What do Activities of Daily Living mean?

According to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) – family-owned farms make up 97% of 2.1 million farms in the US. Among the family farms surveyed, 67% expected ownership to naturally pass on the next generation while only 23% actually had a succession plan.

The report suggests that losing a multi-generation farm business happens more often than you think. In fact, only 30% of the farms surveyed continue into the second generation and even fewer (12%) survive into the third generation.

Don’t let years of hard work come to a devastating end. Here is a list of essential estate planning tips for farmers, farm families, and anyone in the agriculture business. Whether you’re a legacy family enterprise or a start-up farm or ranch owner, you need to map out the long-term success of your farming business with smart estate planning.

Tip #1 Know Your Estate Planning Needs

As a farm business owner, there are many issues to consider to protect the business and ensure its success in case you retire, become incapacitated, or die. Ask yourself these questions to begin the process of creating your farm estate plan and succession plan.

• What are the farm’s assets and their approximate value?
• Who should I transfer those assets to—and when?
• Who should manage those assets if I cannot—either during my lifetime or after my death?
• Who should make decisions on my behalf if I am unable to?
• What do I want done with the farm if I suddenly become incapacitated or die?

Download your free copy of our California Estate Planning Guide to maximize the actual value of the farm estate you’ll leave to your heirs and beneficiaries.

Tip #2 State Your Goals

Farm land and a farm business are two different things. However, they both need to be addressed simultaneously, and the specifics of what to do with each will depend on your situation. Some issues to consider:

• What will happen to the farm when I die?
• Will the farm operation continue to be run by the family?
• Will the land stay in the family and will the farm operation be run by others?
• Will the farm cease operations and assets sold?

Tip #3 Decide on a Transfer Strategy

You’ll need to make a decision about whether to sell to a third party or leave the farm business to your family when you pass away or retire.

If you’re planning on selling the farm business, you’ll want to maximize the value of the farm operation and get top dollar when you sell. 

If you’re transitioning the farm to a family member, the reverse applies. You’ll want to minimize the value of the farm business so you can transfer the most assets for the least amount of tax.

Consider these actions when developing a farm transfer strategy:

Planning to sell:

Establish legal partnerships, LLCs, or corporations to allow separation of management and ownership

• Prepare Buy-Sell Agreements to ensure an orderly transition of the farm business
• Consider a Lease Agreement with option to purchase
• Retain the option to fund your retirement or trust for your beneficiaries from the sale proceeds

 Planning to transfer to beneficiaries:

• Reduce estate taxes, if you are subject to estate taxes
• Create the option to hand-over the farm property as a “gift,” subject to donors’ income tax
• Retain the option to hold the farm assets in a Trust

Tip #4 Create a Farm Succession Plan

If you want a legacy farm, you need to get the family organized so that the business will survive multiple generations. 

Here’s a list of considerations to help you create a family succession plan:

• Do you have a management team in place?
• Are family members involved in management of the farm, and, if so, how?
• Who are your tax and legal advisors?
• What is the equitable distribution of farm income and assets among family members?
• Are there family issues to consider? Might there be a conflict between your surviving spouse and your heirs?
• How will your plan change if there are new family members? If there are disowned family members?
• How will you adjust your plan if there are changes in your finances or tax laws?
• What will be your source of income when you retire from the farm business?

For a complete guide to creating an ideal family farm succession plan, check out these resources from California Farmlink.

Tip #5 Place The Farm in a Trust

A farm trust is a legal tool for holding, managing and distributing property. It’s an essential strategy in your farm estate plan that lays out how you want your assets managed during your life and distributed after death.

There are 4 components to a Farm Trust that you need to identify to get started (1) your Trust Property, specifically your farmland, farm business, or cash; (2) your Successor Trustee or Representative; (3) your Trust Beneficiaries, specifically your children, business partners or others; and, (4) your Instructions for how the Trust Property should be used or distributed.

Choose from these 3 Types of Trusts:

1. Revocable Living Trust

This type of trust can be amended or “revoked” before your death. It can be adjusted to accommodate changes in your life circumstances, if you want to add and remove beneficiaries, for example. It’s a flexible strategy that lays out how the farm should be managed in case of disability or incapacity.

Placing the farm in a Revocable Living Trust means the trust owns the farm, and not you as an individual. However, you retain the ability to manage, sell or transfer the farm assets in the trust as the owner or trustee. You keep all the control over the revocable living trust.

2. Irrevocable Living Trust

Like the name suggests, this trust cannot be changed and assets cannot be reclaimed after you create the trust, unless the trust document says so. An irrevocable trust can also be used during your lifetime and in case of disability or incapacity.

3. Testamentary Trust

Often created with a will, a testamentary trust takes effect after your death. It is used to protect your assets and minimize estate taxes for your beneficiaries.

What’s next?

Once you have considered these tips, the next step is to seek the advice and services of a qualified estate planning lawyer who can help you create a farm estate plan, and advise you on such issues as taxes, organizing titles and trust documents, and facilitating the smooth transfer of farm assets and farm operations to your beneficiaries.

Start taking action now with your estate planning by scheduling your free consultation with our team at Crider Law Group.

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It’s never too early to start preparing for the inevitable – that one day your parents will become too old and dependent on your support. And one of the toughest realities that you will need to face is financing your parents’ care in their old age.

Here’s a short list of strategies to help your family shore up the financial resources to cover the cost of elder care. And even if your parents are financially settled and don’t need your help, it’s still useful to talk about these subjects and be better prepared.

1. Start a Regular Family Dialogue

It’s important to ease into the difficult subject of finances with your parents by starting a regular family dialogue and slowly build trust. A parent may feel guilty about poor money decisions in the past, or feel too proud to let their own child take care of them, or may have other plans on how to spend their money.

Talking about the future and asking the hard questions will bring issues to light and may even help improve your relationship. Once you have established a level of trust through honest and caring dialogue, your parents will soon feel comfortable to accept your help.

2. Set a Clear and Specific Agenda

Prepare for the family dialogue by letting your parents know about the agenda in advance so that you’ll have a productive family meeting. The purpose of these meetings is for you to better understand their financial situation so that you know how you can be most helpful. Below are some questions that can direct your discussion and help formulate a plan of action.

• Are they financially prepared for retirement?
• Is there a retirement plan or will they just keep working?
• Will they need your financial help?
• Who will oversee activity on bank accounts or help them decide when to file for Social Security?
• How to create a budget to help prevent them from taking on more debt?
• Who will accompany them to meet with a lawyer to set up an estate plan?
• Who will provide them with financial support to continue living independently?
• Will your parents agree to move in with you for health and financial reasons?
• Who is the designated family member to discuss a parent’s personal affairs with key professionals, such as doctors, financial representatives and Medicare officials?

3. Set a Plan of Action

Once you’ve reached the point where you can talk freely about finances, help your parents take action. Identify the sources of funds and draft a spending plan now and years into the future. For reference, the average cost of assisted living in California is $4,500 / month according to Genworth’s Cost of Care Survey 2019. Below are some questions to help you get a clear view of your parents’ finances.

• Have you done an inventory of Assets vs Liabilities? What does that look like?

• Have you done an assessment of Income vs Expense? What does their monthly expenditure look like?

• What are their financial gaps? And how do you plan to source the funds to close these gaps?
  When will your insurance policies mature? And how do you plan to spend the returns?

4. Review Healthcare Options

Ask your parents if they’ve thought about needing a greater level of healthcare in the future. It may be weighing on their minds. The sooner you can help them start planning for what may lie ahead, the better you’ll all sleep at night.

Health Insurance

Does their employee benefits package include access to a flexible spending account for health care or other financial or tax incentives they aren’t taking advantage of? There may be ways to help your parents save money on their current insurance plan. During the next open enrollment period, review all of the insurance options available with your parents.

Medicaid

In California, we have a more comprehensive “Medi-Cal” program that pays for long-term care and many non-medical support services for seniors who live in their homes. Check if your parents are eligible for Medi-Cal and prepare for a strict qualification process. To learn more about Medi-Cal eligibility and enrollment visit coverdca.com for the most up-to-date information.

Veterans Benefits

If your parent was in the military, learn about their benefits under the VA pension program. More than a third of Americans over the age of 65 are wartime veterans or are spouses of wartime vets. The Aid and Attendance pension under the VA program pays for long term care for senior veterans and their spouses – a significant financial lifeline in case of a health crisis.

5. Prepare to Offer Direct Financial Support

If your parent has exhausted all the available savings, insurance, employment, government benefits and other resources that could provide a financial cushion for the high cost of elder care, you should also consider giving direct financial support. Do everything you can to assist your parents financially while securing yours and your children’s future.

Consider a no-interest loan to your parents even if they don’t have the ability to pay it back. Just keep in mind you may never see the money again. Reach out to siblings and relatives about setting up a fund to support their financial needs.

SOURCE: Women Who Money

What’s next? Consider a Durable Power of Attorney

A Power of Attorney is a legal document that authorizes you to act on your parent’s behalf on a broad range of business and personal matters, for example, handling personal finances.

An ordinary Power of Attorney expires if your parent becomes mentally incapacitated, while a Durable Power of Attorney ensures that you continue to have legal authority to make important decisions when your parent is unable to.

Our elder law experts at Crider Law will help you draft a Durable Power of Attorney and an Estate Plan that fits your parent’s needs. Schedule your free consultation today.

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Planning for the future helps patients and their families cope with the disease to some degree. For example, having a financial plan will enable the person with dementia to live with dignity and comfort in their final years.

Putting a plan together should cover – (1) Medi-Cal Planning for Long-term Care and Well-being; (2) Estate Planning or making arrangements for finances and property and;

(3) Naming a Trustee or appointing another person to make decisions on behalf of the person with dementia.

The sooner that a plan is set into motion, the more likely it is for the person with dementia to be involved in the process. 

Here are some suggested steps to get you started:

1. Assess Legal Capacity

Does the patient with dementia have the mental ability to execute a will? This is called “testamentary capacity” and could be challenged in court when it is suspected that the “testator” — the person who signed the will — lacked the mental capacity at the time to execute it.

Consult a medical professional to ascertain the level of mental capacity required for understanding and executing the documents. It also helps to have a lawyer present to help explain to the testator what is being asked of them before signing it or present alternative legal tools such as a Durable Power of Attorney – the process of appointing an agent to make healthcare decisions on their behalf.

2. Prepare the Documents

If your loved one does not have a will, and there are no signs of dementia, you can simply draft one using an online form in anticipation of the future onset of dementia. But if you have a complicated situation, you may need to prepare the following documents and seek legal advice:

• Itemized list of assets (e.g., bank accounts, contents of safe-deposit boxes, vehicles, real estate), including current value and the individuals listed as owners, account holders and beneficiaries.
• Copies of all estate planning documents, including wills, trusts and powers of attorney.
• Copies of all real estate deeds.
• Copies of recent income tax returns.
• Life insurance policies, including their cash values.
• Long-term care insurance policies or benefits booklets.
• Health insurance policies or benefits booklets.
• List of names, addresses and telephone numbers of those involved in decision- making, including family members, domestic partners and caregivers, as well as financial planners and/or accountants.

3. Prepare a Cost Evaluation for Daily Assistance

Assess the potential cost of caring for a loved one who suffers from dementia, including the benefits from insurance and/or Medi-Cal programs. By the time your parent is in need of daily assistance, you should have the resources available to support their care.

4. Discuss End-of-Life Wishes

It may be a good idea to start the difficult but important conversation with the dementia patient about their end-of-life wishes in anticipation of their future mental decline. Here are suggested points of discussion and decisions to be made to help the patient and their family prepare for the inevitable –

• Decide on the doctors and other healthcare providers.
• Decide on the types of treatments to be administered.
• Decide on the healthcare facilities.
• Appoint the Executor: or the person who will manage the estate.
• Name the Beneficiaries: or the people who will receive the assets in the estate.
• Appoint the Health Care Agent, and a back-up in the event that the original agent is unable to fulfill their responsibilities.
• Decide if the Health Care Agent with power of attorney has authority to consent to an autopsy.
• Decide if the Health Care Agent with power of attorney has authority to refuse or sign a DNR
• Decide on funeral arrangements

What’s Next?

This resource should not be taken as legal advice. Consult our experts at Crider Law to help with guardianship, disability planning and other legal issues that typically affect the elderly. Schedule your free consultation today.

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These days, many singles are planning to marry and have children much later in life. This doesn’t mean that estate planning can be delayed. It is just as important for singles with no children to get started with estate planning early. Here’s why –

What Happens If I Die Intestate?

But If you’re single and suddenly die without leaving a will, the court will distribute your assets and property to your nearest relative. They may be people you don’t know or don’t intend to leave your estate to.

Who Will Inherit My Estate?

1. Your parents
2. Your siblings, or if they have passed away, your nieces/nephews
3. Your grandparents, and if they have passed away, your aunts and/or uncles
4. Any children of your deceased spouse
5. Any relatives of your deceased spouse
6. Your state of legal residence

Whom Do I Want To Inherit My Estate Instead?

• Your romantic partner
• Your business partner
• Your sibling
• Your close friend
• Your trusted employee
• A charity or other organization
• A scholarship or educational institution
• In a trust to care for a minor or a pet

How Do I Get Started With Estate Planning?

1. Identify the Executor of your Last Will and Testament

This person is at the top of the list because they will be responsible for enforcing your plans and your wishes once you have passed away. These plans include finalizing arrangements for the funeral service, up to the distribution and closing of your estate.

2. Identify Your Medical Power of Attorney

In case you have become incapacitated and can’t voice your wishes in a medical crisis, this person will execute your personal health care decisions, or make decisions on your behalf.

3. Identify Your Beneficiaries

These are the people or organizations that you want to bequeath your assets and property after your death

4. Identify a Guardian For Your Pets

It is also important to consider naming a guardian for your beloved pets who will be responsible for their care if you pass away.

5. Identify a Successor Trustee

If you’re setting up a trust, your Successor Trustee will manage your finances and the stewardship of your estate on behalf of a minor beneficiary until they come of age.

What’s Next?

After choosing the various parties in your estate plan, and informing them of your decisions, the next phase of Estate Planning is to draft the legal documents and get your affairs in order.

Our highly experienced team at Crider Law will help you prepare your Last Will and Testament, Power of Attorney, Health Care Directive, Living Trust and End-of-Life Plan and ensure that these guidelines are mapped out for the successful execution of your Estate Plan.

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You have been assigned as a conservator of a person or estate – now what? How is the role defined? What does it do? What are the expectations? These are some of the basic questions that will be covered in this article.

This is not meant to be a do-it-yourself guide to conservatorship. Just a quick introduction to one of the most serious and complex roles that you will undertake. You will most likely be needing the help of a lawyer in order to navigate the legal process which is critical to becoming a successful Conservator.

First, what does Conservatorship mean?

Under U.S. law, conservatorship is the appointment of a guardian or a protector by a judge to manage the financial affairs and/or daily life of another person due to old age or physical or mental limitations. A person under conservatorship is a “conservatee”, a term that can refer to an adult.

Who Needs Conservatorship?

Many elderly people (and some younger people) who are mentally or physically disabled, whether permanently or temporarily – need some form of conservatorship to live the best life possible.

 Some conservatees can no longer shop for food or cook; others need help bathing and dressing. Some need medical care or help cleaning the house. Others can’t drive and need help getting around. Some conservatees are isolated and need social activities and contact with other people.

 Other conservatees can’t keep track of their money or remember to pay their bills. Some give away large sums of money to their relatives, people they think are friends, or even strangers; others need help managing their investments.

What are the types of Conservatorship?

1. General Conservatorships are for adults who can’t handle their own finances or care for themselves. These conservatees are often older people with limitations caused by aging, but they also may be younger people who have been seriously impaired—as the result of an auto accident, for example.

2. Limited Conservatorships are for adults with developmental disabilities who cannot fully care for themselves or their property, but who do not need the higher level of care or help given under a general conservatorship. Developmental disabilities include mental retardation, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, and autism that began before age 18. They also include conditions that are similar to mental retardation or that require similar treatment. For someone with more extensive developmental disabilities, the court may decide to appoint a general conservator.

3. Temporary Conservatorships may be necessary when a person needs immediate help, usually during the time between the filing of a petition for appointment of a general or limited conservator and the court hearing on that petition. A judge may appoint a temporary conservator of the person or of the estate, or both, for a specific period until a general or limited conservator can be appointed. A temporary conservator arranges for temporary care, protection, and support of the conservatee, and protection of the conservatee’s property from loss or damage, during the limited period of his or her appointment.

What is a Conservator?

A conservator is an individual or organization, chosen through a legal process, to protect and manage the personal care or finances—or both—of a person who has been found by a judge or a jury to be unable to manage his or her own affairs. That person is called the conservatee.

Who can be appointed as a Conservator?

A conservator might be the conservatee’s wife, husband, domestic partner, daughter, son, mother, father, brother, sister, other relative, or friend. If there is no suitable relative or friend who is willing or able to serve, the conservator might be a professional fiduciary or a county agency called a public guardian or public conservator.

How Do You Work with the Conservatee?

Let the conservatee have as much independence as he or she can handle. You should involve the conservatee as much as possible in your decisions. When you must decide for the conservatee, try to make choices that respect the conservatee’s stated preferences, personal independence, dignity, and lifestyle.

Remember, though, that in the end, you are the decision maker, and the court will hold you responsible.

What is the core responsibility of a Conservator?

The court and the conservatee are trusting you as a conservator, to follow the law and to act in the conservatee’s best interests. You should make choices that align with the conservatee’s capabilities and wishes; that support, encourage, and assist the conservatee.

 As a conservator, you are authorized to make many decisions for the conservatee, but there are situations that may require you to ask the court for instructions or for approval before you act. Your lawyer will help you prepare and file a petition whenever you need or want to ask for court approval for a specific action.

What are your duties as Conservator of the Estate?

• You manage the conservatee’s finances.
• You locate and take control of the conservatee’s assets.
• You collect income due the conservatee.
• You make a budget to show what the conservatee can afford.
• You pay the conservatee’s bills.
• You invest the conservatee’s money.
• You protect the conservatee’s assets.
• You account to the court and to the conservatee for your manage- ment of the conservatee’s assets.

What are your duties as Conservator of a Person’s Assets?

• Locate and take control of the assets and make sure they are adequately protected against loss.
• Make an inventory of the assets for the court.
• Collect all of the conservatee’s income and other money due and
  apply for government benefits to which the conservatee is entitled.
• Make a budget for the conservatee, working with the conservator of the person, or if there isn’t one, working with the conservatee or his or her caregiver.
• Pay the conservatee’s bills and expenses on time and in line with the budget you have made.
• Keep track of how a trustee, spouse or domestic partner, or other party is managing any of the conservatee’s assets in his or her control.
• Invest the estate assets and income in safe investments that will meet the conservatee’s needs and the court’s requirements. You should consult with your lawyer concerning any investments of the conservatorship estate. Some investments require prior court approval or may not be authorized under any circumstances.
• Periodically account to the court and to other interested persons about income coming into the estate, expenditures, and the remaining conservatorship property.
• Prepare a final report and accounting of the estate when the conservatorship ends.
• Distribute the conservatee’s property remaining in your hands to the conservatee, if he or she has been restored to capacity; to a successor conservator appointed by the court if you resign or are removed as conservator; or to the personal representative of the conservatee’s decedent estate or other successor in interest, if he or she has died.

What are the Rights of the Conservatee?

1. The Right to Question – The conservatee has the right to ask questions, to express concerns and complaints about the conservatorship and your actions as conservator.

2. The Right to Take Court Action – The conservatee may ask the court to review your handling of the conservatorship if disputes can’t be worked out between you.

Even if the conservatee does not take direct action, the court will periodically send a court investigator to see the conservatee, to inquire about his or her circumstances and desires, and to advise the conservatee of his or her rights. The court may also appoint a lawyer to represent the conservatee.

3. The Right to Personal Freedoms – The conservatee keeps the right to exercise “personal rights,” including—but not limited to—the right to receive visitors, telephone calls, and personal mail (unless these rights are specifically limited by court order).

4. The Right to Enforce Rights – The conservatee can grant you the power to enforce their rights against others—for example, the administrators of a care facility where the conservatee resides.

How do you apply as a Conservator?

Before you may begin to handle the conservatee’s affairs, you must take certain steps to qualify as a conservator

1. Completing a Letter of Conservatorship, a document stating the terms and conditions of the conservatorship

2. Signing an acknowledgment that you received a statement describing the duties and liabilities of the office of conservator,

3. Obtaining a bond, when one is required (a bond is required in most cases to guarantee proper performance of the duties of the conservator of the estate)

4. Signing an oath, or affirmation, that you will perform your duties as conservator according to the law (this affirmation is part of the Letters of Conservatorship); and

filing these papers with the court clerk

5. Securing a hearing date with a judge who must approve and sign the documents in order to make your appointment as Conservator official.

What’s Next?

We understand that your decision to become a Conservator is not an easy one to make. We at Crider Law can hold your hand through this process by first giving you the right tools and information. Book your free consultation meeting and we’ll help you apply for conservatorship as timely and as efficiently as possible.

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Heirs vs Beneficiaries – What’s the difference?

If we go by the above definitions, it is correct to say that “not all heirs are beneficiaries” as in the case of a decedent’s children who are intentionally left out of a will. The statement “not all beneficiaries are heirs” is also true. For example, a friend or a non-relative may be entitled to receive property as specified in the decedent’s will.

But if a person dies intestate, friends and non-relatives are not entitled to the decedent’s property because they are not “heirs”.

What are the types of heirs?

1. Heirs-at-Law

Surviving spouses and children are first to qualify as direct heirs-at-law in California’s Intestate Succession which orders the priority of heirs on how closely they are related to the decedent. Grandchildren would qualify as direct heirs only if their parents are deceased.

2. Collateral Heirs

The decedent’s parents, siblings, grandparents, and other relatives are next in line from the heirs-at-law to inherit property in case there are no surviving spouses, children, or grandchildren. They are considered “collateral heirs” because they could only claim inheritance if there were no living direct descendants.

3. Unknown Heirs

In cases where a decedent has no known heirs-at-law, California requires that a special notice be run in the newspaper so that individuals who believe that they are related to the deceased can come forward and be recognized. They will undergo a court process to establish heirship which would then entitle them to inherit the decedent’s property. If no heirs are identified, the decedent’s assets and property would go to the state.

Breaking Down Heirship in Children

The simple term “children” can mean different things in establishing legal heirs especially now that blended families are the norm. Below is a quick breakdown of how children are recognized as heirs-at-laws in California in the absence of a legal will.

1. Natural Children

In California intestate law, the biological children of a deceased person, regardless of the marital status of their parents, have the strongest rights to inheritance because they are direct bloodline descendants.

2. Adopted Children

Legally adopted children have the same inheritance rights as biological children do in the absence of a will or estate plan.

3. Step-Children

In California, stepchildren can inherit from an estate if there is no will provided that there are no other close relatives alive, e.g. children, parents, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc.

4. Children Adopted by Another Family

A child given up for adoption severs the legal ties with its birth parents and can no longer qualify for inheritance under intestate succession laws.

5. Children Adopted by a Stepparent

In California, children adopted by a stepparent may still inherit property from their birth parents.

6. Foster Children

In the absence of a will, foster children don’t inherit property from foster parents as “children”.

Beneficiaries and Estate Planning

These guidelines on legal heirs only apply to persons who pass away without a will. Laying these out, hopefully gives you an idea of how the court would decide on your behalf. You can, however, purposely distribute your assets and property to your intended beneficiaries by doing some estate planning.

Start taking action with your estate planning by booking your free consultation with our team at Crider Law.