Thursday, July 28, 2016

You Are Never Too Old to Donate Organs

As many people enter their retirement years, they begin to think about the legacy they will leave. People often use estate plans as a vehicle to create their legacies, but they might be overlooking something else that they can do.

It is almost a universal human trait to want to be remembered by others after we die. Some people are in a position to be remembered by millions, if not billions of people. Most of us, however, are likely to only be remembered by those who knew us in life.

How we are remembered is what we call our “legacy” and it is something many older Americans worry about. The most common way to leave a good legacy is with a well-thought out estate plan that provides for our families. Some people include charitable donations in their estate plan, which helps out good causes and increases the donor’s legacy.

Another way to leave a legacy is though organ donation.

Although organ donation is not always thought about in terms of leaving a legacy, it is very much doing so. The person who receives the donation and their loved ones will certainly remember the donor and think kindly of them even though they probably never knew the donor personally. However, many senior citizens who might consider being organ donors think they are too old to do so.

A recent case in Scotland demonstrates that is untrue.

As MSN reported, a 107-year-old woman in Scotland who recently passed away donated and her corneas were used successfully in a transplant.

The article’s title was “107-year-old becomes Scotland's oldest organ donor .”

You are never too old to donate organs, so if you are considering being a post-death organ donor, do not let advanced age stop you from signing up.

If you have questions about setting up an estate plan, please visit our website at www.OCElderLaw.com, or contact on of our Estate Planning Attorneys in Orange County at 714-525-4600, or our Elder Law Attorneys in Corona at 951-264-5732 for a private consultation.


Reference: MSN (July 6, 2016) “107-year-old becomes Scotland's oldest organ donor .”

Friday, July 22, 2016

Community Property and Your Estate Plan

If you are considering retiring to a state with community property laws, you should consider how your estate plan could be affected.

The main difference between community property states and other states is in how marital assets are considered to be legally owned. In a community property state, everything acquired during a marriage is considered to be equally owned by the husband and wife except for any inheritances solely made to one of them. Property acquired before the marriage is not community property.

This is different from other states where spouses can continue to acquire separate property after marriage.

As Barron's Penta Daily discussed in "How Community Property States Are Different," this has implications for estate plans, such as:
·         
Capital Gains – Community property states have a benefit for surviving spouses because the spouse receives a step-up basis on an entire home, for example, instead of only half the value of the home in other states.
·         Gifts – If one spouse gives a gift of community property without the permission of the other, the spouse who did not make the gift can revoke it later.
·         Life Insurance Trusts – Funding a life insurance trust for the benefit of a spouse needs to be done from non-community property or the entire purpose of the trust will be defeated.
If you live in a community property state, or are considering retiring to one, then contact a qualified estate planning attorney to learn the legal implications.


Reference: Barron's Penta Daily (June 28, 2016) "How Community Property States Are Different"

Unhappy in Retirement

A recent study revealed that more Americans than ever are unhappy or dissatisfied in retirement. If you are one of them, getting your affairs in order might help your security and satisfaction.

When working people think about retirement, they normally look forward to it. After all, retirement is supposed to be the reward for years of long work. Once retired, retirees no longer have to pay attention to a work schedule. They can do what they want when they want to do it.

It sounds great, right? However, according to a recent study discussed by Trust Advisor in "More People Are Unhappy In Retirement Than Ever Before," not everyone is happy and satisfied in retirement. That is somewhat to be expected.

Life is complicated enough. No longer "having to work" is not a miracle cure that can make everyone happy. It seems today that a greater percentage of people are unhappy and dissatisfied in retirement than in previous decades.

The reason for the increase is not exactly known. It has been suggested that more retirees are financially insecure than in previous generations. Others say it might be the result of more people having unreasonable expectations about retirement or merely a generational shift as Baby Boomers retire in greater numbers.

While happiness can be very elusive, satisfaction can be less so. For most people there is a certain level of satisfaction in knowing their affairs are in order in case there is an emergency. Thus, getting advanced medical directives and a general durable power of attorney will help with retirees' satisfaction levels.

Getting a complete estate plan should help as well because there is also satisfaction in knowing that family will be taken care of should anything untoward happen to you. If you’re in the market for an estate planning attorney in Orange County, call OC Elder Law today! (800) 220-4205


Reference: Trust Advisor (July 1, 2016) "More People Are Unhappy In Retirement Than Ever Before"

Friday, July 15, 2016

Media Denied Hearing in Prince Case

The judge overseeing the probate case concerning Prince's estate has denied a request from several media companies to be heard in the case. However, questions about media access to the case have not been definitively answered.

The issue of having cameras in the courtroom has always been a controversial matter. In determining whether to allow them, the judges have to balance the public's right to know, the media's First Amendment rights and the parties' rights to privacy. The public has grown used to television cameras in many high profile criminal cases.

However, television cameras in a high profile estate case are an entirely different matter. This balancing act has been thrust into the limelight by the death of Prince.

Previously, in the probate case involving his estate, the judge barred cameras, audio recordings and sketch artists. News organizations have sought to intervene in the matter to gain access, but the judge recently declined their request to be heard for the time being and allowed that he might schedule a hearing on it later.

The USA Today reported on this development in "Prince estate judge: No cameras at Monday hearing."

Prince was notorious for being extremely private about his personal life so it can be surmised that he would not want the media and television cameras near legal proceedings concerning his estate. Nevertheless, given the fact Prince did not have an estate plan his estate must go through the probate process, which is open to the public by default.

As an estate planning attorney in Orange County, I can tell you that this drawn out process could have been easily avoided. If the musician had taken the time to meet with an estate planning attorney to prepare an estate plan that avoided probate, then he could have distributed his estimated $300 million fortune in a way that preserved his privacy.


Reference: USA Today (June 25, 2016) "Prince estate judge: No cameras at Monday hearing."

Friday, July 8, 2016

State Sues Life Insurance Companies

Lawsuits from the Minnesota Attorney General should serve as an important reminder to anyone who has a life insurance policy as part of their estate plan.

Life insurance policies play a pivotal role in many estate plans. They are often used to provide needed cash to family members to bridge the gap between when the policy holder passes away and when the estate is settled. They can also be used to help equalize estate distributions between heirs when other assets are difficult to divide.

What if the life insurance company does not pay beneficiaries? In that case the goals of the estate plan are not met. It happens more than most people think.

In fact, this happens so often that the state of Minnesota has sued several life insurance companies and recovered approximately $200 million as CBS Minnesota reports in "State Suing Life Insurance Companies For Not Paying Beneficiaries."

The biggest source of the problem? Beneficiaries of the life insurance policies do not know that they are life insurance beneficiaries. As a result, they do not file a claim.

Even if the companies know that the policy holder has passed away, they do not seek out the beneficiary and pay on the policy. In most cases they are not legally required to do so. They can keep the money and use it for their own purposes until a claim is filed.

The lesson to be learned from this is that when life insurance is a part of your estate plan, then you need to ensure that the beneficiaries are aware of the policy and know to file a claim when you pass away. You do not have to tell them before you pass away, but someone reliable should know at least where to find your policy documents at the appropriate time.

If you need an estate planning attorney in Orange County, please visit our website at www.OCElderLaw.com, or call us at 714-525-4600. You can also visit us at our Corona Estate Planning attorney’s office, located at 1185 Magnolia Avenue in Corona, or call 951-264-5732. We can walk you through all the details of setting up your estate plan and making sure your life insurance benefits will be well planned out.


Reference: CBS Minnesota (May 18, 2016) "State Suing Life Insurance Companies For Not Paying Beneficiaries."