Building Legacies that Last Estate Planning and Elder Law

So, You Think You Can Retire?

Group of people clapping and smiling with one another


“The most common need of those preparing to step into retirement isn’t what you think: it’s confirmation that all the hard work, discipline and saving was enough.”

People getting ready to retire really want to be reassured that they did a good job and were good stewards of their money, according to Investopedia’s article “Determining If You’re Prepared for Retirement.” They also want confirmation that the retirement assets they’ve built over a lifetime will last for the rest of their lives and that they’ll be able to live in comfort.

Commonly asked questions are:

  • Am I saving enough, or did I save enough?
  • Can I retire, or did I make a mistake and retire too early?
  • Were my investment decisions the right ones?
  • How am I doing, compared to my peers?

The answers to these questions are important, but like so many things in life, there is no “one-size-fits-all” answer. Just because you’ve accumulated six, seven or even eight figure retirement savings, doesn’t mean you’ve “won” the retirement game. In this case, size doesn’t always matter.

One of the key factors to a successful retirement is your income to expense ratio. Can you generate enough income from all sources, without drawing down too much from your portfolio?

If you have a small to non-existent portfolio, but you have a good-sized pension, maybe you don’t need such a big portfolio. If you live very simply, it’s possible that Social Security benefits and modest withdrawals from your investments might take care of your needs.

Remember that just because you have a large portfolio, does not mean you don’t risk running out of money during retirement. If you spend lavishly on first-class vacations, drive luxury cars and live in a house that costs a fortune to run, you can easily get yourself into a tight spot.

Take a long hard look at all sources of income to determine how long your portfolio will last. You should include Social Security, pensions, retirement accounts and any other sources of income. It is important to figure out how much income you’ll need on annual and monthly basis. You’ll then have a better sense of whether you are prepared for retirement.

Don’t forget to prepare an estate plan, unless you have already done so. A will, power of attorney, healthcare directive and other documents will help protect you and your loved ones. You need an estate plan, regardless of the size of your portfolio. A qualified estate planning attorney can help you prepare this part of your retirement.

Resource: Investopedia (July 19, 2018) Determining If You’re Prepared for Retirement”

 

Planning After You Retire

Happy-old-coupleAfter you retire, you should continue to make plans so that you will be ready in case anything happens.

Everyone knows that it takes a lot of planning to retire properly. You must make sure that all of your finances are in order. You also should make sure that you have completed everything you need to receive Social Security benefits, when you want to start them and to enroll for Medicare.

It might be tempting to stop planning after retirement.  However, there is still some planning left to do, as the Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog explained in "Post-Retirement Planning: A Checklist for Seniors."

Retirees need to plan for emergencies and the possibility of no longer being able to handle their own affairs. They need a general durable power of attorney, a health care power of attorney and a living will.

Fortunately, those documents are easy to get from elder law attorneys. However, just getting those documents is not quite enough.

If something happens to a retired person, the people designated to help immediately need to be able to step into their roles. That means all the information necessary for them needs to be gathered into one place.  This information includes a list of financial, investment and digital accounts. It also means that the legal documents need to be stored in the same place. Finally, a trusted friend or family member should be told where to find everything, if needed.

Talk to an elder law attorney, if you have questions about what you need to do to plan after you retire.

Reference: Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog (March 20, 2018) "Post-Retirement Planning: A Checklist for Seniors."

 

Dealing with Scams

Bigstock-Elder-Couple-With-Bills-3557267[1]Scams conducted against the elderly are far too frequent and difficult to prevent. However, there are some steps you can take if you or an elderly loved one has been scammed.

Along with the growth of America's elderly population, has come a less welcome population growth.

The number of scammers.

This unwelcome “population” has increased, as unscrupulous people seek to make easy money by duping the elderly.

There are many types of scams that target the elderly, ranging from large ones meant to make millions to very small scams meant to cheat an elderly person out of a few hundred dollars.

The smaller ones can be very difficult to prevent because they often consist of someone calling the elderly and pretending to be someone else, such as a charity or a debt collector.

These callers lie and sweet talk their way into getting the elderly victim's bank or credit card information.

If you know someone who has been a victim of such a scam recently, there are some things that you can do as My San Antonio discusses in "How to handle a scam against elderly parent."

The first thing that needs to be done is to contact the financial institution and make sure it is aware of the scam.

The institution can even block the transaction, if it is not too late.

The local police should be called as well to make sure the crime is reported.

It is also a good idea to contact an elder law attorney to ask for legal advice, if needed to get any money back.

When the elderly are scammed, it is not always possible to get their money back.  However, by making a few phones calls, you can make it more likely.

Reference: My San Antonio (Jan. 12, 2018) "How to handle a scam against elderly parent."

 

Elder Law Estate Planning

Most of the time, estate planning is not just about a deceased person’s estate. It is also about elder law options. MP900439352[1]

A long time ago, only wealthy people had estate plans prepared and the early estate planning options evolved to reflect their needs. They needed wills and trusts to pass down their wealth to their heirs.

Eventually, more and more people started getting estate plans and the planning needs of the non-wealthy began to receive more consideration.

One of the things they needed to address was how to pay for nursing home care, when a non-wealthy person needed it.

Elder law grew out of that concern, as the Times Herald-Record pointed out in “Plenty of reasons to do elder law estate planning.”

As a result of that history, when people do estate planning today, they normally take care of many of their expected elder law needs.

Elder law estate planning attorneys help people figure out how to pay for possible nursing home care.

Elder law estate planning attorneys get their clients general durable power of attorneys and health care powers of attorney, so their clients are prepared if they are ever incapacitated.

Elder law estate planning attorneys write living wills for their clients, so their clients can decide whether or not they want to live in a coma with no chance of recovery.

Elder law estate planning attorneys also help their clients avoid the possibility of being the victims of elder financial abuse.

If you are interested in any of those elder law options, and you should be interested in all of them, then visit an elder law estate planning attorney.

Reference: Times Herald-Record (July 5, 2017) “Plenty of reasons to do elder law estate planning