Garland Law Offices, P.A.

Estate Planning Is a Gift and a Legacy for Loved Ones

“Talking about death makes most of us uncomfortable, so we don't plan for it. That's a big mistake, because if you don't have an end-of-life plan, your state's laws decide who gets everything you own.”

Without an end of life plan, a doctor you’ve never even met might decide how you spend your last moments, and your loved ones may live with the burden of not knowing what you would have wished. These are just a few reasons why “End-Of-Life Planning is a ‘Lifetime Gift’ To Your Loved Ones,” as discussed in a recent article from npr.org.

It’s important to recognize that planning for the end of your life is actually not all about you. It’s about the ones you love: your parents, spouse or your children. They are the ones who will benefit from the decisions you make to prepare for the end of your life, and life after you are gone. It is a gift to those you love.

So, what should you do?

Start by preparing to have an estate plan created. If you have an estate plan but haven’t reviewed it in the last three or four years, find it and review it. If you can’t find it, then you definitely need a new one. An estate planning attorney can help you create an estate plan, including a will and other documents.

In the will, you name an executor, someone who you trust completely to carry out your directions. Some people choose a spouse or adult child to be their executor. It’s a lot of work, so pick someone who is smart, organized and trustworthy. They’ll be in charge of all of your financial assets and communicating how the estate is distributed to everyone in your will.

Create an inventory. This includes things that are of financial and sentimental value. People fight over sentimental things, so giving your family specific directions may avoid squabbles.

If you have children under age 18, name a guardian for them. This should be a person who knows your children and will raise them with same values as you would.

Pets are often overlooked in estate planning. If you want to protect your pet, in many states you can create a pet trust. It includes funds that are to be used specifically for care for your pet, and a trustee who will be responsible for ensuring that the funds are used as you intended.

Digital accounts are also part of your property, including social media, online photos, everything in your online cloud storage, credit card rewards, email, frequent flyer miles and digital assets.

Make sure your will is executed and in compliance with the laws of your state. If your will is found to be invalid, then it is as if you never made a will, and all your planning will be undone.

You also need an advance directive, a legal document that covers health care and protects your wishes at the end of life. One part of an advance directive gives a person medical power of attorney, so they can make decisions for you if you cannot. The other part is a living will, where you share how you want to be cared for and what interventions you do or don’t want if you are near death.

Reference: npr.org (June 30, 2020) “End-Of-Life Planning is a ‘Lifetime Gift’ To Your Loved Ones”

Protecting a Digital Legacy

“The world exists just as much online, as it does offline. Failing to recognize that when planning for the end of life, can lead to unexpected repercussions for survivors.”

There’s never an easy time to talk about end-of-life planning, and a pandemic that has everyone thinking about death can make it harder, says the article “Wannabe Wired: Preparing your digital legacy,” from The Lawton Constitution. Most of us think about creating a will, making burial plans and ensuring that our loved ones are cared for when we are gone. However, planning for our digital legacy is often neglected.

You don’t have to be Bill Gates or own billions in bitcoins to have a digital legacy. In fact, most people don’t even recognize their digital assets as a new type of property. If you have bank accounts, social media, own any websites or have original music, artwork, or videos online, you have digital assets.

Prior planning can help your loved ones deal with your digital assets, as well as your traditional property.

Different online platforms have different policies about what happens to accounts owned by people who have passed. Sometimes there is an option to delete or deactivate a profile, if the owners have checked the right box. However, that’s not always the case. Many digital giants won’t allow someone who is not the owner, to gain access to their accounts or the data.

Start by making a list of user names and passwords. If you can, go through all of your accounts one by one to see if they allow users to make a plan for what happens if the owner dies. Some, like Facebook, allow the account owner to name a Legacy Contact. That person is permitted to manage tribute posts on your profile, deciding who can and who cannot post on your account and request the removal of your account. Just go to General Account Settings and click on the “Memorialization Setting.” You also have the option to have your account deleted after you die.

Not every platform makes this process so easy. Some will delete accounts, if there is no activity after a certain number of months or years. If you have a business that relies on a free email service like Yahoo!, this could cause your family to lose access to valuable information.

Once you’ve made a thorough list of all of your online accounts and passwords, talk with a trusted family member about your wishes for your digital accounts. Do not include the document with online accounts and passwords in your will! Remember that your will is likely to be a probated document, meaning that it will be entered into the public record. You don’t want people accessing your online accounts—it’s an invitation to identity theft.

Speak with your estate planning attorney about planning for your digital and traditional legacy. It will spare your loved ones a lot of trouble and provide you with peace of mind.

Reference: The Lawton Constitution (May 12, 2020) “Wannabe Wired: Preparing your digital legacy”

Digital Assets Need to Be Protected In Estate Plans

“The proliferation of digital footprints in our online communities raise demand for consumer tools and options for dealing with digital assets upon incapacity and death.”

Most people have an extensive network of digital relationships with retailers, financial institutions and even government agencies. Companies and institutions, from household utilities to grocery delivery services have invested millions in making it easier for consumers to do everything online—and the coronavirus has made our online lives take a giant leap. As a result, explains the article “Supporting Your Clients’ Digital Legacy” from Bloomberg Tax, practically all estates now include digital assets, a new class of assets that hold both financial and sentimental value.

In the last year, there has been a growing number of reports of the number of profiles of people who have died but whose pages are still alive on Facebook, Linked In and similar platforms. Taking down profiles, preserving photos and gaining access to URLs are all part of managing a digital footprint that needs to be planned for as part of an estate plan.

There are a number of laws that could impact a user’s digital estate during life and death. Depending upon the asset and how it is used, determines what happens to it after the owner dies. Fiduciary access laws outline what the executor or attorney is allowed to do with digital assets, and the law varies from one country to another. In the US, almost all states have adopted a version of RUFADAA, the law created by the U.S. Uniform Law Commission. However, all digital assets are also subject to the Terms of Service Agreement (TOSAs) that we click on when signing up for a new app or software. The TOSA may not permit anyone but the account owner to gain access to the account or the assets in the account.

Digital assets are virtual and may be difficult to find without a paper trail. Leaving passwords for the fiduciary seems like the simple solution, but passwords don’t convey user wishes. What if the executor tries to get into an account and is blocked? Unauthorized access, even with a password, is still violating the terms of the TOSAs.

People need to plan for digital assets, just as they do any other asset. Here are some of the questions to consider:

• What will happen to digital assets with financial value, like loyalty points, travel rewards, cryptocurrency, gaming tokens or the digital assets of a business?
• Who will be able to get digital assets with sentimental value, like photos, videos and social media accounts?
• What about privacy and cybersecurity concerns, and identity theft?

What will happen to your digital assets? Facebook and Google offer Legacy Contact and Inactive Manager, online tools they provide to designate third-party account access. Some, but not many, other online platforms have similar tools in place. The best way, for now, may be to make a list of all of your digital accounts and look through them for death or incapacity instructions. It may not be a complete solution, but it’s at least a start.

Reference: Bloomberg Tax (April 10, 2020) “Supporting Your Clients’ Digital Legacy”

What is the Keystone State Doing to Change Its Laws on a Deceased’s Digital Assets?

“State Sen. Tom Killion says most states have rules for who gets someone’s social media photos and email accounts after that person dies, but Pennsylvania is lagging behind.”

ABC27.com’s recent article “Legislators setting rules on who gets digital photos, emails after death” reports that Pennsylvania State Senator Tom Killion is looking to help change the law on who owns the social media of a deceased person. He has sponsored legislation to make changes.

“Currently, if you pass away, you can leave your house, your car, your valuables, your savings to your children or whoever you want to decide to leave it to via will or trust, but you can’t do that in Pennsylvania with your digital assets,” he said.

“Think about all of those apps that you have on your phone all of those assets contain your personal information,” said Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill, who supports the legislation.

Killion’s legislation proposes the transfer of all digital assets to beneficiaries, in the same way physical assets are—by will, trust, or power of attorney.

“We all have lots of stuff in the cloud right now—family photos, maybe I’ve started writing a book that I haven’t finished yet, you can go on and on and on,” Killion said. “This is basically our laws catching up to what’s going on in our world.”

The state senator commented that the National Conference of State Legislatures reports 46 states have similar legislation. He says without these laws, family members are frequently in battle against large media companies to fight for ownership of that data.

Killion also remarked that the state bar association was working to get this put into law for some time.

The bill was unanimously passed by the state Senate and referred to the House Judiciary Committee in October.

“It’s something that’s really meaningful particularly for younger generations who are much more dependent on those applications,” Phillips-Hill said.

Killion would like to see the legislation get passed this session.

Reference: ABC27.com (November 28, 2019) “Legislators setting rules on who gets digital photos, emails after death”

Where Should I Keep Important Papers?

“Let’s face it, when it comes to storing important financial documents, a shoe box under your bed doesn’t really cut it.”

Where you store estate planning documents and digital assets matters. So does whether your heirs will have access to them.

CNBC’s recent article, “Here are the best ways to secure important financial documents,” says that estate planning documents are very important, and you must make sure you keep them safely secured. The same is true about digital assets, passwords and social media accounts.

Some states have public will registries, and there are also private will registry companies.  While estate planning documents don’t need to be registered, it may be a good idea. However, registering documents may not be sufficient.

It is important that your family knows about your wills and other documents, and where to locate them. Don’t forget about your digital assets, since these assets can be bequeathed, just like bank and investment accounts.

Make multiple copies of information to protect yourself against loss.

Here are some action steps to take:

• Buy a multifunction scanner and use it when you get a new important document;
• Back up your digital documents on a thumb drive or a secured digital card that you can easily remove from your device. Make a copy of that storage device and put it somewhere offsite;
• Create a cloud storage account with Google, Apple, Dropbox, or Box, specifically for backing up your documents;
• Secure the data on your mobile devices and be careful with your computer, tablet and smartphone. Keep sensitive data on external storage or in the cloud;
• Choose an individual to look after your social media. Companies have their own policies for when an owner passes away; and
• Purchase a special password organizer book to keep these organized. You can get a password manager program that generates and maintains strong passwords.

Reference: CNBC (August 19, 2019) “Here are the best ways to secure important financial documents”

Should I Have Access to My Spouse’s Digital Assets, in Case of an Unexpected Death?

“It’s critical for women to have access to key financial information, as well as passwords to electronic records and devices.”

A spouse can die unexpectedly. That spouse can have a computer, an iPad, an iPhone, plus other technology—and no way to access them because there are no passwords. This can leave the surviving spouse in a pickle: there’s no way to get access to critical information and accounts in his name that were on autopay.

To help her crack the codes, it many take hiring a tech person, and even then, it may prove fruitless. It can also take a lot of time, says Kiplinger’s recent article, “Make Sure Your Spouse Has Your Passwords.” That article explains that getting access to key financial and estate information has always been a critical issue for women. They’re statistically more likely than men to be widowed or may have a spouse who suffers from a serious illness.

With digital records and passwords, there’s no paper trail to help you locate accounts no one knew existed. It’s also common for women of all ages to delegate key financial and estate responsibilities to their spouse.

To address that problem, women need to organize both personal and financial records. This can include vital documents, like a will, powers of attorney for financial and health affairs, a living will and perhaps a trust. Women can also get organized with other important information, such as finding the warranty for a new TV, car titles, frequently contacted services (landscaper, electrician) and other professionals, like your CPA and insurance agent.

Make sure that, with your estate planning, you also check the beneficiary designations on life insurance policies or retirement accounts. People neglect to update these, after a spouse passes away.  You should also confirm that your joint bank account actually is in both of your names. Get a credit card in your own name and get a copy of each spouse’s credit reports. You should also have a copy of your will secured outside of your safe deposit box.

A way to keep track of passwords, is to use a digital password manager. As a backup, also keep a written record and store it in a place that’s secure but accessible to family members.

Reference: Kiplinger (June 6, 2019) “Make Sure Your Spouse Has Your Passwords”

What Does Human Behavior Tells Us About Estate Planning?

“Humans are great at avoidance. We don’t want to experience pain, be faced with unpleasant facts or deal with anything we consider to be too far in the future.”

Evolutionary psychologists think there’s an innate reason for people not wanting to discuss death and estate planning. They say our brains haven’t evolved much past a Stone Age mentality, where survival was our main concern. As a result, it makes sense that we would avoid any threatening situations and defend our existence.

Insurance News Net’s recent article, “What Human Behavior Tells Us About Estate Planning,” says that when people think of estate planning, they think about death, which is the ultimate threat. Because we’re programmed to secure our survival, thinking about our demise is counterintuitive. With this in mind, you can begin to see why more than half of Americans don’t have essential estate documents in place.

Some say that we have to be able to see and identify it, be motivated to act by pain or some negative stimulus and believe we can do something about it without feeling dumb in the process. However, estate planning hasn’t met any of these criteria. The need for estate planning feels remote, and, therefore, it isn’t visible or painful. Sometimes estate planning can be complicated and overwhelming, which can leave people feeling incapable and inept. The need to create an estate plan also feels chronic—a nagging problem people don’t want to address and want to avoid.

However, in the digital age, estate planning has become about more than just the systematic disposition of assets upon one's death. With bank and email accounts, social media and other digital assets scattered throughout cyberspace, it has become necessary to find a way to connect our assets to us. There’s an immediate upside to spending time on organizing our financial lives: the peace of mind of knowing everything we have is accounted for. It’s intrinsically satisfying when we can bring our assets together under one virtual roof.

With comprehensive planning, we can benefit from being able to monitor every account with ease, giving us a full financial picture at a glance.

In addition, today we can capture stories and memories to create a living, breathing legacy. Remember, your legacy is about more than the money left behind—it’s also about sharing the values and valuables with the right people at the right time.

When we think about legacy planning as part of our lives, we change the narrative and estate planning becomes visible, solvable and non-chronic. It becomes something people embrace rather than avoid. Therefore, think of estate planning that way and speak with an experienced estate planning attorney to be certain your plan is comprehensive and up to date.

Reference: Insurance News Net (May 9, 2019) “What Human Behavior Tells Us About Estate Planning”

Do Millennials Need an Estate Plan?

“Young adults need estate plans too. It’s an entreaty all too often met with a shrug of the shoulders and a wave of the hand. At that age, we think we’re immortal. However, the uncomfortable truth is that no one knows how much time is left.”

A year ago, 58 people were killed during the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival shooting in Las Vegas. Many of those who lost their lives that day, were in their 20s and 30s. As we reflect on the pain their families must have felt and still feel, how many of them had plans in place, asks Think Advisor in the article, “Yes Millennials DO Need Estate Planning.”

If the statistics are the same as the rest of the country, most of these victims didn’t have any plans in place. That’s a shame, because their wishes died with them. There were probably a lot of families that didn’t know if their loved one wanted to be buried or cremated or what they would have wanted for funeral arrangements. They didn’t know who should receive what assets. Perhaps these young people had close friends that should have been remembered to help them ease their grief.

All young adults must think about creating an estate plan. Here are a few simple steps that could save their families a lot of pain, if the worst happens:

• Work with an estate planning attorney to draw up a will to create a plan for your belongings—who will inherit what, both financial and personal. You should also remember your virtual assets, such as your iTunes and social media accounts.
• Create a list of your usernames and passwords to all your financial and personal accounts. Make certain that your family knows about it and has access, if it’s online.
• If you have a 401(k) and company-sponsored life insurance, be sure to name beneficiaries on these accounts to avoid probate.
• Ask your bank for a payable-on-death (POD) account. This lets you name a beneficiary, keeping the account out of probate.
• Designate a durable power of attorney and health care proxy, which let others make financial and medical decisions for you, if you become incapacitated. If you want to give your proxy specific instructions, create an advance directive, also known as a living will.

Estate planning isn’t only for the old and rich, and it’s just as much about your own peace of mind, as it is creating clarity for families in a time of chaos. While we can’t prevent accidents or even tragedies like that in Las Vegas, we can help create a plan, so our families can concentrate on what matters: honoring the lives of loved ones.

Reference: Think Advisor (December 11, 2018) “Yes Millennials DO Need Estate Planning”

What Do You Do with a Loved One’s Digital Footprint When They Die?

“In this digital age, it is the rare person who does not have some form of digital footprint. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and others are part of everyday life for most people.”

What do you do with the digital footprint that a loved one has left behind when they die?

The Catholic Register’s recent article, “An executor must deal with digital footprint,” says it seems like it’d be a relatively easy issue, but folks are seeing that this is far from a simple process.

Think about what’s on your digital footprint: your Facebook account has many details of your daily life and personal history. Your email account(s) have your personal and business communications. You also probably do your banking online.

After you’re gone, do you want your heirs looking at virtual territory that you would rather keep private? How will your digital accounts be wrapped up? It's important that you name a digital executor.

In many instances, the person who is handling your estate may not be the person who has the technical aptitude to take care of your digital assets.

Remember that the executor named in your Will has to settle all issues relating to your life. Clearing out your digital footprint is one more task. Be specific with your instructions and keep a list of all the websites and login credentials, so the executor can take action as appropriate.

Speak to someone you trust about your online legacy and tell them “Just so you know, I put my passwords here, this is where I store them, and these are my accounts. Make sure you take care of those.”

Some accounts like Facebook, are easier to delete than others. It’s much easier with a death certificate. Facebook allows you to set up a memorialized account to remember the deceased. The timeline is kept, and friends and families can post comments and photos.

Reference: Catholic Register (November 6, 2017) “An executor must deal with digital footprint”