How Proper Estate Planning Can Help Prevent Elder Abuse

Elder abuse is an unfortunate reality that can wreak havoc on a person’s life and finances. Estate planning is a simple way to safeguard your rights and physical, emotional and financial well-being. Having a wills and estate attorney helps you create vital documents such as powers of attorney, an advance directive, a will and tools like trusts can help prevent elder abuse and ensure that your assets are protected and distributed according to your wishes.

Anyone Can Be a Victim of Undue Influence or a Scam

Physical and mental decline can make older people vulnerable to being taken advantage of, especially in the lonely days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, elder abuse is often overlooked until it is too late to remedy the situation, especially if a trusted family member, friend, or caregiver is the one exerting undue influence or perpetrating the abuse. Physical, emotional, and financial abuse can be devastating to victims and their families. This is just one reason why it is never too early to speak to an estate planning attorney and create a plan that addresses your specific needs and circumstances.

Estate Planning Documents that Can Help Prevent Elder Abuse

Although a will is a key element of an estate plan, there are other documents that protect your interests while you are still alive.

Advance Directive (Living Will) – This document outlines your wishes for medical treatments, including life-sustaining measures, pain management, and organ donation.

Power of Attorney for Health Care – This is a legal document that enables you to name an agent to make important medical decisions on your behalf. These decisions may involve treatment options,  medication, life-sustaining measures such as breathing and feeding tubes, end-of-life decisions, and more.

Power of Attorney for Finances – This document allows you to name someone to handle your financial affairs if you become unable to do so. Your agent will have the ability to pay bills, manage investments, bank accounts, and retirement accounts. They may also file tax returns on your behalf, take care of property transactions and other financial matters. You can make it as general or as specific as you would like.

Living Trusts – Trusts attorneys can also help you understand the different types of trusts and their purposes, and advise you of your options. When you create a living trust, you can name yourself as the initial trustee, and designate a successor trustee that takes control in the event of your incapacity or death.  You can put various types of assets into a living trust, including real estate, stocks, cash, and even personal property that has value. In addition to protecting your finances should you become incapacitated, a living trust also enables the assets in the trust to bypass probate after your death. Probate attorneys often recommend that clients set up living trusts to help make the estate administration process easier for their loved ones.

Choose Wisely

When selecting a designated agent or trustee, it is important to choose someone you trust whi will have your best interests at heart. Making these decisions can be challenging. Your attorney can provide an objective perspective that can help you make informed decisions that protect your interests. For example, if you own rental properties and plan to put them in a trust but do not have anyone in your life who you believe would be able to properly manage them, your lawyer may suggest that you hire a professional such as a real estate attorney to act as trustee.

Taking steps to protect yourself while you are still healthy and of sound mind is a proactive way to help prevent elder abuse and ease any concerns your loved ones may have about your care and financial security. If you need assistance with estate planning, our experienced team can help.

This blog was originally posted at https://carosella.com/blog/how-proper-estate-planning-can-help-prevent-elder-abuse/

Including Digital Assets in Your Estate Plan

Many people now access and store important financial and personal information electronically. In addition to your online financial assets, you may also have social media, email, cloud storage and other types of accounts that your loved ones will need to access in the event of your incapacitation or passing. Overlooking digital assets can lead to problems for your beneficiaries, so it is important to include them in your estate plan. A wills and estate attorney can help you take a thorough inventory of your digital assets and create legal documents that specify who is authorized to access them.

Create a Comprehensive List

The first thing you want to do is create a list of your digital assets and their value. You should include a list of login and password information for all the accounts that will need to be accessed. Some important items to consider include:

• Domain names
• Websites
• Blogs
• Cloud storage websites
• Monetized video channels and social media accounts
• Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency accounts
• Online trading accounts
• Online gambling accounts
• Traditional bank accounts and sites such as PayPal and Venmo
• Digital auction sites
• Digital rights to literary, musical, motion picture or theatrical works
• Online gaming accounts that provide cash awards or online goods or services
• Non-fungible tokens
• Any other digital assets specific to your circumstances

Back Up Your Data

Saving digital backups of account information and passwords is critical. It’s also a good idea to scan and save items like birth certificates, tax returns, insurance policies, wills, trusts, powers of attorney, bank and investment account statements and other vital documents. Although it’s a good idea to keep important data in the cloud, it’s vital to back it up using an external hard drive, USB port or computer as well. This will make it easier for your loved ones and fiduciaries to access them if needed.

Have Your Attorney Update Your Estate Plan

An estate planning attorney can help you create documents that inventory your digital assets and provide consent so named agents can access them if you become incapacitated or pass away. Whether you have digital assets or not, it is a good idea to review and update your estate plan periodically.  Estate planning lawyers and trusts attorneys can also ensure your will, powers of attorney, trusts and other important documents are up to date.

Your lawyer will also know how to use proper language for giving lawful consent to companies to provide the contents of your electronic communications to designated parties. It is up to you to decide how much access you are comfortable with and who you want to give it to. It is also important to authorize fiduciaries or other parties to reset, bypass or recover your passwords. If you have significant digital assets, you may also want to choose an executor who is tech-savvy, which can help make the process of settling your estate run more smoothly.

Whether you need help with estate planning or you are concerned about protecting your business, our team includes experienced contract lawyers and business succession planning attorneys. No matter what type of legal issues you may be facing, we can help.

This blog was originally posted at https://carosella.com/blog/including-digital-assets-in-your-estate-plan/

What You Need to Know When Buying Out a Business Partner

Partnerships come to an end for a variety of reasons, and even in the best of circumstances, the process can be complex. A business succession planning attorney can help you make sense of it all and facilitate a smooth transition while ensuring your rights are protected. Understanding what may be involved when buying out a partner can also help you make informed decisions and safeguard your financial interests.

Talk to an Attorney

Before you speak to your partner about buying out their portion of the business, it is critical to speak to a business lawyer who has experience handling acquisitions. Factors such as valuation, financing, the terms of your initial partnership agreement, and business succession planning can all play a role in determining what your options may be. An attorney can take a comprehensive look at your circumstances, address potential challenges, advise you of your options and help you make a plan. Even if you do not believe you need a lawyer because you and your partner are on great terms, conflict can arise. A business attorney can help your relationship stay positive.

Get an Independent Business Valuation

Hiring a professional to do a formal business valuation is a must to determine whether buying out your partner is a sound decision in the long term. Getting an accurate valuation from an outside party can provide a starting point for negotiations with your partner. However, it is important to keep in mind that business valuation is not an exact science. Each situation is unique. If you find yourself in a serious disagreement about what the business is worth, having an attorney help you negotiate can diffuse the situation and help you come to a fair agreement.

Look at Financing Options

Buying out a partner can come with substantial up-front costs that you may not be able to pay out in one lump sum. Although you can apply for a loan or look for funding elsewhere, self-financing is often the most viable option. This means that you will pay your partner over time as if they were the lender.

Of course, whether this is an option for you depends on your relationship with your current partner. If you are not on the best of terms it may not be a practical solution for financing. However, if it is something your partner will consider, it is critical to have a business contract attorney create a solid buyout agreement.

Consider Buyout Alternatives

If your business valuation turns out to be lower than you anticipated, you may want to consider dissolving the partnership and starting fresh. If your partner is open to it, you could change your partnership agreement so you own a larger share of the company. This way, you can have primary control over the company but will not incur the up-front costs of buying out your partner completely. Your attorney can help you determine which course of action will benefit you.

Make it Official

It would be nice if a deal could be completely sealed with a handshake, but to avoid problems it is best to do things by the book. Once you have both agreed to the terms of the sale, your attorney can draft an agreement and create documents that release your partner from liability. It is also important to talk to your lawyer and accountant about the tax implications of a buyout and what type of business entity you should have moving forward.  Your attorney can ensure that all appropriate documents are filed with local, state, and federal authorities.

Our team of business lawyers, estate planning attorneys and contracts lawyers can help to ensure all your legal bases are covered and your interests are protected.

This blog was originally posted at https://carosella.com/blog/what-you-need-to-know-when-buying-out-a-business-partner/