As commander of coalition forces during operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm, General Norman Schwarzkopf left behind a legacy as a great military commander when he died this December. He also left behind a legacy that can teach us a lot about estate planning, even if we did not serve in the Armed Forces or were not as noteworthy or famous as the late general.

Legacy Planning

Part of estate planning is not simply making choices about who we leave our money to and how we can best structure our estate to minimize tax exposure, but it’s focused on the broader picture of protecting our legacy and leaving behind a memory of which we would be proud.

When Mr. Schwarzkopf left the Army, he could have taken any number of paths that would have affected his legacy. He could have remained in the public eye, entered into politics, or taken positions that could have impacted his legacy positively or negatively. Instead, General Schwarzkopf chose a mostly private life that was lived outside of the public eye. By maintaining this position and not becoming involved in disputes or political fights, the general’s legacy remained largely intact when he retired soon after leaving the successful Gulf War.

Veterans Benefits

As one of the highest ranking military officers of his time, the general not only had notoriety, but also had access to all the veterans benefits that’s everyone who has served in the Armed Forces can access. Veterans have access to benefits such as aid and assistance, survivor benefits, commissary access, and a range of other programs that can help you now, and help your family after you die.

Byrd : Garrett, PLLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Whether you are recently divorced, never married, or widowed, a single retiree has a greater need to begin estate planning than married people do. As a single person facing retirement and the challenges that come with growing older, you’ll need to create a plan that allows you to maintain as high a quality of life as possible while still allowing for the possibility of receiving outside assistance.

A single retiree’s estate plan will include same basic documents that other estate plans include, such as a will, powers of attorney, and medical directives. However, you’ll also have to take into consideration your ability to obtain assistance and elder care services should you ever require them.

For example, single retirees can often benefit from developing a Medicaid plan that they can use if they ever need to enter a nursing home. Medicaid planning requires you to act years in advance in order to use Medicaid to pay for nursing home expenses. You don’t need to sell all your possessions in order to receive Medicaid, but Medicaid planning does require careful preparation.

Additionally, if you plan on living at home you will need to take precautions, especially if you live alone. If you don’t live with anyone and do not have close friends or relatives nearby who can assist you when you need them, you’ll have to prepare for the possibility of outside assistance. This might include, for example, hiring in-home caregivers, contractors to make your home more senior friendly, or temporary assistants who can visit you when needed.

Byrd : Garrett, PLLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

We never know when we might be involved in a serious car accident, succumb to a medical emergency, or become a victim of a violent crime. If you are overcome by one of these situations, wouldn’t it be a comfort to know that emergency responders and health care providers had the information they required in order to save your life? And if they were unable to save your life, wouldn’t you want your loved ones to have the news of your passing be delivered as gently as possible? That is the purpose of an In Case of Emergency (ICE) card.

An ICE card usually contains the following information:

- Your name and contact information;

- Listing of any medical conditions with which you have been diagnosed;

- Listing of your known allergies;

- Name and contact information of the person(s) you wish to be contacted in an emergency;

- Name and contact information of your primary care physician;

- Name of your insurance provider, as well as your policy number.

Creating an ICE card is relatively simple and easy to do. There are some for-purchase websites that provide ICE cards that go into great detail, but there are also many free templates to be found online as well. One such website belongs to AAA, and it contains a free template that is easy to print and understand.

If you have not yet taken the time to create an ICE card, you should do so as soon as possible.

Byrd : Garrett, PLLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Thinking about what to include in your will, how you can use various types of trusts, and what medical directives you want to include in your estate plan are all very important, but you shouldn’t forget about the role insurance plays as well. Many people will use insurance as a key part of their estate and inheritance plans. Not only will medical insurance be an important part, but you must also consider the role life insurance and long-term care insurance will have.

Life Insurance

There are two main types of life insurance policies: whole and term. Term life insurance is the type of life insurance that most people think of when they think of life insurance. For this kind of policy you pay a yearly premium and can name a beneficiary who would receive a payout should you die during that year. Whole life insurance also provides for beneficiary payments, but it adds an investment element as well. Whole life insurance is more expensive, but it allows you to develop an investment portfolio and borrow against the portfolio’s worth.

Long-Term Care Insurance

If you believe you might need to one day reside in a nursing home or extended care facility, long-term care insurance is a good option. If you do not want to develop a Medicaid plan or do not believe you will be able to qualify for Medicaid, long-term care insurance can help alleviate the expenses associated with nursing home care. Like other forms of insurance, it  is always best to evaluate each long-term care insurance plan in light of your needs and financial abilities.

Byrd : Garrett, PLLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

In a letter sent to state governors across the country, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sibelius said that the federal government would not provide states with funds to cover their expansion of the Medicaid program unless they adopted the expansion completely. States that try to implement a more limited coverage expansion would not receive federal assistance to help cover the expenses.

Under the terms of the Affordable Care Act, also known as the health care expansion law or Obamacare, Medicaid would be made available to anyone who didn’t have a high enough income. When the Supreme Court ruled on the healthcare law it allowed states to choose to opt out of the expansion without risking being denied other federal dollars.

However, states that choose to expand Medicaid under the terms of the law will have the costs of the expansion paid for by the federal government, at least for the first several years. By 2020, states would be responsible for 10% of the costs associated with the expansion, while the federal government would remain responsible for the other 90%.

In her letter, Sibelius said that states choosing to only partially expand Medicaid would not receive the benefit of federal matching funds.  Similarly, states that attempt to expand Medicaid by adopting different phases would also less than full financial support.

States have been grappling with the decision on whether to expand Medicaid. Because the federal law establishes the 2014 guideline, many will not make their final decision until sometime in 2013.

Byrd : Garrett, PLLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

In the world of estate planning the concept of spiritual estate planning is a hot topic right now and a growing trend among baby boomers. If you or someone you know are considering ways to create an estate plan but you are unsure about which method is right for you, perhaps the following paragraphs will help you determine whether or not spiritual estate planning is for you.

The main gist of spiritual estate planning is that it is value-driven. What is meant by that is that it’s not the value of your estate that guides the plan, but your own personal values. As one attorney in Florida said, “It’s leaving money with a purpose.”

In today’s modern world, family lines are no longer as clear-cut as they used to be. With some people having entered into their second, third, or even fourth marriage by the time they pass – each one of which may have included stepchildren – who gets what is no longer an easy thing to determine.

That’s where spiritual estate planning comes into play.

If a person has a complicated family structure, as well as strong feelings about how money should be used, and some of those family members are more financially successful than others, he or she may decide to leave more to the family member who has less.

Additionally, the person may just decide not to leave anything to family members and donate their estate to charity. This is demonstrated by the fact that bequests to charities rose by 19% last year.

Byrd : Garrett, PLLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Inheriting property from a parent or other family member is idea that has been around since well before the invention of writing. We don’t know who first developed this idea, but we do know that the first legal codes, those of ancient Samaria, contained many inheritance laws that estate planners would easily recognize today. These laws, some of them over 4000 years old, addressed topics such as the rights of a father to disinherit his children, as well as what rights wives had when their husbands died.

In the simplest sense, questions about inheritances are very practical. They address what happens to all the property a person leaves behind after death. It should come as no surprise that different societies have approached this question differently over time.

For example, beginning in 13^th century Sweden, Swedish sons stood to inherit twice as much as Swedish daughters. Prior to that, daughters were not entitled to inherit anything at all. This strategy is similar to that often found in Islamic cultures where sons stand to inherit twice as much as daughters.

Other societies have employed strategies that left all of a parent’s property to an eldest child, often an eldest male child, while others have determined that the youngest child should receive everything. In other societies, such as in ancient Israel, only the male descendants could inherit and female descendants were left out.

Today, many modern American inheritance ideas stem from British common law, though the two forms of law have diverged in significant ways since the colonial days.

Byrd : Garrett, PLLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

As much as the title of this blog may sound like a joke, it’s anything but funny. People die or become disabled unexpectedly every day, leaving behind grieving family members and a bunch of estate planning questions. If you wish to avoid at least some of the questions with which they will be confronted, put together a little fluorescent binder of death or disability. Why fluorescent? Because it will stand out. You could, of course, opt for a more subdued color like red or green, but nothing says “read me” like a fluorescent binder.

Your binder’s first section should include the names, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of the people you wish to be notified in such a situation. This would not only include the names of close friends and relatives, but also your lawyer, accountant or financial adviser, and mortician (if you have selected one). Additionally, you’d want to include any health information – insurance information, primary care physician, and copies of any advance directives you have drafted – as well as copies of your estate plan.

Next, make a section listing your household income and expenses, maintenance schedules, insurance policies (including auto, homeowners, life, etc.), as well as your tax information.

The third section includes your investment information: what you invested in, with whom you have invested, and any retirement funds, IRAs, 401 Ks, etc. Something that’s particularly helpful here is a net worth statement. If you don’t have one, think about making one.

The fourth section includes miscellaneous items: your biography or family history, credit cards, passwords, inventory of personal items, and a list of any safety deposit boxes.

Byrd : Garrett, PLLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

When you start making an estate plan, you may start thinking about some rather macabre scenarios or hypothetical situations that you never really considered before. One of these involves the simultaneous deaths of both spouses. For example, what would happen to your estate if both you and your spouse were killed in the same automobile accident?

This is not a new question, and all states have adopted laws that specifically deal with this scenario. The original simultaneous death laws originated in the 1940s and have since been adopted in various versions by every state.

Simultaneous death laws state that when both spouses die at the same time, their property is passed assuming that each spouse was the sole surviving person. This means, for example, that if both spouses die, the courts will look at each estate (the property each of the spouses owned) as if that spouse died as the sole surviving spouse.

This occurs because if the courts considered each spouse to have died right before the other, it might require spousal property to have to go through two separate probate processes, and perhaps even incur multiple estate or inheritance tax liabilities on the same property.

It’s important to realize that the simultaneous death laws of each state apply whether you die without leaving behind a last will and testament or if you have created one. However, if you create a will it is often advantageous to include within it a survival clause. The survival clause states that if spouses die within a specific length of one another, say within 21 days, the simultaneous deaths provisions will apply even if they did not die at exactly the same moment.

Byrd : Garrett, PLLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

For many people, the realization that you need an estate plan comes when you learn you are pregnant and start thinking about the needs and future of your child. If something should happen to you and your spouse, who would be left to care for your child? The legal answer is: a guardian. However, while a parent can select who would act as guardian should the unthinkable happen, if you don’t make your choice in a legally recognized manner, it will be up to the court to choose for you. Here are several steps you can take to ensuring your choice will be honored.

Step 1: Agree on someone.

It’s best if both parents can come to an agreement about who the guardian will be. Take some time to consider your options and discuss your choice before either of you make any decisions.

Step 2: Discuss it with your choice.

No one has to be a guardian, and if you choose someone who doesn’t want the responsibility, that will only cause problems later on. Always discuss your choice with your guardian selection. It’s also good idea to discuss it with other family members as well so they know what your choices are and can express their own feelings about it.

Step 3: Write your will.

The only way to formally recognize a guardian choice is to create a last will and testament. You can make a will on your own, but it’s always a good idea to contact an estate planning attorney so you can be sure your will is properly created and properly includes your guardian selection.

Byrd : Garrett, PLLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.