Monday, August 17, 2015
Can You Predict the Future? A Good Life Plan Needs Good Estate Planning
Most of us like to bring some order and predictability to our lives by planning ahead. We think about where we are now, and where we would like to be. We figure out how to get there, and how to avoid as many pitfalls along the way as we can. Moving through life, we accumulate things - our possessions, our estate – which are integrated into our lives. As an estate planning attorney, it is my job to help everyone plan for the care of their possessions as they move through life now, and after they die.
Here are a few of the issues that should make you think and do something about estate planning:
Do you have a live-in partner and you aren’t married or registered?
The 2013 U.S. Census Bureau Survey listed around 107,000 California same-sex couples living together. Of these, about 37% were spouses, and the rest were not. In California, community property rules mean that possessions (assets), and what happens to them, are clearly defined for spouses, but not for others. Although you and your partner may have a long-term relationship, your possessions can become a serious issue if you drift apart, become ill, or die. A plan for the care and keeping of your assets is essential to avoid the pitfalls that can upset your lives. If you have a car, bank account, savings or retirement funds, or a home, you have assets to plan for. What will happen to them if something happens to you or your partner?
Do you have children?
Many in the LGBT community have children from a previous or current relationship. If they are minors (under age 18 in California), they are usually under the legal control of one or both parents. But what happens if a parent becomes incapacitated or dies? That is where planning is essential to the child’s welfare. Care of children can’t be transferred to just anyone. A legal guardian will be required, and if there are no other plans in place, the state will appoint one and maintain jurisdiction until the children reach adulthood. It is always possible that the guardian will not be one that the parent would choose. Planning ahead can make the process predictable and greatly reduce the stress on the children.
Do you own a home?
If you own or are buying a house, it is an asset that is part of your estate. What will happen to that house if you become incapacitated or die? It all depends on how the property is titled on the deed. If you own it alone, you can create a Will that gives the house to a partner, a spouse, or another person if you die. The Will must be probated in court, and it may take a year or more to actually transfer the property to the beneficiary. As a better option, you can create a Trust, and transfer the property into the name of the Trust. Your Trust names who will manage the property if you become incapacitated, and who will inherit the property when you die. The Trust does not need to be probated in court.
What if you own the house jointly with a partner, and you aren’t married? There are several serious problems with this strategy. What happens if one of you becomes incapacitated and you need to sell the house? A joint tenant has no right to act alone on any house issues. What happens if one of you has a tax problem, or is in an accident, and a lien is placed on the house? What is the tax bite if your partner dies and you now own the whole house? There are much better ways of holding title to property, and a little planning will avoid lots of pitfalls.
Are you covered for illness or incapacity?
I am not a medical professional, so my concern with these issues is not about your health care plan, but with the plan for care of your possessions when something happens to you. And I say “when” very seriously. As our population ages, a majority of us will, at some point, require assisted living, long-term care or hospice. What happens to your estate when you can no longer manage it? Who will pay your bills, keep up your house or sell it, make sure your finances are in order? If you have a Will, it won’t help at all. A Will is effective only when you die. If you are a single person, or partners who are unmarried or registered, you need to plan very carefully for your own protection.
A Durable Power of Attorney will provide for a personal agent of your choosing to handle financial matters for you. An Advance Health Care Directive will give your instructions to your agent for handling medical and end-of-life issues with the medical professionals who care for you. A Trust will provide the instructions for handling all of your affairs when you are incapacitated, and after you die.
I have never been able to predict the future, so good estate planning is the very best I can do to help you keep your life plans on track.