Determining Your Beneficiaries

If you don’t have a spouse or partner to designate as a beneficiary, you must decide who you want your assets to transfer to when you die. That means considering all your options, whether you have one or multiple children, dependent adults, or another relative you want to take care of when you’re gone.

Seniors without close relatives might choose to leave their estate to a longtime friend. Donating a portion of your estate to your local church, charity, or another institution might be a good option if you don’t have immediate family.

Designating a beneficiary is vital no matter who you pick. You don’t want your assets to transfer to an estranged family member or pass to the state under intestacy laws.

Creating Wills and Trusts

Seniors could benefit from creating a well-thought-out last will and testament. A will establishes your final wishes for surviving family members or the probate court to follow while settling your estate. You can outline how you want to transfer your assets, determine whether you want a guardian appointed for a dependent adult child, and direct your relatives on how to settle your affairs.

Creating a trust can also protect your loved ones when you pass away. Instead of going through probate to recover the funds, the trustee can transfer the assets to your beneficiaries immediately upon your death. They won’t have to deal with the probate court and wait for a judge to validate your will before authorizing the personal representative to administer your estate.

Appointing a Power of Attorney

Powers of attorney should be a part of your estate plan. You must prepare for the unexpected, not only for your death. A valid power of attorney authorizes your chosen agent to manage your affairs if you can no longer speak for yourself.

For example, if you become incapacitated after a traumatic car crash, your medical power of attorney could direct your healthcare team on the type of treatment or end-of-life care you want. A financial power of attorney can access your accounts to pay your bills and handle other necessary aspects of your finances.

The Importance of Modifying an Estate Plan

You can modify your estate plan at any point during your life. However, waiting for a disabling medical condition or cognitive impairment can create various challenges. You must be of sound mind to create and change estate plans. It’s best to make the amendments while you’re still healthy.

Modifying an estate plan is often necessary when significant changes in a person’s life occur, such as divorce, death, or birth. For example, if your designated beneficiary dies, you must change your estate plan to include a new beneficiary so that person receives your assets when you die.

Learn More About How a Minnesota Will and Trust Lawyer Can Help You

Determining how to distribute your estate can be challenging if you’re not married and don’t have kids. You should immediately consult a will and trust lawyer to learn about your legal options. We can review all contributing factors and assist you in executing the appropriate documents to include in your estate plan. We will also help you protect your assets and prepare your estate for the future. To schedule a consultation with a Minnesota will and trust lawyer, call our law firm at 763-244-2949.

This is because once your child turns 18, they become a legal adult. As such, you will no longer be able to have direct control over their healthcare and financial decisions because they will no longer be under your immediate care. Nevertheless, as young people finding their way in the world, it may be important that they have someone they can trust who can make decisions in their best interests if that should become necessary.

Power of Attorney for Healthcare

A Health Care Directive is a power of attorney for health care. This is a document that enables someone (the agent) to handle healthcare decisions on behalf of another person (the principal) in the event that the principal becomes incapable of making such decisions on their own. The agent will also be able to access the principal’s medical records and communicate with their healthcare providers.

It’s important to remember that a Health Care Directive can cover any medical situation, not just decisions that need to be made toward the end of life. Thus, if your college-aged child were to lose consciousness due to a disease or a debilitating accident, a Health Care Directive would allow you to make healthcare decisions in their best interest. Similarly, if they were to experience a mental health emergency and a medical professional deemed them temporarily incapacitated, the Health Care Directive would permit you to commit them for the evaluation and treatment they require.

Power of Attorney for Finances

Similar to the power of attorney for healthcare, a power of attorney for finances allows you as the agent to make financial decisions on behalf of your adult child. In the event that they become incapacitated in some way, this document will empower you to sell property, pay bills, and settle debt on behalf of the principal.

Even though college students do not tend to have high levels of wealth, a power of attorney for finances can be helpful, nonetheless. It can allow you as their agent to access the information you need to take care of credit card accounts, apartment leases, and even online accounts for their school, banking, email, and social media.

Speak to an Estate Planning Attorney

Of course, it isn’t possible to force your college-aged child to sign a power of attorney but having a conversation with them about the importance of having one can be helpful. Hypothetical worst-case scenarios may not be a pleasant topic for a young person just starting out on their own, but an experienced estate planning lawyer can help your college-age student understand why a power of attorney may be in their best interests.

If you have further questions about creating a power of attorney for your young adult or regarding estate planning in general, our Minnesota estate planning lawyer is here to provide clarity and guidance.  To schedule an appointment, simply contact us at 763-244-2949.

Far too many people assume that their loved ones know their wishes and are prepared to honor them if a medical crisis strikes. Unfortunately, tragic accidents or other life-altering events can change things. So can the input and influence from other family members. In order for your wishes to be preserved, the best thing to do is to put them in writing.

There are many tough questions that need to be answered when planning for the worst. But as hard as it is to imagine a tragedy happening that would leave you unable to care for yourself, it would be even harder on your spouse or other family members if they had to face the difficult task of guessing what your wishes are.

So, take a deep breath and ask yourself, “What if something terrible happened to me?”

Then answer the following questions:

• Who would I want to make medical decisions on my behalf?
• If I were not improving, would I want to be taken off of life support, or how long would I want to stay on life support?
• If medical procedures were available to save my life but would leave me unable to communicate or care for myself, would I want those procedures?
• Who would I want to take care of me?
• Who will care for my children?
• Who will take care of my home and my other assets?
• Will I need a conservator or legal guardian? What does this responsibility entail?
• Will my significant other or my parents be able to take care of me?
• What kind of resources do I have to help with my care (i.e., good health insurance, long-term care insurance, etc.)

After you compile the answers to these questions, you must figure out a plan of attack. While the likelihood that you will endure a tragic accident may be slim, it is still important to have a plan in place for possible disability in Minnesota. Let an experienced estate planning attorney help you. Here at Lewis Kannegieter Law, Ltd. we deal with these issues on a daily basis, and we are dedicated to helping families plan for the worst so that they can focus on the best. Contact us today at 763-244-2949 or click here to schedule your free initial phone consultation.

Treat Each Beneficiary as a Unique Individual

One of the incredible phenomena to emerge from the release of Encanto was the fact that “We Don’t Talk about Bruno,” a song from its soundtrack, made it to number one on the Billboard Hot 200 chart. In the film, Bruno is the “black sheep” of the Madrigal family. Abuela, the family’s matriarch, is reluctant to include Bruno or Mirabel in the family’s activities because they behaved in a way that she did not approve of.

Like the Madrigal family, your family may also have its own quirky characters. However, it is important to acknowledge that each member of your family is a unique individual. Attempts to control them may not always work out the way you want. Tailor your estate plan to fit the unique needs of each of your beneficiaries, rather than requiring everybody to achieve the same things in order to qualify for their inheritance. Trusting individuals to carve out their own paths is often far more fulfilling than attempting to get them to fit your own expectations.

Think in Multigenerational Terms

Even if her methods are not always optimal, Abuela Madrigal shows as much care and concern for her grandchildren as for her own children when it comes to obtaining and fostering the gifts that they can claim. Many parents focus solely on leaving assets for their children, but you may want to think about options that benefit your grandkids too. This can include:

• Family trusts
• Family “banks”
• 529 college savings plans

Be Careful about Putting Too Much Pressure on One Person

Luisa Madrigal is the sibling in Encanto with the most physical strength. Metaphorically, she represents the “strong” child in the family who habitually takes on the greatest proportion of family responsibility. Yet, with that responsibility often comes a lot of stress.

If you have a child in your family who fits this description, it might seem like a no-brainer to name them as the trustee, agent under a power of attorney, or even the executor of your will. However, try to be conscious of the possibility that doing this might put on enough pressure that your strong family member will, as Luisa sings, “tip, tip, tip till you just go pop.” Instead of overburdening one individual, consider distributing responsibilities among multiple willing parties.

Speak with an Experienced Minnesota Estate Planning Attorney

You may come away from watching Encanto feeling both entertained and inspired about the legacy you want to leave for your children and grandchildren. If so, contact our experienced Monticello estate planning law firm who can help make you aware of the various options for making your plan as sound as possible.  To get started with the process, contact our office at 763-244-2949 to schedule a free initial phone consultation.

While this periodic review is important, there are certain life events that should trigger an immediate review of your documents. Here are seven examples: 

1. You move out of state. If you move to a new state, you will want to review your estate plan. The move may make no difference in how your assets are disbursed, but depending on your new state, there could be rules or taxes and fees that would make a revision to your current plan prudent.
    
2. You have a new baby. Whenever a new member of the family arrives, whether that’s a child or a grandchild, it’s important to update your estate plan. You will want to make sure that the new baby is protected and partakes in your inheritance if you so desire. 

3. You get divorced. Married couples create documents that leave most, or all, of their estate to their spouse. When you divorce, a lot of these benefits of sharing in one another’s estates are invalidated—but not all of them. Things like beneficiary designations (such as leaving life insurance to your spouse) will not be nullified under your divorce. To protect your finances from your ex, you will need to update all accounts where beneficiary designations exist. 

4. A family member dies. If a family member dies that was named as one of your beneficiaries, guardians, executor, agent, etc., you will need to update your estate plan to remove and possibly replace them. Also, you may want to name a secondary in case the primary dies. 

5. There are big changes to estate tax laws. You never know what congress is going to do, and often, tax laws change that impact your plan. If there is a major change to the laws governing inheritance and estate taxes, you will want to consult your lawyer to see how these changes affect your estate plan. 

6. You win the lottery. (Or experience other financial changes.) If there is a dramatic increase in your net worth due to winning the lottery, receiving a large inheritance, or making great business decisions, you will need to contact your estate planning lawyer. You will want to direct how this new wealth is handled and protected. 

7. You change or add life insurance, IRAs, 401(k), etc. Many people do not realize that accounts such as the ones mentioned here have a beneficiary designation allowing funds to be disbursed to the beneficiary outside of the probate process. Essentially, even though you have a Will indicating that you want all of your money to be distributed to your heirs named in the will, the funds in these accounts are not bound by the Will and will go directly to the beneficiaries named on those accounts. Before you sign any of these documents, you should consult with a Monticello estate planning lawyer to make sure the money goes to the person you choose.

These are just some of the major life changes that should cause you to reevaluate your estate plan. If you have any concerns about whether your estate plan will do what you need it to do, call our office at 763-244-2949 and set up a consultation to discuss your situation.

To start, you’ll need to examine your parent’s current situation and in what areas they need help. This may require conversations with doctors or other caregivers to determine if there are any cognitive issues of concern and also looking at recent financial transactions to determine if help is needed. This is especially important if your elderly parent is responsible for writing checks for rent, utilities, or other expenses that may have a serious impact if payment is not received on time.

If it’s determined that your parent does in fact need assistance, there are some necessary steps to take. Your parent must be made aware that they require help, and that you or other family members can take on that responsibility. An elder law attorney or senior caregiver can assist with these conversations to try to make it easier for your parent since they will be essentially giving up control of their finances to their children. In addition, you may need to have a Power of Attorney drafted in order to have access to their finances and make decisions in your parent’s best interest. If their finances reside in a Revocable Living Trust, then you may need to speak to your parent and an attorney about taking over as a Successor Trustee.

If it’s clear that your parent can no longer make financial decisions but is unwilling to give up control of their finances, or if they’re no longer capable of making these types of decisions, you may want to speak to an experienced elder law attorney about placing your parent in a Conservatorship. A Conservator is named by the court as an individual, usually a family member but sometimes a third party, who can make financial and medical decisions for the conserved person.

If you’d like more information about assisting your elderly parent with their finances, or if you’re currently working with their finances and need assistance, please contact our Monticello trust law firm at 763-244-2949 to schedule a complimentary initial phone consultation.