Beneficiary Designations - To use or not to use?

Beneficiary Designations can be an effective estate planning tool in limited circumstances. Beneficiary designations work by having an asset transferred directly to the named beneficiary upon your death. Sometimes these beneficiary designations take the form of an account with the designation “POD – Payable on Death” or “TOD – Transfer on Death.” Although beneficiary designations can avoid probate, consideration should be given to the following:  

1.       Not all assets can be titled with a beneficiary designation (i.e., cars, jewelry, home furnishings).

2.       If you change your mind about a beneficiary designation, you will need to change it for each asset, which can be tedious if you have numerous TOD or POD accounts.

3.       Leaving an asset to a minor child using a beneficiary designation may require a court guardianship be established to hold the asset for the minor’s benefit until they turn 18. This could be cost prohibitive.

4.       If your beneficiary designation dies before you, the inheritance could “lapse” and the share will go to your estate, which may not provide for that beneficiary.

5.       Leaving assets outright to disabled individuals using a beneficiary designation could disqualify them from vital public benefits.

How we can help.

Attorneys Sierra Butler and Melissa Casanueva handle estate planning matters as part of their elder law practice. If you would like more information regarding how Butler Elder Law can help you, please contact us at (941) 254-6611. If we are not able to assist you, we will refer you to another lawyer or legal service who may be able to assist you.

This information sheet has been designed by Butler Elder Law, P.A. for general information only and is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements.

Guardian Advocacy for Disabled Adult Children

Why Guardian Advocacy?

Did you know that when a child turns 18, parents no longer have the authority to make financial and health care decisions for them? This can be especially difficult if your child is disabled. In Florida, a parent or other caregiver can be appointed as a Guardian Advocate to help a person with a developmental disability who lacks the decision-making ability to manage their finances and personal care.

 

Types of Guardian Advocacy:

A Guardian Advocate may be appointed a Guardian Advocate of the Person, of the Property, or both. A Guardian Advocate of the Person can make personal decisions for the developmentally disabled individual, such as residency determinations, consent to medical or mental health treatment, and social, employment and travel decisions. A Guardian Advocate of the Property is authorized to deal with aspects the individual’s property, such as contracting, suing and defending lawsuits, managing their property, and making gifts. Both types of Guardian Advocates can seek government benefits for the developmentally disabled individual.

 

Basic Requirements:

In order to file for a Guardian Advocacy, certain requirements must be met:

·        The developmental disability must have started before the age of 18

·        The developmental disability must be attributable to intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, autism, spina bifida, Down syndrome, Phelan-McDermid syndrome, or Prader-Willi syndrome

·        The developmental disability must be expected to continue indefinitely

When to File for Guardian Advocacy:

A guardian advocacy may be sought (i.e., meaning the paperwork asking for the guardian advocacy can be filed with the court) beginning at the age of 17 years and 6 months. However, a court will not issue the Orders and Letters formally appointing the guardian advocate until after the person’s 18th birthday. Practice Tip: One way to save on time and costs is to initially file within 40-50 days before the 18th birthday and have the hearing on or immediately after the birthday.

 

Do you need an attorney?

An attorney is NOT required to represent the Guardian Advocate if the person’s only property is SSI or SSDI benefits, or if the Guardian Advocate is only over the person. Many parents find the process goes much more smoothly with an experienced attorney representing them. The developmentally disabled person will be assigned an attorney to represent him/her in the proceedings as well.

 

What happens after a Guardian Advocate is appointed?

Once appointed, a Guardian Advocate is subject to court oversight. The Orders and Letters signed by the Judge govern a Guardian Advocate’s authority and responsibilities. In most cases, an initial report is due within 60 days of appointment and then each year thereafter. Some decisions can be made by a Guardian Advocate without court approval, while other decisions require permission from the court in advance.

 

Is a Guardian Advocacy Avoidable?

If the individual with developmental disabilities has the capacity to execute an advance directive such as a durable power of attorney and/or a health care surrogate designation, a properly drafted and executed advance directive may be an alternative to guardian advocacy.

 

How we can help.

Attorneys Sierra Butler and Melissa Casanueva handle all aspects of Guardian Advocate proceedings. If you would like more information regarding how Butler Elder Law can help you, please contact us at (941) 254-6611. If we are not able to assist you, we will refer you to another lawyer or legal service who may be able to assist you.

This information sheet has been designed by Butler Elder Law, P.A. for general information only and is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements.

Introducing Book-It Legal: The Innovative Legal Startup That May Forever Change the Student Clerkship

By: Sierra Butler & Clayton P. Jackson[1]

Named by the ABA as the number-one legal startup in the country for 2018[2], Book-It Legal is singlehandedly changing the way law students and attorneys across the country view the student clerkship. 

What is Book-It Legal?

In a nutshell, Book-It Legal is the Uber of law student clerkships.  Book-It’s platform allows top law students to bid on paid legal projects posted by licensed attorneys from across the country.  Book-It gives law students the flexibility to bid on the projects they want — and to work at their own pace. 

Traditionally, top law students seek to work for large firms as summer associates following their 2L year.  These positions are highly coveted: they pay well, and sometimes even lead to full-time employment upon graduation. But this system has also been the status quo for decades — even as technology empowers firms to streamline many of the outdated and time-consuming processes that were required to keep the lights on. Now enter Jack West, CEO of Book-It Legal, who wants to throw a wrench in what he views as an antiquated system in desperate need of innovation.

Mr. West’s own experience as both a law student and a young associate ultimately inspired the idea behind Book-It Legal.  “Book-It definitely came out of my experience as a law student trying to get my foot in the door somewhere.  But it also came out of my experience practicing in a firm in Birmingham where we had clerks for around six or eight weeks each summer.  Once they went back to school, all of that work fell back on the young associates — including me.  I thought that it would have been really nice to be able to get a sharp law student working on that kind of project whenever it was needed,” said Mr. West.

Mr. West calls his innovative idea the “microclerkship.” Whatever you call it, Book-It Legal is starting to pick up steam as law students and practitioners from around the country take notice of its innovative platform.

Clayton Jackson, a 2L at the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law and co-author of this article, has been using Book-It-Legal for six months. “Book-It Legal has provided me with a unique way to supplement my income — something I am sure law students across the country can appreciate. But more importantly, Book-It Legal has provided me the opportunity to work on several different paid research and writing projects.  From writing blog posts to drafting substantive research memoranda, the sheer range of projects available on Book-It Legal is remarkable.

As a small firm practitioner, I am continuously looking for ways to increase productivity and keep overhead low without sacrificing the services provided to my clients. In December 2017, I came across Book-It Legal and decided to give it a try. I’ve posted substantive legal research and writing projects, marketing projects, and this opportunity to co-author an article for my local bar association. The experience has been fantastic. The students whom I selected to work on my projects produced top notch work in a timely manner. Having access to these students and their work product is something I could not have obtained on my own.

How does Book-It Legal’s platform work?

It’s simple.  First, you create a free account online at bookitlegal.com.  From there, you simply post your project by providing a brief description of the work, the price, and the estimated hours you think it will take to complete the work.  Next, the project will go live, and top law students from around the country will bid for it — at which point you can select the right candidate for the job. 

Once the project is approved, Book-It Legal holds the price of the project in escrow pending successful completion of the project.   Once the student has uploaded their work product, you then have the chance to evaluate their work using a 5-star rating system.  After you accept the work product and rate the student’s efforts, the student gets paid through either an electronic check (ACH) or through Venmo (a popular electronic payment application). 

Mr. West wanted to ensure that both creating an account and posting projects were entirely free.

“All an attorney needs to do to use Book-It Legal is to create an account, which is free. Whenever they need to get a hand from a law student, whether it’s research, blog posts or reviewing documents — all they have to do is post a project, which is also free.  It’s only at the point — in which they actually engage a student to start working on a project — does the attorney have to pay,” said Mr. West. 

But what happens when a student submits substandard work product?

According to Mr. West, this situation is extremely rare.  In fact, of the almost 100 successful projects that Book-It has handled, only two involved situations where the attorney wasn’t completely satisfied.  “We’ve only had two instances where an attorney wasn’t fully satisfied,” said Mr. West.  “In both of those situations we offered to fully refund the attorney’s money.”  

What’s next for Book-It Legal?

In little over a year, Book-It Legal has grown from virtually unknown to the number one legal startup in the country.  Currently, Book-It Legal’s platform reaches law students at 20 different law schools, the bulk of which are located in the Southeast.  On the attorney side, Book-It Legal currently has member attorneys in 15 different states.  And as these numbers continue to grow, Jack West and the rest of his team continue to look for unique ways to make the platform even more useful to both law students and attorneys.

Simply put, the “microclerkship” is advantageous for everyone involved.  For law students, they get the unique opportunity to work on paid short-term legal projects — gaining much needed income and invaluable work experience.  For attorneys, they get the short-term help they so desperately need from a host qualified law students at a price of their choosing.  That seems like a win-win to us.

1.                   Clayton Jackson is a 2L at the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law.  A special thanks to Jack West (CEO of Book-It Legal) and Dan Tidwell (CTO of Book-It Legal) for sitting down with me for an interview. 

2.                   See Robert Ambrogi, Announcing The Winners of The 2018 ABA TECHSHOW Startup Alley Competition, Above the Law (Dec. 18, 2017, 6:31 PM), https://abovethelaw.com/2017/12/announcing-the-winners-of-the-2018-aba-techshow-startup-alley-competition/.

Finding the Right Match: 10 Questions You Should Ask & Answer Before Hiring an Attorney

If you find yourself in a situation where you think legal advice is needed, or someone has advised you to seek the services of an attorney, I encourage you to ask these 10 questions, the answers to which can help you find an attorney best suited to meet your needs.  

1.       Is a lawyer really necessary? As a threshold question, you may want to briefly take a step back and determine whether you have a legal problem which requires the involvement of a lawyer. Legal expertise is extremely valuable to resolve a legal problem, but some or part of your problem might be resolved through non-legal means. For example, a care coordinator could be hired to help you navigate insurance matters or help you identify and evaluate placement, or in-home care options, at a much cheaper rate than retaining an attorney.

 

2.       Where can I get a referral to a good attorney? Local agencies and organizations often serve as a good referral source. Some organizations compile and maintain lists of lawyers skilled in a particular subject. For example, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys has a searchable online database which can be found at https://www.naela.org/ . You may also want to try calling your local bar association or support groups for specific diseases. If you know any attorneys, ask them for a referral to a special needs planning or elder law attorney. Another attorney may be in position to know who handles such issues and whether that person is a good attorney. Talk with other families who have used an attorney and see if they will honestly share their experiences with you. Social workers and staff at medical provider offices may also be a good source for referrals. 

 

3.       What questions should I ask before I meet with any attorney? Once you have a list of attorneys, I recommend first going to the Florida Bar website (https://www.floridabar.org) to ensure he or she is a member in good standing of the Florida Bar. Then, call the law office and ask the following questions:  

  • How long has the attorney been in practice?
  • Does his or her practice emphasize a particular area of law?
  • How long has he or she been in this field?
  • What percentage of his or her practice is devoted to elder law or special needs planning?
  • How are appointments scheduled?
  • What is the average time for the lawyer to return phone calls to clients?
  • Is there a fee for the first consultation, and if so how much is it?
  • Given the nature of your problem, what information should you bring with you to the initial consultation?

 

4.       What experience does this lawyer have in resolving my particular issue? This is probably the single most important question you can ask. Special needs law and planning encompasses many different fields of law and is often defined by the clients to be served. Even Special Needs Law attorneys do not specialize in every one of these areas. Because of this, you will want to hire the attorney who regularly handles matters specific to your particular case and who will know enough about the other fields to question whether the action being taken might be affected by any of other areas of law. For example, if you are going to update your estate plan and you have a disabled child, the attorney needs to know enough about the public benefits that your child is currently receiving, or may become eligible to receive, to prevent disqualifying him or her from benefits in the future.

 

5.       How many lawyers should I interview? Not every attorney is right for each client. Determine what kind of attorney is best suited for your personality and the legal issue at hand. If you have a contested legal problem which may require court intervention, an attorney with a litigation experience is necessary. If you are looking for an attorney that will encourage and provide hands on support throughout the process, you will want an attorney that exhibits patience and has the time to dedicate to the matter. Ideally you can interview three attorneys before making a decision on who to retain. The attorney-client relationship must be built on mutual trust and understanding. You need to feel comfortable enough to be able to share your issues with the lawyer and confident that the lawyer is competent and capable of handling your matter.

 

6.       How should I prepare for my initial consultation? The key to a successful consultation is preparation and managing expectations. You will likely be asked to fill out a form or provide information in advance of your meeting. Having your information with supporting documentation organized will help the attorney to evaluate your problem more efficiently. Typically, a free consultation is one where you are meeting the lawyer and explaining your issue to the extent that the attorney has enough information to determine whether or not he or she can help you. If so, the attorney can then provide you with your options and legal strategy, along with a price for the legal services. Legal advice is usually reserved for after you have retained a lawyer. Some attorneys will offer longer consultations and charge for them, either at their hourly rate or at a discounted rate. Other attorneys will charge for the consultation, but the charge can be applied to future services if you retain the lawyer. Whatever the situation, be sure to clarify what the goal of the consultation is before the consultation occurs. 

 

7.       What questions should I ask during my initial consultation? Use the initial consultation to assess whether you like the personality of the attorney and whether you think he or she will be a good match to resolve your legal issue. Even if you get the answers you want to the questions below, if you do not “connect” with your attorney, you may find yourself unsatisfied with the attorney-client relationship as time goes on. Retaining the right attorney from the start saves you time and money because engaging a replacement attorney may often cost you bringing that replacement attorney up to speed on your legal issue and the work that has been partially done by your first attorney.

·         What will it take to resolve it?

·         Are there any alternate courses of action?

·         What are the advantages and disadvantages of each possibility?

·         How many attorneys are in the office?

·         Who will handle your case?

·         What is in the involvement of staff (e.g. legal assistants and paralegals in your case)?

·         Has that attorney handled matters of this kind in the past?

·         Is that attorney a member of the local bar association, a health advocacy committee, or trust and estates committee?

·         How are fees computed?

·         What is the estimate of the cost to resolve your problem and how long will it take?

8.       How do elder law and special needs law attorneys charge for their services? There are several ways of charging for legal services and understanding what kind of fee structure the attorney is proposing is extremely important. Some lawyers offer a flat fee for services. This means that you will pay one set fee regardless of whether it takes the attorney two hours or ten hours to complete the work. In a flat fee scenario, some fees are to be paid entirely up front before the work is performed. In other cases, a portion is due at the time the lawyer is hired and the remaining balance is due upon completion of the work.  Some services are billed on an hourly basis. In this situation, it is important to know what the attorney’s hourly rate is and whether there are paralegals and legal assistants who bill time to your file as well. Oftentimes, a lawyer will ask for an initial retainer to hold in the firm’s trust account which the attorney will bill against as he or she performs work for you. You may be asked to replenish the initial retainer if it falls below a certain amount.  In addition to fees, attorneys may also charge you out-of-pocket expenses. Out-of-pocket expenses typically include charges for copies, postage, messenger fees, court fees, deposition fees, long-distance telephone calls, and other such costs. Find out if there will be any other incidental costs. 
 

9.       What is in the involvement of staff (e.g. legal assistants and paralegals in your case) and other professionals in your case? Elder law and special needs planning attorneys use a variety of legal tools and techniques to meet the goals and objectives of their clients. A good attorney will ask questions about other professionals already involved with your situation and collaborate with them to provide their clients with quality service and ensure their needs are met. They will also be able to identify whether there are certain tasks which can be delegated to a paralegal or legal assistant which can save you money. Using a holistic approach, a good special needs law attorney can advise and counsel clients throughout the legal process.

 

10.   What should I sign when hiring a lawyer? Once you decide to hire the attorney, ask that the engagement terms be put into writing. It can be in the form of a contract or a letter that both the lawyer and the client signs. It should cover, at a minimum, who the parties to the agreement agree, what the scope of the services are, and what the fee structure is for payment. Some attorney engagement agreements are lengthy and you may want time to read and digest it on your own time before signing. Be sure to have the attorney answer any questions you have about the engagement agreement before you sign it. If you both decide to make modifications to the engagement agreement, be sure to put those changes in writing as well.

 

Sierra A. Butler is a principal and shareholder at Butler Elder Law, P.A., a member of Ferrari & Butler, PLLC where she concentrates her practice on Elder, Estate, and Special Needs Law. Sierra serves as a Director for the Manatee County Bar Association Young Lawyers Division and Membership Chair of the Manatee American Inn of Court. She is also a member of the Penick (Elder Law) Inn of Court, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, and Cheers for Charity, a women’s giving circle committed to supporting local charities. www.butlerelderlaw.com 941.251.6611 Offices: Bradenton, Sarasota & Venice

 

Seminar POSTPONED

The ELDER LAW 101 seminar scheduled for June 27, 2017 has been postponed and will be rescheduled.  We apologize for any inconvenience.  Once the seminar has been rescheduled, the new details will be posted. Stay tuned! 

ELDER LAW 101: Meet and Greet with Elder Law Attorney Sierra Butler on April 14, 2017

On April 14, 2017, Attorney Sierra Butler will visit Brookdale Palmer Ranch for a meet and greet at 11:30 a.m. Elder Law will be the focus and she will cover the following:

• What is Elder Law?
• Who benefits from the services of an Elder Law Attorney?
• Why should you develop a relationship with an Elder Law Attorney?
• When is the right time to seek out an Elder Law Attorney?
• How can an Elder Law Attorney help me or my loved one?

A light lunch will be served and attendance is free, but please be sure to RSVP to Jennifer Troncone at 941-926-1966. 

Brookdale Palmer Ranch is located at 5111 Palmer Ranch Parkway, Sarasota, FL 34238 

http://www.seniorsbluebook.com/event/seminar-elder-law/

Source: http://www.seniorsbluebook.com/event/semin...