Estate Planning

March 29, 2018

Study Suggest creating a “Bucket List” Can Help with End of Life Care Decisions

A new study recently published in the Journal of Palliative Medicine suggests that doctors and patients could make use of the time old “bucket list” to make improved decisions on end of life care. The bucket list is typically understood as a list of accomplishments or experiences an individual wishes to achieve before his or her passing. Often times, this can be a combination of achievable, real life possibilities or other lists of fantasies.

Other research has already indicated the importance of having end of life care decisions between doctors and patients and this latest article suggests that adding the creation of a “bucket list” could be another vital piece of the puzzle. By focusing purely on diagnostics and disease management, many clinicians may unknowingly create a “conversation gap” that could deprive patients living out their last days in peace and happiness.

Sadly, when patients are faced with a serious diagnosis their sole focus often becomes centered around their medical care and can steer them away from both short and long term life goals. While it can be hard to imagine anything other than undertaking every possible treatment to fight what may otherwise be a terminal illness, many patients fail to take into account the loss of life experiences that add up when committing most of their time and effort into beating their disease.

March 22, 2018

Checklist for Reviewing Your Estate Plan

by Ettinger Law Firm

Comprehensive estate planning should be a continuing process. It is important to review your estate plan periodically, especially after major life events occur. An experienced estate planning attorney that helps you review your comprehensive estate plan as part of their service can make sure that you address changing needs and circumstances. The following can also provide a framework for you to start thinking about what to look for when reviewing your estate plan.

Start with Your Will

This is often a good place to start in creating your estate plan and in reviewing it. As time goes on, you are likely to experience a number of changes. Your family may grow to include additional beneficiaries. You are also likely to acquire a number of different assets. An effective Will will take all of this into consideration and include detailed instructions for distributing the assets within it.

March 20, 2018

Turning Down an Inheritance

by Ettinger Law Firm

There are many reasons why discussing your comprehensive estate plan with your beneficiaries is important. Not only can it help clarify your decisions and provide the reasoning for some choices that may otherwise cause conflict and strife, but it can prepare beneficiaries for their role in the estate plan.

Sometimes, circumstances arise in which a beneficiary may not want the inheritance that is being left to them or it may simply not be practical to accept it. When these situations arise, the beneficiary may have the option of turning down – or disclaiming – the inheritance.

Reasons for Disclaiming an Inheritance

March 17, 2018

The Role of a Trust Protector

by Ettinger Law Firm

Comprehensive estate planning is a long-term process. It is not complete simply because the many pieces of your estate plan have been considered and put into place. Your estate plan must be reviewed periodically, and with so much at stake it must also be protected. In addition to taking important basic precautions to protect your estate plan, you may also benefit from an additional form of protection by enlisting a trust protector.

What is a trust protector?

For estate plans that have a trust in place, and especially for those with several different trusts in place, it is important to ensure that trusts are administered in a legal way that meets your goals for establishing the trust. When you establish a trust, you must also designate a trustee. Trustees are entrusted with administering a trust according to the terms of the trust and the goals you have established for that trust.

March 15, 2018

Planning for Incapacity

by Ettinger Law Firm

A comprehensive estate plan is more than just a Last Will and Testament coupled with a trust. In includes important aspects that require careful planning for a long period of time. For instance, considering long-term medical care as part of your financial outlook and retirement planning is an important part of your estate plan because it can help safeguard assets and provide a source of financial support for your long-term needs so you can avoid draining assets from your estate to pay for unexpected costs. However, you should also consider planning for challenges like incapacity to ensure the integrity of your estate.

Tools for Planning

A durable power of attorney can help protect your rights and assets in the event of incapacitation. These documents nominate an individual to make important legal and financial decisions for you, especially in relation to your assets. The individual you nominate can work within the authority you provide them with to protect assets within your estate.

March 12, 2018

Talking to Your Spouse About Estate Planning

by Ettinger Law Firm

While comprehensive estate planning is an important discussion, it is not typically one families have while sitting around the dinner table or enjoying family game night. The fact is that estate planning can be a difficult topic to bring up, and discussions about the approaches you and your spouse will take can be even more challenging.

However, talking to your spouse about the importance of estate planning – especially if you have a family to provide for – is something that has to happen at one point or another if you and your spouse want to ensure the integrity of your estate and the assets within it. The following tips might help you broach the subject.

Be Clear About Your Objectives

March 10, 2018

Potential Changes for Retirees Could Mean Changes for Your Estate Plan

by Ettinger Law Firm

The impact of the newest tax reform efforts will likely take a long time to settle in. However, there are many potential short-term changes that could impact retirees in the coming years. That means that reviewing and revising your estate plan could be an essential component of being prepared for the effects of new tax approaches. Recently, Marketwatch.com published an article giving some insight to some of these changes.

Changes to Property Tax Deductions

Under the new tax plan, only $10,000 of property tax can be deducted federally. That means that retires may more readily consider the impact this deduction has on their tax liability. Many retirees may consider moving from sates with higher property tax to ones with lower property tax in order to take advantage of the deduction but avoid spending additional money in property taxes that cannot be recouped.

March 7, 2018

Stepmothers and Estate Plans

by Ettinger Law Firm

While the stereotype of the wicked stepmother is – appropriately – more a figment of the movies than reality, stepmothers can and do play an important role in estate planning. Much like other members of blended families, it is important to address the role a stepmother will play when it comes to your comprehensive estate plan. Recently, Forbes published an article noting that stepmothers are often associated with challenges to an estate plan. This makes sense because, as the article notes, statistics show women live longer and often outlive their husbands. Understanding the source of some of these challenges and working with an attorney to help prevent them can be beneficial for everyone involved.

Late-In-Life Marriages and Estrangement

A common presumption when it comes to marriage that happen later in life is that one person is solely in the marriage for an inheritance, especially if such a marriage is subject to a significant age difference. Such marriages can stand to alienate children, though such alienation can occur with remarriages at any age.

March 3, 2018

Late-In-Life Divorce Challenges and Your Estate Plan

by Ettinger Law Firm

Divorce is never an easy experience, no matter what age it occurs at. However, individuals going through a late-in-life divorce may be even more surprised at some of the challenges this experience can present. Many of the difficulties experienced by older individuals that make the choice to get divorced can have a significant impact on their estate plans. A recent article from Marketwatch.com provides some insight as to how a late-in-life divorce can impact your estate plan from those that have experienced it.

Difficult Job Market

While the economy may be on the road to recovery, history has shown us that can change at any moment. Even in the best of economic times, finding a job that can help maintain the standard of living you are accustomed to or want to experience can be very difficult at any age. According to individuals that provided commentary for the article, this is an exceptionally difficult task for older individuals. The problem may be compounded for spouses that have been out of the job market for a longer period of time, or who may not meet the educational requirements that many positions now demand.

February 26, 2018

Life Insurance and the Estate Tax

by Ettinger Law Firm

There are a number of important factors to consider when it comes to comprehensive estate planning. Every family has unique needs, and every estate plan is different and designed in a way that best meets those needs. However, many estate plans include life insurance as an important component of ensuring loved ones are taken care of. While life insurance can be an important part of an estate plan, it is important to plan appropriately to make sure you can make the most out of your life insurance policy.

Life Insurance and Estate Tax

The new tax bill has raised the estate tax threshold quite a bit by doubling it to an individual threshold of $10 millions and a married threshold of around $20 million, with the actual number dependent in some part on inflation. The change in the law is not permanent, either. In fact, it will expire in 2025 absent further action by Congress.