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Rosenthal & Markowitz

Westchester County Divorce & Probate

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Estate Planning

Who Needs an Estate Plan?

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estate planningThere is an easy answer to the question, “Who needs an estate plan?” That answer is “everyone.” You may think you do not have enough assets to make it worth your time to draft a will, but there is more to estate planning than just writing a will.

Documents Involved in Estate Planning

There are many documents that might be part of an estate plan. Some of these are:

  • Will. A Will is a document in which you direct how you want your assets to be distributed after you die. You can be very specific about particular items of property and about who will be the beneficiary. For example, you can name a person you want to receive your house or your car. You can direct that the beneficiary get the property outright, or that the property be held in a trust which means distribution will be restricted. You can also name someone who you do not want to inherit anything. However, a Will must be signed in a very particular way, and it is not valid unless correctly signed.
  • Power of Attorney. In this document you name someone to be your agent, and you give your agent authority to manage your financial affairs. Picking the agent and the types of authorities requires discussion (not just a form you download from the internet). A power of attorney must also be signed in a very particular way, and it is not valid unless correctly signed.
  • A Living Will. This document provides you the opportunity of establishing exactly what type of care you want, and do not want, if you cannot express yourself or you are not competent. It can cover testing, treatment, artificial nutrition, hydration and respiration. It can cover your wishes about resuscitation, hospitalization, etc.
  •  A healthcare proxy. In your health care proxy, you designate someone you trust to make healthcare decisions for you if you are unable to make them for yourself.
  •  Various types of trusts. Each type of trust serves a different purpose. For example, while you are alive you may want to gift assets to reduce your estate taxes, or because you want to take care of someone else. Your intended beneficiary might be a minor or a person who is not competent, or is a person who might have creditor or matrimonial issues. Or you might need to consider using a trust when doing estate planning to create trusts after you die. Or you might need to consider using a trust to avoid probate.

If you die without the documents which implement your estate plan, your assets will be distributed according to New York State law. The NYS law does not know you, or who is important to you, or whether your favorite people have capacity to manage their assets. NYS law makes no provisions for your best friend, or your favorite charities, or trusts for your adult children who are not quite ready to manage their own assets.

You can, and should, be making your own decisions about your health care and the disposition of your property during your lifetime and after your death.

Contact Estate Planning Attorneys at Rosenthal & Markowitz, LLP
For answers to your questions about estate planning, contact our will, trusts, and estate attorneys at Rosenthal & Markowitz, LLP. You can reach us online or by calling 914.347.1292.

Estate Planning: Do You Have a Digital Inventory?

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One aspect in estate planning which is often overlooked is creating (and updating) a digital inventory.  Every person should develop a digital inventory – a list of digital assets and how to access them.

Generally, you could say that digital assets have no physical location and only exist inside a person’s computer.  Strictly speaking, digital assets are crypto currencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), but we’re using the term more broadly – to encompass any non-paper asset (even if, like a checking account, it also exists in the real world) and access to information and assets.

Why it is Important for You and Someone Else to Have this Information

There are several reasons why you need to prepare, save, and then update this information:

We all create usernames, passwords, and answers to security question.  Remember that each one should be unique and somewhat difficult.  Most people juggle between 10 and 100 unique assets and/or points of access.  It is easy to forget them or forget which are the current ones.  Jotting down notes in a code that only you understand isn’t particularly useful.  Letting your phone remember your passwords isn’t particularly secure.

Digital Inventory and Estate Planning

You may need someone to help you access an account.  You may be traveling or need assistance for some other reason.  If you simply forgot your access information and if you are alive and competent, and if you remember your security code answers, then you can change the passwords yourself.  If. If.  If. If you are incompetent or impaired for some reason, or if you don’t remember, then no one can pay your bills or access your information, or re-register your car, or order food or other necessities on Fresh Direct or Amazon or whatever, unless you’ve made a plan.  Here the plan is to create an Inventory.

The function of the Inventory is to have information ready for you and for a person you trust, so your Trusted Person can assist you.

After you die, someone (presumably the Executor of your estate) is going to need to access your accounts to collect your assets, stop unnecessary charges, maybe update your Facebook page, figure out your debts and taxes, and then make a distribution according to the terms of your Will.

Types of Digital Assets and How to Complete Your Inventory

Remember, we are using the term “digital assets” includes any non-paper assets and access to assets.  At Rosenthal & Markowitz, LLP, we have developed a three-page Digital Inventory worksheet to assist you in making your own inventory.  We include any asset and information, whether physical or non-physical, that you access electronically.  When you have prepared your digital inventory, you have a written record of all the places and information which is relevant to you – all the information someone might need, or you might need, to access.  The inventory is only as good as the information, so the inventory must be updated.  We urge you to date the inventory and then re-date it every time to make a change.  Your inventory should include username, password, and answers to your security questions.

Then, you need to give the inventory to someone you trust who you know will keep it safe and confidential.  If something happens to you, or you are locked out of your email, your checking account, digital shopping network, or other important sites, you can contact the person who has your information so you can regain access to it.

For more information about developing a digital inventory as part of your estate planning, contact us at Rosenthal & Markowitz, LLP.  You may also call 914.347.1292.