Posts

Estate Planning Attorney

COVID-19 Funeral Reimbursement

/in /by

Did you know that you can be reimbursed for the funeral expenses of a lost loved one that passed from COVID-19? COVID-19 has affected the lives of many Americans and their families, reimbursement of funeral costs is a little way to ease the grief of losing a loved one from this pandemic.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has started a program to reimburse those families that have lost someone due to the coronavirus. The application process starts April 12, 2021 and currently does not have an end date. To qualify you must meet the following requirements:

• The death must have occurred in the United States, this includes U.S. Territories and the District of Columbia
• The death certificate must indicate that the death was attributed to COVID-19
• The applicant must be a United States citizen, non-citizen national, or qualified alien who incurred funeral expenses after January 20, 2020
• There is no requirement for the deceased person to have been a United States citizen, non-citizen national, or qualified alien

Additionally, the following documentation should be gathered and kept for submission:
• An official death certificate – that attributes the death directly or indirectly to COVID-19 and shows that the death occurred in the United States, U.S. Territories, or District of Columbia
• Funeral expenses documents – (receipts, funeral home contract, etc.) that includes the applicant’s name, the deceased person’s name, the amount of the funeral expenses, and the dates the funeral expenses happened
• Proof of funds received from other sources – specifically for use toward funeral costs. We are not able to duplicate benefits received from burial or funeral insurance, financial assistance received from voluntary agencies, government agencies, or other sources
If approved, you will receive your funeral assistance through a check by mail or direct deposit, depending on the option you choose when applying for assistance.

Unfortunately, there are some people who cannot apply for assistance if they fall under one of the following categories:
• A minor child cannot apply on behalf of an adult who is not a U.S. citizen, non-citizen national, or qualified agent
• There are several categories of aliens that are lawfully present in the United States, but do not qualify for FEMA’s Individual and Households Program assistance, including this funeral assistance program. These include, but are not limited to:
o Temporary tourist visa holders
o Foreign students
o Temporary work visa holders
o Habitual residents such as citizens of the Federal States of Micronesia, Palau, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands

Please keep in mind there is no online application, this is through the FEMA funeral assistance hotline 844-684-6333. Once your application has been submitted via phone, you will be provided an application number and will need to submit your supporting documents (death certificate, funeral expense receipts, etc.). The supporting documents can be submitted the following ways:
• Upload documents to your DisasterAssitance.gov account
• Fax Documents
• Mail Documents

If you were responsible for the funeral expenses of more than one person lost to coronavirus you may claim each funeral on your application. The limits for assistance are up to $9,000 per funeral and up to $35,500 per application per state, territory, or District of Columbia.

This is a great program for families looking for assistance in the unexpected death of a loved one caused by COVID-19. For more information, please visit the link below. To schedule and appointment with one of our estate planning attorneys, contact Baron Law at 216-573-3723

Sources:
https://www.fema.gov/disasters/coronavirus/economic/funeral-assistance#eligible

family sitting around elder

Benefits Of A Family Trust As Part Of My Estate Plan

/in /by

Many people think trusts are for the affluent, but in actuality, family trusts are a powerful planning tool for individuals and families across the wealth spectrum.

We encourage you to carefully consider the differences between a will and a trust when crafting your estate plan. A will distributes assets outright upon your death. A trust allows you more customization and control over when and how your assets are distributed.

Here are a couple examples:

  • In a will, you can state that you’d like a certain sum of money to be given to each of your grandchildren. They will receive that sum upon your death. In a trust, you can state that your grandchildren only receive the sum once they turn 18 and that it may only be used for technical school or college tuition.
  • In a will, you can dictate that each of your children receive a portion of your assets. They will inherit those assets upon your death.
  • In a trust, you can control how and when the assets are received. For example, you can dictate in your trust that children receive payments in thirds after reaching the ages of 30, 35 and 40.
    In a will, you might leave assets to a sibling. If that sibling is in a nursing home, the home could end up with your assets or they could kick your sibling off federal benefits. If you establish a trust, you can dictate that the assets will not be distributed if your sibling is in a nursing home or receiving Medicaid.

In This Article:

What Is A Family Trust?

Put simply, a family trust is a set of instructions that tell others what you want to happen to your assets after you’ve passed, and in some cases, while you’re still living.

A family trust is different from other types of trusts in that the beneficiaries are limited to family members, like a surviving spouse or children.

Whether a family trust is right for you will depend on your financial situation, your family’s unique needs and your goals.

How Does A Family Trust Work?

To protect, manage and distribute assets, there are three key roles.

  1. A grantor establishes the trust.
  2. A trustee (an individual or third-party fiduciary) manages the trust and makes decisions or hires someone to make decisions about investments, distributions and other financial matters. Trustees are bound by legal obligations to act in the best interest of the beneficiaries. They distribute assets or income generated from the trust’s assets to the beneficiaries based on the terms of the trust.
  3. Beneficiaries – in this case family members – benefit from the assets in the trust.

What Are The Types of Family Trusts?

There are two main types of family trusts: revocable and irrevocable.

Revocable family trusts are often used as living trusts to document how you want your assets to be managed and distributed both while you’re living and after you’re gone. They allow you to retain more control because you can change the trust’s terms at any time and can add or withdraw assets.

With a revocable trust, you can serve as trustee and name a successor trustee to take over when you are no longer able to. This can be especially helpful to your family if you reach a point in your lifetime where you become ill or are unable to manage your assets. Your successor trustee can make distributions on your behalf, pay bills, file tax returns and more.

An irrevocable family trust cannot be changed once created. It is often used as an estate planning tool to reduce estate taxes or protect assets from creditors.

There are many additional types of family trusts for specific purposes or benefits. Some common types include:

Testamentary trusts are created in the grantor’s will and take effect after he or she dies. They can be used to distribute assets to beneficiaries according to the grantor’s wishes and to help protect assets from creditors.

Special needs trusts help parents or grandparents ensure that children with disabilities have the financial resources they need to maintain their quality of life without jeopardizing their eligibility for government benefits.

Asset protection trusts help protect assets from creditors and lawsuits. They are often used by individuals and families at a high risk of being sued, such as business owners.

If you are considering setting up a family trust, an estate planning attorney can help you determine which type of trust is right for you.

They will evaluate your needs and goals to not only set up the trust, but also to maintain it properly over time.

What Are The Benefits Of A Family Trust Vs. A Will?

Family Trusts Avoid Probate

Having a will is better than having no plan at all; however, a last will and testament does not avoid probate. Probate is a court system designed to administer your will and pay creditors. All of the assets controlled by your will go through probate to be verified and distributed according to your wishes.

The probate court can be costly and time consuming. According to the AARP, the average estate will lose 5-10 percent of assets when administered through probate. For example, if you have a five hundred thousand dollar estate, at a minimum, you’re going to spend twenty-five thousand dollars administering it through probate.

Not only is it costly, but also it is time consuming. The minimum time to administer a will in probate court is six months, but the average time in most counties is eleven months.

If established properly, a family trust can transfer assets to your heirs while avoiding probate. There will be no probate fees and no no minimum administration time.

Family Trusts Minimize Federal or State Taxes

Without a family trust, an individual who finds themselves over the federal exemption limit could face 40-45% in estate taxes. A family trust can significantly reduce or eliminate these taxes by allowing a surviving spouse to make certain tax elections. This is commonly known as “marital deduction planning.”

A family trust allows the surviving spouse to set aside a portion of the estate, including the growth, tax free. For example, if the federal exemption were $1 million, and a surviving spouse is left with $5 million, with the trust, he or she could set aside $4 million in trust and the entire balance (including growth) after the death of the second spouse, would be tax free. Without the trust, the heirs would be paying 40% on $4 million in estate taxes.

Family Trusts Protect & Preserve Your Assets

If you have minor children, then establishing a family trust becomes a must. A minor child cannot legally inherit your assets.

Family trusts provide asset protection by holding assets in trust for your children’s benefit. Even when your children become adults, the trust still provides asset protection against creditors, litigation, and divorce. For example, if you passed away leaving a large sum to your forty-five-year-old child who has spending issues, a pending litigation, or a divorce in process, the trust would hold the assets until your child is in a better place in life.

Another common asset protection measure occurs when individuals are in their second marriage. In this scenario, there is nothing preventing the remaining spouse from disinheriting children from a prior marriage. For example, a husband and wife in their second marriage care for two children the wife has from her prior marriage. The wife passes away and leaves everything to her husband, and the contingent beneficiaries are her two children. Five years later, the husband remarries and creates a new estate plan naming his new spouse as primary beneficiary of his estate and his two step-children as contingent beneficiaries. When the husband dies, the new spouse inherits everything and the children are accidentally or intentionally disinherited.

Family Trusts Offer Privacy

When you go through probate, all of your information – assets, beneficiaries and more – become public record. Establishing a trust will allow you to avoid probate and maintain your privacy.

Family Trusts Are Cost-Efficient

Having a trust is more cost- effective than a will. Because the trust allows you to avoid 6-18 months of probate costs, more of your legacy is preserved for your family.

How Do I Set Up A Family Trust?

The exact process varies, but the following are key steps that your family trust attorney will walk you through.

  1. Decide what assets will be placed in your trust. While you might already have an idea of what you’d like to include, your attorney may help you uncover some additional assets that would benefit from being placed in a trust. Assets can range from cash and investments to real estate and other property.
  2. Choose your beneficiaries. They might include your spouse, your children, grandchildren or other close family members.
  3. Establish the rules of your trust. For example, will assets be distributed with age requirements or terms for how the assets may be used?
  4. Determine who will manage the trust. The manager of the trust, called the trustee, could be yourself, someone you know or a third party, such as a financial institution.

Once you are confident in these decisions, your family trust attorney can draft the trust document.

To learn more about how to set up a family trust with Baron Law or to schedule a free consultation, call 216-573-3723 or submit your request online.

Probate Attorney

Top Reasons Why You Should Avoid Probate

/in , /by

Whether it was a gathering for a joyous wedding or the passing of a loved one, we’ve all heard about Probate Court at some point or another. We are going to dive into what probate is and why you want to avoid it when it comes to your estate, if you have no plan.

First, what is probate? Probate is the legal process of administering a person’s estate after their death. You’re probably wondering “OK, but what does that mean?” It means:

The court will determine your assets at the time of your death.

The court will determine the value of those assets.

The court will distribute the assets to those that are entitled to them by law.

Probate court, during the process will also appoint someone to supervise the administration of your estate.

Why would I want to avoid this process? The main reasons to avoid probate are the extensive timeline and astronomical expense that are both required for probate. The minimum amount of time that is required by probate court is 6 months, but in actuality this process takes 14 – 18 months on average. The reason for this extensive timeline is to give creditors a chance to make a claim on your estate, this in turn reduces the inheritance intended for your loved ones.

The probate process is very expensive. The average cost for probate court is between 5 – 10% of the estate’s total value. This means if your estate is valued at $500,000 you can expect an average cost of between $25,000 – $50,000.

The probate court appoints someone that they deem “suitable” to administer your estate, if you have no plan. This means that your wishes will not be heard and your assets, including your personal property and belongings will be distributed by the court to whom is legally entitled.

Lastly, probate court is public record. This means that all of your assets, your heirs, and your debts are available for anyone to see. Privacy is something that should be valued during this sensitive period of bereavement.

This costly and lengthy process can be avoided with a proper estate plan put in place. Your assets should be distributed according to your wishes, not to who is just legally entitled to them. Your heirs should have the ability to access the inheritance you intend on leaving them, and your loved ones deserve the privacy and time it takes to mourn your loss.

If you have not previously considered an estate plan or have questions about how to get started on planning, contact us at Baron Law today. You can go to our website for a free consultation to start planning for the future for yourself and your loved ones.

 Helping You And Your Loved Ones Plan For The Future

 

About the author: Kristy Gross

Kristy is a Legal Assistant at Baron Law LLC kristy@baronlawcleveland.com.

What is the Difference Between a Trust and a Will in Estate Planning?

/in , /by

What is a Will?

A will is a basic document outlining your wishes for your estate. It identifies an executor of your estate and provides the opportunity to divide your assets among your beneficiaries. This tool allows you to control the future care for any minor children and division of your assets. Without a will, the laws of your state will determine how your assets are divided. Therefore, a will is the minimum estate plan you need to care for your family and your assets. However, the purpose of a will is to guide the probate court to act in accordance with your desired plan.

What are the limitations with a will?

Probate

A will does not avoid probate court, and the average time to administer a will through probate is 18 months, while the minimum is six months. The length of this process can place a burden on the family left behind, and it allows creditors to make claims on any debts you owe.

Cost

Probate requires a number of fees–on average 5-7% of the value of the estate.

Public Transaction

Anything that goes through probate is public information. This means that both your assets and the way you choose to divide them become public, able to be found online in detail.

What is a Trust?

A trust is another form of estate planning that allows you to divide your assets as you desire. While this is similar to a will, a trust allows greater control and bypasses the limitations of a will as seen above.

A trust avoids probate, thus freeing your assets and your family from the court system. As such, probate fees are also avoided, and your personal information (assets and beneficiaries) is kept private.

What are other benefits of a trust?

Taxes

Saving on taxes is one benefit of a trust. However, given current tax laws, this is not an advantage unless your estate’s value is over 10 million dollars. Note, though, that this exemption is subject to change, and tax benefits may become more valuable.

Asset Protection

This is the biggest reason people use trusts over wills. Trusts allow for greater protection of the estate in case of something unexpected such as a beneficiary who develops a credit issue, or the possibility of a divorce.

If you are realizing that estate planning is more important and less simple than you thought, Baron Law will walk you through every step to ensure that your family and your assets are protected. To learn more about the difference between a will and a trust, or to begin planning for your future, contact the estate planning attorneys at Baron Law today.

LTC Medicaid Rejected

My LTC Policy Was Rejected By Medicaid, What Now?

/in /by

Common scenario for Cleveland estate planning attorneys. Estate planning client comes in distraught. They did the smart and sensible thing, they purchased a long-term care insurance policy years ago to help cover the cost of later-in-life medical costs. They recently applied for Medicaid thinking their LTC policy wouldn’t be counted for calculating their Medicaid eligibility. Unfortunately for them, they received rejection letter from the Ohio Department of Medicaid saying they didn’t meet the asset requirements. Now, the Medicaid benefits, that they were counting on and always thought were readily available no longer are. Now, their estate plan is seriously threatened, and they are scrambling to make sense of the situation and found out what went wrong.

As the old saying goes, the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry. The relationship between long-term care insurance polices and Medicaid eligibility is not a simple one. As with anything involving government bureaucracy, what you don’t know can hurt you and an experienced guide is worth his weight in gold. Two lessons often taken to heart far too late to avoid tough decisions and missed opportunities.  So, what happened to the person above? The best way to illustrate what happened is to answer the two most common questions anyone in that situation would ask.

Why did my LTC policy get rejected from Medicaid?

Only certain long-term care policies that comply with the guidelines set by the Ohio Long-Term Care Insurance Partnership program count as qualified policies and therefore aren’t countable Medicaid resources. So, what polices are “qualified?”

Per the Ohio Department of Insurance, for a LTC policy to qualify, insurance companies’ policies must meet several requirements, including:

  • The policy must have been issued after Sept. 10, 2007
  • The insured must be a resident of Ohio when coverage first becomes effective
  • The policy must be a federally tax-qualified plan based on the Internal Revenue Service Code (qualified plans can lower federal taxes, but they have benefit triggers that are less flexible than those required by nonqualified plans)
  • The policy must meet strict consumer protection standards (standard fee-look period, coverage outlines, mandatory informational disclosures, etc.)
  • The policy must include certain protection against inflation (the most common inflation protection automatically increases benefits each year by 5%)

So, if you have a long-term care policy, but don’t know, or worse hope without knowing, if it is a qualified policy, you’re likely in for a rude awaking when you apply for Medicaid.

What do I do now that my LTC policy was rejected by Medicaid?

Before any definitive answer or plan can be formulated, certain information about a Medicaid applicant must be answered definitively. At the very least, the information and/or documents needed are:

  1. LTC policy documents – should be overt on whether it was sold/defined as a qualified LTC policy.
  2. Rejection notice from the department of Medicaid – reasons for reject and any explanation regarding why the submitted policy was rejected.
  3. How does the applicant know their LTC policy is a qualified one?
  4. Contacting the insurance carrier to find out the exact details of the LTC policy in dispute.
  5. Where and how did an applicant purchase the LTC policy.
  6. Did the applicant receive the required CSPA complaint disclosures and documents (if was sold non-qualified policy but received CSPA docs could an indication of potential fraud).
  7. The realities of applicant’s current financial situation and health needs.

This last point is really the starting point and is exactly why you retain the services of experienced estate planning attorneys. Every estate planning attorney starts with the same questions, what do you need, what do you have, and prove it. No intelligent planning or decisions can be made until you know exactly where you stand. Further, in this context, the realities of where you stand are even more important because now your options are limited and you are, in a way, at the mercy of the Ohio Department of Medicaid.

If you have been rejected by Medicaid you are essentially in the realm of Medicaid crisis planning, where important questions must be asked, and tough decisions must be made. If someone is applying for Medicaid, the need is now and a solution must be found. One such critical consideration is the current need for care and the potential penalty period. To illustrate, let’s say a rejected applicant has a $400,000 non-qualified LTC policy. As of right now, with current Medicaid penalty divisor of $6,570, 400K/6,570 = approximately 61 months of Medicaid ineligibility, a little more than 5 years.

With this five-year Medicaid ineligibility period on the horizon, options are limited. Namely you can either appeal the rejection or resort to Medicaid spenddown. Medicaid spenddown is a beast all its own, is never something anyone wants to do, and largely depends on how ineligible for Medicaid you are, based on your current income and assets. For most, however, the good news is this situation and Medicaid spenddown, if the proper Ohio estate planning attorneys are used, will never be a worry because they will have done things the right way and won’t be subject to any nasty surprises. Failure to surround yourself with the right advisors, regretfully, often leads to  uncomfortable discussions and decisions that will have to be made sooner rather than later.

Helping You and Your Loved Ones Plan for the Future

Special Needs Trusts

The Three Flavors of Special Needs Trusts: #1 Third-Party Trusts

/in , , /by

Estate Planning law firm Baron Law Cleveland offers the following part 1 of a three part series of explaining the difference trusts available for those who have loved ones with Special Needs.  Dan Baron of Baron Law can advise what is best trust for your situation as the trusts are as individual as your loved one.

According to recent statistics for the National Organization on Disability, nearly 1/5 of all Americans, almost 54 million, have a physical, sensory, or intellectual disability. Every one of those 54 million have parents, siblings, family members, and loved ones who want to ensure they are comfortable and provided for. As with many things with special needs persons, the solution for providing for them isn’t straightforward or simple. This is where special needs trusts often play a pivotal role in providing support and estate planning peace of mind.

Special Needs Trusts: A Primer

Special Needs Trusts, as their name suggests, are trusts. As trusts, they hold the common characteristics and features shared by all trusts. A trust, to put it simply, is a private agreement that allows a third party, a trustee, to manage the assets that are placed inside the trust for the benefit of trust beneficiaries. There are innumerable types of trusts, each with own its respective legal conventions and purposes. A critical aspect of trusts is that the assets housed within them usually aren’t counted as a part of the trust creator’s taxable estate. Thus, when the owner of the trust creates the trust and properly funds it, the assets go from the owner’s taxable estate to the trust. Afterwards, when the owner dies, the assets are not in the owner’s estate and subject to probate.

The distinguishing aspect and purpose of special needs trusts, sometimes referred as supplemental needs trusts, is that resources placed within these trusts can be managed for the benefit of a person with special needs but still allow them to qualify for public benefits like supplemental security income and Medicaid. This allows grantors, those who create the trust, usually in this instance parents of someone with special needs, to provide much need stable and monetary support while still allowing often indispensable social assistance programs for their children, even long after the parents pass. Third-party trusts seek to supplement income from assistance programs not to replace it.

Third-Party Special Needs Trusts

In general, there are three types of special needs trusts: Third-party trusts, self-settled trusts, and pooled trusts. Of focus here is third-party special needs trusts. The name denotes the defining characteristic of this trust, that a third-party set up a trust and funded the trust. This is also its most critical aspect because the funds and/or assets in the trust never belonged to the beneficiary with special needs, the government is not entailed to reimbursement for Medicaid payments made to the beneficiary nor are these assets taken into account when calculatng either initial or continued eligibility for government assistance programs for the special needs person.

These trusts are usually set up as a part of a comprehensive estate plan that initially provides a place to house gifts given by family members during their life to someone with special needs and later to also house inheritance from these same family members when they pass. Third-party special needs trusts are often denoted as beneficiaries on life insurance polices or certain retirements accounts. Further, these trusts can also own real estate or investments in the name of the trust but for the ultimate benefit of the person with special needs.

Advantages of Third-Party Special Needs Trusts

A big advantage of third-party special needs trusts is that, while the grantor is living, funds in the trust usually generate income tax for the grantor, not for the special needs beneficiary. This shift in taxation is dependent on proper drafting which is why experienced counsel is always recommended with special needs trusts. This tax shift avoids the hassle and stress of having to file income tax returns for an otherwise non-taxable special needs beneficiary and also having to explain the income to the Social Security Administration or other interested government entity.

Additionally, because it a trust, ultimately what happens after the special needs beneficiary is controlled by the grantor, you. Thus, the grantor always retains control and upon the special needs beneficiary’s death, the assets in the trust pass according to the grantor’s express wishes, even longer after death, and usually to the grantor’s surviving family member or other charitable institutions. This means the special needs person is always provided for, and far-above those people solely dependent on government assistance, and the money, at the end, will continue to do good for either your family or the world at large.

Helping You and Your Loved Ones Plan for the Future

Hot Powers

Does Your Power of Attorney Contain the “Hot Powers?”

/in /by

Who will manage my finances and investments if I am sick or incapacitated? Who will pick what doctor treats me or if a risky but potentially lifesaving procedure should be performed? What if I am put on life sustaining medical support? These are the sorts of questions and issues typically handled by your power of attorney. As they suggest, these are critically important decisions that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Fundamentally, however, these issues can only be handled by your power of attorney if they possess authority, given by you and in writing, to do so. This is why ever since 2012, when Ohio law changed, “hot powers” are a significant topic for you to discuss with your estate planning attorney.

I. Durable Power of Attorney

To understand what hot powers are, you must understand what a power of attorney is. A financial power of attorney, also known as a durable power of attorney, is a legal document that a person can use to appoint someone to act on his or her behalf, i.e. an agency appointment. A power of attorney comes in many forms, but its primary purpose is to grant authority to one or more responsible parties to handle financial or health decisions of a person in the event of illness or other incapacity. Life, and its associated obligations and burdens, tend to continue regardless of one’s physical or mental health. Powers of attorney are protection that ensures affairs are handled and medical wishes are followed even if you are lacking capacity in mind or body.

As stated, powers of attorneys come in many forms. A financial power of attorney, as the name suggests, grants your agent the authority to make financial decisions for you. Managing investments, buying selling land or property, representing you in business negotiations, etc. Healthcare power of attorney works the same way but with healthcare decisions. If you are incapacitated or otherwise can’t decide for yourself, your agent will decide who your doctor is, what treatment you undergo, what medication should be administered, etc.

As always, the terms, powers, and limits for your agents are decided by you in the documents that appoint your agent. If you want to add limits on how long they are appointed, what issues they can or cannot decide, or when exactly their powers manifest, you can do so. Furthermore, you always possess the authority to dismiss them outright or appoint someone new.

Powers of attorney are important to have because surviving spouses or family members will face difficulty and frustration gaining access to things like bank accounts and property that is in your name only. This can be especially damaging within the context of business or professional relations in which the “gears of industry” must keep moving. Alas, if an individual trusted to handle the business if something happens doesn’t possess the authority to so, significant or even fatal business consequences may result. The same goes for medical decisions, often treatment decisions must be made right there and then. Hesitation may mean permanent damage or death to you and if someone doesn’t have express authority to make those decisions, things get confusing, messy, and take a lot longer.

II. “Hot Powers”

So, where do “hot powers” fit in all this. Effective March 22, 2012, Ohio adopted the Uniform Power of Attorney Act, or UPOAA, which was focused on preventing financial elder abuse. Now, powers of attorney must include a statutory language designed to help prevent agents from abusing their power. Put simply, the law now demands power of use more specific drafting and specific denotation “hot powers.”

“Hot powers” grant extraordinary powers to your agent and often these powers can have the effect of altering your estate plan. As such, these powers must be expressly granted per statutory guidelines before they are used by your agent. The most popular of them is the power to gift money or property. “Hot powers” are often used to continue a plan of gifting, sheltering money or property from costs of late life healthcare. Specified gifting “hot powers” can gift anywhere from a limited dollar amount or unlimited, dependent on the scope of the “hot powers” granted and the goals of your estate plan. Further, this power can also be limited to a class of people, such as spouse or children.

Since this new law, third parties such as a financial institution are not required to honor a general power of attorneys. Now, the law asks that a power of attorney include specifically which types of assets and accounts the agent is allowed to control. The spirit of this change is to 1) ensure individuals specifically know and agree to the powers they are giving, and 2) there will no longer be agents running around with “golden tickets” that allow them to do whatever they want to under the sun.

III. Should you give “hot powers”

Like every question in estate planning, whether you should give “hot powers” is circumstantial. The main consideration is who will be given the powers and under what terms. As stated above, “hot powers” are extraordinary powers meaning in the wrong hands they are really screw up your life and a well-crafted estate plan.

Regardless of whether you give these powers or not, it is probably wise to have your Cleveland estate planning attorney look at your powers of attorney if it has been more than five years. The law and your personal circumstances change quite often. Note, a power of attorney created before the 2012 law change will still be valid, however, it may be deficient in expected ways, ways that could hurt you down the line. In sum, the 2012 change means agents are prohibited from performing certain acts unless the power of attorney specifically authorizes them. Because financial power of attorney documents give significant powers to another person, they should be granted only after careful consideration and consultation with experienced legal counsel.

 

Special Needs Trusts

Unique Needs, Unique Solution: Supplemental Services Trusts

/in , , /by

As with most persons with special needs and disabilities, the name of the game is to pay it forward. Unplanned and unthought out self-sacrifice, however, are rarely the proper ways to go about anything. Unfortunately, those families with loved ones with particularly debilitating diseases or affiliations are often solely focused on the here and now in terms of providing care. When asked, was about in 10 years? Or what about when you pass or are too old or sick yourself to provide care, what then? Regularly, these questions, though critically important, are pushed aside because to answer them would require tough choices to be made. Often these families fall back on pithy and often callous responses.  Responses such as, “everything will be fine as long as my child dies before I do” or “my other, more typical children will shoulder the burden and take care of their special needs sibling.”

Special Needs Trusts in a Nutshell

Special Needs Trusts are private agreements that allows a third party, a trustee, usually the family, to manage the assets that are placed inside the trust for the benefit of trust beneficiaries, the special needs person. There are many types of trusts, each with own its unique legal conventions and uses. The critical aspect of trusts in this circumstance is that the assets housed within them usually aren’t counted as a part of the trust beneficiary’s taxable estate. Thus, the resources placed within these trusts can be managed for the benefit of a person with special needs but still allow them to qualify for public benefits like supplemental security income, Medicaid, and other local and state government benefits. This allows grantors, those who create the trust, to provide much need stable and monetary support while still allowing often indispensable social assistance programs for their children, even long after the parents pass. Critically, these trusts seek to supplement income from assistance programs not to replace it, which is important in the eyes of the government because if a family, and by extension a special needs person, can provide for themselves than they don’t need assistance programs.  This theory is echoed in the needs and health-based requirements of many, if not all, assistance programs. The rules and requirements for local, state, and federal government assistance programs can be confusing, contract a local Cleveland area estate planning attorney today to make sure you’re informed enough to make the right choices.

Supplemental Services Trusts

Per O.R.C. § 5122-22-01(D), trusts for supplemental services, denotes the primary requirements of these trusts which allow special needs persons to benefit from them while also receiving government benefits:

“(D) Supplemental services. (1) Supplemental services are expenditures, items or services which meet the following criteria:

(a) The services are in addition to services an individual with a disability is eligible to receive under programs authorized by federal or state law or regulations, and the services do not supplant services which would otherwise be available without the existence of the trust;

(b) The services are in addition to basic necessities for such items as essential food, clothing, shelter, education and medical care, and the services are in addition to other items provided pursuant to an ascertainable standard; and

(c) The services are paid for with funds distributed pursuant to a trust which meets the requirements of section 5815.28 of the Revised Code or with funds distributed from the supplemental services fund created in section 5119.51 of the Revised Code, and the services would not be available without payment from the trust or fund.

The two main takeaways from this passage is that 1) the trust services do not replace government benefits and 2) a supplemental services trusts is the only way a special needs person would get these additional benefits.

In nutshell, a supplemental services trust is for individuals who are eligible to be served by the Ohio Department of Mental Retardation, a county board of mental retardation and developmental disabilities, the Ohio Department of Health, or a board of alcohol, drug addiction, and mental health services. With this trust, trust beneficiaries must be vetted and approved by the State Department of Disabilities or the County Board of Developmental Disabilities. The trust estate, i.e. stuff placed in trust, as of 2015, cannot exceed $242,00o.  Further, Ohio law is strict that the trust assets are used only for supplemental services, those services not provided by government assistance programs. Additionally, another hardpoint with these trusts is that upon the death of the beneficiary, a portion of the remaining assets, which must be at least 50 percent of the remaining balance, must be returned to the state of Ohio to be used for the benefits of others who do not have such a trust. Thus, pay it forward, at least in this circumstance, is written in the rock of Ohio law.

So why use a Supplemental Services Trust?

Again, the best way to demonstrate the value of these trusts is to go into the Ohio code. Per Per O.R.C. § 5122-22-01 (D)(2):

Supplemental services…include, but are not limited to, the following:

(a) Reimbursement for attendance at or participation in recreational or cultural events;

(b) Travel and vacations;

(c) Participation in hobbies, sports or other activities;

(d) Items beyond necessary food and clothing (e.g., funds for dining out occasionally, for special foods periodically delivered, or for an article of clothing such as a coat which is extra but which is desirable because it is newer, more stylish, etc.);

(e) Cosmetic, extraordinary, experimental or elective medical or dental care, if not available through other third party sources;

(f) Visiting friends, companionship;

(g) Exercise equipment, or special medical equipment if not available through other third party sources;

(h) The cost differential between a shared room and a private room;

(i) Equipment such as telephones, cable television, televisions, radios and other sound equipment, and cameras for private use by the individual;

(j) Membership in clubs such as book clubs, health clubs, record clubs;

(k) Subscriptions to magazines and newspapers;

(l) Small, irregular amounts of personal spending money, including reasonable funds for the occasional purchase of gifts for family and friends, or for donations to charities or churches;

(m) Advocacy;

(n) Services of a representative payee or conservator if not available through other third party sources;

(o) Guardianship or other protective service listed in paragraph (C)(9) of this rule;

(p) Someone other than mental health community support staff members to visit the individual periodically and monitor the services he receives;

(q) Intervention or respite when the person is in crisis if not available through other third party sources;

(r) Vocational rehabilitation or habilitation, if not available through other third party sources;

(s) Reimbursement for attendance at or participation in meetings, conferences, seminars or training sessions;

(t) Reimbursement for the time and expense for a companion or attendant necessary to enable the individual to access or receive supplemental services including, but not limited to, travel and vacations and attendance at meetings, conferences, seminars, or training sessions;

(u) Items which medicaid and other governmental programs do not cover or have denied payment or reimbursement for, even if those items include basic necessities such as physical or mental health care or enhanced versions of basic care or equipment (e.g., wheelchair, communication devices), and items which are not included for payment by the per diem of the facility in which the beneficiary lives; and

(v) Other expenditures used to provide dignity, purpose, optimism and joy to the beneficiary of a supplemental services trust.

From the extensive list of available uses for trust assets for special needs persons, it is no surprise that those persons with those trusts live and much more comfortable and fulfilling life than those without. Additionally, these trusts shoulder the burden for parents and sibling for providing much need support and care while also acting as a tool for benefit preservation. There are many options available for those family members with special needs persons, talk to an experienced Ohio area estate planning attorney to find out the best options for your family.

Helping You and Your Loved Ones Plan for the Future

Business Attorney Baron Law

The Difference Between Business As Usual And Bankruptcy. Here Are Two Ohio Laws That All Business Owners Must Know!

/in /by

Every business and every business owner should be aware if and how the Consumer Sales Protection Act (“CSPA”) and/or the Home Solicitation Sales Act (“HSSA”) effects their business. On the first day of law school, every new law student learns that ignorance of the law is no defense. The same applies to business owners. In the context of CSPA or HSSA violations, being unaware of the law, which in turn leads to noncompliance of the law, can open you up to thousands of dollars in damages, discretionary rescission of expensive contracts, and ruin your hard-earned professional reputation. The CSPA and HSSA are lengthy statutes which cover a multitude of business and scenarios and, as such, require an experienced hand to walk you through all the wrinkles and hurdles. If your personal knowledge of these statutes is lacking, never hesitate to contact an experienced Cleveland business attorney. A little forethought now, can save you a whole lot later.    

  • What is the CSPA and HSSA? 

The Ohio CSPA is located under Chapter 1345 of the Ohio Revised code. In a nutshell, the CSPA prohibits “suppliers” from committing unfair or deceptive acts or practices in connection with a “consumer transaction.” Naturally who is and is not a “supplier” and what is or is not a “consumer transaction” under the CSPA are pivotal first points of analysis. Further, the CSPA does not stand alone. The CSPA works in conjunction with Ohio’s HSSA. Again, to simplify everything, the CSPA is a list of things considered unfair or deceptive acts or practices and denotes potential avenues for redress of legal grievances for harmed customers. On top of the CSPA, the HSSA also provides an additional list of things considered unfair or deceptive acts or practices and denotes potential avenues for redress of legal grievances for harmed customers but with slightly different triggering circumstances, i.e. the existence of a home solicitation sale, hence the name, and different recovery options for customers.  

  • Why should business owners care about the CSPA and HSSA? 

Many businesses and industries are subject to the laws and requirements of the CSPA and HSSA without even knowing it. Thus, these businesses are running around selling services and completing jobs all the while exposing themselves to massive amounts of potential liability. Remember, ignorance of the law is no defense and all it takes is one persnickety consumer to ruin your whole fiscal year and eat all your profits through litigation.   

In the context of home improvement, residential contractors, HVAC, roofers, electricians, landscapers, concrete work, repairs companies, and other home sale situations, to name only few, if a company has committed an unfair and deceptive trade practice, a consumer often has 1) the right to cancel the agreement, 2) receive a full refund, and 3) depending on the circumstances may not even have to return any materials or pay for any labor already performed.  

The CSPA includes a non-exclusive list of specific acts and practices that are conclusively “unfair and deceptive” and therefore violate Ohio law. The CSPA, via the HSSA, also includes specific “home solicitation sale” remedies, one of which includes a statutory right to a three-day right to cancel period when the contract is signed at the consumer’s residence. Every seller must notify the buyer of his or her right to cancel the sale and provide the buyer with a “Notice of Cancellation” form that the buyer can use to cancel the sale, both the notice and the form to cancel have specific statutory requirements. If the supplier fails to include notice and proper language regarding this 3-day right in the contract or use the proper forms, consumers are entitled to cancel their agreement whenever they wish because the 3-day timer never started. Courts have said in these situations that the right to cancel never expired, even many years after the job was done. Only following the law by delivering proper documents does a supplier start the clock. In turn, this allows homeowners to bring a claim for a refund or to get out of paying money owed on a contract well after the two-year statute of limitations under the CSPA has run out. 

  • Recent changes in the CSPA and HSSA. 

As previously stated, the CSPA and HSSA together represent a list of unfair and deceptive trade practices which often triggers liability for the offending company. Ohio Senate Bill 227, which became effective on April 6, 2017, added a new practice to this list that is conclusively violative, as in if you do it, legally there is no discussion over whether it was “unfair and deceptive” under the CSPA, it just is. This new violation is: 

“[T]he failure of a supplier to obtain or maintain any registration, license, bond, or insurance required by state law or local ordinance for the supplier to engage in the supplier’s trade or profession is an unfair or deceptive act or practice.” 

In short, under current Ohio law, even the most careful and observant supplier can violate the CSPA/HSSA by failing to timely renew any registration, license, bond, or insurance that the supplier is required to maintain under state or local law. As such, ignorance can no longer be the standard operating procedure for services such as HVAC, electrical, plumbing or refrigeration work, and other suppliers of home services. Further, for businesses who use outside contractors or other temporary workers, the risk is even more severe. Now you must be sure not only are you and your employees bonded and licensed, but any contractors have the proper paper work as well, even though technically, they are not your employees. Often courts find the burden is on the business to make due diligence and ensure compliance, responsibility must fall somewhere, and it sure isn’t going to fall on the consumer. 

Furthermore, albeit a more minor change, Senate Bill 227 also updates the Notice of Cancellation requirements under the HSSA to include fax or e-mail options, which the supplier must provide. In turn, the customer/buyer can now cancel the sale by delivering the Notice of Cancellation “in person or manually” or by “facsimile transmission or electronic mail” to the seller. As such, even a minor oversight such as not including fax or e-mail cancellations options on standard forms can open up a world of litigation pain on an unknowing business. 

A law without consequences is a paper tiger. You may ask yourself, who cares if technically my business engages in unfair or deceptive acts or practices. Well, for CSPA and HSSA violations, often customers are entitled to triple damages and attorney’s fees, good for them, bad for business owners. No stretch of the imagination to see a couple of CSPA/HSSA lawsuits can kill a profitable business real quick. Notice, under Ohio law it doesn’t matter if failure of compliance was willful or inadvertent, the only thing that matters is did you break the law. This is why it is important to maintain a good and ongoing relationship with a local Cleveland business attorney. Often the legal requirements for local business are buried deep within local ordinances and administrative code. Remember, what you don’t know can hurt you and, just like everything else with a business, it is on owners to stay current, but most especially, compliant with any recent changes in Ohio law.  

 

Estate Planning Attorney

What Is The Difference Between A Living And Testamentary Trust?

/in /by

Your estate plan consists of many documents and covers a lot of bases. From protecting assets from creditors and litigants to avoiding probate, a comprehensive estate plan protects you while you’re living and provides for loved ones after death. Because estate plans are, by design, comprehensive, a lot of legal jargon is thrown around and often it’s difficult to keep track of all the nuance and detail. Durable powers of attorney, QTIP elections, unlimited martial deduction, and all the many names of the many different types of trusts, to name a few.  

That said, one of the most common questions posed during an initial estate planning consultation is, what is the difference between a living and a testamentary trust? Years ago testamentary trusts were all the rage, a lot of people have them but don’t know how they work or if they are even providing any benefits to the ultimate goals of estate planning. Since trusts represent one of the most utilitarian estate planning tools, in that they have the ability to do many useful and advantageous things in regards to estate planning, understanding the difference between living and testamentary trusts is critical to providing context to any advice given by Ohio estate planning attorneys.  

  • What is trust? 

As always, we must start with the basics, what is a trust? A trust, to put it simply, is a private agreement that allows a third party, a trustee, to manage the assets that are placed inside the trust for the benefit of trust beneficiaries. There are innumerable types of trusts, each with own its respective legal conventions and purposes. A critical aspect of trusts is that the assets housed within them usually aren’t counted as a part of the trust creator’s taxable estate. Thus, when the owner of the trust creates the trust and properly funds it, the assets go from the owner’s taxable estate to the trust. Afterwards, when the owner dies, the assets are not in the owner’s estate and subject to probate. 

  • What is a living trust? 

A living trust, also called an inter-vivos trust, is simply a trust created when you are alive. They can be either revocable and irrevocable and when someone is talking about a trust, usually it’s a living trust. Living is the umbrella term for a trust and is usually paired with other descriptive terms such as family, asset protection, or revocable or irrevocable to describe the primary purpose of the trust and what it is designed to do. Living trusts must have the same basic composition as other normal trusts, a grantor, trustee, and beneficiary.   

  • What is a testamentary trust? 

A testamentary trust is created in your last will and testament, specifically, it directs your executor of the estate to create it.  Thus, unlike a living trust, a testamentary trust will not take effect until you die.  The terms of the trust are amendable and revocable, in that they can be changed at any time, which makes sense because it doesn’t come into being until after death.  

One of the major distinguishing features of a testamentary trust is the involvement of the local probate court. From the time of the settlor’s death until the expiration of the testamentary trust, the probate court checks up on the trust to make sure it is being managed properly. Court involvement is usually sought in the context of testamentary trusts because these trusts are usually created for beneficiaries who, for some reason, are unable to received and manage trust funds appropriately.  

  • When would you use one over the other?  

At the end of the day, just like every other estate planning decision, it is all circumstantial and highly depend on personal situation and estate planning goals. (Which is why estate planning attorneys ask so many questions when you first meet them.) For the sake of some definitive answer, however, there are some tried and true situations when one is preferable over the other.  

If you are interested in avoiding probate, avoiding excessive court oversight, keeping your estate private, and saving your estate money by simplifying property conveyances and avoiding potential will contests, then a living will is likely a good choice. As mentioned before, since living trusts can be created to meet almost any goal or concern of estate planning, the major deciding factors of use is initial cost and ultimate utility of a trust, i.e. there is no point buying a trust if you have nothing to fund it with.   

Testamentary trusts, on the other hand, are created for young children who may be at risk of receiving improper inheritances or trust distributions, family members with disabilities, or other who may get large amounts of money or assets that enter into the estate upon a testator’s death. Further, these trusts are often highly recommended for parents who are at risk of dying at the same time. 

A testamentary trust can set parameters on your estate and how it will be distributed and/or managed after you pass on.  For example, you might include terms that allow for discretionary distributions of $1,000 a month to be given to your children until the age of 21 in the event both parents pass. This ensure that, even if tragedy strikes, the kids will, at least in some way, be supported by their parents, whether they’re gone or not.  At the end of the day, testamentary trusts, like all trusts, allows estate control even after death. Testamentary trusts are unique, however, in that the allow for greater oversight, via the courts, in what’s going on inside the trust. This can be a double-edged sword, however, in that, depending on how long the court needs to be involved, legal fees and administrative costs could add up making this trust structure unattractive if the trust is designed to last a long time.  

Again, dependent on the circumstances, such as estate planning goals, family structure, available estate assets, either or both types of trusts may be advantageous to use. A Cleveland estate planning attorney is in the best position to judge what is most appropriate for a given situation.