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Jun 03

Digital Assets And Estate Planning

Do you have a Facebook, LinkedIn, or other social media account? Are you in the process of eliminating paper and storing account information digitally?

Your estate consists of much more than your money, real estate, and personal property. Digital assets are becoming increasingly important. Digital assets are files and data stored in an electronic format. Some digital assets have economic value, such as monetized blogs and ITunes accounts. Other assets have a great deal of sentimental value, such as family photos.

Digital assets often become inaccessible after a person dies. Accounts that require a password to log in can become impossible to access. In addition, some sites delete accounts that have been idle for a certain period of time, which can result in the loss of digital assets forever.

Estate planning documents should include instructions to let trustees and agents know how to manage your digital assets. This may include deleting private emails, shutting down certain social media accounts, or posting a goodbye post on your blog.

Review your estate plan to ensure that your digital assets will be managed according to your wishes.

Reference: Dealing With Digital Assets And Social Media Accounts In Estate Planning

May 27

96-Year-Old Dr. Heimlich Uses His Signature Maneuver To Save A Choking Victim

Do you know what the Heimlich maneuver is?

I learned the Heimlich maneuver for the first time when I was sixteen years old, while working as a nursing assistant. The Heimlich maneuver is one of the techniques taught in cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training. It involves the administration of abdominal thrusts to a choking victim to expel foreign bodies from the victim’s airway.

The Heimlich maneuver was named after Dr. Henry Heimlich, the surgeon who developed the procedure in 1974. This week, the 96-year-old retired chest surgeon had the opportunity to use his life-saving maneuver to help a choking victim. Although he had demonstrated the maneuver countless times since inventing it in 1974, it was the first time he had actually used it to stop someone from choking.

“The whole thing was very moving to me,” Dr. Heimlich said. “I never thought that I would be saving someone’s life by doing the Heimlich maneuver.” He also said that it made him appreciate how wonderful it has been to save so many lives.

Reference: USA Today, May 27, 2016

May 18

When Your Power of Attorney is Powerless

A recent article in the New York Times entitled Finding Out Your Power of Attorney is Powerless describes a common scenario: Your parents have signed a durable power of attorney that allows you to handle their finances – taxes, bills, bank accounts, real estate sales – if they become incapacitated. Then the time comes when your parents can no longer manage on their own.

You take the witnessed and notarized document to a financial institution, and they refuse to honor it. They insist that your parents sign the institution’s own power of attorney form. Unfortunately, your parent may no longer be competent to sign the form, leaving you powerless to manage your parent’s financial matters.

Financial institutions defend this practice. They are aware of the financial exploitation of older adults, especially those with cognitive impairment, and that the perpetrators are often family members. They are also concerned about their own liability.

The article suggests proactively asking the bank if it requires its own durable power of attorney document while your parents are still able to manage their own finances. If it does, have your parents sign it when they are still capable of doing so. Of course, you will have to do this for every institution where they have an account.

This is one good reason to have a living trust. Living trusts are more widely accepted by financial institutions than powers of attorney. Contact your estate planning attorney to find out if a living trust is right for you or your parents.

May 14

The Lady In Number 6

This Academy Award winning 2013 documentary is very inspiring! It is about the power of optimism and the human spirit. Alice Herz-Sommer was 109 years old and was the world’s oldest living pianist when this documentary was filmed. She was also the oldest living Holocaust survivor. This is a story about how her natural optimism and love of music literally saved her life.

Before watching this 37 minute documentary, it never occurred to me that a woman of her age could be so alive, so passionate about her purpose, and so full of joy. Even at age 109, Alice continued to practice the piano for several hours every day, and to strive for perfection. She said emphatically with a smile, “Without work you cannot achieve anything! When you love something, you work and work and work at it!”

Alice passed away in 2014 at age 110, one week before “The Lady In Number 6” won an Academy Award for Best Documentary. She lived independently and did what she loved until the last day of her life. She left a legacy of optimism and hope for the next generation.

Do you have a message to share with the next generation?

Excerpt: The Lady in Number 6

May 13

Keeping It In The Family

Do you own a business that you want to pass to the next generation?

According to a recent article in Bloomberg entitled Keeping It In The Family, only 30% of family-owned businesses survive into the second generation, 12% into the third generation, and 3% into fourth. However, business succession planning can improve the odds.

Family ownership can make your business succession planning more complicated, especially if some family members are involved in running the business and some are not. A common mistake business owners make is to give ownership control to family members who are not going to be involved in the actual running of the business. That creates tension between the family members who are running the business and those who are not. If your business represents a large portion of your estate, you will need to give careful thought to each family member’s inheritance.

With effective business succession planning and estate planning, your business can continue to thrive, but it is important to start your succession planning as early as possible.

Contact your estate planning attorney for guidance when passing ownership of your business to the next generation. It will increase the likelihood that your business will continue to benefit your family for generations to come.

May 12

How A Pet Trust Can Protect Your Pet

Do you have a pet that you love?

Many pet owners think of their pets as family members and want to make sure that their pets are well cared for if they are unable to care for their pets themselves. One way to provide for your pet’s well-being is to set up a pet trust.

One of the most famous pet trusts in history was Leona Helmsley’s trust for her dog named Trouble. Her will contained instructions to establish a $12 million dollar testamentary trust to benefit Trouble after her death. Although a judge later reduced Trouble’s inheritance to $2 million dollars, she lived a life of luxury until her death at the age of 12.

A pet trust can be established in either a will or a trust, and can benefit one pet or many pets. A pet trust will appoint a person or organization to care for your pet, and will establish a trust fund to finance the care of your pet. The trust will continue after your death until your pets pass away, and then any remaining funds are distributed to a contingent beneficiary named in the trust.

Contact your estate planning attorney if you would like to establish a trust for a pet, and coordinate the pet trust with your estate plan.