fishkill estate plan

Do Not Forget Yourself in Your Estate Plan

Published on: September 6, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

For the most part, most of your comprehensive estate planning is aimed at making sure other people are taken care of after your death. However, providing for others is not the only goal of estate planning in today’s world. As we begin to live longer lives, we must also take our own potential needs into consideration when designing an estate plan. Recently, Forbes ran an article that pointed out many people make a huge mistake when engaging in estate planning: they forget to plan for their own well-being. In other words, an important part of your estate plan is making sure you put mechanisms in place to address scenarios where you may become seriously ill or disabled, or for circumstances where you may require long-term care. The following important documents should be part of everyone’s estate plan.

Advanced Health Care Directive

An advanced health care directive allows you to nominate an individual that can make decisions about your healthcare should you become incapacitated or otherwise unable to make such decisions on your own. The amount of leeway given to this nominee depends on how you structure the directive, which means that you can make it as narrow or as broad as you would like. These work in tandem with living wills, which can be used to explain the type of medical treatment you do and do not want to receive in certain circumstances. Together, these forms can help spare family members and other loved ones from making difficult decisions that may be contrary to your wishes because they enable you to clearly convey your views on medical care.

Medicaid and Estate Planning

Published on: September 3, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

For a long time, Medicaid has had the reputation of being a program that provides insurance and other benefits to poorer individuals throughout the United States. In some ways, recent contentious debates have deepened that image. However, a recent article from Business Insider points out that this is simply not true. In fact, Medicaid often plays a crucial role in estate planning for those in nursing homes or in need of various other forms of long-term care.

Medicaid and Long-Term Care

The article notes that the average price of long-term care options for senior citizens have risen approximately 19 percent since 2011. That is far greater than the amount of social security or pension increases that accompany the increase in these costs. Given that people are living longer lives and that the cost of long-term care is constantly on the rise, this should not be surprising. According to the article, about 28 percent of Medicaid funds are used to finance long-term care costs.

Micro-Living and Your Estate Plan

Published on: August 26, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Among the many new trends emerging in a variety of places around the world is the idea of micro-living. The idea behind micro-living is to minimize the space you live in and consequently minimize associated costs, and potentially your impact on the environment. However, it is the reduction in cost that is most appealing to many people. Retirees are no exception to this, and a recent article from CNBC indicates that micro-living is becoming increasingly popular among elderly individuals looking to remain independent while minimizing their responsibilities and maximizing their savings potential.

Benefits of Micro-Living

Affectionately referred to in the article as “granny pods,” micro homes for senior citizens are typically several hundred square feet. This makes them small enough to fit in the backyards of most homes. These “granny pods” have all of the comforts of a normal home, just on a smaller scale. They allow senior citizens to maintain a sense of independence without having to actually move in with family or friends. This can be a welcome relief for both elderly individuals as well as their families that may not necessarily be looking to live together full-time. These micro homes typically have a bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, and potentially several other rooms depending on the size and experience you are looking for. They can be built to minimize obstacles that could be hazardous to older individuals, such as being built with flat floors to minimize the potential to trip or with modified showers to enable safer hygiene.

Limitations of Life Insurance

Published on: August 23, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Estate planning often involves discussions about investments and other forms of financial planning. Inevitably, life insurance will likely enter the discussion as well. However, when considering life insurance as an estate planning strategy, it is important to understand the limitations that come with life insurance. These limitations often depend on the type of policy you are considering, but reviewing your life insurance options with your estate planning attorney can help you make an informed decision about what – if any – life insurance is right for you.

Choosing the Right Policy

There are several different types of life insurance policies available, most falling into the category of either whole-life or term life insurance. Deciding which type of policy will best meet your needs and goals is an important first step into understanding exactly where life insurance fits into your estate plan.

Basics of International Wills

Published on: August 20, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Recently, we have written on the intricacies of estate planning when an individual owns foreign property. If you own international property or have other estate assets that span two or more countries, one of the most effective ways to ensure that your estate is properly administered according to your wishes is to make sure that you have an internationally recognized Last Will and Testament.

Understanding International Wills

For the most part, Wills are essentially the same the world over. In jurisdictions that allow recognition of a Will, such documents typically need to meet the same requirements:

The Basics – Understanding Dynasty Trusts

Published on: August 17, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Dynasty trusts often conjure up images of very wealthy families that have a great deal of money to pass onto their heirs. However, dynasty trusts can actually be an effective tool for families with more average assets to distribute. Investopedia defines dynasty trusts as long-term trusts established to transfer wealth from generation to generation while avoiding the incurrence of transfer taxes such as the estate tax and the gift tax. Before deciding if a dynasty trust is right for your needs, it is important to understand how they work and whether or not their benefits will meet your individual needs.

The Basics

Basically, dynasty trusts are established so that they can survive for 21 years after the death of the last person for whom the trust was established. Theoretically, this means such trusts could be in existence for more than 100 years. Typically, the original beneficiaries are the children of the person that has established the trust. When those children die, the trust typically begins to benefit the grandchildren and possibly great-grandchildren of the individual that established the trust. This is why they are referred to as dynasty trusts because they can continue to benefit several generations of heirs. Dynasty trusts are irrevocable, which means that the person that establishes such a trust will have no control over the trust or its terms once it is funded. Instead, it will be controlled by a trustee appointed by the person that has established the trust.

Estate Planning and Foreign Assets

Published on: August 14, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Estate planning can be a complicated process, especially for individuals that have diversified assets. The process can be even more complex for individuals engaging in estate planning when those individuals have foreign assets to consider. If you have or are considering acquiring foreign assets, including foreign real estate property, it is important that you understand how doing so may affect your estate planning tools. An experienced estate planning attorney can help you further understand the unique nature of foreign assets as well as the mechanisms that you can put in place to protect them.

Validity of Wills

It is possible for a valid United States Last Will & Testament to be considered invalid in a foreign country. Typically, to avoid a Will being deemed invalid it must comply with the requirements of a valid Will in the foreign jurisdiction where a person’s assets are located. This is one reason why it is imperative to work with an experienced estate planner in the country in which your foreign assets are located – otherwise, you risk losing those assets or having them distributed in a way that is not according to your wishes. You also need to check with an experienced estate planning attorney in the United States to see how multiple Wills can affect your Will here.

The Importance of Flexibility in Estate Planning

Published on: August 9, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

While some aspects of estate planning can seem pretty rigid, it is important to look at them while keeping an eye on things that will allow for some flexibility. By building flexibility into your estate planning tools where it makes sense, you can save yourself from headaches down the road and also plan effectively for the unexpected events that happen during life. Additionally, flexibility in your approach to estate planning will allow you to effectively plan for changes in tax policy and even the value of your assets so that such changes will not significantly impact your ability to distribute your assets according to your wishes.

Determine Tax Consequences

One of the first things to do when building flexibility into your estate planning portfolio is to determine which options will have the greatest impact on taxes, not only for you but also for your heirs. This is especially important for younger people beginning the estate planning process. One of the most common questions is whether or not you should try to distribute your assets through lifetime gifts or if you should keep them in your estate to be distributed later. Without having a crystal ball to predict the future of the estate tax, this really depends on the current and potential value of the assets in question.

Improving the Impact of Wealth Transfers

Published on: July 26, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Estate planning is a complicated process that involves a great deal of different nuances and other important aspects that can sometimes be overlooked. One of the most overlooked aspects of estate planning is preparing heirs for inheritance from an early age. According to a recent article from InvestmentNews.com, not doing so is one of the reasons that far less wealth was transferred to baby boomers from previous generations. Now, by engaging in responsible and comprehensive estate planning strategies with an experienced estate planning attorney, you can work productively to make sure that you are able to transfer as much of your wealth as possible to future generations according to your wishes.

Factors that Diminish Wealth Transfers

Being aware of various factors that can diminish wealth transfers may help you avoid those pitfalls. These factors include:

Removing a Trustee in New York

Published on: May 21, 2017 | by Ettinger Law Firm

Selecting the right trustee to administer your estate is a crucial part of ensuring that your assets are distributed according to your wishes and that your estate is settled correctly. While many people can and should put a great deal of thought into selecting a trustee to administer their estate, the process of selecting a trustee often stops there. Whether a trustee is a financial institution, attorney, or close family friend, you need to include a mechanism to remove that trustee if the need to do so arises. An experienced estate planning attorney can help you design this type of mechanism, which could help your loved ones avoid the often-lengthy legal process of removing a trustee in the absence of formal instructions.

When can a trustee be removed?

There are many reasons you may wish to revise your estate’s trustee. Perhaps you originally selected a family member that has become estranged because of divorce. You may have selected a sibling that has predeceased you. If you nominated a financial institution, it could have been bought out by another company that you don’t want to deal with. Whatever the reason for wanting to remove a trustee, New York law states that the following constitute some legal reasons for a court to remove a trustee: