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Before a Medical Emergency Occurs, Learn About Your Parents’ Aging Strategies

May 9, 2022Filed Under: Elder Law, Estate Planning

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In the US, many adult children live far away from their parents. Managing aging parents or in-law medical events can be a serious challenge without proper preparation and understanding of what your parents’ strategy may or may not be, no matter where you live. Do you know what legal documentation your parents have in place regarding their medical care? Do they have advance directives that can help guide your medical decision-making process? Do you and your spouse openly discuss the situations of each other’s parents?

Medical advancements facilitate aging Americans’ longevity even with comorbidities such as high blood pressure, diabetes, kidney disease, atrial fibrillation, and other health issues. Hospitals can typically fix non-life-threatening conditions easily enough, but what happens when a parent is released to return home? Are you prepared? Is there a plan? Many adult children tend to practice avoidance, denial, and wishful thinking when thinking about their aging parents’ behalf in a potential medical crisis. It is advisable to organize and prepare for the changes that inevitably come to your parents’ health.

More than ever, seniors are choosing to live independently and with autonomy about their life decisions. Even if your parents are in a well-run continuing care retirement community, there will come a day when their health will force a change in their lifestyle and living arrangements. Many parents will resist “help,” which they may consider more as interference. Whether they believe they are being a burden to you or decline a geriatric care manager’s services due to “cost” concerns, most older people do not want others interfering in their private affairs.

The goal is to find a way to help while still affording your parents the dignity and respect they want and deserve. To achieve a comprehensive plan on your parents’ behalf, travel to them for an honest discussion. If this is not possible due to COVID-19 restrictions, then virtual meetings are best, followed by phone calls as hearing loss typically makes communicating useful information difficult. Even on a screen, a face-to-face connection allows a parent to read lips, which is a typical strategy for older people experiencing hearing loss.

Review what legal paperwork your parents have and make sure it is in order. Many documents have a signature from many years ago, and things may have changed. If there is no designation of a medical power of attorney, be sure there is a document naming a “personal representative” to address restrictions outlined in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). This document allows the waiving of privacy concerns that permit access to a parent’s medical information while the parent is in the hospital.

Create an up-to-date list of all your parents’ doctors. The list should include medical contact information and all medicines (prescription or otherwise) that the parents take. If their general physician is not a geriatric specialist, it will help to find them one. Post-hospital fog and newly prescribed medications from an adverse health event can create confusion in an older parent. A geriatric doctor will know to look for and resolve these types of issues. Ask about the parameters for health care intervention, such as dialysis, post-hospital during the time of COVID-19?

Explain to your parents that being released from a hospital for a non-life-threatening, yet serious health episode is usually followed by the need for a care manager, at-home nursing care, or at least companion care. This additional care should not fall to a spouse if the parents live together. A spouse has a unique role to fill as well as personal health challenges with which to contend. Heaping an increased responsibility for spousal health care upon them may be damaging to their health.

Before an unforeseen medical crisis can occur, identify several qualified agencies in your parents’ hometown. Review each agency and candidate carefully. It is easier to integrate a suitable candidate at the outset than having the chaos of retaining and releasing multiple workers. Remember that a candidate who works for one parent may not be another parent’s preference in the future. Maintain a strong relationship with the agency provider. They are an essential resource, and you will probably need them in the future.

Take the time to learn the specifics of your parents’ healthcare and living arrangements. Coordinating your plan of response is contingent upon whether your parents live independently, in assisted living, or in a retirement community. Wherever it is your parents live, their first desire will be to go home after an unexpected hospitalization. The desire to return home is a universal truth. Knowing the agencies that can quickly provide the type of care your parent needs in their home setting will go a long way to a successful transition. The road to recovery may require a few weeks of nurse visits, physical or occupational therapists, or simply companionship. The faster you can meet the need, the easier it will be on your parent.

If a full recovery is not possible, what will be your plan to address the new status of their normal? How much more medical oversight and assistance will they require? Know that in these instances, a parent can quickly spend through Medicare allotments afforded for temporary care. If they do not have long-term care, and many aging Americans do not, you will have to find ways to help them receive the care that they require.

If there are multiple adult children, is there an expectation that all siblings share information and work on the problems at hand, or is one in charge? Is this designation formally documented? Managing sibling relationships is key to avoiding family conflict. Also, understand your parents’ financial arrangements. Most parents will ask about the cost of any new healthcare service being arranged and decline to use it. It is hard for a parent to spend down the money they worked their entire life to amass.

Knowing your parents’ aging strategies will not address every issue you might encounter because they may not have all the necessary decisions and documents in order. You can only work within the authority they choose to provide. As attorneys, we can help identify gaps in their planning and recommend ways to fill those gaps so everyone can have peace of mind. We hope you found this article helpful. If you’d like to discuss your particular situation, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Please contact our Cincinnati office by calling us at 513-771-2444 with any questions.

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Making an Estate Plan for Unmarried Couples

May 2, 2022Filed Under: Asset Protection, Estate Planning

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Americans over 65 are experiencing divorce and widowhood at record rates, resulting in new partnerships. The US Census Bureau reports that more than half of all older adults have only married once, opting to stay legally single in their future relationships. Cohabitating can have unforeseen and unintended consequences without a legally recognized civil union, marriage, or domestic partnership certificate.

For instance, your assets are not mutually inheritable without careful estate planning that includes a “living together contract.” This contract type can be specific and, as an example, cover one transaction, such as purchasing a new home. The contract can also encompass every aspect of your property and finances, including asset distribution in the event of incapacitation, death, or breakup.

Many believe they can address domestic decision-making, such as permissions for owning pets, entertaining guests, and even including minor tasks like who will do the dishes in a casual contract, but it is unlikely to be enforced by the courts. If you’re an unmarried couple, it is safer to draw up a comprehensive agreement, enforceable by the courts, that will see you through your lives together. However, you won’t want to co-mingle personal and financial clauses in a single contract as it may render the agreement unenforceable, negating the importance of the contract’s financial clauses.

For estate planning purposes, a comprehensive living together agreement includes all assets and property owned before the relationship and another for any acquisitions during the relationship. The property and asset division is much like a prenuptial agreement. Remember, joint obligations to a mortgage company or a landlord do not create a contractual relationship or entitle you to a property settlement in the event of death or the parting of ways. With non-marital agreements, each partner should also have a valid will for the state in which they live.

A living together contract often includes rules regarding gifts received, living expenses, property purchases, inheritable rights, and a method for dispute resolution that may arise later, typically through mediation. Having a living together agreement in writing can avoid a host of future legal issues and can be developed in the spirit of two fair-minded individuals clarifying the understanding of a partnership.

Many older Americans prefer not to remarry as it can have consequences on social security income, pension benefit awards, alimony (as part of a divorce settlement), tax consequences, and rights of survivorship. A new spouse’s income may disqualify a child for college financial aid or, in the case of a disabled child, impact the eligibility for government assistance programs.

Because many seniors and near seniors live together in non-legally recognized ways, estate planning can create challenges when partners want to provide for the other after their death.

A legally binding living together contract must work in concert with existing plans for already named heirs. A qualified estate planning attorney can draw up this contract and make necessary changes to current estate plans to avoid future legal conflicts. Like all estate planning documents, the regular review of its content to account for major life changes or preferences is crucial. If you plan to make substantive changes, it is best to be open with your partner and any adult children.

Avoid the possibility of personal and family conflict through open communication channels and mutual understanding. A newer, unmarried partner of a beloved parent may provoke suspicion of intent by adult children. Cohabitating is becoming more popular; however, as states adjudicate separations and inheritance, there is much to consider about planning property and asset control. To protect and provide for your partner and your adult children, consult an estate planning attorney about a living together contract in conjunction with your estate plan to ensure your documents reflect your wishes and are legally enforceable. We hope you found this article helpful. If you’d like to discuss your particular situation, please contact our Cincinnati office by calling us at 513-771-2444 with any questions.

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When a Beneficiary No Longer Lives, Who Inherits the Estate?

April 25, 2022Filed Under: Estate Planning

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What happens to your inheritance if your beneficiary is no longer alive? You may be wondering whether if you leave property to your brother Jim, but he dies before you, would his kids inherit the property in his place? The answer is, only if your will explicitly states as much. To ensure your document is correct, it’s best to say so specifically in various particular ways.

The surest way is to word your will or trust like this: “To my brother Jim, but if he predeceases me, then to his surviving children [insert their full legal names], or to their heirs, __________.” The blank line shows another critical choice, but it’s too complicated to explain here. Call us to assist you.

If you haven’t explicitly worded your documents like that – for example, if your will or trust says “to my brother Jim,” but he has died first, and there’s no mention of his children – then the answer may become unnecessarily complicated. The gift would be saved for his immediate family, thanks to “anti-lapse” laws that all states have on the books, but it’s safer not to rely on those laws. Things might get complicated fast, especially if your brother’s family is a “blended” one with numerous stepchildren.

Attorneys Can Help Ensure Your Will or Trust be Established Correctly

Ensure that your will or trust will work the way you want it to with the best solution, a lawyer. We help families with their estate planning needs and would be honored to meet with you.

It’s important to remember that estate planning is not “one and done.” You should update your plan every five years or so (or sooner if you or a loved one’s health changes) to account for any changes in the lives of your beneficiaries or if your goals have changed. We hope you found this article helpful. If you have questions or would like to discuss your personal situation, please don’t hesitate to contact us at 513-771-2444.

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What to Do When Inheriting a Timeshare

April 4, 2022Filed Under: Estate Planning

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In a resort where parents purchased a timeshare, a resort agent suggested they sign a deed transferring the share to their children in order for them to continue to enjoy the timeshare after their parents passed.

The resort agent suggested Mom and Dad should leave the timeshare to their children in a deed so, when the parents passed, their children could enjoy the property.

Upon purchasing a timeshare in a vacation resort, the resort agent suggested that Mom and Dad leave the property to their children so that after they passed, the kids could continue to enjoy the property.

Mom and Dad purchased a timeshare in a holiday resort, and the resort agent recommended they sign a deed through which they left the property to their children so that when the parents passed away, their children could continue to enjoy it.

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Unfortunately, once Mom and Dad did pass, the children were shocked to receive demand letters from the resort charging them hefty annual maintenance fees.

Those fees typically start at around $1,000.00 a year and go up. Additional charges could be imposed for extraordinary events like hurricane damage. Routine annual hikes of as much as four percent could outpace inflation. At four percent, in ten years’ time, the kids would be paying $1,477.00, an increase of around 48%!

And the kids would be liable for those fees, on and on into the future, regardless of whether they actually used the property.

None of the kids wanted that obligation, so they simply ignored the demand letters. They then found themselves in a world of hurt, when the resort sued them and their credit reports were blackened.

The only way to unload this obligation is to get rid of the timeshare.

If you are caught in this dilemma, act promptly. You should pay the resort’s demands while contesting them, sending a protest letter along with payments. If your parents have left an estate, use estate money to pay the fees, not money from your own bank account. You must not use the share, or you may jeopardize your ability to escape from it. If you end up having to sue, you have only a limited time under state statutes of limitations.

The resort might have a resale program, but unfortunately many do not. The contract may say something about giving or selling the share back to the resort. Unfortunately, this may come along with additional fees.

Do not pay in advance for termination services, and you should not submit to threats.

It is highly advisable to hire your own local legal counsel to represent you. Of course, as lawyers, we would say that, but please, beware of online hypes that promise to sell your share or get you out of the obligation by “exit” services. This seems to be an area particularly attractive to outright scams, or enterprises that fail to deliver on promises.

If you do negotiate a sale or exit on your own, don’t sign anything without your own lawyer’s prior approval. Your lawyer will make sure that the deal really will work as a complete “renunciation of property.” That is, any agreement you sign must deed all of the real estate interest to the new owner or back to the resort, and it must expressly, completely, and immediately free you from the relationship with the resort as a release, termination, and cancellation of the contract.

It’s too bad that a timeshare given with such good intentions can be a gift horse better looked at in the mouth.

If you have questions about a timeshare interest or any other property interest you own or may inherit, please please don’t hesitate to contact us at 513-771-2444. We would be honored to speak to you confidentially to see how we might help.

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Olivia K. Smith, Attorney at Law
Cornetet, Meyer, Rush & Stapleton Co., L.P.A.
123 Boggs Lane,
Cincinnati, Ohio 45246
Tel: (513) 771-2444
Fax: (877) 483-2119
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Olivia K. Smith, Attorney at Law
Cornetet, Meyer, Rush & Stapleton
123 Boggs Lane
Cincinnati, OH 45246
Phone: 513-771-2444
Fax: 877-483-2119
oksmith@cmrs-law.com

Family Law Attorney Olivia K. Smith, LLC represent clients in Cincinnati, Anderson Township, Batavia, Loveland, Mason, Milford and other communities in Hamilton County, Clermont County, Butler County and Warren County.

Disclaimer: The information you obtain at this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for advice regarding your individual situation. I invite you to contact me and welcome your calls, letters and electronic mail. Contacting me does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please do not send any confidential information to me until such time as an attorney-client relationship has been established.

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