It is called dying “Intestate”

This is particularly important for people who are married and have children from previous relationships.

If the decedent has children from a previous relationship, the surviving spouse’s share of the intestate estate is one-half.

If the decedent and the surviving spouse have children together and the surviving spouse has children that are not children of the decedent, the surviving spouse’s share of the intestate estate is one-half.

Being “married”, and owning property together does not change the intestate inheritance rules in Florida.

An Affidavit of Heirship is required on all Intestate court proceedings.
This is a multipage affidavit document that you must prepare and swear oath to for the court. The document is a list of the names, ages, addresses, or if deceased, the date of death, of all the relatives of the decedent. This list includes grandparents, parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, children, grandchildren, and any previous spouses to the decedent. These relatives may be heirs at law. Quite often, we have clients who are unable to provide the details required for this affidavit. These clients incur the additional cost of an heir search that must be done to complete the document. These issues cause increased delay in settling the estate.

These Probate rules apply to Homestead Property.

These issues cause elevated stress and additional grief to surviving spouses.

HERE ARE FOUR THINGS TO PREPARE FOR A VISIT TO AN ATTORNEY:

1. Make a list of all your assets. Be sure your list includes everything you own.
Examples: Bank accounts, investment accounts, retirement accounts such as IRAs, 401Ks, all property owned in part or in full, boats, automobiles, life insurance policies, businesses, patents, debts owed to you.

2. Choose a successor trustee to manage your property if you become unable to do so due to illness or mental
incapacity. Choose someone you trust 100%.

3. Choose the beneficiaries who will inherit your property after you die.

4. Choose a guardian for your minor child(ren) and/or for your pet(s)
* You will be the Settlor, the Trustee, and the Beneficiary of your Trust.

*  You are the Beneficiary for as long as you live. After you die, the Beneficiary(s) is/are whomever you name
in the Trust document.

* Typically, the Revocable Trust becomes Irrevocable upon your death and the Successor Trustee Distributes the Trust property according to the terms that you detailed in the Trust document.

* A Trust gives you the ability to make provisions for beneficiaries whom you do not wish to give a large lump sum to. You can make provisions that direct them to receive smaller amounts over time. The Trustee(s) or Successor Trustee(s) would administer the Trust property according to the directions that you have given in the Trustdocument.

Once the Trust is fully executed, appropriate assets are re-titled to your Trust. You continue to own them as Trustee of your Trust. If you become incapable of managing your Trust assets, your successor Trustee would take over for you
under the terms described in the Trust document.

A Trust document along with a Durable Power of Attorney and Medical Power of Attorney provide the necessary elements to avoid Guardianship proceedings if you become physically and/or mentally incapable of managing your own assets and caring for yourself.

After passing away, assets titled to a revocable trust can be administered without the need for protracted and expensive probate proceedings.

Diana Mangsen focuses her practice as an elder law attorney in Clearwater, Palm Harbor, Largo, Dunedin and the Tampa Bay area.

For more information, visit our website at
https://www.mangsenlaw.com/
or call (727) 888-6282.

There are several types of trusts. Some examples are:

Special Needs Trust (SNT): Also called a Supplemental Needs Trust. One must never leave a lump sum inheritance to a recipient of Public Benefits such as SSI or Medicaid. They may lose the SSI and/or Medicaid benefits and the amount inherited is subject to Medicaid Recovery. However, it is permissible to provide inheritance to an adult with special needs using a SNT.

Testamentary Trust: A Trust created by your Will. A Testamentary Trust does not exist until you die, and your Will indicates the Trust to begin. It is possible to create an SNT this way.

Pooled Trust: Helps people with disabilities qualify for programs such as SSI and Medicaid by placing their assets which are over the limit into a pooled trust.

Irrevocable Trust: Cannot be changed, reversed, or recovered; final. Example, IrrevocableBurial Trusts are a useful tool for Medicaid Planning purposes.

Other examples: Charitable Trust, Constructive Trust, Spendthrift Trust, Tax By-Pass Trust.

Revocable (Inter-Vivos) Living Trust: This is a common estate planning Trust

A living trust is created to provide you with the tools to manage your assets while you are alive and seamless distribution of your assets after you die. Along with Power of Attorney documents this is a good tool to use to avoid both Guardianship and Probate proceedings.

Diana Mangsen focuses her practice as an elder law attorney in Clearwater, Palm Harbor, Largo, Dunedin and the Tampa Bay area.

For more information, visit our website at
https://www.mangsenlaw.com/
or call (727) 888-6282.

Who will make healthcare decisions for you when you cannot make them for yourself?”
“Who will pay your bills and manage your money if you cannot do that for yourself?”
“Who will apply for public benefits such as Medicaid for you if you cannot do that for yourself?”

Be aware that people who do not have legal documents in place when they become ill suffer tragic consequences.

During my years of practice as a Registered Nurse, I was required to provide CPR and other life saving measures to people which only served to prolong their pain and the natural process of dying. Things such as ventilators for breathing and tube feedings. When no documents are in place, the health care provider has no choice but to exercise
all efforts to preserve life.

Family members of the ill person are unequipped and confused about what is the right thing to do when their loved one can no longer verbalize their own wishes. I have sat with individuals who were required to make decisions who still suffer guilt, anxiety, and a deep sense of remorse because they are not certain that they made the right decisions
for their loved ones in the end or worse, they were not able to make decisions for their loved one because they did not have the legal authority to do so.

Financial difficulties which can be catastrophic arise when patients in need of public benefits such as Medicaid have not appointed a Power of Attorney to handle these matters for them. Sometimes life-long family hurts and feuds result when adult children or spouses do not agree on the course of care for a parent and there is no document
giving authority to any of them.

Estate Planning is thought of as planning for your assets after death. Key to this planning is having legal documents prepared that appoint the person who will assist you while you are still alive. I cannot stress this enough. All too often people who neglect this aspect of their planning end up requiring Court appointed Guardians and Court
proceedings to manage their care. Terri Schiavo is just one example of many.

Health Care Power of Attorney: Appoint the Person most able to make decisions in accordance with your own wishes.

Advance Directives: Give the Health Care Power of Attorney written directions as to your wishes.

Durable Power of Attorney: Appoint the Person and give them the authority to handle your financial affairs as needed while you are still alive but unable to do this yourself. This includes long-term care provisions required for Medicaid and other public benefit applications.

Do not leave these matters to chance. If you do, you and your loved ones will pay the price of the consequences.

Diana Mangsen focuses her practice as an elder law attorney in Clearwater, Palm Harbor, Largo, Dunedin and the Tampa Bay area.

For more information, visit our website at
https://www.mangsenlaw.com/
or call (727) 888-6282.

Probate is a court-supervised process for gathering the assets of a deceased person (decedent), paying the decedent’s debts, and distributing the decedent’s assets to his or her beneficiaries. The Florida Probate Code is found in Chapters 731 through 735 of the Florida Statutes, and the rules governing Florida probate proceedings are found in the Florida Probate Rules, Part I and Part II (Rules 5.010-5.530).

There are two types of probate administration under Florida law: formal administration and summary administration. Probate assets are those assets that the decedent owned in his or her sole name at death, or that were owned by the decedent and one or more co-owners and lacked a provision for automatic succession of ownership at death.

Probate assets include, but are not limited to, the following:

•  A bank account or investment account in the sole name of a decedent.
•  A life insurance policy, annuity contract, or individual retirement account without a named beneficiary. Sometimes the named beneficiary has predeceased the owner of the asset.
•  Real estate titled in the sole name of the decedent, or in the name of the decedent and another person as tenants in common.

Probate is necessary to pass ownership of the decedent’s probate assets to the decedent’s beneficiaries. Probate is also necessary to complete the decedent’s financial affairs after his or her death.

It is ideal to have a valid Will when probate is required. Probate proceedings are filed with the clerk of the circuit court, usually in the county in which the decedent lived at the time of his or her death. A filing fee is required. The clerk assigns a case number and maintains an ongoing record of all papers filed for the administration of the decedent’s probate estate. Creditors file claims in the case. Creditors with valid claims get paid from non-exempt probate property before beneficiaries receive an inheritance.

Diana Mangsen focuses her practice as an elder law attorney in Clearwater, Palm Harbor, Largo, Dunedin and the Tampa Bay area.

For more information, visit our website at
https://www.mangsenlaw.com/
or call (727) 888-6282.

Florida Long Term Care Medicaid can pay for services at home, in Assisted Living Facilities, Memory Care and in Skilled Nursing Facilities.

To qualify for Florida Long Term Care Medicaid there are income and asset eligibility requirements. The following are examples and are not the entirety of options available.

Income

The current monthly gross income for an Individual for Medicaid eligibility is: $2901.00/gross income per month. This amount is subject to change.

For Married couples in which only one of them is applying for Medicaid the non-applicant spouse’s income does not count.

If someone is over the Income Eligibility cap for Medicaid, then Medicaid allows the use of a Qualifying Medicaid Income Trust or a Pooled Trust, and eligibility can be reached that way.

Assets

There are some assets that are exempt from the Medicaid asset count. Homestead is Exempt. One Automobile is Exempt. IRAs, Roth, Retirement accounts are Exempt as long as regular distributions are being made. This requirement is met by the Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs). If RMDs are not yet required, then small monthly distributions can be initiated. Pre-paid Funeral/Burial/Cremation is Exempt, if the contract is made Irrevocable. For Married couples $157,920.00 liquid
assets are exempt.

Examples of Assets that are not exempt are cash in savings and checking accounts, investment accounts, CD’s, Life Insurance policies with cash/surrender value.

Married couples can transfer assets to the non-applicant spouse and use spousal refusal method for exemption. Some other examples for married and single individuals for Nonexempt Asset protection are personal services contracts, loans, homestead repairs, homestead mortgage or Line or Credit pay off or pay down, Purchase Irrevocable Funeral/Burial/Cremation, Pay off applicant’s debt.

These are just some examples. Every case is different and should be carefully considered. There are many factors that weigh into the decisions about the best way to provide for the high cost of Long-Term Care of an elder. Be sure to consult with an Elder Law Attorney.

Diana Mangsen focuses her practice as an elder law attorney in Clearwater, Palm Harbor, Largo, Dunedin and the Tampa Bay area.

For more information, visit our website at
https://www.mangsenlaw.com/
or call (727) 888-6282.

I. Include instructions in your will

Your final arrangements and the directions concerning your final remains are best
handled with written instructions in a Last Will and Testament. If you don’t leave
instructions, the decision falls to your next of kin, in legal hierarchy contained in Florida
Statutes 497.005(43). Written instructions contained in your Will are legally binding.

Specify your preferences for burial, cremation, or other arrangements in your Last Will
and Testament.

II. Pre-plan and pre-pay

A pre-paid funeral plan can outline your specific choices, sparing your family from
having to make difficult decisions while they are grieving. Pre-paying for a funeral plan
can lock in the cost and save your family from incurring those expenses at the time of
your passing.

III. Whole-Body Donation (in case you were wondering)

In Florida, the donation of a body to science is overseen by the Anatomical Board of the
State of Florida, which allocates donors to medical schools and programs within the
state.

This state entity coordinates and distributes donated human remains to public and
private colleges, universities, and other facilities for anatomical education and medical
research. Some of the universities in Florida operating under this board are the
University of Florida College of Medicine, University of Central Florida College of
Medicine, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, University of South Florida
Morsani College of Medicine, and Florida State University College of Medicine. Visit the
board’s website for more information: Website: anatbd.acb.med.ufl.edu

Diana Mangsen focuses her practice as an elder law attorney in Clearwater, Palm Harbor, Largo, Dunedin and the Tampa Bay area.

For more information, visit our website at
https://www.mangsenlaw.com/
or call (727) 888-6282.

There are many reminders for supplies during Hurricane season such as: keep a Full tank of gasoline or a fully charged electric vehicle, bottled water, flashlights and batteries.

Consider ways to keep your important documents.

Consider keeping Estate Plan Original documents such as Power of Attorney documents, Trust documents and Last Will and Testaments together in a waterproof, fireproof container in your home. Kept in your home, it is handy for the occasions when the documents are needed, and it should be a size that makes it easy to pick it up and take it with you if you must evacuate.

Consider keeping PDFs of these important documents on your phone and on your computer. That way no matter where you are, you can access those PDFs and share them with family members, medical providers or financial institutions.

Consider keeping PDFs of all your insurance and flood policies on your phone and on your computer also. You might consider keeping the hard copy summary pages of your insurance policies in your waterproof, fireproof container with your estate plan documents.

Take photos of your property, inside and out before the storm hits and email the photos to yourself to get the timestamp. Some insurance companies are very good, and others push back hard on these claims.

Maintain a list of your digital assets including passwords so that you or a person named to act on your behalf can access your accounts. Would you or anyone else be able to recover your Bitcoin wallet if your cell phone and computer were unusable? Put the list in your waterproof, fireproof container.

Put your passport, social security card and birth certificate, and military discharge paperwork in a waterproof/fireproof container. Make sure that you can access it easily for those occasions when you need the documents and that you can take it with you easily in the event of an evacuation.

Let’s prepare for the worst and hope for the best!

Diana Mangsen focuses her practice as an elder law attorney in Clearwater, Palm Harbor, Largo, Dunedin and the Tampa Bay area.

For more information, visit our website at
https://www.mangsenlaw.com/
or call (727) 888-6282.

1. Institutional Care Program (ICP)
2. Home & Community Based Services (HCBS)

The application for Florida Institutional Care Medicaid Program (ICP) is filed when a person is in a “Skilled Nursing Facility or Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center”. This is a facility that provides rehabilitation services after hospitalization and long-term care for those who can no longer live in their home or in a community setting.

The application for Florida Home & Community Based Services (HCBS) Medicaid Program is filed when a person is living in the community. That can mean they live in their own home, they may live in someone else’s home, or perhaps they live in an Assisted Living Facility (ALF).

There are 3 eligibility requirements for either of these Medicaid programs: 1. Income; 2. Asset; and 3. Level of care Needed. When a person is over income or over asset, an attorney can assist them with income and/or asset protection so they can meet the Medicaid eligibility requirements and receive the services of these programs.

Skilled nursing/long-term care facility costs range from $9,000.00 to $15,000.00 per month. Generally, the person receiving Medicaid ICP benefits will pay their monthly income to the long-term care facility and Medicaid ICP will pay the balance of the facility invoice every month as long as the person is asset eligible and requires the level of care.

Assisted living facility costs range from $3500.00 to $7000.00 per month. Generally, the person receiving Medicaid HCBS benefits pays for the room and board at the facility from their income and the Medicaid HCBS program pays the level of care amount which is between $1300.00-$1800.00 per month in addition to covering a myriad of other medical expenses.

For individuals who wish to remain in their homes, Medicaid HCBS pays for the Suncoast Pace Program which provides home services and day programs for individuals who are income, asset and level of care eligible. The same eligibility criteria applies and the goal of the Suncoast Pace program is to help the applicant remain
in their home for as long as possible.

Please do not rely on legal advice regarding these income and asset matters from friends or other well-meaning individuals. The legal rules are complex and ever-changing. The Florida Supreme Court ruled that only attorneys are permitted to give legal advice on Medicaid planning. So many people have been misguided
and suffered great harm because of non-attorneys who give legal advice on Medicaid income and asset issues. Please do not rely on the legal advice given to you by non-attorneys.

Diana Mangsen focuses her practice as an elder law attorney in Clearwater, Palm Harbor, Largo, Dunedin and the Tampa Bay area.

For more information, visit our website at
https://www.mangsenlaw.com/
or call (727) 888-6282.

Being married does not “automatically” mean that probate won’t be required and it does not mean that your spouse will inherit your assets.

Assets titled to a decedent, must be re-titled after death with or without a Last Will &
Testament. This can include bank accounts, automobiles, homes, real estate, boats, investment accounts, retirement accounts and life insurance policies without named beneficiaries, or retirement accounts and life insurance policies with named beneficiaries who predeceased.

A Last Will & Testament will be filed with the court and a probate case will be initiated for the re-titling of the assets in accordance with instructions in a valid will created by the decedent.

If there is no Last Will & Testament, the Florida Intestacy Statute 732.101 – 732.111
prescribes who will inherit the assets. 732.102(3) indicates that if the decedent has lineal descendants that are not descendants of the surviving spouse, then the surviving spouse’s share of the intestate estate is one-half. If the decedent and the surviving spouse have descendants together and the surviving spouse has descendants that are not descendants of the decedent, the surviving spouse’s share of the intestate estate is one-half.

732.102 Spouse’s share of intestate estate. —The intestate share of the surviving
spouse is:
(1) If there is no surviving descendant of the decedent, the entire intestate estate.
(2) If the decedent is survived by one or more descendants, all of whom are also
descendants of the surviving spouse, and the surviving spouse has no other descendant, the entire intestate estate.
(3) If there are one or more surviving descendants of the decedent who are not lineal
descendants of the surviving spouse, one-half of the intestate estate.
(4) If there are one or more surviving descendants of the decedent, all of whom are also
descendants of the surviving spouse, and the surviving spouse has one or more descendants who are not descendants of the decedent, one-half of the intestate estate.
732.401 Descent of homestead. —
(1) If not devised as authorized by law and the constitution, the homestead shall descend in the same manner as other intestate property; but if the decedent is survived by a spouse and one or more descendants, the surviving spouse shall take a life estate in the homestead, with a vested
remainder to the descendants in being at the time of the decedent’s death per stirpes.
(2) In lieu of a life estate under subsection (1), the surviving spouse may elect to take an undivided one-half interest in the homestead as a tenant in common, with the remaining undivided one-half interest vesting in the decedent’s descendants in being at the time of the decedent’s death, per stirpes.

Diana Mangsen focuses her practice as an elder law attorney in Clearwater, Palm Harbor, Largo, Dunedin and the Tampa Bay area.

For more information, visit our website at
https://www.mangsenlaw.com/
or call (727) 888-6282.