Elder Law

COVID-19 Making All Americans Look into Creating Wills

April 29, 2020Filed Under: Elder Law

There has been an explosion in the numbers of Americans rushing to make their will online. Understandably, the coronavirus pandemic has created the scramble to set up wills and end-of-life-directives. However, online do it yourself (DIY) wills are often deemed invalid as they do not comply with all of the legal requirements of your state. According to Caring.com, the prevalence of will and estate planning has been on the decline since 2017 but this trend is quickly reversing itself with the advent of the coronavirus pandemic.

So, who needs a will? Ask yourself if you care who gets your property or money if you die? If you have minor children, do you care who will act as their legal guardian? The answer is anyone married, anyone with children or anyone with assets needs a properly executed will. Wills are governed by state law. Your will should reflect your wishes in the language and format required by the state in which you live for it to be valid.

Many law offices are turning to teleconference with their clients to address social distancing protocols while still providing legal services such as writing a will. Businesses like Zoom are experiencing a quadrupling of daily users. Part of this significant increase includes hosting secure attorney/client meetings for will preparations. The importance of an attorney guiding you through the process of creating a will cannot be understated as they understand the nuances of how things need to be written. Once your will is complete, it must be correctly notarized as mistakes made in the will-signing process can potentially invalidate your will. Your attorney will guide you through the signing process and could involve signing during a video conference.

Beyond the creation of a will, many Americans are increasingly concerned about their powers of attorneys, health care surrogates, living wills, and end of life directives. These “life documents,” as they are active while you are alive, are equally as important as your will. Named executors, successors, beneficiaries, power of attorneys should have several back-up representatives as the mortality rate due to the coronavirus remains unknown.

According to research in a recent New York Times report, health care workers are more likely to contract COVID 19 than the average person. During this pandemic, many doctors and other medical professionals are rushing to have their wills drawn up. In addition to doctors, anyone on the front lines in the fight against COVID 19, from hospital custodians to nurses to EMS responders, should either make a will or review and possibly update their existing one. However, the truth is no matter what your profession or likelihood of contracting this virus, you should have a properly executed will during this time of considerable uncertainty.

There are few things you can act on during the COVID 19 pandemic that can bring you assurance and a sense of relief. The legal creation of your will and life-directives is an action you can take that protects you and your family. We can help.

If you have questions or need guidance in your planning or planning for a loved one, please do not hesitate to contact our Cincinnati office by calling us at (513) 771-2444.

Medicare Kicks in for Telehealth Services

April 23, 2020Filed Under: Current Events, Elder Law, Senior Health and Wellness

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced that it has increased access to Medicare telehealth services. This means that Medicare beneficiaries can receive more benefits from their doctors without having to travel to a healthcare facility.

The terms “telehealth” and “telemedicine” refer to the ability to exchange medical information from one site to another through electronic communication to improve a patient’s health. With the rapid rise of COVID-19 cases, there is the urgency to expand the use of technology to help people who need routine care. Telehealth will keep vulnerable beneficiaries and those with mild symptoms in their home, but with access to the care they need by phone and video rather than requiring an office visit.

Prior to this change, Medicare would only pay for telehealth on a limited basis, and only for persons in a designated rural area. Now Medicare beneficiaries will be able to receive the following services through telehealth: common office visits, mental health counseling, and preventive health screenings. This will help keep more of the at-risk population (Medicare beneficiaries) able to visit with a doctor from home, rather than traveling to a doctor’s office or hospital which puts the beneficiary and others at risk. Telehealth visits will be treated the same as regular, in-person visits and will be paid by Medicare at the same rates.

These changes went into effect for services starting March 6, 2020 and will continue for the duration of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. For more information, view the fact sheet prepared by CMS.

Better access to telehealth is a big step in getting Medicare beneficiaries appropriate care in the least restrictive way.

If you have questions or need guidance in your planning or planning for a loved one, please do not hesitate to contact our Cincinnati office by calling us at (513) 771-2444.

Seniors’ Finances Take a Hit with Divorce

April 15, 2020Filed Under: Divorce, Elder Law

divorce

Americans aged 50 or more are experiencing gray divorce more than ever. The term gray divorce generally refers to the baby boomer generation and affects all classes and education levels. Research shows that splitting during middle age is particularly damaging to your financial well-being. According to Bloomberg News, the US divorce rate for couples past the age of 50 has doubled since 1990 and occurs most often in people who have married and divorced more than once. The rate of divorce among remarried individuals is 2.5 times higher than those in first marriages. And the financial outlook is usually the bleakest for those who have married and divorced more than once. Losing accumulated wealth for a second or third time can ruin personal finances on an unprecedented scale.

As such, relative wealth can be a protective factor in keeping couples together. Midlife marriages are not always torn apart by empty nest syndrome or a late mid-life crisis. Often, divorcing couples are already experiencing financial problems due to unemployment or job insecurity. These couples may not have the resources to enter into marriage counseling and may not see the point in fighting to remain in an unsuccessful economic partnership. Married couples with more to lose in divorce will often keep a less than perfect marriage viable to protect a lifestyle they are unwilling to forfeit. These couples will often live separate lives but maintain the economic structure within the marriage.

Susan Brown, who is co-director of the National Center for Family & Marriage Research, explains that if you are getting a divorce after the age of 50, expect your wealth to decrease by 50 percent. Brown goes on to state that the depression rate for those experiencing gray divorce is higher than the levels of those who have experienced the death of a spouse. If you are a woman and going through a gray divorce, expect your standard of living to plunge by 45 percent compared to a man’s 21 percent. One of the biggest financial tragedies of gray divorce is there is no appreciable window of time to recover the wealth you lost. The event horizon of your life is shrinking, and there is no time to undo the financial destruction. Even qualified career individuals will find ageism is rife within the corporate hiring sector. The prospects for landing a great new job or winning a lottery are very bleak. Statistics show you will be most unlikely to recoup your previous standard of living. This fact is particularly true in the case of women aged 63 or more who, in part, are experiencing poverty rates of 27 percent because of gray divorce. The Journal of Gerontology projects that by the year 2030, more than 828,000 Americans will be divorcing each year even if the gray divorce rate stays the same.

What to do if you become a gray divorce statistic then? One of the best ways to recover is to re-partner. Many older people are looking to re-couple and the digital age is providing more ways to meet than ever before. Online dating sites for older Americans are popular as are the more traditional senior community centers to make connections to like-aged people. If you choose to remain un-partnered however, you can expect to take about four years to end the depression cycle of gray divorce. However, remarrying or re-partnering will end the depression almost immediately with the stipulation you have chosen your partner wisely. Generally, re-partnering is more successful if you are a man since they tend to look for a partner who is significantly younger than themselves. As women live longer than men and because men do tend to seek younger women, older women are left with a vastly smaller pool of potential partners.

Protect your well-being and financial interests from gray divorce. Your best hope is to stay successfully married and continue on the path of building wealth and enjoying retirement years. If you find yourself going through a gray divorce, be sure to seek trusted legal counsel who can best advise you on how to protect your assets and future retirement years. Whether you are on your first, second, or third marriage take a look at how best to protect your financial picture in the event gray divorce happens to you.

If you have questions or need guidance in your planning or planning for a loved one, please do not hesitate to contact our Cincinnati office by calling us at (513) 771-2444.

Common Power of Attorney Misconceptions

April 2, 2020Filed Under: Elder Law

A durable power of attorney is one of the most important estate planning documents you can have. It allows someone who you appoint (your agent) to make decisions on your behalf in the event you become incapacitated. If you have not appointed an agent, then your friends and family may not have the authority to make decisions on your behalf. In that case, a judge may have to appoint someone for this task, which can require a court process that is expensive and tedious.

While a durable power of attorney (POA) is one of the most common estate planning documents, it is also one of the most misunderstood. This article will break down some of the common misconceptions regarding POAs and help you understand what you need to create a valid POA.

Misconception: Technology is so great now, there is no need to speak with an attorney, I can just create my own POA online.

Truth: POAs are not one-size-fits-all. Each person’s situation is unique. If you use a cookie-cutter program it may not cover specific transactions. In order to conduct many financial transactions, specific language must be used to grant proper authority. Elder law attorneys create these documents regularly which gives them valuable experience in unique situations and can make sure you have all your bases covered.

Misconception: POAs are one-and-done documents. Once I create it I will never have to touch it again.

Truth: POAs are documents that should be updated regularly. Laws change and if you have not regularly updated your documents you may find out too late that your POA is not valid. Further, some financial institutions may not accept a POA that was not updated in the last few years for fear of a lawsuit.

Misconception: I shouldn’t make my POA active until I become incompetent (a “springing” POA).

Truth: While the timing of granting agency through a POA is a matter of personal preference an immediately effective POA should be considered. A springing POA usually requires a finding of incompetency by at least one doctor and sometimes two. However, there may be an emergency where a doctor will not sign off that you are incompetent. Making your POA effective immediately removes the need for a doctor to declare you incompetent.

Misconception: I don’t need a POA, I’m young and healthy, plus I don’t have many assets.

Truth: Every single person over the age of 18 should have a POA. You never know when something catastrophic may happen. You need to have a plan in place to take care of you in the event you become incapacitated unexpectedly. If you do not have these documents in place, then you have no control who will be making decisions on your behalf. It can be expensive and time consuming for your loved ones to go through the court to have one of them appointed by a judge.

POAs are absolutely essential documents that everyone should have. It is important to consult an elder law attorney who can examine your unique situation to create your POA and to keep it updated.

If you have questions or need guidance in your planning or planning for a loved one, please do not hesitate to contact our Cincinnati office by calling us at (513) 771-2444.

COVID-19 Making All Americans Look into Creating Wills

Medicare Kicks in for Telehealth Services

Seniors’ Finances Take a Hit with Divorce

Common Power of Attorney Misconceptions

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Affiliated with Cornetet, Meyer, Rush & Stapleton Co., L.P.A.