Back to the Basics—Revising your Will
This edition of the Koldin Law Center E-Newsletter continues a series going “Back to the Basics” to meet your estate planning objectives.
As Elderlaw attorneys, we use our initial consultation to learn what objectives our clients desire to accomplish.
In this newsletter we discuss: Do I need to revise my Will?
All prior newsletters are saved on our website. You can read them by clicking here.
Your Will, also referred to as a Last Will and Testament, is a legal document that expresses your wishes about how you would like your life savings distributed after you die.
At the initial appointment with our clients, the Koldin Law Center, P.C. will review your current Will with you.
Even our current clients who meet with us for file review appointments often discover that their current legal documents need to be updated to meet changes that have occurred in the lives of their families.
Have Your Children Grown Up? Have Grandchildren Been Born?
Often new clients come to our office with old Wills that were written when their children were very young. These Wills fail to designate grandchildren to inherit if their children predecease them. These old Wills also often designate other relatives rather than the children to serve as Executors.
Have there Been Changes in Your Children’s Lives?
Children may now be married or divorced. Children’s lives may have developed issues such as disability, illness or financial problems. All of these changes might make it desirable to revise your Will to address these issues.
Has Your Will Been Overridden?
A Last Will and Testament is a document expressing your wishes as to how you want your estate distributed at the time of your death. A Will only applies to those assets which are solely in your own name at the time of your death.
There are many ways to override your Will where your assets are left directly to beneficiaries without passing through your Will.
For example, one common way that people override their Wills is by adding joint owners to their bank and brokerage accounts. Most joint accounts have survivorship language. This means that when one joint owner dies, the other owner then automatically keeps the entire account.
Therefore, when reviewing your Will, you must also review how you may have overridden your Will to make sure your intended beneficiaries receive your life savings.
Is Your Spouse in Poor Health?
If your spouse is in poor health and at risk of needing long term care at home or in a Nursing Home, then assets you leave to your spouse could be lost towards the cost of care. You may want to take steps to leave your spouse’s share in a special trust, reduce the amount you are leaving your spouse, or you may want to remove your spouse as a beneficiary.
Estate Planning is an Ongoing Process
The Koldin Law Center, P.C. encourages our clients to periodically make file review appointments with our office as a legal checkup to review your estate planning. Your Will, Power of Attorney, and Health Care Proxy may need to be updated to reflect your current family situation.
To read more about Estate Planning, please visit our website by clicking here.
At the Koldin Law Center, P.C., located in East Syracuse, New York, we have over 50 years of experience helping individuals plan for immediate crisis and long term care.
The Koldin Law Center, P.C. limits its practice to the specific field of Elder Law which includes estate planning and Medicaid law.
Our attorneys are available to discuss your estate planning options, including the advantages and disadvantages of Revocable Trusts and Irrevocable Trusts, along with other estate planning considerations including a Will, Power of Attorney, and Health Care Proxy.
When the Koldin Law Center, P.C. handles a Medicaid case, we not only handle the entire application process, but we also review asset protection options with our clients. We review with our clients who are already in a Nursing Home options to protect some or all of their assets beyond merely establishing Medicaid eligibility.
We do not charge a fee for the initial consultation. We welcome your children, family attorney, accountant, and/or financial planner to be present at the initial consultation.
There is something you can do.
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Our Attorneys are available to speak to your organization
Our Attorneys speak to groups throughout New York State as a public service. If you would like to arrange for one of our Attorneys to speak to your group, please contact our office.
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We appreciate your referrals
We have been told by many clients who are in a crisis that they wish they had known about our firm much sooner. We are proud of the many families we have helped in times of crisis.
We are also proud of the many families we helped avoid financial crisis by doing estate planning in advance.
We all share the responsibility for making our family and friends aware of the planning options available to them.
Your referral to the Koldin Law Center could make a major difference in the lives of your family and friends if they are someday faced with a long term illness.
Remember that the Koldin Law Center offers many services for clients of all ages. Our services range from basic estate planning such as a simple will to complex estate planning including asset preservation planning.
THERE IS NO FEE FOR THE INITIAL CONSULTATION
