November 15, 2016February 15, 2024

Convincing Parents to Create Estate Plan

Many children with aging parents know that their parents should do estate planning, but convincing their parents of that can be difficult.

Many elderly people in the U.S. believe estate planning is something only the very wealthy need. If they only have a few major assets and modest back accounts, then they believe estate planning is unnecessary for them.

Many of their adult children know better, however.

The children know estate planning is an important responsibility for everyone regardless of wealth. While those children would like to talk their parents into estate planning they may find it difficult. In the Washington Metropolitan area, estate planning is very important. Maryland estate planning is critical because Maryland has both a state estate tax and a state inheritance tax. The District of Columbia also has a state estate tax.

This topic was addressed by NJ 101.5 in “Talking to your parents about a will.”

If you find yourself having this problem with your aging parents, there are some steps you can take.

First, explain to your parents that without an estate plan their estates will have to go through probate and everything will be distributed according to state law and not your parents’ wishes. That means if they would like to leave something directly to their grandchildren, they will not be able to do so in most cases. It also means that they might be subject to Maryland or D.C estate planning axes.

You can also talk to your parents about how costly and time-consuming probate can be and how it could be a burden on the family.

If all else fails and you can afford it, you might offer to pay for your parents to visit an estate planning attorney. They do not have to commit to anything before seeing the attorney, but the attorney can discuss the benefits of estate planning with your parents and give them some options. At Profit Law Firm, we also conduct two generation family planning sessions. Contact us for a consultation with Maryland estate planning attorneys and DC estate planning attorneys.

Reference: NJ 101.5 (Nov. 1, 2016) “Talking to your parents about a will.”

October 13, 2016August 15, 2022

Should Seniors Get Married?

Getting married always comes with challenges and finances that needs to be worked out. This is especially true for people in their retirement years.

When people fall in love and decide that they want to get married, they often do not think of all of the financial consequences of their decision to wed. In the popular imagination this is something that young couples do all the time. They rush into a marriage without having first considered all of the financial implications.

However, elder law experts point out that the tendency does not go away with age.

Senior citizens are just as likely to get married without thinking everything through. That can be a problem, because seniors have more they need to think about than younger people as the Hartford Courant reports in “Fit To Be Tied? Think Twice About Marriage In Your Golden Years.”

Senior citizens considering getting married need to think about how marriage will affect all of their other plans, including retirement and estate plans. For example, a retired person might think his well-crafted estate plan to leave his assets to his children is solid and that a new wife with assets of her own will not affect those plans. Under the law, in Maryland and DC, however, a spouse is given inheritance rights. Therefore a retired person should contact a Maryland estate plannning attorney to review options to protect his children and the new spouse. There are several trusts that protect a spouse during life, while leaving the underlying assets to children from a prior marriage. Call Profit Law Firm, for consultation to find an option that works for your family.

In reality, it is almost impossible to cut a spouse out of an estate plan entirely. Consequently, whether or not the couple intends it, the new spouse is likely to inherit something without very careful planning. An estate planning

That is not to say senior citizens should never get married. They just need to think about it and visit an elder law attorney familiar with estate planning to learn about all the implications and what can be done about them.

Reference: Hartford Courant (Sept. 24, 2016) “Fit To Be Tied? Think Twice About Marriage In Your Golden Years.”

September 22, 2016

You Actually Do Need a Will

Some people today suggest that not everyone needs a will because of the many other methods of transferring assets. However, everyone would benefit by at least having a simple will.

There are many different ways to transfer assets after you pass away. You can create all sorts of different trusts. You can title property as joint owners. You can make financial accounts payable on death.

These are all ways to transfer assets that would override any will that you write. Because all these different tools are available, some have suggested that not everyone needs a will today.

In response, however, Forbes notes in “Do You Really Need A Will?” there are still many reasons to have a will.

Anyone with minor children should have a will because, in most jurisdictions, it is the document through which you can appoint the guardian of choice for your children. Other instruments can be used to provide assets for a child, but only a will is available to state who should take care of the child.

Even if you do not have a child, you probably have personal property that is not easily handled in other legal instruments. If you want to have a say in who gets that property, then a will is necessary to do so.

That there are other ways to transfer assets after you pass away is wonderful and an estate planning attorney can help you navigate through the ways to find the best options for your unique circumstances. Call Profit Law Firm to find the best way to transfer assets for your family.

Nevertheless, a will is still necessary for things that cannot be included in those documents. For that reason expect your estate planning attorney to prepare a will for you, even if it is a very simple one.

Reference: Forbes (Aug. 31, 2016) “Do You Really Need A Will?”

September 16, 2016

The Role of an Estate Planning Attorney

There are several options for creating an estate plan on your own. That might lead you to wonder what role an estate planning attorney can play and whether you should hire one.

If you can do something by yourself without taking too much time to do it, you are probably hesitant to hire someone to do the job for you. For example, why bother to hire a handyman to fix a squeaky door when fixing it yourself takes no more than a few minutes and some lubricant?

With many downloadable estate planning forms available today, many people are starting to have the same thoughts about estate planning and wonder why they should hire an estate planning attorney when they can do it themselves.

As the Herald Times Reporter in “Estate planning attorneys are like a QB” suggests, estate planning attorneys still have a vital role to play.

Just like the quarterback of a football team, an estate planning attorney plays a key role in coordinating the plans and executing them. The attorney is the one with the expertise and ability to make sure everything goes according to plan. A Maryland estate planning attorney knows the details of Maryland Law and a DC estate planning attorney knows the details of DC law. You tell the estate planning attorney how you want things to go and the attorney creates a plan that does what you want and follows the law. If you are a resident of DC or Maryland, then Profit Law Firm can help you make a game plan for your estate.

The attorney can even call an audible just like a quarterback. If there are potential problems with what you want to do, then the attorney can advise you and help you come up with a different plan.

You can play football without a quarterback, but it is unadvisable. You can also create an estate plan without an attorney. That too is not advisable.

Reference: Green Bay Press-Gazette (Aug. 13, 2016) “Estate planning attorneys are like a QB”

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September 1, 2016

Choosing an Estate Planning Attorney

There are many attorneys who can prepare an estate plan for you, but if you want the best possible plan for your family, then you need to know how to choose the best attorney for you.

As is the case with any other profession, not all attorneys are the same. Attorneys all have different qualifications and specialties. Many attorneys will be more than happy to create an estate plan for you, but that does not mean the quality of the estate plan will be the same.

Just as some doctors are better at performing brain surgery than others, some attorneys are better at estate planning.

The Times Herald recently posted a list of questions to ask attorneys about estate planning that can help you decide which attorney to pick in “Six questions you should ask your estate planning attorney.”

The questions include:

Ask how much of the attorney’s practice is estate planning. This will tell you if the attorney is a specialist or just someone who does estate planning occasionally.
Ask whether the attorney offers comprehensive estate planning or whether an attorney just focuses on a few areas in the field.
Ask the attorney whether they focus on trying to reduce costs or whether their practice is to make money when the estate goes through probate. Sometimes attorneys that seem cheaper upfront are actually looking to make more through probate.
Ask whether the attorney can help you title and transfer your assets to a trust or whether you will have to seek out another professional to do that.
Ask how many hours of continuing education on estate planning the attorney takes. The longer the hours, the more up to date on the law the attorney is likely to be.
Ask the attorney how much you will need to do to make sure the attorney has all the information necessary to create your estate plan. The more information that is provided by you, the more likely you are to get the best estate plan.

When in doubt, ask around and research attorneys online. Check third party attorney directories like Avvo.com and Lawyers.com.

Reference: Times Herald (Aug. 6, 2016) “Six questions you should ask your estate planning attorney.”

August 24, 2016

You Cannot Avoid Paying for Maryland Estate Planning

You might think that you do not really need an estate plan so there is no point in spending money to get a proper one drawn up. However, that just means that your estate will have to pay more later to do the planning that you did not do.

Estate planning is never free. If you go to an experienced Maryland estate planning attorney, then you have to pay for the attorney’s time to create a proper estate plan for you. Some people would rather not pay, so they do not get estate plans. Instead, they expect that their family and the courts will be able to easily handle everything after they pass away.

In reality, they actually will “pay” for an estate plan, as the Green Bay Press-Gazette points out in “Estate planning: Pay now or pay later.”

The truth is that it is far more expensive not to have an estate plan than to have one. If you have to pay Maryland estate taxes because you did not have a Maryland estate planning attorney, you will pay much more in taxes than you would have ever paid the attorney. If your estate has to hire an attorney to sort out your affairs after you pass away and go to court to get a judge’s approval for everything, then that is going to cost a lot more than going to an attorney and getting an estate plan.

Not having an estate can cost your estate in other ways as well. For example, you may have to pay a higher estate tax bill and miss out on the best, cheapest ways to transfer wealth from one generation to another.

Actually getting an estate plan for most people is much easier and cheaper than you probably assume it is. There is no reason not to go ahead and get one, especially since not doing so will just cost your family more money later. Consult Profit Law Firm about creating a Maryland estate plan and save money on Maryland estate taxes.

Yes, you do tend to get what you pay for.

Reference: Green Bay Press-Gazette (Aug. 1, 2016) “Estate planning: Pay now or pay later.”

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