Steps To Take When A Loved One Dies

My clients know that if they lose a family member or friend, they can simply call me for help as a Probate and Trust Administration Attorney. Unfortunately, many folks don't even have a will in place, so their family members don't have any written guidance to refer to, and may not even know an attorney that will help them with their questions.

Recently, Portland Oregon Estate Planning Attorney Candice Aiston compiled this helpful list of things to do (edited slightly for Ohio estate planning purposes), which I hope you find helpful,though I don't pretend that it is a complete list.

1. Notify doctor, coroner, and/or police officer (depends on whether death occurs at home or hospital).
2. Contact family and friends. Hopefully, the deceased has compiled a list of people to notify in his or her estate plan.
3. Funeral arrangements. If they're not prepaid, they can be paid from the estate of the deceased. This is also something that the deceased may have expressed wishes about in his or her estate plan. Determine whether the deceased will have military or police officer honors.
4. Prepare obituary. Again, the deceased should have helped you with this in his or her estate plan.
5. Contact an Estate Planning Attorney as soon as possible. If there is a Will, it may need to be filed with the Probate Court by a certain date, and the Federal Estate Tax return is due 9 months after the date of death. You may have a state estate tax return as well; the existence and rules vary state to state. You also only have 9 months to decide on the use of disclaimers to save on estate taxes. Without a Will in place, probate may need to be opened depending on the size of the estate. If there is a Trust in place, there will probably be a lot of paperwork that needs to be completed, and this is best handled by an attorney. Also, many states require that estates notify creditors publicly, and the estate must remain open during the statutory time period, so it's a good idea to contact an attorney early on so that the clock can begin.
6. Use a team of advisors (attorney, CPA, financial advisor). There will be many legal, financial, and tax issues that come up and it's best to have the advice of professionals in those fields.
7. Locate estate planning documents and asset information. Hopefully, the deceased has communicated his or her plan with you prior to death, and hopefully, the documents aren't in a super secret safety deposit box. Having an attorney to turn to at this point is invaluable.
8. Arrange care for surviving family and pets. Guardians for minor children must petition the court to have guardianship approved.
9. Obtain the death certificate. It's best to get several copies, because many of the institutions you'll be dealing with will need a copy.
10. Secure real and personal property and make an inventory of all personal property.
11. DO NOT immediately accept benefits (retirement, annuities, investments). Contact your Estate Planning Attorney and inquire about the use of disclaimers. There may be tax savings in doing so.
12. Create inventory of assets (real property, valuable personal property, bank accounts, stocks, retirement accounts, life insurance, etc.). If the deceased has done thorough planning, a spreadsheet of these assets should be with his or her estate planning materials.
13. Contact IRS for new Tax ID number for estate or trust.
14. Compile list of creditors.
15. Notification for benefits and insurance. Provide employee benefits, insurance, Social Security, and Medicare offices with: Decedent's name, Social Security number, date of death, whether death was due to illness or accident, your name and address.
16. Other notification: Veterans Pension or Survivor benefits, club and credit memberships, disability insurers, utility companies, homeowners, landlord, anyone providing home maintenance.
17. If the decedent was a business owner,there are obviously additional items to consider. One is whether the decedent had a Buy-Sell Agreement or other type of business succession plan.

With Identity Theft of Deceased becoming a common problem, Ms. Aiston also provides some tips to avoid identity theft.

1. Request the deceased's credit reports from the three credit bureaus.
2. Request that the credit bureaus suppress the deceased's credit file.
3. Send a copy of the death certificate to all creditors.
4. Immediately notify Social Security of the deceased's death.
5. Cancel all of the deceased's ID cards.
6. Safeguard documents that have the deceased's Social Security number.
7. Avoid giving too many details in the death announcement (like mother's maiden name, etc.).

As you can see, the amount of work to be done when someone you love passes away can quickly become overwhelming - especially during a time of severe grief.  To help ease the burden of those you love, get a will or trust estate plan done.

Make sure that all relevant documents are in one conveniently accessed location.  I use a will or trust portfolio (binder) that has tabs for all the legal documents, life insurance policies, retirement plans, memorial instructions, etc.  Don't make your family members dig through boxes in the basement to try to construct your financial picture.  Give them the gift of having your estate plan completed and your affairs organized.

To get started on the most important planning you'll ever do for your family, call Golowin Legal at (614) 453-5208 to get started.

Combat Veterans Have January 2011 VA Health Care Deadline

If you are a combat veteran (or know someone who was) that was on active duty between 11/11/1989 and 1/28/2003, sign up online for VA veterans health care. By getting it done before the deadline, you'll get in without having to prove you have a "service connected" disability or health problem. Remember, "once in, always in" - get it done now if you qualify.

 Rick Maze of MilitaryTimes.com writes that:

Time is running out for about 180,000 combat veterans, most of whom served in Iraq or Afghanistan, to take advantage of streamlined enrollment into the Veterans Affairs Department health care system.

Mr. Maze quotes Philip Mastkovsky of the Veterans Health Administration as saying that even if veterans do not have health problems right now, there is good reason to enroll in the Veterans Affairs (VA) health plan now.  This plan "charges no premiums and requires modest co-payments only when treating veterans for clearly non service-connected reasons."

The biggest reason of all for enrolling when you are not currently facing health problems is that once you're in, you're always in. Maze writes:

The 180,000 affected veterans are among a class of veterans offered no-questions-asked health care from VA following their release from active duty. Initially, they were provided two years of care, but in 2008, when Congress decided to provide five years of post-service VA care to Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, those discharged in the early years of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars were given extra time.

Don't wait! After January 27, 2011, veterans may only enroll in the system if they meet the regular eligibility rules, where you must prove having a a service connected disability or low income. Only 16,000-17,000 of eligible veterans have enrolled so far!After Jan. 27, these veterans can enroll in the VA health system only if they meet regular eligibility rules, such as having a service-connected disability or low income.

You may enroll entirely online right here. If you have questions, call the VA at 877-222-VETS (877-222-8387).

Thank you for your service. For a free guide on Ohio Veteran's Pension Aid and Attendance Benefits, visit www.OhioVeteranPension.com.

Elimination of Ohio Estate Tax?

Yesterday Ohio House Bill 1 was unveiled, putting the Ohio Estate Tax on the chopping block. Currently, the Ohio Estate Tax is imposed at a rate between 6-7% on estates valued at more than $338,333 when a person dies.

Jim Siegel of Dispatch.com writes that "House Bill 1 [is] usually designated for leadership's top priority" and later mentions that "[t]he estate tax brings in about $245 million a year to local governments and about $60 million a year to the state."

Those opposed to the tax such as Rep. Cheryl Grossman, R-Grove City argue

that the estate tax is unfair, bad for farmers and small businesses and drives wealthier retirees out of the state. Ohio is one of 20 states with an estate or inheritance tax, and its threshold is the lowest in the nation.

Rep. Ron Amstutz calls the estate tax "legalized theft", possibly viewing the tax as 'double taxation' of dollars that already faced the income tax and/or corporate tax.

On the other hand, those in favor of the tax such as Rep. Mike Foley D-Cleveland argue that "local governments rely on the money" and it is "a benefit to society, as it only applies to the wealthiest among us, and helps to slow down the growing wealth inequality."

For years estate planning attorneys have been helping clients to eliminate or minimize the amount of estate tax they must pay on death by using living trusts and inserting tax planning clauses into wills.  If the Ohio Estate Tax is eliminated, much of this work may become unnecessary.  However, at what cost would this come?  Would local governments or the State be harmed drastically?  Would the impact only be minimal?

What is your view on eliminating the Ohio Estate Tax? Yea or Nay?

Men From The Forgotten War

Mike Harden, retired columnist for the Columbus Dispatch, wrote of a gathering of Korean War veterans at the American Legion post entitled "Men from 'forgotten war' recall fateful night". An excerpt follows:

Hunkered over fried bologna sandwiches and Bud Lites, the last men standing from an old Columbus-based Korean War company of Marines assembled on April Fool's Day to discuss a mutual throb in the molar of memory.

The noon drinkers who were bellied up to the bar of the American Legion post on Demorest Road paid scant attention to the assemblage of gray-hairs, who had come together to honor the 60th anniversary of the most harrowing months of their lives.

(To read the remainder of the article, click the link above)

Reading Mr. Harden's article reminded me not only of the "forgotten war", but of how underutilized VA non-service connected pension benefits are. If you have significant medical expenses such as in-home, assisted living or nursing home care and are a wartime veteran (which includes the Korean War), or if you are the widow of a wartime veteran, you could be missing out on up to $23,000 in benefits per year that could help you pay for your medical expenses that are ripping through your savings.

If you know someone that needs more information on VA Pension, have them give me a call or visit OhioVeteranPension.com for a free guide. No veteran or their widow should let this benefit to slip by.

Protect Your "Virtual Assets"

USA Weekend highlighted a commonly overlooked piece of estate planning in "Create A Plan Now For Your Virtual Assets". Jill Golden asked:

Millions of Americans use e-mail, blogs and social networking sites to stay connected with friends and relatives. But what happens to your accounts after you die?

It seems that we all have online banking & brokerage accounts, Yahoo or Gmail, EBay, PayPal, Facebook, Twitter, and more. When we die, the material stored in these accounts can become unreachable or dissapear unless we ensure our loved ones have access through our login information.

I heard a story of a U.S. Marine who was killed in action while serving in Iraq, and his family was not granted access to his Yahoo! email account due to privacy reasons. This ended up being very traumatic for the Marine's family because they wanted to remember him in his words, and his writings were lost forever when the account was deleted.

The author of this article introduced several companies that will forward user names, passwords and personal instructions to a person of your choosing after your death, which include LegacyLocker.com, AssetLock.net, and MyWebWill.com.

Whether you use one of these web services, or just create a handwritten list of user names and passwords and leave it in a safe-deposit box, make sure that losing access to these "virtual assets" does not cause stress or heartache for those you leave behind.

Minor Settlements In Probate Court

When a minor is injured and someone else is liable, what happens? How is that child reimbursed for their injuries? Because the child is not old enough to legally settle the claim, the county probate court is going to be involved.

The probate court has the authority to approve the settlement of minor's injury claims, and will decide how the settlement funds are distributed.

The guardian of that minor (or of the minor's estate if they passed away) must file an Application to Settle a Minor's Claim in the child's county probate court. Parents who do not have custody of the child get notice of this application, which must contain the following:

1. A current statement from a physician that describes the injuries, including their permanency and extent of recovery,
2. A statment that descibes the circumstances of the injury or damage, as well as treatment program, and
3. prospective or actuctual settlements from similar incidents (for minors or adults).

The minor child must attend the hearing, and within 30 days after the settlement, there will be an Entry Approving Settlement of a Minors Claim and Distribution and Entry of Minor's Claim to prove the proper distribution of the settlement funds.

If a guardian was appointed, the case remains open until the guardian submits an inventory within three months of their appointment. For settlements over $10,000, a guardian must be appointed. A guardian is not needed for settlements under $10,000.

In the end, the court will chose to do one of the following with the remaining funds:

1. Release funds to the natural guardian or the minor,
2. Order the funds placed in a secured account and released to the minor when he or she becomes an adult, or
3. Place the funds in an annuity that will provide a future source of steady income to the minor.

Thanks to Lora Lynne Stalnaker, who wrote an article that was the basis for this post.

Help Emergency Responders Care for Elderly and Disabled

An alarming editorial appeared in the Columbus Dispatch recently. Deborah Kendrick in “Emergency responders can worsen plight of disabled victims” recounted a disquieting incident.

Stephen Pyles, 55, is deaf and unable to communicate verbally. After calling 911 because his house was burglarized, the police officer sent to help instead arresting him because he interpreted Stephen’s frantic attempts to give the officer a hand-written note as aggression.

The rough treatment Stephen received from the officer exacerbated Stephen’s neck pain that had just been treated with surgery a few days before. Stephen feels he cannot trust the police to provide help and protection in the event of another emergency. The author also told of how she experienced what she thought was a stroke and while firemen did come and offer a ride to the hospital, they did not offer any sort of immediate medical attention that would have been needed had the author indeed been experiencing a stroke.

These stories raise a clear warning for those who have loved ones with disabilities. Families cannot completely rely on law enforcement and emergency professionals to always understand the unique limitations of people with disabilities and offer the best assistance during crisis.

Family members of people with disabilities need to make plans for emergencies so that their loved ones’ health and safety is protected as much as possible. Some specific ways to prepare for emergencies would be to:

1. Instruct family members with disabilities to contact family members right after emergency professionals,

2. Keeping relevant health records in an easily accessible location and instructing family members to give the materials to emergency professionals, and

3. Enlisting neighbors and nearby friends to offer assistance in emergency situations.

If the family member is not their own guardian, legal documents must be prepared so that non-relative friends who offer assistance will have the legal authority to do so and the family member will not be placed in foster care.

All of this is taken care of in our routing estate planning for Golowin Legal clients. Whether that includes Health Care Powers of Attorney, Living Wills, HIPAA Release forms, all instantly available to family and emergency responders alike, or whether that includes rarely used Do Not Resuscitate documents clearly visible in the home. For children, their Kids Protection Plan serves a similar purpose.

Family members are the most important people in our lives, and the one of the best ways we can show our love for them is by protecting them from potentially traumatic and even life-threatening traumatic events through careful planning.

Should Estate Planning Be Put Off During A Recession?

CNBC's In The Money discussed how estate planning has fallen to the end of the list for some people in these financial times and why that's a mistake. Alexis Martin Neely answers calls about 1) How to make sure your child is taken care of and whether it is worth it, 2) Whether you should add a child to a mortgage, 3) How a trust can keep your family finances private, and 4) The importance of reviewing beneficiary designations of life insurance and retirement plans.

Securing the American Dream for the generation that follows

Write The Most Important Letter of Your Life

At Golowin Legal, a very large part of our estate planning process for both young families and old is to record "Priceless Conversations" which permanently record our values, hopes and dreams, wishes and even fears for those who follow in our footsteps.

An example of the power of these priceless conversations can be seen in Mario Vittone's "Most Important Letter", which is reproduced below.

My father wrote me a letter before he died. He was 44 and knew he wasn’t going to make it to 45. Though very weak from illness and treatments that go along with having cancer, he wanted to say something of value to his children. Knowing that he wouldn’t be there for us anymore, I imagine he wanted to say the one thing he could, to each of us, that would help us for the rest of our lives. I’ve read that letter countless times since my mother gave it to me; but for the life of me, when I think about it, I can only remember one part. He said, “Right now in life, you are pretending to be a goof off. But I know that one day you will do something great that will set you among the very best.” With those words, my father gave me the one thing that all children need; what Merita Golden called, “permission from someone they love to venture into the unknown.”

“You will do something great that will set you among the very best.”

His faith-filled charge was not a parental request; he wasn’t just hoping; it was his prediction. Going through the rest of my life knowing that he believed it about me gave me permission to believe it about myself. Since the day I first read his words (at 12 years old) they have been with me; in the soulful heart of my subconscious. As I was certain that he loved me, I was also certain that my life would be extraordinary. I didn’t know what it was but that didn’t matter because he didn’t either. “You will do something great.” At times in my life when I am feeling proud of myself I remember my father and his words and wish he was here to ask, “Is this what you were talking about, Dad? Should I keep going?”

He’s not here to hear my question and though it took me a long time to understand, he wouldn’t know the answer anyway. He was not the repository of all human wisdom that my memory transformed him into in the years since his death. He was just a man, like me, trying to do his best. Still, his words stay in my head and I find myself compelled to keep going; just in case there is more; to keep reaching for the greatness he spoke of. I am sure I will take his last words to me to my grave wondering if I got there. Meeting him in heaven, I’ll get my answer.

I dreamed once of that meeting: I was twelve years old again and with a young child’s legs I ran up to him, threw my arms around him and asked, “Was I great, Daddy? Did I do it?” He kissed me on my cheek and whispered , “Jeez Mario, I was only talking about you acing a math test or two. Lighten up.” My father was very funny in life. I guess my dream couldn’t betray his heart.

A long way from twelve now, I realize that my father would have been very proud of me at all the moments in my life. He would have been proud when I graduated from basic training, and been proud when I returned home from the sea. He would have been proud that I became a Coast Guard rescue swimmer. He would have loved to have been there (though his younger brother, my Uncle John, has filled in often) when some Admiral pinned a medal on my chest. He would have been very proud being my father. I know it. But as I get closer to his age when I knew him, I can’t help but think that I’ve been missing something. Making him proud isn’t what I’m supposed to be doing. Lately - perhaps finally - I believe he would want me to move on to what is next. He would want me to be more like him. He would want me to be proud of - and believe in - someone else.

It’s time to start writing my own letters to my children and to my friends. It is time for all of us to start writing. We shouldn’t wait. As I’ve always looked to my parents I know now that our children always look to us with the same unanswered question just behind their hearts. “Is this it, Daddy? Am I doing good?” It’s the reason they learn to say “Watch me” so young. And if you only get one thing then get this: Our children do not hold back or shrink from themselves because they are afraid to fail. They are only afraid of failing us. They do not worry about being disappointed. Their fear - as mine was until that letter - is in being a disappointment.

I know it seems like a long way off, but this Mothers Day and Fathers Day I think we should do something different. I think we should write the most important letter of our lives and give it to our kids. If you don’t have any then write one to anyone who looks up to you. You know who they are. And it doesn’t matter how old they are, and it doesn’t matter if you think they already know. If they are still looking up to you they are still waiting for an answer to their unspoken question. They are waiting for you to believe in them. And I know they may already be great kids, and I know they may already know that you love them. I always knew my parents loved me (thanks Mom). But trust me; that belief will be more complete - that love will be more real - their belief in themselves will be greater if you write a letter on their hearts that says, “Don’t worry; you will do something great.” Not having it – not having that permission from someone they love – may be the only thing holding them back.

If you would like pass on your values and wishes for your children and/or loved ones like this, contact our office at (614) 453-5580. We'll show you how our clients do just that.

Beware Annuity Sharks?

The March 22, 2009 edition of The Columbus Dispatch advised "Advice for Elderly Beware Annuity Sharks". This article, written by Steve Wartenberg, told the story of a blind woman with dementia who had just moved into a nursing home.

With all of these health issues going on, she was advised to cash in her current annuities and invest her life savings in another one (most likely generating surrender charges and high commissions for the financial advisor).

Two weeks after purchasing these annuities, the woman passed away, and the new annuity investment left her loved ones with half of what they would have inherited if she had not invested in the annuity.

In all fairness, I think it is critical to note that there ARE many circumstances when annuities can be a valuable piece of a family's financial plan - just almost never for ill elderly.

Quite often I must advise clients that the annuity they were sold (with the advisor knowing long-term care would be likely needed soon) must be cashed in in order to protect any of the money or to qualify for Medicaid. This often means paying a surrender charge (penalty) of thousands or even into the tens of thousands of dollars. This sometimes makes some shocked and angry clients.

Other times, I find clients that were told the annuity would protect their money from the nursing home, which is usually not correct. Would they have bought the annuity had they known the truth?

I've also seen people that bought an annuity to qualify for the Veterans Administration (VA) Aid and Attendance benefit, only to find out that when they needed nursing home care later that the annuity severely damaged their ability to leave money to children in the end.

Unfortunately, some people think seniors are good marks for financial fraud, identity theft, or financial products that really don't fit their needs.

My advice is to understand that like all financial investments, or even legal techniques you might develop with a lawyer, they must fit your individual goals and values. Otherwise, you won't get a whole lot of benefit, and it could possibly be damaging to your financial health.

As I said, annuities can be great investments, but beware of buying them when there are health concerns, advanced age, or if you are often advised to cash in one for another.