Spouses understand the importance of estate planning to care for one another and their children. But not everyone who ages has a spouse or children to worry about or to look after them. These so-called solo agers still need a guided, personalized estate plan that can ensure their best interests are taken care of following their incapacity or death. If you are a solo ager, you owe it to yourself to find out how the estate planning attorneys of Merlino & Gonzalez can effectively advocate for you.
The Risks of Solo Aging Without A Plan
Individuals who grow old without the traditional support network of a family face several dilemmas. First, they may not know how to dispense with their assets or have their estate debts paid after death. Second, they may not be in a position to provide for their own medical or nursing needs as they age, and they have no one available to take care of them. Finally, in the event something occurs that causes them to lose legal capacity (like being in an accident), there may not be anyone available to help. Bills won’t get paid, pets won’t be taken care of, and their hard-earned assets could be at risk.
Although these are potentially troubling scenarios, there are steps that solo agers can take to prepare.
Long-Term Care Planning
Looking into the future, you will likely need long-term nursing care, especially if you have no spouse or children to take care of you. There are numerous considerations that go into selecting the right home to watch after you, such as the quality of the facility, the risk of abuse and neglect, the fate of your personal property (including pets), and more.
The time to get ready for this stage of life is now. One of the biggest concerns that solo agers have is how they can afford the ever-increasing expense of nursing home or assisted living care. A possible solution is Medicaid. If you have considerable assets, you will need to look at transferring them into an irrevocable trust to prevent those assets from being counted against you when it comes to determining Medicaid eligibility. You will also want to select a dependable person to serve as the trustee.
Planning for Incapacity
In the event you are no longer able to make decisions for yourself – meaning, you are no longer of sound mind – you will need someone who can help with your finances, healthcare, and other matters. Establishing a durable power of attorney and health care proxy will be the best way to ensure that a trusted individual can make critical decisions like these if you are ever incapacitated.
However, for solo agers, selecting an agent or proxy to act on their behalf is a more difficult decision. Most individuals choose their spouses or children to step into these roles because the power they exercise is potentially substantial. You will want to give careful consideration to who among your relatives or friends should serve as your agent.
Estate Planning: Wills and Trusts
You will need to determine who inherits your property and pays your debts after you die. This usually begins with a last will and testament. A solo ager may find it difficult to decide who should take their belongings after they pass away or who will serve as the executor of their estate. Perhaps they will want a relative, such as a nephew or niece, to inherit property or be the executor. Or they may wish to donate their assets to charity. We can review your options and execute a last will and testament that reflects your wishes.
You should also consider using a revocable trust. Unlike an irrevocable trust, assets placed into the revocable trust are not excluded when Medicaid determines eligibility (nor are they shielded from creditors). But these trusts are flexible and they can allow the grantor, the person who creates the trust, to move property in and out of it. The solo ager can be the trustee of their own trust while they are alive, and property placed in the trust can be used for the solo ager’s benefit. After death, a carefully chosen successor trustee can administer the remaining assets without the need for the time-consuming and expensive court process of probate.
Beneficiary Designations
Finally, you need to make sure you name beneficiaries for certain assets like retirement accounts, financial accounts, and insurance policies. Upon your death, assets held in these accounts and policies will pass directly to beneficiaries without the court’s involvement.
Selecting the Right Estate Planning Attorney
To prepare yourself for aging, you need a dedicated and experienced estate planning attorney who understands the unique challenges you will face by growing older on your own. When you select our firm, you can count on:
- An estate plan that incorporates the above and other tools to protect your financial, healthcare, and personal interests
- Being treated as an individual, not a case or client file number, and having personalized legal representation
- The experience and flexibility it takes to tackle challenging and unique estate planning situations
- Helping you understand trusts, wills, and other instruments like those described above
- Answering questions and concerns about estate planning, probate, and what happens to you during incapacity and what happens to your property and debt after you die
Contact Our Estate Planning for Solo Agers Attorney
Our firm can guide you concerning the above and other options you may have for preparing for yourself and your legacy as you get older. To learn more about estate planning services for solo agers, reach out to Merlino & Gonzalez today.