An estate planning attorney sees clients of all ages and family situations, but the client we would probably like to see more of is young families. Young parents often push estate planning to the back burner, thinking “we don’t need to do this for years yet; nothing’s going to happen to us.” But accidents happen, and tragedy can strike. When tragedy strikes a family with young children the results can be truly heartbreaking.

This blog post from The Mom Crowd entitled 7 Ways To Show Your Family You Love Them expresses the sentiment pretty perfectly in the opening paragraph, “We all show our family that we love them in different ways. Another way that you can show your love for them is to show them that you care about them even after you are gone. The hard reality is that we are all going to leave this earth and we don’t know when.”

Author Amanda goes on to share 7 smart and fairly easy ways parents can plan ahead for disaster and make sure their children and families are taken care of after they are gone, all 7 are basic steps that can make all the difference if the unthinkable should happen. Our only departure with Amanda’s excellent post is that she provides links to some online resources for estate planning, whereas we highly recommend going to visit an attorney who can listen to your specific needs and ensure that your plans include the most recent tax language and trust options. Trust mills may be inexpensive, but they can fail under scrutiny, leaving your family out in the cold when they most need protection.

One thing that comes through beautifully in Amanda’s post is the surety that creating an estate plan is one of the most loving things you can do for your family, and that the effects of this action (or inaction) in the present will reach far into the future. Having a solid plan in place brings comfort to your spouse, security to your children, and peace for yourself.

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With the economy being what it is many people are choosing to put off estate planning as a non-essential item until things start to look up again, but we’re here to tell you why that is a bad idea. Below are 5 reasons why you may want to rethink putting your estate planning on the back burner:

1. The Plan The State Has Provided For You. If you don’t create your own estate plan the state has provided one for you. In this situation your property goes through the probate process, which is not only lengthy and expensive, but in the end the courts get to decide to whom your assets will go and how much they’ll get.

2. The Foster Care System. Neglecting to nominate guardians for your minor children means that the state is responsible for them should something happen to you. Without any direction on your part, your children could end up in the care of your nearest living relative, being put in the care of whoever happens to step forward, or—worst case scenario—in the foster care system.

3. Estate Taxes And Administrative Expenses. Without proper planning much of your estate could end up going to the government or being drained by unnecessary administrative expenses rather than going to your heirs in a safe and efficient manner.

4. Your Ex-Spouse. If you are separated or divorced your ex-spouse could still be listed as the beneficiary on any of your retirement accounts or life-insurance policies obtained while you were still married.

5. Your Family’s Financial Privacy. Once a will has been submitted to the probate courts it becomes a public document. Only a trust will keep your financial affairs private and away from the prying eyes of possible predators.

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In the area of estate planning we’re only too aware of how tempting it is for people to want to put off their planning until after retirement. If you’ve been reading our blog you know that there are many reasons why we highly recommend you don’t put it off, but for those of you who have put off your planning, and are just getting to it at the age of 65 or older, there can now be a lot to learn, and it can seem downright overwhelming.

Our office knows how daunting it can be to enter the realm of estate planning, and we make your experience as easy and understandable as possible. To that end, for those who are interested, Suzy Peterfriend Ross has written an excellent article entitled The Top 10 Things Seniors Need to Know. In her article Ross explains the basics of estate planning for seniors in easy to understand language with just enough detail to keep you informed but not overwhelmed.

Ross covers some very key issues in her article, including number 2, the ever important “Medicaid five-year lookback.” And it is telling that the very first point she makes is that wills are not enough, “a lengthy probate process can hold up the disposition of [your] assets for an indefinite amount of time while [your] wills are validated,” says Ross, what you really should be doing is creating is a trust. Trusts hold onto your assets while you’re still alive, keeping them out of probate, while still allowing you complete access to them. And best of all, “senior citizens can customize their trusts to meet their own specific needs.”

Seniors have a lot of options when it comes to estate planning. In some ways, seniors have more options than younger couples. But seniors also have a lot more issues to think about and in some cases rules that need to be followed. This is why it is absolutely essential to consult an attorney for your estate planning questions if you are 65 or older.

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An unfortunate by-product of a financial crisis or recession is a rise in the overall divorce rate. Couples fight over finances more than almost any other topic, and when home finances are ailing many marriages tend to go the same way.

If you and your spouse are victims of this phenomenon, there are many steps that can be taken to try to gain control of the fire before it gains control over you. Options range from finding advice columns such as this one on essortment, to a visit to your financial planner to help understand your financial options, to seeing a marriage counselor. Even if you overlook the emotional toll (which obviously is no small thing), the cost of saving a marriage is much less than the cost of dissolving it.

However, even the most determined and well-intentioned couples will sometimes end up going their own ways. If that does happen, it is more important than ever to insure that you and your family (and your business if you have one) are protected.

Gary Williams, in his article in The Daily Record advises, “The immediate months after a divorce can be disorienting — even if you don’t move, you are literally starting a new household… and that means new money issues to face. This is why the weeks immediately after a divorce are a good time to revisit short- and long-term spending and planning goals.”

Williams also advises that it is “best to blend estate planning with financial planning post-divorce.” It is likely that any of your tax-deferred savings accounts (retirement accounts, life-insurance policies, etc.) name your ex-spouse as the beneficiary. It is also likely that if you created any estate planning documents pre-divorce your ex is named as your health care agent, financial agent, executor, etc. If you had an amiable divorce you may still be okay with this, but what happens if your spouse remarries? What if he or she has children with the new spouse?

If you are recently divorced or going through a divorce, you are going to be overwhelmed, emotional, and exhausted. The easiest thing in the world would be to put off your financial or estate planning. Don’t. As John Lennon said, “Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.”

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We usually provide you with posts on serious matters here on our blog; things such as how to financially protect your family, making sure your young children will be cared for when you’re gone, planning for your retirement, or caring for your elderly parents. But sometimes estate planning is just plain strange! So strange that someone actually made a list of The Top Ten Strangest Will Bequests.

If you’ve been putting off a visit to your estate planning attorney because you think you have an unusual or embarrassing request—think again! Estate planning attorneys have seen and heard it all. Whatever you’ve got, it can’t be as strange as the vampire in number 2.

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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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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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Do you know what is going to happen to your assets after you die? Even if you have created a Last Will and Testament you may not be able to answer “yes” to that question. Widow Margaret Amrich thought she was ensuring the answer when she created her Will, a thought in which she was mistaken, according to this article by Melissa Bailey. Ms. Amrich had no immediate heirs, and her Will left all but $500 of her assets (the largest of which was her home) to a local Community Foundation to be used for crippled children. With no family to fight over her wishes, no extensive assets to sort through, and clear directions written into her Will, it all seemed too easy.

Unfortunately, setting down your wishes in a Will is not always enough. Twenty months after her death, Ms. Amrich’s designated charity is only just receiving its inheritance, due to a long probate process and the shady mishandling of the sale of her home by the estate’s appointed executor.

There are ways to better ensure that your wishes will be followed after your death. Creating a Revocable Trust is an excellent way to avoid the lengthy probate process. It also allows you to build checks and balances into your estate plan with ease. One way to create checks and balances is to appoint co-Trustees to “keep each other honest”. Another is to appoint a Trust Advisor, someone who could request accountings of the Trustee and serve as a mediator in the event that a dispute arises between parties named in your estate plan.

Don’t let your assets end up in limbo; call our office to help you create a plan that follows your wishes for the distribution of your estate in a reliable and timely manner.

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The current state of the economy may be putting us all in a tight squeeze, but no cloud is without its silver lining, as Anne Tergesen points out in her Wall Street Journal article. The silver lining in this particular cloud is that the depressed economy and sinking stocks offer an unmatched opportunity to pass on wealth to your heirs without triggering estate tax as you do.

Most people know by now that in the year 2010 the estate tax is scheduled to disappear entirely. . . but only temporarily. Until that year arrives—and then again after that year passes (no one really expects we will have the good fortune to do away with estate tax permanently), we have to face the fact that our children and heirs won’t be getting all of our hard-earned fortune when we die. The government gets some of it. And unless we plan intelligently, the government can end up getting a large portion of it.

Our office can’t fix the economy, but we can help you find the silver lining around that dark cloud. Let us help you ensure that your family receives the inheritance they deserve; whether it be in 2010 or in any other year.

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The final post in our series focuses on the part of your Estate Plan having to do with healthcare. This is the section that is likely to change most often, and will require the most frequent review and update.

The backbone of the healthcare portion of your Estate Plan is of course your Advanced Health Care Directive (or Health Care Power of Attorney). In this document you record your wishes and instructions for your medical treatment—including any existing conditions or illnesses—as well as the people you nominate as your healthcare agents, those who will make healthcare decisions for you if you are unable. Your Advanced Health Care Directive should be updated whenever you have a major change in your health status.

Also included in the healthcare portion of your Estate Plan is your HIPAA Authorization, which gives the hospital and medical staff permission to share your health status with the people you’ve nominated as your healthcare agents. Your HIPAA should be updated every time you nominate new agents, or every 2-3 years to keep it “fresh” in the eyes of hospital personnel.

A lesser known part of the healthcare portion of your Estate Plan is your disability panel, included in your Trust. This is a list of the people authorized to determine your incapacity for purposes of handling trust accounts. A court of law is automatically authorized to make this decision, but you can also name a panel of doctors, professionals, loved ones, or a combination of any of those to determine your ability to make financial decisions relating to the Trust. Your disability panel does not need to be updated regularly, but should be reviewed at least as often as you review your list of healthcare agents.

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