Read more about the article How Does Estate Planning Work for Caregiving Children? Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

How Does Estate Planning Work for Caregiving Children? Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

This situation requires considered estate planning to protect the arrangement, both for the parent and child, in the event of the parent’s incapacity and what may happen, if and when the parent needs to move to a care facility and/or passes away.

If the child is caring for the parent at the parent’s home, the parent’s estate planning often gives the child the ability to remain at the parent’s residence. It may also allow the child to access the parent’s bank accounts, if the parent becomes mentally incapacitated. A recent article from Lake County Record-Bee, “Estate planning for parents with caregiver children,” says if the planning is not done correctly, a series of unintended problems may arise, including disagreements with other family members and allegations of elder abuse, especially financial abuse.

Agreed-upon terms of any living arrangement should be included in the parent’s estate planning documents. If the parent has a living trust, the trust may allow the child to remain in the family home, so the document must clearly state the terms of the living arrangement. If the parents live in a rental property, the POA may be used to authorize the child’s continued occupancy and use of the parent’s money to pay household expenses. The rental agreement would need to include the child as a tenant.

What if the parent lives in the child’s home? The child’s estate plan would need to reflect on what terms the parent may remain in the child’s house, if the child were to become incapacitated or die unexpectedly. Consideration would also need to be given to how the parents receive care.

If the parent dies or moves into a nursing home or when the child moves out, the arrangement ends. What happens next? It depends on the situation. The parent may leave the residence to the adult care giver child. The following also to be addressed: how are expenses, including the mortgage, to be paid and is there an expressed transition period before the child moves out?

If the parent intends to leave the family home to the adult care giver, the estate planning documents need to gift the residence to the adult caregiver. This may include lifetime gifting, or it may entail renting the residence to provide income for the parent’s needs.

If there are siblings, or a spouse from a second marriage, the estate planning documents need to say whether and how other family members participate in the residence. The parents may want to gift the residence to all children, subject to an exclusive life estate for the care giver to live in the family home. When the care giver child becomes incapacitated or dies, the family home is usually sold, and the sale proceeds divided between the parent’s living descendants.

Something to be careful about: if the caregiver child is treated more favorably than siblings. While the parents are entitled to make their own decisions about how to distribute assets, a disgruntled sibling may object to how assets are distributed. An estate planning attorney will be able to formally document the parent’s wishes and prepare the estate for any challenges.

Finally, if no advance planning is done, it is possible the parent may end up needing a guardian and conservator to care for their finances and their well-being, respectively, if they become incapacitated. This becomes an expensive situation, and the result of court-supervised administrators may not agree with how the parent wished their affairs to be handled.

Contact us to review your estate plans with one of our experienced estate planning attorneys.

Reference: Lake County Record-Bee (Feb. 4, 2023) “Estate planning for parents with caregiver children”

 

Sims & Campbell, LLC – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning Attorneys

Is There Estate Tax on the Property I Inherited? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

The vast majority of those who inherit real estate don’t end up paying any taxes on the property. However, there are some instances where estate or inheritance taxes could be assessed on inherited real estate. Motley Fool’s recent article, “Do You Have to Pay Estate Tax on Real Estate You Inherit?” provides a rundown of how estate taxes work in the U.S. and what it means to you if you inherit or are gifted real estate assets.

An estate tax is a tax applied on property transfers at death. A gift tax is a tax levied on property transfers while both parties are alive. An inheritance tax is assessed on the individual who inherits the property. For real estate purposes, you should also know that this includes money and property, and real estate is valued based on the fair market value at the time of the decedent’s death.

Most Americans don’t have to worry about estate taxes because we’re allowed to exclude a certain amount of assets from our taxable estates, which is called the lifetime exemption. This amount is adjusted for inflation over time and is $11.58 million per person for 2020. Note that estate taxes aren’t paid by people who inherit the property but are paid directly by the estate before it is distributed to the heirs.

The estate and gift taxes in the U.S. are part of a unified system. The IRS allows an annual exclusion amount that exempts many gifts from any potential transfer tax taxation. In 2020, it’s $15,000 per donor, per recipient. Although money (or assets) exceeding this amount in a given year is reported as a taxable gift, doesn’t mean you’ll need to pay tax on them. However, taxable gifts do accumulate from year to year and count toward your lifetime exclusion. If you passed away in 2020, your lifetime exclusion will be $11.58 million for estate tax purposes.

If you’d given $3 million in taxable gifts during your lifetime, you’ll only be able to exclude $8.58 million of your assets from estate taxation. You’d only be required to pay any gift taxes while you’re alive, if you use up your entire lifetime exemption. If you have given away $11 million prior to 2020 and you give away another $1 million, it would trigger a taxable gift to the extent that your new gift exceeds the $11.58 million threshold.

There are a few special rules to understand, such as the fact that you can give any amount to your spouse in most cases, without any gift or estate tax. Any amount given to charity is also free of gift tax and doesn’t count toward your lifetime exemption. Higher education expenses are free of gift and estate tax consequences provided the payment is made directly to the school. Medical expense payments are free of gift and estate tax consequences, if the payment is made directly to the health care provider.

Remember that some states also have their own estate and/or inheritance taxes that you might need to consider.

States that have an estate tax include Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. The states with an inheritance tax are Iowa, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Maryland has both an estate and an inheritance tax. However, there are very few situations when you would personally have to pay tax on inherited real estate.

Estate tax can be a complex issue, so speak with a qualified estate planning attorney.

Reference: Motley Fool (December 11, 2019) “Do You Have to Pay Estate Tax on Real Estate You Inherit?”

Sims & Campbell, LLC – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning Attorneys

Caring for Parents – 4 Alternatives to Nursing Home Care – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

As our parents continue to advance in years, questions about how best to care for them often come up, especially around the holidays. Maybe they’re slowing down a bit. Perhaps their memory is slipping. Is it time to shop for nursing homes? Maybe. However, there are alternatives to consider, when it comes to caring for aging parents.

Alternative #1 – In-Home Care

According to studies of aging Americans, this population prefers to remain in their own homes, if possible. They want to retain their personal autonomy, have familiar surroundings, and mostly—they don’t want to be filed away and forgotten. Most seniors that choose to remain in the home are cared for by family, and to a lesser extent, professional home healthcare workers.

While in-home care can be less expensive than a semi-or private-unit in a nursing home, it does have its downsides. This is particularly true, when it is a family member that is providing care. A sense of inequality often arises in the family dynamic, when one person is taking on all of the caregiving duties. When considering in-home care, it is critical to communicate with all family members and come up with an agreement, as to the division of labor for mom and dad.

Alternative #2 – Adult Daycare

Adult daycare may be used as an alternative to nursing home care, or in concert with in-home care. These types of centers enable elderly members to maintain a sense of community. These community centers are growing in popularity, due to the reduced cost of care, which is more than 50% less, according to the MetLife National Study of Adult Day Services. Studies have also shown that these types of facilities improve quality of life in older adults and their caregivers.

Adult daycare centers provide social activities, door-to-door transportation services, meals and snacks, assistance with activities of daily living and other therapeutic services, as needed. There are even specialized facilities for people with dementia or other developmental disabilities.

Alternative #3 – Assisted Living Communities

If the family home has become a hazardous environment for your aging parents, the next step could be an assisted living community. This type of facility offers some of the autonomy that the older “young-at-heart” family members still crave, while offering a scaled level of service onsite. These communities can provide:

  • Transportation
  • Medication Management
  • Healthcare monitoring
  • Entertainment
  • Community Activities
  • Help with Activities of Daily Living
  • Housekeeping
  • Laundry Services

These facilities are more affordable than nursing homes and offer active older people the assistance they need, while encouraging autonomy.

Alternative #4 – Accessory Dwelling Units

Bridging the gap between in-home care and other offsite care facilities, the accessory dwelling unit can be a viable option for those with property that will accommodate an extra unit. Also referred to as “granny flats,” these smaller dwellings provide privacy and autonomy for an aging parent, while also providing proximity of family and caregivers.

Depending on the layout of your property, units may be built over garages or adjacent to the family home. Costs vary by location, property and needs. However, in the long-run it may be less expensive than full-time nursing home care.

Before deciding to place family members in a nursing home, do your research. There are plenty of alternatives out there that may be more affordable and socially-preferable to nursing home life.

Resources:

ElderLawAnswers. “Alternatives to Nursing Home Care” (Accessed November 28, 2019) https://www.elderlawanswers.com/elder-law-guides/7/alternatives-to-nursing-home-care

National Adult Day Services Association. “Comparing Long Term Care Services” (Accessed November 28, 2019) https://www.nadsa.org/

Caring on Demand. “7 Alternatives to Nursing Homes” Accessed November 28, 2019) https://www.caringondemand.com/blog/alternatives-nursing-homes

Sims & Campbell, LLC – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning Attorneys

Selling a Parent’s Home after They Pass – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

Family members who are overtaken with grief are often unable to move forward and make decisions. If a house was not being well maintained while the parent was ill or aging, it might fall into further disrepair. When siblings have emotional attachments to the family home, says the article “With proper planning, selling a parent’s house can be a relatively painless process,” from The Washington Post, things can get even more complicated.

The difficulty of selling a parent’s home after their passing, depends to a large degree on what kind of advance planning has taken place. Much also depends on the heir’s ability to ask for help and working with the right professionals in handling the sale of the home and managing the estate. The earlier the process begins, the better.

Parents can take steps while they are still living to ward off unnecessary complications. It may be a difficult conversation but having it will make the process easier and allow the family time to focus on their emotions, rather than the sale of property. Here are a few pointers:

Make sure your parents have a will. Many Americans do not. A survey from Caring.com found that only 42% of American adults had a will and other estate planning documents.

Be prepared to spend some money. Before a home is sold, there may be costs associated with maintaining the property and fixing any overdue repairs. Save all receipts and estimates.

Secure the property immediately. That may mean having the locks changed as soon as possible. Once an heir (or someone who believes they are or should be an heir) moves in, getting them out adds another layer of complications.

Get real about the value of the property. Have a real estate agent run a competitive market analysis on the property and consider an appraisal from a licensed appraisal. Avoid any accusations of impropriety—don’t hire a friend or family member. This needs to be all business.

Designate a contact person, usually the executor, to keep the heirs updated on how the sale of the house is progressing.

The biggest roadblock to selling the family house is often the emotional attachment of the children. It’s hard to clean out a family home, with all of the mementos, large and small. The longer the process takes, the harder it is.

This is not the time for any major renovations. There may be some cosmetic repairs that will make the house more marketable, but substantial improvements won’t impact the sale price. Remove all family belongings and show the house either empty or with professional staging to show its possibilities. Clean carpets, paint, if needed and have the landscaping cleaned up.

Keep tax consequences in mind. Depending on where the property is, where the heirs live and how much money is being inherited, there can be estate, inheritance and income taxes.  It is usually best to sell an inherited property, as soon as the rights to it are received. When a property is inherited at death, the property value is “stepped up” to fair market value at the time of the owner’s death. That means that you can sell a property that was purchased in 1970 but not pay taxes on the value gained over those years.

Talk with an experienced estate planning attorney about what will happen when the home needs to be sold. It may be better for parents to create a revocable trust in advance, which will direct the sale, allow a child to continue living in the home for a certain period of time, or instruct the one child who loves the home so much to buy it from the trust. Trusts are typically easier to administer after parents pass away and can be very helpful in preventing family fights.

Reference: The Washington Post (May 16, 2019) “With proper planning, selling a parent’s house can be a relatively painless process”

Sims & Campbell, LLC – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning Attorneys