The Petrosewicz Law Firm Estate Planning Blog

How a Letter to Your Executor Conveys Your Wishes

A detailed, informative letter can be invaluable to your executor to make your wishes known, says the article “Why You Should Write a Letter to Your Executor—and What to Say in It” from The Wall Street Journal. Your last will and testament does have many directions. However, there may be things you want your executor to know that may not be included in your will. This is especially important if death is sudden. The letter, which you should sign and date, can help prevent potential disputes, by minimizing any confusion around your intentions, priorities and goals.

Here are some things to consider when drafting a letter to your executor.

Your thoughts about wealth. Share your story about how you came to the assets that you are leaving in your will. How was your wealth created, what do you value and what are your long-term goals for your wealth? Do you want family members to invest the assets, so they grow over generations, or do you want them used for college education costs for grandchildren?

Describe key players in the family. It is best if your executor knows the members of your family.  However, they may not know the family dynamics or history. Giving them your insights, may help them anticipate issues. Does one child tend to take over and speak for everyone, without being asked? Are there substance abuse issues in the family that need to be considered? Present your executor with your concerns, so they can be mindful of how the family works (or doesn’t) as a unit.

What matters to you? This is especially important, if you don’t want your heirs to be dependent upon their inheritance, instead of becoming self-reliant. Share your values to encourage their earned success. Make it clear if you want to protect the family wealth, so it can be used to empower future generations and for family members to be responsible for their own financial well-being.

Give your executor the power to made decisions, even when that means saying no. Considering the size of your wealth and the family members who are your heirs, you probably have a good idea of who would do what with their inheritance. If you don’t want your wealth to be used for a start-up by a son who always bets on the wrong horse, say so in the letter to your executor. If you are hopeful that a daughter will use her inheritance for a down payment on a home for her family, you should also express that.

Some wishes for your wealth can be expressed through the use of trusts and other wealth planning tools. Your estate planning attorney will help create a plan that incorporates asset protection, tax planning and tools to distribute wealth in the way that you wish. An experienced estate planning attorney has worked with many families and understands the challenges and pitfalls that are presented any time wealth is transferred from one generation to the next.

The Petrosewicz Law Firm can assist you with your estate planning needs.  Contact us today at (281) 344-9455 or [email protected].  

Reference: The Wall Street Journal (April 8, 2020) “Why You Should Write a Letter to Your Executor—and What to Say in It”

How Bad Can a Do-It-Yourself Estate Plan Be? Very!

Here’s a real world example of why what seems like a good idea backfires, as reported in The National Law Review’s article “Unintended Consequences of a Do-It-Yourself Estate Plan.”

Ann Aldrich wrote her own will, using a preprinted legal form. She listed her property, including account numbers for her financial accounts. She left each item of property to her sister, Mary Jane Eaton. If Mary Jane Eaton did not survive, then James Aldrich, Ann’s brother, was the designated beneficiary.

A few things that you don’t find on forms: wills and trusts need to contain a residuary, and other clauses so that assets are properly distributed. Ms. Aldrich, not being an experienced estate planning attorney, did not include such clauses. This one omission became a costly problem for her heir that led to litigation.

Mary Jane Eaton predeceased Ms. Aldrich. Prior to her death, Mary Jane Eaton had in turn named Ms. Aldrich as her beneficiary.  Ms. Aldrich, in response, created a new account to receive her inheritance from Ms. Eaton. Ms. Aldrich also took title to Ms. Eaton’s real estate.

However, Ms. Aldrich never updated her will after the death of Mary Jane Eaton to include the new account and the new real estate property.

After Ms. Aldrich’s death, James Aldrich became enmeshed in litigation with two of Ms. Aldrich’s nieces over the assets that were not included in Ms. Aldrich’s will. The case went to court.

The Florida Supreme Court ruled that Ms. Aldrich’s will only addressed the property specifically listed to be distributed to Mr. James Aldrich. All other assets passed in part to Ms. Aldrich’s nieces.

Ms. Aldrich did not name those nieces anywhere in her will, and likely had no intention for them to receive any property. However, the intent could not be inferred by the court, which could only follow the will.

This is a real example of two basic problems that can result from do-it-yourself estate planning: unintended heirs and costly litigation.

More complex problems can arise when there are blended families or other family structure issues, incomplete tax planning, or wills that are not prepared properly and that are deemed invalid by the court.

Even ‘simple’ estate plans that are not prepared by an estate planning lawyer can lead to unintended consequences. Not only was the cost of litigation far more than the cost of having an estate plan prepared, but the relationship between Ms. Aldrich’s brother and her nieces was likely damaged beyond repair.

The Petrosewicz Law Firm can assist you with your estate planning needs.  Contact us today at (281) 344-9455 or [email protected].  

Reference: The National Law Review (Feb. 10, 2020) “Unintended Consequences of a Do-It-Yourself Estate Plan”

Financial Elder Abuse Is Growing

Financial elder abuse is defined as the “fraudulent or otherwise illegal, unauthorized or improper act or process of an individual, including a caregiver or fiduciary, that uses the resources of an older individual for monetary or personal benefit, profit or gain, that results in depriving an older individual of rightful access to, or use of, benefits, resources, belongings or assets.” That’s from The Older Americans Act of 2006.

Consumers Digest estimates that there are at least five million cases of financial elder abuse in America every year. An article titled “Population ages, financial abuse rises” from the Reading Eagle wisely notes that seniors are not just being targeted, they are the bull’s eye.

One of the reasons is because many older Americans live in isolation. A person who spends most of their time alone will welcome any simple human interaction, including talking to anyone who calls on the phone, unknown neighbors introducing themselves, marketing mail or interactions on the internet. This desire for company makes seniors more likely to ignore warning signs and to hand over money and control of their assets.

Do you wonder what kind of person would hand over their power of attorney to a stranger? The plain truth is that most financial elder abuse is committed by people who are closest to the senior. Family members are far more likely to prey on seniors than a stranger.

One financial advisor notes an instance where a scammer forged a check for $25,000 in a senior’s name, then kept doing it until she had stolen up to $75,000. She did it repeatedly, because she knew that she could get away with it.

The key to prevention is planning. First, seniors should simplify their financial and legal matters. Surrounding yourself with trusted advisors and family members who serve as checks and balances for each other is a good idea. It’s sometimes hard to know who to trust sometimes, especially family members. An estate planning attorney should be part of your team, and everyone should work together.

If you become suspicious that financial fraud is happening to you or a loved one, you may want to reach out to the Adult Protective Services office in your community. They will be able to advocate on behalf of the senior.

Treat everything and everyone with a degree of suspicion. If someone knocks on the front door and says they can offer you a discount on tree removal or roof repair because they are in the neighborhood, don’t believe them. You should also have an estate plan in place that protects your assets, so they are less vulnerable to a scammer.

The Petrosewicz Law Firm can assist you with your elder law needs.  Contact us today at (281) 344-9455 or [email protected].  

Reference: Reading Eagle (Feb. 9, 2020) “Population ages, financial abuse rises”

Tips for Choosing a Fiduciary

One of the important tasks in creating a complete estate plan is selecting people (or financial institutions) to represent you, in case of incapacity or death. Most people think of naming an executor, but there are many more roles, advises the article “What to consider when appointing a fiduciary?” from The Ledger.

Here are the most common roles that an estate planning attorney will ask you to select:

• Executor or personal representative, who is named in your will and appointed by the court to administer your estate.
• Agent-in-fact (under a durable power of attorney) who manages your financial affairs while you are living, if you are unable to do so.
• Health care surrogate who makes health care decisions on your behalf while you are living, if you are incapacitated.
• Trustee of a trust document; administers the trust that you have created.
• Guardian: a person who makes health care and financial decisions on your behalf, if the court determines that other roles, like health care surrogate or agent-in-fact, are not sufficient.
• Guardian for minor children: person(s) who make decisions for your children, if you are not able to because of death or a loss of capacity before the children reach adulthood.

The individuals or financial institutions who take on financial roles are considered fiduciaries; that is, they have a legal duty to put your well-being first. Their responsibilities may include applying for government benefits, managing and invest your assets and income, deciding where you will live and working with your attorneys, financial advisors and accountants.

Many people name their spouse or eldest child to take on these roles. However, that’s not the only option. A few questions to consider before making this important decision include:

• Does this person have the experience, skill and maturity to manage my financial affairs?
• Does this person have the time to serve as a fiduciary?
• Would this person make the same health care decisions that I would make?
• Can this person make a difficult decision for my health care?
• Does this person live near enough to arrive quickly, if necessary?
• How old is this person, and will they be living when I may need them?
• What kind of response will my family have to this person being named?
• Are my assets substantial enough to require a financial institution or accountant to manage?

These are just a few of the questions to consider when choosing fiduciaries or health care agents in your estate plan. Speak with your estate planning attorney to help determine the best decision for you and your family.

The Petrosewicz Law Firm can assist you with your estate planning and trust needs.  Contact us today at (281) 344-9455 or [email protected].  

Reference: The Ledger (Oct. 16, 2019) “What to consider when appointing a fiduciary?”

What If Only One Parent Is Willing to Plan?

Making matters much worse for one family, is the fact that while the mother is willing to speak with an estate planning attorney and make a plan for the future, the father won’t even discuss it. What should this family do, asks the article from nwi.com titled “Estate Planning: Can one spouse plan?”

Planning for your eventual demise and distribution of your worldly goods isn’t as much fun as planning a vacation or buying a new car. For some people, it’s too painful, even when they know that it needs to be done. There’s nothing pleasant about the idea that one day you won’t be with your loved ones.

 Although contemplating the reality is unpleasant, this is a task that creates all kinds of problems for those who are left behind, if it is not done.

Unfortunately, it is not unusual for one parent to recognize the importance of having an estate plan and the other parent does not consider it to be an important task or simply refuses. In that case, the estate planning attorney can work with the spouse who is willing to go forward.

Some attorneys prefer to represent only one of the spouses, especially in a case like this. Spouses’ interests aren’t always identical, and there are situations where conflicts can arise. When a couple goes to the estate planning attorney’s office and wishes the attorney to represent both of them, sometimes the lawyer will ask for an acknowledgment that the lawyer is representing both of them as a couple. In the event that a disagreement arises or if their interests are very different, some attorneys will withdraw their representation. This is not common, but it does happen.

The estate planning lawyer usually prefers, however, to represent both spouses. Married couple’s estates tend to be intertwined, with real property jointly owned as husband and wife, or husband and husband or wife and wife. Spouses are usually named beneficiaries of life insurance and retirement accounts. Even in blended family situations, this holds true.

If the father in the situation above won’t budge, the mother should meet with the attorney and create an estate plan. The problem is, she may not be able to plan effectively for the two most common and usually the most valuable assets: their jointly owned home and retirement accounts.

If the home is owned by the spouses as “entireties property,” that is, by the couple, she can’t make changes to the title, without her spouse’s consent. One spouse cannot sever entireties property, without both spouses agreeing. Some retirement plans are also subject to the federal law ERISA, which requires a spouse’s consent to change beneficiaries to someone other than the spouse.

Even with these issues, having a plan for one spouse is better than not having any plan at all.

The only last argument that may be made to the father, is that if he does not make a plan, the laws of the state will be used, and few people actually like the idea of the state taking care of their estate.

The Petrosewicz Law Firm can assist you with your estate planning needs.  Contact us today at (281) 344-9455 or [email protected].  

Reference: nwi.com (Nov. 17, 2019) “Estate Planning: Can one spouse plan?”

How Blended Families Can Address Finances and Inheritance Issues

The holiday season is a popular time for people to get engaged, including people who have been married before. If that’s you, understand that blending families means you’ll need to deal with inheritance and finance issues, says U.S. News & World Report’s article “6 Financial Considerations for Remarriage.” The best time to have these conversations is before you walk down the aisle, not afterwards.

Look at your budget and talk about how things will work. That includes day-to-day expenses, monthly expenses and large purchases, like houses, vacations and cars. Talk about a game plan for going forward. Will you merge your credit card accounts or bank accounts? What about investment accounts?

Financial obligations outside of the marriage. Two things to check before you wed: your divorce papers and the state’s laws. Does anything change regarding your spousal support (alimony) or child support, if you remarry? It’s unlikely that you would lose child support, but the court may determine it can be reduced. The person who is paying child support or alimony also needs to be transparent about their financial obligations.

Review insurance and beneficiaries. One of the biggest mistakes people make, is failing to update beneficiaries on numerous accounts. If your divorce papers do not require life insurance to be left for your spouse on behalf of your children (and some do), then you probably want to make your new spouse the beneficiary of life insurance policies. Investment accounts, bank account, and any other assets where a beneficiary can be named should be reviewed and updated. It’s a simple task, but overlooking it creates all kinds of havoc and frustration for survivors.

What will remarriage do to college financing options? A second marriage may increase a parent’s income for college purposes and make children ineligible for college loans or needs-based scholarships. Even if the newly married couple has not blended their finances, FAFSA looks at total household income. Talk about how each member of the couple plans on managing college expenses.

A new estate plan should be addressed, even before the wedding takes place. Remember, an estate plan is for more than distributing assets. It includes planning for incapacity, including Do Not Resuscitate Orders (DNR), powers of attorney for finances and for health care, designations of guardianship or consent to adoption, various trusts and if needed, and special needs planning.

Create a plan for inheritance. If either spouse has children from a prior marriage, an estate plan is critical to protect the children’s inheritance. If one spouse dies and the surviving spouse inherits everything, there is no legal requirement for the surviving spouse to pass any of the deceased’s assets to their children. Even if you are in mid-life and death seems far away, you need to take care of this.

Speak with an estate planning attorney who can help you create the necessary documents. You should also talk with your children, at the age appropriate level, about your plans, so they understand that they are being planned for and will be taken care of in the new family.

The Petrosewicz Law Firm can assist you with your estate planning needs.  Contact us today at (281) 344-9455 or [email protected].  

Reference: U.S. News & World Report (Nov. 18, 2019) “6 Financial Considerations for Remarriage”

What Estate Planning Documents Do You Need?

Wouldn’t your children be relieved to learn that you’ve done all the necessary advance planning so that if you should become incapacitated, someone has been properly appointed to help with health care and financial decisions? The Tennessean suggests that you “Give your loved ones peace of mind with legal documents” so that your spouse and your family will be able to take the necessary steps to give you the care and dignity you (and they) deserve.

Here’s a checklist of the documents that everyone should have in place:

Power of Attorney for Health Care. When you have mental capacity, you can make your own decisions. When you do not, you need someone to be appointed who knows your beliefs and wishes and has the ability to advocate for you. Ideally, you should name one person to be your agent to minimize arguments. Talk with your family to explain who has been named your power of attorney for health care, and if need be, explain why that person was chosen.

Power of Attorney for Finances. There are different kinds of POA for finances. The goal of the POA for finances is so they can make decisions on your behalf, when you become incapacitated. Some states use “springing” POA—but that may mean your family has to go through a process to prove you are incapacitated. Check with an estate planning elder law attorney in your state to see what the laws are.

Advance Directive. This describes what kind of life sustaining treatment you do or do not want if you are in a coma, are terminally ill or have dementia. You can direct whether you want CPR, tube feeding, and other life-sustaining procedures to be withheld, if your quality of life is diminished and there is no hope of improvement. This will help your family to know what you want in a time when emotions are running high.

Last Will and Testament. Have a will created, if you don’t already have one. This directs distribution of your assets according to your wishes and does not leave them according to the laws of your state. Not having a will means your family will have to go through many more court proceedings, and people you may not want to receive your worldly possessions may get them.

Trusts. Talk with your estate planning attorney about placing assets in trust, so they are not subject to the public process of probate. Your wishes will be followed, and they will remain private.

The Petrosewicz Law Firm can assist you with your estate planning and trust needs.  Contact us today at (281) 344-9455 or [email protected].  

Reference: Tennessean (Nov. 16, 2019) “Give your loved ones peace of mind with legal documents”

Protect the Family Farm with Advance Planning

Have you figured out who will take over the family farm? Are you or your parents prepared to transition the farm or ranch to the next generation? How will family members be part of the transitions? Do you have a plan to minimize tax exposure?

These are just a few of the questions that must be addressed about the future of the family farm or ranch, reports the article “Don’t be a failed family-business statistic: Plan for your farm’s future” from High Plains Drifter. It’s one of the hardest parts of the agriculture business. Decades of hard work and assets are at stake, and the statistics are not great. Only 30% of any kind of family businesses survive to the second generation.

You need a long-term strategy and planning that needs to be started long before any member of the family begins thinking about retirement. You’ll also need good advisors, including an estate planning attorney, accountant and possibly a banker.

What is a succession plan? A succession plan is a forward-looking strategy that prepares the individual and their family for the change in ownership, including development of leadership to avoid family disputes, manage tax consequences and ensure that the farm or ranch smoothly transitions to the next generation of owners.

The estate plan provides the mechanics to implement the succession plan. It can be complicated, so an experienced estate planning attorney who has worked with farm or ranch owners will be invaluable.

Here are three key areas where guidance is critical:

On-farm and off-farm heirs. How do you balance the inheritance of children who remain on the farm and those who chose to pursue other occupations? An objective viewpoint is needed, and a calm head. There are different ownership structures that can be used to define the roles and expectations for both on-farm and off- farm heirs.

Smooth financial transition. It is important to lessen tax liability and maximize benefits. Cash will be needed to pay estate taxes. This is where many family businesses are lost: a key asset must be sold to pay the tax bill, and it dampens the chances of success for the future.

Address financial needs of current and future generations. Can the business support multiple generations? What does everyone need to continue living on the farm, and how will the income be generated?

Family farms and ranches that survive to the second or third generations don’t happen by accident. Succession plans need to be created and then they need to be reviewed every few years. If you have a will or an estate plan, if you haven’t updated it in five years, it’s time to review it or create one.

The Petrosewicz Law Firm can assist you with your estate planning needs.  Contact us today at (281) 344-9455 or [email protected].  

Reference: High Plains Journal (Nov. 8, 2019) “Don’t be a failed family-business statistic: Plan for your farm’s future”

A Good Estate Plan Equals Peace of Mind and Peace in the Family

The problems aren’t always evident when the first parent passes. Often, it’s when the second parent becomes gravely ill, that lapses in estate planning become evident. For one family, everyone thought estate plans were all in place after their father died. When their mother suffered a stroke, the adult children learned that they had no access to her financial accounts or her health care directives. No one had thought to update the estate plan.

However, when one parent passes, the family needs to take action. That’s the lesson from the article “Avoid heartache and anxiety with estate planning” from Post Independent. In this case, the family never thought to modify or add anyone’s name to the financial accounts, power of attorney documents, medical power of attorney documents, or HIPAA consent forms. What often happens in these cases, is that family members start bickering about who was supposed to do what.

For those who have not taken the time to learn about estate planning, planning for end-of-life legal, financial and medical matters, the quarrels may be inevitable.

Estate planning is not just for wealthy families. If your aging loved ones own property, stocks, bonds or any other assets, they need to have a will, advance directives, powers of attorney and possibly some trusts. Take the time to understand these documents now, before an urgent crisis occurs.

There are few formal courses that teach people about these matters, unless they go to law school. Nearly half of Americans age 55 and over don’t have a will, according to an article appearing in Forbes. Fewer than 20% of these people have health care directives and the proper types of powers of attorney in place.

When it comes to preparing for these matters, the laws are very specific about who can participate in health care and financial conversations and decisions.

Here are some of the documents needed for an estate plan:

• Last Will and Testament
• General, Limited and/or Durable Power of Attorney
• Health Care Power of Attorney
• Living Will
• Advance Care Directive
• HIPAA Consent Form

Preplanning will greatly assist family members and loved ones so they know what medical and financial efforts you would want. Having the documents in order will also provide the family with the legal means of carrying out these wishes.

The legal documents won’t solve all problems. Your brother-in-law will still be a pain in the neck and your oldest sister may still make unrealistic demands. However, having these documents in place, will make the best of a bad situation.

Speak with an estate planning attorney to ensure that your estate plan, or your parent’s estate plan, is properly prepared. If someone has moved to another state, their estate plan needs to be updated to align with their new state’s laws.

The Petrosewicz Law Firm can assist you with your estate planning and trust needs.  Contact us today at (281) 344-9455 or [email protected].  

Reference: Post Independent (November 3, 2019) “Avoid heartache and anxiety with estate planning”

Will the Power of Attorney You Sign Today Work for Your Executor?

These are all good questions, as Powers of Attorney (POA) are some of the most commonly used estate planning documents and they are also some of the most misunderstood estate planning documents, says nwi.com in a recent article “Estate Planning: Do Powers of Attorney lapse?”

A POA is a document that authorizes another person to act on behalf of the person making or signing the document. The person named in a POA is also referred to as the Attorney-in-Fact, or AIF. The authority granted to the AIF is usually spelled out in the document itself. Some POAs grant a wide range of authority, while others are limited to a specific action. An estate planning attorney can create a POA that suits a person’s particular needs, which is far better than a generic document that may not be accepted because it is too broad.

Durable POAs don’t usually exist for a set period of time. There are also limited or special POAs that have a date or a time frame, and at the end of that time frame or upon that date, they terminate. It’s important to note that all POAs terminate upon the death of the maker or principal.

A POA can also be terminated at any time by the principal. This termination should be in writing, and it can be terminated by revoking the POA within the terms of a new POA, or by execution of a revocation. Either way, the person should notify the AIF that they no longer have the authority to act under the revoked POA, and any entity who may have a copy of the revoked POA should be notified that it is no longer valid. The revocation can also be recorded at the county recorder’s office. An estate planning attorney in your state will know what rules apply in your area.

The AIF serves because the principal has chosen them, and if that changes, they are removed from their responsibilities, as long as the principal is competent.

Estate planning attorneys are concerned less with the date of the POA, as they are with the simple fact that banks and other financial institutions are reluctant to accept POAs that were created many years ago. In that case, usually an affidavit affirming that the document is still valid, and the AIF has the authority to act under it is enough.

However, it is recommended that when you have your estate plan reviewed every three or four years, you also have your estate planning attorney update the Power of Attorney. This way there is less of a chance that a bank or other institution will balk at the document. The same goes for your health care proxy, also known as a Health Care Power of Attorney.

The Petrosewicz Law Firm can assist you with your estate planning needs.  Contact us today at (281) 344-9455 or [email protected].  

Reference: nwi.com (November 3, 2019) “Estate Planning: Do Powers of Attorney lapse?”