Keep a detailed list of all of your accounts and the names and addresses of the financial institutions and where they are located. If you deal with a specific broker, be sure to include his or her name and contact number.
Have a valid Power of Attorney. If you have a bank or investment account, make sure that the institution accepts your Power of Attorney or execute one of theirs. Different financial institutions have different requirements. Check while you still can! Keep track of whom you name in your Power of Attorney. If you give that person a Power of Attorney, and later change your mind, you must notify all of your accounts not just those you notified previously.
Be careful when putting someone on your bank accounts. You can either make them a joint owner of the account, or you can make it a convenience account. A joint account passes to the other person upon your death, but a convenience account becomes part of your estate. That way, if you have more then one child, it keeps your estate from being distributed unevenly – and saves hard feelings between siblings later.
You can now name a beneficiary on an investment account. This can be a useful tool and can help your heirs avoid having to probate your will, but you need to be careful. Be sure to consult your estate planning professional before naming a beneficiary. An improperly named beneficiary can seriously derail an estate plan, and cost your beneficiaries money!
Execute a new Health Care Proxy and Living Will. Both of these documents have been changed in the past year and half. Make sure your doctor(s) and your children have a copy of your Health Care Proxy and Living Will.
Keep your documents together in a secure location. Upon your death no one is going to be able to access your safe deposit box, so don’t keep your Will in your safe deposit box! Make sure your children know where you keep your important documents.
Make a Medicaid plan and then share it with your children. Make sure they know where things are and how to access information. If you have long-term care insurance, make sure your children know the name and number of the broker. Keep your Medicaid plan up to date!
Give your children the name and number of your estate planning attorney. Your children are under no obligation to use him or her to settle your estate upon your death. However, your attorney can explain your plan and if he or she is storing your Will, can turn it over to your children.
Update for the Year 2007
THERE ARE CERTAIN ESTATE planning imperatives that you should get squared away no matter what your circumstances. Did you know:
· If you do not appoint an alternate stand by guardian for your children, the surrogate’s court will appoint one
· Average age of a female widow is approx. 50 years of age
· Median annual income for females is approximately 50% less than a male
A properly crafted will can protect your spouse, your children and their children, and ensure that your final wishes are kept. A proper will can protect disabled children while preserving their eligibility for government benefits, a guardian can be named for minor children and their futures protected. If your children are married, you can ensure that your assets are kept “all in the family” or distributed to your favorite charity. You have probably heard that the current law calls for a complete repeal of the federal estate tax in 2010, but are you aware that it returns in 2011 and with it some major modifications? Have you heard that Congress passed very significant changes to the Medicaid rules, whereby the look back period is now five years? There is also a the new Pension Protection Act of 2006 where long term care insurance coverage to be offered as part of, or as a rider to an annuity or life insurance contract and that portion of the coverage will not be includible in your gross income.
You may think you don’t have enough assets to have a plan, but the smallest estates can sometimes be the most difficult to settle because of problems that could have been resolved if addressed earlier. Even if you have a plan in place, if it has been more then two years since you have reviewed it with an estate planning professional, then you are overdue. The Terri Shaivo case has called attention to the need for a valid health care proxy and living will, but you also need an updated power of attorney to make sure your affairs may be dealt with by your family as painlessly as possible. Berger and Brandow, LLP offers a free, no obligation, 45 minute estate planning consultation. Your family cannot afford to have you put it off any longer. And with a free consultation, neither can you. Please call us to schedule your appointment.
A law firm concentrating in education and disability law representing parents and their children.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this brochure is intended to convey general information. It should not be construed as legal advice or opinion. It is not an offer to represent you, nor is it intended to create an attorney-client relationship.
