign the power of attorney for financial and health care. If the person has been declared incapacitated, then the family will need to go to court for a guardianship proceeding so the court can declare who will be in charge of the person with dementia.

Some families prefer to have one person in charge of the loved one’s financial affairs and a second person to be their healthcare power of attorney. If there is a family member who is good with money and business, that person will do a better job than someone whose heart is in the right place but doesn’t manage money well. A nervous or easily excitable family member may also not be the best choice for healthcare power of attorney, especially if important decisions need to be made in a crisis situation.

Make sure that the people who are being considered for these tasks live near enough so they can be available when needed. A child who lives on the other side of the country may want to be the decision maker, but if they are too far away, it will create more problems than it solves.

Before naming anyone to the power of attorney roles, speak with them about the situation and be clear about what they will be expected to do. Clarify the difference between the two roles and that of the executor. The executor is the person who is in charge of the person’s estate after they pass. They do not have an active role while the person is living.

People generally don’t like to think about times when they may not enjoy good health, but this is a situation where waiting to address the issue can become extremely costly. A skilled estate planning attorney who works with families with dementia will understand the situation. They can be a valuable resource of information about other related services that will become needed over time.

Reference: being patient (August 22, 2019) “Alzheimer’s and the Law”

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Nothing is Certain but Death and Taxes – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

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 living will prepared and designate a medical power of attorney. 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, healthcare POA, 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.

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”

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Can a Trust Be Amended? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

A son has contacted an elder law estate planning attorney now that mom is in a nursing home and he’s unsure about many of the planning issues, as reported by the Daily Republic. The article, “Amending trust easier if parents can make informed decision,” describes the family’s situation.

There is one point to consider from the start. If the son has been involved in the planning from the start, in a family meeting with the attorney and discussions with his parents, he might have less uncertainty about the plan and the details.

As for the details: the parents are in their 90s, with some savings, a few annuities, a CD and a checking account. They also have five acres of land, which has their home and a duplex on it and 12 additional acres, with a rental property on it. Everything they own has been placed in a family trust. The son wants to be able to pay her bills and was told that he needs to have a power of attorney and to be named trustee to their trust.

He reports that his parents are good with this idea, but he has a number of concerns. If they are sued, will he be personally liable? Would the power of attorney give him the ability to handle their finances and the real estate in the trust?

If his parents have a revocable or living trust, there are provisions that allow one or more persons to become the successor trustees in the event that the parent becomes incapacitated or dies.

What happens when they die as they each leave each other their share of the assets? The son would become the trustee when the last parent passes.

Usually the power of attorney is created when the trust is created, so that someone has the ability to take control of finances for the person. See if the trust has any of these provisions—the son may already be legally positioned to act on his parents’ behalf. The trust should also show whether the successor trustee would be empowered to sell the real estate.

Trusts can be drafted in any way the client wants it written, and the successor trustee receives only the powers that are given in the document.

As for the liability, the trustee is not liable to a buyer during the sale of a property. There are exceptions, so he would need to speak with an estate planning attorney to help with the sale.

More specifically, assuming the trust does not name the son as a successor trustee and also does not give the son power of attorney, the bigger question is are the parents mentally competent to make important decisions about these documents?

Given the age of these parents, an attorney will be concerned, rightfully so, about their competency and if they can freely make an informed decision or if the son might be exercising improper influence on them to turn over their assets to him.

There are a few different steps that can be taken. One is for the son, if he believes that his parents are mentally competent, to make an appointment for them with an estate planning attorney without the son being present in the meeting, in order to determine their capacity and wishes. If the attorney is not sure about the influence of the son, he or she may want to refer the parents for a second opinion with another attorney.

If the parents are found not competent, then the son may need to become their conservator, which requires a court proceeding.

Planning in advance and discussing these issues are best done with an experienced estate planning attorney long before the issues become more complicated and expensive to deal with.

Reference: Daily Republic (Aug. 10, 2019) “Amending trust easier if parents can make informed decision”

Sims & Campbell, LLC – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning Attorneys

Estate Planning a Necessity for Small Business Owners – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

Just as the small business owner must plan for their own personal estate to be passed onto the next generation, they must also plan for the future of their business. This is why you need a comprehensive estate plan that addresses both you personal life and the business, says grbj.com’s recent article “Estate planning for small businesses.” Here are the basic strategies you’ll need as a small business owner:

A will. A last will and testament allows you to name someone who will receive your assets, including your business, when you die. If you don’t have a will, you leave your heirs a series of problems, expenses and stress. In the absence of a will, everything you’ve worked to attain will be distributed depending on the laws of the state. That includes your assets and your business. It’s far better to have a will, so you make these decisions.

A Living Trust. A living trust is similar to a will, in that it allows you to name who will receive your assets when you die. However, there are certain advantages to having a trust. For one thing, a trust is a private document, and assets controlled by the trust can bypass probate. Assets controlled by a will must first go through probate, which is a public proceeding. If you’ve ever had a family member die and wonder why all those companies seemed to know that your loved one had passed, it’s because they get the information that is available to the public.

If your business is owned by a trust, the transition of ownership to your intended beneficiaries can be a much smoother process.

A financial durable power of attorney. This document lets you appoint an agent to act on your behalf, if you are incapacitated by illness or injury. This is a powerful legal document, so take the time to consider who you want to give this power to. Your agent can manage your finances, pay your bills and manage the day-to-day operations of your business.

A succession plan. Here is where many small business owners fall short in their planning. It takes a long time to create a succession plan for a business. Sometimes a buy-out agreement is part of a succession plan, or a partner in the business or key employee wishes to become the new owner. If a family member wishes to take over the business, will they inherit your entire ownership interest, or will there be a payment required? Will more than one family member take over the business? If a non-family member is going to take over the business, you’ll need an agreement documenting the obligation to purchase the business and the terms of the purchase.

If you would prefer to have the business sold upon your death, you’ll need to plan for that in advance so that family members will be able to receive the best possible price.

A buy-sell agreement. If you are not the sole owner, it’s important that you have a buy-sell agreement with your partners. This agreement requires your ownership interest to be purchased by the business or other owners, if and when a triggering event occurs, like death or disability. This document must set forth how the value of ownership interest is to be determined and how it is to be paid to your family. Without this kind of document, your ownership interest in the business will pass to your spouse or other family members. If that is not your intention, you’ll need to do prior planning.

The right type of life insurance. This is an important part of planning for the future for the small business owner. The death benefit may be needed to provide income to the family, until a business is sold, if that is the ultimate goal. If a family member takes over the business, proceeds from the life insurance policy may be needed to cover payroll or other expenses, until the business gets going under new leadership. Life insurance proceeds may also be used to buy out the other partners in the business.

Failing to plan through the use of basic estate planning and succession planning can create significant costs and stress. An experienced estate planning attorney can review the strategies and documents that are appropriate for your situation. You’ll want to ensure a smooth transition for your business and your family, as that too will be part of your legacy.

Reference: grbj.com (Grand Rapids Business Journal) (July 19, 2019) “Estate planning for small businesses”

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Elder Law Estate Planning for the Future – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

Seniors who are parents of adult children can make their children’s lives easier, by making the effort to button down major goals in elder law estate planning, advises Times Herald-Record in the article “Three ways for seniors to make things easier for their kids.” Those tasks are planning for disability, protecting assets from long-term care or nursing home costs and minimizing costs and stress in passing assets to the next generation. Here’s what you need to do, and how to do it.

Disability planning includes signing advance directives. These are legal documents that are created while you still have all of your mental faculties. Naming people who will make decisions on your behalf, if and when you become incapacitated, gives those you love the ability to take care of you without having to apply for guardianship or other legal proceedings. Advance directives include powers of attorney, health care powers or attorney or proxies and living wills.

Your power of attorney will make all and any legal and financial decisions on your behalf. In addition, if you use the elder law power of attorney, they are able to make unlimited gifting powers that may save about half of a single person’s assets from the cost of nursing home care. With a health care proxy, a person is named who can make medical decisions. In a living will, you have the ability to convey your wishes for end-of-life care, including resuscitation and artificial feeding.

When advance directives are in place, you spare your family the need to have a judge appoint a legal guardian to manage your affairs. That saves time, money and keeps the judiciary out of your life. Your children can act on your behalf when they need to, during what will already be a very difficult time.

Goal number two is protecting assets from the cost of long-term care. Losing the family home and retirement savings to unexpected nursing costs is devasting and may be avoided with the right planning. The first and best option is to purchase long-term care insurance. If you don’t have or can’t obtain a policy, the next best is the Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT) that is used to protect assets in the trust from nursing home costs, after the assets have been in the trust for five years.

The third thing that will make your adult children’s lives easier, is to have a will. This lets you leave assets to the family as you want, with the least amount of court costs, legal fees, taxes and family battles over inheritances. Work with an experienced estate planning attorney to have a will created.  If your attorney advises it, you can also consider having trusts created, so your assets can be placed into the trusts and avoid probate, which is a public process. A trust can be easier for children, because estates settle more quickly.

Think of estate planning as part of your legacy of taking care of your family, ensuring that your hard-earned assets are passed to the next generation. You can’t avoid your own death, or that of your spouse, but you can prepare so those you love are helped by thoughtful and proper planning.

Reference: Times Herald-Record (July 13, 2019) “Three ways for seniors to make things easier for their kids”

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Who Should Be the Agent of My Power of Attorney? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

It’s important to understand what a power of attorney is, how it factors into estate planning, and how sibling roles can differ and be shared at the same time.

Considerable’s recent article, “How to assign power of attorney without sparking a family feud,” gives us some idea how the power of attorney can work within a family and among siblings.

A power of attorney or POA is a legal document that allows one person to act on behalf of another, usually when that person is unable to make decisions for themselves for reasons of ill health.

Many people confuse a power of attorney role with the executor of the estate. Power of attorney authority is only in effect while the person who has granted the authority is alive. Once that person dies, the executor of the estate then assumes responsibility of seeing the estate through the probate process. They’re two very different roles, but they can be held by the same person.

There are different types of power of attorney, too. The most frequently used are the general power of attorney and the medical power of attorney. The general power of attorney is for management of financial, business, or private affairs. If a parent grants power of attorney to one of their kids, he or she has the sole authority to act on behalf of the parent.

The other siblings have to abide by the inherent authority of the sibling with the power of attorney to make decisions for the parent related to their business affairs.

It’s also important to understand that the power of attorney is a fiduciary obligation. This means the person who holds it must act in the best interests of the parent rather than their own. He or she must also comply with rules. Nonetheless, things can get sticky if there isn’t proper confidence among siblings or transparency when major decisions are being made.

There’s also the option of signing a joint power of attorney so that two siblings share the responsibility. This may decrease the potential for jealousy and mistrust within the family. However, it can also lengthen and complicate decision-making. There’s the possibility that the siblings simply can’t agree on an issue. As a result, an important decision remains stuck in neutral indefinitely.

Whether one or more are entrusted with power of attorney, communication and transparency are the key factors in avoiding painful situations in the family.

You can also name an independent agent. This may provide more flexibility to help the parent manage his or her affairs.

Reference: Considerable (July 10, 2019) “How to assign power of attorney without sparking a family feud”

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Leaving a Legacy Is Not Just about Money – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

A legacy is not necessarily about money, says a survey that was conducted by Bank of America/Merrill Lynch Ave Wave. More than 3,000 adults (2,600 of them were 50 and older) were surveyed and focus groups were asked about end-of-life planning and leaving a legacy.

The article, “How to leave a legacy no matter how much money you have” from The Voice, shared a number of the participant’s responses.

A total of 94% of those surveyed said that a life well-lived, is about “having friends and family that love me.” 75% said that a life well-lived is about having a positive impact on society. A mere 10% said that a life well-lived is about accumulating a lot of wealth.

People want to be remembered for how they lived, not what they did at work or how much money they saved. Nearly 70% said they most wanted to be remembered for the memories they shared with loved ones. And only nine percent said career success was something they wanted to be remembered for.

While everyone needs to have their affairs in order, especially people over age 55, only 55% of those surveyed reported having a will. Only 18% have what are considered the three key essentials for legacy planning: a will, a health care directive and a durable power of attorney.

The will addresses how property is to be distributed, names an executor of the estate and, if there are minor children, names who should be their guardian. The health care directive gives specific directions as to end-of-life preferences and designates someone to make health care decisions for you if you can’t. A power of attorney designates someone to make financial decisions on your behalf when you can’t do so because of illness or incapacity.

An estate plan is often only considered when a trigger event occurs, like a loved one dying without an estate plan. That is a wake-up call for the family once they see how difficult it is when there is no estate plan.

Parents age 55 and older had interesting views on leaving inheritances and who should receive their estate. Only about a third of boomers surveyed and 44% of Gen Xers said that it’s a parent’s duty to leave some kind of inheritance to their children. A higher percentage of millennials surveyed—55%–said that this was a duty of parents to their children.

The biggest surprise of the survey: 65% of people 55 and older reported that they would prefer to give away some of their money while they are still alive. A mere 8% wanted to give away all their assets before they died. Only 27% wanted to give away all their money after they died.

Reference: The Voice (June 16, 2019) “How to leave a legacy no matter how much money you have”

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What Does ‘Getting Your Affairs in Order’ Really Mean? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

That “something” that happens that no one wants to come out and say is that you are either incapacitated by a serious illness or injury or the ultimate ‘something,’ which is death. There are steps you can take that will help your family and loved ones, so they have the information they need and can help you, says Catching Health’s article “Getting your affairs in order.”

Start with the concept of incapacity, which is an important part of estate planning. Who would you want to speak on your behalf? Would that person be the same one you would want to make important financial decisions, pay bills and handle your personal affairs? Does your family know what your wishes are, or do you know what your parent’s wishes are?

Financial Power of Attorney. Someone needs to be able to pay your bills and handle financial matters. That person is named in a Financial Power of Attorney, and they become your agent. Without an agent, your family will have to go to court and get a conservatorship or guardianship. This takes time and money. It also brings in court involvement into your life and adds another layer of stress and expense.

It’s important to name someone who you trust implicitly and whose financial savvy you trust. Talk with the person you have in mind first and make sure they are comfortable taking on this responsibility. There may be other family members who will not agree with your decisions, or your agent’s decisions. They’ll have to be able to stick to the course in the face of disagreements.

Medical Power of Attorney. The Medical Power of Attorney  is used when end-of-life care decisions must be made. This is usually when someone is in a persistent vegetative state, has a terminal illness or is in an irreversible coma. Be cautious: sometimes people want to appoint all their children to make health care decisions. When there are disputes, the doctor ends up having to make the decision. The doctor does not want to be a mediator. One person needs to be the spokesperson for you.

Health Care Directive or Living Will. The name of these documents and what they serve to accomplish does vary from state to state, so speak with an estate planning attorney in your state to determine exactly what it is that you need.

Health Care Proxy. This is the health care agent who makes medical decisions on your behalf, when you can no longer do so. In Maine, that’s a health care advance directive. The document should be given to the named person for easy access. It should also be given to doctors and medical providers.

DNR, or Do Not Resuscitate Order. This is a document that says that if your heart has stopped working or if you stop breathing, not to bring you back to life. When an ambulance arrives and the EMT asked for this document, it’s because they need to know what your wishes are. Some folks put them on the fridge or in a folder where an aide or family member can find them easily. If you are in cardiac arrest and the DNR is with a family member who is driving from another state to get to you, the EMT is bound by law to revive you. You need to have that on hand, if that is your wish.

How Much Should You Tell Your Kids? While it’s really up to you as to how much you want to share with your kids, the more they know, the more they can help in an emergency. Some seniors bring their kids with them to the estate planning attorney’s office, but some prefer to keep everything under wraps. At the very least, the children need to know where the important documents are, and have contact information for the estate planning attorney, the accountant and the financial advisor. Many people create a binder with all of their important documents, so there are no delays caused in healthcare decisions.

Reference: Catching Health (May 28, 2019) “Getting your affairs in order.”

Sims & Campbell, LLC – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning Attorneys