Whether you are still formulating your estate plan or have finished it, you may now be wondering with whom you should share the details. Unfortunately, there is no easy answer to this question. Only you can decide whether to share any, or all of the details of your estate plan; however, your decision may depend, to a large extent, on who the person is with whom you are considering sharing the details.

• Beneficiaries: There is rarely a real need to divulge the details of your estate plan to beneficiaries, but some people choose to do so anyway for personal reasons. You may simply wish everyone to know what to expect. On the other hand, the details may not make all beneficiaries happy in which case keeping the details to yourself may prevent disharmony.
• Spouse or Partner: Some couples choose to make reciprocal Wills and work together on estate plans. This works best when there are numerous jointly held assets or children in common. If, however, you have chosen to keep your money and assets separate and do not have children in common, then there may be no practical reason to share the details of your estate plan.
• Guardian/Trustee/Executor: Positions such as these within your estate plan require the appointee to accept a significant amount of responsibility. For this reason, it is best to discuss your plans with the intended appointee prior to actually including them in your estate plan in the event the individual has any reservations.

Pyke & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Suggesting to a parent that he or she has reached the age where it may be time to consider moving to a retirement facility is not an easy thing to do. More often than not, it is met with considerable resistance. Your parent likely sees giving up his home as giving up his independence. If you are concerned that remaining in the home may be difficult, or even dangerous, for your parent, you may wish to try a practical approach. What will it cost to stay in the home? Take the time to get estimates for the following:

• Modifications to the home such as the addition of hand rails, grab bars and additional lighting
• Building ramps and opening up doorways
• A chair lift if the home has a second story
• Home health aids or nursing services
• Transportation
• Cleaning services
• Meal preparation

Once you have estimates for all of the above, try approaching your parent from a practical angle and explain what it will likely cost in the years to come for him to stay in the home, versus what it will cost to sell the home and move to a retirement facility. Often, the cost of staying in a home will far outweigh the cost of selling the home and moving. Although your parent may not like the idea of leaving the home, seeing what it will cost in dollars and cents to stay may be a strong, non-emotional, incentive to consider moving.

Pyke & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

If you own a small business, you have probably given a significant amount of consideration to what you wish to happen to the business upon your death. If the business has been successful, you also likely have a considerable financial interest in the business. Without careful planning, the value of your financial interest in the business can be subject to either gift or estate taxes upon your death. Although there are numerous options that may be used to help reduce estate or gift taxes, the following are among the most commonly recommended by Atlanta estate planning attorneys:

• Sale of Your Business: Whether to a family member or third party, selling your business can avoid both estate and gift taxes if the sale is completed before, or at the time of, your death, and the sale is for the fair market value of the business. Note, however, that the sale could be subject to capital gains taxes.
• Trusts: You may choose to create an irrevocable trust in the form of a grantor retained annuity trust (GRAT) or grantor retained unitrust (GRUT) for your business. When using a GRAT or GRUT, you transfer your business assets into the trust and then receive an annual annuity from the trust for the life of the trust. At the trust termination, the remaining assets pass to the beneficiaries, but they pass at a decreased valuation, which results in a decrease in your tax liability.
• Forming a Family Partnership: By forming a partnership with family members, you can retain the general partner interests, and the day to day control of the business, while slowly gifting the limited partner interests to your family members. The interest you gift may qualify for valuation discounts for minority interest — again, limiting your tax exposure.

Pyke & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Although America has some of the best medical care in the world, it is also among the most costly. If you are the loved one of an elderly individual who is facing the possibility of long-term nursing facility care, you are likely also concerned about the cost of the care. Although the cost of long-term care can vary significantly among states, and even facilities within states, a year’s stay can easily exceed $100,000. For the average American, that means their life savings can be depleted within an amazingly short time. Private health insurance coverage may not even be the answer because many plans have a lifetime maximum that can be reached within a few short years. The Medicaid program may be an option; however, getting an application approved is not always easy.

The Medicaid program is intended to provide health care coverage for those who are considered low-income. As a result, both the income and assets of your elderly loved one will be considered when determining eligibility. The exact income and asset limits will depend on household size and other factors; however, they are relatively low since the program is intended to be for low-income applicants. Because of this, many elderly applicants are forced to sell assets or use up their savings in order to meet eligibility guidelines. This may not be necessary with proper planning.

 By consulting with your Fayette County elder law attorney ahead of time, you may be able to devise a plan that will allow your elderly loved one to meet the eligibility requirements for the Medicaid program without having to part with his or her life savings.

Pyke & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Few decisions in life are as important as choosing a trustee for a trust. The duties and responsibilities of a trustee are numerous and of great importance to the success of the trust. The ultimate decision, of course, is yours; however, there are some factors that bear consideration and should be discussed with your henry county estate planning attorney before you make your decision.

• Location of Trust Assets and Beneficiaries: The closer the trustee is to both the trust assets and the beneficiaries, the easier it will be to oversee the assets and communicate with beneficiaries.
• Trust Discretion: Some trusts allow the trustee a considerable amount of discretion with regard to distributions to beneficiaries. If your trust allows the trustee discretion, be sure that the trustee understands the purpose of the trust and is someone in whom you trust to make decisions regarding distributions.
• Relationship of the Trustee to the Beneficiaries: A trustee that is closely related to a beneficiary can, at some point in time, develop a conflict of interest as a result of that relationship. Although you may have a considerable amount of trust in a close family member, you may be trading that for objectivity and neutrality.
• Financial Ability and Experience: Be sure that your trustee’s abilities and experience are commensurate with the position. A simple trust may not require much in the way of financial skills or experience, but a complex trust certainly will.
• Willingness to Serve: People often overlook this one. Be sure to actually ask the intended trustee if he or she is willing to accept the responsibilities associated with being a trustee.

Pyke & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Your Last Will and Testament is your chance to decide how you want your estate assets handled upon your death. You only get one chance to express your wishes. While executing your Will is important, updating it after major life changes is of equal importance. Although there are other reasons why a Will update may be warranted, there are three important events that should always be considered reason to update your Will.

If you have recently been married, you should include your new spouse in your Will. While some states make provisions for one spouse to receive something from the estate of the other spouse regardless of whether or not mentioned in the Will, not all states do so. In addition, the amount your spouse receives under the law of the state where you are a resident at the time of death may be considerably less than what you intended to leave him or her.

On the other hand, a divorce also warrants a Will update for the opposite reason. If you fail to remove your ex-spouse as a beneficiary under your Will, he or she may receive the bulk of your estate despite the divorce if you signed reciprocal Wills, meaning you each left the bulk of your assets to the other.

Pyke & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

When you sit down in Atlanta to do your retirement plan, make sure you take your estate plan into consideration, and vice versa. Likewise, if you make significant changes to your estate plan, make sure you make the corresponding changes to your retirement plan as well and vice versa.

In order to understand why the two go hand in hand, consider the subject matter of each — your money and assets. Your retirement plan is based on assets and money that you plan to life off of when you reach retirement age. Your estate plan is a plan that proposes to dispose of all assets that you own at the time of your death. Assets that are marked for use in your retirement plan may, or may not, be available to pass down to family members or loved ones upon your death. On the other hand, assets that you place in a trust as part of an estate plan may not be available to be used during your retirement. As a result, careful consideration should be given to both your estate plan and retirement plan when creating either one.

Pyke & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

As a Henry county caregiver of an adult child who is disabled or an elderly family member or loved one who is suffering from a mental or physical disability, you may reach a point when you decide that seeking appointment as conservator is necessary in order to properly care for and protect the individual. Like many states, Georgia differentiates between a guardian and conservator. A person may be appointed as both guardian and conservator. While a guardian has control over the person of the ward (person who needs protection), a conservator has control over the estate of the ward. As conservator, therefore, you would have control over things like the property, financial affairs, and income of the ward.

Before a conservatorship can be established, a petition must be filed in Probate Court. The court will then notify all individuals who are legally required to receive notice, including the potential ward. A hearing will then be held. At the hearing, the court must first determine that the potential ward is actually in need of a conservator. In Georgia, the court must decide that the individual “lacks sufficient capacity to make or communicate significant responsible decisions concerning management of his/her property.” If the court decides that the individual is in need of a conservator, the court will then move on to decide whether or not you are a suitable person to be appointed at the conservator. If appointed, the duties of a conservator carry with them a fiduciary duty and must be carried out under the supervision of the court.

Pyke & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Most people have heard the terms “beneficiary” and “heir” used at one point or another. If you are like most people in Atlanta, you may be under the impression that they are interchangeable words. In fact, although both terms are frequently used in estate planning, they have very different legal meanings. Understanding the difference is a simple, yet important, step to take when planning your estate. While individual states may have varying laws, rules and procedures regarding wills and trusts, the definition of beneficiary and heir is generally similar among the states.

A beneficiary is someone that you specifically name in your Last Will and Testament. If you make a bequest in your Will, whether of money or any other type of asset, the person to whom you leave the asset is a beneficiary under the terms of your Will. For example, if you decide to leave your best friend, Joe, $10,000 in your Will as well as leave your daughter, Rachel, your home in your Will, then both Joe and Rachel are beneficiaries under your Will.

An heir, on the other hand, is someone who will inherit all, or part of, your estate under the intestate succession laws of the state where you resided at the time of death. Intestate laws apply when a valid Will was not executed prior to death, or when there are estate assets left over after all bequests have been satisfied. Your spouse, children and other blood relatives are typically heirs under intestate succession laws.

Someone can be both a beneficiary and an heir. In the above example, Rachel would be both a beneficiary and an heir while Joe would be only a beneficiary.

Pyke & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Whether you are in the process of planning your own estate in Fayette county, have recently had a family member or loved one die, or just wish to educate yourself on Estate Planning concepts, understanding intestate succession is important. Before launching into an explanation of intestate succession, it is important to note that individual state laws will govern the specifics of intestate succession, just as they do for other aspects of wills, trusts, and estates. Having said that, the basic premise of intestate succession tends to be the same from one state to the next.

Although many people execute a Last Will and Testament prior to death, not everyone does so. When a person dies without having executed a Will, the legal term that applies is “intestate.” Just because a person dies intestate does not mean he or she did not have estate assets at the time of death. The legal process that decides who will inherit those assets is referred to as intestate succession. Intestate succession can also apply when a valid Will was executed if assets remain after all the specific and general bequests have been honored.

As mentioned earlier, state laws will dictate who will inherit under intestate succession and in what proportion; however, there are similarities here as well. Most states look first to the spouse and children of the decedent. Other blood relatives may also inherit under intestate succession in the event there is no spouse or living children, or there are estate assets remaining after the spouse or children have received their share.

Pyke & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.