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Avoiding Estate Planning? You’re Not Alone according to Study
September 27, 2011
I hear it from our estate planning clients every day, that they are happy to have the peace of mind that their estate planning affairs are in finally wrapped up. Many of our Michigan estate planning (wills, trusts, powers of attorney) clients feel that prior, to meeting with us, that estate planning is a looming task. But once we’ve completed the process and executed their wills and revocable living trusts, they have feelings of comfort and security.
According to a 2008 study by Thomson Reuters, only 40% of Americans currently have a last will and testament. A last will and testament is a document that provides instructions to the Michigan probate court on how to administer your estate. Understand that a will does not avoid probate, it only gives instructions to the probate court on administration. If you fail to have a will or living trust, then the state of Michigan will administer your estate by the laws of intestacy.
So why do so many people leave their affiars up to chance or the whims of the probate court?
Well according to an article at funeral.com, there are four main reasons.
First, estate planning in Michigan is a very detailed process. It is legally binding, attorneys are involved, there is an investment of financial resources and a number of complex decisions need to be made. All of these activities, along with people’s hesitation to contact a Michigan estate planning lawyer can lead to overwhelm and procrastination.
Next, the actual process of completing an estate plan can take a couple weeks. It is very easy to get distracted with the daily minutia of life, work, and tv and put off meeting with an estate planning attorney, spending time with the attorney so he or she can document your wishes and then executing your estate planning documents.
Sometimes estate planning has a hard time making it up your “to-do” list, and I understand. Generally, us estate planning attorneys, see clients more interested in estate planning when a child is born, when a loved one passes away, or if someone is suffering a serious illness. The difficult part, is that during these life changes and high times of stress, it is more difficult to complete the estate planning process due to the stresses caused by the life changes. It is much easier to go through the estate planning process during a time when its easier to focus on the estate planning itself.
The fourth reason that you may be procrastinating on your estate planning is that going through the estate planning process can raise questions that are difficult to answer or you don’t have a perfect answer. For example, one of the biggest hurdles for parents with young children is who to name as guardians of their minor children. The fear of making the wrong decision can keep people from making any decision at all. Keep in mind, that even though you may not have a perfect answer to who shall serve a particular role, the answer you have is better than the answer a judge or probate court who has no familiarity with your family has.
Are you procrastinating on your estate planning? The first step is to pick up the phone and call an estate planning lawyer to get the ball rolling. The first step is the hardest.
Attorney Christopher J. Berry is a Metro Detroit estate planning and elder law lawyer who helps families, seniors, veterans and business owners with their important legal needs. Oakland County estate planning lawyer, Christopher Berry is a partner in the Bloomfield Hills law firm of Witzke Berry PLLC. Mr. Berry practices in the areas of estate planning, business, probate, veterans benefits & Medicaid planning.
Michigan Nursing Home Medicaid Planning Free Report
September 26, 2011
Filed under: Medicaid Planning —
Christopher J. Berry | Estate & Elder Law Attorney @ 2:04 am
Our Michigan Nursing Home Medicaid planning lawyers have put together a new free report that is a great resource for families facing having a loved one entering a nursing home. This free Medicaid Planning resource will help families who are placing a loved one in the nursing home or face the diagnosis of one of the many debilitating diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease, navigate the long-term care legal maze.
Download your Michigan Medicaid Planning Free Report now!
Attorney Christopher J. Berry is a Metro Detroit estate planning and elder law lawyer who helps families, seniors, veterans and business owners with their important legal needs. Oakland County estate planning lawyer, Christopher Berry is a partner in the Bloomfield Hills law firm of Witzke Berry PLLC. Mr. Berry practices in the areas of estate planning, business, probate, veterans benefits & Medicaid planning.
Understanding Veterans Benefits for Seniors
September 15, 2011
Filed under: Elder Law,Veterans Benefits —
Christopher J. Berry | Estate & Elder Law Attorney @ 7:04 pm
VA Non-Service Connected Pension
The VA Non-service connected Pension program is often called, Aid & Attendance, however, Aid & Attendance is an add on for the basic VA pension. The VA pension benefit helps supplement the income of disabled or older veterans. Unlike the service-connected compensation, there is no need to link any disability or injury to a veterans time in service. However, also unlike the service-connected compensation program, the VA pension program is a needs based program.
The VA Pension can grant a single veteran $1,644 per month. A veteran with a dependent or spouse could receive $1,949 per month and the surviving spouse of a veteran can receive $1,056 per month.
VA Pension Requirements
To qualify a veteran must have spent 90 days of active duty, one day during a period of war, and be discharged under other than dishonorable conditions. If the veteran meets that criteria then he or she must also pass an income and asset test.
The requirement of one day of active duty during a time of war is linked to the official wartimes as determined by Congress, which are:
- World War I: April 6th, 1917- November 11, 1918, or until April 1, 1920 if service was in Russia
- World War II: December 7, 1941- December 31, 1946
- Korean War: June 27, 1950- January 31, 1955
- Vietnam War: August 5, 1964- May 7, 1965 or beginning February 28, 1961 if service was in Vietnam
- Persian Gulf War: August 2, 1990- Present
Once a one day during a time of war has been established the next step is to review the first part of the needs based test, that is the income test. For a veteran to qualify for any portion of their Maximum Annual Pension Rate (MAPR), they must show that their income is less than the MAPR and will be reduced dollar for dollar for each dollar of income over zero. For example, if a veteran’s monthly benefit was $1,644 and $19,736 annually and the veteran had $19,000 worth of income for the year, then the veteran’s benefit would be $746 annually, broken into a monthly benefit. It is important to understand that this income calculation is what is known as a quasi-household calculation in that the income of the spouse or dependent children is also considered in the calculation.
Something to note about both income as well as unreimbursed medical expenses is that they are calculated forward from the date of claim as opposed to from the past. In other words, the veteran needs anticipated unreimbursed medical expenses that can be be clearly and reasonable calculated. The VA typically accepts anticipated costs for nursing homes and assisted living facilities without issue, however proving home care expenses can be problematic. It is key to document through the use of care contracts for family care givers, or letters on company letterhead for commercial home care. Additionally, in the case for home care, unless the veteran is deemed housebound or in need of aid and attendance, the care giver must be a licensed health professional or the expense will not be deductible.
The asset test is not a hard line number. The VA looks to the entirety of a veteran’s net worth in order to determine if the veteran’s assets are excessive. While there is no hard line rule, the rule of thumb that is a married veteran cannot have more than $80,000 in total assets and a single veteran cannot have more than $40,000 in total assets. These numbers would be adjusted down the older a veteran is. Comparable to Medicaid, a veteran is allowed to exempt a primary residence as well as one automobile.
Conclusion
While there are asset and income tests for this program, a visit to a highly qualified elder law attorney who is accredited with the VA may provide strategies to aid a veteran (or surviving spouse) the hard earned benefits they deserve through their service to our country. Some of these strategies may include Legacy Deeds, Care Contracts, or VAPT’s.
Through proper planning a veteran and their family can make use of a well deserved resource that can help keep the veteran at home or in assisted living longer by better being able to pay the cost of care.
Check out our sister blog for more information (www.michiganelderlawcenter.com)
Attorney Christopher J. Berry is a Metro Detroit estate planning and elder law lawyer who helps families, seniors, veterans and business owners with their important legal needs. Oakland County estate planning lawyer, Christopher Berry is a partner in the Bloomfield Hills law firm of Witzke Berry PLLC. Mr. Berry practices in the areas of estate planning, business, probate, veterans benefits & Medicaid planning.
Why Do I Need a Michigan Elder Law Attorney
August 12, 2011
Filed under: Elder Law —
Christopher J. Berry | Estate & Elder Law Attorney @ 3:03 pm
As a Michigan elder law attorney, I appreciate when others serving seniors and veterans recognized the need for an elder law attorney to provide guidance to families facing the legal issues associated with aging. Lynn Breuer of Elder Care Solutions, a great geriatric care management group, wrote a wonderful blog post on how important an elder law attorney is.
You can read Lynn Breuer’s blog post here: Why Do I Need An Elder Law Attorney?
Attorney Christopher J. Berry is a Metro Detroit estate planning and elder law lawyer who helps families, seniors, veterans and business owners with their important legal needs. Oakland County estate planning lawyer, Christopher Berry is a partner in the Bloomfield Hills law firm of Witzke Berry PLLC. Mr. Berry practices in the areas of estate planning, business, probate, veterans benefits & Medicaid planning.
Helping Your Clients Protect Their Family Fortunes…..in Michigan?
August 9, 2011
Filed under: Asset Protection,Elder Law,Medicaid Planning,Will —
Christopher J. Berry | Estate & Elder Law Attorney @ 11:25 pm
I just saw a blog post entitled “Helping Your Clients Protect Their Family Fortunes,” which I thought was a bit odd and out of place. Especially on days like this when the stock market and people’s retirement assets are tanking. Our firm heritage is that we started out as an estate planning firm in Michigan, and we still are. However, more and more, every day, I consider my practice, at least, more geared towards every day Michiganders, who don’t have a “family fortune,” but instead worked hard and saved a nest egg that has taken a hit with the plummeting economy.
I spend my day as a Michigan elder law attorney, helping clients with modest assets save as much as they can from taxes, probate, and long-term care costs. Sure, we have the skill set to plan around the Federal Estate Taxes ($5million dollar exemption this year and with portability $10 million, do you have that much?) and do complicated, high end estate planning utilizing GRITs, GRATs, ILITS, IDGT’s, and the rest of the alphabet soup. But, I find that my day is spent helping working class Michigan families with questions such as “how do we pay for assisted living for mom?” or “dad’s going into the nursing home, how to we make sure that mom can continue to pay the bills?”
Very different than “Helping Your Clients Protect Their Family Fortunes.” I’d say a good tag line for much of the work I am helping Michigan families with is “Helping Your Clients Save Their House and Savings.”
Attorney Christopher J. Berry is a Metro Detroit estate planning and elder law lawyer who helps families, seniors, veterans and business owners with their important legal needs. Oakland County estate planning lawyer, Christopher Berry is a partner in the Bloomfield Hills law firm of Witzke Berry PLLC. Mr. Berry practices in the areas of estate planning, business, probate, veterans benefits & Medicaid planning.
Veterans Benefits, Michigan Medicaid and Long-term Care
July 31, 2011
Our Bloomfield Hills Elder Law attorney office often gets contact by individuals looking for assistance with their Veterans Benefits questions. Often we’ll get calls asking whether “my father qualifies for the aid & attendance benefit?” and what we can do to help. What many people are missing is that there is a whole continuum of care with aging.
The VA benefit is a great benefit when the veteran is needing home care or assisted living, but once a veteran is in need of skilled nursing care, quite often we are looking at another governmental program to help defray the devastating costs of long-term care. That benefit is the Michigan Medicaid program.
Now the thing to keep in mind about the VA benefit and the Michigan Medicaid program is that the two programs have different rules for qualification. For example, the Michigan Medicaid program has a 60 month look back period. The differences in the two programs is why when individuals focus entirely on the VA benefit program and ignore the Medicaid program, as elder law attorneys serving Oakland County, Michigan, we educate our clients on both programs and how they work together.
Attorney Christopher J. Berry is a Metro Detroit estate planning and elder law lawyer who helps families, seniors, veterans and business owners with their important legal needs. Oakland County estate planning lawyer, Christopher Berry is a partner in the Bloomfield Hills law firm of Witzke Berry PLLC. Mr. Berry practices in the areas of estate planning, business, probate, veterans benefits & Medicaid planning.
Millionaire’s Michigan Heirs get Their Inheritance after 92 Years
July 8, 2011
Filed under: Estate Planning —
Christopher J. Berry | Estate & Elder Law Attorney @ 2:33 pm
Ninety two years after the death of Willington R. Burt, a Saginaw lumber barron, his heirs will receive his $100 million estate. Mr. Burt had set up his estate plan so that his fortune would be withheld from his descendants until 21 years after the death of the last grandchild born in his lifetime.
The Saginaw news reports that Mr. Burt was one of the wealthiest men in America when he passed away on March 2nd, 1919.
You can read more here: Millionaire’s Heirs Get Inheritance after 92 Years.
Many of our estate planning clients set up their estates so that there are not outright distributions to children and family, but generally not to this level of delay.
Attorney Christopher J. Berry is a Metro Detroit estate planning and elder law lawyer who helps families, seniors, veterans and business owners with their important legal needs. Oakland County estate planning lawyer, Christopher Berry is a partner in the Bloomfield Hills law firm of Witzke Berry PLLC. Mr. Berry practices in the areas of estate planning, business, probate, veterans benefits & Medicaid planning.
Five Ways To Screw Up Your Revocable Living Trust
July 6, 2011
Filed under: Estate Planning —
Christopher J. Berry | Estate & Elder Law Attorney @ 1:57 am
There was a great post in Barron’s about five ways to bungle your revocable living trust. As a Michigan estate planning lawyer who regularly reviews living trusts prepared by other attorney’s, I see all kinds of issues, including those listed in the Barron’s article.
One of the first issues of many revocable living trusts we review as Michigan living trust lawyers would be that many revocable living trusts or trustees for the revocable living trusts keep faulty records. Most states require trustees to provide regular accountings to the beneficiaries and keeping comprehensive records is key. The price of not keeping accurate records could be a big lawsuit at the end of the day.
A second big ossue is a failure to diversify. Trustees may be tempted to sink a large chunck of assets into one asset. A good rule of thumb is that more than 10% of any portfolio in one asset is too much.
Another big issues is biased distributions. Trustees owe a fiduciary duty to the current beneficiaries and the remainder beneficiaries. All the beneficiaries must receive the distributions per the terms of the trust.
Another big issue is many trustees expecting a pay day at the end of the day. Many trustees think that because of the extrea work involved they are entitled to additional benefits outside of what the trust states.
The last major issue we see as Michigan estate planning attorneys is the false sense of safety many trustees feel because they may feel honored when taking on the role of trustee and not understanding the responsibilities. There is alot of liability in serving as a trustee and that much be understood.
Attorney Christopher J. Berry is a Metro Detroit estate planning and elder law lawyer who helps families, seniors, veterans and business owners with their important legal needs. Oakland County estate planning lawyer, Christopher Berry is a partner in the Bloomfield Hills law firm of Witzke Berry PLLC. Mr. Berry practices in the areas of estate planning, business, probate, veterans benefits & Medicaid planning.
Estate Recovery in Michigan is Here | July 1, 2011
July 1, 2011
Filed under: Estate Recovery —
Christopher J. Berry | Estate & Elder Law Attorney @ 5:12 pm
Well, it’s been a long road to the enactment of estate recovery in Michigan. Estate recovery is the process whereby the state of Michigan will place liens on the probate assets for anyone who passes away and also received Medicaid payments for long-term care. Basically, the state of Michigan will look to get reimbursed by placing a lien on the house if it goes through probate.
Estate Recovery in Michigan was signed into law in 2007, however it has not been administered, until today, July 1, 2011.
To find out more about estate recovery in Michigan, download our free report at www.michiganestaterecovery.com.
Attorney Christopher J. Berry is a Metro Detroit estate planning and elder law lawyer who helps families, seniors, veterans and business owners with their important legal needs. Oakland County estate planning lawyer, Christopher Berry is a partner in the Bloomfield Hills law firm of Witzke Berry PLLC. Mr. Berry practices in the areas of estate planning, business, probate, veterans benefits & Medicaid planning.
More VA Scams by Insurance Annuity Salesmen
June 30, 2011
Filed under: Elder Law,Veterans Benefits —
Christopher J. Berry | Estate & Elder Law Attorney @ 3:48 pm
This is a great article about a horrible problem that is going with groups of people preying upon seniors and veterans. Take the time to read the whole article. Here’s a snippet. Does this sound familiar?
The end game comes once the veteran receives his first check, which can include retroactive benefits of $15,000 or more. Around that time, the veteran might get a call from an insurance sales rep associated with the National Strategic Alliance, offering high-dollar annuities and other financial products.
Read the article here: Veteran Con Man Back to Swindling Elderly Veterans.
Attorney Christopher J. Berry is a Metro Detroit estate planning and elder law lawyer who helps families, seniors, veterans and business owners with their important legal needs. Oakland County estate planning lawyer, Christopher Berry is a partner in the Bloomfield Hills law firm of Witzke Berry PLLC. Mr. Berry practices in the areas of estate planning, business, probate, veterans benefits & Medicaid planning.
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