Estate planning

5 Misconceptions about Estate Planning

While most people don’t feel comfortable discussing incapacitation or death, estate planning can prevent discord in the family and make sure that your loved ones are provided for.

An estate attorney can also help you appoint a power of attorney and create an advance directive outlining end-of-life care. A comprehensive estate plan prevents your assets from being mishandled or going to the wrong people.

Continue reading to learn the five myths that prevent people from scheduling an appointment with an estate planning attorney.

Four Reasons You Should Have a Last Will and Testament

1. You Decide Who is in Charge of Your Estate

When you designate a Personal Representative, a Last Will and Testament allows you to determine in advance who will carry out your instructions after your death. Without designating a Personal Representative, court rules determine who will be responsible for settling your estate. Failing to designate a Personal Representative adds to the cost of probate and can substantially delay who will carry out your wishes. Under Michigan law, the probate court will automatically appoint the person you select as Personal Representative without a hearing. Contrary to belief, a Will does not avoid probate but it’s better than dying “intestate,” that is, without a Will and leaving it to the court to decide who is in charge and how to divide your assets.

2. You Decide Who Will Take Care of Your Minor or Disabled Children

A Will allows you to designate who will take care of your minor or disabled children. Without a Will, it’s up to the court to decide who will act as guardian or conservator of your children. It’s important to name someone you believe shares your life values and who will meet your children’s needs in the manner you prefer.

3. You Decide How Your Estate Will be Distributed

If you die without a Will, your estate may not be distributed the way you intend. This is especially true in blended families. If you or your spouse have children from prior relationships, without a Will your spouse or children may not receive what you intend. A Will is a method to determine what you want the outcome of your estate to be, otherwise it’s up to the court to decide for you based upon the intestate rules provided under Michigan law.

4. A Will Allows You to Give Specific Instructions Without Losing Control of Your Assets

It may be tempting to put someone else’s name on your assets “just in case something happens” but joint ownership arrangements can put you in a position to lose control over your assets both before and after your death. In some cases, the best way to make a specific gift of property or other assets is to include those directions in your Will. That way, there’s no confusion about what you intend.

Let us help you achieve the peace of mind that your affairs are in order. We have a proven process to protect you and your family.

Starting the planning process is easy. Give us call at (231) 799-4994 to set up a complimentary Get Acquainted Call.

Four Benefits of a General Durable Power of Attorney

A general durable power of attorney is a fundamental part of any estate plan. This important legal document allows you to appoint someone else to act for you to make financial decisions if you cannot make decisions for yourself.

When creating a general durable power of attorney, you are known as the “principal” and the person to act for you is called your “agent” or “attorney-in-fact.”

1. Keep Control While Allowing Someone Else to Act for You

Instead of creating a general durable power of attorney, it may be tempting to add another person as a signatory on your bank accounts “just in case something happens.” Adding someone else as a joint tenant on your bank accounts or other assets can cause you to lose complete control over what you own. Joint ownership arrangements make your asset the property of the new joint owner; and, joint ownership arrangements put your assets at risk to pay for your new joint owner’s liabilities. Don’t make your joint owner’s debts your problem. A general power of attorney allows you to appoint someone else to act for you either immediately or upon proof of incapacity without losing control. And, it requires the agent to always act in your best interest.

2. Avoid Probate Court

If you become disabled and are unable to make your own decisions, without a general durable power of attorney your family may have no choice but to petition the probate court for the appointment of a conservator. Appointing a conservator can be an expensive and time consuming process. Once a conservator is appointed, it’s usually for life. That means so long as you are alive and disabled, your conservator must provide a complete inventory of your assets and report of all of your income and expenses to the court and your family every year. What you own and what you make becomes a part of the public court records.

3. Provide for Asset Protection

If you end up needing financial assistance to help pay for long term care or nursing expenses, most power of attorney documents place handcuffs or limitations on your agent’s ability to protect your assets. When given the choice, most families prefer to protect as much of their savings and assets as possible from being spent on nursing home costs that might otherwise be paid for through government benefit programs like Medicaid. Without specific authorization to apply for government benefits or to take actions that might protect what you own, your agent may be forced to spend all of your assets on medical expenses or other costs associated with a chronic, long term illness. If your family has to go to court to get permission to act for you, there is no guarantee that the court will feel the same way you do about how to protect your assets.

4. Allow Access to Information

Putting someone else on your bank account might allow them to pay your bills from that particular account but it does nothing to allow access to financial information or medical records needed to help pay your bills, apply for government benefits or to make other important decisions. Without a general durable power of attorney, financial and medical privacy rules may prevent others from disclosing important information needed to protect you or others who depend on you for support.

If you’d like to create a general durable power of attorney please give us a call at (231) 799-4994 or contact us using the form below:

Leaving a Legacy is Not Always About Documents

While the job of an estate planner is to help families plan for the crises of sickness or death, drafting a Last Will and Testament or a Living Trust is not the only way to leave a legacy. For 52 years, my late father served as a pastor. More than a few times in the last week, I’ve heard his voice rattling in the back of my head. What I imagine are words of encouragement – don’t lose hope – the best is yet ahead – God has a plan for your life.

On this day, I encourage you to think about simple actions you can take that would leave a legacy for others:

Practice Gratitude. No matter what your circumstances, be grateful for the gifts of family and friendship. Share your appreciation for the good things you have experienced with the people you love.

Reach Out to Someone. Living in isolation can add to fear. Give someone a call or FaceTime a friend and let them know you’re thinking about them. Share something humorous. Bring a smile to someone else’s face.

Focus on Having a Positive Mindset. In the Epistle to the Philippians, a book of the New Testament found in the Christian Bible, Paul encourages us to meditate on those things that are true, that are noble, that are just, things that are pure and lovely or are of good report. Maybe it’s a good day to turn off the news and enjoy something beautiful like a great work of art.

Speak Someone Else’s Love Language. In 1995, Dr. Gary Chapman wrote a novel book that identified 5 ways that describe how we feel loved and appreciated. One of those ways is to share words of affirmation. Send someone a message or make a call and leave a legacy by sharing a word of affirmation.

Estate Planning in a World of Social Distancing

The truth is that we’re living in a world of uncertainty that impacts every area of our life. Unfortunately, the fears that arise in the face of a viral pandemic do not erase the need for a careful estate planning. As restrictions on social mobility increase, it’s still possible to get answers to your planning questions in a safe way.

More than a year ago, our law firm adopted digital technology that allows every member of our team to assist you, as needed, by video. Our Zoom video conference platform allows us to conduct virtual face-to-face meetings with you or other members of your family with ease no matter where they are located.

To participate by video, you don’t need much more than a smartphone, tablet, laptop or PC equipped with a camera and microphone. In real time, we can review any estate planning documents already on file in our system or to review drafts of new planning documents.

With forced time at home, it’s a good time to review your estate planning. In our current circumstances, we recommend, at a minimum, that you have a well-crafted General Durable Power of Attorney. Because of the pressure on the medical system, it’s probably best that your Power of Attorney be one that is effective immediately rather than a springing power the requires confirmation of your incapacity by a physician.

In addition, I recommend that you review your Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care, Advanced Directive or Living Will, if you have one. Under Michigan law, this important document allows you to appoint a Patient Advocate to make your medical treatment decisions if you are unable to make such decisions for yourself.

If you already have a revocable living trust in place you may want to consider adding an additional trustee to your plan right now, rather than waiting until receipt of incapacity or death to allow someone else you trust to make financial or medical decisions.

If you need someone else to aide with banking or other financial decisions, I urge you to resist the temptation to add other people as joint owners on your bank accounts or investments. With proper legal documents in place, taking the short cut of joint tenancy risks a serious loss of control over what you own.

Although the Michigan Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) law allows use of electronic signatures for business transactions, it excludes use of electronic signatures for wills, codicils or testamentary trusts. Unless additional legal relief is provided, most estate planning documents still must be signed and witnessed the old-fashioned way with pen on paper. We’ve created several options to allow you to get your Power of Attorney, health care directive or other necessary documents updated quickly and cost-effectively.

If you have questions or concerns about your current planning needs, please give us a call at (231) 799-4994. Or, drop us a note using the form below. We’re still here to help.

5 Reasons Why You Should Consider a Living Trust

Creating an estate plan to protect yourself and your family is one of the most important life decisions you can make. People often ask about the differences between a Will and a living trust. A living trust offers many advantages over traditional Will based planning. Here are 5 reasons why you should consider a living trust:

1. Preserve Privacy and Avoid Probate.

A fully funded living trust allows you to manage or transfer your assets upon sickness or death in complete privacy.

In the event of illness, a living trust can provide for the management of your assets and give instructions about your own care (or the care of those who depend upon you) without the involvement of the probate court. Unless your estate plan includes a living trust or a general durable power of attorney, your family may face a trip to the courthouse to obtain letters of guardianship or appointment of a conservator before anyone can make decisions about you or your assets.

Unlike a Will, a living trust does not have to be registered with the probate court at the time of your death; nor, does a living trust depend upon issuance of letters of authority from the court to allow your fiduciary to carry out your wishes. When you have a living trust, the value of your assets and the identity of your beneficiaries do not become a part of the public record.

2. Avoid the Perils of Joint Ownership.

It’s a common temptation to try and avoid probate by placing your assets in joint ownership with a child or other person on the assumption that if you get sick or die, your joint owner will be able to “take care of everything” when something happens to you.

In most cases, joint ownership arrangements are a mistake. The moment you place someone else’s name on your assets you are giving them access and control over what you own. The moment you put someone else’s name on your accounts you risk making their problems your problems. Through no fault of your own, your joint owner’s creditors may be able to garnish your savings.

Joint ownership arrangements cause a loss of control. Adding someone else’s name to an asset is easy but getting them off is not. When you add another person on your asset title you may be giving that person a veto power on your personal decision-making. Many forms of joint ownership prevent you from closing accounts or selling assets without your joint owner’s consent.

In the event of your death, jointly held assets automatically become the property of the surviving joint owner. When that happens, there is no legal guarantee that your surviving joint owner will share your assets the way you intend.

In most cases, a living trust is the best legal planning tool for keeping control over your own assets at sickness or death.

3. Protection for Minor Children.

A living trust is a great way to provide benefits or protection for minor children. If you die before your children reach legal age, a living trust can be used to provide for your child’s education or other expenses until they are responsible enough to manage their own resources.

It is a planning mistake to name a minor child as a direct beneficiary of your life insurance or other retirement assets. Without a living trust, upon your death, your insurance underwriter or retirement plan custodian will not make any distributions to a minor without a court order appointing someone to manage those resources until your minor child reaches the age of 18. If you are divorced, more likely than not, that person will be your former spouse.

4. Protection for Adult Beneficiaries.

If your adult beneficiary has a problem with alcohol, drug addiction, or has other special needs, you may want to consider a living trust as a method for providing safeguards to inappropriate spending. A trustee that you appoint can hold and manage resources for your beneficiary consistent with your instructions without fear that what you leave will be wasted or cause your beneficiary to be disqualified for public benefits.

5. Consistent Results.

A living trust is a great way to assure consistent and fair results at the time of your death. Transfer on death designations or direct beneficiary designations may avoid probate when you die but don’t provide instructions about what to do if your child or beneficiary fails to survive you or becomes disabled.

When you name a living trust as the owner or beneficiary of your assets, your desired outcome is highly predictable because the instructions for all assets are contained in one private legal document that contains your distribution wishes.

If you’d like to learn more about your estate planning options, click on the link below or call (231) 799-4994 to schedule a complimentary Get Acquainted Call.

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Don’t Let Your Wishes Get Derailed by 3 Common Planning Traps

When done effectively, estate planning assures that you can keep control of yourself and your assets at every life stage. Like it or not, every one of us fits into one of the following life stages:

Alive and well
Alive and not well; or
Not alive.

The method of planning you choose determines your ability keep control of your own affairs at each of these life stages. None of us can predict the timing of a chronic illness or the time of our death. But, we can control how our assets are managed or protected when sickness or death occurs.

Don’t let your expectations get derailed by these common planning traps:

1. Perils of Joint Tenancy.

It’s very tempting to try to manage or protect your assets by placing someone else’s name on your bank accounts or property. It’s easy too. Someone at the bank might even have suggested “it’s a good idea” to add a name or two onto your accounts in case “something happens.”

We don’t recommend planning based on joint tenancy because you lose immediate control over the jointly held asset and you expose your assets to the creditors of your joint tenant.

Because a Will or Living Trust does not control jointly held assets, joint tenancy risks sabotaging your distribution goals after death.

And, if you need help paying for nursing home care adding your child’s name to the deed of your home might prevent you from qualifying for Medicaid.

2. Over Reliance on Beneficiary Designations.

Naming a beneficiary on investment or retirement accounts can avoid probate upon death but provides no authority for any one else to act for you if you are sick or disabled. A beneficiary designation applies only after your death.

Without a General Durable Power of Attorney in place to manage assets during illness, your family will be stuck with an expensive trip to the probate court to obtain guardian or conservator powers.

If your beneficiary is a minor or is a person with disabilities, you will likely be putting your former spouse or the court in charge of how those assets are managed.

3. Failure to Understand the Limitations of a Last Will and Testament.

Although it’s better to have a Last Will and Testament than to die without one, most people don’t understand how a Will really works. Here are five things you should know about a Will:

A Will offers no help to your family if you are disabled.
A Will only applies to individually owned assets.
A Will does not control jointly titled assets.
A Will does not control beneficiary designation assets.
A Will does not avoid probate when you die.

In Michigan, all Wills are subject to probate proceedings known as “informal” or “formal” administration. If you’ve read a clause in a Will that’s something like this, “I direct that my Will not be supervised by the Court,” it simply means that you are selecting the most limited form of probate possible under court rules.

If you’d like to learn more about your estate planning options click on the link below or call (231) 799-4994 to schedule a complimentary Get Acquainted Call.

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