Estate Planning for Special Needs Children

If you have a child with special needs, you are already on a unique journey. To ensure your child receives the best care and maximizes quality of life, you should sit down with an estate planning attorney. The process will be much easier and you can guarantee your child receives the best benefits possible!

With special needs children, a number of unique obstacles are presented. Families must exercise special care when making estate planning decisions involving special needs children. This is true whether the child(ren) with special needs is still a minor or an adult, especially if receiving public benefits such as SSI and Medicaid. Specific considerations will vary depending on the individual’s abilities, but the primary focus should still be to provide maximum benefit to the special needs child/adult’s life. Creating a solid estate plan can optimize the comfortability and quality of life of special needs children. Parents must be conscious of income, assets, and potential expenses when estate planning with special needs children in mind. In essence, special needs estate planning must focus on the preservation of public benefits while still putting aside to supplement.

Below are a list of options to consider when creating an estate plan with special needs children in mind.

• Make a Special Needs Trust

  The special needs trust is always best case scenario. It is by far the most beneficial and detailed option when estate planning for a loved one. These trusts allow beneficiaries access to proponents such as inherited money, settlements from lawsuits, and other pools of money while still maintaining an approved status for government programs that provide benefits for them like Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Survivor Benefits, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

  A special needs trust should be drafted with a special needs estate planning attorney to maximize benefit opportunities. Funds allocation must be set up in a way that doesn’t offer the beneficiary ownership so they remain eligible for public benefits. There are several types of special needs trusts, but the best options would be a discretionary trust or a spendthrift trust. Spendthrift trusts offer the trustee complete authority to make spending decisions for the beneficiary. This is a strong option because credit agencies cannot access funds in the trust and they aren’t technically under the beneficiary’s control. The discretionary trust is also a viable option as the trustee has extensive control over who gets the funds and when they get them.
• Transfer Care to Trustee

  This option is often considered when a child/adult suffers from severe physical/mental disabilities. These disabilities can affect independent living, holding down a job, and other basic necessities. By transferring care to a trustee – often a family member who is familiar with the special needs individual and the kind of care required to offer an enriching life) – parents ensure their child will have the best care and opportunities available. Careful consideration must be taken when selecting a trustee to care for your special needs child. They should be financially capable, familiar with the medical and health requirements/procedures required, and be able to set time aside for any necessary hospital visits, therapists appointments, and enrichment classes. Taking on a child/adult with special needs is a sizeable undertaking, especially if the trustee is not familiar with the specific care regiment required.

  In order to optimize quality of life, selecting someone who has knowledge or is willing to learn about all the procedures and practices involving the child is extremely important. Never assume that someone is capable until properly vetted.
• Disinheriting the Child

  This option is typically not considered and highly frowned upon, but in some cases, this can be an option worth considering. The only real benefit of this option is that in most instances, it ensures the preservation of government assistance.

  Disinheriting the child is an option that should only be considered as a last resort because beyond the government aid programs the child would be eligible for, it does very little to improve the child’s life.
• Should It Come Into Effect During Life or Death?

  All families with special needs children should consider whether they should incorporate a trust in their will or create a special needs living trust. Creating a testamentary special needs trust that goes into effect when the trustmaker dies can be a viable option as it is a much simpler process and more cost-effective approach to managing the beneficiary’s assets. On the negative side, any assets included in the testamentary special needs trust will be used to pay the creator’s creditors first in the instance that the estate doesn’t have enough additional assets to do so.

  The more ideal option is the living trust/inter vivos trust. There are several advantages to having this kind of trust including:

  • Avoiding a Probate
  • Other family members can supplement money in trust
  • Can be revocable or irrevocable

  An experienced estate planning attorney can help determine which option is best suited to the specific cases. Different families have different needs so one size doesn’t fit all. In order to maximize the benefits seen by special needs children/benefactors, careful estate planning strategies must be executed. You are their voice and must advocate for their best interests.

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source https://trustsandestate.com/estate-planning-for-special-needs-children/

Estate Planning Tips for Seniors

Scenario

At 78, tom was staying with his last born son, and as days went by, he became more and more concerned with who will take over his assets. He had a handwritten will well hidden in the attic, and no one knew of the ranch he had bought a few years ago. He was debating whether to tell the son or not when he suffered a stroke and died. The will was never found.

This is a typical scenario for many seniors. We have seen cases whereby seniors have died without a will, or no one could find the will that they allegedly wrote when they were alive.

This leads to many protracted court battles over the property because there is no straight guideline to decide on who gets what and in which measures.

When you are in your sunset years, you need to realize that when you pass away, your family will remain behind and will need your assistance. You need to give a directive regarding how the process should be handled. Otherwise, you will leave behind a family that won’t stick together just because of you failed to come up with an estate plan.

To this end, you need to talk to an estate planning lawyer to make sure you follow the right procedure in coming up with an estate plan.

• Assess Your Estate

  Before you do anything else, this is the moment when you sit down, with pen and paper, and try to come up with a list of properties that you own.

  The estate is everything that you own, right from the house to the souvenirs that you have held dear all your life. Take time to come up with the list because without it then your plan won’t be complete.

  When you have your affairs in order, you will draft the plan faster. If you have all your property listed down, it is time to know whether you have any associated documents to go with the property. Collect them and have them filed and ready.
• Start Now

  If you haven’t started the estate planning process earlier, then you need to start it immediately. As a senior, you have some time on your hands to visit our offices and start on the process.

  The good thing is that it doesn’t take a lot of time to achieve the perfect estate plan.

  If you already started the process, this is the right time to update the plan.
• Choose an Executor

  Once you have a plan in place, the next thing you need to do is to choose someone that will handle the administration of the estate when you are gone.

  An executor is a person that you trust to carry out the various wishes that you have set out in the will. They take care of the ongoing bill and notify any creditors about payment of their debts.

  They also take charge of the taxes and try to tie up loose ends.
  When choosing an executor, you need to be sure that it is someone that has the capacity to make proper decisions on your behalf. Usually, it is a close family member or a friend that you can trust.
• Review It Regularly

  Even after coming up with the best estate plan, you need to make sure that you review the plan regularly. When you have a plan, certain things will trigger you to take a step, such as buying a new house or a car, or a new kid being added to the family.

  Make sure you review this plan every once a year to make sure it is updated. For more formal reviews, try to talk to an estate planning lawyer every two years to update the clauses.
• Share Your Plan

  Try and share your plan with your family members and overlook anything. Make sure your family understands what you are doing, and they are comfortable with it. You might ask them what they love so that you designate it to them in the will.
• Final Words

  When it comes to estate planning for seniors, you need to make sure you begin the process early enough so that you avoid any hurdles that might come your way. Take time to understand what you need and how you need it to be communicated to your family members.

The post Estate Planning Tips for Seniors appeared first on New York Estate Planning Law Firm.

source https://trustsandestate.com/estate-planning-tips-for-seniors/

Estate Planning for Same-sex Couples

Surveys show that 10 per cent of LGBTQ couples are married to a same-sex partner. This is an increase of 3 per cent after the high court ruling.

This shows that the world has changed rapidly, and as such, same-sex marriages have become common.

As an LGBTQ couple, you need to handle so many issues, so get ready to handle some more when you decide to plan your estate.

When it comes to estate planning, you need to understand that the same rules apply to your union just like any other couple out there – as long as you have an estate to protect, you need to have legally binding documents to prove ownership and guide the distribution of wealth.

Since you are faced with the same predicaments that come with other kinds of couples, you will need the following documents to make things easier for your beneficiaries.

• Have a Will

  This is the mainstay of any estate plan. The document might seem easy to draft, but its importance is enormous. The will determines the following:

  • The beneficiaries of your estate.
  • Who will protect and watch over your kids if they are less than 18 years old.
  • Executors for the estate.
  • The names of an adult to manage assets for minors.

  Your beneficiary list can be anyone who takes over your property when you are gone – it can even be the family pet.

  Remember that if you fail to come up with a will, the property that you own will be controlled by the law of the state.

  Dying without a will is an exceptionally massive issue for same-sex couples because the law will rely on existing stipulations about these types of marriages. So, if you aren’t married, or the state laws don’t allow you to get married, then your partner might end up with nothing.
• Avoid Probate

  When you don’t have a will, then your estate is handled by the courts. This process is usually lengthy and costly, and won’t benefit your beneficiaries a lot.

  We also have various ways you can avoid probate, but this is hard for same-sex couples because many states won’t give you the chance to use the laws that allow the property to pass through to your partner without going through probate.

  Other ways to avoid probate is to use the following methods:

  • Set up a living trust.
  • Use accounts that transfer your property to a beneficiary upon your demise.
  • Use joint ownership of the property rather than a sole proprietorship.
• Have a Health Care Directive

  If you have a condition that threatens to be terminal, you need to come up with these directives. This is where you allow somebody to make health decisions on your behalf when you are incapacitated.

  The directive is ideal because it tells the attending physician what to do when you near the end of your life. The good thing is that you can assign your partner to make decisions on your behalf without anyone doubting your relationship.
• Understand Estate Taxes

  If you plan to give your property away, you have to think about taxes. The estate plan is one of the ways to reduce the amount of taxes you pay.

  The federal government has set a directive to use when paying taxes. If your estate is small, you might not have to pay estate tax.

  However, you need to consult with an estate planning attorney to find out if the state you reside in has an estate tax. This is because different states charge different estate taxes, which you must pay.
• Create Powers of the Attorney (POA)

  This comes in two types. The financial POA allows you to choose someone to handle your business decisions when you are not in a position to do so yourself.

  The second type is the health care POA. This entrusts someone the power to make decisions on your behalf regarding the nature of medical procedures that can be performed on you. The person only makes the decisions when you can’t do this on your own.
• Decide Final Plans

  The estate plan also gives you room to make final arrangements. The document you come up with talks about what happens when you die and should be done during your funeral.
  This document isn’t legally binding, but it assists your surviving partner in making decisions faster regarding your final journey.
• Final Words

  As a same-sex couple, you need to make sure you have the right estate planning documents ready and well-crafted so that regardless of the law of the state, you get to leave your partner with some property.

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source https://trustsandestate.com/estate-planning-for-same-sex-couples/

Estate Planning for Differently-abled People

Studies show that more than 15 percent of people aged 5 years and above have special needs.

Having a special needs child is not a choice you make – it comes naturally. While you have limited power over disability, you can do things differently to make life better for this heir or beneficiary- from identifying the best learning institutions to getting medical care for them.

People with unique needs require specialized care and knowledge at all stages of their lives. Furthermore, the family also gets misinformed, with people taking advantage of the situation.

When misinformed, you find yourself making wrong decisions all the time.
Previously, we have seen how tough it is to come up with the best estate plan even when special needs aren’t in the picture. Now, if you have a differently abled person in the picture, it becomes more complex.

There are a few questions that will cross your mind when you have someone who needs special care to include in the plan:

• Where will he live when am gone?
• Who will take care of him/her?
• What services does he need?
• How much do these services cost, and how will they be paid for.
• Does he have the capacity to make rational decisions on his/her own?

These are tough questions to answer when faced with an estate planning task that involves differently abled. We suggest that you engage with a qualified estate planning attorney to get some closure.

The counsel helps you to draft the different documents that will make things work. They also help you understand the government’s role in taking care of your beneficiary and what you require to qualify for the assistance.

• Tips to Develop the Best Estate Plan for a Differently Abled Person

  Have a Document Showing Your Intentveryon

  This document seeks to inform seeks involved in the estate about the heir. The letter talks about how the person is different, the comforts, habits, functional capabilities and so on.
  This document doesn’t have legally binding features; rather it works to notify the members that are left behind about the person’s needs and what they need to do.

  Talk to the estate planning lawyer to guide you on drafting the document the right way. This letter needs to be reviewed and updated frequently to reflect the needs of the person. After every update, try and communicate the changes to the relevant people.

  Create a Trust

  This is aimed at paying for the distinctive needs of the person. While the government offers assistance to people with special needs, you also need to supplement according to the wishes of the person in the picture.
  After setting it up, the next thing is to fund the trust. Try and understand how much is needed depending on the present routine of the heir. Understand that due to a few issues, you might be forced to allocate above what you wanted to.
  After you decide on the amount to set aside for the trust:

  • Don’t opt for less than is needed. If you don’t have enough money to fund it, then go for life insurance or source for funds from other people, such as other family members.
  • Don’t go for more than what is needed. This will encourage fraud, instead allows the trustee to distribute the extra funds for the other members of the family.

  Once it is set up and you are satisfied with the result, you need to come up with a document that tells the trustee how things should run. It should guide them on the distributions, how much and when to do it. Specifically, point out allocation of the money towards hiring lawyers, estate managers and other experts that can make the process smooth.

  Make it Fast

  It is a fact that the loved one won’t have the capacity to contest a will in court, which means your estate plan should minimize court dates.

  Even when a special needs heir is involved, as long as the case goes to court, a third party will have some say in the succession. And litigation takes time and is tiresome, which makes it good for all those involved if you can make the estate plan perfect.
• Final Words

  When you have differently abled person in your family or among your beneficiaries, chances are that you haven’t thought the estate planning through with him in mind. Visit your estate planning lawyer to get an idea of what to do and how to do it. Remember, the earlier you start the estate planning process the better.

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source https://trustsandestate.com/estate-planning-for-differently-abled-people/

Estate Planning for Folks without Kids or Beneficiaries

The most vital role of estate planning is to determine how to allocate your properties. But what if there is no one to take over your estate? Do you still need to plan your estate or you leave it the way it is?

As of 2018, Statista reported that a little less than half of women in America were childless.

Many people don’t see the point in coming up with a plan, which is a huge mistake. When you pass away without an estate plan, you increase the chances of your estate going to someone that doesn’t deserve the property.

• The Rules of Inheritance

  These are rules that determine where your estate ends up when you pass away. Every state has its own rules that describe who gets precedence and how much they are supposed to collect when you become deceased.

  In as much as the statutes differ from one state to another, there is a priority among the heirs that cuts across states.

  Intestate (Presence of Will) vs. Testate (Absence of Will)

  The rules of inheritance apply depending on a variety of factors, chief among them being the presence or absence of a will.
  A person that leaves a legal will behind is said to have died intestate, while a person who dies minus leaving a valid will behind is said to have died testate.

  While the different states have differing views on wills, it is a fact that most of them recognize the document to be valid when it has been prepared by a person aged 18 years or older. Additionally, most states let a parent to strike their kids off a will as they feel like, but this doesn’t apply to spouses.

  The Priority

  When you have a surviving spouse, you get automatic priority in the succession laws. When your spouse dies and you have no surviving kids, then you as the surviving spouse will inherit the whole estate.

  Children are also given priority when the surviving parent is unmarried at the time of death of the other spouse. In such a case, the kids receive the entire estate.

  On the other hand, if both the spouse and kids are alive, then they split the property, though the amount each receives in the inheritance varies from state to state. Grandkids are reflected under special circumstances, for instance, if the parents are deceased, then the grandkids have the right to share in the estate.

  Collateral Heirs

  These include siblings and other relatives that aren’t direct descendants of the departed. In cases where the person didn’t have any kids, grandkids, parents or partner, then the siblings can inherit a part of the estate.

  Alternative Heirs

  If you don’t have relatives to inherit your estate, then you can designate the wealth to an acquaintance or a charity.

  Truth is that anyone has a right to inherit your estate, excluding the lawyer who made the will. It is usually better to choose the beneficiary rather than let someone else decide where your money needs to go.

  Without an heir, you can go ahead and leave the estate to a charity that you are comfortable with. It is therefore, prudent that you start your charitable acts when you are still alive so that you identify the best charity to leave the estate to.

  Before you make a charity your beneficiary, sit down with your estate planning lawyer who has familiarity with charitable funding to guide you. The lawyer will advise you on how to meet your goals easily and cheaply.

  Get Somebody to Assist with Your Decisions

  In most cases, the immediate family is usually tasked with assisting you to decide – but what happens when you don’t have anyone to turn to when incapacitated? This is why you need someone to handle critical decisions on your behalf.

  • Power of attorney (POA) – this is tasked with making crucial decisions for you in various areas. You can decide to have a POA for investments and another one for medical issues.
  • A living will – this person will make decisions for you when you near death.

  All these people are vital, work with your estate planning lawyer to choose the best one for your circumstances.
• Takeaway

  Even without kids or an apparent heir, you still need to come up with an estate plan. Make sure you have a will to guide the state on how to distribute your wealth. You also need to have a list of beneficiaries to receive your estate when you die.

The post Estate Planning for Folks without Kids or Beneficiaries appeared first on New York Estate Planning Law Firm.

source https://trustsandestate.com/estate-planning-for-folks-without-kids-or-beneficiaries/

Estate Planning for Non-citizens

The number of non-citizens in the US has quadrupled since 1965. Studies show that non-citizensn in the US reached a record 44 million in 2017.

While you might find it pleasing to relocate to the country to look for work or to live, challenges arise once you decide to plan your estate.

As a non-citizen, the country permits you to buy and own properties, and pass them on to your family when you pass away. This is why it is vital to protect it for your loved ones.

While you have the right to use the same tools for estate planning akin to other citizens, the laws that apply to you vary slightly. This means that if you fail to handle your estate plan the right way, you will end up paying higher taxes than the citizens or end up having the estate tied up in court for a long time.

This is why it is essential to consult an estate planning lawyer to make sure the plan you come up with is all-inclusive, and it follows the set rules.
Here are a few tips to make you handle your estate plan the right way.

• Define Your Domicile

  You are considered to be domiciled in the country if you plan to live in the US without any intention of going back to your country of origin.

  To this end, you need to state the duration you wish to stay in the country, your green card status, ties to other countries, business interests, and any locations where you are affiliated.
• Appoint an Attorney

  Since your family might be in a far-off country, you must have an estate planning lawyer to assist with the process. The lawyer advises you on the steps to take and when to perform these tasks so that you uphold your status in the country.
• Appoint a Healthcare Proxy

  The minute you become debilitated and incapable of making decisions, you ought to have somebody to make medical judgments on your behalf. The person you choose will have the right to your medical info and the authority to talk to the doctors for you.
• Have an Advance Directive

  The advance healthcare directive is an order that tells the attending physician what to do when you are debilitated and cannot communicate your wishes.

  The doctor uses the document to confirm your wishes regarding therapeutic procedures that they might use to prolong your lifespan.

  Some people argue that the directive is similar to a proxy, but it is prudent to have both of them because each has its unique role.
• Plan for Your Final Rites

  Write down the details of what happens when you pass on. Your demise is an emotional period for your loved ones, but if you have a brief that tells them your specific wishes during the funeral, it makes things easy for them,
  With enough money, you can buy a plot in a cemetery. When you do, don’t forget to include this in the will.

  If the state doesn’t have this provision, then make things clear about what needs to be done when you pass on – regarding your burial and funeral. Leave the document with someone that you trust, and then ask them to present it to the executor when you become deceased.
• Have a Will

  While we recommend that you transfer your properties to your heirs through a trust, it is still vital that you come up with a will.

  The document identifies who will inherit what and also name a guardian if you have minors. It also appoints an executor to manage the estate and allocation process.

  Ensure you prepare the will in line with what your estate planning lawyer tells you. Document all aspects of the estate and then have witnesses to countersign the document.
• Create a Trust

  You must consider establishing a trust. Once you decide to set up one, you have four types that you can opt for:

  • Living trust
  • Revocable trust
  • Irrevocable
  • Testamentary

  You establish a living trust when you are still alive; then, your family can come up with a testamentary trust when you pass on.

  Having a trust will permit you to manage your estate the right way by use of a trustee. A trust is ideal when you want the estate to be managed the right way.
• In Closing

  Non-US citizens have a right to settle in the country. With this step come a lot of responsibilities that they need to handle. One of these is setting up the right estate plan for their loved ones. An estate planning lawyer makes it easy for this to happen.

The post Estate Planning for Non-citizens appeared first on New York Estate Planning Law Firm.

source https://trustsandestate.com/estate-planning-for-non-citizens/

Estate Planning for New Homebuyers

It is a well-known fact that 33 percent of people buying houses are first-time homebuyers.

So, you have just bought your first house, or this is an addition to the ones that you already have. Well, many people are so excited when they buy a home that they forget one vital element of life – estate planning.

Studies show that more than half the population of adults in the country hasn’t come up with a will yet. They are still procrastinating on whether a will is ideal or not.

We have a few triggers that will make you decide to update your estate plan, that is if you have one, or to come up with a new one if you don’t have one at all. Purchasing a home is one trigger that you need to work with.

Let us look at a few tips to help you update your estate plan the right way when you buy a home.

• Decide on Ownership

  You have to decide on how the property needs to be passed on when you die, something that isn’t easy to think about when you have just moved into your new house.

  For instance, when you own the house alone, it will be passed on to your relatives as per the state laws or will go to the beneficiaries that you have spelled out in your will.

  On the other hand, if you have purchased the house jointly with your wife, then the property goes directly to her. If you own the house with someone that isn’t your relative, then the property is passed down to the person as per your desires.

  So, before you go ahead and come up with a way to pass on the property, make sure you consider these aspects, then update your estate plan the right way.
• Get a Power of Attorney to Handle Decisions

  Having a house is one thing, but managing it when you are incapacitated can be a tough task for you. This is why you need to come up with a document that mentions the person that will make the decisions on your behalf. The document that you come up with is called a power of attorney.

  When you have this document set up adequately, it allows you to name someone that you trust to handle your financial decisions when you are ill, and you cannot make decisions as required.

  If you don’t have someone in mind to take up this role, then a beneficiary might go to court and take up the part, which will take a lot of time and might result in missed payments on your mortgage.
• Update Your Will

  A home is a unique part of any estate plan because it doesn’t just represent a property, but a place that you have fond memories about.

  For you to transfer the property to someone that won’t cherish these memories is a bad thing – which is why you need to make sure that you pass the property to someone that will love the property.

  Without a will, you grant the federal government the right to administer the property on your behalf – meaning the state will determine who gets the house.
  You have put a lot of money, love and time into making a house your home, so it is just right that you decide who gets it so that they maintain it the way you want it to be handled.

  If you don’t want anyone to have the house, you can recommend the executor to sell it and then share out the proceeds with a few beneficiaries, or all of them.
• Choose an Executor

  The executor is that person that makes sure the desires of the will are followed to the latter. They make sure they distribute the funds to your beneficiaries the right way and then act on your behalf when you pass away.

  You need to choose someone that you trust, someone that will make sure the property gets to the beneficiary as you intend, someone that won’t side with a few beneficiaries to make others feel left out.

  After appointing the executor, let them know what you wish and then follow it to the latter. Tell them where you have stored the will so that they have access to it as needed.
• In Closing

  When you buy a new house, so many things change, among them the way ownership changes hands. You need to make sure you draft a will to tell your beneficiaries what you have decided. Take time to understand what the law stipulates about the estate plan. Talk to an estate planning lawyer for more information regarding the same.

The post Estate Planning for New Homebuyers appeared first on New York Estate Planning Law Firm.

source https://trustsandestate.com/estate-planning-for-new-homebuyers/