Comprehensive estate planning is something that any person can benefit from, regardless of the size of their estate. It is a mistake to assume that you do not have to participate in estate planning because you have a few basic documents such as a will in place. Your will could be outdated or even legally invalid depending on whether or not you have moved to new states or incorporated new things into your life since you last put it together. Consulting with an experienced attorney is the best way to get a holistic approach to your estate planning. 

One commonly overlooked but increasingly important component of estate planning has to do with your digital estate. What happens when you pass away to your email accounts, bank accounts, and even your social media. Will these disappear? Are they deactivated? Or will they exist in the Cloud forever?

The answers to these questions lie in the domain of digital estate planning and scheduling a consultation directly with an experienced digital estate planning lawyer can help you to accomplish a broad perspective on what you need to include. With so much vital information stored online, you simply cannot afford to neglect your digital estate planning opportunities. The nature of estate planning itself has changed and while you still may benefit from some of the more traditional documents, you can also benefit from considering what plans you’ll put in place to protect the assets you have online or to deactivate them. Appointing another individual to step in in this role is a common way of addressing concerns with your digital estate but you need a plan that is designed for flexibility and fast action. Consulting with a lawyer who is knowledgeable about digital estate planning can help you to craft a plan that is in line with your unique needs.

The nature of estate planning itself has changed and while you still may benefit from some of the more traditional documents, you can also benefit from considering what plans you’ll put in place to protect the assets you have online or to deactivate them. Appointing another individual to step in in this role is a common way of addressing concerns with your digital estate but you need a plan that is designed for flexibility and fast action. Consulting with a lawyer who is knowledgeable about digital estate planning can help you to craft a plan that is in line with your unique needs.

One of the primary purposes that many people engage in the estate planning process is to ensure that taxes are minimized and that their financial matters are handled as they wish. However, you need to consider planning for purposes other than taxes. For example, you will need to think about designating the best executor or trustee because this is a crucial piece of ensuring that the administration of your estate goes smoothly. It might also be important to update materials over time for any special needs provisions if any of the beneficiaries is receiving government assistance. 

If there is a change in your family situation, this could also trigger updates in your estate plan. Failing to incorporate this could lead to confusion or even conflicts after you pass away. If the size of your estate has changed, it’s also a good idea to schedule a consultation with an estate planning lawyer to discuss your overall financial distribution plans. The current gift tax exclusion may allow you to provide gifts to someone while you are still alive and can help to reduce the size of your estate and give advantages to your beneficiaries in the short term.

Consulting with an experienced estate planning attorney can help you accomplish not just your tax planning goals but also the other unique considerations you will want to have including passing things on to philanthropy, how to do your beneficiary designations on things like retirement forms and other materials are relevant for estate planning purposes.

If you leave assets behind to your loved ones, you should always do so with a clear expectation of what that money or property is attached to. Ignoring the potential tax consequences could leave your loved ones in a difficult bind, whereas planning in advance gives them more opportunities and helps to stretch that money even further.

Many people do not meet the threshold to trigger the federal estate tax, although it is still important to schedule a planning consultation with an experienced estate planning attorney. There are certain states across the country that do tax individuals who receive inheritances. Variation also exists between these states about the size of the estate and the asset types. 

Inheritance does not classify this income unless it relates to the federal tax structure and there is no requirement to report the same. But there are several different inheritances that could lead to income. The latter type would be taxable. Capital gains tax, for example, could be imposed on a profit made. Taxes can be minimized on inheritance assets. Since estate taxes can be complicated, it is strongly recommended that you bring your questions and your individual planning concerns directly to an estate planning lawyer who can assist you with further information.

No one is able to get out of this world alive but you can make it easier on the loved ones that you leave behind. If you have minor children or accumulated assets, you still need to do some estate planning. The more complicated your life and businesses, the more complicated your planning must be.

Sadly, however, many people choose never to conduct their estate planning. A study completed by Caring.com found that just over 40% of adults in the United States have completed basic estate planning documents like a living trust or a will. For those with children younger than age 18, that figure is even lower, with only 36% having put an end of life plan in place.

Many parents work as hard as possible to ensure that their children are safe in all aspects of life but failing to have appropriate estate planning documents like a living trust or a will could compromise their ability to accomplish their goals or put them in a very difficult situation should something happen to you. Without a will in place, you are leaving behind a difficult and potentially expensive situation to be handled by whoever the court appoints.

Many parents will put off estate planning because they are not sure about who to name as the guardian of their children and you assume that it is extremely difficult to talk about your own mortality. Blended families, however, and the complexities of modern life makes it even more important to put together an estate plan that considers your unique needs. Grandparents, for example, may not be a good choice as the guardians of your children simply because of their age but no matter who you choose to serve as guardian of your children, you need to have a conversation about what that entails and whether they are comfortable taking on that role.

There are many different events in your life that may prompt you to think about the benefits of estate planning such as purchasing your first home or having a child or becoming a grandparent. Some of the events that occur in your life that can prompt you to consider estate planning can be more difficult than others.

Cancer, unfortunately, is a reality that far too many people will face over the course of their lifetime and may impact many people across the country in an indirect or direct manner. Understanding the estate planning steps you can take to protect your assets and your legacy after a cancer diagnosis is important and should be done under the guidance of an experienced estate planning lawyer.

There are new cases of cancer every year that affect 454 out of every 100,000 people and the annual cancer deaths affect 171 out of every 100,000 people. According to nationwide statistics, nearly 40% of women and men will be diagnosed with cancer at some point during their lifetime and cancer mortality is higher for men when compared with women. Impulsive actions caused by panic are common with anyone who has received a cancer diagnosis but sitting down with a planner to discuss the various strategies to address their complex challenges can be extremely beneficial.

An inventory of all items that you own and a prioritized list of steps put together by your estate planning lawyer can help you to tackle the most important steps and determine whether or not you already have existing insurance and force that can help prepare you and your family for this difficult time ahead. If you have questions about how a cancer diagnosis or any other major health issue affects your estate plan, contact a knowledgeable lawyer today.

Planning your wishes for end of life concerns is never an easy prospect to consider. However, it gives you clarity on how to live your best and most purposeful life as well as leaving behind powerful gifts for your loved ones.  

Many people put off the process of estate planning because they find it to be overwhelming to think about their own mortality. Planning ahead for end of life and leaving your loved ones better prepared, however, can make this difficult transition easier for your family members. The worst thing to do to your loved ones is to leave unclear wishes that prompt them to file lawsuits, contesting your will or other estate planning documents after the fact.

A lack of clarity can lead to confusion and frustration among your family members that ultimately causes greater legal conflicts that are both expensive and time-consuming. Making your plans and sharing your wishes with the help of an experienced estate planning lawyer are some of the valuable steps that you can take to empower your own future. Do not hesitate to get help from an experienced estate planning lawyer if you have questions about how to articulate your wishes and the best strategies and tools you can use while you are still alive and well to protect your assets and your loved ones.

Most parents recognize that they need to consider their estate plan in terms of how to protect their children in the future. But when your child has special emotional, physical or mental challenges, the process of estate planning is even more important. One of the main reasons you want to put together an appropriate estate plan is to preserve that child’s eligibility for programs such as government benefits. 

Unfortunately, many of the different estate planning tactics that are out there today may be appropriate for other children but may not fit the requirements of your special needs child. For example, using trusts that do not consider the unique needs of the special needs child could jeopardize your minor’s ability to access government benefits in the future.

One common trap is beneficiary designations in retirement plans. Beneficiary designations are common tools in retirement saving plans that give you a lot of flexibility for passing on an inheritance since you can designate primary and contingent beneficiaries to receive your benefits. The flexibility and convenience of leaving funds behind in retirement plans, however, can have a major unintended financial influence on those receiving government benefits because of their special needs. Qualifying for Medicaid, for example, could be jeopardized if you use these beneficiary designations to pass on assets to your loved one.

The best way to avoid these problems is to put together a special needs trust and leave the assets intended for the child inside that trust. The special needs trust is used to supplement benefits that are already received from government programs without jeopardizing the person’s eligibility to receive them. Consulting with an experienced estate planning attorney who has years of experience helping parents with special needs children is strongly recommended.

The Roth IRA is one of the most popular accounts that allow people to invest tax-free for their retirement. However, if people earn too much, they will not be eligible to contribute directly to a Roth IRA. But meeting with an experienced financial planner in conjunction with other professionals such as your estate planning attorney may allow you to exercise a backdoor Roth IRA strategy that allows high earners to bypass any income limits. 

High earning employees who do want in on tax-free investment growth that is offered by the Roth IRA could benefit from the so called backdoor IRA. In the event that a high earning person already has a tax deductible traditional IRA account, this strategy becomes extremely important. This is why it is knowledgeable and valuable to reach out to a financial planner and accountant immediately.

If you have never opened an IRA before, it is simple to do so. You can open a traditional IRA at the brokerage of your choosing, make a contribution to the account, open a Roth IRA at the same brokerage and then convert that amount contributed to the traditional IRA to a Roth IRA.

This leaves your traditional IRA empty and instead moves the money into your Roth IRA. Make sure you talk over your options for estate planning and an appropriate financial planning protection with a knowledgeable estate planning attorney as well as other relevant professionals.

You might assume that you are still in relatively good health and facing low chances of being put inside a nursing or retirement home. However, new information shows that more than 50% of Americans between the ages of 57 and 61 will spend some time in a nursing home.

That’s according to the RAND Center for the Study of Aging. According to that study, the reason for the increase in the number of people in nursing homes has to do with hospitals discharging people faster and increasing the stays in post hospital rehabilitation centers. 

Once someone has been in the hospital for 3 days, Medicare will cover the cost of post hospitalization rehab for up to 20 days and then a portion of the cost for up to 100 days. With more than 56% of people between the ages of 57 and 61 spending a minimum of one night in a nursing home during their lifetime, this study found that 32% of them will pay anything out of pocket.

Anyone with 4 or more children spent about 38% less in nursing home costs than those without children and having daughters was also linked to a decrease in the nursing home cost overall. If you have questions about how long term care, estate planning, and retirement planning work together to help you accomplish your goals, contact an experienced New Jersey estate planning lawyer today.

Looking down the road to retirement? You’ve probably considered a broad range of issues, including what you’ve saved so far, what you might need for health care, and how you intend to live during retirement. 

There’s no doubt that you are thinking ahead about your retirement planning goals when wanting to plan for your future. There are key factors that contribute to your mental health status and a new study has identified that your retirement savings and other issues can affect how you feel about your life in general.

Some of the other elements that factor into the overall perception of how your future is perceived include longer lifespans, the greater reliance on defiant contribution pension plans and the questionable state of social security. Many different households including people who are aging inside are dealing with mental health concerns such as anxiety and depression. Medicare Research Institute, in a study that was published in Health Economics, identified that psychological distress was linked to a 47% higher likelihood of a married couple withdrawing money from their retirement account.

And it was also connected to married couples having approximately $42,000 left in retirement savings accounts. Key factors that influence this can all have an impact on a person’s overall psychological makeup. Thinking ahead about your retirement and how it works in conjunction with your intentions for your estate planning, is an important component of planning for your future.

Your retirement plan should look at your long-term goals and it should also be something you think about years in advance. When you’re getting close to retirement, it also makes sense to schedule a meeting with an estate planning attorney to talk about your needs as a whole.

A family that has amassed a significant amount of wealth will have special planning considerations that should be addressed directly by an estate planning attorney. When contemplating a major charitable gift, you have several different options at your disposal including charitable trust, private family foundations, and donor advised funds. These are all unique and should be discussed in full with your estate planning lawyer. Most families with wealth have plans to gift to charity over the course of their life as well as within their estate, and this notable goal helps to empower a broad range of charitable organizations for years to come. With giving in this manner, a person or a family can establish a clear legacy for the future. 

A charitable trust is one of the most common ways to manage charitable giving over the course of time. This allows you to utilize a charitable deduction currently while making a large one time gift to charity. You can also receive income payments from that property over a period of years or designate another person to receive them. Having a plan helps to minimize tax consequences as well as to maximize what’s given to the charity. Working together with an estate planning lawyer, you can accomplish several goals at the same time.

A private family foundation, however, allows donors to make a one-time substantial gift as well as to stay involved in how that gift is ultimately distributed. You can even name family members to serve on the board of trustees or board of directors. Finally, one other option is donor advice funds. This operates much like a traditional investment account and allows a financial manager to charge a fee and a minimum required initial distribution. Talking over your options with a knowledgeable estate planning lawyer is the first step in accomplishing your estate planning goals and outlining a plan to address your philanthropic considerations and achievements.

Medicaid is one of the most important governmental service programs that comes into effect when a person no longer has the assets required to pay for long term care such as nursing home and other related services. How you plan for Medicaid, however, is extremely important because you could be blocking yourself from recovering these benefits when you need them the most. One of the biggest mistakes people make when approaching Medicaid planning is purchasing exempt assets prior to the date of admission. 

One of the most common protections with Medicaid planning is the community spouse resource allowance, also referred to as the CSRA. You must know what your state considers as assets that are exempt from being spent down to qualify for Medicaid. A couple’s residence, their household goods, one car, medical equipment, jewelry, furnishings, and a few other items are exempted. Other assets such as their CODs, savings bonds, mutual funds, checking and savings accounts and others are considered nonexempt, meaning they could be subject to the spend down requirements.

A Medicaid applicant spouse is eligible to keep one-half as an official CSRA up to a particular maximum. Planning ahead in advance with the help of an experienced Medicaid planning lawyer and elder law attorney can assist you with determining how CSRA is calculated and the things that you can do in order to stay in compliance with the law and get the necessary Medicaid benefits should you or your spouse need long term care services immediately. You may be subject to penalties and a delay of your Medicaid benefits if you do not follow these rules to the letter.

Say the words estate planning and the typical connotation is someone approaching retirement or thinking about approaching the end of their life. However, estate planning benefits far more age categories than just baby boomers and elderly individuals. Estate planning can benefit millennials and young adults too. In fact, some of the most important estate planning documents are those that are used while you are still alive and not only after you pass away. 

Having a power of attorney document that enables somebody else to step in and take care of your finances or other responsibilities if you were to become incapacitated due to an accident or disability is equally important as looking into the long range to establish how you’ll pass on assets to your loved ones. Millennials often neglect the process of doing estate planning because they assume they don’t have big enough estate or that something will not happen to them. However, given that a growing number of people need to be concerned about long term care costs and the potential for incapacitation at least once over the course of their lifetime, it makes sense to plan ahead and to think about who will step in to take care of things on your behalf if you were suddenly unable to do so.

Using documents such as a will to name a guardian for your minor child also give you peace of mind that someone will be able to step in quickly if an accident does happen. No one anticipates becoming the victim of an incapacitating event or losing their life early on but millennials and young adults can show that they have a serious consideration of the future and how they intend to protect their loved ones by scheduling a consultation with an estate planning lawyer who has extensive experience in this field.

Do not hesitate to schedule a meeting with a lawyer you can trust. With so much on the line, there are many different things that must be considered and the tools articulated by a lawyer can go a long way in giving you the peace of mind and confidence about your future and the future for your heirs.

As more baby boomers are heading into retirement on a daily basis, common questions emerge regarding estate planning. One of the most common concerns for various baby boomers approaching retirement is how to deal with their homes. This is frequently the most valuable asset for people and is fraught with complicated questions that must be addressed. You might be thinking about selling and downsizing to leave a larger amount of cash for your heirs to divide. Perhaps instead you want to leave the deed to the apartment or the house to your adult children to decrease the chances of a conflict after you pass away. 

Since the value of homes is on the rise in many different locations, it is extremely important that you schedule a consultation with an experienced estate planning attorney to talk about how you could protect your most valuable assets. More adults who are reaching their elder years have a desire to age in place in their own home. They may opt to make the gift of their home to someone instead of cashing out and downsizing. There are so many options to consider as you get older that it’s well worth having a candid conversation with your spouse and using the goals you identify in your meeting with your estate planning lawyer.

Whether you intend to pass on assets directly or your home, setting up a consultation with an experienced estate planning attorney can help you identify the strategies and the tools most appropriate for protecting these assets, minimizing the tax consequences to heirs and putting you in a position to easily transfer these assets should something happen to you while also maintaining the necessary funds to support your health care costs.

Doing all of the necessary work to put your things in order and to ensure that you have carefully considered all of the different tools and strategies that can be used to accomplish your estate planning goals is only a piece of the puzzle. It is equally important to consider the many different tools and how you will be able to share these with your loved ones. If something were to happen to you unexpectedly, would your family members know where to locate the necessary information? 

For most people, the answer is no. While many people understand the value of putting together an estate plan and ensuring that it is in a safe location such as a safe deposit box, it is common for individuals to put these items in a safe place and then to forget where that safe location is. While you’re assuming that you may never do that, unfortunately, many different estate planning attorneys can share their experience of digging through old boxes and storage looking for a copy of a living will or a power of attorney for people who would have said the same thing. In a case where a client only executes one copy of a will, it should also be copied and stored in several safe locations.

Furthermore, your family members must know where to access these details if something were to happen to you unexpectedly. No one anticipates being in the position of having to put together estate planning documents, however, articulating these in a safe deposit box in a safe location within your home such as a safe that is protected from fire and in your attorney’s office gives your loved ones the necessary materials to take action as soon as possible if something were to happen to you unexpectedly.

Retirement vehicles can be especially problematic for entrepreneurs who do not have the guidance of an employer or an employer’s selected plan to assist them in the process of finding the right retirement vehicle. Although defined benefit plans were once a critical element of the retirement landscape in the United States, these have fallen out of popularity in recent years because of the financial crisis. 

Many people typically associated defined benefit plans with public sector employees as well and corporate pensions are becoming less and less available. Defined benefit plans, however, can make sense for at least one type of person; a small business owner and entrepreneur.

These pension plans are an ideal retirement vehicle, giving you a broad range of benefits that can help people to keep a larger share of their wealth and run more effective businesses. Many small business owners including high net worth individuals don’t have any kind of retirement plan in place, much less a pension plan. This means no 401(k), no IRA and no investments.

Small business owners tend to be laser-focused on growing their companies and unfortunately, what often gets overlooked in that process is coming up with a way to maximize retirement savings. Any small business owner that is generating more than $200,000 a year in income should consider setting up a pension plan even if they already use retirement vehicles such an IRA or 401(k). Pension plans have some significant benefits including:

• Higher contribution limits
• Employee retention
• Risk mitigation

Small business owners should be aware that annual administration fees can be high, particularly for retirement plans. Consulting with an estate planning lawyer to talk about the connection between your estate planning goals and your business and retirement intentions is extremely important. A successful entrepreneur or high net worth business owner would do well to consider how a pension plan can assist them with growing things and maximizing their retirement options.

Whether you’re just entering your working years or looking towards retirement, how you save can impact your life after you’re doing working in a big way. Planning ahead can help you achieve targets that give you peace of mind later in life, even if that period is not that far away. New research shows there are major changes happening with regard to retirement savings and the U.S. workforce. 

Are you one of the nearly 70% of Americans worried about their financial future? There is good reason to worry for plenty of people because research from the Economic Policy Institute indicates that half of all Americans have no retirement savings at all. Some young individuals, however, have been dubbed retirement super savers and are on their way toward increased prosperity. They’re contributing at least 90% of their annual 401(k) contribution limit. A study completed by Principle Financial Group identified what made those super savers likely to sacrifice things in their life in order to maximize their 401(k) contributions. Four habits of these super savers include:

• Driving an older car
• Living in a modest home
• Forgoing the fancy vacations
• Working a little bit harder

If you are interested in putting together a retirement plan that works in conjunction with your goals to pass on things to your loved ones in the future, consulting with an experienced New Jersey estate planning attorney is strongly recommended. Becoming a super saver is a worthwhile goal but one that requires careful prospective from many different areas. Engaging with professionals who are knowledgeable about the estate planning and retirement planning landscape can increase your chances of putting aside enough money to support you in your older years and also empowering you to leave money behind for beneficiaries or for philanthropic purposes. Consulting with an experienced estate planning attorney is one crucial component of this step.

When it comes to estate planning, it’s hard to know what documents you need versus those that are not necessary for your individual situation. The only way to know for sure is to schedule a meeting with an estate planning lawyer directly. That way you can share your interests and desires and the lawyer can help you pick the documents necessary for protecting your future and your intentions for your assets. Two of the documents you might discuss during this meeting are the healthcare power of attorney and a living will. 

It is strongly recommended that any person have both a health care representative appointment and an advanced medical directive. These documents do not accomplish the same goals. While they may overlap in some of the responsibilities outlined in the documents, they offer different benefits. There are two primary types of advanced medical directives and these deal with end of life decisions.

Although the living will is the most common, some states do allow for the life-prolonging procedure declaration. Advanced medical directives allow you as the creator to provide clear guidance about how life decisions should be handled and what types of care should be provided to you or avoided. This allows you to tell both your doctors and your family members what kind of care you do want at the end of your life. A healthcare power of attorney, however, can be part of a representative appointment or the same goals can be included in a durable power of attorney. Both of these enable someone else to make medical decisions for you in the event that you cannot make them on your own. This includes all medical care decisions regarding end of life. Consulting with an experienced estate planning attorney is strongly recommended if you have a goal of establishing these concerns early on.