By Robert S. Meyring, Attorney at Law*
For Bright Side News
May 2011
You will be remembered by the deeds you do and the legacy you leave. Think about it. Have you been good and have you made things better for the people with whom you have interacted? Or have you left a trail of destruction in your wake? Besides money and the things you own, it’s also the memories you leave behind (with family, friends, neighbors or community), that will become your legacy. Will your Legacy be a good one?
If you are a Baby Boomer, born between 1945 and 1965 or older and have no estate plan, (meaning a Trust, Will, Power of Attorney, Healthcare Choices), then it’s likely you are not in control of your financial legacy. Did you know with trust planning, you could qualify for full coverage nursing home Medicaid benefits? Were you aware that if you are a spouse of a U.S. Veteran of a Foreign War, you can qualify for substantial monthly living assistance benefit from the Veterans Administration? If you have SSI Disability assistance or want to preserve a child’s Deeming Waiver, should the parents pass unexpectedly, then you can set up the Trusts & Estate planning NOW, or only while living. The benefits of the assistance (received or preserved) through planning can outweigh the costs of planning 50 to 1 or even 100 to 1.
As a Trusts and Estates attorney, I find it amazing, albeit expected that people with children, properties, assets, debts and other serious responsibilities would ignore all postmortem planning and potentially let the survivors tear the family asunder. Thoughts like: “Let my warring children divide up my estate after I’m dead. I won’t have to worry about it” or “I’m young with lots of life to live, there’s plenty of time to plan before I’m dead, so I’ll buy life insurance but won’t get a will” or “I’m getting older and will need to plan for assisted living in a few years” are not helpful to your
loved ones and will not prevent the inevitable chaos which will ensue following your demise.
Often the death is a terrible injury to the family – it’s just that the insult comes when the survivors learn that the decedent left an unplanned financial mess to clean up. The truth is that planning for the end of a person’s life is mostly not done until there is an urgent need; and even then, most people will pass away without completing their estate plan. It’s sad. I help a lot of devastated families.
All lives come to an end and without a comprehensive estate plan you will be leaving behind a mess that will be difficult for your family to clean up. Make it a little easier for your loved ones by thoughtfully planning for their future and ensuring the legacy you leave behind is a good one.
*Robert S. Meyring, Managing Attorney of the Meyring Law Firm offers free 10 minute phone consultations at 678-217-4369. The Firm’s website is MeyringFirm.com. The office is located at 200 feet east of the Paces Ferry Road Railroad crossing
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