Estate planning often focuses on taxes at the federal level and often overlooks issues that occur at the state level. For anyone desiring to undertake comprehensive estate planning, it’s important to understand the impact that the taxes imposed by the individual’s state of residence have on the plan as well as the character and type of assets allowed by the state. Estate Planning is complex and requires an expert in these matters to advise clients properly. Read on to learn more.
Estate Planning
What Bruce Willis Can Teach Us About Incapacity Planning
When Bruce Willis announced his retirement from acting because of aphasia, it sent shockwaves through Hollywood and across the country. Just a few weeks ago, Bruce’s family indicated that the disease had progressed to frontotemporal dementia highlighting the importance of incapacity planning. While Estate Planning typically focuses on planning for what happens at death, a comprehensive Estate Plan includes provisions regarding what happens during life should an individual become incapacitated. Read on to learn more.
National Healthcare Decisions Day: Why Having a Healthcare Directive is Crucial
April 16th is National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD), and is a reminder of the importance of healthcare planning and the need for an advance healthcare directive. Planning ahead and communicating our healthcare preferences allows us to take control of our healthcare needs and ensure that our wishes are honored, even in end-of-life care.
What is an Advance Healthcare Directive?
An Advance Healthcare Directive (“AHCD”) is a legal document that specifies your healthcare wishes. It allows you to choose an agent to make decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated. An AHCD also allows you to make end-of-life choices and specify whether or not you want to donate your organs.
Why is it Important to Have a Healthcare Directive?
If you become incapacitated and don’t have an AHCD, no one can make healthcare decisions for you. This can cause confusion, stress, and conflict among family members and could result in expensive court battles. By having a healthcare directive, you can ensure that your wishes are respected and that your loved ones can make decisions on your behalf.
Only One in Three Americans Have an Advance HealthCare Directive
Why do we need a National Healthcare Decisions Day? Because less than one-third of all Americans over the age of 18 have completed this vital document.
People avoid talking about death and incapacity like the plague. Jerry Seinfeld had a joke about people being more afraid of public speaking than death: They’d rather be the person in the coffin than the one giving the eulogy. The same is true for planning. Most people avoid having a few ‘challenging’ conversations about natural parts of our life cycles despite knowing it will create an expensive, chaotic mess for their loved ones. Rationally it is absurd, but we are rarely rational about such emotionally charged topics. That is, until we must face them.
Not Even Hospitals Are Encouraging People to Complete Directives
I was recently contacted by a couple because one was diagnosed with cancer. They had talked for years about getting a plan in place (“ever since our 14-year-old was born”), but it took this shock to get them to finally act.
In our initial conversation, I learned they did not have AHCDs. (It’s worth noting that I don’t tell everyone I meet that they should have an estate plan, but I do tell just about anyone who will listen that he or she needs to have an AHCD – even the woman who helped me at the DMV!)
Time was of the essence for this couple, so I offered a link to our website where they could download and complete their directive immediately. We offer a few different versions including the state’s statutory version and a few from local hospitals. I asked if he was being treated at a local hospital because we may offer their version, and indeed he was a patient at one of the country’s premier medical centers. That is, a leading medical center that failed to mention completing an AHCD.
Why Are Health Care Directives So Rare?
This particular medical group even offers their own branded version, and still, no one they met with –from reception and scheduling through nurses and physicians — thought to bring it up? If it doesn’t come up in a situation like this, when will it come up?
We don’t like to talk about or even think about our own mortality – it’s almost forbidden in our society. So, it stands to reason that the document available to help us plan for end-of-life situations will also be taboo.
But are there more personal, intimate decisions you will ever make than your end-of-life decisions? Isn’t this the one time in your life you absolutely want to be heard and have your wishes respected? Medical science has extended life capabilities far beyond what our own bodies can provide, but is that living? That’s up to you. Quality of life is in the eye of the beholder. Can you think of anything that would give you more peace of mind outside of knowing you will be dying with dignity?
Empowering Our Loved Ones
Planning for our future healthcare needs not only gives us peace of mind but also empowers our loved ones to make informed decisions on our behalf. By communicating our wishes and designating someone to make medical decisions on our behalf, we give our loved ones the tools to advocate for us and ensure that our wishes are respected. And, if we’ve talked to our loved ones and caregivers, we also make sure that everyone is on the same page — our page. These are emotional times for families, and if they are together on a united front, these dark days can bring them closer together rather than into life-long family feuds.
The Conversation Project
One of the ways to approach these difficult conversations is through The Conversation Project, an initiative that provides resources and tools to help people have important discussions about their healthcare wishes. As proud Champions of The Conversation Project, we share their Conversation Starter Guide with all our clients. It is a tool that can help you communicate your wishes to loved ones, caregivers, and healthcare providers.
Making Informed Decisions
National Healthcare Decisions Day is a reminder that we all have the right to make informed decisions about our healthcare. By planning ahead and communicating our wishes, we take control of our healthcare needs and ensure that our wishes are heard. It’s never too early or too late to start planning for the future, and National Healthcare Decisions Day is the perfect time to take that first step.
Planning Your Virtual Afterlife: What Happens to Your Social Media Accounts After You’re Gone?
In today’s digital age, our lives are increasingly lived online. We share our thoughts, photos, and experiences with friends and followers on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. But what happens to these accounts after we pass away? Do they simply disappear, or do they live on forever?
In this blog post, we’ll explore the topic of virtual afterlife and what you can do to plan for the future of your social media accounts.
Why Does Virtual Afterlife Matter?
While it may seem trivial to some, our social media accounts can hold a significant amount of personal information and memories. They may contain photos of loved ones, important life events, and conversations with friends and family. Losing access to these accounts can be devastating for those left behind.
In addition, our social media accounts can continue to exist long after we pass away, potentially causing confusion or even distress for those who stumble upon them. Imagine receiving notifications about job anniversaries on LinkedIn, birthday reminders on Facebook, or friend requests from a deceased loved one? Dealing with the emotional tsunami of losing a loved one is one of the most difficult things we have to do in our lives, and the last thing we need is some online algorithm adding to the grief.
What Happens to Social Media Accounts When We Die?
The policies regarding social media accounts after death vary from platform to platform. Some platforms, such as Facebook, allow for accounts to be memorialized, which means that the account remains visible but can no longer be updated. Other platforms, such as Twitter, require a court order to access or delete the account of a deceased user.
In general, social media companies require proof of death before taking any action on an account. This may require a death certificate or other legal documentation.
Planning Your Virtual Afterlife
To ensure that your social media accounts are handled according to your wishes after you pass away, it’s important to plan ahead. (Making sure everything you own is handled according to your wishes if you’re incapacitated or after you pass away requires planning ahead – just a reminder from your friendly neighborhood estate planning attorney!) Here are some steps you can take:
- Make a list of all your social media accounts and login information. Keep this information in a secure location that your loved ones can access after you pass away.
- If you prefer to use digital tools instead of pen and paper, some password management software programs do allow you to designate someone to access your account in the event of your death or incapacity.
- Some offer a feature called “Emergency Access” or “Emergency Contact” which allows you to designate one or more trusted contacts who can access your account in case of emergency. You can choose to give them immediate access, or to wait for a predetermined period of time before granting them access.
- It’s important to note that not all password management software programs offer this feature, and the process for designating someone to access your account can vary depending on the software. And it should go without saying, it’s important to ensure that the designated person is trustworthy and capable of managing your digital assets according to your wishes.
- Decide what you want to happen to your social media accounts after you pass away. Do you want them to be deleted, memorialized, or left as-is? Make your wishes known to your digital executor and loved ones.
- Work with an estate planning attorney who not only understands the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, but actively includes it in all pertinent planning documents. (We do! But I rarely see it in others’ trust instruments).
Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act
The Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA – “roo-FA-dah”) is a law that addresses the issue of how to manage and access digital assets after an individual passes away or becomes incapacitated (Note: California’s RUFADAA does not provide guidance for incapacity. While it allows for RUFADAA powers to be valid in Powers of Attorney, when listing documents that may be required by service providers, it lists death certificates but not physician’s determination of incapacity).
Digital assets can include anything from social media accounts and email addresses to online banking and investment accounts. Without clear legal guidelines in place, it can be difficult for fiduciaries, such as executors, trustees, and agents, to access and manage these assets on behalf of the account holder.
Under RUFADAA, account holders can provide instructions for how they want their digital assets to be managed after they pass away or become incapacitated. Users may designate in their estate planning documents a person who is authorized to manage their digital assets in the event of their death. The law also allows for online tools provided by the service providers to be used to manage digital assets.
Fiduciaries who are granted access to digital assets under RUFADAA must follow certain guidelines. They are required to act in the best interest of the account holder and are held to the same standard of care as other fiduciaries. They must also follow any instructions or limitations that the account holder has put in place.
One of the key features of RUFADAA is that it provides a way for fiduciaries to access digital assets without violating federal privacy laws. Service providers are required to comply with the law and allow access to fiduciaries when appropriate. This helps to ensure digital assets are managed in a way that is consistent with the account holder’s wishes and protects their privacy.
Conclusion
Our lives are increasingly lived online, and it’s important to consider what will happen to our digital assets after we pass away. By planning ahead and taking the necessary steps to manage our social media accounts, we can ensure that our virtual afterlife is handled according to our wishes.
To learn more, or to discuss your specific estate planning options, give us a call today or contact us through our website.
What Happens When You Don’t Trust Your Trustee – Part I
Trusts have become ubiquitous parts of estate plans. Many Estate Plans use revocable trusts as the foundation for the plan while others include irrevocable trusts. Regardless of the planning reason, every trust needs a trustee. The grantor may name the beneficiary as trustee, or the grantor may name another individual or entity as trustee, creating a natural tension between the beneficiary and trustee. If the tension becomes too great, the beneficiary may seek to have the trustee removed. As expected, the avenues for removal depend upon the trust instrument itself, as well as any statutory remedies available. Read on to learn more.
