It Will End But No One Knows When

While life as we know it is disrupted, we don’t know exactly when we will be able to move about without being aware of social distancing again. Until that time, caution is key. Even though you may be getting “cabin fever” or going “stir crazy” it’s better than the alternative. And while everyone is proposing all kinds of activities from learning how to play musical instruments or to speak a new language, I’d be more inclined to suggest taking steps to get legal plans filed.

Minor Children

Having legal plans in place if you have minor children is integral. If you should get the virus and not recover do you know who will tend to your minor children’s needs? If you are a single parent, who will take care of your minor children? These are important decisions that must be made and it’s best to make them while you are healthy and of sound mind.

Elderly Parents

This is also a time to focus on your elderly parents and loved ones. It’s a good time to suggest a review of their legal plans and to find out if they have designated a Financial Power of Attorney or a Health Care Power of Attorney. Many people who believe they don’t have much stuff or money, think they don’t need any legal plans. But most people have more things of value than they know. This is a time when unscrupulous family members could come out of the woodwork and start to take advantage of elderly relatives. It’s important to have legal plans in place to protect yourself or your elderly loved ones.

Health Care Workers And Grocery Store Workers

Are you a healthcare professional? You may be just starting out in your career and haven’t had a chance to think about your own mortality. But, the pandemic has changed that for so many healthcare workers. There has been an upsurge in online wills, however, you must understand that online wills may not provide the legal directives you need. It’s best to make a quick call to a reputable estate and asset protection attorney and/or an elder care attorney.

And what about those brave supermarket employees. The managers, the cashiers, the shelf stockers, everyone who works in a grocery store is putting their lives at risk during this pandemic. If you know someone who works in a supermarket and is over 18, you might want to check with them and encourage them to get some legal plans in place. As mentioned above, this is especially important for anyone who has minor children.

Don’t Take Chances

None of us knows if we will become a statistic during this global pandemic. While there is so little in our control right now, it may provide a sense of relief and security knowing that your loved ones’ needs are legally defined in the event anything should happen. We are helping clients get their legal plans drawn up via digital meetings. Give us a call and let us help you establish at least a small sense of peace.

The post How Many Of The 41,155 People Who’ve Died In The U.S. Of COVID19 Were Prepared appeared first on Felinton Elder Law and Estate Planning Centers.

Delray Beach, FL. Feb. 6, 2020: Mindy Felinton, founder of Felinton Elder Law & Estate Planning Centers, has posted a new blog on her law firm’s website entitled “Revisit Your Estate Plan In Light Of New SECURE Act,” in which Ms. Felinton reviews some aspects of the new Act and encourages readers to review their estate plans.

Felinton states, “At the end of 2019, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act was passed into law.” She continues adding, “Everyone who has a retirement plan such as an IRA or 401k will be affected by this law as of January 1, 2020.”

According to Felinton, “It may be in your best interest to talk with your financial advisor and/or estate and asset protection advisor to see how this new law affects your plans for the distribution of your assets upon your death. You may want to make some tweaks.”

“Most affected,” says Felinton, “in what may be considered a negative way, will be non-spouse inheritors of retirement plans. According to the old law, retirement accounts could be distributed over the lifetime of the non-spouse inheritors. Under the SECURE act, the funds must be distributed within 10 years of the original owners death along with the required taxes.”

The entire blog can be read at https://www.felintonlaw.com/revisit-your-estate-plan-in-light-of-new-secure-act/

About Mindy Felinton

From a young age, Mindy wanted to be the voice that would make an impact in people’s lives. She became an attorney and has practiced law for over 30 years, so that she could fulfill her desire to help others. As a special prosecutor, Mindy defended the underdog (literally) in cases of animal abuse. As a state attorney in Florida she fought for justice. During the last 25 years, Mindy met many wonderful people who did not know their rights, did not understand the law, and did not know what options were available.

Mindy assists families with Medicaid planning to help with the cost of nursing home care and with obtaining veteran’s benefits to make the cost of care more manageable.   She also prepares wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and medical directives.  Mindy is passionate about educating both other professionals and the public concerning VA Aid & Attendance benefits, Medicaid benefits,  and the use of trusts for the protection of assets.  She shares her experience and professional knowledge through free workshops, and as a frequent lecturer at State Bar Conferences.

The post Felinton Elder Law & Estate Planning Centers Founder, Mindy Felinton Reviews Points Of The New SECURE Act That Affect Retirement Account Holders appeared first on Felinton Elder Law and Estate Planning Centers.

Estate Planning Tips Might Be the Last Thing You Want to Think About…

I know it’s the busiest time of year and listening to estate planning tips is probably not high on your to-do list. And, believe me, I’m not going to suggest adding one more thing on your to-do list before the end of the year.

Well, with one tiny exception. Here’s one of the most important estate planning tips you should take the time to listen to…

I highly suggest you call your estate and asset protection attorney and schedule a review of your legal documents after the New Year.

Just get it on the calendar is all.

You never know if your financial institution has new procedures that will make your assets inaccessible should anything happen. There may be changes that need to be made. Also, if there have been any births, deaths, divorces or accidents or illnesses in the family that need to be revisited in your estate plan, it’s a great time to make sure that gets done. Also has anyone who is a designated trustee to your estate moved away, become unacceptable or incapacitated in any way that needs to be addressed? Scheduling an annual review of your estate and asset protection plan at the beginning of each year or at least every couple of years is something I suggest to my clients.

Gain Confidence

You always want to be confident that should anything happen to you, your documents are up-to-date and are correctly filed. I find that the down time after all the holidays is perfect for this type of review. It’s a great way to kick off the New Year too, confident that your house is in order and if any changes are required they can be taken care of while you are healthy and of sound mind.

The post Estate Planning Tips: ‘Tis The Season To Schedule A Review Of Your Trust And Estate Documents appeared first on Felinton Elder Law and Estate Planning Centers.

When Creating Your Estate and Asset Protection Plan, Don’t Overlook Your Digital Assets

We are living in a digital world.

And have been for a few decades now. In fact there are young people who have never seen or heard of a telephone that sat on a table that rang loudly and had to be answered. Some kids do not even know how to use or dial an old-fashioned telephone.

Just about everything is done digitally these days. Your entire world can be carried around in the palm of your hand. Even many who’ve not been weaned on computers, do have financial accounts that they manage digitally. Furthermore, they may organize and pay monthly bills online – from mortgages to club memberships.

Unfortunately, many people do not think to include their digital account access information in their wills or estate and asset protection plan or plans.

More and more attorneys are asking for this information and it will be common soon enough. But, at the moment it is still an area that is being overlooked with dire consequences. AARP has posted a thorough article about this subject on their website, which you can read by clicking here.

If you don’t care to read the entire article, I’ve pulled out the most important part, “Prepare (or revise) your estate planning documents to address digital assets and information. Ensure that all your documents (wills, powers of attorney and trusts) authorize somebody to be your “agent” for your digital life and your executor for your digital estate. For example, your documents may include language giving your chosen person authority to “access, control, use, cancel, deactivate, or delete Digital Accounts and Digital Assets, and to access, control, use, deactivate or dispose of Digital Devices.” This makes sure your caregiver would not be essentially hacking into your accounts by using your password and login information, but truly has legal consent to do so.”

At Felinton Elder Law & Estate Planning Centers we include a list of questions regarding digital assets that include financial accounts as well as photographs, music, films, artwork, and more. Give us a call to schedule a meeting to revise or create estate planning documents that include all of your assets.

The post When Creating An Estate and Asset Protection Plan Include Directions For Digital Assets appeared first on Felinton Elder Law and Estate Planning Centers.