Friday, April 9, 2010
Advice for Assuming Control of Aging Parents Finances
Convincing senior parents to turn over management
of their bank accounts can be more challenging
than taking away their car keys. After all, Mom and Dad
have been role models on the importance of saving
money and investing. Their repeated advice: Pay your
bills as soon as they arrive, but check them for accuracy.
Anything left over after you pay your living expenses
goes into savings accounts or conservative investments.
Bounced Checks, Spendthrift Behavior
But now, you may see some serious red
flags in your parents’ fiscal behavior. They don’t
seem to be living up to their own sage advice.
The “every penny counts” mother mentions bounced
checks and overdraft fees. Her electricity was shut off
because she forgot to pay the bill for two months. A
review of her checkbook shows that she mistakenly
paid the same insurance bill twice.
The historically frugal father has uncharacteristically
paid $2,500 to sweepstakes entries over the last year
and written six $100 checks to a TV evangelist – the
one recently arrested for fraud. It’s scary, parents might
make a devastating financial move and lose everything.
Start With a Compromise
If your parents are reluctant to cede control,
suggest starting with the “unofficial” role of financial
monitor. The first step is to set up online account
monitoring. Gradually, the adult child can move into the
more official role of money manager as a parent gets
comfortable with sharing control.
A more formal step is to enlist the help of an estate
planning attorney to draft a Durable Financial Power
of Attorney. This legal document allows a loved one
to handle a person’s finances when he or she no
longer can. It can be written to go into effect
immediately or upon a doctor’s certification that the
parent is incapacitated.
Options for Outside Help
Another solution for some families is to hire a
licensed and bonded private fiduciary to pay the bills.
There is also a growing body of professionals who
help seniors without any family available to help, or
whose loved ones are overwhelmed by the prospect
of dealing with a senior’s financial problems.
Most large cities have a Council On Aging. They
have bonded representatives who visit the elderly at
home and are able to assist in financial matters.
There are a variety of strategies in handling a senior
parent’s finances.
As always, we hope this article has helped you. If you have
a specific case or concern, please contact Stephen Lacey to
set up an appointment.
To contact Stephen Lacey call
(321) 984-2700.
Visit our website: www.mjlandl.com
Friday, March 26, 2010
When Does Someone Need To Move From Assisted Living to Nursing Home Care?
- The option of physical therapy and exercise. Can her strength be regained with the appropriate guidance and strength training?
- Outside assistance. Can you afford and will the facility allow an in-home care agency to provide assistance in her room? Are you or other family/friends able to intervene more and see her on a more frequent basis?
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Creating An Estate Plan or Updating One
Without log-in information, survivors usually need to go to court for legal authority to gain account access. The process varies from state to state; it doesn’t always require a lawyer but it always takes time. In addition, the process can involve the heir approaching the individual on line companies to heed her authority - a task that can be very frustrating. Many married couples today already face this issue when trying to get a simple balance on a credit card that is only in one spouse name. Companies today are reluctant to release any information at all, to avoid potential litigation for personal information violations.
Try contacting customer service and telling them, you’ve been appointed as your late brother’s administrator. Then ask them for his user ID and password. Eventually, of course, this type of problem is solved when you can reach a real human being who doesn’t act like this is the first out within every institution.
The process can be even more complicated if someone is incapacitated rather than dies. If there’s no Power of Attorney, then you MUST have a guardian or conservator appointed to have access to these records. Furthermore, some companies won’t release any information without a specific court order.
The time to gather all of this information can be lengthy and the costs associated with it, can be more than most families expect. It is definitely an area that can be avoided if you plan for it in your estate plan or be sure to update your existing plan with all of your user names and passwords.
For more information regarding estate planning and wills, please visit our website at www.mjlandl.com
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
No Estate Tax in 2010, But Much Uncertainty
INDIVIDUAL CONSULTATIONS
Attorney Stephen J. Lacey is available to meet one-on-one with you or in a small family setting, if desired. Call today for appointment - 321-984-2700
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Interesting Article
After an American soldier died in Iraq five years ago, his father wanted to save copies of his son's e-mails sent through a Yahoo account. But the Internet company's privacy policy allowed access by only the soldier, triggering a legal fight.
The case highlights a growing discussion concerning what happens when the owner of a password-protected online account dies. To whom does the account belong? Can digital assets be passed on to heirs?
"If you use a computer, you need to have an estate plan that deals with digital assets and paperless transactions," said Lawrence H. Heller, an estate lawyer in Santa Monica, Calif. "People need to think about how to give their heirs access to information that may be stored online, but without the risk of unauthorized access."
Many important documents and personal treasures once kept in file cabinets and safe-deposit boxes are now stored electronically. Photographs, videos, music, letters and book manuscripts that might have monetary value -- or be priceless to loved ones -- often are saved exclusively on computer drives.
Legal disputes involving digital assets are relatively rare, but as the computer-literate population ages, after-death lawsuits are likely to become more common. "What we are trying to do is anticipate and avoid the problem," Heller said.
Until now, estate planning has primarily focused on tangible assets such as real estate, autos and jewelry and intangible assets such as stocks and bonds.
In exceptional cases, artists and musicians face issues involving copyright, trademark or patent law. But now, anyone who owns a computer could end up dealing with those issues, too.
"If I have created something in the digital universe, it's not free game. I may have a hard time protecting it, but I own it," said Steve Seel, an estate and trust lawyer in Pittsburgh.
Sometimes, heirs don't even know these things exist. As more companies move away from paper, online bank accounts, investment accounts, insurance polices, time shares and frequent-flier miles might become trickier to locate and access if someone dies without telling heirs of their existence.
According to a recent study by HSBC Direct, 49 percent of the online population conducts most of its banking via the Internet.
Meanwhile Internet blogs, as well as MySpace, e-mail and Facebook accounts, could be owned by an even greater percentage of the population.
In a growing number of cases, checking a deceased person's computer or other digital devices is becoming a crucial step in executing an estate.
Executors of estates often get special privileges giving them access to most assets. But privacy laws might prevent Internet companies from releasing username and password information to executors.
If a digital asset is stored on someone else's server, ownership becomes especially complicated. Yahoo mail, for example, has a provision in its user agreement that gives the account owner no right to transfer the ownership. All rights are terminated with the owner's death, and all content can be deleted.
The rules were tested in the high-profile case involving the father of Lance Cpl. Justin Ellsworth, a combat engineer with the Marine Corps who died in Iraq in November 2004. The two men were in constant e-mail contact during the deployment, and when the son died, the father wanted the e-mails from his son's account for sentimental reasons.
But the son had changed his password a few weeks before his death and had not shared it with his dad, who lives in Detroit. It took a five-month legal case to work out an arrangement to release copies of the e-mails.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Asset Protection Seminar
Presented by
Stephen J. Lacey, Esq.
McClelland, Jones, Lyons, Lacey & Williams, LLC
1901 S. Harbor City Blvd, Ste. 500 Melbourne, FL 32901
Workshop presented in the law office conference room
Wednesday, December 9th (10:30 am to noon)
There is no charge. But since space is limited, reservations are required. (So R.S.V.P. A.S.A.P.!)
Please call (321) 984-2700 for reservations or email slacey@mjlandl.com.