San Diego Estate Planning Blog: Creating Legacies

From the Desk of Kristina R. Haymes, Del Mar Trust Attorney, San Diego Estate Planning Group…



Attention, San Diego Families!  The number of issues that can have an adverse effect on your estate plan can be overwhelming…

Even the best laid plans can be rendered null and void by one piece of legislation.

If you have an estate plan in place and you haven’t looked at it in a while, you could have provisions in place that are at best, pointless and at worst, can cost your estate a lot of money.

Regardless of the value of your estate, you should at least have a will and you need to take steps to ensure that your will legally does what you intended.

The best course of action is to maintain an ongoing relationship with a good estate planning attorney to make sure that you’re keeping all your paperwork in order and staying apprised of issues that can hurt you in the long run.

Just to give you an idea of how quickly things can change, here are a few trends you need to keep your eye on:

1. State Tax Increases

The federal government isn’t the only one that’s going broke.  State governments are facing serious funding shortfalls as well.  When they’re coffers get low, the first thing they do is start looking for ways to increase their tax revenue. Expect changes in state income taxes, inheritance taxes, sales taxes, etc. and plan accordingly.  If you plan to move to a state considered a tax haven, make sure your estate plan is modified accordingly.

2. Estate Tax Savings Mechanisms Removed

Expect tax savings estate planning mechanisms that have been used forever to go away.  Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts, Family Limited Partnerships, even Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts could be restricted.  Now is this time to establish and fund trusts before they can be eliminated.  Ask your estate planning attorney to keep you advised of any changes to the viability of these estate planning techniques.

3. Income Tax Planning as a Major Component of Estate Planning

The ways in which individual wealth is held have changed significantly over the last 20 or 30 years.  IRA’s and annuities are becoming more and more popular choices for retirement planning and, eventually, as part of individual estates.  To make the most of these savings vehicles and ensure that you pass as much of your money on to your estate as possible, you need to plan carefully to minimize income tax exposure.

4. An Increase in Probate Litigation

People sue over everything, including estates.  The traditional 2 parents, 2.4 children family is no longer the norm and that means you’re adding stepchildren, half-brothers and sisters, and possibly second or even third spouses into the mix when planning your estate.  These relationships and providing for everyone fairly can be tricky.  Making sure your estate plan is current at all times is vital to keeping your future heirs out of court.

5. Longer Lives Means Less Inheritance

We’re living considerably longer than our parents and that means our retirement savings has to last that much longer.  Chances are, your children could be approaching retirement age by the time they inherit anything from you.  Make sure you’ve planned properly to make your retirement funds last as long as you need them.

Any of these issues can wipe out your well laid plans and hard earned funds.  You need to keep an eye on your estate plan and an eye on the horizon to plan for any changes in estate planning laws.

A good estate planning attorney can advise you not only during the actual drafting of the paperwork but keep you apprised of changes you need to address in your plan in the future.  Hiring an estate planning attorney shouldn’t be a one shot deal.

Call us to schedule your Family Wealth Planning Session today.  Our Family Wealth Planning Session is normally $750, but this month I’ve made space for the next two people who mention this article to have a complete planning session with me at no charge.  Call Sarah Kerr at 858.794.1426 today and mention this article and she will see if we can get you in to see me in April.

Create Legacies Today,

Kristina Haymes

From the desk of San Diego Trust and Estate Attorney, Kristina Haymes…

Americans are living longer than ever, and in San Diego we enjoy a nice climate and relatively relaxed and health conscience lifestyle.  W that increased longevity comes some tough questions.

Making the decision to place a loved one in a nursing home can be one of the hardest decisions you’ll ever make.

The more quickly you have to make that decision, the more room there will be for making a bad decision.

The best thing you can do is plan ahead. Anticipate that, at some point, your loved one will need nursing home care.

To help you make the right decision in choosing a nursing home, here are a few questions to ask yourself ahead of time.

1. 1. What Are The Alternatives To Nursing Home Care?

Let’s face it, no one wants to go into a nursing home.  But often, families don’t see any other option. They’re making the decision to opt for nursing home care at the last minute and in crisis mode.  That’s why pre-planning is so important. Talk to your doctor, local social workers and other elder care professionals to see if there are assisted living or home health care options available to help your loved one.

1. 2. How Do I Find A Good Nursing Home?

Shop around.  Planning ahead gives you the option to go and actually visit nursing homes in your area.  Make unannounced visits and see what’s going on when they’re not expecting you.  And again, talk to your doctor and other local health and social workers and ask them for recommendations.

1. 3. How Do I Get My Loved One Into A Nursing Home?

The admission process for nursing homes can be daunting.  Planning ahead gives you more time to go through the process with less pressure.  Talk to the admissions directors of the nursing homes you’re interested in and get information on the admissions process.  Talk about your financial situation and be willing and ready to negotiate.

1. 4. Who Pays the Nursing Home?

Talk to a good elder care attorney and see if you’re eligible for assistance.  You may qualify for help from Medicare or Medicaid.  This is a particularly tricky area of the law and you need an experienced professional to help you through it, especially if your loved one’s spouse will not be going to a nursing home.  You need to take steps to protect them.  Have your elder care attorney look at all documents before you sign them.

1. 5. How Do I Make Sure My Loved One Will Get Good Care?

Again, planning is crucial.  You need to sit down with the nursing home staff and determine what kind of care your loved one will need and what is available.  Have a proper care plan in place from the very beginning and make sure that care plan is part of the contract for your loved one’s admission to the nursing home.

1. 6. What Are the Nursing Home’s Duties to My Loved One?

During your investigative process, ask each nursing home for a copy of their duties under the Nursing Home Reform Act.  You may be surprised to learn what rights you and your loved one have.  And again, talk to an attorney specializing in elder law to make sure you understand what the nursing home is, and is not, obligated to do.

Making the decision to place a loved one in a nursing home requires serious planning and thought to ensure that you are making the right decision and choosing the right nursing home.  Don’t go it alone.

Talk to an experienced elder care attorney and find out what your options are with regard to financing, government assistance, your loved one’s rights as a nursing home resident and exactly what the nursing home is obligated to do.

We can help you plan and help you ensure that you’re making the right decisions.  Call us to schedule your Family Wealth Planning Session today.   Our Family Wealth Planning Session is normally $750, but this month I’ve made space for the next two people who mention this article to have a complete planning session with me at no charge.  Call San Diego Estate Planners, Haymes Law Group and ask for Sarah Kerr at 858.794.1426.

We would love to assist you.

Create legacies that last today.

Kristina Haymes

Del Mar, Rancho Santa Fe Trust Attorney

Estate Planning in San Diego County

From the desk of San Diego, Del Mar, California Trust and Estate Attorney, Kristina Haymes….

One of my sons is in second grade and the second graders have the wonderful opportunity to do a sharing report each month.  For the month of February he had to choose an American hero and talk about his/her life and what made that person a hero.

My son chose Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  So, I had the opportunity to review some of Dr. King’s history with him while he prepared his report and I couldn’t help myself from reading on about his life and reading some of his speeches.

I love inspirational stories.  I do.  In fact, I find that if I give myself a daily dose of inspiration that it helps me to stay focused on what really matters in life, it inspires me to live at a higher level.  And it’s one thing to take in inspiration but then the question inevitably becomes, what are you going to do with the inspiration?  What action will you take?

Thank God for our world changers and history makers.  Great men and women of passion and conviction who took action to make a change in the world around them.  What courage and determination they demonstrated!  Rosa Parks and Dr. King and thousands of others who took part in the nonviolent protests to begin the process of desegregation.

I love this quote from the Alabama bus boycott speech: “We have sometimes given our white brothers the feeling that we liked the way we were being treated.   But we come here tonight to be saved from that patience that makes us patient with anything less than freedom and justice… Our method will be that of persuasion not coercion.  We will only say to the people, ‘Let your conscience be your guide.’”

Dr. King set out to “save the soul of a nation” divided along racial lines, divided by inequality and poverty… by appealing to a “great decent majority who through blindness, fear, price, and irrationality have allowed their conscience to sleep.”

Ah, how are we all today, 40 years later allowing our conscience to sleep?  Is it the s e x trade that is robbing the youth of the world?  Is it dying babies?  Persistent poverty? Disease?  The world has so many needs.  Surely, there is some cause, some need, great or small that you can take some time and effort to meet.

You do not have to be a hero to millions to create a legacy that lasts.  But you do need to wake up, awaken your conscience, and see the world around you, get inspired and then decide how you will make your mark on history.

If charitable trusts and charitable planning are some of the tools you decide to use to make sure that when you are gone your wealth can be used to make a positive difference in the world, give me a call, I’d be happy to help you create your lasting legacy.

To all our American heroes large and small!  Thank you.

Kristina Haymes

www.HaymesLawGroup.com

San Diego Trust Attorney

Legacy Builder