Klitzman Law Group, PLLC

Burial for the Indigent

The high costs of funeral services creates a problem, because many people pass away without having the means for their own burials. Their remains still have to go somewhere.

Every year, thousands of people with very little money pass away.  Sometimes, it is not even known who these deceased people were in life.

While this might seem like a minor issue and something that has always been the case, it creates an increasing burden on local governments.  They must determine what to do with the bodies of deceased people, who either cannot be identified or whose families do not have the money to afford burial or cremation.

It is not a minor expense,  since the costs of disposing of a deceased body continue to rise.

One county in Florida had such a significant problem that they purchased a cemetery, as the Tallahassee Democrat reports in "A priceless burden: Indigent burials at Leon County's 'pauper's cemetery'."

The cemetery previously belonged to a hospital, but the county purchased it to dispose of the remains of the indigent as cheaply as possible. Graves are marked with the most basic of markers and no actual funeral services are allowed at the cemetery.

The deceased are buried as quickly and with as little fuss as possible.

This is an issue that could get worse before it gets better.

Elderly people are living longer and in greater numbers. That makes it likely that many more elderly will pass away in the future, after they have run out of their own money.

The burden to bury them will be on the government. Elder law advocates may need to address this problem in the near future.

Reference: Tallahassee Democrat (June 24, 2017) "A priceless burden: Indigent burials at Leon County's 'pauper's cemetery'."

Suggested Key Words: Elder Law, Funerals

Pet Cremation

You now have the option to have your pet cremated and keep the ashes in an urn at home.

A recent trend is for people to treat their pets just like any other member of their family. It is no longer just a dog or a cat. Your pet is a beloved member of your family, due the same consideration as any other member of your family.

While not everyone sees their pets in this way, more and more people do.

That has implications not just for how pets are treated in life, but also how they are treated in death.

For example, there is now a growing trend for funeral homes to offer cremation for pets as PA reports in "Pet Cremation Industry Gains Popularity."

For the relative small price of a few hundred dollars, people can have their pets cremated. The price normally includes an urn to hold the ashes, which people can take home with them.

Perhaps more important than what will be done with your pet when it passes away, is what will be done with your pet when you pass away.

Your pet cannot get a job to support itself. You might treat it like any other human family member, but it is not that human.

Therefore, if you want to make sure that your pet is taken care of, you need to make plans. There are several different ways that you can do so in an estate plan.

You can designate someone to take care of your pet and set money aside for that purpose. You can even create a pet trust with your pet as the beneficiary.

If you want to make sure your beloved pet is taken care of after you pass away, then talk to an estate planning attorney about how to do that.

Reference: PA (June 23, 2017) "Pet Cremation Industry Gains Popularity."

Suggested Key Words: Estate Planning, Pet Trust

Do You Need a Trust?

One of the biggest questions in estate planning today, is whether a trust is the best option for your family.

If you were to conduct a representative poll of middle class Americans about the best way to plan for your estate, it is almost certain that the majority of respondents would suggest getting a living trust.

It is the first piece of advice you will find almost anywhere you look for estate planning information. The reason for that is complex.

One reason is that many internet companies who sell trust creation documents have been very active in pushing the benefits of trusts to get more customers. Trusts are also often the best estate planning option for people.

Nevertheless, the key is to determine what the best estate planning option is for you personally, not for society generally, as Madison.com points out in "Is a Living Trust Right for You and Your Family?."

Trusts do have many benefits over wills.

Trusts do not have to go through probate and, therefore, are not subject to the commonly cited costs and delays associated with probate.

Trust provisions do not have to be made public, as most wills do. Trusts are also a great way to control what your heirs might do with their inheritances, but “testamentary trusts” under wills do so as well.

If you really want to know whether you should get a trust, the best thing to do is to ask an estate planning attorney. Tell the attorney what your needs are and let the attorney suggest the best ways to meet those needs.

Reference: Madison.com (June 27, 2017) "Is a Living Trust Right for You and Your Family?."

Suggested Key Words: Estate Planning, Trusts, Wills

Does the Senate Bill Cut Medicaid?

Even though a vote over the Senate's bill to repeal Obamacare (Affordable Care Act) has been delayed, it is important to know whether or not it cuts Medicaid. The answer depends on how you look at it.

Very little in government is ever straightforward.  One example is the Senate Republican plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

A vote on the bill has been delayed.  However, it is likely to still come at some point in the future.  Therefore, what the bill proposes to do with Medicaid funding, is important for elderly people who rely on the program for their nursing home care.

On one side of the debate over the bill are Democrats, who claim that it will slash Medicaid spending. On the other side, are Republicans who claim that the bill will increase Medicaid funding, as Fox News reports in "Fact Check: Dem claims that Senate bill guts Medicaid ignore billions in new funding."

Which side is right depends entirely on how you look at the issue. If the Senate bill passes and eventually becomes law, then Medicaid funding would increase by $71 billion by 2026. However, if the Senate bill does not become law and the current law remains in place, then Medicaid funding would increase by $231 billion during the same time period.

Under either scenario, Medicaid funding increases.

The argument is over how much it should increase and whether any increases are enough to meet future costs.

In the current highly partisan climate, it can be difficult to understand what is going on, as politicians and the media discuss policy changes. For that reason, it is important to look carefully at the facts to determine what the real question is.

For Medicaid that question is this: are politicians making sure the program can continue to do what it was designed to do without the country going broke?

Reference: Fox News (June 27, 2017) "Fact Check: Dem claims that Senate bill guts Medicaid ignore billions in new funding."

Suggested Key Words: Elder Law, Medicaid

 

Medicaid Facts

Repeal of the Affordable Care Act has been one the biggest news items in recent weeks. Changes to Medicaid in Republican proposals have received a lot of attention, but many people do not know exactly what Medicaid does.

You probably know that Medicaid is the federal government program that provides health care coverage to poor Americans. However, in the debate about the repeal of Obamacare (Affordable Care Act) and possible reductions to Medicaid in various appeal proposals, what often gets lost is exactly what that federal government program for the poor does.

Facts about the program get lost in the media noise.

It is important to know the facts, because only then can you really decide if you are for or against any changes.

NPR recently published a list of some lesser known facts about Medicaid in "From Birth To Death, Medicaid Affects The Lives of Millions," including:

• It is very expensive. Medicaid currently takes up approximately 10% of the federal budget. State governments contribute even more on top of that to the costs of the program.
• Half of all births in the U.S. are covered by Medicaid. The program has been expanded multiple times to include more and more pregnant women.
• Some 62% of nursing home residents have their care through Medicaid.
• Disabled people and the people who take care of them are often eligible to receive their care through Medicaid.
• Medicaid is a major source of funding for the fight against opioid addiction.

Reference: NPR (June 27, 2017) "From Birth To Death, Medicaid Affects The Lives of Millions."

Suggested Key Words: Medicaid, Elder Law

Exhuming Dali's Body

A Spanish court has issued an order to exhume the body of legendary artist Salvador Dali, almost a quarter of a century after he passed away.

Salvador Dali was well known both for his eccentric art and his eccentric lifestyle. He was not known to have any children, but one Spanish woman claims that she is likely Dali's child.

The only problem is that she cannot prove her claims, since Dali passed away in 1989 at the age of 85.

The woman makes her living as a professional tarot card reader, so perhaps she could prove her paternity by reading the cards. However, she refuses to do such a self-reading. Instead, she has asked the Spanish courts to intervene.

A judge found enough basis for her claims, that Dali's body has been ordered to be exhumed from its current resting place underneath a theater in Dali's hometown so DNA testing can be performed, as the Washington Post reports in "Judge in Spain orders Salvador Dali's body exhumed for paternity test."

It is not clear what the woman hopes to gain from the testing. Dali's estate has long been closed and all of his valuable artwork donated to the Spanish government.

Even though the artwork is valued at hundreds of millions of dollars, it is unlikely the woman could lay claim to any of that money. For her part, she seems uncertain of what she wants, if Dali does turn out to be her father.

She has only stated that she wants "what corresponds to her."

It is not unheard of to reopen an estate or exhume a body to prove that the deceased had a previously unknown child. In this case, however, it probably is not going to do any good for the woman, beyond learning whether Dali really was her father.

Reference: Washington Post (June 26, 2017) "Judge in Spain orders Salvador Dali's body exhumed for paternity test."

Suggested Key Words: Estate Administration

Fiduciary Rule Confusion

The new fiduciary rule for financial advisers has caused a lot of confusion about what is and is not allowed with retirement accounts.

On June 9, a controversial new Department of Labor rule went into effect. The rule seems simple enough. Financial advisors who give investment advice to consumers about their retirement accounts, must act as fiduciaries of those consumers.

At least for attorneys, that is a very simple idea to understand.

Nevertheless, for consumers and their advisors the new rule has caused a lot of confusion, as the Washington Post details in "A new conflict-of-interest rule for retirement savers is causing a lot of confusion."

The easiest way to understand what the new rule means, is that advisors have to act in the best interests of the people they are advising. Investment advice must be based on the best thing for the saver, not the advisor.

Therefore, if an advisor would earn a higher fee from suggesting one investment rather than another, he, or she cannot advise the saver on that basis. If the investment that pays the least to the advisor is better for the consumer, then that is the investment that must be recommended.

Many advisors are taking advantage of the new rule to make changes to how they manage retirement accounts.

The confusion surrounding the rule has given them the opportunity to make changes customers may not like and place the blame for them on the new rule.

If you are not sure if a change your advisor is making is really required by the new rule or if you should look for a different advisor, ask an estate planning attorney.

Reference: Washington Post (June 19, 2017) "A new conflict-of-interest rule for retirement savers is causing a lot of confusion."

Suggested Key Words: Elder Law, Retirement

 

How Long Can You Put Off Estate Planning?

When it comes to estate planning, Americans procrastinate. However, it can only be put off for so long.

Even people who like to make detailed plans about everything else, are often tempted to put off estate planning for as long as possible. It is just human nature to prefer not to think too much about what will happen to our worldly possessions, after we pass away.

It can be difficult to imagine our things and our loved ones having a life after us. This leads to estate planning procrastination.

Truthfully, that is never a good idea. You do not know when you will pass away. It can happen suddenly and sooner than you want.

However, if you do procrastinate when it comes to your estate planning, you should know that the procrastination needs to end at some point.

This point was made by the Twin Cities Pioneer Press in "3 moves you should make in the first 3 years of retirement."

If you have managed to put off estate planning until after you have retired from work, then now is the time to stop putting it off.

With any luck, you will still live many more years. On the other hand, estate planning is about more than just deciding what happens to your possessions and assets after you pass away.

It is also about securing your own final years and making sure you have powers of attorney and advanced health care directives in place, should you ever need them.

In the end, estate planning gives you peace of mind in knowing that your family will be okay after you pass away and that you will also be okay, should you ever need help.

If you have retired and still have no estate plan, then talk to an estate planning attorney as soon as you can.

Reference: Twin Cities Pioneer Press (June 17, 2017) "3 moves you should make in the first 3 years of retirement."

Suggested Key Words: Estate Planning

ACA Repeal Vote Could Come Soon

Senate Republicans are planning to hold a vote on their version of repealing Obamacare by the end of June. No one knows yet what their bill contains.

Republicans in Congress are moving forward with their plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

The House of Representatives previously passed a bill that would do just that. It would have cut funding for Medicaid and increased health insurance costs dramatically for many seniors who have not yet reached retirement age.

A Senate version is expected soon, as Politico reports in "Senate GOP prepares for Obamacare repeal vote next week."

The biggest problem with the Senate bill from an elder law perspective, is that no one knows what the problems are.

Since President Trump is reported to have told Republican Senators in private that the House bill is "mean," it is expected that the Senate version will contain some softer provisions.

However, the negotiations over the Senate bill are being conducted behind closed doors. It is also expected that no hearings or debate will be held on the bill before it is called for a vote.

That makes it difficult for elder law advocates to determine whether the bill is supportable or not.

When details of the bill are released, it will need to be quickly and thoroughly scrutinized from an elder law perspective.

Reference: Politico (June 20, 2017) "Senate GOP prepares for Obamacare repeal vote next week."

Suggested Key Words: Elder Law, Medicaid

 

New Zealand Trusts

Changes to New Zealand's foreign trusts laws might show that using offshore trusts to hide assets is more prevalent than previously thought.

For many years, New Zealand has been thought of as a great place to hold foreign assets in trust. The nation had lax laws and allowed foreigners to have tax-free trusts with little oversight.

When the Panama Papers, the leaked emails of a law firm in Panama, were released, all that changed.

It was revealed that New Zealand was being used by some very wealthy people to hide assets from their own governments. This created some international pressure on New Zealand by other governments, as those other governments do not appreciate avoidance of their taxes.

In response to this pressure, the New Zealand government changed its trust laws. All foreign trusts were required to register, declare who controlled the trusts and declare who the beneficiaries of the trust were.

It was assumed this move would not be a burden for most foreign trusts,  since there are many reasons someone might want to have a tax-free trust in New Zealand other than tax avoidance.

However, most foreign trusts have failed to register under the new law and many have fled the country, as the Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog reports in "Trust the Kiwis."

This suggests that using foreign trusts to hide assets is more common than previously thought.

Accordingly, government regulators will look for other ways to crackdown on trusts and make tax avoidance more difficult.

Reference: Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog (June 20, 2017) "Trust the Kiwis."

Suggested Key Words: Trusts