3 Simple Steps to Get Started on Estate Planning

If you are a senior, you may be feeling the urgency to get your affairs in order, but you may not have the time or the energy to take big steps.  This article will provide a small checklist on ways you can get started that do not require a lot of time or preparation. 

 

  • Beneficiaries

One relatively easy first step to take is to get your beneficiaries updated and designated.  If you have had these accounts for a long time, you may not have the right people or all the people that you want on these records. 

  • Checking and savings accounts at each bank 
  • IRA accounts
  • 401K accounts
  • Life insurance policies

 

  •  Advance Healthcare Directive

 

You have the right to give instructions about your own healthcare or to name someone else to make healthcare decisions for you.  You can also express your wishes regarding donation of organs.  The Office of the Attorney General for California has provided a form as a helpful resource to help you.  You can find the Advance Healthcare Directive form here:  https://oag.ca.gov/sites/all/files/agweb/pdfs/consumers/ProbateCodeAdvancedHealthCareDirectiveForm-fillable.pdf

 

  •   Consult with an Attorney

 

If you are serious about estate planning, an effective step would be to set up an initial consultation with an attorney who has experience in estate planning.  You can go in without any preparation and your attorney can guide you in what you need to think about and do.  These are some areas of estate planning that may be discussed:

  • A Living Trust
  • Powers of Attorney for Property and Healthcare
  • HIPAA Authorization
  • A Living Will/Advance Healthcare Directive
  • A Pour-Over Will
  • Deeds to Your Properties
  • Beneficiary Designations
  • Guardian Nominations for Minor Children

Consult with the Law Office of David Knecht

For a consult with a knowledgeable and professional attorney about your questions relating to estate planning, do not hesitate to reach out tot he attorneys at the Law Office of David Knecht.  We have extensive experience in estate planning and we will help you understand what needs to be done and how to do it.  Contact us at 707-451-4502 for more information.  

 

Filed Under: Estate Planning, Estates

What is a California Estate Plan?

A comprehensive California estate plan should be specific and customized to fit your personal circumstances.  It  generally includes a Living Trust, Powers of Attorney for Property and Healthcare, a “HIPAA” authorization, a Living Will/Advance Healthcare Directive,  a Pour-Over Will, Deeds to your properties, Beneficiary Designations on life insurance, annuities, IRAs, 401 (k)s, Guardian Nominations for minor children and perhaps more.  Sounds like a lot?  Well, there can be many advantages to getting everything in order while you are in good health and capacity to make the many decisions involved in preparing these documents.  This article will give you an overview what each of the pieces of the Estate Planning puzzle are and how they can help you.  

What is a California Living Trust?

A California Living Trust protects you while you are alive.  During your lifetime, you have complete control over the Living Trust to change it, and you will have the right to use the property during your lifetime with no restrictions.  However, upon incapacity or death, the Living Trust puts the power into the hands of your heirs, generally with no requirement to go to court.  It can have advantages for tax planning and avoiding creditors.  You can find more information on Living Trusts here:  https://www.scscourt.org/self_help/probate/medical/living_trust.shtml#what

What is a Living Will/Healthcare Directive?

A California Living Will is more commonly knowns as an Advanced Healthcare Directive, and it helps your loved ones know how to carry out your wishes when you are no longer able to make your own decisions.  It can direct them on tough decisions such as breathing and feeding tubes and other end of life dilemmas.  You can find more information here: https://oag.ca.gov/consumers/general/care#advance

What is a California Durable Power of Attorney for Property and Healthcare?

A Power of Attorney is a document that authorizes someone to represent you.  A Power of Attorney can authorize another person to make bank transactions, trade stocks, pay your bills, buy or sell your property, file your tax returns, hire people to take care of you, apply for benefits on your behalf and more. You can find more information here:  https://www.scscourt.org/self_help/probate/medical/poa.shtml#what

How do I designate a guardian for my children in California?

If you have minor children, it is likely a great concern for you to determine who will take care of your children if you pass away or become incapacitated. When both parents are dead, the court will decide who the guardian will be as per what is the best interest of your children.  The court will ask the children what they want and consider your guardianship wishes.  Alternatively, while you are alive, if you have legal custody, you can obtain a joint guardianship, and then when you pass away, the legal custody will transfer to the other joint guardian usually without additional hearings.   You can find more information here: https://www.courts.ca.gov/1215.htm?rdeLocaleAttr=en

What is a California Pour-Over Will?

A Pour-Over Will works hand-in-hand with our Living Trust.  It  covers everything that may not be in your Living Trust at death to your trust.  For example, if you took your home out of your trust to refinance and forgot to put it back into the trust, you Pour-Over Will would make sure that the home is distributed under the terms of the trust.  You can find more information here: https://www.scscourt.org/self_help/probate/medical/living_trust.shtml

What is a HIPAA Authorization?

A HIPAA authorization allows the people you designate to have access to your healthcare documents.  This can be important for your family members to get updates on your condition, view diagnostics such as lab reports or test results, and to make more informed healthcare decisions on your behalf. You can find a HIPAA form here:  https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/services/Documents/Authorization%20for%20Release%20of%20Protected%20Health%20Information%20DHCS%206247.pdf

How can the Law Office of David Knecht help you personalize your estate plan?

Depending on your specific circumstances, you may need other documents.  If you are anticipating bankruptcy, divorce, or certain types of lawsuit, you may need strategic planning to protect your beneficiaries.  An estate plan goes further than a checklist of documents, but should be approached with a unique plan just for you that provides the best tax strategies and plans to carry out your wishes with exactness. The attorneys at the Law Office of David Knecht, have extensive experience in all aspects of estate planning and can help you create a plan that is complete and advantageous.  Contact us at 707-451-4502 for more information.  

Filed Under: California Estate Plan, Estate Planning, Estates

3 Important Reasons Why a HIPAA Authorization Should be in Your Estate Plan

For a many people, when they hear “estate planning,” they think simply of a will, but a complete California estate plan is much more than that.  This article will explain what a HIPAA Authorization is and three important reasons why it is an important part of your estate plan. 

What is HIPAA?

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, is a law relating to the privacy of health care records.  Having a HIPAA authorization in your estate plan is important to make sure that the people who are important to you have access to your health care records and can communicate with your medical care providers.  Your doctor and other health care providers are not able to talk to your loved ones on the phone about your condition, share lab or diagnostic reports, or release other medical information with family members or friends unless you have prepared a HIPAA Authorization. 

What are the 3 important reasons you need a HIPAA Authorization?

The HIPAA  Authorization has these advantages:

  • Allows your family access to medical records.
  • Gives family members ability to receive updates about your condition.
  • Enable loved ones to access your medical bills to ensure they are paid.  

What is the difference between a HIPAA Authorization and a Living Will/Healthcare Directive?

A HIPAA authorization provides certain people with the right to give and receive medical information about you that would otherwise be protected as private.  For example, they can ask the doctor what medications you are taking or let the doctor know about side effects you may be experiencing.  They can receive information about test results, etc.  They can also talk to the provider about billing issues on your behalf.  The Advance Healthcare Directive goes further as it is more encompassing than the HIPAA Authorization.  The Advance Directive can give the person you select the right to talk with medical personnel but beyond just hearing about your condition, this document gives them the right to make medical decisions on your behalf if you are incapacitated.  For example, if you were in a coma, the Advance Directive would give that person the decision-making power to allow or give up on certain treatments. 

How do I create a HIPAA Authorization?

The easiest way to create HIPAA authorization is to contact an attorney who is experienced in estate planning and include it in a comprehensive estate plan.  A HIPAA Authorization will generally meet these requirements:

  • State that it is a HIPAA Privacy Authorization Form
  • Include your name
  • Define the scope of authorization – for example authorize all medial information or contain exceptions
  • Include the effective date it goes into effect as well as the date of expiration of the Authorization

What attorney can help me create a HIPAA Authorization and an estate plan?

The attorneys at the Law Office of David Knecht, have extensive experience in all aspects of estate planning and can help you create a HIPAA Authorization and all other documents necessary for a complete and customized estate plan.  Contact us at 707-451-4502 for more information.  

Filed Under: Estate Planning, Estates

Estate Planning:  The Next Normal for Millenials?

The pandemic has brought a seismic shift in culture in a myriad ways, and one recent change is an increased focus on estate planning.  This post shares some ideas from a Yahoo! Finance article which suggests how Millennials can broach the perhaps awkward topic of estate planning with family members.  And for Millenials themselves, recent research published by Trust and Will shows that Millennials (spurred on by Covid-19 concerns) are increasingly focused on creating an estate plan for themselves as well with trends toward creating guardianship plans for their pets and charitable contributions to causes that Millenials care about.  See https://finance.yahoo.com/news/millennials-time-talk-estate-planning-150019404.html and https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/first-study-on-millennial-estate-planning-finds-surge-in-wills-due-to-the-pandemic-301221748.html

Get Started on Estate Planning with David Knecht Law Consultation

Whether you need estate planning advice for yourself or loved ones, at David Knecht Law, we are here to guide you and help create the right plan for our needs.  If you are wondering how to bring up the topic with your spouse, parents, or children, here are a few helpful suggestions from “Millenials:  It’s Time to Talk Estate Planning with Your Parents.”  

  1. The “Asking for Advice” approach.

One potential approach for bringing up the perhaps awkward topic of estate planning is the “asking for advice” approach.  For example, if you are married, you could approach your parents and ask how they decided power of attorney or health care proxy.  This could open the topic for further discussion and follow up. 

  1. The “Due Diligence” approach. 

Another method for opening a discussion about estate planning is to make a list of documents that you do have and bring that list to the loved one for discussion to highlight where you are strong and where you need to dedicate more due diligence.  Perhaps some estate planning was completed long ago but needs to be updated or perhaps you have yet to begin.  An organized and methodical discussion may be appropriate to spur action. 

  1. The “Direct” approach.

The direct approach may be the most effective for some loved ones, where you begin by sharing your concerns with the goal to persuade but not bulldoze.  Here, and offer to set up a consultation with an attorney may be well-received, as you would be taking the initiative to set it up but allow the loved one to ask questions and consider the information presented by the professional before they have to decide whether to move forward with establishing an estate plan. 

Regardless of how you present the estate plan idea to loved ones, the Law Office of David Knecht, at 707-451-4502, is here to provide accurate information in a respectful manner.  Give us a call today for a consultation on how to create the right estate plan for you. 

 

Filed Under: Estate Planning