Legacy Assurance Plan: protecting your children

Friday, January 26, 2018

How Your Estate Plan Can Protect Those that Matter to You Most

Summary: Sometimes, the people who matter to you most may not always be the people with whom you share a biological or legal relationship. This is but one of many definite reasons why an estate plan is necessary. With your properly prepared and executed estate plan, you can make sure that you have control over your legacy and that, when you die, your wealth goes to the people you want to have it, and not to those who don’t.

If you’ve ever taken the time peruse the birthday card aisle at a greeting card store, you will notice a wide array of recipients of birthday well-wishes. There are parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews. You may also, if you look carefully, notice cards addressed to someone who is “like a daughter to me” or “like a son to me.” These cards acknowledge that real life can be somewhat complicated and come with gray areas.

To make sure than your estate planning goals do not get tripped up “gray areas,” set up a complete estate plan right away. With your estate plan in place, you make certain that those whom you love will be remembered, regardless of the legal relationship you and that person do or do not share. Generally, the only restrictions that the law imposes, when it comes to setting up the distribution provisions in your estate plan, relate to disinheriting your spouse (which is almost always forbidden.)

In other words, if for example, you have an estranged relationship with your biological children, but you have a step-daughter who has always been “like a daughter” to you, or a neighbor’s son who has always been “like a son” to you, you can construct your plan to reflect these relationships. The law allows you to give distributions, even large distributions, to non-relatives. You can even do so at the same time as you disinherit close biological relatives.

If you decide that your estate planning goals include disinheriting close biological relatives like children, then it is very important to make sure that the language in your plan documents is constructed carefully. Your plan should explicitly state that you are leaving that child or other relative nothing, or $1, or whatever sum you want. If you do not mention that person at all in your plan, then that could create an opportunity for that relative, after your death, to go to court and convince a judge that you accidentally left him/her out of your plan and that the judge should award him/her the same portion of your estate as he/she would have received if you had made no estate plan at all.

Some states allow for something called “equitable adoption,” where someone who was not legally adopted will be considered to have been adopted by a non-parent. For example, this might include a step-parent who attempted to adopt a step-child, but was thwarted by forces outside the step-parent’s control (like, for example, an inability to locate a long-lost biological father.) If you are deemed to be equitably adopted, then you become the legal child of that person. Several states, however, do not recognize the concept of equitable adoption. Even those states that do recognize it only extend rights between the adopted child and adopted parent. (In other words, even if you were equitably adopted by your step-father, that generally doesn’t give you the right to inherit from his parents’ intestate estates.)

All of these legal rules discussed in the preceding paragraph highlight the fact that such things as equitable adoption can be changeable and uncertain, and it is always best to take control of your legacy and create an estate plan. That way, you know where your wealth will go and that the recipients are the people who mean the most to you.

This article is published by the Legacy Assurance Plan and is intended for general informational purposes only. Some information may not apply to your situation. It does not, nor is it intended, to constitute legal advice. You should consult with an attorney regarding any specific questions about probate, living probate or other estate planning matters. Legacy Assurance Plan is an estate planning services-company and is not a lawyer or law firm and is not engaged in the practice of law. For more information about this and other estate planning matters visit our website at www.legacyassuranceplan.com.

This article written and published by:

Legacy Assurance Plan

8039 Cooper Creek Blvd

University Park, Florida 34201

844.306.5272 (Phone)

info@legacyassuranceplan.com (email)

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Thursday, November 9, 2017

3 Reasons Why Estate Planning Is Very Important for Young People

Summary: There are many reasons why people of any age should get an estate plan. Even young people have certain unique needs that mean they can benefit from having their plans in order. Whether you have minor children, have non-traditional relationships in your life, a desire to leave money to charity or any of a variety of other reasons, chances are you have one or more reasons why you, as a young person, have an immediate need for a plan.

It is once again summertime, which means a time of transition for many young people. Some may have just graduated high school and be headed to college. Others, who have just graduated high school or college, are transitioning into the world of work. Still others may be newlyweds, having followed the old tradition and tied the knot in June.

Whatever new doors are opening, it is important for you as a young person (or as the parent of a young person,) to step back and realize that these changes represent a great time to get an estate plan in order. Some statistical surveys show that more than three-quarters of people under age 36 have no plan. Even though you undoubtedly feel like you have a million things more important than estate planning, that thinking is mistaken. Here is a list of a few of the main reasons why getting a plan now is so important:

· (1) Dealing with incapacitation: Unfortunately, serious medical traumas can hit anyone of any age. If one should strike you, you'll need to be prepared. The way to do that is with what's called "powers of attorney." These two documents (your power of attorney for financial matters and your power of attorney for healthcare decisions) allow you to designate the person that you want to make decisions about your money or, especially, your health and personal matters when you cannot speak for yourself. With no powers of attorney, your family may have to go through a potentially difficult, time-consuming and expensive court procedure known as guardianship.

These documents can be especially important if there are complications between you and your parents, who are often first in line to receive decision-making authority under a guardianship. In one famous 2007 case, an incapacitated man's parents obtained a guardianship over their son (who had suffered a ruptured aneurysm) and denied the incapacitated man's long-term partner visitation because they opposed the couple's same-sex relationship. The partner had to take his case all the way to the state Court of Appeals just to get to see his partner in the hospital. Whether you are in a similar situation to this incapacitated man (such as an LGBT issue or an estrangement from your parents) or have some other element making your personal/family relationships "non-traditional," estate planning is extremely important for you so that you can be in control and have the people you want making your decisions.

· (2) Avoiding intestacy: No young person likes to think about dying, but tragically, some people do die very prematurely. Regardless of your age, if you die with no estate plan in place, whatever assets you own will go through the legal process known as intestacy. Intestacy means that your assets are distributed according to a pre-set plan devised by your state's laws. For an unmarried young person with no children, that often means than 100% of your assets going to your parents. For some young people, this might be an acceptable outcome. For many others, though, their goals might be different. Maybe you have a committed relationship partner to whom you're not married. Maybe you wish to leave part of your estate to a charity. (In either of these circumstances, intestacy would leave them nothing.) Or maybe you have an estranged relationship with your parents. For any of these circumstances (among numerous others) that make your goals something different than "100% of my assets to my parents," then you have a particularly high need for a plan.

· (3) Protecting your children: Unlike many seniors, who often are focused on estate planning, many young have one aspect of their lives that makes them especially in need of planning: their children. If you have minor children, especially if you are a single parent, you need a plan. With an estate plan, you can designate the person you want to care for your child(ren) if you die or become incapacitated. Without this planning (which is contained in your last will and testament,) a judge will have to make this decision with no input from you.