Syracuse Elder Law Blog

When people in Onondaga County think about the future, it can be important to make preparations to protect one's assets and one's loved ones. However, despite the importance of estate planning to meet those goals, at least 40 percent of older Americans do not have basic documents in place that can help them ensure their financial and health matters are addressed if they become incapacitated or pass away. When people don't have the framework in place to protect themselves, they can become more vulnerable to those with ill intent; 20 percent of Americans over 65 are the victims of financial abuse.

There are several key estate planning documents that everyone should have on hand, including a will, a power of attorney for financial issues, an advance health care directive and a health care power of attorney. A will directs how property will be passed on after the person passes away, while the other three documents can help people to make important decisions in case a person is incapacitated. These can include making key health care and financial decisions, so it is important to designate a trusted person with these responsibilities.

Many New York residents are prone to making mistakes when creating wills and other estate planning documents. Unfortunately, these mistakes can result in larger tax bills or family members being denied inheritances. One common mistake is not naming a contingent beneficiary on a retirement or insurance account. Failing to name a contingent beneficiary means that the asset will go directly to the estate itself. That could mean leaving it exposed to creditor claims or a probate court.

It is also a good idea to name multiple beneficiaries to an asset. This can prevent legal issues if the primary beneficiary also dies. If money is left directly to a minor, there should be clear limitations as to how the cash can be used. Otherwise, a parent or whoever is handling the money on behalf of the child or grandchild could use it in opposition to the deceased person's wishes.

You knew your parents to be intelligent and financially savvy all their lives. You went to them when you had a question about a home loan or another difficult monetary issue. As such, you felt confused and frightened when you found out they were recently taken advantage of by a telephone scammer – a common ruse that both of your parents should have been able to see through. This is unfortunately not an uncommon issue for many New York residents. Senior citizens are frequent targets of scammers and other dishonest people.

Why is this so, you may wonder? You would hope that financial scams against vulnerable senior citizens are few and far between, since someone would have to be particularly unscrupulous to steal from the elderly. However, the National Adult Protective Services Association reports that one out of 20 senior Americans is a financial abuse victim. Many thieves and scammers see them as easy targets because elderly people may be naïve to new and sophisticated con methods. They may also suffer from cognitive decline due to Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and other age-related conditions.

According to a survey from Wells Fargo, 20 percent of Americans who are 65 or older become victims of financial abuse. However, only 10 percent of people in that age group think that it can happen to them. Older New York residents may be more vulnerable to such abuse if they lack estate plan documents that can help manage their finances if they are incapacitated.

Ideally, these documents will be kept someplace that is both secure and accessible to family members such as an online server. When preparing an estate plan, it is a good idea to create a set of priorities and start working on those items first. For instance, a person's top priorities could be writing a will, naming beneficiaries and titling assets properly. Powers of attorney for both health care and financial matters are among the most important estate plan documents a person should have according to Wells Fargo.