hello.

>> Thanks so much for watching.

LIFE Ahead on PBS Fort Wayne.

I'm your host Mark Evans and this is a great program for adults of any age as we talk about some very vital subjects and information that you need to help yourself and your family.

On this show we'll discuss estate planning trust and wills and explain some of the so-called legal ease that's involved in these processes and we'll also stand by for your questions when you call in or text.

Yes, texting that's kind of a new thing we have here at PBS Fort Wayne and you can text your questions in if you don't have a whole lot of time to stay on hold for a few short minutes, you can always text your question and we invite that in fact the numbers are on your screen right now to phone its two six zero (969) 27 two zero to text two zero (969) 27 three zero.

This is a half hour program.

No commercials because we're noncommercial where PBS so you have plenty of time to get your questions in and as soon as we get talking get to talking with our special guest.

Make sure you give those give those numbers a call or a text.

And our special guest expert on hand is Brian Yujin.

You're certainly a veteran to this show I've been on a few times market.

Yes.

And we certainly appreciate your support.

Thank you.

And you are an elder law attorney and an estate planner and we welcome you back to life .

>> Thank you.

I appreciate that, Brian Estates Wills and of course the the other things we're going to talk about a lot of times people think that's just for old people and I have found throughout my life that is not true.

In fact, the earlier you get started the better off you're going to be.

>> That's true.

So it's interesting when you hear that what I do for a living is elder law so we can't think about elder laws just dealing with the elderly or traditionally we might think of someone as being elderly.

Elder law actually involves estate planning.

It starts for folks when they're eighteen years of age and up and sometimes even younger if we have special needs individuals.

>> So no it isn't elder laws and just for folks that are maybe a little bit more mature, it also is for folks that are younger and need to have some estate planning done.

>> Yeah, especially if you have families and as the family dynamics are getting a little more complicated in the 21st century, it's very important.

>> So let's go ahead and start with the states and for those who don't know what an estate is or what it means.

Explain that who needs one?

>> Well, when I hear the word estate for me that says that when someone's passed away it's the wealth that someone has and you're using your assets that you had earned through your lifetime that you have had garnered through your lifetime, you're satisfied and your debts that you may have and then transferring that wealth to whomever you want it to go to.

So when we think about estates we think about the assets of someone that's passed and and we're transferring those funds to an individual that the deceased wanted them to go to.

It could be an individual.

It could be a charitable organization.

It could be a religious organization.

It could be friends, extended family, whomever the individual wants.

So when I think about it in the States I think of when someone's passed the wealth that they have and we're passing that to the individual or individuals entities that that person or that money to go to.

>> Yeah, and you don't have to be extremely rich to have an estate.

>> No.

So what I'd like so I think how people should sometimes people are shy to talk about the assets they have and they to your point Mark, they have the impression gosh I don't have enough to do estate planning, I don't have enough to speak to counsel to have those things put together.

Really the number of zeroes that someone has in their account is irrelevant.

It's this is what you have and some folks would wish that they had that much.

So there really isn't a magic number that someone has to have for to do their estate planning and they shouldn't be shy to speak with counsel and make sure that there are things are in order because they're concerned about how much money that they have.

So estate planning isn't strictly for someone that has lots of zeros behind in their bank account, you know, millions or something like that.

It could be for folks of course that have lots of money and also it could be for someone that's maybe a little bit less less blessed with funds in their account.

>> Okay.

Well so what are the essential documents when you want to come up with your estate?

>> Well, I think anybody that's looking for estate planning when they're speaking with an elder law attorney there are going to be looking for some basics.

One of the most basic documents seems to be basic but it really isn't is a durable power of attorney so durable powers of attorney everyone should have age it up.

Everybody should have a durable power of attorney.

So durable means even if you become incompetent it's still in effect that power of attorney deals with finances so that if somebody needs to write a check on your behalf, if someone needs to speak to the bank on your behalf, speak with a financial adviser on your behalf, speak with an attorney on your behalf, negotiate contracts, that document allows them to do that absolutely everyone should have a durable power of attorney health care representative designation is also an important document to have so that health care rep designation allows someone to make decisions about your health care if you're unable to make those decisions yourself so it doesn't come into effect unless you are incompetent incapacitated then you've appointed somebody else that's able to make health care decisions on your behalf.

I think also it's important for folks to have a will and generally when we look at wills last Will and Testament basically there are two different types that I want to talk about.

One is something called a just a basic last will and testament that will it's going to have you go through probate administration.

It's going to distribute your estate through the courts, a procedure that the court has established and that's how we get assets out to those folks that are remembered within the last will and testament.

And Brian, if you don't mind, we already have a text and it's about wills.

So why not segue way to that?

Sure.

All right.

>> So we're going to go ahead and show that screen.

This is from a viewer text How do I get a living well done.

So that I can pass my assets to my kids.

>> So great question.

Yes it is so actually so you're the person that texted ask about a living well so a living well is a little different than a last will and testament but a great question.

>> OK so a living will and we think of that is do you have the will to live should the effort to sustain your life be futile?

So if you're actively passing and that instance do you want to receive artificial hydration and nutrition?

Do you want to be kept alive in a vegetative state?

Do you want someone else to make those decisions for you?

So when we talk about a living will that's what we're talking about.

If our health is such that there's nothing more that can be done for us or wanting to be kept alive in that instance in a vegetative state.

What I was talking about in response to Mark's earlier question the last will and testament that's the instrument that we use to pass wealth a time of severe death.

>> Yeah, big difference.

You were asking before about other instruments or things that folks should have in place when they're looking at their estate planning.

Right.

Sometimes something called a trust is appropriate.

So a trust is a control in essence that you indicate somebody that's a trustee, someone that is a beneficiary and someone that is the guarantor or the person that settles the trust that makes a trust.

>> So the guarantor makes the trust.

The trustee is the one that manages everything in that trust complies with the terms of that contract and the beneficiary is the one that enjoys the money, the wealth from that trust.

And sometimes we use wills and in estate planning to avoid probate people may say yes, I don't want to go through the probate process.

How do I avoid that?

So oftentimes we avoid going through probate by using different types of trusts and trusts.

There are lots and lots of different types of trusts but typically when we're speaking about estate planning to your point Mark, it would be a living trust.

>> So revokable living trusts all right.

And I know some people get that confused as far as a regular will or a living wills so I thought so since we're early in the program we might as well get that ironed out.

>> Sure.

The word probate came up again all the times there and I know that's not necessarily a great word.

>> So what is probate and why should I avoid it?

>> Well, probably it isn't a bad thing.

>> Probate is so probate technically it's I take a last will and testament and I file it with a court that is probate what really people are talking about avoiding typically is that estate administration process and that's the process that is established that you go through with a court that indicates you need to advertise in the newspaper that this individual has passed away.

So if anybody has a debt or believes they're owed a debt by the deceased, they can file a claim in the in the probate process we appoint someone called a personal representative.

So that those letters of appointment that come out letters testamentary that come out, it allows them to access the deceased persons accounts and gather those assets in order to pay those to the beneficiaries that are designated within the last will and testament.

So probate is that formal process whereby you're going through court your advertising in the newspaper, your filing documents with the court to make sure that you're staying on track if you've take a little bit too long in the in the probate process, the court will send you a notice saying hey, nothing's happened for a certain period of time.

We want to make sure that you're progressing.

So sometimes folks want to avoid that probate process so they don't have the expense that's involved with going through probate.

>> So that's probably why there was a little negative connotation on that because expense expense time and it's public so if you will is is spread of record with the court if you're opening in a state probate that will it's public record so people can see it and sometimes they don't want the world to know who they've given their money to or what organization they've given their money to.

>> So sometimes they'll use trust because of that.

And I do want to talk about the privacy and Gerald, let me get to that in just a couple of minutes.

But we have a call coming in right just to shift gears a little bit of course and of course people are going to be texting and making phone calls and we might have to jump around just a tad bit.

>> No problem.

That's what this show is all about.

We want to answer those questions.

So Kathy is asking not to be on the air and that's fine because we've transcribed your question because she says if there's no one in my life that I can use as a durable or regular power of attorney, what are my options for both?

>> So that's a great question.

Kathy , I appreciate your letting us know those concerns that you have.

>> It's if you don't appoint someone and you need assistance, you becoming incapacitated, you're a danger to yourself.

You're not in a good way if you don't have that power of attorney in place, the court will look to appoint someone called a guardian on your behalf.

But the Guardian, that instance may be somebody that isn't familiar with you, that doesn't know anything about you, your intentions.

So I would encourage you to think of somebody that's somehow related to you not not necessarily biologically but that's familiar with you somehow is exposed to you and your life that you trust because you are opening your financial matters to them so I would encourage you to do your very best to find someone that's able to serve if you really don't have someone in your life that can serve.

There are organizations in Indiana that will step in and that will assist in those types of instances.

But I really encourage folks to be able to come up with someone that can assist if you have a concern that someone might be taking advantage of it.

Sometimes we'll have two individuals appointed on that power of attorney and they have to act jointly.

That's not always preferred but it could keep those folks in essence having to ask one another to make sure that we are paying this bill appropriately.

Our money is being used in a particular way that's appropriate and in keeping with your wishes.

So I do appreciate your question.

If you don't have someone unfortunately the court would appoint someone that would make decisions for you if you got to the point that you were incompetent and there are organizations in the state that will step in and we'll provide assistance.

But I really encourage folks to try and find someone that they have some type of a personal relationship if at all possible .

>> Yes, absolutely.

Yeah.

Thank you very much.

Yeah.

All right.

We're going to be talking about revokable living trust and wills this evening as you have been.

But we do have a text coming in great.

And we love those of course.

And this viewer is asking what are the advantages and disadvantages of having a revokable trust for my house?

>> I am single and have three children.

All right.

So if you are going to take the time to put together trust revokable living trust is indicating you most likely would put more into it than just the house you would want to put into it your brokerage account if you have them checking account savings account the idea is that you're able to pass that wealth without going through that probate process Mark and I were talking about just a minute ago.

>> So there isn't necessarily a disadvantage if there's any disadvantage typically to have a trust prepared versus having a will prepared is more expensive at the beginning.

So if there's a disadvantage that I could think of , it would be that it's a little bit more expensive at the beginning to have that put together than a last will and testament.

However, the savings and the efficiency of that at the time of passing is far outweighed by that cost that you might incur today.

But there are instances in which individual putting together trust may say I don't care if it goes faster without going through probate.

I don't care if it's more expensive at that time.

I don't care if it's public I'll be dead and gone and it won't affect me and that's fair.

That's very fair.

So if that's your impression, I appreciate why you might want to use a last will and testament.

I am an advocate for trusts.

I think they're efficient.

I think they allow you to pass things very easily to the next generation to charities of your choice to religious entities of your choice.

What you may also consider when you're putting together your last will and testament are putting together a trust assuming you do that is to have language in those documents that if someone at the time that they're inheriting happens to be a special needs person they had an accident or they were you know, they had a special needs their money would be protected.

So I like having that language within a last will and testament within a revocable trust as you were asking about as opposed to just using a beneficiary designation so there isn't necessarily a negative to using the revokable trust versus a will for you to put your home in.

It may be a little bit more expensive assuming you're hiring that to be done but it definitely is more efficient at time of passing.

>> All right.

So if I have a will do I still need to trust?

Well, I I if you have a well do you need a trust?

>> You know so do I need let me I would say do I need a well if I have a trust maybe that would be yes OK you would need a well so I was mentioning before they're generally two types of trusts or wills rather one where you're using that will to transfer your wealth and another type of a well let's say like the gentleman that was just texting about putting my house in let's say he did the trust but he forgot to put his house in.

You can have will call to pour over well you are pour over will that picks up that house at the time of your passing and pours it into the trust at that time.

So if we have a trust we typically also do something called a pour over will as a just in case Melton's suspendrs I forgot to put this checking account and I forgot to put my savings account in so we pick it up at the time of your passing and we put it into the trust then wow, if we're doing our job right we actually have the trust fully funded.

We have the house then we have our checking account in our savings account so we don't need to use that power over time but we do a pour over will it typically when we have a trust as a just in case if we missed putting something kind of a safety net, it's exactly right.

>> All right.

Let's change gears here for a second.

Here comes a text about updating documents and let's see how often should these documents be updated?

I think that's a good question .

>> A great question.

So I like to see people review their estate planning maybe every five years, six years, seven years.

The reality is people probably don't review their estate planning as often as they should.

But I'd like to see folks every five years pull it out, take a look at it, perhaps have counsel review it with you to make sure it's appropriate.

I think sometimes folks surprise themselves oh, I didn't realize we he appointed that person or we had designated someone to be the guardian of our child or to manage the money for our children.

We don't have that special relationship like we did so many years ago.

I think we should update our well now.

So our estate planning I say every five years some of the documents how they're used in Indiana over the state in which you're living, they change over time.

So we might want to update those and make sure that they're current.

>> So if you're asking length of time about every five years.

Every five years.

Yeah, OK, very good.

Another text coming in I think we've hit a hot button tonight.

All right.

Is there a way to protect my disabled child if I die?

>> That's a that's a great question.

Absolutely.

So that question regarding disabled children comes under the umbrella of elder law.

So yes, there are many ways we can protect assets for kids, minors or folks that are 18 above that are disabled if it's your money that you're putting in, we typically use something called a third party special needs trust.

So you're the third party meaning you're the person has the money, you're setting money aside for the individual that's a special needs disabled child using your language special needs typically in my world we use that language.

You can create something called a third party special needs trust where your money goes into the trust for that child it can only be used for the child's benefit.

It could pay for things that other programs may not pay for .

So for example Medicaid may pay for a doctor's visit.

It may pay for housing those types of things.

But if we wanted new clothing or a television or a trip to Disney World or those types of things that the government won't pay for , you can use the funds in that trust.

There are other types of trust that could be established for folks that are special needs.

Pool trusts are sometimes use those are larger trusts that where a lot of people put money into for individuals that are have special needs it's allocated for each of the individuals but all the money is grouped together to be managed for their benefit.

So without a doubt if you have a child that's special needs without a doubt you should seriously think about planning to protect assets for that child in the future.

I think that's a responsibility and I think it's something that's very important to do and to consider.

OK, another tax coming in about beneficiary designations and this viewer is asking I have heard that beneficiary designations are better than Will or a trust.

>> Is there a reason beneficiary designations are not best so beneficiary designations can be a good thing.

They're a good thing if nothing changes meaning I I this money goes to my child, this money goes to my children.

Assuming your children outlive you, assuming nobody passes away, assuming no one becomes ill everything stays exactly as it is today.

>> Beneficiary designations can work.

You have to be very cautious with beneficiary designations though beneficiary designations.

I was just answering the question for the person that sent in the text about a disabled child.

If someone becomes disabled they still receive the money.

Once they receive the money with that beneficiary designation it's at risk.

We need to do things with it so that that individual can still receive their benefits typically through Medicaid beneficiary designations in your estate planning if you're saying my children receive the money at ages twenty five, thirty five, forty five or if a child has passed away it goes to my grandchildren but they don't get the money until there are particular age or can only be used for certain things beneficiary designation skip all that planning.

So while there is it there are times where beneficiary designations are appropriate in and of themselves.

I do caution people to really think about not just what where we are today but think about one generation, two generations if the facts change are you going to remember to make changes to your beneficiary designation?

>> So I'm a little cautious of using those as your so means of providing for your estate planning.

I would really think that process through and make sure that you're aware of every thing that could happen with the individuals or the entities that you're pointing to receive those funds before just using a simple beneficiary designation and hinging on that.

>> What happens if my beneficiaries are young or possibly even irresponsible there you so if you've designated someone as a beneficiary on an account using that there are no bumpers.

There are there is no safety net to protect them in essence against themselves.

So beneficiary designation money goes immediately to them if they're Meiners to answer that Mark, if they're a minor the money is then managed by their parent typically or their guardian on their behalf so that if you have a concern about an in-law or a child managing money for your grandchild, you might be aware of that.

And then in 18 they get the money.

So at eighteen I can tell you I wasn't as responsible at eighteen as I am today money so oftentimes folks will say I don't want money to go to an eighteen year old so if we have someone that's a spendthrift meaning they spend money easily we can create a trust so that they have an income stream for life.

They get the money when they're much more mature or they have an income stream for life and then it goes to their children and it goes to someone else.

So yes, by using wills and trusts properly we can plan for all of that without a doubt.

>> Great question here.

Here's something in this day and age being super secure and just watching our PS and Qs is my estate plan going to be public record?

I think we touched a little bit earlier in the show so when you prepare your estate plan right when you're preparing that that is not public, that's private and it's interesting you ask that question sometimes people will say are you recording this will at the court?

So that when I pass no, we don't record the well it's completely private until time of passing with the will the will if you do a will and you don't use the trust, the will does become public it that anybody nosy neighbor can go to court and take a look at that well and see what it says and where everything was going etc.

That is public trusts one time one of the reasons that people use trust is because it does keep it private and nobody knows what took place with your planning inside the trust.

>> So yes, sometimes people will use trusts so they can keep it private and no one can see very good.

>> Now if I have a trust will the state should I name beneficiaries on my life insurance and 401k plan?

>> So that kind of goes back to good question.

It ties into what the caller was asking about the beneficiary designations if you designate beneficiaries on life insurance, on your 401k, those types of things it will skip all of your estate planning.

So you want to be very cautious with that sometimes will designate the trust or the estate is the beneficiary.

So it comes in and it goes out through the language that you've put together in your will or your trust.

>> So if you have plans specific things to happen with your wealth when you pass for folks to get at a particular ages or at different times, then you'll want to be careful about using those beneficiary designations.

You'll be skipping all that planning that beautiful planning that you did and I know you have many clients and so forth and I'm sure once they get things planned it doesn't that do your life some advantage?

>> I mean do you feel better about things?

I think that people when when they're leaving and they have that they feel like I've done something good, I'm organized.

I feel very positive about that for sure.

>> Well, Brian, what a great show tonight.

Thank you.

Have information of course we'll see you again very soon.

All right.

Thank you.

And our thanks to Brian Yujin spending time with us this evening.

In the meantime, you can review this program as well as others on YouTube and our Web site and until next time all of us here are wishing you a great LIFE Ahead.

Thanks so much for watching.

We'll see you next time