Presented by Elville and Associates’ Managing Principal and Lead Attorney Stephen Elville, this webinar delves into the situations that arise after the death of a client, client’s family member, or loved one and the trust and estate administration that takes place during that time. Helping advisors and family members understand what their roles are in helping clients and loved ones through the legal process, what that legal process is, and how advisors and other planning team members can best work together in support of clients is of paramount importance during this challenging time for all involved.
Learning Objectives:
– unraveling the mystery of what happens after the death of a client or loved one
– minimizing confusion and providing maximum support to clients and loved ones at a time of crisis
– what is the legal step-by-step process that needs to be taken after death?
– what are the practical steps that should be taken after death?
– examining the most significant and potentially problematic legal and tax issues advisors and family members should be aware of in the months following the death of a client or loved one
– how financial advisors, CPAs, and attorneys can best work together in support of clients
More Webinars from Elville and Associates
The education of clients and their families through counseling and superior legal-technical knowledge is the mission of Elville and Associates. We hold multiple educational events every month. Click to view our calendar of educational webinars and events or visit the Elville and Associates YouTube channel to view recordings of our past webinars.
You should consider your options before paying for a critical illness insurance plan.
While a regular health insurance plan usually offers comprehensive coverage for all types of illnesses, many plans have high deductibles and copays that require policyholders to pay a lot of money out of pocket. Critical illness insurance allows you to buy insurance to cover that gap if you have a serious health diagnosis, such as cancer or a heart attack. Critical illness insurance can also cover non-medical expenses, such as mortgage or child-care bills.
Premiums for critical illness policies are relatively low, which makes the coverage appealing. The policies usually pay out in a lump sum, with the amount depending on the policy purchased. There are different types of critical illness insurance policies: some cover only one illness, like cancer, while others offer coverage of a number of different illnesses. The more coverage offered, the higher the premiums.
Before purchasing one of these policies, however, you need to consider the downsides. Reading the fine print on the policy is very important because the policy will only cover certain illnesses, and actual coverage may depend on the severity of those illnesses. For example, even though the policy says it covers cancer, it may only cover aggressive cancer and not a more slow-moving cancer. In addition, critical illness insurance doesn’t offer the same protections that regular health insurance offers under the Affordable Care Act, so you can be denied coverage if you have a pre-existing condition. Critical illness insurance premiums also tend to rise as you get older, and you could be denied coverage once you reach a certain age.
Instead of critical illness insurance, you can consider alternatives. First. you should look at your health insurance to see exactly what it will cover. In addition, a health savings plan in which you contribute pre-tax dollars can be a good way to cover unexpected medical expenses. Disability insurance can also offer protection for lost salary due to illness.
For more information about critical illness insurance, click here.
The attorneys at Elville and Associates are here to guide your family and you through your estate planning, be it updating outdated documents or beginning your first estate plan, through a crisis situation or hopefully a non-crisis situation. Creating solutions for our clients’ needs through education and counseling using the very best legal-technical knowledge available is part of the practical mission of Elville and Associates. Along with taking part in an accredited Client Care Program, establishing your will or trust, powers of attorney, and advance directive can offer significant peace of mind in these uncertain times.
Contact our office today at 443-393-7696, or email Community Relations Director Jeff Stauffer at jeff@elvilleassociates.com, or Managing Principal and Lead Attorney Stephen Elville at steve@elvilleassociates.com to get started today. We look forward to being a resource to you.
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One of the most important decisions a special needs trust’s donor (the person who supplies the funds for the trust) makes is the choice of a trustee. But how can the donor make sure that the trustee will properly manage the trust when the donor is no longer around to keep an eye on the trustee, especially if the beneficiary is not capable of supervising his own trustee? In many cases, a trust protector can ensure that a beneficiary is protected from trustee mismanagement.
The Duties of a Trustee
A trustee typically manages the day-to-day operations of the trust, often making distributions to the trust’s beneficiary, investing the trust’s assets, and paying the trust’s bills. Once she assumes office, a trustee almost always serves in a “fiduciary capacity,” meaning that she is in a position of trust and confidence and has a legal duty to properly manage the trust’s assets while keeping in mind the best interests of the trust’s beneficiary. A fiduciary is held to a high standard of conduct, and she owes the trust’s beneficiary a strict duty of loyalty. However, in many cases involving special needs trusts, the beneficiary of the trust is unable to properly enforce this fiduciary duty because of his special needs. This is where a trust protector comes in.
The Duties of a Trust Protector
A trust protector is a person chosen by the donor who is responsible for monitoring the trustee’s actions. The trust protector’s duty is to serve as an additional pair of eyes for the trust’s beneficiary, making sure that the trustee is properly performing her job. The trust protector typically has access to the trust’s accounts, and can compel a trustee to produce a summary of what she has done for the beneficiary. If a trust protector believes that the trustee is not properly performing her duties, he can usually fire the trustee. Depending on how the trust is drafted, the donor can even give the trust protector the power to name a new trustee if the donor has not done so himself in the trust document. (Most of the time, however, the trust protector must name an independent trustee as the new trustee, avoiding the scenario where the trust protector fires a trustee only to name himself as the new trustee.)
Example of a Trust Protector
Trust protectors may be useful in a variety of situations. Take the case of Jennifer and her son, Adam. Jennifer is elderly and would like to make sure that her son, who has special needs, is cared for at home for as long a possible after she is gone. So Jennifer decides to establish a special needs trust that will hold her home for Adam’s benefit, and she funds this trust with enough money to make sure that the property is well kept and that the bills are paid. However, Jennifer’s closest relative, her niece Margaret, does not want to serve as trustee of Adam’s trust because she does not want the added responsibility of managing a home. Jennifer decides to name John, a friend of hers who knows Adam and who runs a property management company, as the trustee instead. Although Jennifer trusts John, she decides to name Margaret as a trust protector to review his yearly accounts and make sure that he charges the proper amount for his services and is keeping the property in good shape.
Every special needs trust is different, and in many cases, especially when a donor is serving as trustee, a trust may not initially need a trust protector. The best way to decide if your special needs trust should include one is to speak with your qualified special needs planning attorney.
The special needs planning attorneys at Elville and Associates are here to help your family navigate the planning process for your loved one with special needs along with your own estate plan. Contact us today to set your free consultation with one of our attorneys, or reach out to Community Relations Director Jeff Stauffer at jeff@elvilleassociates.com or 443-393-7696 x117 to get started.
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As we enter the giving season, there is an additional reason to be charitable. Congress enacted a special provision that allows more people to easily deduct up to $300 in donations to qualifying charities this year.
Since the increase in the standard income tax deduction in 2018, only 11 percent of taxpayers itemize deductions, so fewer taxpayers take advantage of the charitable deduction. But to both encourage and reward giving in this difficult year, as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act Congress created a one-time $300 charitable deduction for people who do not itemize on their tax returns. To qualify, you must give cash (including paying by check or credit card) to a 501(c)(3) charity. Gifts of goods or stock do not qualify.
While $300 may not seem like much, it can make a big difference to smaller charities. And a lot of $300 gifts can add up. One thing that’s not clear is whether a married couple filing jointly can deduct $600. While it’s logical that they should be able to do so, the IRS has not clarified this yet. With just four weeks left in the year, time is a-wasting.
Here are some places you might take a look at to determine which charity you would like to support before the end of the year:
- Give Directly
- Giving Compass
- Community Foundation Locator
- Philanthropy Together
- Grapevine
- Charity Navigator
- Charity Watch
- Kristof Impact
For more information from the IRS about the tax deduction, click here.
To learn how you can support Elville and Associates’ 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization, the Elville Center for the Creative Arts, which provides musical opportunities to disadvantaged children in our communities, please visit elvillecenter.org.
If you are charitably inclined and philanthropic, there are also many ways you can incorporate planned giving into your estate planning. Contact the attorneys at Elville and Associates or Legal Administrator Mary Guay Kramer at mary@elvilleassociates.com to set a free consultation to discuss your planning needs today.
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Social Security disability recipients will see an increase in benefit levels for 2021, although the rise will be the smallest in years due to the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
On October 13, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced that Social Security benefit levels will increase by just 1.3 percent in 2021, compared with 1.6 percent in 2020 and 2.8 percent in 2019.
“They’ve never been this low for this long a period in the history of Social Security,” Mary Johnson, Social Security policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League, told CNBC.
For recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security’s primary disability benefits program for low-income people, monthly benefits will edge up from $783 to $794 for individuals, or from $1,175 to $1,191 for couples. (Some states provide an additional supplement for SSI recipients. Specific state-level supplements can be viewed here.)
For recipients of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Social Security’s primary disability benefits program for people with longer work histories, average monthly benefits will increase from $1,261 to $1,277.
Each year, the SSA calculates a cost-of-living allowance (COLA) to compensate for the effect of inflation. The method the SSA uses to determine the COLA is widely opposed by disability rights advocates, who argue that it is a poor measure of the spending patterns of Social Security recipients, who tend to spend more on medical appointments, prescriptions, and other essential needs that have higher inflation rates than the rest of the economy.
The day after the 2021 increase was announced, two House members introduced legislation to raise next year’s COLA to 3 precent.
“This absolutely anemic COLA won’t even come close to helping [recipients] afford even their everyday expenses, let alone those exacerbated by COVID-19,” Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) wrote in a news release.
The annual SSA COLA affects more than just benefit levels. As one example, SSI and SSDI eligibility is contingent on recipients no longer being able to adequately compete in the workforce, or perform substantial gainful activity (SGA). To determine whether a person can perform SGA, they must not be able to achieve a specified monthly income. This SGA threshold will increase from $1,260 to $1,310 per month in 2021.
Similarly, students receiving SSI can have a certain amount of money excluded without losing eligibility for the program. This threshold will increase in 2021 from $1,900 to $1,930 monthly, or $7,670 to $7,770 for the entire year.
The SSA COLA also raises premiums for Medicare Part B, which covers most regular doctor visits (Medicare Part A covers most hospital stays and related services). However, under a short-term spending bill approved by Congress on September 30, the increase in Medicare Part B premiums will be limited to a quarter of the rise based on the COLA, projected to go from $144.60 to $153.30.
Click here to read an SSA fact sheet on the upcoming changes for 2021.
Should you have any questions about Social Security Disability benefits, special needs planning or estate planning in general, contact the attorneys at Elville and Associates for a free initial consultation to discuss your situation so we can create a solution for your needs. Or, you may always reach out to Community Relations Director Jeff Stauffer at jeff@elvilleassociates.com, or at 443-393-7696 x117.
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With a push by the Democratic party to return federal estate taxes to their historic norms, taxpayers need to act now before Congress passes legislation that could adversely impact their estates. Currently, the federal estate and gift tax exemption is set at $11.58 million per taxpayer. Assets included in a decedent’s estate that exceed the decedent’s remaining exemption available at death are taxed at a federal rate of 40 percent (with some states adding an additional state estate tax). However, each asset included in the decedent’s estate receives an income tax basis adjustment so that the asset’s basis equals its fair market value on the date of the decedent’s death. Thus, beneficiaries realize capital gain upon the subsequent sale of an asset only to the extent of the asset’s appreciation since the decedent’s death.
A political party change in Washington could mean not only lower estate and gift tax exemption amounts, but also the end of the longtime taxpayer benefit of stepped-up basis at death. To avoid the negative impact of these potential changes, there are a few wealth transfer strategies it would be prudent to consider before the year-end.
If you feel that potential changes in legislation will negatively impact your wealth, we strongly encourage you to schedule a meeting with the attorneys at Elville and Associates soon. We can review your estate plan and recommend changes and improvements to protect you from potential future changes in legislation.
To schedule a meeting with one of our attorneys, please contact Legal Administrator Mary Guay Kramer at mary@elvilleassociates.com, or 443-741-3635.
Do-it-Yourself Estate Plans: Hazards to Avoid
Do-it-yourself estate plans, wills, and other legal documents are available across the Internet. Such products are tempting and seemingly convenient, but using them could create serious and expensive legal problems for your heirs.
Online do-it-yourself estate plans may appear to offer a cost-effective and easy alternative to visiting a qualified estate planning attorney or elder law attorney. But are the risks worth the convenience and anticipated savings?
Assessing Your Estate Planning Needs
The complexity of your estate is not always determined by the amount of wealth you have. Below are a few questions to ask yourself when determining the complexity of your estate. If the answer to all of these questions is “no,” a do-it-yourself estate plan may be adequate for you.
1. Do I own real estate?
2. Do I own property of value, such as jewelry, vehicles, equipment, livestock, etc.
3. Do I own savings or investments, such as stocks, or retirement accounts?
4. How is my family structured? For example, do I have children from a previous marriage? Do I have a child with special needs?
If the answer to ANY of these questions is “yes,” you will likely need a lawyer to determine whether or not your estate planning needs are simple or more complex. If they are not simple, you should not try to create an estate plan without the help of an attorney. Additional questions to explore include the following: Do I have an estate that is taxable under state or federal law? Do I own significant amounts of tax-deferred retirement plans? Do I know how to fund a revocable trust? Is there anything about my estate that is unusual? A qualified estate planning attorney will walk you through these questions to determine the level of your estate planning needs. If you have any questions about your estate, you should seek out a professional. Learn more in our blog, Do I Have an Estate?
Do-It-Yourself Estate Planning Hazards to Avoid
The following are some examples of what can happen if you try to create an estate plan without the help of an attorney.
Online Will Never Updated
Using an online generic will, a Florida woman listed several possessions and bank accounts that she intended to go to her brother. After writing the will, the woman inherited additional money and property. However, the woman did not have a “residuary clause” in the original will to say where additional assets should go, and she never revised the will to account for this new property. After she died, her brother argued that he should be entitled to her entire estate, but her nieces argued the estate should pass intestate (i.e., under the laws of her state, as if she had died without a will). The court ruled that because the will had no residuary clause or general bequests that could include the inherited property, the property acquired after her was prepared would pass under Florida’s laws of intestacy. This meant that the brother was not the sole beneficiary. Aldrich v. Basile (Fla., No. SC11-2147, March 27, 2014)
Surviving Spouse Nearly Left Homeless by Do-It-Yourself Will
A Massachusetts man used a pre-packaged will form to leave his home to his wife and his four grown children, the product of an earlier marriage. The problem was that the will didn’t give the wife the option to remain in the house for the rest of her life. A court case ensued because the children, who possessed the majority interest in the property, could have legally forced the wife to move.
No Residuary Clause in DIY Will
A Pennsylvania man wanted his estate to go to only two of his five children. He wrote his own will, giving his pickup truck to his daughter and his summer house to his son. He also wrote in the will that he was intentionally leaving his other three children out of his will. The problem was that the man did not specify what to do with the remainder of his estate. He died leaving an estate of $217,000. While he probably intended for that money to go to the two children he didn’t disinherit, because the will had no residuary clause, the remainder of the man’s estate passed under the state law that specifies who inherits when there is no will. This meant that the estate was divided between all five children. (In Re: Estate of George Zeevering, No. 316-2012, Nov. 7, 2012)
Online Estate Plan Found Not Legally Binding
The company LegalZoom, one of the most prominent sellers of do-it-yourself wills and other estate planning documents, settled a class-action lawsuit brought by an unhappy customer in California. A niece helped her uncle prepare a will and trust using LegalZoom. The niece believed that the documents they created would be legally binding. She also believed that if they encountered any problems, the company’s customer service department would resolve them. The niece could not transfer any of her uncle’s assets into the trust because the financial institutions that held his money refused to accept the LegalZoom documents as valid. She had to hire an estate planning attorney to fix the problems. In that process, her attorney also discovered that the will LegalZoom created had not been properly witnessed. All this cost the uncle’s estate thousands of dollars. (Webster v. LegalZoom Inc., No. BC438637, Oct. 1, 2014)
The unfortunate irony is that do-it-yourself estate plans and boilerplate wills in these cases not only frustrated the decedents’ testamentary intent, but ultimately cost their estates far more than a simple consultation with an estate planning or elder law attorney would have.
The experienced attorneys here at Elville and Associates are here to guide you through your planning. Most initial consultations are complimentary to help create a roadmap for how you may want to proceed with your planning. It is our mission to create solutions to our clients’ needs through counseling, education, and the use of superior legal-technical knowledge.
Do-it-yourself wills and estate plans leave your legacy to chance. Don’t let that happen. Contact Legal Administrator Mary Guay Kramer at 443-741-3635 or at mary@elvilleassociates.com to schedule your appointment with Elville and Associates to begin your planning or, just as important, have outdated documents revisited.
Elville and Associates – Planning for Life, Planning for Legacies.
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“Planning the HEALTH in Your Retirement” with Dr. Michelle Fritsch of Retirement Wellness Strategies
After years in academia and geriatric healthcare, Dr. Michelle Fritsch started a business in late 2018 called Retirement Wellness Strategies. The website is www.retirewellness.com. This came from years of seeing people, mostly men with high demand jobs, be ‘robbed’ of their retirement dreams due to preventable health crises. Over 25 years of healthcare expertise led to creation of 16 proprietary tools enabling clients to prevent issues with physical health through current health optimization and very proactive risk management (all in collaboration with current healthcare team), physical and social health, and health in transition from career to what comes next. The end result is a strategic plan for health in retirement.
This workshop will focus on the why and how of your retirement health strategic plan.
Avoid unnecessary costs and avoidable health decline surprises
Minimize specific health risks
Assure you’re on the right meds
Avoid an early death (where your kids get all of your hard earned money!)
More Webinars from Elville and Associates
The education of clients and their families through counseling and superior legal-technical knowledge is the mission of Elville and Associates. We hold multiple educational events every month. Click to view our calendar of educational webinars and events or visit the Elville and Associates YouTube channel to view recordings of our past webinars.
As you know COVID-19 has affected us all in many ways, and one significant way it has had impact is on our mental health.
This workshop gives you the latest statistics on mental health and how is has changed with this pandemic, as well as some things to consider, strategies to help and resources for your toolbox.
Presenting is Ms. Ellen S. Platt, MEd, CRC, CCM, Founder and President of The Option Group, which provides unique services to older adults and their children or caregivers to navigate longevity. She is both a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor and a certified Professional Geriatric/LifeCare Manager.
Ellen’s experience spans almost 30 years providing care management and case coordination services to those with catastrophic injury, chronic diseases and disabilities. Out of that experience, she created The Option Group to address similar needs and services specifically for seniors and their caregivers. Her primary practice is now focused on caregivers and aging families, and the large variety of issues and needs, unique to that population.
Ellen and her team conduct comprehensive evaluations, make recommendations, implement a plan of care and coordinate resources to support it. Ongoing monitoring can also be set up so the most appropriate plan of care can be implemented at all times, and changes can be made, should the condition of the senior change.
More Webinars from Elville and Associates
The education of clients and their families through counseling and superior legal-technical knowledge is the mission of Elville and Associates. We hold multiple educational events every month. Click to view our calendar of educational webinars and events or visit the Elville and Associates YouTube channel to view recordings of our past webinars.
More Webinars from Elville and Associates
The education of clients and their families through counseling and superior legal-technical knowledge is the mission of Elville and Associates. We hold multiple educational events every month. Click to view our calendar of educational webinars and events or visit the Elville and Associates YouTube channel to view recordings of our past webinars.
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