{"id":3867,"date":"2017-06-02T10:00:30","date_gmt":"2017-06-02T18:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ssslegalconsultancy.com\/?p=3867"},"modified":"2017-05-31T17:05:02","modified_gmt":"2017-06-01T01:05:02","slug":"difference-lifetime-death-time-planning-comprehensive-plan-must-include","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ssslegalconsultancy.com\/difference-lifetime-death-time-planning-comprehensive-plan-must-include\/","title":{"rendered":"The Difference between Lifetime and Death-time Planning\u2026 and Why a Comprehensive Plan Must Include Both"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Senior<\/a>According to a March 2017 survey by\u00a0<\/span>Caring.com<\/span>, six out of ten Americans have <\/span>no will or any other kind of estate planning. Many said they\u2019d get around to it, <\/span>eventually. When they\u2019re old. (The survey did find that the elderly are much more <\/span>likely to have some plan in place.) It\u2019s all too clear that most of us think \u201cestate <\/span>planning\u201d is a euphemism for \u201cdeath-time\u201d planning. Indeed, in the Caring.com <\/span>survey, one-third said that they didn\u2019t need an estate plan because they didn\u2019t <\/span>have any assets to give someone when they\u2019d died. <\/span><\/div>\n

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However, comprehensive estate planning isn\u2019t just death-time planning. It\u2019s <\/span>lifetime planning<\/span>, too. It\u2019s about ensuring that your medical and financial <\/span>decisions can be made by someone that you trust. Lifetime planning can help you <\/span>address potential tax liabilities, find you benefit programs you may eligible for, <\/span>and protect your family from costly guardianship or conservatorship court. It can <\/span>make sure that a trusted party looks after and protects your affairs, if and when <\/span>you\u2019re not able to. <\/span><\/div>\n
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Lifetime Planning Tools <\/span><\/div>\n
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As estate planners, we have an arsenal of lifetime planning tools to benefit <\/span>clients, and we can custom-tailor such plans to an individual\u2019s needs. Here are a <\/span>couple of the most common (and necessary) lifetime planning tools you should <\/span>discuss with us. <\/span><\/div>\n
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Revocable living trusts <\/span><\/p>\n

 
\nWhen people hear the word \u201ctrust,\u201d they may think of \u201ctrust fund babies\u201d or <\/span>think that trusts are something only for the super-rich.<\/span><\/p>\n

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However, a trust is simply a legal tool that can help almost anyone with property – <\/span>not just the wealthy. In a trust, assets you own are re-titled and transferred into <\/span>the trust. When this happens, technically, you no longer own your real estate, <\/span>stocks, bonds and similar properties. Instead, the trust owns them all. But you still <\/span>control everything in the trust: You can buy and sell these assets as if they were <\/span>still in your name. In fact, revocable living trusts don\u2019t even change your income <\/span>taxes while you\u2019re alive. You continue to file your tax returns as you always have, <\/span>making them very easy to administer while you\u2019re alive. And as the creator, or <\/span>settlor of the trust, you can continue to make changes to the trust as long you\u2019re <\/span>competent to do so. <\/span><\/div>\n
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Once you die, the trust becomes irrevocable, meaning its terms can\u2019t generally be <\/span>changed. At this point, your chosen successor trustee distributes assets to <\/span>beneficiaries (the people, such as your spouse, children, a church, or other <\/span>charity, you named to inherit from you). In many respects, the role of the trustee <\/span>is similar to that of the executor of a will. But, a trustee of a fully funded trust <\/span>doesn\u2019t have to go through the public and expensive probate process. Trusts are <\/span>private unlike wills, which can also provide valuable privacy to your family. <\/span><\/div>\n
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Durable power of attorney <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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\nDurable powers of attorney come in two forms. With a standard durable power of <\/span>attorney, a person is legally designated to act on your behalf, in the ways <\/span>specified in the document. You can make the durable power of attorney broad in <\/span>scope or quite limited, and it becomes active as soon as you sign it. Under this <\/span>document, the person may sign checks for you, enter contracts on your behalf, <\/span>even buy or sell your assets. What they can do depends on what you authorized <\/span>in the document.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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In the case of a \u201cspringing\u201d power of attorney (POA), also known as a conditional <\/span>power of attorney, the person only has this authority if you become <\/span>incapacitated. At that point, the POA \u201csprings\u201d into action.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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There is no \u201cbest\u201d power of attorney. We\u2019ll work with you to determine which is <\/span>the best fit for your needs and goals. <\/span><\/div>\n
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Health Care Power of Attorney <\/span><\/div>\n
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In an instant, an accident can change a healthy, vigorous person into someone <\/span>who can\u2019t make her healthcare decisions. Others face a long decline in mental <\/span>capacity because of a disease like Alzheimer\u2019s. In either case, you want to <\/span>empower those you trust to make medical decisions for you. Though health care <\/span>legal documents vary somewhat by state, the general principle is that, through <\/span>this document, you authorize someone to make medical decisions for you, if and <\/span>when you no longer have the capacity to do so. You can also communicate your <\/span>desired treatment and end-of-life care. However, those instructions may not be <\/span>valid in every state. <\/span><\/div>\n
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A Holistic Approach <\/span>
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Lifetime planning is a comprehensive approach to estate planning. And while it <\/span>addresses needs of the living, comprehensive planning may also improve the <\/span>after-death part of your plan as well, because it can reduce family conflict and <\/span>preserve assets against court control or interference in the event of incapacity. <\/span>
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Contact an Experienced Estate Planning Attorney <\/span>
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For insight into how to establish a trust and implement other lifetime planning <\/span>options, call us today to schedule a consultation. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

According to a March 2017 survey by\u00a0Caring.com, six out of ten Americans have no will or any other kind of estate planning. Many said they\u2019d get around to it, eventually. When they\u2019re old. (The survey did find that the elderly are much more likely to have some plan in place.) It\u2019s all too clear that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[61,52,7,8,18],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Difference between Lifetime and Death-time Planning\u2026 and Why a Comprehensive Plan Must Include Both - SSS Legal & Consultancy Services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Comprehensive estate planning isn\u2019t just death-time planning. 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