According to the most recent U.S. Census, approximately 36 million Americans and 27 percent of adults age 60 and older live alone in the U.S. However, estate planning discussions often overlook the unique needs of solo agers without spouses or children. These individuals have distinct priorities for their financial goals, estate plans, and advanced care plans.
With his extensive experience in estate planning for solo agers in Palm Springs and the surrounding area, Attorney Christopher Heritage is committed to understanding your unique estate planning goals. Whether you're looking to update your estate plan or start from scratch, he is dedicated to helping you achieve your objectives.
Estate Planning Basics for Solo Agers
For solo agers who live alone, safety, healthcare, and long-term care planning are essential components of comprehensive estate plans. Discussing your future with an estate planning attorney and financial advisor can help solo agers ensure they’re protected and financially prepared as they age. There are several basic estate planning documents those living alone should consider creating.
Your attorney can help you decide whether a trust or will-based estate plan is your best option. Many solo agers create a revocable living trust to clarify what will happen to the assets in your estate if you become incapacitated or pass away. You may benefit from creating a “pour-over will” to clarify how your non-trust assets should be distributed after you pass away.
Solo agers should have a valid, durable power of attorney designating a person you trust, your agent, to make decisions for you if you cannot do so independently because of incapacity. Finally, California estate planners should have an advance healthcare directive stating your end-of-life wishes. In your advance directive, you can appoint a person you trust as your healthcare agent who will have the legal authority to make medical decisions for you if you are unable to do so on your own.
Choosing Trustees as a Solo Ager
Trustees have a fiduciary duty to manage the assets in your trust for your beneficiaries. As a solo ager, thinking carefully about who you’d like to act as your trustee is crucial. You can choose a friend, family member, or a professional trustee to manage your affairs. Some estate planners choose a family member and a professional trustee who can work together to make decisions.
Similarly, you can appoint a friend, family member, or professional to act as your durable power of attorney and healthcare power of attorney. Appointing an alternate power of attorney is important should your first choice be unable or unwilling to act as your agent.
Financial Planning Strategies for Solo Agers
As a solo ager, your life circumstances necessitate a focused approach to financial planning. Saving, investing, and strategic spending can help you build the financial resources needed to meet your lifetime spending goals. With the right financial plan, you can retire comfortably and enjoy the lifestyle you desire in your retirement years.
Risk-Management Strategies for Solo Agers
In addition to building and growing wealth, solo agers should focus on reducing financial and legal risks. Healthcare and long-term care costs can eat away at savings, causing resources to dwindle and negatively impacting quality of life.
An effective estate plan should reduce healthcare costs while providing the healthcare you need to remain mobile and independent for as long as possible. An experienced estate planning attorney can help you implement strategies to minimize the risk of disability, liability, premature death, injury, loss of agency, and incapacity later in life.
The Importance of Social Security and Medicare Benefit Elections
Social Security and Medicare are important social benefit programs that provide aging individuals with resources and protection against sickness and injuries. Deciding when to elect to take these benefits is particularly important for solo agers. Delaying the election of the Social Security retirement benefit can protect against superannuation. Solo agers who delay benefits until age 70 can earn delayed retirement credits, which increase the benefit by about 8 percent every year, and receive increased payments at a higher rate until their death.
Choosing a healthcare plan is also critically important for solo agers. Choosing a traditional Medicare plan or a Medicare Advantage Plan can significantly impact overall healthcare costs. Although traditional plans provide more flexibility in terms of your choice of doctors, the premiums are costlier. Medicare Advantage plans have lower premiums but may have out-of-pocket annual maximums. Your health history and financial resources are important factors when deciding on a Medicare plan.
Long-Term Care Planning
Solo agers don’t have the default help of adult children to support them financially and care for their needs later in life. Without a spouse or children to provide financial and caregiving services, developing a plan for long-term care is especially important for solo agers. Selecting a residential housing option can impact your happiness, health, and long-term safety.
Many residential living facilities offer different levels of care, including around-the-clock nursing care. Paying for a residential home or long-term care facility is an essential aspect of estate planning for solo agers who may be unable to live with family or friends. An irrevocable trust can help you become eligible for Medicaid benefits and access long-term care benefits. Contact an Estate Planning Attorney in California
For solo agers, creating a comprehensive estate plan is of utmost importance. At Heritage Legal, we understand that a one-size-fits-all approach may not meet your unique needs and priorities. That's why we provide estate planning services tailored to your circumstances, ensuring that your goals are met.
If you are a solo ager interested in protecting yourself with an estate plan, don’t hesitate to contact Heritage Legal to schedule a complimentary, no-obligation case evaluation. We represent clients in Palm Springs and throughout Southern California.
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