However, there’s another often-overlooked aspect of divorce – estate planning. Below are the elements of estate planning you should consider to prevent your ex-spouse from acquiring your assets or retaining control over your affairs if something happens to you.

Update Your Beneficiaries

Assets, such as retirement plans, life insurance policies, and bank accounts allow you to name a beneficiary. That person will receive the funds contained in the account when you pass away, regardless of what’s in your will or trust. A divorce does not negate a beneficiary designation either, so be sure to update each one after the proceedings if you wish to prevent your ex-spouse from inheriting from you.

Consider a Trust to Manage Your Children’s Assets

If you and your ex share young kids, the court could give your ex the responsibility of managing the funds you decide to leave to your children. Unfortunately, that allows your ex to access your accounts. They could also choose to use your money and assets for their own benefit.

Ensuring your minor son or daughter receives their inheritance may require you to establish a trust and appoint a natural trustee. The trustee you choose should understand their role in your child’s life and how to manage your assets. If you want the funds from your bank account to go towards your kid’s education, medical care, or another necessity, indicate that in your estate plan.

Don’t Forget About Your Will

Besides changing the beneficiary of specific assets, you also have to update your will. It’s possible that your ex-spouse could still inherit what you own at the time of your death if they are listed in the document. When you are legally able, be sure to replace your ex with your children, parents, or anyone else whom you want to receive your inheritance.

You should also consider how to draft your will if you plan to remarry, as your new spouse could receive all your property and leave your children from a prior relationship with nothing.  Talk to your attorney if this is a concern for you.  A trust may also be a solution in this situation.

Positions of Authority

As soon as you file (or possibly before), talk to your attorney about removing your spouse from positions of authority in your estate plan. Chances are, you do not want your ex to serve as Power of Attorney or Healthcare Agent who can make life or death decisions for you in an emergency. Your attorney will help you remove your spouse and appoint someone else in his or her place.

Getting Help

There’s a lot to think about during and after a divorce, and estate planning is one task that should be “top of mind” for your protection.  If you have questions or need help completing any of the steps in this article, please reach out to our Minnesota will and trust law firm at 763-244-2949 for assistance.

Memory Loss

The most well-known component of dementia, and perhaps the most devastating to families, is memory loss. There is nothing more painful than watching a senior slowly fail to recognize grandchildren, children, or even a spouse. However, this level of memory loss typically occurs during the end stages of the disease. Early on, short-term memory loss is a key warning sign for dementia. A senior forgetting where they placed their keys or phone or what they had for breakfast earlier in the day are some of the things you should be on the lookout for.

Confusion

Confusion usually goes hand-in-hand with memory loss – if a senior with dementia cannot quite remember a family member or acquaintance, they will often become confused or agitated. Constant repetition fits in with confusion and memory loss as seniors suffering from dementia will often repeat things they’ve said minutes after they’ve just said them. And, in addition to simply forgetting where they put something like keys or a phone, the senior may place those items where they don’t belong, like the refrigerator or the oven, and then forget they put them there in the first place.

Personality and Mood Shifts

Dementia can have a serious effect on a senior’s mood, ranging from depressive episodes to drastic personality shifts. Dementia is a cognitive impairment which affects one’s judgment, meaning it can cause a senior to act very differently than they have in the past. Monitoring mood and personality for shifts and changes is a good exercise if you suspect a senior to have dementia. 

Difficulty with Directions

If a senior is starting to get lost more and more often while driving, it’s a warning sign that they may have dementia – and that the car keys should be taken away. Getting lost in familiar neighborhoods and not knowing where familiar landmarks are located are key warning signs, but so is a situation where the senior has difficulty following directions related to a task or job.

If you are currently caring for a senior who has dementia, or if you have seen some of these warning signs in an older family member, please contact us at (763) 244-2949 to set up a consultation with our Central Minnesota elder law attorney to find out what options you have for approaching this disease and how to get your loved one’s affairs in order before he or she loses the ability to sign legal documents. 

A senior’s ability to operate a vehicle may be affected by a loss of vision or hearing, by delays in their reaction time, or physical limitations caused by arthritis or other conditions. Fortunately, transportation options have changed greatly over the years, even in areas where public transportation isn’t readily accessible. Specifically, ridesharing services are becoming an excellent alternative for seniors who wish to remain independent but no longer feel safe on the road. 

Many people are familiar with Uber and Lyft, the two most popular ridesharing services across the country. Services like these are accessible through a smartphone app, making them easier to arrange than a traditional taxi service. For senior citizens who aren’t tech savvy and may not have a smartphone, both Uber and Lyft have connections to third-party vendors that make it easier for seniors to arrange a rideshare. These vendors often partner with senior centers and facilities that work with the elderly to provide access to transportation. They also act as a bridge between seniors and rideshare services by making arrangements over the phone instead of through an app.

Aside from Uber and Lyft, there are other rideshare services that are geared towards meeting the needs of the elderly. Services like Go Go Grandparent, Arrive, Envoy, and Drive a Senior can be arranged without the need for a smartphone app. They also offer additional features such as mobility assistance and companionship. As a bonus, some of these services for seniors are free or offered at a reduced cost. 

Ridesharing services are very aware of the growing senior population and are working towards making sure that they’re ready and able to meet the specific needs of the elderly. Their goal is to make life easier for their customers, whether it’s a senior citizen needing a ride to a doctor’s appointment or a family member who is too busy or too far away to take them. Helping seniors get around for medical appointments, errands, or social activities allows them to maintain their independence and gives their loved ones some peace of mind.

Here at Lewis Kannegieter Law, Ltd., we not only help families develop estate and elder law plans, but we guide our clients toward “out of the box” solutions to make life easier during the healthcare and long-term care challenges that they face. Whether it’s suggestions for transportation, respite care, or referrals to assisted living communities or local advisors, we are happy to help guide your family through all of life’s transitions. If you’d like to schedule a call to get started, contact our Monticello law firm at (763) 244-2949.

Most people who use technology to search for their biological roots are doing so out of curiosity or simply to make a connection with biological relatives, not for financial gain. However, a carefully drafted plan can address the issue of unexpected family members if there becomes a question of who can share in your estate. 

For example, someone who placed a child up for adoption in the past but did not have any contact with the child or the adoptive parents may want to leave an inheritance for that child if they ever connect with the family. There’s also the possibility that a child was conceived without the biological parent’s knowledge, or perhaps someone who is estranged from their adult child doesn’t know if they have grandchildren or not. While people in those situations are not always obligated to leave any part of their estate to unknown relatives, they may want to do so for moral reasons.

Making sure that your will, trust, and other documents contain appropriate legal language is an important part of estate planning, especially when faced with such unknowns. For example, if you want your assets distributed only to your spouse and your known children, your attorney can make that clear in your will or trust. On the other hand, if you want to make sure previously unknown children or grandchildren are included, an estate planning attorney can draft your documents in a way that allows your wishes to be carried out.

Because of the potential complications and the importance of using the correct legal language, it’s important to be open and honest with your estate planning attorney. Disclosing the possibility of a “new” relative through an adoption, previous relationship, or an affair may be uncomfortable, but it’s necessary in order to protect your estate and your family, including any unknown relatives if that’s your wish. The more information your attorney has, the better he or she can prepare your estate planning documents to hold up under any unique circumstances that could arise when you are gone.

If you have additional questions about creating an estate plan that will protect your family, your wishes and your assets, we are happy to sit down with you to talk about your options. Simply call our Central Minnesota  will and trust law firm at (763) 244-2949 to schedule a consultation.

Yet by not discussing these issues, you are leaving your future caregivers (most often your adult children) in an impossible position. Many people are taken completely off-guard when their elderly parents start to decline. 

Because we don’t discuss these issues ahead of time, caregivers are often left unprepared for the life changes they are about to experience. Depending on the speed and amount of decline, a caregiver might have to dedicate a significant portion of their life to the growing needs of their parents. 

Simple legal planning can help to avoid these issues. You can pave the way now, so that life is easier when incapacity, disability, or ultimately death occurs.  Here are a few key ways to prepare:

1. Have “the talk.” It doesn’t matter if you are the impending caregiver or the person who will need care, you should make time to sit down and talk. This should happen way before the elderly person starts experiencing memory loss, so the sooner the better! You’ll need to discuss the senior’s wants, needs, health issues, financial resources, and preferences for the amount of medical intervention you/they want at the end.
2. Have legal documents prepared. Work with an estate planning attorney in Monticello to prepare important legal, financial, and healthcare documents – and keep them updated!  Do this immediately if the senior is showing signs of increasing health issues. If you wait until the senior is showing signs of mental decline, they could be declared incompetent to make their own decisions and it will be too late for them to sign any new documents. 
3. Review financial information. Be sure you review the senior’s financial statements and understand their income and expenses. Knowing how to access this information will be critical to handling their affairs if they are unable.
4. Research elder care options. Review the options and determine what living situations the elder person is comfortable with in advance. Determine their preferences for hospital, rehabilitation, nursing home, assisted living, and/or independent living communities as well as options for memory care, home care, and even hospice. 

Having these discussions in advance are uncomfortable, but knowing this information will save more stress and heartache than you can imagine. For additional information on how to prepare for end-of-life transitions, contact our Monticello estate and elder law attorneys at (763) 244-2949.

The Rules of 529s

First, let’s take a look at some of the basic rules of establishing and utilizing a 529 Plan. Any U.S. resident age 18 or older with a valid Social Security number or tax ID can invest in most state plans. The savings kept in a 529 can be used for education-related expenses, such as tuition and books at most accredited colleges or universities as well as public and private primary or secondary (K-12) schools. The beneficiary of a 529 can be anyone with a Social Security number or tax ID, including the owner or the person who opened the plan, who plans on furthering their education.

The Perks of 529s

What makes a 529 Plan such a useful estate planning tool are the high contribution limits and the tax benefits. Perhaps the greatest advantage of investing in a 529 Plan is the fact that you can give up to $75,000 per recipient as long as you indicate that this is a five-year contribution and that you do not make any additional gifts to that same recipient during those five years. For married couples, this would allow for a $150,000 contribution per recipient. So, a husband and wife with three children could set aside $500,000 in a 529 Plan, and that money would reduce the amount of your taxable estate. 

The other advantage of a 529 Plan to consider is the tax breaks that cover this particular type of savings plan, especially when compared with others. While mutual funds are subjected to annual income taxes and withdrawal taxes, 529 Plans are allowed to grow without being subjected to taxes, and withdrawals of up to $10,000 per year per beneficiary will not be taxed either. Additionally, some states offer additional breaks like tax credits for contributions made to the plan.

Staying in Control

Aside from the contribution and tax advantages that come with a 529 Plan, there’s also the level of control that you’ll have over your investments. The funds in the account can be taken back at any time, and they can also be transferred to another beneficiary. This is particularly helpful if you have a child or grandchild who chooses not to continue their education or who receives scholarships or other financial aid to cover their tuition and expenses. Because there’s no time limit on a 529 plan, the money can also be left in the account to fund additional expenses like graduate school or room and board.

The Bottom Line

Setting aside money for your children or even your grandchildren is often an essential part of estate planning. Rather than using the same old means to leave money to your heirs and hope that they use it for their education, putting money into a 529 Plan allows you to manage your investment as you see fit. As always, we advise you to sit down with a qualified Minnesota estate planning attorney to weigh your options and choose the plan that is going to work best for you. If you need assistance doing just that, we invite you to contact our Wright county trust and estate law firm at (763) 244-2949 to schedule a consultation.