Tag: Estate Plan

3 Tips For Discussing Finances With Your Family Over The Holidays

Post author By Sara Thomas
Post date November 17, 2023
No Comments on 3 Tips For Discussing Finances With Your Family Over The Holidays

The holidays are right around the corner, which means more time to gather with family and relatives than any other time of the year. If you’ve been meaning to talk with your family about finances, inheritance, end-of-life decisions, estate planning, and creating a plan for your whole family’s wealth – now and in the future – having everyone in the same room is ideal.

But asking your relatives how they want their assets handled when they die or if they become incapacitated might not go over well while opening presents or carving a turkey.

To keep your family from feeling blindsided and to make the most of your conversation, consider the following three tips.

01 | Share Your Intention Ahead of Time

To help your loved ones feel at ease, don’t bring up finances and estate planning for the first time while the family is gathered around the TV watching football. Instead, approach the topic weeks ahead of time if possible.

If you have regular visits or phone calls with your loved ones, let them know you’ve been thinking about creating a plan for your own finances and the care of the family in case something happens to you. Casually mentioning that it’s on your mind will help plant the seed for a future conversation with your loved ones and likely get them thinking about their own plan or lack of a plan.

As your family gathering approaches, bring up the subject again, this time with more intention and detail. Consider asking the host of your family gatherings, whether it’s your sibling, parent, or adult child when the best time would be to have an all-family conversation for 90 minutes. Schedule it and let everyone know that you’ve got something meaningful planned.

If the host pushes back against the idea, respond with curiosity about their experience, what they feel apprehensive about, and if there is a way that you could mitigate their apprehension perhaps by speaking with other family members in advance.

If you’ve already completed your own planning, use your experience as a springboard for the conversation.

02 | Set Aside a Time and Place to Talk

Be upfront with your family about the meeting’s purpose so no one is taken by surprise and so they come prepared for the discussion. Choose a setting that’s comfortable, quiet, and private. The more relaxed everyone is, the more likely they’ll be comfortable opening up.

Begin by sharing the context of why it’s important to you that your family begin having conversations about finances, life, and death. You may even want to share that the topic is uncomfortable for you, but that it’s important enough that you are willing to be uncomfortable because you know that these conversations can bring your family closer together, create more family resilience, and ensure you are all financially well-cared for.

Finally, as part of setting context, set a start and stop time for the conversation. Remember, the goal is to simply get the conversation started, not work out all of the details or dollar amounts, so don’t expect this to be the one and only conversation you have – it’s a start.

03 | Share Your Planning Experience

If you’ve already created your own plan, and it included an inventory of your assets, a look at what is enough, and what would happen to it all when something happens to you (which is what we do during our first Planning Session with you), you can start by explaining how you felt during the process, how easy it was, and how you feel now knowing that your assets and loved ones will be cared for the way you want if something happens to you.

If you’ve worked with us, describe how the process unfolded and how we supported you to create a plan designed for your unique wishes and needs.

Share any concerns or doubts you initially had about planning and how we worked with you to address them. If you have loved ones who’ve yet to do any planning and have doubts about its usefulness, empathize with them in a supportive and understanding way, and share your own journey learning the benefits of planning for your finances and your wishes.

If you haven’t created a plan yet, or have doubts about a plan you created with another attorney, be open about why you want to create a plan for your life and death, such as a desire to avoid family conflict, to ensure that a child, disabled relative, or senior parent is cared for in the future, or to build generational wealth and a legacy for your family. Focus on the benefits that planning will have for both your immediate family and your extended family as a whole.

Bringing Families Together

Speaking with loved ones about finances and estate planning can be difficult, but we can guide and support you in having these intimate discussions with your loved ones. When done right, planning can put your life and relationships into a much clearer focus and offer peace of mind knowing that your assets will be protected and that the people you love most will be provided for no matter what.

If you haven’t created your own estate plan, doing so before you talk with your family can help your loved ones be more open to the idea and can help them see the incredible benefit of planning from one of their own family members.

Schedule a complimentary call with us to learn more.

This article is a service of August Law, a Personal Family Lawyer® Firm. We don’t just draft documents; we ensure you make informed and empowered decisions about life and death, for yourself and the people you love. That’s why we offer a Life & Legacy Planning™ Session, during which you will get more financially organized than you’ve ever been before and make all the best choices for the people you love.

The content is sourced from Personal Family Lawyer® for use by Personal Family Lawyer® firms, a source believed to be providing accurate information. This material was created for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as ERISA, tax, legal, or investment advice. If you are seeking legal advice specific to your needs, such advice services must be obtained on your own separate from this educational material.

Tags Estate Plan, Estate Planning Attorney, Family Discussions, Family Finance, Holidays, Personal Family Lawyer®

Transition to Adulthood: The Legal Impact of Your Child Turning 18

Post author By Sara Thomas
Post date November 14, 2023
No Comments on Transition to Adulthood: The Legal Impact of Your Child Turning 18

Soon after the challenges of puberty and the excitement of high school, an even larger milestone looms: the 18^th birthday. It marks your child’s transition from childhood to adulthood, and with it new responsibilities and rights. From a legal standpoint, this milestone also brings significant changes that every parent should be aware of.

In the eyes of the law, an individual is considered a legal adult at the age of 18. This means that your child gains certain rights and privileges, including the ability to enter into contracts, vote, buy property, and make medical decisions for themselves. While this newfound independence is a crucial part of growing up, it can also pose challenges for parents, especially when adult children need their parents’ help or need someone to make decisions on their behalf.

We’ll explore the legal impact of what happens when your child turns 18, what it means for your ability to make legal, financial, and healthcare decisions on their behalf, and what tools you’ll need for a smooth transition to adulthood.

How The Law Changes Your Role As A Parent

On the day your child turns 18, your ability to make legal, financial and healthcare decisions for them essentially disappears in a blink. To give you a sense of how impactful this can be, if your young adult child is hospitalized and unable to communicate their wishes, healthcare providers won’t even legally be able to share your child’s medical information with you. Similarly, financial institutions won’t permit you to access your child’s accounts or make financial decisions on their behalf without their consent – or unless you’re a co-owner of their accounts.

This shift in decision-making authority can feel unsettling and can be particularly challenging if your child is still financially dependent on you, is in a medical emergency, or requires assistance in managing their affairs due to a disability. Thankfully, there are legal tools that can help parents and young adults navigate these new challenges.

Have Their Back With Powers of Attorney

A Power of Attorney is a legal tool that allows your child to designate the person they choose to make legal or healthcare decisions on their behalf. There are two common types of Powers of Attorney that can be valuable in this situation: a General Durable Power of Attorney and a Power of Attorney for Healthcare.

A General Durable Power of Attorney allows your child to appoint someone to manage their financial affairs in the event they become incapacitated or if they just want help managing their finances. With this in place, you can continue to assist your child with financial matters, even after they turn 18.

The important thing to remember however is that not every financial institution will honor a Power of Attorney, so while every adult should have this legal tool, it’s important to check with your specific institution and possibly set up your child’s accounts in a different way to ensure you have immediate access to them if needed. We’d be happy to discuss which options are best for you and your adult child.

A Power of Attorney for Healthcare grants someone the authority to make medical decisions on your child’s behalf if they are unable to do so, such as medication and treatment options, nutritional needs, and life-support measures. This is crucial to ensure that your child receives the care they want, even if they cannot communicate their preferences.

Only your child can put these measures in place, but encouraging them to create these legal documents is a proactive step in maintaining your ability to assist them when they need it most.

Stay Informed With a HIPAA Waiver

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of individuals’ medical records. Once your child turns 18, their medical information is protected under HIPAA, and healthcare providers are prohibited from disclosing it to anyone without the patient’s explicit consent – parents and family members included.

To maintain access to your child’s medical information, they must complete a HIPAA waiver. This document permits healthcare providers to share medical information with individuals specified in the waiver, such as parents or trusted family members.

Having a HIPAA waiver in place can be invaluable during medical emergencies when swift access to medical records is critical. It can also be a valuable tool for young adults who may simply appreciate a parent’s ability to speak to their doctors when they aren’t feeling well or are overwhelmed with the demands of work, college, or both.

Support Their Journey Into Adulthood Through Open Communication

Transitioning to adulthood is a significant step for both parents and children. While legal documents such as Powers of Attorney and a HIPAA Waiver are essential, it’s equally important to have open and honest conversations with your child about their wishes and the responsibilities that come with adulthood.

Discuss their healthcare preferences, financial decisions, and their expectations from you as a parent. Encourage them to consider creating these legal documents not only for your peace of mind but also for their own protection.

We invite you to reach out to our firm to ensure your child has the legal support and protection they need no matter what adulthood brings.

And if you aren’t sure how to talk with your adult child about these legal tools, we can help you start the conversation from a place of love, compassion, and collaboration.

Schedule a complimentary call today to get started.

Tags Estate Plan, Estate Planning Attorney, Health Care Directives, HIPAA Waiver, Power of Attorney, Young Adult, Young Adult Planning

Estate Planning

Naming Godparents Does Not Create Legal Guardians

Post author By Sara Thomas
Post date November 5, 2023
No Comments on Naming Godparents Does Not Create Legal Guardians

As a parent, your top priority is the well-being and future of your children. You plan for their education, health, and happiness, and often this planning includes the tradition of choosing godparents to guide and mentor your children if something happens to you.

While selecting godparents is a meaningful tradition in many cultures, it’s important to understand that naming a godparent is not the same thing as naming a legal guardian for your children.

To put it bluntly, even if you have named godparents, if something happens to you, your children could end up in the care of strangers or in the long-term care of someone you would never want raising your children.

We’ll explain the difference in roles of a godparent and legal guardian and how to ensure your kids are always cared for by the people you choose – no matter what.

Godparents

A godparent is traditionally someone you name to watch over your child and help them live according to your morals and values. Godparents are meant to be mentors and role models, guiding your child in matters of faith, morality, and character. The role of a godparent is deeply rooted in religious and cultural traditions, and they often participate in religious ceremonies such as baptisms or confirmations.

Whether your family is religious or not, godparents may also play a supportive role in your child’s life by offering emotional support, advice, and friendship. They can be someone your child can turn to for guidance and a listening ear, but their responsibilities are largely informal and non-legal.

Legal Guardians

In contrast, naming a legal guardian for your child is a formal, legal process. A legal guardian is someone who has the legal authority to make decisions on behalf of your child, especially if you, as the parent, are unable to do so. This could occur due to your passing, incapacity, or any situation in which you cannot provide care or make important legal, financial, healthcare or education decisions for your child.

The responsibilities of a legal guardian encompass every area of your child’s life that you would normally manage as a parent. This includes everything from feeding and clothing your child to deciding where they go to school, attending parent-teacher meetings and which extracurricular activities they participate in. Legal guardianship also includes the decisions about where your child lives and what medical treatment they should or should not receive.

A legal guardian may also help manage your child’s financial assets and resources, ensuring their financial well-being. In some cases, if you’ve planned ahead, you may choose to have a different person act as a financial Trustee of the assets you leave for your child, and your chosen Trustee will work alongside the legal guardian to ensure your child is financially supported. In some cases, your guardian and Trustee may be the same person. This is a decision we can help you make based on the specifics of your family dynamics.

Why Naming Godparents Isn’t Enough

While godparents may be deeply caring and involved in your child’s life, they have no legal authority to make decisions for your child unless they are officially appointed as a legal guardian by the court. That means that until that happens, (if it happens) your child’s godparents are not legally able to make any decisions for your children, including their basic care needs, education, and medical care.

If you become incapacitated or die, and have not legally nominated a guardian (and, ideally, more than one) there could be a complex and expensive custody dispute among your family members, who may assume you would want your children to live under their care rather than the people you named as godparents. This is especially likely if the people you’ve named as godparents are not related to you by blood or marriage.

Without a legal guardian designation in writing and signed with the formalities of a Will, godparents may find themselves in an expensive court battle over custody rights, and they may not even be named as the legal guardians of your children at all.

Life-long Legal Protection for Kids

Consider combining the roles of godparents and legal guardians into one. If you’ve already chosen people you trust to serve as lifelong role models and spiritual guardians for your children as their godparents, why not give those people the legal authority to truly perform those duties if something happens to you?

If you aren’t sure who the best guardian or godparent is for your children, we can help. We’ll walk you through a heart-centered process for choosing guardians who genuinely care for your child’s well-being and share your values. Plus, we’ll ensure they have the financial and legal tools needed to give your child the best life possible if you can’t be there.

The best way to keep your children safe and secure is to create a comprehensive Kids Protection Plan® that keeps your children in the care of the people you choose in any situation, out of the care of anyone you wouldn’t want, ensures your children can receive prompt medical care, and that the authorities know who to contact in an emergency so your children are never placed in protective custody.

To learn more and to get started today, schedule a complimentary call with my office.

Tags Estate Plan, Godparents, Kids Protection Plan®, Legal Guardians

Estate Planning Tax

8 Things To Do Now to Lower Your 2023 Taxes – Part 2

Post author By Sara Thomas
Post date October 28, 2023
22 Comments on 8 Things To Do Now to Lower Your 2023 Taxes – Part 2

Last week we looked at four different ways to lower your tax liability for 2023, from adjusting your tax withholding to strategically planning your medical procedures. In this week’s blog, we discuss four more tax-saving methods you can use right now to owe fewer taxes come April 2024.

If you missed part 1 of this series, be sure to read it here so you don’t miss out on these money-saving techniques.

Make Charitable Gifts

Giving back to your community or supporting causes you care about is not only rewarding but can also provide tax benefits if your family’s tax deductions are close to exceeding the standard tax deduction.

The standard deduction for 2023 is $12,950 for individuals and $25,900 for married couples filing jointly. Remember that the total of your itemized deductions, including charitable contributions, must exceed the standard deduction for your filing status to provide a tax benefit.

If you’re nearing the top of the standard deduction threshold, this year may be a great time to contribute to a charitable organization that is important to you. Doing so will help support a good cause and allow you to make itemized deductions for an extra reduction in your taxable income for the year.

If you make any charitable donations, keep detailed records of your donations, including receipts and acknowledgments from the charities. If you donate non-cash items (such as clothing or household goods), make sure to document their fair market value.

If you aren’t sure how to document your donations or aren’t sure if a charitable donation will be advantageous to you this year, be sure to discuss this with your tax professional.

Consider Tax-Loss Harvesting

Tax-loss harvesting is a strategy designed to offset capital gains by selling underperforming investments. This technique can help you minimize the taxes you owe on your investment gains.

The first step is to identify investments in your portfolio that have experienced losses and then sell those investments to realize the losses. After all, you haven’t actually lost or gained capital until the money enters or leaves your portfolio.

By selling underperforming investments, you can now use the lost capital to offset any capital gains from other investments that are doing well. Losses can be used to offset up to $1,500 for individuals filing separately or up to $3,000 for couples filing jointly.

It’s important to remember that there are rules and limitations when it comes to tax-loss harvesting. Consult with a financial advisor or tax professional to ensure you execute this strategy correctly and in a way that aligns with your overall financial goals.

Pay Your January Mortgage Payment in December

If you’re a homeowner with a mortgage, making your January mortgage payment in December can provide a valuable tax advantage. Mortgage interest is deductible on your income tax return, and prepaying your January mortgage payment in December gives you an extra month of interest to deduct on your 2023 taxes.

However, before implementing this strategy, check with your mortgage lender to ensure that they apply the payment correctly. Some lenders may automatically apply extra payments to your principal balance rather than counting them as interest for the next month.

Max Out Your IRA (Individual Retirement Account) or Roth IRA

Retirement planning is crucial for long-term financial security, and IRAs are excellent vehicles for saving for your golden years. For the 2023 tax year, the maximum contribution limit for both traditional and Roth IRAs is $6,500, with an additional $1,000 allowed for those aged 50 or older. It’s essential to understand the differences between these two types of IRAs to choose the one that suits your needs best.

Traditional IRA contributions may be tax-deductible, potentially reducing your taxable income for the year. However, withdrawals in retirement are subject to taxation.

Roth IRA contributions are made with after-tax dollars, so they don’t provide an immediate tax deduction. However, qualified withdrawals in retirement are entirely tax-free.

By maximizing your contributions to your IRA of choice, you can secure a more comfortable retirement and possibly reduce your tax liability for this year.

The Foundation of Life-Long Support and Security

Proactive year-end tax planning can significantly impact your financial well-being. By implementing these eight tax-saving strategies, you may be able to keep more money in the bank and take a step toward a brighter financial future.

But good money management is only one part of the equation for a life you love and a legacy that will guide and support your family for generations to come.

Making the best strategic decisions to protect your family’s health, finances, and happiness is equally, if not more, important. If you want to make sure that both your financial and personal life are in order today and structured to give your family the best support possible tomorrow, give us a call.

We would be honored to help you protect everything you own and everyone you love through our heart-centered estate planning services.

Tags 2023 Tax Planning, Estate Plan, Estate Planning, Income Taxes, IRS, Personal Family Lawyer®, Tax Savings

Estate Planning

Don’t Forget To Include Intellectual Property In Your Estate Plan

Post author By Sara Thomas
Post date September 17, 2023
No Comments on Don’t Forget To Include Intellectual Property In Your Estate Plan

You don’t have to be a famous producer or household name to own intellectual property. If you create music, own a business, write stories, or build gadgets in your garage, you almost certainly have intellectual property. However, because intellectual property is intangible, it’s often overlooked in estate planning.

And if you do have intellectual property, it may hold significant sentimental and even monetary value for you and the people who love you. Without properly planning for these works in your estate plan, your family could lose these valuable assets forever.

Even if you’ve worked with a lawyer to set up your business, write a will, or file your taxes, those professionals may not be thinking about what happens to your intangible assets upon your death. Many lawyers who focus on estate planning don’t really understand the value of intellectual property and how to protect it. We do, and now so will you.

It’s essential that you take the proper steps to not only protect these intangible assets during your lifetime but also ensure that your intellectual property is properly handled following your death. That way, the monetary and human value of your intellectual property isn’t lost forever when you die.

Safeguard Your Intellectual Property During Life

While you might think that identifying, protecting, and valuing your intellectual property is something that only applies to big companies and famous artists, that’s definitely not the case. Your intellectual property has sentimental value to your family and may have more monetary value than you realize, and could be of even greater value to your loved ones after you’ve died.

The first step to take in protecting your intellectual property is to formally document it in an inventory of assets that describes what the asset is, where it’s located, and how to access it if it’s a digital or intangible item. This is something I help all of my clients create to ensure that no asset, whether tangible or intangible, is left out of their plan or lost when they die.

The next step is to consider if any of your intellectual property should be legally registered in the form of trademarks, copyrights, or patents with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Original works are automatically copyrighted when you create them, but without legally registering your copyrights, it can be difficult to prove and enforce your copyright if someone steals your work and presents it as their own. If you’re lending, renting, licensing or selling anything you’ve created to a third party, it’s also important to have the proper legal agreements and contracts in place to ensure there’s no question about who owns the material.

Likewise, if you own a business and have not protected your intellectual property with copyrights, trademarks, patents, royalty and licensing agreements, non-competes for employees, and work-for-hire provisions in your existing agreements with independent contractors and vendors, now is the time to do so.

Don’t wait until your intellectual property is stolen or you receive a cease-and-desist letter to put these protections in place. Registering a trademark or copyright might cost you time and money, but failing to register your original works can cost you far more than that in legal fees or the lost value of your assets, especially if your family ends up in court trying to fight for what you created.

Protect Your Intellectual Property for Future Generations

In addition to protecting your intellectual property during your lifetime, it’s equally important to plan for what will happen to these assets at your incapacity or death, and to protect your heirs from a potentially long and costly court battle over the ownership of your intangible assets.

The most important thing is to make sure that your family can locate and access your intellectual property after you’re gone. Otherwise, your work could be lost forever.

Once you’ve created an inventory of your assets, you’ll need to make sure your loved ones know how to find your inventory so that if you die or become incapacitated they can easily locate and access your assets. Your inventory should also include how each asset is accounted for in your estate plan and whether you share ownership of any intellectual property with another person or company.

To make sure all of your assets are planned for in the right way, it’s imperative to meet with an estate planning attorney who has the experience and knowledge to plan for your intellectual property and protect any future income the property may generate for your loved ones.

Your attorney should help you plan for each asset, who will inherit it, how its value will be distributed, and how income generated from it will be used, all while avoiding the need for a long and costly probate proceeding.

If you think this all sounds overly complicated, imagine how much more difficult it will be for your loved ones to deal with it should something happen to you. In fact, it could prove impossible for your loved ones to handle these matters in your absence, which is why it’s so important for you and your legal team to take care of these issues now. That way, your family isn’t stuck trying to clean up your mess after your death.

Planning for All of Your Assets, In The Best Way

While you might not be a famous author, artist or musician (yet), you very well may have valuable intellectual property, and chances are that property has not been properly documented or accounted for in your estate plan. Besides monetary value, your pieces of intellectual property are unique creations that reflect your heart, soul, and personality that your family will cherish for years to come.

To make sure all of your assets are protected and planned for, including your intellectual assets, schedule a free 15-minute call with me to learn more. We offer expertise in documenting, valuing, and protecting your intangible assets so your loved ones can benefit from these creations for generations to come.

This article is a service of August Law, a Personal Family Lawyer® Firm. We don’t just draft documents; we ensure you make informed and empowered decisions about life and death, for yourself and the people you love. That’s why we offer a Life & Legacy Planning Session, during which you will get more financially organized than you’ve ever been before and make all the best choices for the people you love.

Tags Estate Plan, Intellectual Property, IP Preservation, IP Protection, Personal Family Lawyer®

Estate Planning

Help Your Parents Avoid These New Financial Scams – Part 2

Post author By Sara Thomas
Post date September 10, 2023
No Comments on Help Your Parents Avoid These New Financial Scams – Part 2

In part one of this series, we explored two popular scams that are targeting older adults this year: the grandparent scam, and cryptocurrency pickpocketing. In this week’s blog, I’m sharing two more scams that you and your parents need to be aware of, plus tips for staying protected.

Let’s dive in.

03 | PERSONALIZED PHISHING EMAILS

Imagine opening your inbox to an urgent email from a seemingly legitimate source – perhaps your bank, a popular online retailer, or even a social media platform. The message claims there has been suspicious activity on your account and urges you to click a link or provide sensitive information to verify your identity. This is the classic phishing email – a crafty attempt to deceive you into revealing your personal data.

Phishing has been around since email became mainstream, but what has changed is the depth to which scammers feign legitimacy. Even if you or your parents are familiar with phishing email schemes, new approaches and advances in technology are making it harder than ever to detect a phishing email.

Same Scammers, New Tricks

Phishers often pose as trusted entities such as banks, governments, or department stores. But in recent years, phishers have been sending their victims more personalized emails to trick them into thinking the message is from someone the victim personally knows or is personally connected with. The email will address the victim by name and may appear to come from a friend, co-worker, or supervisor. It may even contain a legitimate-looking email domain, signature, or logo.

The email will usually claim that there is a time-sensitive matter that needs to be addressed, such as a gift that needs to be purchased for a co-worker’s birthday or important client, and asks the victim to purchase the gift via online gift cards, PayPal, or crypto. Some phishers will pose as banks, lending agencies, or debt relief programs and claim that you have been approved for special credit or financial assistance.

Identifying Scams: It’s All in The Details

Before you respond to any kind of email requesting a phone call, consider whether the sender’s request seems legitimate. Did you actually open an account or fill out an application? Is it normal for your boss to email you about important requests?

Always scrutinize the sender’s email address, even if it looks legitimate, by hovering your cursor over the email address to reveal its true origin. Avoid clicking on suspicious links, and never share personal information via email, no matter how professional the sender’s email appears.

Check the email and “from address” for typos, and verify the information provided by the sender, such as the company name and phone number, by searching for it online. When in doubt, contact the company directly through official channels to confirm the authenticity of the message.

04 | THE ONLINE OVERPAYMENT SCAM

In the world of online buying and selling, sites like Etsy, Facebook Marketplace, Poshmark, and Craigslist, scammers are increasing their attacks and their success by preying on the good conscience of other people.

In the overpayment scam, the fraudster contacts the victim pretending to be interested in purchasing an item the victim has listed for sale online. The scammer offers to purchase your item, usually at an inflated price and appears to make a payment that’s higher than the agreed-upon amount.

The scammer then requests that you refund the excess amount they “accidentally” sent, and will usually act panicked, upset, and harried. The scammer may even threaten to report the victim to the police for “stealing” the scammer’s money.

But here’s where the twist comes in: the overpayment sent by the scammer was actually fake – a fraudulent check or a forged payment confirmation email that made it seem like you received funds when in fact the scammer didn’t send anything at all. When you refund the overpaid amount, you’re essentially giving away your legitimate money, and by the time the scam is realized, the scammer has disappeared into the digital abyss.

To protect yourself and your parents from this sinister scam:

Always require online buyers to pay through traceable means, such as PayPal, Cash App, or Venmo.
Avoid sending and receiving money from strangers through non-refundable money transfer services like Zelle.
Never accept more money than the purchase price.
If the buyer wants a refund, verify that you actually received the funds by logging into your payment servicer account and checking your balance there. Do not rely on a confirmation email which can be easily faked, especially if your payment account does not show any payment received.

Preserving Your Assets and Protecting Your Loved Ones

Staying on top of constantly changing financial scams can feel overwhelming, but with the right knowledge and tools, you can help keep yourself and your aging parents safe from the financial and emotional harm scams cause.

We’re available to help guide a discussion with you and your parents about your financial well-being as part of your estate plan, including how to catalog their assets and how to make it as easy as possible for you to help each other in the case of an emergency or scam attempt.

If you want to know more about how working with our firm can help you and your family, schedule a free 15-minute discovery call today. It would be my honor to look after your family’s plans now and for years to come.

This article is a service of August Law, a Personal Family Lawyer® Firm. We don’t just draft documents; we ensure you make informed and empowered decisions about life and death, for yourself and the people you love. That’s why we offer a Life & Legacy Planning Session, during which you will get more financially organized than you’ve ever been before and make all the best choices for the people you love.

Tags Estate Plan, Financial Scam, Online Overpayment Scam, Personal Family Lawyer®, Personalized Phishing Emails, Seniors

Estate Planning

Help Your Parents Avoid These New Financial Scams – Part 1

Post author By Sara Thomas
Post date September 4, 2023
No Comments on Help Your Parents Avoid These New Financial Scams – Part 1

Fraudsters and scam artists are nothing new, but changing tools and technology are making it easier than ever for scammers to target their victims, especially seniors. To protect your aging parents (or yourself) from these con artists, it’s crucial to equip yourself with the knowledge of how these scams work and what your loved ones need to know to keep their assets and emotions safe.

In this two-part series, we’ll explore four of the most recent and insidious financial scams that have surfaced, shedding light on their tactics and providing you with practical steps to shield your parents from potential harm.

01 | THE GRANDPARENT SCAM

One of the toughest parts about being the victim of a scam is the emotional and mental stress it usually causes. Scammers intentionally use urgency, alarm, or guilt to trick victims into making hurried decisions to send money to someone who needs “help.”

In the new “Grandparent Scam,” fraudsters will call or text senior adults pretending to be their grandchild. The scammer will claim that they’re in trouble and that they need the grandparent to send them money right away to bail them out of jail, buy a ticket home from a dangerous location, or pay for damages caused by a car accident.

In these scenarios, the scammer will usually ask the grandparent, “Grandma, do you know who this is?” to trick the grandparent to reveal the name of their grandchild so the scammer can use that name for the rest of the phone call. The scammer will then ask the grandparent to wire money to “help” the grandchild and ask the grandparent not to tell the grandchild’s parents for fear of them getting upset.

Some scammers are even using AI to disguise their voices while on the phone with the grandparent to sound more convincing. This scam preys on the love and concern our parents have for their children and grandchildren and can easily cause young or tech-savvy parents to fall victim as well.

To protect your parents from being victimized by this scam, talk to them about the importance of never disclosing personal or financial information or the names of their loved ones in a text, phone call, or email. Instead, instruct them to ask who the caller is and to wait for the sender or caller to respond. If in doubt, the senior should ask the sender personal questions that their real grandchild would know but a scammer wouldn’t know. Most importantly, encourage your parents to contact you before wiring or transferring money to anyone, for any purpose, no matter what.

One strategy we particularly love is to have a family code word or phrase. For example, your code phrase may be “Cosmo is a spotted dog” and that code phrase would be known by everyone in the family so that if anyone is contacted in an emergency situation, the person could ask what’s our family code phrase, and the person calling, texting or emailing either knows it or doesn’t. And, if they don’t, it’s a no-go for help.

02 | PICK-POCKETING YOUR CRYPTO WALLET

The world of cryptocurrency brings new investment opportunities for those willing to try it out, but with this new financial arena comes new risks and safety measures.

In order to store cryptocurrency, you will need a digital wallet, as that’s the safest way to hold your cryptocurrency. Your cryptocurrency wallet doesn’t actually “store” money like a traditional wallet; rather, it stores passcodes, known as keys, that allow you to send and receive digital currency to and from the wallet.

Wallets come in two forms: hot and cold. A “hot” wallet stores your cryptocurrency in a location that’s connected to the internet—exchange-based wallets, desktop wallets, and mobile wallets. A “cold” wallet, conversely, stores your cryptocurrency in a location that’s completely offline. Ironically, the most secure type of wallet for storing digital currency is a cold “paper” wallet. Paper wallets involve printing out your keys and storing them in a secure location. While paper wallets are the most secure option, if you lose the codes, it’s the same as losing paper currency—meaning there is no way to recover your investment.

But no matter what kind of wallet your loved one keeps their crypto in, anyone with the “key” to that wallet can access and steal the funds – no hacking required.

How the Scam Works

To gain access to your wallet, scammers will lure you to give them your wallet’s key by pretending to be representatives of a cryptocurrency company like Bitcoin or Coinbase, or by portraying themselves as a crypto broker. Once the scammer has your keys, your cryptocurrency is completely vulnerable, even if it’s kept in a “cold” offline wallet.

With the keys, the scammer can move your crypto out of your wallet and disappear with it forever, and since the cryptocurrency market is not attached to the banking system, there is no way to recover cryptocurrency once it’s stolen.

To help protect your parents from these scams, talk to them about the importance of never, ever sharing their wallet keys with anyone besides you and any other trusted family members. This is essential to keep your parents’ crypto investments safe.

In all cases, whether your loved ones have crypto in a hot wallet, paper wallet, or directly in a crypto exchange, make sure they’ve given you the details of where their crypto is stored and how to access it in the event they’re incapacitated or die. Otherwise, it’s completely lost.

If you don’t know how to find and access your parent’s cryptocurrency in an emergency or don’t know how best to plan for your own crypto, please talk with us so we can guide you on how to include your crypto information in your estate plan.

Helping You Protect the Ones You Love

Your parents’ financial security is a priority that demands proactive measures, especially in the face of emerging scams that exploit their vulnerability. By remaining vigilant and arming yourself with knowledge of these scams, you can effectively shield your family from falling prey to these fraudsters.

But remember, communication is key. Talk openly with your parents about these potential risks and encourage them to reach out to you or a trusted professional before making any financial decisions.

We’re here to guide you through the intricacies of safeguarding your family’s financial future and can make it even easier to protect your parents by helping them establish estate planning tools to record and pass on digital assets like crypto, Powers of Attorney to help manage their assets, and Trusts to protect everything they love for years to come.

To learn how we can help you protect your parents from these scams, schedule a call with us today and stay tuned for the next installment of our series, where we’ll dive into two more financial scams you and your senior parents need to know about.

This article is a service of August Law, a Personal Family Lawyer® Firm. We don’t just draft documents; we ensure you make informed and empowered decisions about life and death, for yourself and the people you love. That’s why we offer a Life & Legacy Planning Session, during which you will get more financially organized than you’ve ever been before and make all the best choices for the people you love.

Tags Estate Plan, Financial Scam, Grandparent Scam, Pick-pocket Crypto, Seniors

Estate Planning

AARP and The Red Cross Celebrated Make-A-Will Month, But Here’s What They Didn’t Tell You

Post author By Sara Thomas
Post date August 28, 2023
No Comments on AARP and The Red Cross Celebrated Make-A-Will Month, But Here’s What They Didn’t Tell You

August was National Make-A-Will Month and you may have received an advertisement in your inbox or mailbox from AARP or the American Red Cross reminding you to get your Will taken care of this month. Both AARP and the Red Cross promoted their partnerships with FreeWill.com, a website that claims to help you create a legally valid Will in just 20 minutes.

A Will, otherwise known as a Last Will and Testament, is usually the first thing that comes to mind when you think of getting your affairs in order, so the advice presented by AARP, the Red Cross, and National Make-A-Will Month itself sounds really good. But in reality, the message of AARP and the Red Cross for Make-A-Will Month could leave your family with a stressful mess when you die or if you become incapacitated first.

To understand why, it’s important to know what a Will does and where its limits lie.

A Will Does Not Cover All of Your Assets

Advertisements and public campaigns about making a Will can make it seem like a Will can take care of all of your needs and all of your assets after you’ve died. In reality, a Will only covers certain items of your property, including any property owned solely in your name and any property that doesn’t have a beneficiary designation.

That means a Will does not control property co-owned by you with others listed as joint tenants or owned as marital property with a spouse, meaning you can only give away your share of any property you own with others, not the entire property.

Assets such as retirement accounts and life insurance policies that have beneficiary designations are not controlled by your Will at all but will instead be paid out directly to the person listed as your beneficiary on each account. Because of this, it’s especially important to make sure your account beneficiaries are up-to-date. And, that you have backup designations in case your chosen beneficiary isn’t living at the time of your death.

Even if your Will states that you want your wishes to apply to all of your assets, the wishes in your Will are always trumped by beneficiary designations and co-ownership laws.

A Will Does Nothing For You If You Become Incapacitated

Since your Will doesn’t have any authority until after you’ve died, you can’t use it to give someone you trust the power to make decisions for you if you’re incapacitated due to illness or injury. An incapacity can occur as a result of a car accident, an injury sustained while playing with your softball league, or due to an illness, and may be temporary or permanent.

Tasks like paying your bills, managing your money, and maintaining your home may all require help if you become incapacitated. Likewise, you’ll need someone who can make medical decisions for you if you’re unconscious or unable to communicate your medical choices effectively, such as if you’re in an induced coma in the hospital or have memory problems due to an injury or degenerative condition.

Unfortunately, the people named in your Will have no authority to make decisions for you or act on your behalf while you’re alive unless you’ve given them that power through a separate Power of Attorney. Without it, your loved ones may need to go through a court guardianship process to gain the authority to take care of you and your home.

A Will Must Be Filed in Court to Be Used

One of the biggest estate planning myths I hear from clients is the belief that by having a Will, their loved ones won’t need to go to court after they die.

Sadly, this is the opposite of the truth.

A Will only has the authority to control your assets and represent your decisions when it is filed under a probate case in court after your death. If you named someone in your Will to manage your estate or watch over your children, that person will have no authority to do so while you’re alive.

Your chosen representatives can only begin the process of managing your assets and following the wishes you’ve left in your Will only after a judge or court commissioner has formally given them the power. While court oversight can be helpful if there is any confusion or disagreement about your estate, the probate process can be long and expensive. Often, the process can take 12 – 18 months or sometimes even longer.

Due to the length and complexity of the process, going through probate can easily cost your family thousands of dollars.

In addition, because probate is a public court proceeding, your Will becomes part of the public record upon your death, allowing everyone to see the contents of your estate, who your beneficiaries are, and what they’ll receive. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for scammers to use this information to try to take advantage of young or vulnerable beneficiaries who just inherited money from you.

A Will is Not an Estate Plan

Organizations often promote a message of the importance of creating a Will because a Will is a tool that most people have heard of and are familiar with, which makes it an easy launching point to talk about the importance of planning for your assets and your loved ones. But the thing is, a Will isn’t the one-and-done solution that most people are led to believe.

The terms “Will” and “estate plan” are often used interchangeably to mean a tool for dispersing your assets and protecting your wishes, but these two terms are not the same. In reality, a Will is just one piece of your overall estate plan, not the entire plan itself. An estate plan isn’t just one or two documents – it’s a range of strategic decisions about the allocation and title of your assets, and it’s a set of tools and counseling-oriented planning that make sure everything and everyone you love is taken care of both while you’re alive and after you’re gone.

Your complete estate plan may include a Will, a Trust, Powers of Attorney, and other tools that are tailored to your specific situation, local laws, and your vision for the future.

And even more important than both a Will and a Trust, is an inventory of your assets so your family knows what you have, where it is, and how to find it when you become incapacitated or die. Without an inventory of your assets, your family will be lost when something happens to you. A comprehensive inventory updated throughout your lifetime is a critical, and often overlooked, piece of an estate plan that is just a Will.

Trusted Guidance and Counseling

An online program may be able to give you a legally valid Will or other legal documents, but just because something is legally valid doesn’t mean it will be effective. And any document created through a 20-minute online tool is almost guaranteed not to work for you and your loved ones when they need it.

Most importantly, any document created using an online tool will lack the knowledge, guidance, and personal counseling of a trusted expert who knows your situation and cares about your plan’s effectiveness.

That’s why I don’t just create documents – I guide you and your family through every step of the process, now and at the time of your passing. I even help all of my clients pass on something more valuable than their money – their values, stories, and wisdom – through a Family Legacy Interview.

If you’re ready to see how having an estate plan created for your family with heart-forward professional guidance is different from just creating a Will online, schedule a free 15-minute call with us.

This article is a service of August Law, a Personal Family Lawyer® Firm. We don’t just draft documents; we ensure you make informed and empowered decisions about life and death, for yourself and the people you love. That’s why we offer a Life & Legacy Planning Session, during which you will get more financially organized than you’ve ever been before and make all the best choices for the people you love.

Tags AARP, Estate Plan, Estate Planning, Estate Planning Attorney, Last Will and Testament, Make-A-Will Month, Online Wills, Personal Family Lawyer®, The Red Cross, Wills

Estate Planning

Can You Rely on Legal Insurance for Your Estate Plan?

Post author By Sara Thomas
Post date August 21, 2023
1 Comment on Can You Rely on Legal Insurance for Your Estate Plan?

As the need for affordable legal services becomes even more important in today’s world, it’s common to opt for group legal insurance offered through your workplace benefits. These group insurance plans provide free legal assistance for a variety of needs from law firms that have contracted with the insurance company to provide the legal work.

While group legal insurance might seem like an easy option to save on your family’s legal needs, it’s often inadequate for creating the kind of estate plan you really need to protect your assets, your choices, and your loved ones. In fact – the type of estate plan, will, or trust created through legal insurance programs could leave your family with a big mess.

We’ll help you understand the potential pitfalls of using group legal insurance for estate planning and share suitable alternatives to ensure your assets are properly protected and that your loved ones are left with a legacy of love, and not a big mess.

One Size Doesn’t Fit All

When it comes to estate planning, if you have people you love and assets you care about, there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all plan that works for you and your family. In addition to the key documents in a standard estate plan–a will, trust, health care directive, and power of attorney–there are additional pieces of planning that are quite important for your family, depending on the specifics of your family dynamics and the nature of your assets, to ensure that your plan actually will work when your family needs it. Furthermore, the content of those standard documents must be specifically tailored to meet the unique needs of your family. Your financial, medical, and personal needs must be taken into account to craft a comprehensive plan that will serve you now and pass on your assets in the best way after you’re gone, all while ensuring the best use of your resources during your life.

Your group legal insurance plan may have the four key documents of an estate plan, but a generic set of planning documents is unlikely to work for you the way you want and will almost certainly guarantee your family will end up lost and confused when something happens to you, and your family needs the support of the plan you created to guide them.

The type of cookie-cutter estate plan you are likely to receive through your group legal insurance simply won’t include the kind of comprehensive considerations and counseling necessary to deliver a plan that will serve you and your loved ones in the way you would want while keeping your family out of court and conflict.

Legal Insurance Nickels and Dimes

Many group legal insurance plans boast free legal services after your deductible is paid, but what isn’t revealed is the limit of the coverage that’s covered for free.

Only certain types of legal services are covered under group legal insurance plans. Estate planning is frequently covered, but the kind of plan you will receive is a mere set of documents, similar to what you could create yourself online, and not a customized, well-counseled plan that will be sure to work when your family needs it.

Plus, some items that are essential to the creation of your plan, like notarization or fees to record documents with the state, are not included in the covered service and are instead charged to you as an extra expense.

More importantly, most legal insurance plans have limits to the amount of claims you can file for each type of service each year. For example, you may only be covered to create a Will once a year, but won’t be covered if you need to update your estate plan mid-year if circumstances change or someone dies. Estate planning isn’t something you do once, as your life will change, your assets will change, and the law will change. A legal insurance covered plan will not keep up with those changes, so you may receive documents, but those documents aren’t likely to be what your family needs when something happens to you.

Legal Insurance Plans Lack Long-Term Considerations

Estate Planning is a journey that spans a lifetime. As your finances, needs, and wishes evolve over time, your estate plan must adapt accordingly. Relying on group legal insurance won’t provide the ongoing support and guidance needed to address changing circumstances over the years.

Under group legal insurance, your choice of attorneys is limited to the firms that have contracts with the insurance company, and there is no guarantee that the attorney you worked with this year will be available to help with changes to your plan next year.

Your children will grow into adults. That means you’ll lose your ability to make decisions for them unless your young adult puts in place documents that allow you to act as their agent if they cannot handle their finances or make medical decisions. We will help you look at all of these considerations as part of our planning with you now and as they come up in the years that follow.

Time-sensitive changes to your plan that are needed as a result of a sudden emergency or death in the family may be impossible to carry out when using an attorney through group legal insurance. Instead, you want to work with an attorney who knows your family’s story and can pick up right where you left off, allowing them to quickly and effectively address any needed changes to your plan with just a phone call.

You Need a Heart-Centered, Counseling-Based Planning Approach

Creating an estate plan isn’t just about a Will or a Trust or passing on your money after you’ve died. It’s about making wise decisions about the use of your resources throughout your life, leaving your assets in a way that creates a legacy, not a mess, and creating the best reality possible for yourself and your loved ones.

To create a plan that will truly work for you and your family, your planning process needs to begin with an evaluation of your assets and family dynamics and needs to educate you about the application of the law to your specific situation. This is why we don’t have a one-size-fits-all solution, but instead begin our planning with you looking holistically at everything you have, everyone you love, and what you desire for the people you love. Then, we review and consider all of your assets, including the intangible assets often left out of planning. Then, together, we create a truly personalized plan that takes into account every aspect of your family’s well-being for the near and long-term

That’s why it’s crucial to coordinate your estate plan with the circumstances of your loved ones so that your wishes are honored and your assets are protected no matter how their situation changes over time.

Trusted Expertise in Estate Planning

While group legal insurance may seem like the ultimate way to protect your loved one’s future legal needs and your family’s wallet, sadly, the services available through these group insurance plans simply aren’t comprehensive enough to ensure you and your family get the support and guidance they need and deserve.

Instead, it’s crucial to work with an experienced estate planning attorney who gets to know your family on a personal level and can guide you every step of the way.

Your estate planning journey deserves personalized attention, compassionate understanding, and unwavering dedication. That’s why I have dedicated my practice to using a form of estate planning we call Life & Legacy Planning, allowing me to guide you skillfully through the decision-making process while looking ahead to proactively avoid issues in the future.

If you want to make sure your loved ones are always cared for no matter what the future holds, schedule a phone call with me and I’ll share all the details of our Life & Legacy Planning process.

This article is a service of August Law, a Personal Family Lawyer® Firm. We don’t just draft documents; we ensure you make informed and empowered decisions about life and death, for yourself and the people you love. That’s why we offer a Life & Legacy Planning Session, during which you will get more financially organized than you’ve ever been before and make all the best choices for the people you love.

Tags Counsel-based Estate Planning, Estate Plan, Estate Planning Attorney, Group Legal Insurance, Personal Family Lawyer®

Estate Planning

Don’t Send Your Kids Back to School Without These Documents

Post author By Sara Thomas
Post date August 14, 2023
No Comments on Don’t Send Your Kids Back to School Without These Documents

As summer comes to a close, and back-to-school excitement fills the air, there is one crucial task that is often overlooked: designating legal guardians for your minor children. Legal guardians are the individuals you entrust with the care of your children if, for any reason, you are unable to do so yourself.

In the hustle of back-to-school shopping and end-of-season summer fun, it might seem like naming legal guardians for your kids is a low priority, but nothing could be farther from the truth.

As kids return to school, they’ll spend most of their day in the care of other people – their teachers, coaches, and babysitters. That means that your children will spend most of their time with people who do not have any legal authority to take care of them for more than a brief time in the event you are in an accident or can’t be reached for any reason.

And, if your kids are going off to college, you’ll no longer be able to make decisions for them or have access to their medical records in an emergency unless your adult kids create Powers of Attorney and Health Care Directives.

Don’t Rely on Informal Agreements

They say it takes a village to raise a child, and as parents, you usually have a network of friends or family you feel you can rely on to step in and care for your child if needed. But it’s essential not to rely solely on informal arrangements with relatives or friends to care for your kids if you can’t.

Whether you are unconscious in the hospital or have passed away, there’s a chance your child could be taken into protective custody by social services until you recover or until a permanent arrangement can be made. The person who ends up taking your child may not be someone your child knows or loves, but a complete stranger in the foster care system. Or, maybe even worse, that person could be someone you never want to raise your kids but who is appointed anyway by a well-meaning court system that doesn’t know what you would want or how you would want your children to be raised.

In addition, if you don’t name legal guardians for your kids you risk creating conflict among family members who want to care for your children and may subject your loved ones to a lengthy and costly court process—an unnecessary burden that can easily be avoided. In fact, not naming more than one guardian is one of the six common mistakes people make when choosing a guardian for their kids.

You know your child and your family better than anyone else, and you know who would be the best fit for raising your child if something happened to you. But unfortunately, unless you document your choice of guardian in advance, the decision of who would raise your child if you can’t is ultimately left to a judge who doesn’t know you or your family dynamics.

Instead, naming short-term and long-term guardians for your kids ensures they are always cared for by people you know and trust.

And, if your kids are off at college, you cannot rely on the fact that you know they’d want you to have access to their medical records and financial accounts if something happened to them. The hospital or banks need official legal documents for you to get access if needed.

Comprehensive Protection for Your Child

To make sure your kids are always protected and cared for by people you trust, it’s essential to create a comprehensive Kids Protection Plan®. Every Kids Protection Plan® enables you to name short-term temporary guardians who have immediate authority to care for your children in an emergency and long-term permanent guardians who can raise your children if you are no longer able.

My Kids Protection Plan® also equips you with emergency ID cards that contain instructions for first responders to contact your child’s guardian if you’re in an accident so they can travel to be with your child right away. Plus, all caregivers, like babysitters and nannies, are provided with precise instructions on how to reach your short and long-term guardians, and that everyone involved in your plan has the necessary legal documents on hand to ensure a smooth process if the need for a guardian arises.

In this way, not only have you legally named guardians for your kids, but you’ve created an entire safety plan to ensure they are always cared for in the way you’d want in any situation.

And for your college-bound kids, it means having young adult planning documents in place like Powers of Attorney and Health Care Directives that allow you to access your kids’ accounts or make medical decisions for them if they become incapacitated by an illness or injury.

A Thoughtful Approach for Your Peace of Mind

We are dedicated to securing the well-being of your children under all circumstances. As the back-to-school season approaches, don’t overlook this essential homework for parents – naming legal guardians and creating your own Kids Protection Plan®.

The first step is to go through our unique planning process to choose the right plan for you, your kids and everyone you love. We begin with a planning session. During the Session, I get to know your family on a personal level to understand your family dynamics and your assets. I’ll share the law with you, and together we’ll look at exactly what would happen to your assets and your loved ones if something happened to you right now.

From there, we choose the right plan for you – at the right budget and that achieves your personal objectives – based on the specifics of your family situation. This ensures your kids and family are cared for and protected no matter what happens, so you can embrace the excitement of this new academic year with peace of mind.

To learn more and get started with your own planning session, schedule a complimentary discovery call. I can’t wait to serve you.

This article is a service of August Law, a Personal Family Lawyer® Firm. We don’t just draft documents; we ensure you make informed and empowered decisions about life and death, for yourself and the people you love. That’s why we offer a Life & Legacy Planning Session, during which you will get more financially organized than you’ve ever been before and make all the best choices for the people you love.

Tags Back-to-School, Estate Plan, Estate Planning Attorney, Kids Protection Plan®, Legal Guardian, Medical Power of Attorney, Personal Family Lawyer®

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