Everybody knows about the terrible tragedy of Terry Schiavo, and the pain and grief it brought to her family, but apparently not everybody learned the lesson. This recent article from the Toledo Blade tells the story of another incapacitated woman, also from Florida, whose family has become involved in a court battle for her guardianship in the absence of a healthcare directive.

As a couple who have been married for 17 years, most people would assume that Heather Lavers’ husband Robert would assume guardianship in the absence of an official nomination of healthcare agent, but that is not necessarily the case. Heather’s sister Heidi applied for guardianship in late September and the issue has now been put in the hands of the court.

Even if the court does end up awarding guardianship to Heather’s husband Robert, the family still will have gone through a painful and expensive ordeal which could have been avoided had Heather executed an Advanced Healthcare Directive or a Healthcare Power of Attorney.

No matter your age or health, creating a healthcare directive and nominating a healthcare agent to make decisions for you when you are unable is essential. It not only eases the way in the hospital in case of emergency, but making your wishes clear will save your family from a difficult situation such as the Lavers family is going through right now. Ask your estate planning attorney about executing Advanced Healthcare Directive as soon as possible. Don’t just do it for yourself, do it for your family.

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Our blog posts this week have focused on how the upcoming election could impact your assets and estate plan, and with our final post of the week it seems prudent to address the impact of the election on special needs families as well.

After Sarah Palin’s speech in Pennsylvania on October 24, there seems to be some confusion over how each candidate’s tax policies would harm or benefit people with special needs. CNN has published a helpful article which briefly discusses the proposed tax plans of both Barack Obama and John McCain, specifically how each would impact a person or family with a special needs trust.

For all the political maneuvering going on at this time, the fact that the concerns of special needs families are being discussed at all is promising. Especially considering that the discussion is taking place in a forum that is likely to reach so many people. Because what is just as concerning as the effects of taxes on special needs trust owners is the huge numbers of people out there with special needs who don’t have trusts all, and whose futures and finances are unprotected.

We hope that this very public discussion will bring awareness to those people who need it, whose families and children would benefit from the protection of a special needs trust. You can’t worry about the effects of taxes on your trust unless you have a trust. And once you have a special needs trust you have an advantage and protection that can’t be matched.

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One of the things that will be determined by the outcome of the election on Tuesday, and which will have a huge impact on our firm—and on our clients—is the fate of the estate tax. As it stands, the estate tax will be repealed in 2010 and reinstated again in 2011. However, both presidential candidates have policy proposals regarding the future of the estate tax, and according to this article “many tax planners think estate-tax legislation is likely by the middle of next year.”

Legislation will mean change for those people planning to protect and pass on their assets after their death, and we are hoping it means good change, as both presidential candidates propose scaling back the estate tax. According to the article referenced above, “Obama’s plan would cut down the number of estate tax filers dramatically. . . In 2011, 17,400 estates would be taxed under his proposal, roughly 15% of the 125,000 under current law.” And if McCain were to get his way “only 3,600 estates would pay the tax in 2011.”

The news and discussion taking place prior to the upcoming election only underscore the importance of reviewing your estate plan with your attorney on a regular basis. Legislation pertaining to estate tax doesn’t usually register on the radar of the average person, but it can have a significant impact on your family and your finances. Call our office to find out how your plan will weather any upcoming changes.

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We talk a lot about taxes on this blog—as well as health care and retirement issues—but what if we could look into the future and tell you what all of these issues would look like four years from now? You’d want to know, wouldn’t you?

Well, we can’t tell you for sure what our health care system will be like in four years, or if retirement will be any easier; but in one week we elect a new president and we can help you learn where each candidate stands on each of these issues. Essentially, the future of Estate Taxes, Healthcare, or Social Security is up to us—we decide with our vote on November fourth.

Below are links to accurate and unbiased websites which provide detailed information (and in some cases side by side comparisons) about where the candidates fall on various issues. Take a look and glimpse the future… And don’t forget to vote.

CNN Money.com: With a focus on tax issues, the economy, social security, and business interests

Health08.org: A side-by-side analysis of where each candidate stands on healthcare or health related issues

National Public Radio (NPR.org): Candidate positions on other election issues

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Last week President Bush signed the economic bailout bill, but what you probably don’t know is that attached to that bill was a requirement that health insurance groups provide equal coverage of physical and mental illnesses. What this means is that any insurance provider whose coverage includes treatment for mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, or even alcoholism must offer equal coverage for those illnesses as for physical ailments such as pneumonia or broken bones.

Of course this makes any Estate Planning Attorney’s mind turn to the health provisions we provide our clients in their estate plans, specifically the Advanced Health Care Directive. Most people, when they consider what to include in their Advanced Health Care Directive, think for the most part about what instructions to give their agents about pulling (or not pulling) the plug when a doctor declares you brain dead. But perhaps it’s time to make the Health Care Directive more comprehensive. If insurance providers will soon be addressing mental illnesses, shouldn’t we?

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Our culture is full of idioms like the one in the title, idioms that we take for granted until something like the mortgage crisis and rapidly dwindling stock market puts it all back into perspective for us.

The current financial crisis has touched all of our lives, but perhaps nobody has been hit quite so hard as retirees and workers who are nearing retirement age. These are the people who have been saving for years for retirement, only to watch it all dwindle away as the market falls, with no end in sight. It wouldn’t be quite so painful if they had years to recover, to wait for the markets to rebound; but they don’t. These are the people who are only a year or two away from retirement, or in some cases already retired and making withdrawals from their savings plans.

Many in this situation will have to put off retirement, working 2-5 years more with the hope that their investments will recover in time. But a luckier few will be able to weather the storm, and perhaps learn from it. Emily Brandon’s article, How to Retire During a Financial Crisis, addresses this issue, and gives readers some suggestions on how to prepare for a market downturn, making it possible to come out on top even if you are close to retirement (or already retired) when tragedy strikes.

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Our blog this week has included a series of posts about families with special needs children, beginning with a mention of Sarah Palin in Monday’s post, and how she has helped bring the those families into the limelight. It seems appropriate to end our series with a letter written to Sarah Palin, published in the Concord Monitor. A letter from one mother of a special needs child to another.

Betsy McNamara’s letter is honest and eloquent. She writes of the joy she has in her son with special needs, of the hopes she has for his future, and the fear that his life (and hers) will be all the more difficult if the government and local communities don’t take steps to help children and families like hers. The fact that it is written to Sarah Palin seems to be secondary, it could be a letter to anyone in a position of authority, with the potential to understand her plight and help her son.

This letter speaks to all of us, whether or not we have loved ones with special needs. It describes the pure and unlimited love every parent has for a child, and the hopes and fears we have for them from the first day they’re born. Thank you to Betsy McNamara, who with her grace and courage has made our world a little more intimate.

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In spite of the growing numbers of adult children finding themselves in the situation of having to care for elderly parents, the role of caretaker can be a lonely and frustrating one. But now there’s a place for caretakers to go online where they can get relevant news, good information, familiar stories, and most importantly: camaraderie.

The place is The New Old Age blog, by New York Times reporter Jane Gross. Some of Ms. Gross’ most recent posts deal with the serious issues of Elder Abuse, or the stance of our two presidential candidates on long-term care. However, she also writes about lighter (but no less interesting) topics such as irritation at being called by your first name, or the transition from analog to digital T.V.

The best part about Jane Gross’ blog is that she isn’t afraid to share her own experiences. In fact, one of the most moving posts on her blog is one from early July entitled What I Wish I’d Done Differently, in which she shares her own thoughts about taking care of her elderly mother.

When you are serving as caregiver for an elderly parent, having an outlet for your feelings, and a community of individuals who can sympathize with your plight is just as important as having advisors who are versed in the ins and outs of Medicare and Elder Law. Jane Gross’ New Old Age blog is that community.

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On 08-08-08, at 8pm Beijing time, the XXIX Olympic Games were ushered in with a lavish opening ceremony. The list of events is filled with old favorites and some of the more modern additions, but upon perusal of the list it became clear that some events were missing from the roster. Most noticeably, the Olympic Events in Estate Planning. For your convenience, we will list the events (along with brief descriptions) here:

1. The Distance and Sprint Handshake: These opening events can be deceptively simple, but the medal invariably goes to the athlete who thinks strategically, weighing the benefits of the firm vs. the gentle grip and the quick vs. the confident and lengthy shake. (Extra points awarded by the judges for athletes who remember names.)
2. Conversational Tennis: Played with two teams of single or double players, one conversational “ball”, and a net (most recently taking the form of a desk). First serve is traditionally awarded to the visiting team, who sends the ball over the net with a question. The home team (or attorney) returns the serve with an answer. This game gets more interesting the longer it continues, especially when the teams will occasionally swap strategies, with the home team posing a question to the visitors!
3. Speed Signing: This event requires speed and agility, and depending on the length and intricacy of the estate plan, more than a little endurance!
4. Synchronized Signing: Similar to speed signing, but played in teams of two or more. This is an intricately choreographed event requiring precise timing and the ability to virtually read your teammates’ minds. This event has the potential to quickly degrade into fountain pen fencing when attempted by amateurs.
5. Document Weight Lifting: This final event requires brute strength and a fine sense of balance to carry your entire completed estate plan over the finish line.

**Qualifying Event** Phone Dialing: Requires quick and flexible fingers, and no small amount of determination.

**Completion of this event is required for participation in all other events.

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Most of our small business clients probably already know that the federal minimum wage increased this week from $5.85 to $6.55 an hour. The increase is the second in a three-step process to bring the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour next year.

The increase will help workers deal with soaring energy and food costs, as described by Christopher Rugaber of the Associated Press, but many entrepreneurs are wondering if the increase will adversely affect their businesses. In fact, according to an article by Angus Loten in Inc.com (published last year when the increase was first approved by the House of Representatives), most small business owners will not be hit by the increase, because they already pay their employees more than the state or federal minimums.

There is a web of interconnectedness in small businesses that is more readily apparent than in large corporations, which means that small business owners often can’t help but see and react to the financial well-being of their employees. Loten, in his article, quotes Mark McCurry, the president of a small Atlanta-based delivery service as wondering “how you could pay anyone less than [the minimum wage] in good conscience?”

This seems to be the prevailing opinion of small business-owners across the country, who, according to Inc.com, generally pay employees more than minimum wage anyway, and 70% of whom reported that “raising the federal minimum wage would have little impact on their labor costs.”

Small business owners are struggling just as much as the next person with the current record inflation levels, but in an intimate work environment where the boss works side by side with employees, it’s difficult not to see how everyone is affected by the ups and downs of our recent economy. Perhaps it is for this very reason that these same small business owners are ahead of the minimum wage curve, providing for their employees and giving themselves some breathing room in the process.

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