Woburn, MA Estate Planning and Elder Law

Estate Planning Is Important

You cannot merely tell your family what should be done with your assets after you pass away. You need to go through the process of getting a formal estate plan drawn up.

Many people are under the impression they do not need to get a formal estate plan, because they can rely on their family to divide up their assets after they pass away without any problems. They think if they just give family members some directions about who should get what, then the family will reliably carry out those wishes.

While we all would hope that we can rely on our families in this way, there are legal and practical reasons why it is unwise to do so and why people need to get a proper estate plan.  This was discussed in a recent Fontana Herald News article titled "Having estate planning documents is very important."

The biggest issue faced by your family if you do not make an estate plan, is that your family will not decide who gets your property. Instead, the courts get to make that decision and they do so by following statutes that determine who gets everything.

The person who the courts decide gets everything, might not choose to follow any directions you have given to distribute that property to other people. In some cases, it might be impossible for them to follow your wishes, even if they wanted to, since they could face negative tax consequences.

If you can take the time to tell your family how you want your property divided up, then you can take the time to get a formal estate plan that will actually carry out your wishes.

Reference: Fontana Herald News (August 7, 2017) "Having estate planning documents is very important."

If you would like to discuss setting up your Estate Plan with an experienced attorney at Simmons & Schiavo, LLP, call (781) 397-1700 or visit www.simmonsandschiavo.com

Trusts Are Cheaper Than Wills

If you are looking to save money on your estate plan, then you might think that you should get a will  since they are cheaper to get than a trust. However, trusts are actually cheaper overall.

Estate planning can be expensive upfront for some people. In most cases, a will is less expensive to get than a trust.  This is because trusts normally require more of the attorney's time to draft and implement. This leads many people to get wills to save time and money.

The problem with is that a will is more expensive overall than a trust, as the Times Herald-Record explained in "Trusts will cost you less at settlement time."

When someone passes away, someone must then administer either the will or the trust to make sure that property is distributed as the deceased directed.

Using a will requires going to probate court and having an executor, who can charge for the service, go through the process of administering the estate.

On the other hand, using a trust means that a trustee, who can also charge for the service, is required to distribute everything, the trustee normally does not have to go to court, which makes it a much faster process. The speed means that the trustee may charge much less overall.

In the end, the trustee may be a lot cheaper than any money that might have been saved by getting a will instead of a trust.

When getting an estate plan created, it is important to use the instruments that work best for your situation. Do not be afraid to get a trust because of the initial expense.

It just may be cheaper in the long run.

Reference: Times Herald-Record (August 2, 2017) "Trusts will cost you less at settlement time."

If you would like to discuss setting up your Estate Plan with an experienced attorney at Simmons & Schiavo, LLP, call (781) 397-1700 or visit www.simmonsandschiavo.com

Traveling Overseas

Before you go on a vacation in a foreign country, you should make plans to see an estate planning attorney.

Going on your first vacation to a foreign country can be an exciting experience. You will see all sorts of things you cannot find in the U.S.

If you are about to undertake such a visit, you have probably made all sorts of plans about what you want to see at your destination of choice. You might have even purchased new clothing, luggage, cameras and other things to take on your trip.

There is one more thing that you need to plan for that you might not have considered.

You need to plan for the worst case scenario and visit an estate planning attorney as the Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog discusses in "So You're Going on a Trip."

In all likelihood, nothing bad will happen to you while you are in a foreign country.

The odds are in your favor.

However, the world can be a dangerous place and it is important to make sure you have your general affairs in order, just in case.

At a minimum, you will want to get a general durable power of attorney and a health care power of attorney, so if you are injured or get sick on your trip someone else has the legal authority to handle your day to day needs.

It is also a good idea to get a full estate plan, so your family is taken care of, just in case the worst happens.

You should not be afraid to go to a foreign country on vacation, but you should prepare as if you are.

Visit an estate planning attorney.

Reference: Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog (July 31, 2017) "So You're Going on a Trip."

If you would like to discuss setting up your Estate Plan with an experienced attorney at Simmons & Schiavo, LLP, call (781) 397-1700 or visit www.simmonsandschiavo.com

Client Testimonial

“Marco Schiavo recently helped me through my estate planning and will writing process after my recent divorce. I was nervous about getting through it all on my own, but Mr. Schiavo made me feel comfortable and easily broke down all of the decisions that needed to be addressed. Our meetings were efficient and I always left feeling like we accomplished everything we needed to. I would highly recommend him for estate planning.” – Wendy

 

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Gray Divorces

More senior citizens are divorcing their spouses than in previous generations. That leads to some estate planning complications.

It used to be that once people entered retirement age, it was extremely rare for them to seek a divorce. That is no longer the case.

Elderly people are getting divorced today at an increasing rate. These so called "gray divorces", can present unique legal challenges.

They can be difficult enough for divorce attorneys who must sort through and divide a lifetime's worth of accumulated marital property. However, they also present challenges in estate planning.

The Indiana Lawyer recently discussed these problems in "Rise in divorces among older couples presents unique family law issues."

The big issue in estate planning is that plans are often already in place for the couple's estates.

These plans are normally drafted in unison with the understanding that when the first spouse passes away, the surviving spouse will receive the bulk of the estate. When the second spouse passes away, then the estate will go to the agreed upon heirs.

These plans need to be undone when the couple divorces.  This can be difficult to do, unless estate planning attorneys are hired who have the expertise to wrap up legal entities that are no longer needed and might be a hindrance.

There are many difficulties associated with gray divorces and you may want to try to reconcile.

Be sure to consult with an estate planning attorney who can explain these difficulties to you, sooner rather than later.

Reference: Indiana Lawyer (July 26, 2017) "Rise in divorces among older couples presents unique family law issues."

If you would like to discuss setting up your Estate Plan with an experienced attorney at Simmons & Schiavo, LLP, call (781) 397-1700 or visit www.simmonsandschiavo.com

Talk to Your Spouse about Your Estate Plan

After your get an estate plan, you need to make sure that your spouse knows what to do with it.

An estate plan is only as effective as the people who are tasked to implement it. The most well-written legal documents in the world are worth nothing, if they are not carried out by people who know how to interpret them and what to do with them.

You can have everything about your estate and your end of life care thoroughly planned, but if the person who is most affected by your plans, your spouse, is not aware of what to do, then your plan may not be as effective as it should be.

For this reason, you need to talk to your spouse about your plans as Forbes points out in "5 Questions You Should Ask Your Spouse Today."

Your spouse needs to know what to do, if you ever become incapacitated. Your spouse needs to know what to do, if something happens to you and you pass away before your spouse.

At the very minimum, your spouse needs to know where to find the documents and who to call.

This is important, even if your spouse has no responsibilities in your plans. Your spouse is going to be one of the first to learn that something happened to you, so your spouse must know who to contact.

Do not let your estate plan be defeated by a lack of communication with your spouse. Make sure that he or she knows what to do.

Reference: Forbes (July 26, 2017) "5 Questions You Should Ask Your Spouse Today."

If you would like to discuss setting up your Estate Plan with an experienced attorney at Simmons & Schiavo, LLP, call (781) 397-1700 or visit www.simmonsandschiavo.com

Take Health Care off the Mainframe

Eric Dishman makes a bold argument: "The US health care system is like computing circa 1959, tethered to big, unwieldy central systems: hospitals, doctors, nursing homes. As our aging population booms, it's imperative, he says, to create personal, networked, home-based health care for all." Watch the TED video here:

 

 

 

 

Reference:  Dishman E., (Nov, 2009). Take health care off the mainframe. Retrieved from: https://www.ted.com/talks/eric_dishman_take_health_care_off_the_mainframe 

Simmons & Schiavo, LLP • (781) 397-1700 • [email protected] • www.simmonsandschiavo.com

Getting Married

If you are getting married, then you need to create an estate plan or update the one that you already have.

When you decide to get married, you normally are focused on all the good times you expect to have with your future spouse. You might think about the trips that you will take together, the kids that you hope to have, and whatever it is that makes you and your potential spouse happy together.

There is also something else that you should think about.

You should think about protecting your spouse, if something ever happens to you.

You love the person you are about to marry, so it is important to make sure he or she will be able to handle everything after you pass away.

For that reason you need to do some estate planning, as Cary Citizen discusses in "I'm Getting Married. How Could Marriage Affect My Finances?"

With an estate plan, you can make sure your spouse has the financial assets he or she will need after you are gone.

If you have children from a previous marriage, then an estate plan is a way to take care of those children and your future spouse. Even if your potential spouse is independently wealthy, you will want to do some estate planning, just in case anything should ever happen to that wealth.

Marriage is a happy time, but you need to also think about the possible bad times that could come ahead and plan for them just in case.

Visit an estate planning attorney to make sure that your future spouse will be OK.

Reference: Cary Citizen (July 28, 2017) "I'm Getting Married. How Could Marriage Affect My Finances?"

If you would like to discuss setting up your Estate Plan with an experienced attorney at Simmons & Schiavo, LLP, call (781) 397-1700 or visit www.simmonsandschiavo.com

Beneficiary Planning

When you first signed up for a retirement account, you might not have thought about all the details that were presented to you. This is especially true, if you were given retirement account forms along with a large stack of other papers by a human resources person when you started a new job.

One of the items you would have filled out on the forms was an account beneficiary.  If you were to pass away, this beneficiary would then receive the assets in the account.

At the time, you might not have thought too deeply about who you designated as that beneficiary. However, it is important that you do think about it when you are making your estate plans, as Morningstar pointed out in "Do's and Don'ts for Beneficiary Designations."

There are actually many things to consider when naming beneficiaries on retirement accounts.

For example, different beneficiaries are treated differently for tax purposes and in how they can use the account.

Another thing to consider is your designated beneficiary, who will receive the account automatically and has no obligation to share with other people, even if you tell them they should. Therefore, if you have three children and name only one of them as a beneficiary, then you might not want to split the rest of your assets evenly between all three children.

The best thing to do is to talk to your estate planning attorney about your beneficiary designations and let the attorney help you determine the best options for them, as part of your overall estate plan.

Reference: Morningstar (July 23, 2017) "Do's and Don'ts for Beneficiary Designations."

If you would like to discuss setting up your Estate Plan with an experienced attorney at Simmons & Schiavo, LLP, call (781) 397-1700 or visit www.simmonsandschiavo.com

 

Estate Planning and Retirement Planning

Estate planning and retirement planning are not separate things. If they are done properly, you will do both at the same time.

People often think of retirement planning as saving for their own financial needs, when they are no longer working. They also think of estate planning as something different, simply planning to distribute whatever is left over when they die.

While things can be done that way, it is better to think of the two things at once, so your plans complement each other.

If your estate planning attorney and financial advisor work together, then both your retirement and estate plans will work better for you.

You will have a comprehensive plan, as TD Ameritrade discusses in "Estate Planning: Build Up, Draw Down, Distribute Balance."

A comprehensive plan helps determine how you are going to build up your account balances to have more than enough money for your retirement. It also makes sure your assets are held in the best possible way for your future estate.

The plan takes into consideration how you will draw your assets down during retirement to make sure you leave something for your heirs, if that is your decision.

Finally, the plan determines the best way for you to pass the remainder on to your heirs.

If you do things properly, then you will have enough for your needs and your heirs will have plenty after you pass away.

If you would like to get a comprehensive estate plan, then talk to an estate planning attorney about how to make sure your retirement plans complement your estate plan.

Reference: TD Ameritrade (July 19, 2017) "Estate Planning: Build Up, Draw Down, Distribute Balance."

If you would like to discuss setting up your Estate Plan with an experienced attorney at Simmons & Schiavo, LLP, call (781) 397-1700 or visit www.simmonsandschiavo.com