Articles Posted in Power of Attorney

A client came in to see us for their follow-up consultation.  The client shared that, in between their two meetings with us, the husband‘s brother had suffered a stroke and was now in a rehabilitation facility.  He was a bachelor.  He had no power of attorney or health care proxy.  He may or may not have had a will — they didn’t know.  Further, they were unable to get access to his apartment to clean out the fridge and get his clothes because he had failed to put them on the list of persons approved to enter in the event of an emergency.

One of the most overlooked areas in estate planning is the question of who you are responsible for.  Do you have a friend or relative who you know will need to rely on you if something happens?  Either they have no one else or everyone else is too far away.  If you have the responsibility, then make sure that you have the documents you will need to carry out that responsibility.  Otherwise, the challenges become of a magnitude greater.

Similarly, so many of our clients have adult children with young families.  Do you know whether your children have wills, powers of attorney and health care proxies?

The Mississippi Court of Appeals recently decided that a man convicted of DUI manslaughter that led to the death of his wife can collect survivor benefits from the state. The late woman had designated her husband as a 40% beneficiary while the deceased woman’s sister was a 60% beneficiary. While Mississippi law permits spouses in the husband’s situation to still receive benefits, some states have prevented this type of result by altering statutory language. The husband previously pleaded and was sentenced to 25 years in prison with 10 years suspended and 15 to serve. The man later received a separate two-year sentence for possession of contraband. 

While the Mississippi Court’s decision might seem strange, it emphasizes the importance of understanding the basics about the New York Survivor’s Benefit Program, which will be briefly reviewed in this article.

The Role of the New York Survivor’s Benefits Program

Most estate planning advice stories include one theme over and over–plan early and update consistently. Because no one know what the future holds and life changes occur frequently, it is critical to ensure your legal planning will work as you want it to when you need it.

However, that does not mean that there is ever a point when it is too late and not worth crafting a plan. Taking the time to put affairs in order even in the midst of serious illness or terminal conditions can make a world of difference for a family. A recent article provides a helpful discussion that touches on some of the key issues with regard to “deathbed planning.”

Late Estate Planning

Before being overshadowed by the election, the talk of the social media universe in the past week and a half was Disney’s purchase of the George Lucas film business (LucasFilm). The film company owned all the rights to the mega-popular Star Wars francise, and the purchase might mean that another Star Wars film will be in the works in coming years. Perhaps the most eye-popping part of the deal was the sale price. Disney apparently paid a staggering $4.05 billion in cash and stock for LucasFilm.

Since the deal was announced many professionals in the fields of tax and estate plannining have chimed in, noting that the decision to sell now was likely a smart one by Lucas. It will probably pay many divideds in the future for himself and his family. At a general level, by cashing out now Lucas will spare his family the very difficult and complex challenge of handling these matters upon his passing. At 68 years old, hopefully that time is still several decades in the future; however, prudent planning is timely planning. In addition, selling the company allows Lucas to spend more of his times on philanthrophy–something that he has been committed to for decades. He explained recently that he plans to donate most of his wealth to educational efforts around the world.

Beyond that, the timing of the move was likely motivated by smart assessment of the current tax climate. As recently discussed in a Forbes article on the subject, the current capital gains tax rate and brackets are set to be far less favorable in the coming year. No matter who was elected this year, increases in the tax rates to some degree were likely. However, by acting now, Lucas may have saved significant sums on taxes as a result of the immense gain in value of his company since it was founded.

Mystery permanently surrounded the heiress Huguette Clark–a reclusive woman whose $300 million estate is often referred to as the last collection of wealth drawn from the American “Gilded Age.” Her father was a copper magnante many decades ago and was also a former senator from Montana. He is well known as the founder of the city of Las Vegas. Huguette inherited the fortune upon his (and her mother’s) passing. However, she never sought business or public notoriety like her father. Instead, she was intimately private. In fact, she reportedly spent the last twenty years of her life inside a New York City hospital–even when she was healthy enough to live on her own.

Huguette eventually passed away in May of last year. As often happens in cases of great wealth–particularly when there is much mystery surrounding one’s life–various fights ensued over control of the fortune.

A trial in the case is set to begin soon, according to a recent NBC report on the case.