Estate Planning - Simms Law Firm

Estate planning is the process of designating who will receive your assets and handle your responsibilities after your death or if you become incapacitated.

Do you have a complete estate plan? These documents include:

Advance medical directives that spell out your wishes for medical care if you are unable to make decisions for yourself. This includes a Health Care Power of Attorney and Living Will.
A durable financial power of attorney allows someone else to manage your financial and legal affairs if you are medically unable to do so.
A will lists your beneficiaries and names an executor for your estate.
A living trust might be appropriate for you. Upon your death, the trust assets transfer to your designated beneficiaries, bypassing probate which is the court process that may otherwise distribute your property.
Beneficiary Designations. Another essential part of your estate plan includes a careful review of your designated beneficiaries on your retirement accounts and insurance policies. The named beneficiaries outweigh what is in your will and trust. Make sure the right people inherit your assets.

And do not forget to revisit your estate plan when your circumstances change, for better or for worse. This may include a marriage or divorce, birth of a child, loss of a loved one, getting a new job or being terminated. Life changes. So should your estate plan.

Call the Law Offices of Debra G. Simms at 386.256.4882 to learn more. We are currently offering free consultations via video conference to assist you with your needs.

This blog post is not case-specific and is provided only for educational purposes and is not intended to provide specific legal advice. Blog topics may or may not be updated and entries may be out-of-date at the time you view them.

The global pandemic of COVID-19 has all of us facing our own mortality. Some of us are realizing that we do not have the basic estate planning documents.

To protect yourself and your loved ones now’s a good time to make sure that you have the following four documents prepared and updated.

A will or revocable trust.
- We need to leave instructions as to who will inherit our assets and who will be in control of our estates. Revocable Trusts are a good tool to avoid probate.
Beneficiary designations on financial accounts.
- Many assets do not pass through a will or trust, such as an IRA, 401(k) account, or life insurance policy, and instead the proceeds go to the person you name as the beneficiary of that account.
Advance Directive for Health Care.
- This document will give the person you designate as your agent the ability to make the medical decisions you specify on your behalf.
Financial durable power of attorney.
- In the chance that you become incompetent, financial responsibilities continue. You can designate a trusted person to handle your financial and legal affairs if you cannot.

Call the Law Offices of Debra G. Simms at 386.256.4882 to learn more. We are currently offering free consultations via video conference to assist you with your needs.

Some lucky retirees split their time between two different states. You do not need separate estate planning documents for each state, but it may make sense to do so.

While your Will should be from the state that is your primary residence, your Durable Power of Attorney and Advance Medical Directive from another state might present challenges.

Financial and health care institutions are used to the documents used in their states and may refuse to honor out-of-state documents. In the case of health care documents, other states may use different terms for the document, such as “durable power of attorney for health care” or “advance directive.” Durable Power of Attorney requirements vary significantly from state to state. (And the people reviewing your documents may not be willing to accept the other state’s language).

In the absence of a durable power of attorney and advance medical directive, family members often must resort to going to court for a guardianship. This causes delay and and unnecessary legal fees.

So, if you spend a part of the year in another state, executing a local durable power of attorney and a medical directive is a good idea.

Call the Law Offices of Debra G. Simms at 386.256.4882 to learn more.

ESTATE PLANNING ESSENTIALS

In Florida, an estate planning attorney can help with the completion of four very important documents that are necessary such as a:

last will and testament with or without guardianship depending on a scenario where there are minor children,
an advanced healthcare directive,
durable power of attorney, and
living will

A Last Will and Testament is important for the purposes of explaining where and how an individual would like their assets divided, debts resolved and who will be the Personal Representative of the Estate.

An Advance Healthcare Directive is the document that details the type of care you want administered in the event you become disabled and cannot speak for yourself. In Florida this essential documentation is sometimes called a medical directive or advance directive.

A Durable Power of Attorney designates another person to conduct business on your behalf when you cannot. In the event of disability all other powers of attorney become ineffective except for this one document; the durability of this document allows it to survive disability and is fundamental to estate planning.

A Living Will is a declaration regarding your choices of medical care if you are in an end-stage condition, persistent vegetative state, or terminal condition, AND where there is no medical probability of recovery.

The Law Office of Debra G. Simms can be of assistance in the preparation of estate planning documents. The initial 30 minute consultation is free.

Call the Law Offices of Debra G. Simms at 386.256.4882 to learn more.

We all know that you can find “Do It Yourself” Wills online. We all know that it costs less money to do your own estate plan than to hire an attorney.

But… what if you press the wrong key when answering the prompts? What if you don’t know how to even answer the question in the prompt?

A few years ago, new clients asked me to review their DYI estate plan. On the bottom of each page in very small print were the words “Nebraska Law applies”. I asked my clients if they lived in Nebraska when they did their Wills. They NEVER lived in Nebraska!

Another client called to say her Durable Power of Attorney was refused by an insurance company. The Do It Yourself document did not include the language required to deal with insurance companies.

And, even more disastrous, was the client whose Will’s beneficiaries included a physically disabled adult child who was receiving federal benefits. These benefits would be lost as soon as the child inherited his rather modest bequest. Did these parents ever hear of a Special Needs Trust? No, the forms they used didn’t have such a provision.

So… remember the old line, penny wise, pound foolish? Do It Yourself documents are plain dangerous. The cost of using a good estate planning attorney could save you or your heirs much more.

Call the Law Offices of Debra G. Simms at 386.256.4882 to learn more.

Few decisions are more difficult than the one to place a spouse or parent in a nursing home. Most families try to care for a loved one at home for as long as possible, only accepting the inevitable when no other alternative is available.

The placement decision can be less difficult if, to the extent possible, all family members are included in the process, including the senior, if he or she is able to participate.

I recommend the following steps as you begin this process.

Try to have a family meeting, either with the family alone or with medical and social work staff. If you cannot meet in person, use the telephone or e-mail.
Research all options. Look at-home care, daycare, respite care, assisted living and skilled nursing.
Consider using an Elder Law attorney and a geriatric care manager to help with placement and cost decisions. Try using a senior placement service such as Assisted Living Made Simple in Florida– they know how to “match” the senior with the care facility.

These steps won’t make the decision easy, but they can help make it less difficult.

Call the Law Offices of Debra G. Simms at 386.256.4882 to learn more.

NURSING HOME MYTHS AND REALITIES

Many of my clients are worried about long-term costs if they ever need a nursing home. Most do not have any type of long-term care insurance.

These clients typically ask: Will the nursing take my house? Or they say: I don’t want to give all my hard-earned money to a nursing home!

What they are really asking me is how to get on Medicaid! Medicaid is the government assistance program that pays for long-term care. It is meant for folks with low income and few assets.

But… the Medicaid rules are complicated and there are ways to become eligible and keep many of your assets. For example, in Florida, your primary residence does NOT count as an asset when computing eligibility. There are many other types of assets that do not count as well. And if your income is too high, there is a type of income Trust you can create and still become eligible for Medicaid.

However, there is another reality here. Not all facilities accept Medicaid. And you are not likely to get your own room in a Medicaid facility. Further, you will not be able to use your own doctors. For health care, Medicaid patients must be in a managed care plan. And not all treatments and therapies are paid for by Medicaid.

So, no, you don’t need to give your house to the state, but Medicaid is a needs-based program and doesn’t have all the bells and whistles you might want.

Do you have questions or need help with planning for your future?

Call the Law Offices of Debra G. Simms at 386.256.4882 to learn more.

Facing the Realities of Aging

Getting older is definitely not a cakewalk. If there is one thing that is true for every living person on this planet it is that we all get older and eventually die. No one yet has ever figured out a way around this fact of life!

It is also a given that as our bodies age every one of us will be more susceptible to developing a disability or dementia.

But many seniors fail to plan for this. It’s certainly easy to put off making decisions about who will take care of our finances and make medical decisions if we need help. And what about end of life care? Who wants to think about that?

But failing to make a plan is planning to fail. Now is the time to see an elder law attorney. Don’t wait until it’s too late.

Call the Law Offices of Debra G. Simms at 386.256.4882 to learn more.

Annual Reminders

The end of the year is a great time to review various aspects of your estate and financial plan.

Request a free credit report through annualcreditreport.com
Consider placing a fraud alert on your credit cards.
Create or update a list of all your electronic user names and passwords. Properly safeguard this information.
Review your Will and/or Revocable Trust to ensure that you are comfortable with your bequests, Personal Representatives and Trustees.
Review agents named under financial and medical powers of attorney to ensure they are still appropriate. Review your Living Wills to make sure you are comfortable with your end of life instructions.
Review your beneficiary designations for your insurance policies and retirement plans.

Call the Law Offices of Debra G. Simms at 386.256.4882 to learn more.

2019 Year-End Estate Planning

Family Meeting:

Now might be the time to have an end of year family meeting to help coordinate financial and other matters with your children and grandchildren. Frank discussions about inheritance and your wishes if you become incapacitated are important to prevent family discord.

Beneficiary Designations:

Significant life events such as marriage, divorce, births, and deaths, can impact your beneficiary designations. If you have not designated beneficiaries, or if your beneficiary has passed, then your assets might have to go through probate.

Update Your Estate Plan: Have you moved to a new state? Have any of your agents in your Powers of Attorney or Medical Directives become ill or died? Now is the time to review your documents.

Call the Law Offices of Debra G. Simms at 386.256.4882 to learn more.

Contact Us

Port Orange Office:
Prestige Executive Center
823 Dunlawton Ave. Unit C
Port Orange, FL 32129
Local: 386.256.4882
Toll Free: 877.447.4667

New Smyrna Beach Office:
817 E. 7th Ave
New Smyrna Beach FL, 32169
Local: 386.256.4882
Toll Free: 877.447.4667