Will your graduating senior be protected without 3 important legal documents?

As a local attorney, I can’t stress enough how timely (and critical!) this information is.  Many young adults in our area will soon be heading off to college or traveling abroad without the 3 key documents(Advance Health Care Directive, HIPAA Form and Financial Power of Attorney) they need for mom or dad to oversee their care if they become ill or seriously injured and unable to speak for themselves.

As a legal adult, privacy laws can prevent parents from making medical decisions on their child’s behalf.  For that reason, parents of graduating seniors are urged to help their child prepare HIPAA forms, a Power of Attorney and an Advance Health Care Directive to ensure they are consulted should their child become incapacitated or seriously injured in an accident.

Charlotte:  As graduating seniors prepare to travel abroad or leave for college, parents are urged to help their children prepare HIPAA forms, a power-of-attorney and an Advance Health Care Directive to ensure they are consulted and actively involved  in their child’s care should they become seriously ill or incapacitated in an accident.

Under current privacy laws, parents may be barred from making necessary medical and life-saving decisions on their child’s behalf without such documentation in place.  Parents may further find themselves unable to obtain necessary medical records without an Advance Health Care Directive and signed HIPAA form in place.

“Most parents assume they can make medical decisions on their child’s behalf until they are legally married, but that is just not the case, “ says Charlotte estate planning lawyer, Sabrina Winters.  “The law can prevent parents from getting involved in the care of a child 18 or older without explicit permission through legal documentation,” she warns.

For that reason, Winters urges parents of graduating seniors to help their child complete the following 3 documents which give them permission to intervene medically and make life-saving decisions on their child’s behalf:

1.  Advance Health Care Directive:

This document allows a young adult to appoint someone they trust (the parent) to be their health care agent should they wind up in a coma or become otherwise incapacitated in a serious accident.  It also specifies the type of long-term care or life support the child would want should they become incapacitated or left in a permanent vegetative state.

2.   Financial Power of Attorney:

Having a financial power of attorney is necessary to give someone (preferably the parents) permission to access any bank accounts and act financially on the adult child’s behalf if an emergency occurs.   Such activities covered under the power of attorney             include paying bills, buying or selling assets, applying for social security or other government benefits and the opening and closing of accounts.

3. Signed HIPAA Form:

Parents should have their adult child pre-sign a HIPPA form to ensure they can immediately communicate with physicians and access important medical records.

Finally, to facilitate greater assistance from parents in the event of an emergency, Winters also recommends keeping an ICE Card (In Case Of Emergency) in the child’s wallet listing the names of all approved emergency contacts, health insurance information and all known allergies.

“It’s such a natural instinct to want to jump in and help our children in an emergency.  Yet without these documents in place, parents could be helpless spectators of their child’s care if they are incapacitated and unable to speak for themselves,” warns Winters.   Fortunately, this situation is entirely avoidable and I advise parents to protect their child with these critical documents before summer begins,” says Winters.

For more information on the 3 legal documents every graduating senior needs to ensure their parents can intervene medically on their behalf or for more information on Charlotte estate planning lawyer, Sabrina Winters, please call 704-843-1446 or visit www.ncestateplanninginfo.com.

Estate Planning is so much more than the distribution of “things” and “money”.  Estate Planning, if you truly look to the underlying motivation of why we even create an Estate Plan, is really about our values, our beliefs, our dreams, our customs, and our traditions. It is what makes you significant…YOUR LEGACY!  It is more about passing down your philosophy of life, your set of moral values that you have come to stand for, or the stories of the people from whom you come.

Legacy Planning is your opportunity to guide your children and family with your wisdom, help them to understand more fully your beliefs, and set in motion your hopes and dreams for each of them.  You can create a plan that uses your personal “money” and “things” as a means to accomplishing the long-term goals that define you as a person.

Legacy planning may include charitable projects, on-going philanthropy through foundations, or ideas and feelings about how you want the business (and the business relationships you have developed) to continue.

Business owners who build their company with thoughtfulness take on a sense of responsibility and concern for their business customers and employees.  This aspect of a legacy is the most powerful for some and truly dictates how the business is transitioned.

We have seen owners walk away from offers to purchase because of the values that the prospective buyers have or don’t have.  Businesses are part of a community.  The balance of that community depends upon each business.  When a business is not adequately passed, there is a domino effect that impacts others.  Sometimes the impact is a good one; sometimes the impact is destructive to the whole community.

As an example, we have all heard how the opening of a Wal-Mart means the closing of multiple small businesses within a radius around the store.  On the other hand, Wal-Mart is successful because it provides what people want at prices they can afford. A thoughtful business owner will be aware of the impact his business may have on others in the community.  It may or may not change the decisions ultimately made, but it helps to contemplate the results of each potential choice.

Speaking to children and family members on your visions of what you would like to see happen to your business after you pass is a great place to start.  Often times business owners will find that the children and family members either do not want the responsibility of managing that business or that they do not share the same visions.  Knowing this before putting any plan in place is really a blessing.  It’s your business…YOU built it with your hard work and skills and YOU grew it with your passion and goals in mind.  It is part of your Legacy and should be considered when creating your Legacy Plan.

If you have a business in North Carolina and need some guidance on your options please call our Charlotte Estate Planning firm at 704-843-1446.

For example, there may be souvenirs from family vacations, various collectibles, or other items of sentimental value to you that are impossible to divide or duplicate. It’s helpful to discuss these things ahead of time, so you have a clear understanding of who wants what, and can anticipate and avoid problems after you’re gone. You may find that what is sentimental to you doesn’t hold the same sentimental value to your children and family.

Generally speaking, personal property is distributed under the laws of the state in which the decedent was a resident on their date of death. Real property (real estate), on the other hand, is subject to the laws of the state in which it is located. If you have significant personal property located outside of your official state of residence, distribution can be confusing. For example, if you own a Steinway piano that is located in your vacation home, the vacation home and the Steinway piano will fall under the statutes of the state where the vacation home is located.

Personal property such as clothing, jewelry, antiques, artwork, family heirlooms, and household effects can be passed on to your beneficiaries in several ways.

1. Specific Bequest
2. General Distribution of All Personal Property
3. Personal Property Memorandum.

You should always include a General Distribution clause in your Will or Trust.  The Specific Bequest and Personal Property Memorandum can be incorporated as the next layer of distribution.

Specific Bequest: If you were to leave a specific bequest to your sister, it may read:  “I leave my Ming Vase to my sister Betty.”  If you change your mind, you will need to update your Will or your Trust to remove or replace this language.  Never cross out anything in your Will or Trust!

General Distribution: For most people, it would be overwhelming to try to inventory and choose a beneficiary for every last item you own.  As an alternate method, personal property can be distributed all to one or a group of beneficiaries.  It can all be divided equally and the collective beneficiaries can decide what they want or don’t want.  Most Wills or Trusts will have language that allows the Executor or Trustee to make the final decision on what happens to the personal property if the beneficiaries cannot agree. It could state that the Executor or Trustee can sell the items and split the proceeds of the sale according to the Will or Trust distribution plan.

Personal Property Memorandum: It is common to use a separate “Personal Property Memorandum” that is attached to, and incorporated by reference into your Will or Trust. The memo is generally a handwritten or typed list of your bequests to family or charities, which is signed and dated by you.  They could cover each personal item that you own, but typically include only those items of financial value or of strong sentimental value – the types of things that could lead to disagreements among the heirs.

The benefit of a Memorandum is that it can be easily changed if you sell something, give it away during life, or change your mind about who should receive it after you’re gone.  You simply throw the old memo away and replace it with a new one.  Each personal property memorandum should be dated, and the Will or Trust should contain instructions that if more than one memo is discovered after your death, the one with the most recent date is binding.

Over the years, Clients have come up with interesting ways to distribute personal property items that aren’t the subject of specific bequests. They might instruct the executor or trustee to divide Monopoly money among the children, and let them “bid” on the remaining items.  Or they might say that each child can choose one object, starting with the oldest and moving to the youngest (or vice versa), until all items are accounted for.  Anything that is not selected can (for example) be given to Goodwill or the Salvation Army, or be included in an estate sale.

Regardless of the manner in which you wish to divide your personal property, you should always consult with an experienced estate planning attorney first.  If you would like to discus the options available to you, please call our Charlotte North Carolina Estate Planning firm at 704-843-1446.

If you already have Advanced Directives (Durable Power of Attorney and Health Care Power of Attorney) in place and you are going through a divorce or are recently divorced, you have some very important steps to take NOW!

Without a doubt, your divorce will have a major impact on your estate plan. I know…this is the last thing you want to hear in the middle of your major life change. After reading on, I think you will agree that you should be speaking not only to a Family Lawyer but an Estate Planning Attorney as well.

You may want to consider removing your Ex as your named agent!

If the thought of having an ex-spouse potentially making your medical decisions for you or handling your finances in the future scares you, then it is important that you change your Advanced Directives (Powers of Attorney and Health Care Power of Attorney) DURING your divorce and not wait until it is finalized.

Why? If you are in an accident during your divorce and unable to handle your financial affairs and/or make your own medical decisions, and your current documents name your spouse as your agent, it is your soon-to-be ex who will be making your health care and financial decisions.  This ultimately means your ex will be able to control your money as well as make your medical decisions for you.

If you are in the process of a divorce or even if your divorce is final, call our Charlotte, Estate Planning firm at 704-843-1446 to discuss your options and the changes that should happen sooner than later.

Inactive Account Manager
New by Google

This past week, Google announced a new set up feature it refers to as “Inactive AccountManager”.  It is a tool that Google account owners can put in place now so that family members can have access to the account presumably after the death of the account holder.  Below is directly taken from the Google information page on how it functions.  If you want to set this up for your own Google account you can visit www.google.com/settings and click on the setup link under Account Management. As with anything you set up with any online accounts, make certain thatyou understand fully its function and to read all the fine print before moving forward.

 About Inactive Account Manager

Inactive Account Manager is a way for users to share parts of their account data or notify someone if they’ve been inactive for a certain period of time. To set up Inactive Account Manager, go to www.google.com/settings and click on the setup link under Account Management.

How do we detect activity?

We look at several signals to understand whether you are still using your Google Account. These include your last sign-ins, web history, your usage of Gmail (e.g., the Gmail app on your phone) and Android check-ins.

What happens when your account gets deleted?

Deleting your Google Account will affect all products associated with that account (e.g., Blogger, AdSense, Gmail), and affect each product differently. You can review the data associated with your account on the Google Dashboard. If you use Gmail with your account, you’ll no longer be able to access that email. You’ll also be unable to reuse your Gmail username.

Why do I need to provide a phone number for a trusted contact?

We’ll use the phone number for the sole purpose of ensuring that only the trusted contact can actually download your data. Verifying the identity using a mobile phone number prevents data access from unauthorized people who might get hold of the email we send to your trusted contact.

What will trusted contacts receive?

Contacts will only receive notification once your account has been inactive for the specified amount of time — they will not receive any notification during setup. If you chose to only notify your contacts of your inactive account, they’ll receive an email with a subject line and content that you wrote during setup. We’ll add a footer to that email, explaining that you’ve instructed Google to send an email on your behalf after you’ve stopped using your account. This footer might say something like this:

John Doe (john.doe@gmail.com) instructed Google to send you this mail automatically after John stopped using his account.

Sincerely,
The Google Accounts Team

If you chose to share data with your trusted contact, the email will additionally contain a list of the data you have chosen to share with them, and a link they can follow to download the data. An example of such message could be:

John Doe (john.doe@gmail.com) instructed Google to send you this mail automatically after John stopped using his account.John Doe has given you access to the following account data:

• +1s
• Blogger
• Drive
• Latitude
• Mail
• Picasa Web Albums
• YouTube

Download John’s data here.

Sincerely,
The Google Accounts Team

National Healthcare Decisions Day – April 16th

National Healthcare Decisions Day is on April 16^th, and it is an important reminder for every adult to share their private wishes about medical treatments and possible end-of-life care with family.

Far too many people assume that their families would make the choices they would want in an emergency.  Yet every day we hear stories of adult children, siblings or other relatives battling during a health care crisis over “what their loved one would have wanted” in that situation.

The Terry Shiavo case is a great example of this. At the young age of 26, she suffered sudden cardiac arrest and slipped into a permanent and vegetative state.    She never documented her wishes about things such as feeding tubes, life support and long-term quality of life, leaving her family to battle for years over these questions in court. Her husband eventually had her feeding tube removed claiming, “That’s what she would have wanted”. But was it really? We’ll never know because Terry didn’t make her healthcare wishes known to her closest family and friends.  Let’s be honest, at the age of 26, many of us were not thinking about these issues.  Maybe because we saw death happening at an older age or simply, no one told us we had choices. But it is not enough to just tell someone about your wishes.  You need to clearly document your preferences in writing, as well.  Keep in mind emotions can run high during a health care crisis. It may be very difficult for your loved ones to make a decision that could ultimately end your life. Having your wishes spelled out in writing helps make these types of decisions easier for them, especially in cases when other family members don’t agree. So in honor of National Health Care Decisions Day, I encourage you to start tough conversations with loved ones about your personal medical preferences for medical or long-term care.  Here are some important questions to consider:

1. What are your thoughts on feeding tubes, life support and other artificial life saving devices?
2. Is there any type of medical care you would NEVER want?
3. If you were permanently disabled or incapacitated, what things would contribute or take away from your “quality of life”?
4. Who do you trust to make important medical decisions if you are unable to speak for yourself?
5. What are your thoughts on nursing home vs. in-home health care?  Who would you trust to manage your long-term care?

These are certainly not up lifting or comfortable conversations to have for many.  But, imagine how much more heartbreaking the future conversation about ending your life may be for your family. Talk them over with loved ones and get something in writing that spells out your wishes and the care you want if something happens to you.  If you have questions, talk to your attorney and get something in writing before an unforeseen emergency strikes. Want to find out more about the particular documents?  Watch our video!

If you are having a difficult time deciding on who the best person is that should be making these types of decisions for you, then call our Estate Planning Law Firm in Charlotte, North Carolina at 704-843-1446 and ask for your free 15 minute phone conference.  Don’t let fear keep you from making these difficult choices.

Parents with special needs children should always consider incorporating a Special Needs Trust into their Estate Plan.

If you have a child with special needs, please call our Estate Planning Firm in Charlotte, North Carolina at 704-843-1446 and we will be happy to guide you in taking the proper steps to protect your child.

He had a great sense of humor and a lackadaisical attitude about life.  The kids in the neighborhood called him the Candy Man because every time he came to visit he would have a trunk full of candy to pass out to all of us!

He’d show up unannounced for dinner often and my mother (being a great Italian mom!) always had enough for him (and an army I might add!).  He never forgot a birthday…never!!!   Without fail there would be money taped to the inside of our envelopes with a “self portrait” silly picture he would draw of himself.

Visiting him at his office was always fun; he would let me and my brother play on his drafting table and sit at the receptionist desk and pretend to be working.  As kids, of course, that was great because we were being allowed to do something “bad”!

Zio Giovanni was happy to a fault. Nothing ever concerned him; nothing ever had a sense of urgency for him.  Life was life and it was what it was going to be. He was a happy man right up until he took his last breath.  I know because I was there.  My uncle’s death changed my life.

He never thought he would die. And if he did, he’d say then “oh well”.  I realize, that it was his choice to take his chances and none of us had to like it.

But, I often do think about if he had to do it over again, would he? Would it make a difference to him knowing how emotionally drained my father was after he died?  What if he knew the pain my father endured having to watch him be resuscitated 5 times in one day, would that change anything? Or would it change matters if he understood truly the heartache Dad felt when he had to call my aunt and cousins to tell them that the end was near and there wasn’t anything he could do to make the pain end sooner for him? Would he have done anything different if he knew the heartbreak his family would suffer not being able to help him with his pain?

It was painful not to have my father home at nights because he would stay at the hospital until they kicked him out.  It was gut wrenching to see my father watch his brother die in front of his eyes and wonder what my uncle was thinking as he saw us all by his bedside. If he hadn’t had Alzheimer’s when he died, would he have made different choices? Was he proud of the funeral and service we had for him or was he up in Heaven laughing at all of us because we were all so emotional? Did we do what he wanted?

No family should ever have to live with the burden of having to make the decisions my father had to make.  No loved one should bare the pain of watching a family member die when there are so many alternate ways in which to manage their end of life. And, the unanswerable question of carrying with you for the rest of your life “Did we make the right decisions.”

If you would like to discuss ways in which I can help you put a plan in place so that your wishes are carried out, please call my Estate Planning Law Firm in Charlotte, North Carolina @ 704-843-1446.

According to AutismSpeaks.com, the disorder affects one in 110 children in the United States, with boys being four times more likely than girls to be diagnosed on the spectrum. The prevalence of autism has also increased 57 percent from 2002 to 2006, thus prompting The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to refer to autism as a “national public health crisis”.

Yet while autism awareness is at an all time high many parents are still in the dark as to how to make sure their child is physically and financially cared for if and when death or incapacity occurs.

As much parents of special needs children hate to think about it, there may come a time when they are physically unable—or perhaps no longer alive—to oversee their child’s care.  That’s why long-term care plans must be put in place as soon as a diagnosis is made to ensure the child always stays physically and financially protected if the unthinkable occurs.

The options for long-term care planning are broad and depend on the needs of the child. Parents can simplify the process by starting with these 3 key planning steps:

1. Name Guardians- Guardians should immediately be named who can oversee their child’s care if something unexpectedly happens to them. Without such designations in place, the child could end up in a lengthy custody battle if the unthinkable happens. Think outside the box and focus on finding someone whose love and dedication to the child closely resemble their own. Finally, parents  should give copies of their designations to the guardians themselves, as well as the child’s school, babysitters and even the neighbors so everyone knows exactly who to call if a crisis strikes.

2. Set up a Special Needs Trust- A special needs trust is a legal tool that ensures a disabled child’s health care and living needs are taken care of if something happens to mom or dad.  While many parents have good intentions of leaving their child life insurance benefits or other assets in a will or Trust if they pass, leaving a child an inheritance outright could void their eligibility for Social Security or Medicaid in the future (which is often the only health care option available!).  Instead, a trust helps to ensure that the child receives such financial benefits without actually having assets in their name—thus leaving all government benefits intact.

3. Build a Team of Support- It is never too early to begin building a team of trusted caregivers and advisors who can immediately step in and help the child if a crisis occurs.   Such team members may include the child’s legal guardians, a trusted doctor, financial advisor, estate planning attorney and dedicated family or friends.  Building such a team now also helps to ensure you have the right people in place, as opposed to someone who will prey upon your child’s disability in an emergency.

Parents of special needs children must go into planning with the mindset that their child will require a lifetime of care.  Fortunately, by starting with these 3 key steps, parents will make tremendous progress in ensuring their child is physically and financially cared for in their absence.

If you have a special needs child, contact our Estate Planning Firm located in Charlotte, North Carolina at 704-843-1446 to start planning for your peace of mind.

“I love those (mostly cheesy) end-of-year photo montages that you often see at the end of each year.  They are everywhere; the news, radio, newspaper, online, even when watching your favorite sports team.  Maybe for me it is the fascination of looking back at those “most important” things from the past year.    Or, maybe it is the quiet introspection and reflection that comes with the end of something important or significant.  I was recently putting together my own photo collections and having my own moments of reflection, going through my dear Granny’s dusty box of old photographs and letters.  Unfortunately, a major event in my 2009 was the loss of this important figure in my family’s life.

My Granny was not the most organized person in the world.  In many cases, that was a huge understatement.  In fact, this box that I chose to sort through had war-time letters from my Papa, photos from her childhood, her days in college, and then random shots of me with really bad 80′s hair’ quite the confusing mess to have assembled in the same place.

I remember distinctly hanging up with my mother after getting the news that Granny had passed.  There’s often a stun of emotion that comes with such news, and an empty space in the world that once was filled with her presence.  As I continued my conversations with my mom that day, I was in awe of Granny’s organization and her own preparations.  We may not have been ready to lose her, but she had, even in her passing, taken care of us as she always had.

My mother and her sister found four file folders of Granny’s plans for her funeral.  Scripture she wanted read, the address book of people we needed to contact, information about the cemetery plots, even her headstone had been ordered without the date of her passing.  We found keys to the safe deposit box where the Will was, life insurance documents, and she even had drafted her own obituary, some amazing feat for this 90 year-old woman.

I am not quite sure when she had begun all these plans.  Her husband of more than 50 years died of Alzheimers in 2002, so perhaps having been responsible for handling his arrangements gave her the encouragement to be organized for her own death.  Or perhaps, it was that, at 90 years old, her death and dying was the one thing she had control over.  Either way, we were grateful for her diligence and could, instead, concentrate on taking care of one another, celebrating her life, and spend our time doing fun things – like going through old pictures.

I spoke to a good friend of mine the other day.  Like me, she had just lost her grandmother.  However, the fall out afterward was a completely different experience than mine.  Her grandmother never wanted to talk about dying.  She had no Will and the family did not know where to bury her or even hold the funeral.  It was evident that her family was dealing with much more than just the stress that comes when losing a loved one.

2010…a new year.  Many people use the new year to resolve to do something differently, to make their lives better, to clean the slate for a new beginning, to lose weight or stop smoking.  The list is endless.  I am not one to make resolutions.  Maybe it is because I am afraid that I won’t follow through, that I will disappoint myself or those that want the best for me might be disappointed.  However, I think new beginnings can be a reminder to us all of the ways in which we can improve the life around us- even if it might be difficult to think about.

One of the last pictures I came across in my Granny’s box was a sign she had seen in a garden somewhere.  It says:  “Leave this world better than you found it.”  Perhaps this quote struck a chord with her that day and left its’ deep imprint, for she had left our world better by continuing to care for us even when she left us.”

Please share this TODAY with your spouse, parents, sisters, brothers and friends.  Tomorrow may be too late