While Social Security isn’t paying out benefits to those 6.5 million, only about 13 are actually receiving benefits, their Social Security numbers are still active and can be used. That can be a problem. A real, live person with an active Social Security number is in danger of identity theft, and report and clear it up when it occurs. A dead person is much less likely to have someone looking out for them when it comes to identity theft.

Social Security numbers are used for multiple financial purposes — everything from verifying employment eligibility to opening bank accounts and maintaining credit scores. That’s on top of their purpose of tracking Social Security eligibility and benefit levels.

Living people whose IDs are stolen can eventually get the problem fixed and also help authorities when their IDs are being misused. As the old adage says, “dead men tell no tales.” With still-active, real Social Security numbers of people who have passed away, it’s a lot easier for scammers to fly under the radar.

But there are things you can do to prevent such abuse. If you’re the executor or next of kin of a person who passed away, be sure that person’s death has been reported to Social Security. You can call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., Mondays through Fridays, to report a death. You can also visit your local Social Security office (locations available here) to report a death in person. Funeral homes are willing to report the death on your behalf, but you would have to provide the funeral home the deceased’s Social Security number.

In addition to taking care of reporting those that have died, take care to protect your own Social Security number. Know the times you actually need to divulge your Social Security number and the times you don’t, and don’t give out your number unless you’re obligated to.

Your employer needs to collect your Social Security number to get your income and tax reporting correct, as do financial institutions like your mortgage bank and brokerage. While you do have to give your Social Security number to those institutions, you should be smart about how you give it out. Additionally, you do have to put your Social Security number on your tax return.

While you do have to divulge your Social Security number to those institutions, be careful in how you share it. For instance, don’t give your Social Security number out if someone claiming to be from some institution calls you and asks you for it. It may be a scam looking to steal your identity.

Despite these issues, the Social Security program is an important one that, among other things, provides a minimum income for retirees. Do what you can to keep your and your loved ones’ information out of the hands of those who’d misuse it. This way it will ensure you get what you’ve earned from Social Security.

Generally, pet estate plans consist of more than who will care for the pet when you are no longer able. Expenses such as food, doggie day care, veterinarian bills / medication and needed home repairs, because of the pet, should also be considered. Those expenses can result in substantial costs over time.

Also, one-in-five of all respondents in the survey said they have financially planned for their pets’ future care:

38% said they added the pet’s future caregiver as a beneficiary to a life insurance policy.

35% added more coverage to their life policies.

-13% recently purchased annuities naming the pet’s caregiver as the beneficiary.

Many pet owners consider their pets as members of their family and many go to great lengths to make their pets’ lives enjoyable as possible. So, not surprisingly, many respondents stated that they would forgo other debt payments to ensure their dogs were taken care of properly.

Yet, most pet owners overlook end-of-life planning. Setting up a trust for a pet or a donation money to a local humane society or pet shelter are just a few of the options available.

A question many people consider before adding a new animal to the family is, “Can we afford it?” The price of an animal from a breeder can be high, into the hundreds and even thousands of dollars. A more affordable option is often available at a local humane society or rescue shelter. Here in New York, you can get an animal that has been thoroughly evaluated, spayed or neutered, and vaccinated – all for about $140. Annual costs of food, veterinarian bills, etc. are equally important to consider before making a pet a part of your family. Sadly, pets are often returned to animal shelters because the pet owners were unable to afford things like veterinarian bills.

Finally, inquire about pet insurance the next time you visit your veterinarian. Many clinics offer reasonable plans and staff members will be able to speak with you about the appropriate option based on the type of pet, breed, age and other criteria. Typically, policies cost as little as $15 a month, which is a huge difference compared to a $1,000 emergency bill. The average policy cost closer to $45 per month.

Simple steps, like the aforementioned examples, will ensure your pets are cared for properly and affordably. If you need help or guidance in developing a care plan for your pets after you pass on, please contact us here at the Law Offices of Jeffrey Weinstein 212-693-3737.

What you could do is set up what they call a pot trust. A pot trust is basically a pot of money from which each of the beneficiaries can request funds. It’s a simple, but you need to be careful if you intend for all of the beneficiaries to be treated the same.

Every beneficiary can dip into the pot of money that’s in that trust and some may get more than another. That’s all well and good if that’s what you intended, but unequal distribution can lead to ugly fights.

As an example, one beneficiary may go to Hunter College and the other might go to NYU. The one going to NYU might use up most of the trust before Hunter even starts college.

That’s where educational devices like a 529 plan come in.” A 529 plan is a tax-advantaged savings plan designed to encourage saving for future education costs. 529 plans, legally known as “qualified tuition plans,” are sponsored by states, state agencies, or educational institutions and are authorized by Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code.”

Since a 529 is designed with education in mind, it is designed to be flexible and to address the changing educational environment. If you need help deciding, please contact us at (212) 693-3737.

Now that valuation doesn’t include attorney’s fees, court costs and other costs associated with settling the estate. But what is known is that it will be worth a fraction of the 80 million.

So, you don’t have 80 million, but what you have worked for you want to pass along to your heirs without the government taking a huge cut, right? That’s where estate planning comes in.

What if you have debt? Creditors can go after that debt and the heirs who you bequeathed your money if the debt hasn’t been dealt with.

How to avoid such hassles? Here’s a list of what you should include in your estate plan to lessen the possible hassles.

• Assign healthcare power of attorney
• Create a will
• Review your beneficiaries for life insurance, investments etc.
• Set up a trust(s)

Reviewing your beneficiaries is important especially if you assigned them years before. As an example, if you remarried you still might have your ex-spouse as a beneficiary and now you want your current spouse to be the beneficiary.

What happens if you get hospitalized and can’t make decision about your health and money? A healthcare proxy or healthcare power of attorney can make sure your wishes are carried out.

Suppose you have a sizable estate, maybe not millions but a nice chunk. How do you keep the government frtom getting their hands on it? You can set up a trust. A trust is managed by a trustee for a beneficiary or beneficiaries you choose. You toss the assets right into the trust and it bypasses probate court and the expenses associated with it.

These are just a few ways to shield your estate from the grabbing government hands. The Law Offices of Jeffrey Weinstein can help you manage your estate. Please call us at (212) 693-3737 for a free consultation.

There’s nothing wrong with saving some dough by drafting your own estate-planning documents. You can find templates for basic wills and such online or in bookstores. But that should be followed with a review of those documents by an expert to insure everything is in order

Massachusetts estate planner Leanna Hamill, told AARP that, “Ninety percent of the online estate planning documents I see don’t do what the people think they’re going to do. I’ve seen people use online documents, documents out of estate-planning books or documents borrowed from friends. But they screw up their estate plan because they don’t understand the legal and technical aspects of the documents.”

Hamill told AARP that she knows of one client who signed a deed transferring his house to a trust but hadn’t properly created the trust. Thus, the deed had no effect. Another client’s confusion over the term “beneficiary” resulted in the immediate transfer of all his property to his children and required him to pay them an annual income, leaving his wife in the cold.

So even though you can do it yourself, err on the safe side and contact a professional like Jeffrey Weinstein 212-693-3737 for a free consultation.

Most Americans don’t keep track of their online assets like Paypal, Facebook, and merchant loyalty reward programs and chances are will forget to include them in their estate plans. By neglecting these things a it can cause hassles for beneficiaries, powers of attorney and executors.

One group of things that people tend not to think of are reward programs like frequent flyer miles. For example, Anthony Bourdain left his unused frequent flyer miles to his estranged wife and they were substantial. We suggest you write down all your digital assets including logins and passwords and store them when only someone you trust knows where they are.

If you find it all too daunting there are businesses popping up that will do it for you. One business is out of Durham, North Carolina called Back Up Your Life which their site says

We help you organize your life’s documents, details, and contingency plans. If you’re ready to be ready, let’s back up your life.

Then there are digital estate services, such as Everplans, which helps her clients by providing a digital archive of everything your loved ones need if you die or get into an accident and can’t communicate.

Among the things Everplans takes care of:

• Wills, Trusts, and insurance policies
• Important accounts and passwords
• Info about your home: bills, vendors, etc.
• Health and medical information
• Advance Directives and DNRs
• Final wishes and funeral preferences

A health care proxy is a way to eliminate confusion among your loved ones and health care providers about your health care wishes should you no longer b able t make those decsions yourself. Hospitals, doctors, and other medical providers must follow the agent’s decisions as if they were your own.

Here are a some common questions and answers about health care proxies:

Who can be your health care agent?

Anyone 18 years of age or older, including a family member or close friend can be your health care proxy.

A doctor can act either as your proxy or your attending doctor, but not as both simultaneously. A number of special rules apply to patients or residents of a nursing home, hospital, or mental health facility who want to name a staff member as an agent.

What powers do health care proxies have?

Your proxy can decide how your wishes apply as your medical condition changes, but he or she is legally obligated to always act in your best interest.

The person you select as your health care agent will have as little or as much authority as you want. You may allow your agent to make all health care decisions or only certain ones.

A health care proxy is different from a living will because it does not require that you know in advance all the decisions that may arise. Nevertheless, you may give your agent instructions that he or she must follow and specify on the form the treatments you do or do not want.

Also, note that you can continue to make health care decisions for yourself as long as you’re able. You can also cancel the authority given to your agent by informing him or her or your health care provider orally or in writing.

To appoint a health care proxy, you and your agent must sign a New York health care proxy form in the presence of two adult witnesses. This is best done in an attorney’s office like the Law Offices of Jeffrey Weinstein. Mr Weinstein is an estate professional and can guide you through what you need to do to insure your wishes are carried out.

Here are some instances when you would need a proxy:

• You are in a coma from an accident or illness.
• You are terminally ill and not expected to recover.
• You have Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia.
• You are under general anesthesia, when something unexpected occurs.
• You are in a persistent vegetative state.
• You suffered from an illness that left you unable to communicate.

Surveys show only 42 percent of U.S. adults currently have estate planning documents such as a will or living trust. For those with kids under 18, it’s even lower, just 36 percent.

People don’t like thinking about death especially their own.That study was conducted in January by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, who asked 1,003 adults whether they currently have estate-planning documents in case of their death, and if not, why not?

Forty-seven percent said, “I just haven’t gotten around to it.” This is not surprising to experts, who say an aversion to end-of-life planning is not only rooted in fear but also procrastination.
Debbi King, author of “The ABC’s of Personal Finance” says, “This is the ‘I’m going to live forever’ theory. No one literally thinks that, but we all want to believe we are going to live until our 80s or 90s so we don’t think we need a will right now. This isn’t true, of course. We all have an expiration date and no one knows exactly when it will be. The best thing you can do for your loved ones is have a will now.”

The Law Offices of Jeffrey Weinstein is here to help you with all your estate planning needs. Call us for a free consultation.

Your liability depends on the nature of your debt. Mortgages and other debt secured by property must be paid, while unsecured debt such as credit cards and student loans, are another matter entirely. Your liability depends very much on the nature of the bill, the type of property and your state’s laws. The following applies to New York State.

If an accounting of your debts exceed the value of your estate, probate may not be the way to go. If there’a not enough money in your estate to pay your creditors, a court will have to make a settlement which is an additional cost to the estate. There are instances where it might be advisable to proceed with probate, but you should obtain experienced counsel before proceeding. The Law Offices of Jeffrey Weinstein can help you navigate this process. Call us for a free consultation. (212) 693-3737.

The first generation, thirty years after China embarked on a course that allowed individuals to accumulate wealth, is statring to die. This dieoff is creating a spike in inheritance disputes that are clogging up the courts and turning families against each other.

The problem has gotten so bad that even the ruling Communist Party is concerned.

“When people die without a will their children scramble for their property, damaging family ties and having a negative effect on society,”

According to the best estimates, only 1% of China’s 220 million seniors have estate plans, The reason is, in China talking about death and writing a will is the same as putting a curse on yourself.

Even the rich and educated often don’t write them.

Hu Xingdou, an economist at the Beijing Institute of Technology was quoted as saying. “China is entering a crucial period. If we don’t find a way to transfer wealth responsibly it will affect social stability.”

To solve this burgeoning problem, the government has looked to local town and villages to create free legal centers for those over 60. One lawyer, Chen Kai, has stepped up and created a charity called the China Will Registration Center which has processed over 40,000 wills in last year.

An article in the People’s Daily said 70% of inheritance cases in Beijing courts stem from the lack of a will. In the cases where a will is challenged, 60% are found to be invalid.

While the situation in the U.S. isn’t quite as bad, it is pretty serious. Experts say almost 60% of people don’t have wills. A we have written here before, depending on the size of your estate, you need at bare minimum, a will. If you need help planning your estate please call us, The Law Offices of Jeffrey Weinstein (212) 693-3737 for a free consultation regarding your estate needs.

New York doesn’t charge inheritance tax, but the estate tax comes with one big provision. Though December 31st of this year there is a $5.5 million exemption which means if the value of the estate is less than $5.5 million, the estate tax is waived.

That tax is in addition to the federal estate tax that hits individual estates worth more than $11,180,000 between gross assets and prior taxable gifts to pay within nine months of the individual’s death. You can get a six-month extension. But chances are you don’t have an estate worth $11 million. Only a few thousand people do.

New York estate property categories

There are only two categories in New York: personal property and real property, Real property is what you probably think it is; land and houses. Personal property is everything else. New York is not a community property state so the surviving spouse doesn’t automatically inherit the deceased’s property.

It does, however have what they call a spousal right of election when deciding on inheritances for spouses. This law states that should a spouse pass away, his or her spouse will receive an “elective share” of $50,000 or one-third of the decedent’s estate. Should a spouse not receive this elective share, he or she has the right to file for it as long as it’s within a six-month window after an executor for the estate has been named.

Importance of a will

If you die with a will in New York things are normally pretty straight forward, but it will still need to go through probate and people can challenge the will. There are ways to avoid probate and the Law Offices of Jeffrey Weinstein can help you avoid probate.

The State entitles surviving spouses who have disinherited them to a piece of their estate. But this is limited to non-probate assets, such as property held in joint tenancy or a jointly held brokerage account paid on death to beneficiaries.

Dying without a will

An administration proceeding is the most common legal event that occurs in New York if you die without a valid will, but you own property. If when you pass away you don’t have a will, your estate consists of either jointly-owned or no real property, and your personal property is worth less than $30,000, you must file as a small estate.

Without a will, if you only own real property, it goes to your nearest relative.

There are other issues involve in estate planning and the law offices of Jeffrey Weinstein (212) 693-3737 can help you navigate the process to lessen the hassle for you and your heirs.

A health car proxy is also known as a health care power of attorney. A living will allows you to designate some to make medical decisions on you behalf if you can’t do it yourself. A living will expresses your wishes for end of life care. You should have both.

Also, in New York State a healthy care power of attorney or your health care agent is a separate from a power of attorney. Your health care agent ─ or agent, for short ─ will have the authority to make life and death decisions for you according to your wishes. Make sure that the person you pick is willing to be your agent.

When you ask someone to be your health care agent, you should think about several things. For example, usually it is best to name one person as your first choice. Then choose at least one back-up agent, in case the first person is not available when needed. Here are some tips on what not to do:

DO NOT choose your health care providers or the owner or operator of a health or residential care facility that is
currently serving you.
DO NOT choose a spouse, employee, or spouse of an employee of your health care providers.
DO NOT choose anyone who professionally evaluates your capacity to make decisions.
DO NOT choose anyone who works for a government agency that is financially responsible for your care (unless that person is a blood relative).
DO NOT choose anyone that a court has already appointed to be your guardian or conservator.
DO NOT choose anyone who already serves as a health care agent for 10 or more people

Who to choose?

Choose someone who will talk with you now about your wishes, who will understand what you want and your priorities about health care, and who will do as you ask faithfully when the time comes.

Choose someone who lives near you or could travel to be with you, if needed.

Choose someone you trust with your life. Choose someone who can handle conflicting
opinions from family members, friends, and medical personnel.

Choose someone who can be a strong advocate for you if a doctor or institution is unresponsive.

If you need guidance for any of these issues, please contact our law offices at (212) 693-3737.

If you follow in her footsteps could mean your loved ones won’t receive the inheritance you intended; disbursements could be long-delayed; ugly family squabbles may ensue; and your estate might owe additional taxes and your financial life will become a public record. If you have a special needs child, he or she may wind up losing some government benefits.

Many Americans don’t have a will or a living trust. A 2017 survey by Caring.com found that only 4 in 10 adults do. The study noted 64 percent of Gen Xers and 42 percent of boomers don’t have a will. The top reason for not taking these easy estate-planning steps, according to survey respondents: they “hadn’t gotten around to it.”

Chances are you don’t have anywhere near Franklin’s reported $80 million. But the actual dollar value isn’t the point. It’s about making sure your loved ones receive what you want the way you want them to.

If you don’t have a will, your estate will wind up in probate court, which means it will become public for anyone to see.

In Franklin’s case, the feds will take a big bite, too. There’s a 40 percent estate tax on an estate’s assets over $11.18 million (the exception to this: money or assets left to charity). If Franklin’s estate truly is worth $80 million, the Internal Revenue Service will snag $27.5 million of that.

Get a will for Pete’s sake. You can do it online but your better off having a real attorney to make sure it is totally legal. If you don’t have a will, your estate will wind up in probate court, which means it will become public for anyone to see and create hassles for your loved ones.

The first thing you need to do is assemble a team. Working with a team of different professionals can help parents manage both the financial and non-financial aspects of providing care. Consider working with the following:

Caregiver: While family often provides care for children with special needs, working with a caregiver can help manage the challenges of providing care and addressing everyday responsibilities. The cost will be commensurate with the level of care needed so determining the need is important when creating a budget for care.

Attorney: An attorney specializing in estate planning can create a special needs trust which will protect assets for a beneficiary with special needs while preserving the ability to qualify for government programs. Having an updated and living will with the names of a guardian and trustee are important in making sure care is provided in accordance with your wishes. A letter of intent can also be a helpful document for caregivers. While it is not legally binding, a letter of intent can provide an outline of important information such as medical history, family history, information about your child’s preferences and your wishes for the type of care they should receive.

Accountant: If you provide care to a child or dependent with special needs, you may qualify to take advantage of certain tax deductions for medical expenses, tax credits, and tax-advantaged accounts. For individuals disabled before the age of 26, a 529A account can provide tax-free growth and use of money to improve health and quality of life.

Financial Advisor: Some financial advisors specialize in working with families that have special needs children or dependents. A financial advisor can help coordinate the services of other professionals on the team while providing specific recommendations on how to fund and protect accounts for disabled dependents.

Utilize government benefits

The Social Security Administration provides two of the largest assistance programs to disabled individuals: Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). The SSI program provides income for individuals with disabilities that have incomes which fall below certain levels and can be available to children who are blind or disabled as early as birth. The SSDI program provides a benefit for those who have work history but have been unable to work for a minimum of one year. Additional programs such as housing assistance, educational and vocational training, and nutrition assistance are also available.

What about New York? In 2017, New York State increased the tax exemption to $5,250,000 which will be in effect until the end of 2018. In 2019 the exemption will increase to over $5.6 million and will increase each year.

A common estate planning trick for married couples is to fund a trust with the maximum amount that can pass free of federal estate tax with the rest of the estate being sheltered by the unlimited marital deduction, resulting in no estate tax due on the death of a spouse. However, New York has decoupled its exemption from the federal exemption, and that forces couples to make a decision. If at death, the he or she wants to put the total amount they are able to pass free of federal estate tax into a trust they will incur a New York estate tax. Or, they can fund the trust with only the amount that can pass free of both New York and federal estate tax in order to not incur any estate tax on the first death. Although decoupling is not new to New York residents, the new laws significantly impact the way New Yorkers decides to structure their estate plan.

With the passage of the new tax law and increased federal estate tax exemption, the cost of decoupling is bigger than ever. An estate plan which directs the full amount that can pass free of federal estate tax into a trust will incur $1,258,800 in New York estate taxes in 2018.

More income can also push you into a higher tax bracket and that can trigger Medicare surcharges.

For more details read this article at Kipplinger.

And what about longevity? Non-smoking 65-year-old women have a 50% chance of reaching the age of 88, while their male counterparts have the same chance of living for 20 more years, says Kipplinger.com

So you should get long-term health care coverage, plan for incapacity and avoid probate and estate plan to lessen your tax burden. Kipplinger suggests, “Estate planning techniques such as credit shelter trusts, giving assets away during your life, or even changing the state in which you live, can help minimize the impact of these taxes.”

The cause, according to experts comes from a 30-year shift of a financial risk shift from government and employers to individuals who now burden a greater share of their financial well-being as government help shrinks.

The Times reports the transfer has come in the form of longer waits for social security benefits, the replacement of pensions from companies to personal 401(k)s and more spending on health care.

The paper based their reporting on a study by the Consumer Bankruptcy Project who explain that older people whose finances are precarious have few places to turn.

“When the costs of aging are off-loaded onto a population that simply does not have access to adequate resources, something has to give,” the study says, “and older Americans turn to what little is left of the social safety net — bankruptcy court.”

Deborah Thorne, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Idaho and an author of the study is quoted saying

“You can manage O.K. until there is a little stumble,” said “It doesn’t even take a big thing.”

The study says “bankruptcy can offer a fresh start for people who need one, but for older Americans it “is too little too late.” By the time they file, their wealth has vanished and they simply do not have enough years to get back on their feet.”

Ailsa Chang of NPR has an interview with Thorne, here.

So, no matter what your will says, the payouts from these products will go to the beneficiaries you designated when you filled out the forms, even if that was decades ago. That’s why it is important that you review beneficiaries regularly and choose contingent beneficiaries as backups, just in case. For example, you probably don’t want any of your estate to go to a former spouse so you need to make sure you update any documents that name them as a beneficiary.

For most people this should be enough, but for for those substantial assets it might be be best to set up a trust(s). By doing this you can exercise more control, minimize taxes and avoid potential challenges by heirs.

The best part of a trust is they don’t go through probate and are not public record, making the settling of an estate less complicated and less prone to legal challenges. Of course you will need to contact an attorney to decide what type of trust is best or you.

The Living Will

A living will is a document that sets forth what to do, and what not to do, if you are incapacitated and unable to make those decisions. This could be because you are in a coma, suffered a debilitating injury, or because you have become seriously mentally incapacitated. Here are some of the most basic considerations to account for in your living will:

• Life-Prolonging Medical Care: Your living will should state whether you want to receive life-prolonging treatments at the end of your life. Typical treatments include blood transfusions, respirators, dialysis, drug treatment and surgery.
• Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) Directives: In conjunction with directives about whether you want to receive life-prolonging medical care, most living wills will state whether or not you want to be resuscitated (CPR) at the end of your life. It is advisable to let your doctor and local hospital know about your DNR decisions and, if you do not want paramedics to try to resuscitate you, to wear a Medic Alert bracelet, anklet or necklace with those instructions.
• Life-Prolonging Food and Water: Often, if someone is comatose or seriously injured, they will only be able to survive through the external administration of food and water. When such treatment is stopped, the patient will die naturally of dehydration and medical professionals will typically apply medication to make such a passing comfortable. You should specify whether you want to receive food and water, under what conditions and timelines you would like to receive such treatment and when to stop it.
• Pain Management: Even if you decide you want to let death occur naturally, without intervening care, it does not mean you have to die with pain. Now commonly called comfort care or palliative care, the goal of such care is to emphasize qualify of life and dignity by keeping the patient comfortable and free of pain until they pass. Specify in your living will if you want doctors to emphasize pain management at the end of your life.

Need a Living Will or Durable Power of Attorney? An Estate Planning Attorney Can Help

Imagine suffering from a massive stroke, resulting in the inability to move your body or even speak, and thus unable to convey your wishes to doctors or other caretakers. That is what living wills and powers of attorney are meant to remedy. But it’s important to get ahead of the curve while you’re healthy and lucid. Learn more about your health care and end-of-life legal options by speaking with an estate planning attorney near you today.

The first is making sue you update your health care documents and will(s). Make sure the people named in those documents are still the people you want named in those documents. Some things to think about are power of attorney, trustees, has your relationship changed with anyone name in your documents?

For example, if your power of attorney has moved across the country you might want to designate a new one closer to home.

Setting up new trusts

You can set up trusts for your kids and grandchildren. While exemptions have changed over the years, the gifting exemption has stayed relatively constant. By setting up these trusts you can avoid gifting taxes.

Sell off assets

You can sell of the family business, real estate and other assets and place the proceeds in a trust. A family business is along term investment so if you sell it off and place the process in a trust it will provide economic security and prevent it from any local state, estate taxes.