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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Do dating and estate planning go hand in hand? They do if you are one of the lucky people finding romance late in life.

With people living longer than ever before—and staying healthy and active longer as well—there are more cases of people finding love a second (or third or fourth) time around. This is cause for celebration for widows and widowers, but it has many of their children and grandchildren worried. When mom remarries at the age of 80, what happens to the estate that she and dad built during their lives together?

Without a prenuptial agreement or estate plan, all of mom’s assets could end up going to her new husband, which he could then choose to leave to his children. With so much at stake it’s no wonder that the children of elderly brides and grooms are responding with less than unadulterated joy.

Luckily, this is one problem with an easy solution: Involve your estate planning attorney before the marriage takes place. Executing a pre-nuptial agreement can go a long way towards protecting your assets and your children’s inheritance. Another option is to create a trust which leaves all of your assets to your children or grandchildren upon your death.

Talking about prenuptial agreements with your new fiancé can be an awkward conversation, especial for the older, more traditional generation. Creating a trust early can alleviate much of that awkwardness.

Romance is still alive, even at 80 or 90 years old. Unfortunately, so are the financial risks that come with any second marriage. Call our office today. Let us take care of the risks, and leave the romance to you.

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There has been much noise made in the news recently about Leona Helmsley giving all of her millions to her dogs. But if you leave aside the incredible amount she left, her actions are not all that unusual. There are many people whose definition of family includes a beloved pet; and for those people, providing for the pet when the owner has passed away is no small priority.

According to the AVMA US Pet Owners Demographic Sourcebook, more than half of U.S. households include some kind of pet. If you are one of these animal-loving households you know that your pet is not only an integral member of the family, it is completely dependent on you for its basic needs as well. If anything were to happen to you, what would happen to your pet? Can you be assured your pet would be well cared for? Leona Helmsley is not the only one asking this question. Many pet owners have found that when they create trust to provide for their dependents, they can provide for their animal dependents at the same time.

The options when it comes to providing for your pets are almost as many and varied as any other part of your estate plan. It can be as simple a memorandum of intent nominating caretakers, or as elaborate as Helmsley’s full-blown trust providing financial support and final expenses. However you choose to put the pieces together, the most important component in providing for your pet is choosing a trustee and caretaker who understand and respect your wishes. Having people you trust in those roles are your pet’s best insurance.

Pets don’t have the same rights and considerations under the law as people. A memorandum of intent is helpful if you have caretakers and trustees who have the same values as yourself. But as the New York Times article says, “an expression of [your] wishes is not necessarily legally binding.” If you have a pet you want to provide for after your death, speak to your attorney about which option is best for you.

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There are some people who might question the patriotism of those who would try to arrange their affairs to pay a lower amount of taxes. But how much truth is there in that?

Is it unpatriotic to want to work within the limits of the law to reduce the amount of taxes you pay?

Everyone will have their own opinion about this, and we welcome you to join the conversation by leaving a comment. To begin the discussion we give you the opinions of two distinguished American jurists:

“Anyone may arrange his affairs so that his taxes shall be as low as possible; he is not bound to choose that pattern which best pays the treasury. There is not even a patriotic duty to increase one’s taxes. Over and over again the Courts have said that there is nothing sinister in so arranging affairs as to keep taxes as low as possible. Everyone does it, rich and poor alike and all do right, for nobody owes any public duty to pay more than the law demands: Taxes are enforced exactions, not voluntary contributions. To demand more in the name of morals is mere cant. “

— Honorable Learned Hand, U.S. Appeals Court Judge, Helvering v. Gregory, 69 F.2d 809 (1934).

“I live in Alexandria, Virginia. Near the Supreme Court chamber is a toll bridge across the Potomac. When in a rush I pay the dollar toll and get home early. However, I usually drive a free bridge outside the down- town section of the city, and cross the Potomac on a free bridge. The bridge was placed outside the downtown Washington D.C. area to serve a useful social service: getting drivers to drive the extra mile to help alleviate congestion during rush hour. If I went over the toll bridge and through the barrier without paying the toll, I would be committing tax evasion. If, however, I drive the extra mile and drive outside the city of Washington, I am using a legitimate, logical and suitable method of tax avoidance, and I am performing a useful social service by doing so. For my tax evasion, I should be punished. For my tax avoidance, I should be commended. The tragedy of life today is that so few people know that the free bridge even exists.”

— U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis

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Celebrity divorces can hardly be considered news anymore, they happen so often, but the recently finalized divorce between Bill Murray and ex-wife Jennifer Butler Murray is news because of something they did before the wedding: They signed a prenuptial agreement.

And it worked. At least it seems to have worked so far according to the Associated Press.

Preventing painful, drawn out court battles and protecting your individual property is exactly what a prenuptial agreement is designed to do. And prenups are not just for celebrities or millionaires anymore. If you have property, or a business, or even a burgeoning career, a prenuptial agreement is worth looking into.

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