The Petrosewicz Law Firm Estate Planning Blog

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?”

Can You Tackle Elder Law on Your Own?

What usually happens when people do their own estate planning or work on elder law issues, without a lawyer who has years of practice? They may not incur the costs on the front end, but the costs, in financial and emotional terms, often arrive just when the individual or their family is most vulnerable. That message comes through loud and clear in the article “Do-it-yourself elder law estate planning can be risky” from a recent article in the Times Herald-Record.

Let’s clarify the two different areas:

• Estate planning is about leaving assets to heirs with a minimum of court costs, legal fees and avoiding will contests.
• Elder law is concerned with protecting assets from the cost of long-term care and empowering people who will be able to make legal, financial and medical decisions on your behalf, if you become incapacitated.

Two of the most important documents in an elder law estate plan are the Power of Attorney (POA) and health care proxy. If these forms are not prepared correctly, problems will ensue. In some states, like New York, the POA form is long and complicated. Banks and financial institutions will refuse to recognize the form, if they are not completed correctly.

A POA needs to include the “Statutory Gifts Rider,” which allows broad giving powers to the elder law attorney to save assets, even on the eve of the person being admitted to a nursing home. Someone who is not an elder law attorney is not likely to know what this is, or how to prepare it.

There will be similar issues to a do-it-yourself health care proxy. Here’s just one example of the many things that can go wrong: an agent may not make decisions about withholding certain extreme life support measures, even if they are in possession of a valid health care proxy. There needs to be a living will from the individual that explicitly states their wishes regarding withholding heroic means and/or artificial measures. Without the proper document, the person could remain on life support for months or years, even if this was not their wish.

A do-it-yourself approach leaves much to chance. As a result, the potential for problems is enormous. A far better solution that spares spouses and loved ones, is to work with an experienced estate planning lawyer. Can you put a price on peace of mind?

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

Reference: Times Herald-Record (Nov. 23, 2019) “Do-it-yourself elder law estate planning can be risky”

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?”

Everyone Should Have a Power of Attorney and Healthcare Power of Attorney

Before snowbirds begin their seasonal journey to warmer climates, it’s time to be sure that they have the important legal documents in place, advises LimaOhio.com in a recent article “Different seasons and documents, same peace of mind.” The two documents are a healthcare power of attorney and a financial power of attorney, and they should be prepared and be ready to be used at any time.

These documents name another person to make healthcare and financial decisions, in case you are not able to make those decisions for yourself. We never think that anything will really happen to us, until it does. Having these documents properly prepared and easily accessible helps our loved ones. They are the ones who will need the powers given by the documents. Without them, they cannot act in a timely manner.

If traveling between a home state and a winter home, it is wise to have a set of documents that align with the laws of both states. It may be necessary to have a separate set of documents for each state, if the laws differ.

Financial powers of attorney typically need updating more often than healthcare powers of attorney. The law has changed in recent years, and there are a number of specific powers that need to be stated precisely so that the document can grant those powers. This includes the power to gift assets and make a person eligible for nursing home and other healthcare assistance, like Medicaid.

If these documents are not in place and are needed, the only way that someone else can make decisions for the person is to become a guardian of that person. That includes spouses. Many people think that the fact that two people are married gives them every right, but that is not the case. Guardianship takes considerably more time and costs more than these two documents. It should be noted that once guardianship is established, the person who is the guardian will need to report to the court on a regular basis.

Another document that needs to be in place is a living will or advance directive. This is a document prepared to instruct others as to your wishes for end-of-life care. The document is created when a person is mentally competent and expresses their wishes for what they want to happen, if they are being kept alive by artificial means. For loved ones, this document is a blessing, as it lets them know very clearly what their family members wishes are.

Peace of mind is a wonderful thing to take with you as you prepare for a warm winter in a different climate. Talk with an estate planning attorney to be sure that your estate planning documents will be acceptable in your winter home.

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

Reference: LimaOhio.com (Oct. 26, 2019) “Different seasons and documents, same peace of mind”

Why A Health Care Power of Attorney Makes Sense

Having a Health Care Power of Attorney in place before it is needed, is one of the best ideas of estate planning, along with having a Power of Attorney in place before it is needed. Why? This is because taking a pro-active approach to both of these documents, means that when the unexpected occurs and that is exactly how things occur—unexpectedly—the person or persons you have named for these important roles will be able to step in quickly and make decisions.

Time is often of the essence, when these documents are needed.

According to the article “Medical guardianship versus power of attorney” from The News Enterprise, a health care power of attorney is a document that grants another person the power to make medical decisions for you, when you no longer have the ability to make those decisions for yourself. It is known by a few other names, depending on the state where you live: health care proxy, a medical power of attorney or a health care surrogate.

You also need a HIPAA Authorization which will allow the person you name the ability to review medical information and discuss protected health information with your health care providers.

Also recommended is an advance medical directive, which gives instructions for end-of-life decisions. This is often called a “living will,” and is your legal right to reject medical treatment, decisions about feeding tubes and the number of doctors required to determine the probability of recovery and pain management.

A health care power of attorney does not generally empower another person to make decisions, until you are unable to do so. Unlike a general durable power of attorney, which permits another person to make financial or business decisions with you while you are living, as long as you are able to understand your medical situation, you are still in charge of your medical decisions.

A guardianship is completely different from these documents. A guardian may only be appointed, if a judge or jury finds you wholly or partially disabled in such a way that you cannot manage your own finances or your health. The appointment of a guardian is a big deal. Once someone has been appointed your guardian, you do not have any legal right to make decisions for yourself. A court will also appoint a guardian to make your financial decisions.

There are record-keeping requirements with a guardianship that do not exist for a power of attorney. The court-appointed representative is responsible for reporting to the court any actions that they have taken on your behalf.

To have power of attorney documents executed, the person must be capable of understanding what they are signing. This means that someone receiving a diagnosis of dementia needs to have these documents prepared, as soon as they learn that their capacity will diminish in the near future.

If the documents are not prepared and executed in a timely fashion, a guardianship proceeding may be the only option. Planning in advance is the best way to ensure that the people you trust are the ones making decisions for you. Speak with an experienced estate planning attorney now to have these documents in place.

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

Reference: The News-Enterprise (Oct. 13, 2019) “Medical guardianship versus power of attorney”

Planning for Care in Advance

An aging parent’s health can fail suddenly, or they can have a fall that will unexpectedly put them into a precarious state. Therefore, it is vitally important that legal and medical arrangements be made, while they are still well enough to be an active participant in decisions, advises TAP into Roxbury in the article “Putting Together a Plan of Care.” Here are the steps to get you started:

Advance Directive: This document spells out their wishes regarding future medical care and treatment, if they are no longer able to speak or make decisions on their own behalf.

A Living Will is used to state in advance whether or not they want to have medical treatment, like a feeding tube, ventilator, or heart machine to prolong life, when death is inevitable.

A Durable Health Care Power of Attorney appoints another person to make medical decisions, if the person becomes incapacitated.

A Power of Attorney names someone who will be able to make decisions about their finances, pay bills, and manage real estate and other assets.

A Last Will and Testament provides information about what they would like to happen to their assets upon their demise and names an executor who will be in charge of carrying out their wishes.

Copies of medical insurance cards and any other insurance information, if emergency treatment is needed.

A Do Not Resuscitate (DNR), if they do not wish to be brought back to life during a medical emergency.

A list of medications they are currently taking, as well as doctor’s names and contact information.

A list of professionals, including their estate planning attorney, CPA and financial advisor, and all contact information.

Having all these documents prepared in advance of any emergency will be helpful, if they are ever needed. Keeping them in a safe and accessible location where they can be obtained quickly in an emergency is also important. Do not put them in a safe deposit box, which may be sealed upon their death.

Some seniors are reluctant to have these discussions, although they may be more comfortable having them with a person outside the family, like an estate planning attorney.

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

Reference: TAP Into Roxbury (October 7, 2019) “Putting Together a Plan of Care”

Special Needs Planning is a Lifelong Event

Working to get her son assessed to qualify for support programs, fighting to get benefits and finding therapists became a full-time job, and one that led to enormous costs, even with the family’s having good health insurance. In a recent article “Their Child Has Special Needs. Here’s How They’re Planning for a Lifetime of Assistance” Barron’s explores the life-long journey of caring for a special needs family member.

Smyth’s biggest worry is the same as other parents in her situation: what will happen to her now 23-year old son, when she and her husband are no longer around to support him?

For families with a special needs child, the focus is on the health of the child, but the financial and legal planning to care for someone whose life will likely extend beyond the traditional financial life of the parents is critical.

The estimates of costs are overwhelming. The lifetime cost for a person with autism averages from $1.4 million to $2.4 million, depending on whether the person has an intellectual disability, according to Autism Speaks, an advocacy group. Residential or 24/7 care can easily cost $100,000 a year.

The medical assessment is often the first step to getting benefits, through Medicaid and developmental disability and autism programs. How much and which programs may be covered, depends upon the state. Where you live matters. For parents who are thinking about where to retire, moving to a condo in Florida might be great for lowered costs and taxes, but it could mean a special needs child loses important benefits.

Beneficiary designations must be planned carefully, since a special needs individual may not own more than $2,000 in assets. An inheritance or even a job could disqualify them from accessing programs. One way to avoid this is to open an ABLE account. It’s a state-run savings account that can be funded by the special needs individual or family members with after-tax money up to $15,000 a year, and can be used for housing, education, transportation, and other services. The account’s assets are not included in the benefits calculation as long as the total balance is under $100,000.

Another option is a special needs trust, which can shelter assets. Grandparents who want to leave money to special needs children leave it in a special needs trust. The same holds for life insurance policies that pay out on the death of the parents for the special needs child. Just be careful about over-funding the trust too early, as money that goes in cannot be withdrawn for other purposes. The beneficiary of the trust after the special needs child dies, does not get a step-up in basis for taxes.

Talk with an elder lawyer about planning for the special needs child. You’ll also need to have a health care proxy, a power of attorney, a HIPAA release form and a last will and testament. The estate planning elder law attorney with experience helping special needs families may also know of important resources in your community, which can be invaluable to the qualify of life for you and your child.

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: Barron’s (November 29, 2019) “Their Child Has Special Needs. Here’s How They’re Planning for a Lifetime of Assistance”

Special Needs Family Requires Special Planning

Taking steps to plan for the future, when loving parents will not be there to help their disabled child as they age, is a hard thing to confront. However, planning in advance for special needs family members is vital. An article titled “4 Tips for Estate Planning When Your Child Has a Disability” from Yahoo! Lifestyle offers good insights and information. An elder law attorney with a focus on special needs planning will be an invaluable resource.

Create a letter of intent. This is a letter of instruction that includes information family and friends will need, if you die or become incapacitated. It should list all the information someone would need to step into your life to care for your loved one. That includes information about medications, daily routines, strategies you use for calming and other daily living information that only you know. The goal is for someone to be able to step in and see how your life works with as little stress as possible and make the transition easier.

Meet with an attorney with experience in special needs planning. Most attorneys will meet you for a free consultation. Allow them to help you build a vision for what you want your loved one’s future to look like. They will know how to plan out the future and what documents will be needed.

Create a will. You’ll want to be the one deciding who should be the caregiver for your child, and who should be in charge of your money. Without a will, the estate goes to probate and a judge who does not know you or your child will make these decisions. Having a will ensures that assets are distributed as you intended and that the care of your child is done by someone you select.

Create a special needs trust. Your attorney will help with this special type of trust, which allows you to distribute funds and property in a way that will not make your loved one lose their government benefits. Your special needs child is not permitted to have more than $2,000 in a bank account or they will become ineligible for Medicaid and Social Security.

Create an estate plan. The estate planning attorney will be able to help you use strategies to transfer assets, after you have passed.

Set up a power of attorney or guardianship. Do you need to take full guardianship of your special needs child, when they turn 18? Can he or she understand money and decisions? Will they ask for help? Supported decision-making is a viable alternative for some families, but you know your child best. If necessary, power of attorney for financial and for medical issues may work better. Talk to an attorney when your child turns 17, so that you can be prepared.

Establish an ABLE Account. An ABLE account ensures that benefits are not jeopardized. The account can hold money to ensure that your child never has more than the permitted number of assets.

Take this one step at a time, as you likely have done throughout your special needs child’s life. It may take a long time to put all of these steps in order, so start now.

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

Reference: Yahoo! Lifestyle (August 26, 2019) “4 Tips for Estate Planning When Your Child Has a Disability”

Living Together Isn’t as Simple as You Think

For couples over 50, one reason for the popularity of living together unmarried is that many in this generation have experienced one or more difficult divorces, so they’re not always willing to remarry, says Next Avenue in the article “The Legal Dangers of Living Together.” However, like many aspects of estate planning, what seems like a simple solution can become quite complex. Unmarried couples can face a variety of problematic and emotionally challenging issues, because estate planning laws are written to favor married couples.

Consider what happens when an unmarried couple does not plan for the possibility of one partner losing the ability to manage his or her health care because of a serious health issue.

If a spouse is rushed to the hospital unconscious and there is no health care power of attorney giving the other spouse the right to make medical decisions on his or her behalf, a husband or wife will likely be permitted to make them anyway.

However, an unmarried couple will not have any right to make medical decisions on behalf of their partner. The hospital is not likely to bend the rules, because if a blood relative of the person challenged the medical facility’s decision, they are wide open to liability issues.

Money is also a problem in the absence of marriage. If one partner becomes incapacitated and estate planning has not been done, without both partners having power of attorney, an illness could upend their life together. With one partner incapacitated, bank accounts will be frozen, and the well partner will have no right to access any assets. A court action might be required, but what if a family member objects?

Without appropriate advance planning, courts are generally forced to rely on blood kin to take both financial and medical decision-making roles. An unmarried partner would have no rights. If the home was owned by the ill partner, the unmarried partner may find themselves having to find new housing. If the well partner depended upon the ill partner for their support, then they will have also lost their financial security.

Unmarried couples need to execute key estate planning documents, while both are healthy and competent. These documents include a durable power of attorney, a medical power of attorney and a living will, which applies to end of life decisions. A living trust could be used to avoid the problem of finances for the well partner.

Another document needed for unmarried couples is a HIPAA release. HIPAA is a federal health privacy law that prevents medical facilities and health care professionals from sharing a patient’s medical information with anyone not designated on the person’s HIPAA release form. Unmarried couples should ask an estate planning attorney for these forms to be sure they are the most current.

If one of the partners dies and there is no will, the estate is known as intestate. Assets are distributed according to the laws of the state, and there is no legal recognition of an unmarried partner. They won’t be legally entitled to inherit any of the assets.

If a married partner dies without a will in a community property state, the surviving spouse is automatically entitled to inherit as much as half the value of the deceased spouse’s assets.

Beneficiary designations usually control the distribution of assets including life insurance policies, retirement accounts and employer-sponsored group life insurance policies. If the partners have not named each other on beneficiary designations, then the surviving partner will be left with nothing.

The lesson for couples hoping to avoid any legal complications by not getting married, is that they may be creating far more problems than are solved as they age together. An experienced estate planning attorney will be able to make sure that all the correct planning is in place to protect both partners, even without the benefit of marriage.

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

Reference: Next Avenue (Aug. 28, 2019) “The Legal Dangers of Living Together.”

Why Advance Directives are Needed

There are two sad parts to this story. The first was that the family panicked and had a feeding tube put in, despite their mother’s wishes. The second, says WRAL in the article “Advance directives lift burden of tough decisions at end of life,” was that after the woman died several years later, her family found the advance directive.

Without knowing about a loved one’s wishes for their end-of-life care, it’s hard to honor them. That’s why documentation, like advance directives, are so important. So is telling your family where your important legal documents are.

What is an advance directive?

An advance directive is a broad legal term that can include a few different documents, but mostly includes a Living Will and a Health Care Power of Attorney. These documents give a person the ability to express what medical care they want and don’t want.

Cases like the women mentioned earlier highlight the importance of this kind of document. While her advance directive was misplaced, many people don’t have them at all. These are important to address non-financial end-of-life issues, both for the person and for their families.

Most people would prefer not to have life-prolonging measures implemented. Without this document, the decision to remove a breathing machine or a heart machine can be even more difficult for a spouse or a child. The burdens are not just emotional.

If there is no decision maker named and family members disagree about what their loved one would have wanted, a battle may break out in the family that results in a court fight.

A few notes on advance directives:

• They can be created at any time, but most people tend to consider them at midlife or close to retirement.
• The document can be amended at any time and should be reassessed through the course of life.
• One decision maker should be appointed to avoid arguments.

Health care agents, doctors and loved ones should all be provided with copies, and the originals should be accessible. Some people put them on the refrigerator, so first responders can find them quickly.

Talk with your estate planning attorney about including an advance directive and a health care power of attorney among your estate planning documents. This is a burden that you can make lighter for those you love.

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

Reference: WRAL (Sep. 18, 2019) “Advance directives lift burden of tough decisions at end of life”