Legal Checkup Seminar 2/10/2008

Presented by Jay Goodman, Esq.

2019 Galisteo, Suite C-3 Tel: 505. 989.8117Santa Fe, NM 87505 Fax: 505. 989.3440

http://www.jaygoodman.com jay@jaygoodman.com

Seminar Goals

♦ Help you to better understand Estate Planning within the context of your overall life plan.

♦ Help you in deciding which plan would be best for you.

Legal Notices

These materials are copyrighted and all rights are reserved. These materials my not be reproduced in any way without the written permission of Jay Goodman, Esq. This seminar is designed to provide general information on the seminar topic presented. As such, this material is not intended to provide legal advice tailored to individual circumstances. Accordingly, you should seek qualified legal advice for individual circumstances.

Agenda

♦ Essential Records♦ Power Of Attorney♦ Advance Directives♦ Will & Trusts♦ Joint Ownership♦ Other Estate Planning Topics

Personal Records

♦ Birth/Adoption♦ Death♦ Marriage/Divorce♦ Citizenship♦ Property♦ Insurance♦ Military♦ Tax♦ Others?

What is the impact on your life plan, estate, and your beneficiaries if you do not have your personal records organized and communicated to at least one trusted person?

How To Get Vital Records:

♦ 1. First call U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (800) 311-3435.

♦ 2. Then ask for the publication entitled “Where to write for Vital Records.”– OR

How to get Vital Records continued:♦ Log on to the National Center For Health

Statistics located at www.cdc.gov/nchs to download the vital records publication or to locate the contact information for local state offices.

Financial Records (save them for at least 6 years or indefinitely)♦ Bank Records♦ Deeds♦ Insurance Policies♦ Investments♦ Tax Returns♦ Pension Plan Information

Power Of Attorney Quiz

♦ 1.) I must appoint a lawyer as my “attorney-in-fact.” – True or False

♦ 2.) If I have more than one child, I should appoint all of them as “co-attorneys-in-fact.”– True or False

♦ 3.) If I appoint an “attorney-in-fact,” I lose my right to handle my own affairs. – True or False

Power Of Attorney Quiz

♦ 4.) My “attorney-in-fact” can not be held personally liable for my debts. – True or False

♦ 5.) The person I designate as the executor in my Will has automatic legal authority to be my “attorney-in-fact” if I become disabled during my lifetime. – True or False

Power Of Attorney

♦ Why?♦ What Types?

– General– Limited– Financial– Health Care

Compare

♦ HCPOA (Health Care Power of Attorney)– Choose an agent– Ordinary health care

and/or Financial Decisions

♦ Living Will (Advanced Health Care Directive)– Give specific

directions– Health Care and End-

of-life decisions

If I don’t have a Will or Substitute Estate Plan, who gets my property when I die?

♦ Your spouse,♦ Your children and/or grandchildren,♦ Your parents,♦ Your brothers & sisters,♦ Your grandparents,

If I have No Will or Estate Plan or No Relatives, What Happens?

♦ Escheat-The State of New Mexico may be entitled to your estate if you have no living relatives!!!

Should you have a Will or the Equivalent?♦ You build a life time building human

relationships and financial wherewithal. Estate Planning maintains your life values after your death.

♦ Simple Wills and Revocable Wills are extremely inexpensive to draft.

♦ Avoid intestate succession.♦ Avoid irrevocable family conflict.♦ Avoid escheatment to the state.

What is the similarities and differences between Wills and Living Trusts?♦ Both Wills and Living Trusts provide

instructions on distribution of assets and handling of debts.

♦ Wills provide instruction to your personal representative and to a Probate Judge.

♦ Living Trusts are designed to avoid and minimize Court involvement.

Should I Have A Living Trust?

♦ PROS♦ Control. Revocable at any

time prior to death/incapacity

♦ Avoids probate and attendant costs

♦ Administer property within one document

♦ Faster distribution to heirs than wills.

♦ Often no large estate tax♦ Privacy

♦ CONS♦ Expensive to draft

Living Trust Cont’d

♦ Can protect Children from a Prior Marriage♦ Can ensure that your wishes are carried out

and are not subject to attack.♦ Can alleviate conflict and difficult decision

making for your loved-ones.♦ Can protect a special needs person.♦ Peace of mind.

Joint Ownership

♦ Tenancy-by-entirety♦ Joint Tenancy with

rights of survivorship♦ Tenancy-in-common

♦ Issues to consider:♦ 1. You want to sell♦ 2. One of the owners

dies♦ 3. You are sued♦ 4. Judgment entered

against property

The Af terlife♦ The Probate Process is designed to wrap-up the

final affairs of a deceased in an orderly fashion.♦ A Summary of Basic Procedures:

– Informal Probate vs. Formal Probate– Informal Probate (uncontested):

• 1) Appointment of a Personal Representative.• 2) Notice of Personal Representative.• 3) Notice to Creditors.• 4) Gather and List Assets of the Estate.• 5) Determine Debts and satisfy valid ones.• 6) Close the Estate and Probate Action.

Questions to Lawyer submitted by you:♦ 1. What can I do to protect ensure fairness and

equality among my children once I pass?♦ 2. How do I ensure that my children respect my

end-of-life care wishes? ♦ 3. Do I need life insurance or are my real property

assets and savings enough?♦ 4. Besides a living trust or will, what are other

ways to pass assets to beneficiaries? For instance, what are the advantages and disadvantages of Payable on Death (POD) accounts?

♦ 5. As a new resident to New Mexico from out-of-state, and having had done estate planning there, what are the necessary procedures to conform my estate planning with New Mexico law?

Questions Continued♦ 6. First, related to health care records in general- how do we ensure that medical

personnel (hospitals, doctors, insurance companies, etc) will release data to one of us when the other is unavailable to ask? It is rather troubling to be sent an Explanation of Benefits, then be told the company cannot discuss the matter due to privacy issues.

♦ 7. Page 51 of the workbook discusses advance health care directives and health care

powers of attorney. How can these be utilized if one is not dealing with one’s Primary Care Physician (PCP)? For example, if we are anywhere other than Los Alamos and my spouse needs to issue instructions for my care per a directive that was given to our PCP- how can she do it? Do we have to carry copies everywhere we go?

♦ 8. Please explain the different kinds of trusts more, especialy revocable trusts.

♦ 9. What is HIPPA on page 51?

♦ 10. Many retirees from Los Alamos National Lab had their personal data (SS#, date of birth, etc.) compromised. What can we do to avoid identity theft?

Additional Resources

♦ New Mexico Statutes Annotated http://www.conwaygreene.com/nmsu/lpext.dll?f=templates&fn=main-h.htm&2.0

♦ American Bar Association http://www.abanet.org/♦ AARP Legal Services Network

https://www.aarplsnbyge.com/lsn/home.do♦ INS http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis♦ Federal and Bankruptcy Court Information

http://www.nmcourt.fed.us/web/index.htm

Additional Resources Continued

♦ HSD http://www.hsd.state.nm.us/♦ IRS http://www.irs.gov/♦ SS http://www.ssa.gov/♦ HIPPA http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/♦ Privacy http://www.lawyersandhipaa.com/508.htm♦ US Code (Federal Statutes)

http://uscode.house.gov/search/criteria.shtml♦ NM Department of Aging and Long Term Care Assistance

http://www.nmaging.state.nm.us/♦ NM Supreme Court Law Library http://fscll.org/♦ First Judicial District Court

http://www.firstdistrictcourt.com/

Additional Resources Continued

♦ Credit Reports http://annualCreditReport.com♦ Identity Theft Issues

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/♦ The big 3 credit reporting agencieshttp://www.equifax.com/home/http://www.experian.comhttp://www.transunion.com

Miscellaneous

♦ Sex Offender Registry http://www.nmsexoffender.dps.state.nm.us/

♦ Los Alamos National Bank http://www.lanb.com/

♦ Los Alamos chamber of Commerce http://losalamoschamber.com/lachamber/main.asp?AdminType=2&AdminId=144

♦ SF Chamber of Commerce http://www.santafechamber.com

Time to Smell the Roses

THANK YOU!

Presented by Jay Goodman

-of-

2019 Galisteo, Suite C-3 Tel: 505. 989.8117

Santa Fe, NM 87505 Fax: 505. 989.3440

http://www.jaygoodman.com

jay@jaygoodman.com