As recently as fifty years ago in the United States, men traditionally made all major decisions in a marriage. This included decisions regarding investments, expenditures and estate planning. Although this has certainly changed in more recent years, there are still a number of women in their golden years who are accustomed to the concept that the man handles financial and legal affairs. The problem with that is that women typically live longer, meaning that regardless of tradition, estate planning is equally as important for women as it is for men.

Experts tell us that women live, on average, five years longer than their male counterparts in the United States. Therefore, a woman can expect to live to the age of around 80…many live much longer. For women entering their golden years now, or in the near future, this means that comprehensive retirement and estate plans are important.  If your husband dies before you, will you have enough income/resources to live comfortably? Assuming you have sufficient assets to outlive the life expectancy estimates, what will happen to your assets after your death?

Traditionally, women deferred to the husband’s estate planning decisions. While there is nothing wrong with this, estate planning laws change often. If you outlive your husband, the decisions made in your existing estate plan may not be in your best interest because of changes in the tax code or changes in the law. For this reason, if no other, you should take the initiative to have your current estate plan reviewed and make any necessary changes to ensure that you  will be comfortable throughout your golden years and that your assets will go where you want them to go after your death.

The Law Offices of Barton P. Levine is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

New York may receive an estate worth $40 million – the largest in New York history – if heirs to the estate are not located soon. The decedent’s story reminds all of us why estate planning is necessary.

New York resident Roman Blum died last year at the age of 97, leaving behind an estate worth approximately $40 million. To date, a Last Will and Testament has not been found. When no Will is produced, an estate is probated according to the state’s intestate succession laws, meaning that the legal heirs of the decedent inherit the estate assets. The problem is that no heirs have been found either.

Although Blum’s life prior to moving to America is somewhat of a mystery, it appears as though he was born in Poland and was a holocaust survivor. Blum was married but divorced his wife after 50 years and the couple had no children. The public administrator who was appointed to probate the estate has launched an international search for heirs, even hiring a professional genealogist to help. To date, no heirs have been uncovered.

If no heirs are found within three years, what remains of Blum’s estate will be transferred to the State of New York’s unclaimed property fund. The cause of Blum’s failure to execute a Will remains a mystery as well. Although he was a successful developer and used an attorney on a regular basis, friends surmise that he may have not created a Will for superstitious reasons. Whatever the reason, the story should remind all of us why it is so important to create an estate plan.

The Law Offices of Barton P. Levine is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Most of us assume that once we execute a Last Will and Testament that the document controls everything relating to the disposal of estate property after death. While your Will certainly is the foundation of an estate plan, there are situations in which a Will does not tell the entire story. Taking against a Will is one of those examples.

Individual state laws govern wills and trusts. For that reason, the state in which a decedent is considered a resident at the time of death will determine any legal issues relating to the estate of the decedent. Most states have a law that allows a surviving spouse to “take against the Will”. What this means is that a spouse may elect to take a specific dollar amount or percent of the estate instead of accepting whatever was left to him or her in the Will. If, for example, your spouse left you $10,000 under the terms of his or her Will, but the laws in the state where you live allow you to take $25,000 as a surviving spouse then you would be better off taking against the Will.

Whether you are a surviving spouse or are someone who is in the process of drafting a Will, you should understand your state’s laws with regard to a spouse’s right to take against a Will. As a testator, you need to understand what rights your surviving spouse will have with regard to your estate. On the other hand, if you are the surviving spouse then you may be entitled to more estate assets than the Will left you.

The Law Offices of Barton P. Levine is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

If you are like most people, you have heard over and over again why you should not use a “do-it-yourself” Last Will and Testament, yet you may still be considering it. Once you consider the cost of challenging a Will you may finally be convinced that professional advice is warranted when you execute a Will.

A Will contest can be filed for a number of reasons, but the bottom line is that they must claim that the Will itself is invalid. If the probate court is satisfied that the challenge is not frivolous, it will be litigated. The emotional cost to the family members and loved ones who must go through this process is immeasurable. The financial cost, however, can be measured.

While each Will challenge is unique, they all incur costs. The executor or personal representative of the estate must defend the Will. This requires an attorney. The attorney must prepare a response to the challenge and file that with the court. Discovery will then take place which will include reviewing and analyzing numerous documents, medical records and evidence. Depositions of people involved with case may be scheduled. Hearings will be held along the way. All of these steps along the way incur legal fees that are charged to your estate assets. By the time all is said and done, the cost of litigating a Will challenge will almost always far exceed what it would have cost to simply consult with an estate planning attorney in the first place.

The Law Offices of Barton P. Levine is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

If you, or your spouse, served in the United States Armed Forces, then you may be entitled to a little know benefit as a result. Most veterans are aware of the more common benefits that go along with service in the military such as VA loans, medical benefits and pensions, but do you know about the Veteran’s Aid and Attendance, or Veteran A&A, program? If you have never heard of it, you are hardly alone.

The Veteran’s A&A program has actually been around for years; however, many veterans do not know that it exists. Often considered the third tier of the veteran pension program, the Veteran A&A program can help veterans and spouses who need daily assistance in the home with the expenses incurred in paying for that assistance.

The Veteran’s A&A program is not dependent on the veteran having a service related injury. To qualify, the veteran must be a war-time veteran with at least 90 days of active duty, at least one day of which must have been during an active time of war. In addition, the War-Time Veteran or surviving spouse “must need the assistance of another person to perform daily tasks, such as eating, dressing, undressing, taking care of the needs of nature, etc. Being blind or in a nursing home for mental or physical incapacity, or residing in an assisted living facility also qualifies.”  In addition, the applicant must have less than $80,000 in assets excluding a home and vehicles.

If approved, a veteran can receive up to $1,704 per month in assistance. A surviving spouse could receive up to $1,094 and a couple may be eligible for up to $2,020. To apply, complete Form 21-534 for a veteran or Form 21-536 for a surviving spouse. If you encounter problems in the application process, consult with your estate planning attorney.

The Law Offices of Barton P. Levine is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

For anyone with a moderate to large estate, a comprehensive estate plan is essential. Along with official estate planning documents like a Last Will and Testament or a trust document, you may wish to include additional documents that provide guidance to the people who will be administering your estate after your death. An investment policy statement is among the documents that you should consider including.

An investment policy statement, or IPS, is your opportunity to put down in writing what you goals and wishes are for money or assets that are being managed by someone else. For example, if you create a trust as part of your estate plan the trust will be administered by a trustee. Although the trustee is ultimately responsible for the trust assets, your IPS can provide guidance to the trustee.

Your IPS may include general instructions such as your desire to make safe investments or risky investments as well as more specific instructions such as a goal of growing the fund to a specific dollar amount by the time a beneficiary reaches college age.

Providing a roadmap through an IPS can be particularly beneficial when your trustee is an individual instead of a professional corporation. For example, if you appoint your parent, sibling or child as the trustee, he or she may not have extensive experience investing trust fund assets. By providing an IPS your trustee has a starting point and some general instructions to go by. Be sure to keep a copy of your IPS with all of your other estate planning documents so that it can be put to use when the time comes.

The Law Offices of Barton P. Levine is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

For most people, financial planning and estate planning are heavily inter-related. Because the success of your estate plan often depends on the success of your financial plan, your financial planner should, to some extent, be involved in your estate planning. Although each estate plan is unique, there are some common considerations when attempting to correlate your two plans. Remember that although they are inter-related, each professional has his or her own area of expertise. Knowing who does what and who to ask what can make the process much smoother.

• Your estate planning attorney should be consulted for a broad picture that determines where you want to be in 10, 20, 50 years and what you want to be able to leave behind for your family and loved ones when you die.
• Your financial planner should be consulted when deciding how best to invest the funds you have today in order to realize those goals you discussed with your estate planning attorney.
• Your estate planning attorney understands the law.
• Your financial planner understands investments.
• Your financial planner should be able to provide you with written projections for what your assets will look like in the years to come assuming you follow the plan you have developed with him or her.
• The plans that your financial planner provides for you can then be used by your estate planning attorney to develop a comprehensive estate plan that accounts for those assets both during your retirement and after your death.

The Law Offices of Barton P. Levine is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Estate planning attorneys and courts often talk about testamentary capacity. The most common reference to testamentary capacity is when someone is challenging a Last Will and Testament under the grounds that the testator did not have the testamentary capacity to execute the Will. So what does this term really mean and why is it important?

State laws define estate planning terms and concepts; however, there are usually similarities among the states. As a general rule, “testamentary capacity” refers to an individual’s mental capacity to sign a document such as a Last Will and Testament. Despite how many books and movies portray the concept, testamentary capacity usually has a relatively low standard.

In most cases, the capacity required to execute a Wills is presumed, meaning that anyone challenging the Will must prove that the testator lacked the legal capacity required. In addition, it is typically only necessary that the testator had the capacity at the precise moment that the Will was signed. If the testator doesn’t remember signing the document the following say, he or she way still have had the capacity at the time of signing under the eyes of the law.

While full blown dementia or Alzheimer’s may be enough to find that the testator lacked the requisite capacity,  early stage symptoms of either may not. For this reason, if you are considering contesting a Will based on the lack of testamentary capacity, be sure to consult with an experienced estate planning attorney first.

The Law Offices of Barton P. Levine is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

As America’s population ages, nursing homes are filling up as fast as they can be built. Chances are good that at some point in your life you will be faced with choosing a nursing home for a family member or loved one. Given some of the unfavorable reports we all read in the news, this can seem like a daunting task; however, there are some steps you can take to help ensure that you find a high quality, loving nursing home for the elderly individual in your life.

1. Narrow down your search using the Medicare online search tool. Along with locating nearby nursing homes, you can also use the tool to view ratings for each home in your area.
2. Check with the state elderly ombudsman program or department of elder affairs. Specifically check to see what types of complaints have been filed against nursing homes in the area where you need care.
3. Visit each potential nursing home at least five or six times. Be sure to show up without an appointment on some of your visits to see how the place runs when they are not expecting a potential client.
4. Talk to residents and/or loved ones of current and former residents. There is nothing better than a first-hand account of how a nursing home runs.
5. Schedule an official appointment with the administrator. Come prepared with specific questions such as what is the staff to patient ratio, what type of professionals are on staff, and does the home employ registered nurses or simply certified nursing aids.

The Law Offices of Barton P. Levine is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

As we age, the risk of being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s almost doubles every five years. Understandably, most of us live in some degree of fear that we will be diagnosed with the disease at some point in time. If you are married, hearing that your spouse has been diagnosed with the disease can be almost as devastating as being told you have it yourself. For a spouse, the disease can be emotionally traumatizing as well as financially ruinous. If you have recently been told that your spouse has Alzheimer’s there are a number of practical and legal steps that you should take as soon as possible in order to limit the devastation that the disease can cause to you and your spouse.

Because Alzheimer’s caused nerve cells in the brain to degenerate and die, a patient may appear physically healthy for years after being diagnosed; however, his or her mental faculties are slowly degenerating, eventually leading to the inability to make legal decisions. Long before your spouse reaches this point you should be prepared by creating an incapacity plan if one is not already in place.

At some point, you will need to take over legal and financial decision making for your spouse. Simply being married does not give you unfettered authority to do this. For this reason, your estate plan must include the appropriate incapacity planning documents now before your spouse reaches a point at which he or she is legally unable to execute them.

The Law Offices of Barton P. Levine is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.