There has been an explosion in the numbers of Americans rushing to make their will online. Understandably, the coronavirus pandemic has created the scramble to set up wills and end-of-life-directives. However, online do it yourself (DIY) wills are often deemed invalid as they do not comply with all of the legal requirements of your state. According to Caring.com , the prevalence of will and estate planning has been on the decline since 2017 but this trend is quickly reversing itself with the advent of the coronavirus pandemic. So, who needs a will? Ask yourself if you care who gets your property or money if you die? If you have minor children, do you care who will act as their legal guardian? The answer is anyone married, anyone with children or anyone with assets needs a properly executed will. Wills are governed by state law. Your will should reflect your wishes in the language and format required by the state in which you live for it to be valid.

Many law offices are turning to teleconference with their clients to address social distancing protocols while still providing legal services such as writing a will. Businesses like Zoom are experiencing a quadrupling of daily users. Part of this significant increase includes hosting secure attorney/client meetings for will preparations. The importance of an attorney guiding you through the process of creating a will cannot be understated as they understand the nuances of how things need to be written. Once your will is complete, it must be correctly notarized as mistakes made in the will-signing process can potentially invalidate your will.  Your attorney will guide you through the signing process, and could involve signing during a video conference.

Beyond the creation of a will, many Americans are increasingly concerned about their powers of attorneys, health care surrogates, living wills, and end of life directives. These “life documents,” as they are active while you are alive, are equally as important as your will. Named executors, successors, beneficiaries, power of attorneys should have several back-up representatives as the mortality rate due to the coronavirus remains unknown.

According to research in a recent New York Times report , health care workers are more likely to contract COVID 19 than the average person. During this pandemic, many doctors and other medical professionals are rushing to have their wills drawn up. In addition to doctors, anyone on the front lines in the fight against COVID 19, from hospital custodians to nurses to EMS responders, should either make a will or review and possibly update their existing one. However, the truth is no matter what your profession or likelihood of contracting this virus, you should have a properly executed will during this time of considerable uncertainty.

There are few things you can act on during the COVID 19 pandemic that can bring you assurance and a sense of relief. The legal creation of your will and life-directives is an action you can take that protects you and your family. We can help. Visit our website to schedule a phone or video conference and we’ll get this important process started for you.

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Telemedicine is the digital information distribution of healthcare-related services. Not long-ago telemedicine was an innovative practice, primarily a supplement to hospitals’ information strategy managing patient care and their data more efficiently. During the coronavirus pandemic and its associated urgent healthcare needs, hospitals and medical offices are making telehealth capabilities more available than ever before. Long-distance patient and clinician contact, advice, reminders, care, education, intervention, monitoring, and remote admissions have become the norm.

The push for comprehensive virtual medical care quickly without a standardized platform has left many healthcare facilities struggling to meet demand with technological data integrity and consistent user interface. Just as individual’s panic led to purchasing toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and other essential household items creating shortages, hospitals “pandemic-purchased” telehealth solutions to ride out the crisis led to a hodgepodge of tech solutions. This situation led to medical information security breaches, dropped call and video conferencing, poor audio and video quality, and distorted or incorrect information relayed to patients and health insurance companies alike.

Patients who were sheltering in place and rather fearful at the outset of the pandemic were initially forgiving of technological glitches. Today, however, patients have higher expectations of telemedicine and seek seamless experiences. Patients are also taking advantage of the ability to test-drive options from home, exploring physician expertise, availability, disposition, and price point before committing to a particular doctor, health care practitioner, or hospital facility. Additionally, patients are enjoying the experience and are now more likely to seek virtual care. It turns out that a patient using telehealth is more likely to adhere to prescription and wellness regimes, which is an advantage to public health overall. On average, telemedicine saves a patient more than 90 minutes otherwise wasted in commuting to an appointment and waiting to be seen by a doctor.

Clinics and hospitals are also embracing the benefits of telemedicine. Virtual medicine has played a vital role in quickly flattening the curve by getting to as many patients as possible without compromising social distancing and urgent care only protocols. Patients with chronic conditions and other non-urgent care, including routine follow-ups, can still engage with their physicians, allowing medical care, decreased patient anxiety, and maintaining facility reputation through patient retention. This continuity of care is essential, especially for urgent non-COVID-19 related health issues.

Health care facilities and medical professionals are now able to reach a new demographic of patients through telemedicine, particularly those in rural areas or those who list time, convenience, and proximity as barriers to making an initial consultation. Fully 76 percent of hospitals now employ telemedicine services, and two-thirds of patients report a willingness to use telehealth in the future, even after the pandemic ends.

Telemedicine also yields significant savings of time and money for healthcare organizations and patients. An average in-office visit is 121 minutes, including 101 minutes of commute and waiting time. Therefore, a patient is only experiencing about 20 minutes of interaction with their doctor. A full one-third of patients have left a doctor’s office because the wait was too long. Telemedicine reduces wait times, no-shows, and cancellations saving time and money. There are also flexible insurance benefits to take advantage of when using telehealth.

How can you best assess your hospital or doctor’s office telemedicine platform and service? Medicaleconomics.com cites four questions that you must ask to find the service best suited to your needs. Telemedicine can vary drastically among categories such as compliance, quality, convenience, and features, so keep the following in mind as you search for the right fit.

Embracing telemedicine can open your healthcare to expert physicians, save you time, and maintain the significant benefit of social distancing. Look for a healthcare organization with the right telemedicine framework for you. It will help you stay current with your routine medical care despite the coronavirus pandemic.

If you have questions or would like to discuss your personal situation, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

The post Things You Should Know About Telemedicine in 2020 appeared first on Faloni Law Group.

Mistakes can be made when it comes to inheritances and Medicaid. Those mistakes can be costly. When a person is drawing Medicaid benefits and inherits money or property, that inheritance jeopardizes the benefits. The inheritance must be handled carefully to minimize expensive penalties. What “careful” means, though, can be misunderstood without the necessary expertise.

The first and best idea is to call experienced elder law attorneys like us. (An even better idea is to call us well before any inheritance becomes a “problem.” The sooner you call us, the more money we can likely protect for you.)

An Ohio attorney was recently suspended partly because he mishandled this Medicaid-inheritance issue. The mistaken advice was that to protect the benefits, the person who stood to inherit should “disclaim” or “renounce” the inheritance – in other words, give it away to someone else.

That advice would have been OK in the tax context. It was not OK in the Medicaid context. The Medicaid rules count inheritances regardless whether the recipient keeps them or passes them on to someone else. The bad result, in such cases, is that the person receiving Medicaid would be charged just as if he or she had taken the money, even if he or she gave it away, and the person’s benefits would be docked accordingly. This can be a very expensive misstep.

The better result would be to consult us immediately. We can advise you on necessary  techniques to split the inheritance between the recipient and somebody else, like a child. If the right strategies are used, Medicaid would count the inheritance to an extent, but not as much as it would have if the recipient had simply given away the whole sum.

An even better result would be if the person leaving the inheritance had consulted us first. We know how to structure that person’s financial arrangements, to protect the people to whom the person wants to leave his or her legacy.

Elder law is a law unto itself. We know that complicated area of the law well and we have helped many people successfully meet the challenges it poses. Call on us.

The post Inheritances and Medicaid: What You Need to Know appeared first on Faloni Law Group.

Estate planning for the future inheritance of your children and grandchildren should include protective measures to keep assets from disappearing or being claimed by a creditor.  A simple way to achieve inheritance protection is through a trust. A trust can pass your wealth bypassing probate. This allows specific trust provisions to ensure the money left to a beneficiary is neither squandered or through ill-advised spending or divorce action of the beneficiary.

Divorce is one of the primary obstacles to contend with when trying to minimize issues of wealth transfer and preservation. High divorce rates, especially among aging Americans, can make an inherited trust vulnerable if the property becomes commingled with the marital estate. Single and married children, as well as grandchildren of inherited wealth, should always maintain inherited assets and property as a separate entity whether as a trust or direct individual inheritance. Before any marriage, a pre-nuptial agreement should be signed to protect previously inherited wealth and the potential of future inheritance.

Whether your child or grandchild inherits an existing trust or establishes their trust after a direct bequeath, the terms of the trust can limit the potential problem of future loss of inherited monies or assets due to the possibility of lawsuits and creditor claims. A properly drafted trust can protect assets from legal action in the event your child is sued. A trust also protects the trust maker and the beneficiaries from the public process of probate. Anyone can research probate court records and determine how much your estate was worth, what you owned and how you chose to divide it.

If you believe your adult child has limited aptitude to manage money properly and might squander your grandchildren’s inheritance, then draft a will or trust that earmarks a dollar amount or percentage of the estate for those grandchildren explicitly. As an example, the will or trust can also specify that these inherited assets be allocated solely for a grandchild’s college education or wedding.

Another financial vehicle with some overspending controls is a “ stretch IRA.” This inherited individual retirement account (IRA) has a required minimum distribution (RMD) that stretches over a more extended period based on the inheritor’s life expectancy. A monitored minimum distribution will allow the principal to continue growing. In the case a child or grandchild is too young to manage the RMDs it may be in their best interest to name an institutional trustee to direct distributions.

Whatever your intent is for your grandchildren, be sure to include a discussion with your child, expressing your resolve for your grandchildren to inherit and clearly stating them in your will. Also, speak honestly about your fears that your child may blow through their inheritance and discuss the value of limiting annual distributions to only investment income or a percentage of the trust’s value to preserve the aggregate of assets. In the event your child, who may have an addiction problem like gambling, drugs, or overspending, may require trustee oversight to temporarily end distribution of trust or IRA monies until they demonstrate wellness. At that time, the trustee may opt to restart money distributions.   

Ultimately it is best to find a trusted estate planning attorney that is well versed in the laws of your state to help you craft a comprehensive approach to the dispersion of your estate that will protect your intentions from the mal-intent of others. Whether you need a lifetime “dynasty” trust, individual trust or direct inheritance, institutional trustee, inheritable stretch IRA, or a combination of inheritance vehicles, is all dependent on your unique financial position and personal desires for your legacy’s distribution. There is great latitude when drafting the structure for the distribution of your estate, so look to creative inspiration to open up possibilities. Contact our office today and schedule an appointment to discuss how we can help you with your planning.

The post How to Protect Your Children’s Inheritance appeared first on Faloni Law Group.

Before the rise of COVID-19, the US economy was in a cycle of more than ten years of economic growth, its citizens, even the “wealthy” ones, are worried about running out of cash and are scared to spend. Bloomberg.com is reporting many retirees, and near-retirees are sitting on their wealth in much the same way large corporations are hoarding stockpiles of cash. Even famed investor Warren Buffet and his multinational conglomerate holding company Berkshire Hathaway Inc are side-lining cash in excess of $122 billion.

Americans are experiencing a strong economy. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is steadily growing. There are low-interest rates, low unemployment, a stable currency, and more than $1 trillion
of available investor cash. For those retirees who are financially well off then, why is there anxiety about money and reluctance to enjoy it in retirement years? Yes, many of the wealthy are planning on leaving a legacy to their heirs, but something else is happening.

Wealth in the US is becoming more concentrated among fewer households. Consolidating wealth is like consolidating power. Ultimately there is little difference between the two. The Americans who have most benefited from this ten-year boom cycle in the American economy are averse to spending their money. They want to survive an economic downturn and still maintain their elite financial status. This conservative approach will likely guarantee them a very comfortable lifestyle even in the event of bleak financial times. Former Brookings Institution fellow Matt Fellowes states, “It’s trillions and trillions of wealth that is not benefiting anyone except asset managers.” The rich, sitting on their wealth, create stagnant money, which negatively impacts the vitality of the American economy.

The Federal Reserve provides a quarterly balance sheet of all individual and charitable monies and America’s combined net worth now stands at $109 trillion. It is a lot of money; however, it has disproportionately flowed to the wealthy. Celebrity and wealth-obsessed culture saturates Americans with images of the rich with expensive real estate, private jets and yachts, and attending posh philanthropic parties. The reality of the average millionaire in America is far more frugal than their Instagram and paparazzi driven counterparts. Retirement experts often disagree as to why these conservative millionaires are unwilling to enjoy the fruits of their lifelong labors.

Being cautious with money is inherently prudent, particularly at the height of an economic boom cycle. Even without market uncertainty, a key characteristic of modern capitalist economies is a boom-bust cycle. A process of economic expansion (boom) will be followed by economic contraction (bust), and the cycle occurs repeatedly.

www.federalreserve.gov

All Americans, even the wealthy ones, are experiencing uncertainty about their economic future. Will their rate of return on investments be able to address increasing medical costs? Will they have enough streams of income to support themselves when taking into account their longevity risk? Collectively, Americans are not saving enough to accomplish a successful retirement. However, individually, wealthy Americans are fearful of losing their financial position in a severe market downturn. These wealthy Americans have already lived through harsh economic times, particularly the Great Recession. This economic bust was triggered by the subprime mortgage crisis and the collapse of the US housing market bubble. Market bubbles present themselves from time to time, and if the free market successfully deleverages them, there is little economic incident. But when the bottom drops out, bleak economic times follow.

Once you achieve wealth, it becomes an inherent part of your identity, and consequently spending your wealth is like spending your own identity’s capital. Additionally, as you age, the tendency is to become more risk-averse, according to the National Institutes of Health ( NIH ). With the bulk of the wealth of America in older households than in previous decades, it is no surprise that risk-averse strategies are in play. A lifetime spent acquiring wealth and watching accounts and investments mature then morphs into retirement years of asset spending and the dilution of wealth. The majority of wealthy Americans are not keen to adapt to the life cycle of asset accumulation followed by retirement spending. Their preference is to live frugally, retaining as many assets as possible to be able to ride out an economic downturn.

Planning for retirement can be stressful. Having a proper estate plan in place can eliminate much of the stress, especially when it comes to transferring assets to children who may not be ready to handle large sums of money. We can help. Give us a call to discuss your wishes , and how to design a plan that will help carry those wishes out.

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In this Covid-19 epidemic, a wrenching question especially demands an answer: if you or someone you love is taken down into life-threatening illness, how far would you want extreme life-prolonging measures to be tried?

For us who are particularly vulnerable – seniors, those with compromised immune systems, those already struggling with medical conditions – this question is particularly stark. Many people are familiar with DNR orders, “do not resuscitate.” These are intended for cardiac arrest. The threats posed by the current virus, though, more often implicate breathing problems. The longer time spent on a ventilator, the greater the chances of permanent damage, disability or death.

Many are dying alone, without their loved ones present. The New York Times recently reported on a particularly heartbreaking case.

Most people over sixty with a serious illness say they would prefer to be kept in comfort at the end, even if that care shortens life. But where to draw the line? How much time alive would you be willing to sacrifice, to decline aggressive treatment and possibly die sooner? The need to provide at least some answers is important not just for you. Clinicians and caregivers need guidance
, too.

A 2017 study showed that approximately two-thirds of Americans had neglected to provide prior guidance by creating advance health-care directives like health care powers of attorney and living wills. Back then, most of us could not have imagined being in an epidemic like the one now.

Even if you or your loved ones have already done the responsible thing and created advance directives, now is the time to review those documents to make sure they reflect what you want under current conditions.

Health-care providers are ethically obligated to do everything feasible to keep us alive. If we have no advance directives in place, the system will take over – and families can end up in long-lasting anguish for having had to be the ones to make the final call. Don’t let that happen. Think through the question for yourself and talk with a person whom you trust to make that decision for you if need be. Call us for your advance health-care directives – and may you and yours not need them for a good long while.

The post The Importance of Reviewing Your Advanced Directives Documents appeared first on Faloni Law Group.

There is a growing need for affordable senior housing that is only starting to be addressed by businesses that build for this market. If you have a lot of money you typically have a lot of options. At the other end of the spectrum if you have nothing you can qualify for government assistance though these programs, but most often include wait times, years of wait times, due to lack of available housing. The truth is many seniors, nearly 40%, have less than $50,000 in savings, not including the value of their homes, according to a study by the Joint Center for Housing Studies and Harvard University. That doesn’t make them poor but it doesn’t make them rich either. Middle income seniors are stuck in the middle and the statistics are indicative of a looming senior housing crisis. By 2035 one in three households will be headed by someone aged sixty-five or more years and the population aged eighty or more years will have doubled to 24 million.

The truth is that thoughtfully designed housing for senior adults is not being created on a scale that reflects the growing need and the need is palpable. Many aging adults don’t even want to project that one day they will no longer be able to live in their current home. When asked about their forward living plans it usually consists of some variant of “the plan is to die in my home.” Sadly, it is impossible to script your passing and while you might hope it happens gently in your home it is more likely that an adverse event, such as a fall, will change everything and you will require some level of care. The Social Security Administration estimates that if you turn 65 today, you will live to 84.3 if you are a man, and to 86.6 for women. Added SSA: “And those are just averages. About one out of every four 65-year-olds today will live past age 90, and one out of ten will live past age 95.” ( https://www.thestreet.com/story/13640644/1/inside-the-nation-s-looming-senior-housing-crisis.html ) Those numbers of longevity represent staggering costs when you consider the likelihood that those oldest years will require the most significant care.

That “significant care” costs serious money. According to “A Place for Mom,” the average national cost for a private assisted living facility is almost $4,000 per month. If you want private nursing home care that cost increases to more than $6,000 per month, depending on where you live. If you compare these costs with the fact that nearly 50% of adults aged sixty-five or older have just enough income to afford basic expenses you can intuit it is a recipe for disaster. The only thing left is to spend assets pay for care. That is not a good option for several reasons. First, you will likely run out of assets quickly due to the current costs of care. Second, you would be unable to leave a legacy to children or continue to provide for a spouse after you are gone.

That is why the understanding of aging is facing a paradigm shift – many companies that design and build for retirement communities want the word “senior” dropped altogether. Innovative technology companies and non-profits are sounding the alarm and changing the discussion from challenge to opportunity, from health care to health, wellness, and lifestyle, and bringing entrepreneurial ideas to create a positive change. It is a step in the right direction but it does not change the current reality – there is a shortage of affordable senior housing and there is a continuing increase in need for senior residency.

What is your housing reality and future? Do you have a plan in place to handle the changes that most likely will affect you and your living environment? It is important to have this discussion with your family, and with a  professional elder law attorney.  Proactive planning is in your best interest.  Contact our office  today and schedule an appointment to discuss how we can help you with your planning.

The post Housing Market Disparities in Middle to Low Income Senior Citizens appeared first on Faloni Law Group.

You should check your estate planning documents every so often, to make sure they’re still good, especially with big life changes like births, marriages, divorces, and moving to another state. Children grow up, marriages dissolve, property gets sold, residences change. That’s why we recommend that you consult us for an estate-plan check-up every five years or so.

If you retire to another state, your will would probably be good, but powers of attorney vary from state to state. Documents from the “old” state might not work in the “new” one, and your documents would not be there for you when you need them.

Suppose you willed your property to your spouse and appointed that person to be your power of attorney. You got divorced, but you never got around to changing your plan. The law would usually step in to prevent your ex-spouse from inheriting, but you might be stuck with that person holding power of attorney over your property and health care.

Maybe you named your ex-spouse’s father as your executor and agent. Now he can’t stand you and blames you for the break-up.

Perhaps you willed your property to your two children equally – but now one child is addicted to opioids. Your will did not restrict how money should be spent. If your addicted child inherits a lot of money in one chunk, that money could vanish to drugs and your child’s survival might be at risk.

Or, you deeded your house to one child and made a will leaving money to your other child. Then you forgot about the deed and made another will, years later. That will split everything equally. The law would invalidate the second will as to the house, because deeds supplant wills. Consequently, one child might end up receiving more value than the other. That unfairness might sour the children against each other forever.

If you got divorced, sold property, moved to another state, or did your documents more than five years ago, come see us for an estate plan check-up.

When it comes to estate planning, “once is not done.”

The post Is Your Current Estate Plan Up to Date? appeared first on Faloni Law Group.

If you retire to another state, your will would probably be good, but powers of attorney vary from state to state. Documents from the “old” state might not work in the “new” one, and your documents would not be there for you when you need them.

Suppose you willed your property to your spouse and appointed that person to be your power of attorney. You got divorced, but you never got around to changing your plan. The law would usually step in to prevent your ex-spouse from inheriting, but you might be stuck with that person holding power of attorney over your property and health care.

Maybe you named your ex-spouse’s father as your executor and agent. Now he can’t stand you and blames you for the break-up.

Perhaps you willed your property to your two children equally – but now one child is addicted to opioids. Your will did not restrict how money should be spent. If your addicted child inherits a lot of money in one chunk, that money could vanish to drugs and your child’s survival might be at risk.

Or, you deeded your house to one child and made a will leaving money to your other child. Then you forgot about the deed and made another will, years later. That will split everything equally. The law would invalidate the second will as to the house, because deeds supplant wills. Consequently, one child might end up receiving more value than the other. That unfairness might sour the children against each other forever.

If you got divorced, sold property, moved to another state, or did your documents more than five years ago, come see us for an estate plan check-up.

When it comes to estate planning, “once is not done.”

The post Is Your Current Estate Plan Up-To-Date? appeared first on Faloni Law Group.