Will - Simms Law Firm

Some Common Misconceptions About Estate Planning

I am not rich so I don’t need an estate plan
Everybody knows what I want, so why do I need a will?
Minimizing taxes is one of the most important goals in developing an estate plan.
My spouse and I have been separated for many years, but haven’t bothered to get a divorce. I am not going to leave him/her anything.
My significant other and I have been living together for many years and I want him/her to inherit everything I have.
I have a simple will that takes care of all my concerns and that is all I need.
I have got a trust and that takes care of everything.

Here’s a checklist to help you deal with these concerns:

Review your will or trust to make sure it remains consistent with your wishes.
Check your medical directive and financial powers of attorney to insure that they remain consistent with your wishes.
Review your beneficiary designations.
What about your pets?
Do you have specific wishes for a funeral and burial?

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 Blog topics may or may not be updated and entries may be out-of-date at the time you view them.

Of the over 200,000 Americans who have died unexpectedly from COVID-19 in the past 7 months, most of them were likely not planning for a sudden death. According to caring.com, “fewer than half of those 55 and older had completed estate-planning documents. The number one reason being they “haven’t gotten around to it.”

However, the concerns surrounding COVID-19 has led to a “boom” in estate planning. Estate planning checklists have begun to appear online to provide guidance on planning for life before and after death.

If there is one thing to take away from the risks of the Coronavirus, it is the importance of estate planning. Procrastination poses a risk that will go unnoticed for years if not checked. Keeping your will and living will updated is necessary in order to be prepared to die.

Being prepared to die and being ready to go are not the same thing, of course. However, you can never be ready to go if you are not prepared to die; through end-of-life planning, you can get there.

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.

UPDATING YOUR WILL AS LIFE CHANGES

If COVID has taught us anything, it is that life is unpredictable and things are constantly changing. Due to the ever-changing aspects of life, you should update your estate plan as your life situation changes.

Below are a few life events that may spur a change or at least a review of your estate plan:

Children, grandchildren, & dependents
- Have you had children or have your children had children?
- You may need to add or remove beneficiaries based on the children being born or even dying.
- You must also consider college funds and other accounts similar in nature.
Changes in assets and ownership
- Have you acquired new properties?
- New or old businesses?
Gifts and Donations
Home and Health
Changes in-laws
- have changes already occurred
- are they expected to change?
Marital status

This is not an all-inclusive list but it will get you started on thinking about those life changes that you need to think about and redo 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.

‘No Intubation’: Seniors Fearful Of COVID Are Changing Their Living Wills

For older adults contemplating what might happen to them during this pandemic, ventilators can be terrifying.

These machines pump oxygen into a patient’s body while he or she lies in bed, typically sedated, with a breathing tube snaked down the windpipe.

Older COVID patients often spend long periods of time on ventilators. If they survive, they’re likely to be extremely weak, suffering from delirium and in need of months of ongoing care and physical rehabilitation.

For some seniors, this is their greatest fear: being hooked to a machine, helpless, with the end of life looming. For others, there is hope that the machine might pull them back from the brink.

Advance directives and living wills can address these concerns. Such documents can state if you want to be placed on a ventilator, and if so, for how long. Language such as: “give a ventilator a try, but discontinue it if improvement isn’t occurring” or: “give me high-flow oxygen and anti-biotics, but not a ventilator” is perfectly legal.

But, remember, you need to do this in writing and the document needs to be witnessed. And, you need to do this before you become ill – you won’t be able to communicate your concerns or execute documents once you become seriously ill.

The Law Office of Debra G. Simms has created a Living Will for COVID. But, don’t wait until it’s too late.

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.

Have you had “The Talk” with your loved ones?

Many of my clients are concerned that their elderly parents do not have an adequate estate plan. They tell me that their folks are private or just don’t want to talk about death.

Here are some tips to help you talk to your elderly parents:

Don’t ask them if they have a Will – ask them if they have made a “plan”. This sidesteps the emotional and uncomfortable topic of “who gets what when they die”.
Ask them to identify the people they deal with: attorney, financial planner, accountant, insurance brokers.
Who do they want to be appointed to take care of their affairs if they get sick or pass away? This will lead to talks about the Will, Power of Attorney, etc.
Ask about insurance policies. Do they have life insurance? Long-term care insurance? Many an adult child has paid for long term nursing care not knowing there was adequate insurance in place!
Discuss end-of-life wishes. This topic is always emotional but will lead to a discussion of a Living Will – the document that will ensure that your parents are not kept alive artificially even though there is no hope of recovery. Do they want to be cremated? Donate organs? What kind of memorial service do they want?

These conversations will likely be tough and emotional no matter what strategy you use, but “The Talk” is key to ensure an effective 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.

Common Mistakes in Estate Planning

Do you think that you do not need an estate plan because all your bank accounts are POD (Payable on Death) and your IRA has a beneficiary? You could be very mistaken.

What about your house? Your cars? What if one of your designated beneficiaries dies or is incapacitated?

And what about the cost of Probate? Without an estate plan, your assets can be depleted by the expenses of the Probate Court.

But, even if you already do have an estate plan, mistakes can be made if:

You do not update your beneficiaries and legal representatives after marriage, divorce, the birth of a grandchild, or other big life events.

You do not keep documents organized and able to be easily located.

You change your mind about your estate plan, but do not revise your estate planning documents.

An estate plan requires thought and action – now is the time to seek the services of Estate Planning Lawyer.

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.

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.

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.

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