This summer my practice experienced numerous cases where people failed to act. They failed to write a will, appoint a health care agent and determine who was going to get jewelry and art collections.
There is a false notion that if one is married with children, and there is no will, when one dies, all goes to the spouse. So let me share with you some of this summer’s tales in hopes that you will see yourself and move to act.
There was the 35 year old man with a wife and small children. He owned the home. When he died without a will, the wife did not become the owner of the property, the wife and small children became co-owners of the property. The court appointed a stranger to oversee the assets of the children, and they had every right to sell the house out from under the wife, so the money could be invested for the benefit of the children. The house was appraised, and the wife had to come up with the cash to pay the children for their share of the property.
There was the 42 year old man with a wife, older children, but one of them has special needs. He did not have a will either. When he died, his assets were split among his wife and children. Because there was no special provision for the special needs child, her $450,000 share of the estate went right to the government to reimburse the government for the money they paid out for the benefit of the special needs child. The child lost her benefits until every last penny of what she inherited is used up to pay for her care.
There was the 72 year old woman with an art collection and jewelry. She didn’t make out a will, nor did she determine which of her children/grandchildren would get her art and jewelry. They are spending tens of thousands of dollars on appraisals, they will have to estate taxes on the assets, and the children will be fighting who gets what for the forseeable future.
There was the 63 year old woman with an orthodox daughter and a non-orthodox daughter. She suffered a heart attack and stroke and ended up in a coma. The Orthodox daughter wants to fight the hospital’s doctors who don’t want to sustain her because they feel there is no hope for her to improve or recover and the non-Orthodox daughter who doesn’t want her mother’s life prolonged uneccessarily. There was no health care proxy or power of attorney. The daughters are fighting with the hospital as to their mother’s care. And without a power of attorney, they cannot access her bank accounts to pay her bills.
There are those who do not know what to do with their legal documents. Please DO NOT put them in safe boxes in a bank or at home where they cannot be readily accessed. Please provide the Will to the Executor, the Health Care Proxy to your health care agent, and let your power of attorney know where he/she can access the document should you become incapacitated. Do not unstaple original documents for any reason even to copy them.
I know that it is difficult making decisions as to family estate planning, but truly if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. It is the end of the Jewish year, take time now to get your planning needs in order.
Lenore has been practicing Trust and estate/elder for 25 years. She has her LLM masters in Taxation, and has offices in New York and New Jersey. You can contact her via telephone at (516)569-4671 or by email at Ldavis@lenoredavis.com.