Improve your Estate Plan with Charitable Giving

March 31, 2020

Americans are a country of generous people. We give to organizations that we feel connected to, and we give to charities that we feel are important. We also give to honor our loved ones, to make life better in our communities and to help when disaster strikes. You can improve your estate plan with charitable giving.

Most people don’t give to charity purely for the tax benefits, but charitable giving has long been a benefit of lowering income taxes during our lifetimes, as well as helping minimize estate taxes when we die, says the article “5 Ways to Incorporate Charitable Giving into Your Estate Plan” from Kiplinger. Therefore, if you are charitably minded, why not achieve the most tax-savings you can? Here are five ways to do this.

Appreciated Stock. Gifts of publicly traded stock that has grown or appreciated in value is a good way to support a charity while you are living. If you sell appreciated stock, you will need to pay capital gains tax on the appreciation. However, if you donate appreciated stock to a charity, you’ll receive a charitable income tax deduction equal to the full market value of the stock at the time of the gift. That avoids capital gains taxes. You get the benefit on the appreciated amount, without having to sell it. The charity can, if it wants, sell the stock without paying any capital gains taxes, because registered nonprofits are tax exempt.

Charitable Rollovers. If you are older than 70 ½, you may donate up to $100,000 per year to charities directly from your IRA. This is known as a Qualified Charitable Rollover, or a QCD. The QCD counts towards any Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) that you need to take from your IRA annually. Under the recently passed SECURE Act, in the future RMDs must be taken by December 31, 2020, after the account owner celebrates their 72^nd birthday. Because RMDs are taxable income, they are taxed at ordinary income rates.

By donating through a QCD, you can support a charity, fulfill your RMD requirement and exclude the amount that you donate from your taxable income. For those who don’t need their RMDs, that’s a win-win situation.

Bequest by Will or Revocable Trust. A more traditional way to support a charity, is to leave an amount in your will or revocable trust. The bequest is language in your will or trust that states the amount you want to leave to the charity, clearly identifying the charity you want to receive the funds, and if you want, stating the purpose that you’d want the charity to use the funds. An important point: make sure that you use the legally accurate name of the charity to avoid any confusion. This is a common error that causes no many problems for charities.

Consider also giving a donation that can be used for a charity’s “general purpose.” This lets the charity decide where to best allocate your donation, rather than tying the money to a specific program. If you chose to list a specific purpose, meet with the development office or the executive director at the charity to ensure that they are able to fulfill that desire. Otherwise, the charity may need to refuse the bequest.

Name a Charity as the Beneficiary of Retirement Accounts. This can be done by naming the charity as a beneficiary on the account documents. Be sure to use the legally correct name of the charity. The charity will be able to withdraw funds from the retirement account without paying taxes. People who receive funds from retirement accounts pay income tax rates on distributions, but charities do not. You may want to donate retirement account funds to charities, and non-taxable assets to heirs.

Charitable Remainder Trusts. This is a way to help the charity and provide for heirs. Your estate planning attorney would create a Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) and names the CRT as the beneficiary of an IRA. A CRT is a “split interest trust,” where a person receives annual payments for the CRT for a set period of time. When the person or charitable organization’s interest in the CRT ends, the remaining funds are distributed to the charity of your choosing. There are very strict rules about how CRTs are structured, including the percentages that the charity must receive. An estate planning attorney will be able to create this for you.

There are opportunities to use charitable giving to improve your estate plan. Speak with an estate planning attorney today.

If you would like to learn more about charitable giving, please visit our previous posts.

Reference: Kiplinger (March 2, 2020) “5 Ways to Incorporate Charitable Giving into Your Estate Plan”

Beware the Rush to do Your Will Online

March 30, 2020

With COVID-19 affecting more and more Americans, people across the country are scrambling to set up wills and end-of-life directives. Over the last two weeks, online will companies have seen an explosion in users, according to the article, “Coronavirus Pandemic Triggers Rush by Americans to Make Online Wills,” published by CNBC.com. Beware the rush to do your will online.

However, as online wills grow in popularity, estate and elder lawyers increasingly caution against using them, for several reasons.

Will the documents be legally valid? Since most of these do-it-yourself wills are created and executed without any oversight from an attorney, a larger number of wills may not be executed in compliance with the proper will formalities, and that could end up invalidating the will.
Do you fully understand the questions and consequences of your answers? There are many nuances in estate planning, as well as a good bit of legal jargon. Confusion over the question or the consequences of a decision can result in costly mistakes … and could even mean your will won’t hold up to a challenge in court.
What about asset protection? There is more to estate planning than just giving your stuff away after you die. How you transfer ownership of your assets can mean the difference between a protected inheritance and legacy for many generations … or the squandering or loss of a person’s life’s work within a few years … or months … after they pass away.
Is there any planning for long-term care? It’s estimated that more than half of people turning age 65 who will need some type of long-term care services in their lifetimes. Proper estate planning should balance the possibility that you will need assistance paying for nursing home care (Medicaid), with other estate planning goals. Mistakes in this area could disqualify you from receiving assistance should you need it.

As COVID-19 keeps people home, meeting with a lawyer to create a will could not be easier. In most states, a lawyer’s services have been deemed “essential,” even during stay-at-home orders. We are doing everything we can to make our services as easy and convenient for you as possible, including meeting over telephone, online video services and other innovative ways to ensure you get the planning you need while complying with all safety measures.

If you would like to learn more about the pitfalls of online estate planning, please visit our previous posts.

Resource: Coronavirus Pandemic Triggers Rush by Americans to Make Online Wills, https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/25/coronavirus-pandemic-triggers-rush-by-americans-to-make-online-wills.html

Understanding Guardianship and Power of Attorney

March 27, 2020

Protecting yourself or a loved one can take many different forms, since aging takes a toll on the ability to handle financial and medical decisions. In most situations, guardianship or a power of attorney does the trick, says the article “Guardianships vs. Powers of Attorney” from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. How to know which is the best one to use? Understanding the differences between guardianship and power of attorney is crucial.

A guardianship is a court-authorized assignment of surrogate decision-making power for the benefit of a person who has lost the ability to make informed decisions on their own, often described as a person who has become incapacitated. The decisions that another person can make on their behalf can be very broad, or they can be very specific.

If a person becomes incapacitated, either through a slowly progressing illness like dementia or quickly, as the result of an accident, a judge will appoint a person or sometimes an organization to handle health care and financial decisions. The court-appointed guardian or organization could be a person or agency you have never heard of and would not know your family or anything about you.

Yes, that is scary. However, guardianship takes place when families do not plan in advance to appoint a surrogate decision maker, also known as an “agent.”

Here’s even more scary news: once the court has appointed a guardian, that relationship may continue for the rest of the incapacitated person’s life. That means annual accountings and involvement with the court, legal fees and other professional fees the guardian or court deems necessary.

There are some guardians who have made headlines for stealing money and making care decisions that the individual and their families did not want.

Meeting with an estate planning attorney to prepare for incapacity as part of an overall estate plan is a far better way. Why don’t more people do it?

They aren’t aware of the importance of power of attorney.
They don’t want to spend the money.
They don’t know who to choose as their power of attorney
They don’t want to think about incapacity or death.

In contrast to a court-supervised lifetime guardianship, a properly drafted power of attorney can provide for an agent to make a variety of financial and medical decisions. The person named as a power of attorney (the agent) can serve for the person’s lifetime, just like a guardian.

This is the most fundamental estate planning document, after the last will and testament. Once it’s prepared, you can always change your mind and you or your agent never need to go to court.

If you are interested in learning more about guardianships, please visit our previous posts.

Reference: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Feb. 24, 2020) “Guardianships vs. Powers of Attorney”

Beneficiary Designations Can Damage an Estate Plan

March 26, 2020

Beneficiary designations can damage an estate plan. Naming a beneficiary on a non-retirement account can result in an unintended consequence—it can even topple an entire estate plan—reports The National Law Review in the article “Overuse of Beneficiary Designations: How They Can Derail a Client’s Estate Plan.” How is that possible?

In most cases, retirement accounts and life insurance policies pass to beneficiaries as a result of the beneficiary designation form that is completed when someone opens a retirement account or purchases a life insurance plan. Most people don’t even think about those designations again, until they embark on the estate planning process, when they are reviewed.

The beneficiary designations are carefully tailored to allow the asset to pass through to the heir, often via trusts that have been created to achieve a variety of benefits. The use of beneficiary designations also allows the asset to remain outside of the estate, avoiding probate after death.

Apart from the beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance policies, beneficiary designations are also available through checking and savings accounts, CDs, U.S. Savings Bonds or investment accounts. The problem occurs when these assets are not considered during the estate planning process, potentially defeating the tax planning and distribution plans created.

The most common way this happens, is when a well-meaning bank employee or financial advisor asks if the person would like to name a beneficiary and explains to the account holder how it will help their heirs avoid probate. However, if the estate planning lawyer, whose goal is to plan for the entire estate, is not informed of these beneficiary designations, there could be repercussions. Some of the unintended consequences include:

Loss of tax saving strategies. If the estate plan uses funding formulas to optimize tax savings by way of a credit shelter trust, marital trust or generation-skipping trust, the assets are not available to fund the trusts and the tax planning strategy may not work as intended.

Unintentional beneficiary exclusion. If all or a large portion of the assets pass directly to the beneficiaries, there may not be enough assets to satisfy bequests to other individuals or trust funds created by the estate plan.

Loss of creditor protection/asset management. Many estate plans are created with trusts intended to protect assets against creditor claims or to provide asset management for a beneficiary. If the assets pass directly to heirs, any protection created by the estate plan is lost.

Estate administration issues. If a large portion of the assets pass to beneficiaries directly, the administration of the estate—that means taxes, debts, and expenses—may be complicated by a lack of funds under the control of the executor and/or the fiduciary. If estate tax is due, the beneficiary of an account may be held liable for paying the proportionate share of any taxes.

Before adding a beneficiary designation to a non-retirement account, or changing a bank account to a POD (Payable on Death), speak with your estate planning attorney to ensure that the plan you put into place will work if you make these changes. When you review your estate plan, review beneficiary designations. Beneficiary designations can damage an estate plan. The wrong step here could have a major impact for your heirs.

If you would like to read more about beneficiary designations, please visit our previous posts.

Reference: The National Law Review (Feb. 28, 2020) “Overuse of Beneficiary Designations: How They Can Derail a Client’s Estate Plan”

Estate Planning Is For Everyone

March 25, 2020

Estate planning is for everyone. It is something anyone who is 18 years old or older needs to think about, advises the article “Estate planning for every stage of life” from the Independent Record. Estate planning includes much more than a person’s last will and testament. It protects you from incapacity, provides the legal right to allow others to talk to your doctors if you can’t and takes care of your minor children, if an unexpected tragedy occurs. Let’s look at all the ages and stages where estate planning is needed.

Parents of young adults should discuss estate planning with their children. While parents devote decades to helping their children become independent adults, sometimes life doesn’t go the way you expect. A college freshman is more concerned with acing a class, joining a club and the most recent trend on social media. However, a parent needs to think about what happens when the child is over 18 and has a medical emergency. Parents have no legal rights to medical information, medical decision making or finances, once a child becomes a legal adult. Hospitals may not release private information and doctors can’t talk with parents, even in an extreme situation. Young adults need to have a HIPAA release, a durable power of medical attorney and a power of attorney for their finances created.

New parents also need estate planning. While it may be hard to consider while adjusting to having a new baby in the house, what would happen to that baby if something unexpected were to affect both parents? The attorney will create a last will and testament, which is used to name a guardian for any minor children, in case both parents pass. This also includes decisions that need to be made about the child’s education, medical treatment and even their social life. You’ll need to name someone to be the child’s guardian, and to be sure that they will raise your child the same way that you would.

An estate plan includes naming a conservator, who is a person with control over a minor child’s finances. You’ll want to name a responsible person who is trustworthy and good with handling money. It is possible to name the same person as guardian and conservator. However, it may be wise to separate the responsibilities.

An estate plan also ensures that your children receive their inheritance, when you think they will be responsible enough to handle it. If a minor child’s parents die and there is no estate plan, the parent’s assets will be held by the court for the benefit of the child. Once the child turns 18, he or she will receive the entire amount in one lump sum. Few who are 18-years old are able to manage large sums of money. Estate planning helps you control how the money is distributed. This is also something to consider, when your children are the beneficiaries of any life insurance policies. An estate planning attorney can help you set up trusts, so the monies are distributed at the right time.

When people enter their ‘golden’ years—that is, they are almost retired—it is the time for estate plans to be reviewed. You may wish to name your children as power of attorney and medical power of attorney, rather than a sibling. It’s best to have people who will be younger than you for these roles as you age. This may also be the time to change how your wealth is distributed. Are your children old enough to be responsible with an inheritance? Do you want to create a legacy plan that includes charitable giving?

Lastly, update your estate plan any time there are changes in the family structure. Divorce, death, marriage or individuals with special needs all require a different approach to the basic estate plan. It’s a good idea to revisit an estate plan anytime there have been major changes in your relationships, to the law, or changes to your financial status.

If you would like to learn more about estate planning, please visit our previous posts.

Reference: Independent Record (March 1, 2020) “Estate planning for every stage of life”

Elder Law Attorney can counsel a Family

March 24, 2020

The right elder law attorney can counsel a family through the difficult details and requirements of the situations that may come up to protect the rights and welfare of seniors and their families. An elder law attorney may help with issues, such as guardianship, conservatorship, power of attorney, estate planning, Medicaid planning, probate and estate administration and advanced directives.

The Senior List’s recent article entitled “What is Elder Law and How Can an Elder Law Attorney Help Me?” explains that because the laws on the care of the elderly differ in each state, and are always subject to change, it is essential to find an elder law attorney who is skilled, knowledgeable and up-to-date on elder law policy and legal issues.

Before meeting with an elder law attorney, create a list of the specific concerns for the present and foreseeable future, so you know what qualifications and capabilities your attorney will need. You want a lawyer who’s experienced and educated, as well as comfortable to speak with and relatable.

You can ask these questions of your elder law attorney to help you make your decision:

How long have you been practicing in elder law?
Do you stay up to date on this area of law, by ongoing study and attending seminars on this subject matter?
Take a look at the required services we think will be needed. Can you fulfill them?
Do you have litigation experience?
What type of fee schedule do you offer?

If you’d like to try to stay up to date on what’s happening within elder law, go online and search for “aging and disability” as well as the name of the state in which the senior lives. Every state government has a department in charge of these matters (the official names will vary).

While caring for a love done can be stressful, understanding what options are available to them and to you, can make it all much easier. An elder law attorney can counsel a family through the process.

If you would like to learn more about elder law, please visit our previous posts.

Reference: The Senior List (Oct. 10, 2019) “What is Elder Law and How Can an Elder Law Attorney Help Me?”

Crucial to name Medical Power of Attorney

March 23, 2020

COVID 19 Update – It is crucial to name a Medical Power of Attorney. Do not wait. Stop procrastinating and get this crucial planning in place now.

What is a Medical Power of Attorney?

A medical power of attorney is a legal document you use to give someone else authority to make medical decisions for you when you can no longer make them yourself. This person, also known as an agent, can only exercise this power if your doctor says you are unable to make key decisions yourself.

Other Terms for Medical Power of Attorney

Depending on the state where you live, the medical power of attorney may be called something else. You may have seen this referred to as a health care power of attorney, an advance directive, advance health care directive, a durable power of attorney for health care, etc. There are many variations, but they all mean fundamentally the same thing.

Be aware that each state has their own laws about medical powers of attorney, so it’s important to work with a qualified estate planning attorney to ensure your decisions will be enforced through legally binding documents. Also, some states may not honor documents from other states, so even if you made these decisions and created documents in another state, it’s wise to review with an estate attorney to ensure they are legally valid in your state now.

What Can My Medical Agent Do for Me?

Just like there are many different terms for the medical power of attorney, there also are different terms for the medical agent – this person may be referred to as an attorney-in-fact, a health proxy, or surrogate.

Some of the things a medical POA authorizes your agent to decide for you:

Which doctors or facilities to work with and whether to change
Give consent for additional testing or treatment
How aggressively to treat
Whether to disconnect life support

It is crucial to name a Medical Power of Attorney. We are ready to help walk you through these decisions, understand the ramifications of your choices, and memorialize your plans in binding legal documents. We are currently offering no-contact initial conferences remotely if you prefer. Book a call now and let us help you make the right choices for yourself and your loved ones. If you would like to read more about powers of attorney, please visit our previous posts.

Make certain You have accurate Beneficiaries

March 20, 2020

When a family member passes away, it can be a very unsettling time. There are many tasks that need to be accomplished in a short amount of time. One way that you can lessen that burden for your heirs by clearly telling them your preferences for your assets. One element of this is making certain that you have accurate beneficiaries to your retirement and investment accounts.

Nerd Wallet’s recent article entitled “5 Reasons to Add Beneficiaries to Your Investment Accounts Now” says taking the time to do this will help save your heirs and family time, money and energy when they need it most. Let’s take a look at some of the compelling reasons to do this.

Your beneficiaries get to keep more money (and get it faster). When your beneficiaries are assigned to your investment and retirement accounts, the assets will pass directly to them. However, if they are not, those accounts may have to go through the probate process to settle an estate after someone dies. A typical probate case can drag on for a year or longer, and during that time, your beneficiaries are unable to access their inheritance. “Court” also means expenses, time, effort and added stress—all of which are things they’d rather avoid.
Less stress for your heirs. When you make certain that you designate the beneficiaries for your accounts, it can relieve your family of a heavy burden, so they’re not trying to figure out your finances while they’re grieving.
Your beneficiaries will supersede your will. If you have beneficiaries named, those choices will typically override what is written in your will. Therefore, you can see that keeping your beneficiaries up-to-date is extremely important.
It’s easy and painless. If you have a retirement account, such as a 401(k) or an IRA, your account will typically have its own beneficiary form within the account itself. With this, you are able to choose your beneficiaries when you open your account or review them later. With a regular investment account, you’ll need to ask for a transfer on death (TOD) form to make beneficiary elections.
You recently experienced a change in your circumstances. If you experience a big life change, like getting married or having a child, it’s critical to update or add beneficiary elections immediately. It’s best to be prepared for the unexpected.

Remember that in community property states, spouses may be entitled to half of the assets in an IRA — even if another beneficiary is listed — unless you have written consent. So make certain you have accurate beneficiaries. Ask a qualified estate planning attorney about state laws to be sure your money goes to whom you want.

If you would like to learn more about beneficiary designations, please visit our previous posts.

Reference: Nerd Wallet (January 22, 2020) “5 Reasons to Add Beneficiaries to Your Investment Accounts Now”

Powers of attorney can provide significant authority

March 19, 2020

Powers of attorney can provide significant authority to another person, if you are unable to do so. These powers can include the right to access your bank accounts and to make decisions for you.

AARP’s article from last October entitled, “Powers of Attorney: Crucial Documents for Caregiving,” describes the different types of powers of attorney.

Just like it sounds, a specific power of attorney restricts your agent to taking care of only certain tasks, such as paying bills or selling a house. This power is typically only on a temporary basis.

A general power of attorney provides your agent with sweeping authority. The agent has the authority to step into your shoes and handle all of your legal and financial affairs.

The authority of these powers of attorney can stop at the time you become incapacitated. Durable powers of attorney may be specific or general. However, the “durable” part means your agent retains the authority, even if you become physically or mentally incapacitated. In effect, your family probably won’t need to petition a court to intervene, if you have a medical crisis or have severe cognitive decline like late stage dementia.

In some instances, medical decision-making is part of a durable power of attorney for health care. This can also be addressed in a separate document that is just for health care, like a health care surrogate designation.

There are a few states that recognize “springing” durable powers of attorney. With these, the agent can begin using her authority, only after you become incapacitated. Other states don’t have these, which means your agent can use the document the day you sign the durable power of attorney.

A well-drafted power of attorney helps your agent help you, because she can keep the details of your life addressed, if you cannot. That can be things like applying for financial assistance or a public benefit, such as Medicaid, or verifying that your utilities stay on and your taxes get paid. Attempting to take care of any of these things without the proper document can be almost impossible.

In the absence of proper incapacity legal planning, your loved ones will need to initiate a court procedure known as a guardianship or conservatorship. However, these hearings can be expensive, time-consuming and contested by family members who don’t agree with moving forward.

Don’t wait to do this. Every person who’s at least age 18 should have a power of attorney in place. Powers of attorney can provide significant authority. If you do have a power of attorney, be sure that it’s up to date. Ask an experienced elder law or estate planning attorney to help you create these documents.

If you would like to learn more about Powers of Attorney and related subjects, please visit our previous posts.

Reference: AARP (October 31, 2019) “Powers of Attorney: Crucial Documents for Caregiving”

How ABLE Accounts Work

March 18, 2020

It took nearly a decade of lobbying, but in 2014, Congress passed the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act. The law, referred to as ABLE, lets people with disabilities open a tax-advantaged account, similar in many ways to 529 accounts used to help with college funding. How ABLE accounts work is explained in the article “Everything You Need to Know About ABLE Accounts” from U.S. News & World Report.

The accounts allow eligible individuals to save money without putting their eligibility for government benefits at risk. The income from the account is not used for means testing for Social Security Income or Medicaid.

However, despite these benefits, ABLE accounts are still not widely used. Less than 57,000 accounts have been opened nationwide. Here’s more information on how they work.

Why would a disabled person want an ABLE account? Living with any type of disability is costly. There are out-of-pocket expenses for transportation, housing, and education that may not be covered by government programs. Those programs limit a person’s assets to $2,000. Prior to the ABLE Act becoming law, that meant that a disabled person could not save money for their own use. While there are limits to the size of ABLE accounts, they provide an opportunity for a financial cushion.

Who is eligible for an ABLE account? A person who became blind or disabled before age 26 may be the beneficiary of an ABLE account. Someone who is receiving SSI or Social Security Disability benefits is automatically eligible to open an account. Others will need to meet Social Security’s definition of being disabled and have a doctor’s letter stating that they are disabled to qualify.

Do all states offer ABLE accounts? There are 42 states, plus the District of Columbia, that offer ABLE Accounts. But a disabled resident of a state that does not offer ABLE accounts can open one with another state’s program. Right now there are 26 states that let anyone open an account, and the rest limit their programs to state residents. An estate planning attorney will know what your state’s rules are.

Are there tax incentives for using an ABLE account? This varies by state. Michigan and Arkansas let single filers deduct $5,000 in contributions to an ABLE account on their state tax forms. For joint filers in these two states, the maximum deduction is $10,000. In Illinois, there is a state income tax deduction of $10,000 for a single filer and $20,000 for joint filers. For Kansas, deductions are smaller; $3,000 for individuals and $6,000 for couples. New York State and California do not allow any deductions.

How much can be contributed to an ABLE account? $15,000 a year is the limit for annual contributions. Be aware that the first $100,000 of an account’s balance is shielded from asset means testing for government programs. Once the account reaches $100,001, it could impact SSI benefits.

What expenses can the ABLE account be used for? The account is designed to be used by people with disabilities, so things like medical treatment, transportation, education, and assistive technology are permitted uses. The expense must be related to a person’s disability.

Does it cost anything to open an ABLE account? This varies by state. In Ohio, you’ll pay $30 to open an account if you are a resident; out of state fees are $42 annually. In New York, only residents can open accounts, and the fee is $45 to open an account online and $55 if it is done on paper by mail.

Should a Special Needs Trust be used instead of an ABLE account? Many families chose a Special Needs Trust instead of an ABLE account. These trusts cost more to setup, but also offer more flexibility. They once were the only option. An estate planning elder law attorney will be able to explain how ABLE accounts and SNTs work, and guide the family as to which is the best solution for their disabled family member.

If you would like to learn more about special needs planning, please visit our previous posts.

Reference: U.S. News & World Report (February 18, 2020) “Everything You Need to Know About ABLE Accounts”

Blog Articles

Improve your Estate Plan with Charitable Giving

Beware the Rush to do Your Will Online

Understanding Guardianship and Power of Attorney

Beneficiary Designations Can Damage an Estate Plan

Estate Planning Is For Everyone

Elder Law Attorney can counsel a Family

Crucial to name Medical Power of Attorney

Make certain You have accurate Beneficiaries

Powers of attorney can provide significant authority

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