By Misty A. Watson
Meet Finn and his family. Finn is a real boy with autism.
Finn’s father, Jeff Howe, shared his family’s story in “Paying for Finn: A special-needs child” for CNN’s Money Magazine. According to Howe, Finn is representative of 8% of all U.S. children because he is a child with special needs: he is autistic. His household is one of 25% of all U.S. households with a family member with special needs.
As the Howe family has learned, raising a child with special needs comes at great cost, both financial and emotional. Howe goes into great detail explaining his family’s journey with Finn. He does not hold back from sharing the specifics of his family’s finances and the costs associated with Finn’s care.
The financial burden for raising a child with special needs is staggering, to say the least, even for a family with considerable means. For families with less financial resources available to them, the financial burden is even more overwhelming. Continue reading »
04/30/13 1:27 PM
Estate Planning, Special Needs, Trusts | Comment (0) |
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Costs of Raising a Child with Special Needs: The Story of Finn
By Misty A. Watson
Google is giving users an innovative tool for long-term planning of digital data and access to inactive Google accounts. Welcome to estate planning for your Google account.
As many families have experienced, the terms of service for most types of online accounts from most providers do not generally allow for the transfer of access to an account in the event of death. As more people begin to store important documents, photos, videos, and other items of sentimental value online, gaining access to the information has become an increasingly important issue in estate planning, according to Brett Watz with Mind of the Geek.
On Thursday April 11, 2013, Google addressed this issue head on by rolling out its Inactive Account Manager. This feature allows a Google user to designate a particular person (or persons) as manager of the Google account once it becomes inactive. This trusted friend or family member will receive access to the user’s emails, videos, photos, and documents in the inactive Google account for many of its services, such as Mail and YouTube. The user selects which data can be accessed. Note that it appears that this policy does not extend to information contained in paid Google services (see The Digital Reader’s post by Nate Hoffelder). Continue reading »
04/12/13 4:03 PM
Digital Media, Estate Planning, Trusts | Comment (0) |
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What You’ve Been Waiting for – Estate Planning for Your Google Account
By Misty A. Watson
Senior citizens and the disabled in Missouri will soon have additional protection from financial exploitation.
On July 11, 2012, Missouri SB 689 was signed by Governor Jay Nixon. SB 689 modifies the crime of financial exploitation of the elderly to include “undue influence.”
“Undue influence” is defined under the bill as:
“… influence by a person who has authority over the elderly or disabled person in order to take unfair advantage of the person’s vulnerable state of mind, neediness, pain, or agony. It includes improper use of various types of fiduciary authority.”
Under the bill, the Department of Social Services may now release the income and asset information of an individual in a licensed nursing home facility to the prosecuting attorney for purposes of investigation or prosecution of financial exploitation.
Continue reading »
07/17/12 8:09 AM
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Financial Exploitation of the Elderly and Disabled Crime Modified to Include Undue Influence
By Misty A. Watson
The issue of exhaustive yet routine and expensive medical treatment versus quality of life for patients at end-of-life has been a hot topic in the media recently. The St. Louis Post Dispatch ran a series of articles including “Woman’s 6-month decline highlights end-of-life care quandary.” The June addition for Time Magazine featured “The Long Goodbye.”
Both articles focus on family members deciding how much care is appropriate and what happens when medical care results in a quality of life that the recipient of the care may not have wanted.
What is apparent from these articles is that end of life issues are difficult to discuss with family members. As a result, individuals often lack the motivation to consult with counsel to make sure that their wishes regarding their medical care – particularly at end-of-life – are expressed in writing.
An individual may end up receiving long, drawn out treatment and a quality of life they did not desire.
Healthcare Directives, Living Wills, and Do Not Resuscitate (DNR)
In both of the examples, the families were aware of the wishes of the family member to some extent, and had even taken some measures to make appropriate decisions regarding their care. Continue reading »
06/28/12 9:42 AM
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Knowing What the Patient Wants: Healthcare Directive, Living Will, and Do Not Resuscitate (DNR)
By Misty A. Watson
The Supreme Court ruled on May 21, 2012 in Astrue v. Capato that twins conceived through in vitro fertilization after the death of their father were not eligible for survivor’s benefits through the Social Security Administration, upholding the Social Security Administration’s previous determination. According to the Court’s opinion, Mr. Capato lived in Florida at the time of his death. Under Florida law, the children do not qualify for inheritance through intestate succession (the children are not considered heirs of their father’s estate) and are ineligible to receive survivor benefits.
Florida law requires that in order for children to qualify for an inheritance, they must be born or conceived prior to the death of the parent. Because the Capato children were born 18 months after the death of their father, they were not considered to be his children for inheritance purposes under the law. Consequently, the Social Security Administration determined that the children were not eligible for survivorship benefits.
Unlike Florida, Missouri statute provides that all posthumous children (children born after the death of a parent) inherit as if they were born during the lifetime of the deceased parent, as do grandchildren and further descendants. However, other heirs, such as siblings or cousins, must be born and capable to take their share, prior to the death of the deceased.
Continue reading »
05/22/12 1:40 PM
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Survivor Benefits for Unborn Children: Supreme Court Ruling Sides With State Law
By Misty A. Watson
If you have someone with autism in your family, a tablet computer, such as an iPad or an Android tablet, may be a good investment.
Tablet computers offer numerous apps designed to help children with special needs, and apps specifically designed for people with autism can work wonders in helping them communicate.
St. Louis native Mark Bowers designed an app called Sōsh that helps young people develop social skills. According to the app’s website, Sōsh uses a methodology designed around the “five R’s” – Relate (connect with others), Relax (reduce stress), Regulate (manage behaviors), Reason (think it through) and Recognize (understand feelings).
Of course, tablet computers can be pricey, and so can the apps that run on them. There are numerous websites dedicated to reviewing apps designed for children with special needs.
One of the most popular websites is Apps For Children With Special Needs (A4CWSN).
Autism Speaks also maintains a list of useful apps.
CBS News also ran a story on the subject in October 2010. The story was titled “Apps for Autism: Communicating on the iPad.”
Download full Special Needs Community newsletter (PDF)
Posted by Attorney Misty A. Watson. Watson’s practice focus is estate-related: planning, administration, and probate. She creates trusts, wills, financial, and health care powers of attorney, guardianships, and conservatorships.
02/23/12 2:18 PM
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iPad Apps for Autism
By Misty A. Watson
One of the most difficult decisions parents face when completing their estate plan is who should serve as guardian for their minor children. Here are a few common discussions regarding choosing a guardian:
- “I do not want to upset my parents, siblings, etc., but I want to appoint my best friend.”
- I recommend that parents choose someone to serve as guardian for their children that shares their values and is going to raise the children similarly to how they would raise them. Now is not the time to worry about whether feelings may be hurt. This is a very personal decision and family members may not always be appropriate to serve as guardian.
- “I want my sister/brother/aunt to be appointed guardian.”
- Each parent usually has a preference for his/her own family member. While an attorney can point out pros and cons to the parents, he or she will not take a side. While each parent can appoint different guardians for their children, this is not recommended as it will just lead to court battles. Parents should discuss and come to a consensus on who they want to appoint prior to meeting with the attorney.
- “We want to appoint my sister and brother-in-law as guardians.”
- Appointing co-guardians may be difficult. If your sister and brother-in-law get divorced, do you want your brother-in-law to have custody rights?
- Do you want to have to amend your documents if your sister and brother-in-law divorce?
- Typically, appointing your sister as the guardian is the better option to prevent unnecessary amendments to estate planning documents.
- “I don’t want my ex-spouse to have custody of our kids in the event I die.”
- Unfortunately, a surviving noncustodial parent has the right to take custody of the children unless he or she is unfit or unwilling to act. Typically your Last Will and Testament will acknowledge the rights of the other parent and appoint backup guardians for this case.
- “How many people should we appoint as backup guardians?”
- Two or three backups should be appointed. Typically you do not want only one person appointed as guardian with no backup appointed.
Keep in mind that your Last Will and Testament only expresses your wishes to the court regarding who should serve as your child’s guardian. The appointed person must otherwise qualify. A history of involvement in the child welfare system, felony convictions, or a drug or alcohol abuse history may prevent your appointed guardian from serving.
While the decision of who to appoint can be difficult, it is important that you name someone to serve as guardian in order to prevent prolonged litigation in the event of a tragedy.
Posted by Attorney Misty A. Watson. Watson’s practice focus is estate-related: planning, administration, and probate. She creates trusts, wills, financial, and health care powers of attorney, guardianships, and conservatorships.
02/3/12 12:45 PM
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Choosing a Guardian for Your Children
By Misty A. Watson
On January 1, 2012, the Illinois Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act (Act) goes into effect. The Act permits owners of real property in Illinois to execute a deed which will allow for the property to be transferred to a designated beneficiary upon the owner’s death. If the property is owned jointly, the deed will transfer ownership upon the death of the second owner to the designated beneficiary.
The Transfer on Death Deed varies from its counterpart in other states in that it requires the deed to be executed with the formality of a Last Will and Testament. The deed must be witnessed by two witnesses, notarized, and the witnesses must attest that the person signing the deed is of sound mind. The deed requires certain language such as that it is not effective until the death of the owner and must be properly recorded before the death of the owner.
Prior to the enactment of the Act, owners of real property were forced to have a trust in order to avoid probate of real property, even if the owner’s situation did not warrant having a trust. Also, the Transfer on Death Deed allows for property to be maintained in joint names with a spouse which is a great form of asset protection against the creditors of one spouse.
The Transfer on Death deed will permit greater flexibility in estate planning and cost-effective probate avoidance.
Posted by Attorney Misty A. Watson. Watson’s practice focus is estate-related: planning, administration, and probate. She creates trusts, wills, financial, and health care powers of attorney, guardianships, and conservatorships.
12/29/11 2:44 PM
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Transfer on Death Deed Now in Illinois
By Misty A. Watson
Your parent, aunt, grandparent, or friend has appointed you as trustee of their trust. You may have briefly glanced at the document 10 years ago when the trust was formed and never gave it a second thought until you get the call that the trust creator has become incapacitated or has died.
What do you do? What are your duties as trustee? What information are you supposed to give the beneficiaries? What are the steps to collecting assets? What bills do you pay? Are you supposed to file tax returns?
Serving as a trustee can quickly become overwhelming. Timing issues regarding notice to the beneficiaries and reporting to the beneficiaries your activities are often the most difficult for a trustee to know without the help of legal counsel. An accountant and financial advisor can also be valuable resources during the initial trust administration period.
Whether you are currently serving as trustee or know you will be serving as trustee in the near future, a consultation regarding your legal responsibilities as trustee is critical.
The duties of a trustee may include:
- Notice to the beneficiaries of the trust. Notification may be necessary to beneficiaries that you are serving as trustee, and to inform them that they have a right to contest the terms of the trust. Each state differs in how the wording must be stated in the notice and what steps must be taken in order to provide appropriate notice. Some states require that a copy of the trust be provided to the beneficiaries, while others do not.
- Collection of the assets. Many assets may not currently be titled in the name of the trust. Some assets may list the trust as the payable on death beneficiary while other assets may need to be probated in order to transfer those into the name of the trust.
- Proper accounting. As trustee, you will be responsible for accounting for the assets in the trust. Most states require that the beneficiaries be sent an annual report regarding transactions that occurred.
- Taxes. You will be responsible for filing taxes both for the trust and for the decedent.
This is not an exhaustive list of all the duties of a trustee. Being a trustee can be time-consuming and overwhelming, but with the right team of professionals, the burden can be lighter.
Posted by Attorney Misty A. Watson. Watson’s practice focus is estate-related: planning, administration, and probate. She creates trusts, wills, financial, and health care powers of attorney, guardianships, and conservatorships.
12/6/11 2:30 PM
Estate Planning, Trusts | Comments Off |
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So You Are a Trustee
