Many baby boomers may hesitate to discuss money with their children, but the reality is that a massive amount of wealth will be transferred in the upcoming decades.

Some $68 trillion will move between generations in the next two decades, reports U.S. News & World Report in the article “Discuss Your Estate Plan With Your Children.” Having this conversation with your adult children, especially if they are members of Generation X, could have a profound impact on the quality of your relationship and your legacy.

​With all of the tax documents continuing to arrive in the mail, we are all painfully aware that it is currently tax season.  If you are an Executor of an Estate or the Trustee of a Trust that is or has become irrevocable, you should know that Estates and Trusts have to file their income tax returns.  When you qualified as an Executor or took over as Trustee, you probably applied for a tax identification number for the Estate or Trust.  That number is how the IRS knows to be look for the reporting of income and the payment of taxes.

What if you want to set up a trust for Medicaid planning purposes but want to protect income from going to the nursing facility if you need long term care?
​
Usually the purpose of an income-only trust in Medicaid planning is to protect the property in the trust either from having to be spent down to qualify for Medicaid in the first place or from the state’s estate recovery claim after the death of the Medicaid beneficiary. The trust can also be drafted so that the income is not distributed at all or distributed to people other than the grantor, such as the grantor’s children. While that would prevent the income from having to be paid to a nursing home, it would also mean that the grantor would not receive the income before moving into a nursing home. Do you want to forego the income while you’re healthy in order to protect it in case you need Medicaid coverage in the future, or do you want to receive it while you’re healthy with the chance of having to contribute it to your cost of care should you require Medicaid coverage in the future? 

​Is there anyone sad to say goodbye to 2020? For many of us, 2021 epitomizes the symbolic renewal of a new year, with an extra kick of life motivation.  In what ways will you channel this energy? 

Everyone should tend to their personal affairs in some manner. For some this may be a simple review of existing documents or an update of contact lists and account inventories. However, if you are reading this and you know you still have not taken care of those basic documents everyone must have – Now is the time!

​It has become more common than not that retirees over 65 have parents that are still living independently, but are they at risk? What if they were to fall or a sudden illness meant they could no longer maintain their current lifestyle, and there now senior-aged children do not live close by? Or their children have health concerns of their own. Are both you and your parents at risk?

The acronym HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and should be taken into consideration when you are planning your estate.