Answers For Elders Radio Network

How do you make updates to your estate plan? Elder law attorney Steve Waltar joins Suzanne to talk about dos and don'ts.

Steve says, "Let me first start by saying what you should not do. You should not take out your original will and start crossing off, oh, this person's dead now, this is the new name. You start scratching things up — and there's been cases on this, fights on this, because sometimes you make changes to who gets what, and they will sometimes throw out the will and say, Oh, you obviously intended to throw it out. So, a much better strategy, of course, it's meet with an attorney. But I would say, review your documents, but make copies of the things you want to change. Then on the copy, you say what happened, or mark this out, something that helps process this with your attorney.

"But ideally, you will not only send the attorney a copy of that, but you'll actually meet with an attorney. And what I want to make sure is that I have an update of their assets and people. Because if someone comes in and says, Steve, I want you to change this paragraph, that's tunnel vision. That's not that helpful. Of course I can change that paragraph... But the whole point is, people don't know what they don't know. So what they should do is make sure, without messing up documents, to write down their worries, their concerns. Do a review questionnaire so that when they come in and meet with an attorney, we see the whole picture. Because I may tell them, Oh, you want to change this, but a will is not the way to do that, or Oh, you had everything on one document, but you need them separate... They don't know what they don't know."

People can be penny wise and pound foolish. "Even this week, I had a 99-year-old gentleman come in. He served in World War II. He had all these great stories. And I asked a lot of questions about the son... Like I said before, I want to know [about] the beneficiary... And after I did some analysis, I finally said, okay, I think we can just do a simple will and we could do a transfer on death deed. We don't need a trust. We don't need to get fancy... But then the the child was shocked that it was going to cost a little north of two grand to do a will and probate avoidance... Many of my clients, there's a little sticker shock, right? I mean, I did $800 trust plans, you know, 30 years ago. This was a will plan. It avoids court. You could do a will form, but it's not going to avoid court. I think someone was looking at like a dollar amount and he wasn't realizing the value. People sometimes get what they pay for.

"I like Costco, and I like the value I get. But if you buy a Michelin tire with an 80,000 mile guarantee, you could go to a discount store, go to Costco, whatever. That's the tire, right? That's a commodity. A power of attorney is not a commodity. They're all radically different. Is it immediate? Is it springing, is it a hybrid? Is it a health care one? Is it finances? Is it durable? Is it not durable? It's not like a tire. What about a will? And a will might not be the most important document. You might want it to avoid court with a transfer on death. Let alone a trust. So it's really hard to shop prices. What you should do is just do your homework when you want to do your plan, get to know some of that, ask good questions, and see if they treat you well, and hire someone you're comfortable with. Wills and estate planning is not a commodity. Thinking 'I got the lowest [price],' that's not always best. That's pretty foolish."

Visit the Legacy Estate Planning website at waltar.com for beneficial articles, resources, and webinars.

* Steve Waltar: https://www.waltar.com/our-firm/about-our-firm/

* Books: https://www.waltar.com/resources/books-published-by/

* Webinars and seminars: https://www.waltar.com/seminars/

* Find an attorney in your state at https://www.aaepa.com/

Hear more podcasts with Steve Waltar at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/stephen-waltar/

Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

With a new year arriving, it's time to consider reviewing and updating legal documents. Elder law attorney Steve Waltar joins Suzanne to talk about when to update estate plans.

Steve says, "The $64,000 question: Hey, when should I update my estate plan, or how do I know? It always depends, right? That's what an attorney says, it depends. I think it's wonderful to to to check in with the attorney annually. As a rule, we tell clients every five years, you should come in to kick the tires. Because by then your goals may have changed. Your assets have certainly changed. It might even be your wishes and goals have changed for your beneficiaries. On an annual basis, laws tend to change.

"People usually come to us because there's changes in people, right? ... Obviously, divorce is huge, right? Who do you want to get your assets? Who do you want to be in charge? That's a big deal. But it can be the children as well, right? If the daughter got married and her last name changed, that's not going to mean we couldn't find her in the event of a death to be a beneficiary. But if one of the kids went through a divorce, or got married, and you wanted to treat the step-grandchild as if it was a grandchild, that takes planning, it doesn't happen automatically."

"There's nothing more unequal than the unequal treatment of unequals. I have two daughters. They're wonderful, They're different. My clients have multiple kids. They're not all the same. They don't all know they're not. And so, if you're able to communicate what's going on. You maybe have a makeup provision, maybe someone did get kind of an advancement, someone's living in the house and you want them to be able to get the house. But it probably shouldn't be in addition to their share. Maybe it should be part of their share. When people are getting health care, do you honor that? Do you not? If you don't communicate at all, the likelihood for disharmony or family fighting goes up dramatically."

Visit the Legacy Estate Planning website at waltar.com for beneficial articles, resources, and webinars.

* Steve Waltar: https://www.waltar.com/our-firm/about-our-firm/

* Books: https://www.waltar.com/resources/books-published-by/

* Webinars and seminars: https://www.waltar.com/seminars/

* Find an attorney in your state at https://www.aaepa.com/

Hear more podcasts with Steve Waltar at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/stephen-waltar/

Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

Elder law attorney Steve Waltar joins Suzanne to talk about the Corporate Transparency Act, a new federal law made to thwart money laundering, but has overreaching implications for owners of new and existing small businesses and their legal agents across America.

Steve explains, "This law is for anyone that created a business in 2024, and there are some exclusions. Nonprofits, the really large corporations are out of it, but it's LLC, it's corporations, things like that. And basically you have to report the entity. So if you're the agent — like a law firm, we help people incorporate — within the first 90 days, you have to report your Social Security number, your driver's license, a bunch of stuff. And then for everyone in the business, you have to say who owns more than 25%. So it's really hard now for anyone that is creating an entity to hide behind their lawyer. It affects most small businesses. You've got to report the full legal name, the trade names, the addresses, the taxpayer identification number.

"Civil penalties are up to 500 a day, criminal penalties are two years of imprisonment and $110,000. But if it's knowing, then civil penalties are 500 day and criminal penalties are five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Unauthorized use or disclosure, under federal law, is ten years of imprisonment and a half-million dollar fine.

"I wanted to make sure that any entity that we are the registered agent of, I said I want out. I don't care. It's not worth it. Because, you know, if you're late and you're filing these things, [fines are] just going to start to accrue."

The law has been challenged already. On December 3, a federal judge in Texas filed a preliminary injunction. "So all of the reporting requirements are halted. If you formed an entity, talk with the attorney or the accountant that did that talk with your registered agent. But for the short term, we're off the hook. There's no reporting required right now."

Visit the Legacy Estate Planning website at waltar.com for beneficial articles, resources, and webinars.

* Steve Waltar: https://www.waltar.com/our-firm/about-our-firm/

* Books: https://www.waltar.com/resources/books-published-by/

* Webinars and seminars: https://www.waltar.com/seminars/

* Find an attorney in your state at https://www.aaepa.com/

Hear more podcasts with Steve Waltar at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/stephen-waltar/

Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

Kitty Norton, director of the film Wine, Women, & Dementia, joins Suzanne to talk about reactions to her documentary.

Wine, Women, and Dementia premieres November 2 on PBS. Watch at PBS Online or download the PBS App to stream from your favorite devices. Check your local PBS Member Station for air dates and times in your area. See a list of upcoming local broadcasts here.

* Hear more podcasts with Kitty Norton

* Hear more podcasts about caregiving and caregivers

* Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks

Kitty Norton, director of the documentary Wine, Women, & Dementia, joins Suzanne to offer her best advice for caregivers.

Wine, Women, and Dementia premieres November 2 on PBS. Watch at PBS Online or download the PBS App to stream from your favorite devices. Check your local PBS Member Station for air dates and times in your area. See a list of upcoming local broadcasts here.

* Hear more podcasts with Kitty Norton

* Hear more podcasts about caregiving and caregivers

* Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks

Kitty Norton, director of the documentary Wine, Women, & Dementia, joins Suzanne to talk about her movie's premiere on many PBS markets at various times beginning November 2. New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles PBS stations will air it this month. Check local listings to see if it will air on your local PBS station.

Wine, Women, and Dementia premieres November 2 on PBS. Watch at PBS Online or download the PBS App to stream from your favorite devices. Check your local PBS Member Station for air dates and times in your area. See a list of upcoming local broadcasts here.

* Hear more podcasts with Kitty Norton

* Hear more podcasts about caregiving and caregivers

* Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks

Kitty Norton, director of the documentary Wine, Women, & Dementia, joins Suzanne to talk about her movie's premiere on PBS. Kitty talks about caregiving for her mom, blogging about everything that she and her sister were going through, using humor to cope and surrender to the moment. She became friends with people across the world who enjoyed the blog.

Wine, Women, and Dementia premieres November 2 on PBS. Watch at PBS Online or download the PBS App to stream from your favorite devices. Check your local PBS Member Station for air dates and times in your area. See a list of upcoming local broadcasts here.

* Hear more podcasts with Kitty Norton

* Hear more podcasts about caregiving and caregivers

* Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks

Learn about various ways people can volunteer for the Alzheimer's Association. Alexis Bonoff, Program Director of the Alzheimer's Association in Washington state, joins Suzanne to talk about volunteering and also the organization's clinical trial match tool.

Check out the Alzheimer’s Association TrialMatch, which connects individuals living with Alzheimer's, caregivers, and healthy volunteers to clinical trials that may advance Alzheimer's research. It's free and allows you to see which studies are a good fit for you or your loved ones. Visit https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/research progress/clinical-trials/trialmatch to find clinical trials.

Visit alz.org/walk and enter your zip code to find the Walk nearest you to register or donate. Check out alz.org to learn more. Reach master level clinicians at their 24/7 help line at 800-272-3900.

Hear more podcasts about the Walks: https://answersforelders.com/tag/alzheimers-walks/

* Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do you find resources and information to help care for families dealing with a senior loved one with Alzheimer's or dementia? Alexis Bonoff, Program Director of the Alzheimer's Association in Washington state, joins Suzanne to talk about how to find information, their 24/7 hotline, and more.

Visit alz.org/walk and enter your zip code to find the Walk nearest you to register or donate. Check out alz.org to learn more. Reach master level clinicians at their 24/7 help line at 800-272-3900.

Hear more podcasts about the Walks: https://answersforelders.com/tag/alzheimers-walks/

* Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Take advantage of the resources of the Alzheimer's Association to help care for families dealing with a senior loved one with Alzheimer's or dementia. Alexis Bonoff, Program Director of the Alzheimer's Association in Washington state, joins Suzanne to talk about the resources and programs.

Visit alz.org/walk and enter your zip code to find the Walk nearest you to register or donate. Check out alz.org to learn more. Reach master level clinicians at their 24/7 help line at 800-272-3900.

Hear more podcasts about the Walks: https://answersforelders.com/tag/alzheimers-walks/

* Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.