Writing Your Tulsa Estate Planning Blog

People have been known to be declared deceased prematurely because of clerical errors made by government employees. For one Spanish woman, that has caused a nightmare.

There is a master government list that has your name and other identifying information on it. When you pass away, that will be recorded and your death will be noted on another master list.

These lists are maintained so the government and private businesses can know when you are eligible for services and when your eligibility ends. For example, the government uses the lists to know when you can receive Social Security and when to stop sending benefits to you.

Human error sometimes causes problems with the list.

People who are still alive are accidentally put on the master list of the deceased.

That can cause some problems, but usually not as bad as what one Spanish woman is going through as Fox News reported in “Spanish woman wants to open up grave to prove she’s alive.”

Juana Escudero has been deceased for seven years. Well, not really, she’s actually still alive.

The Spanish government just thinks she’s dead, because seven years ago someone with her exact same name and place of birth was recorded as deceased.

As a result, Escudero has not been eligible to receive government services, including going to a doctor, for the last seven years. Her efforts to convince the government that she is alive, have so far been fruitless.

She’s asking the government to open the grave of the person they declared dead, so she can prove it is not her.

In the U.S., it is easier to fix these clerical errors, but it still is not always easy.

If it happens to you, then it is a good idea to get an attorney to help you.

Reference: Fox News (Sep. 27, 2017) “Spanish woman wants to open up grave to prove she’s alive.”

Social Security has a little known program that can help families with elderly members who are not able to handle their own finances.

One of the many problems which families of the elderly have to face, is that the elderly person can lose the ability to handle his or her own finances.

Through no fault of their own, they forget what bills they need to pay.

They give money to people to whom they should not give it.

They are susceptible to scammers.

Some of these problems can be handled with a general durable power of attorney. However, many families worry that because the Social Security check still comes in the name of an elderly person with dementia, the money might still be lost.

However, that worry is unnecessary, since Social Security has a program that can help in these situations, as Forbes discusses in “The Social Security Program For People With Dementia.”

The program is the Social Security Representative Payee Program.

It allows someone else to receive the benefit checks of a Social Security payee as a representative.

It is a little known program that has been around for almost as long as Social Security itself.

For families that know about it and use the program, it can provide a great relief.

Unfortunately, it can be a bit of a challenge if one wants to sign up.

It requires a lot of paperwork to be submitted.

For that reason, people who are interested in using the program, might want to first consult with an elder law attorney.

Reference: Forbes (Sep. 26, 2017) “The Social Security Program For People With Dementia.”

Everyone in Washington knows that Social Security needs to be reformed. However, that reform is unlikely to come anytime soon.

The future for Social Security is inevitable.

If nothing is done, then sometime in the 2030s the Social Security Trust Fund will run out of money.

That does not mean that retired people will stop receiving benefits, but it does mean there will be automatic benefit cuts as the program will only be able to pay out as much as it is then receiving.

This eventuality has been known for several years now. Most people would like to fix it sooner rather than later.

However, reforms to Social Security are not expected soon, as Forbes discusses in “When Can You Expect Social Security Reform?”

The problem is that the Republicans and Democrats are very far apart on how they would like to fix the program.

Republicans would like to raise the retirement age as part of any fix. Many of them would also like to privatize the program.

Both of those ideas are staunchly opposed by Democrats, who would instead like to find further funding, so Social Security benefits can be increased.

This stalemate is not going to end in the near future.

That means it is unlikely the parties will compromise to come up with a fix.

Do not expect them to do so, until the very last minute when a compromise must be reached or benefits will be cut automatically.

Reference: Forbes (August 29, 2017) “When Can You Expect Social Security Reform?”

Early signs indicate that Social Security benefits could see a dramatic increase next year. That will be welcome news for seniors whose benefits have lagged far behind their buying power.

Every year the Social Security benefits that millions of senior citizens receive on a monthly basis are supposed to increase with the cost of living. However, it has long been pointed out that it does not really happen.

The methods used by the federal government to determine cost of living adjustments are not an accurate reflection of the purchasing power of recipients. For example, since 2000 benefits have risen 43%, but senior buying power has risen 86% according to advocates.

The average increase in benefits in the last few years has only been 1%, since overall official inflation rates have been low.

That could change next year, according to Barron’s in “Big Social Security Bump Could Be Coming.”
Early signs indicate that a benefit increase of 2.1% is coming next year.

That is good news for seniors who have seen their benefit dollars pay for fewer and fewer of their expenses.

The bad news is what that might mean for the health of the Social Security system itself. It needs to be adjusted to make sure the Social Security Trust Fund does not run out of money in the next couple of decades, which would result in automatic steep benefit cuts.

Benefit increases are only expected for now.

No official announcement will be made until October. Therefore, seniors should not plan for raises yet.

Reference: Barron’s (June 6, 2017) “Big Social Security Bump Could Be Coming.”

The last attempt by the Social Security Administration to increase online security was a disaster that did not last long. The agency is about to try again.

It is relatively easy to log in to the Social Security Administration and get access to all of the information about your account. A few basic details are all that is required.

This has led to concerns about privacy and identity theft.

Since it does not take much for a legitimate user to log in, it does not take very much for thieves to log in either. The agency attempted to fix this problem in 2016, by requiring a two-step verification process before account access was granted.

That was short-lived, however, as many people were unable to log in to their accounts.

The agency is going to try again with a modified process, as Investment News reports in “Social Security Administration steps up online security.”

In its last attempt, the agency sent users a code via cellphone to verify their accounts before they could log in. That was a problem, since many elderly people do not use cellphones.

This time around, the agency will let people choose to have the code sent by cellphone or email. It is assumed that if are trying to access their Social Security accounts online, then they will almost certainly have email accounts, even if they do not have cellphones.

This change is scheduled to take effect on June 10, 2017.

Anyone who has problems accessing their Social Security accounts online after that, should speak to an elder law attorney.

Reference: Investment News (May 15, 2017) “Social Security Administration steps up online security.”

It is well-known and accepted that parents are required to provide care and support for their minor children. What is less well-known, is that in over half the states, adult children can be required to provide care and support for their elderly parents.

There are many laws on the books that receive very little attention because they are very rarely used. If few ever bother to attempt to enforce a law, then there is usually no reason for people to bring it up.

However, sometimes those laws do eventually become important, because of a general change in circumstances that sees those laws starting to be used more frequently.

An example of this is filial-responsibility laws.

These are laws that have been passed in 28 states that require adult children to provide financial support for their elderly parents, if the parents are unable to pay their own bills, as the Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog discusses in “Filial-Responsibility Laws Could Cost You.”

These laws were not used much in the past because government programs for the elderly such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid provide financial support for the elderly.

Today, with people saving less and living longer, many elderly people are not able to afford the costs of their own care, which is increasing.

Nursing homes in states with filial-responsibility laws are increasingly looking to enforce them against children with parents who do not pay their bills.

This is yet another reason to make sure that you plan for your retirement and estate. If you do not, your children might be required to pay for you.

Reference: Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog (May 3, 2017) “Filial-Responsibility Laws Could Cost You.”

Student loans are often thought to be an issue for younger people, but data suggests that they are increasingly becoming an issue for senior citizens.

In recent decades, the costs of getting a college education have skyrocketed at a rate that far surpasses the general rate of inflation. This has caused more and more students to take out student loans.

After graduation these students start their careers with large debts that sometimes are in the six figures, especially if they received post-graduate degrees. This issue has started to attract the attention of many politicians who have tried to figure out how to make college more affordable and how to make it easier for people to pay off their student loans.

Many people assume that these politicians are merely paying attention in order to attract younger generations to vote for them. However, data compiled by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau suggests that student loan debt is also an elder law issue, according to Financial Advisor in “Student Loan Debts Plague Older Americans.”

In 2015, 2.8 million people age 60 or over had student loan debts. The majority of them took out the loans for children or grandchildren, but 27% had student loan debts from their own educations.

A total of 37% of people with student loan debt over the age of 65 were in default, which means that their Social Security payments can be reduced, their tax refunds can be taken and their wages can be garnished.

This is a particular problem for people on Social Security since the program is designed to eliminate elder poverty.

If the payments are reduced to pay back the government for student loans, then the poverty reduction benefits of the program are also reduced.

Reference: Financial Advisor (Jan. 16, 2017) “Student Loan Debts Plague Older Americans.”

The Millennial generation might still have a long way to go before they reach retirement age, but they should be paying attention to elder law issues that will affect them in the future.

People of all generations tend to pay the most attention to the issues that affect them directly and immediately.

Most senior citizens do not think a lot about the cost of a college education and the availability of entry level jobs. Conversely, younger people do not think much about Social Security and Medicare. Each group has more pressing concerns that hold their attention.

However, the younger Millennial generation should pay attention to Social Security and Medicare.

Some people believe that stock markets will be bearish in the next few years. As a result, Millennials should save 25% of their current income to make sure that their retirement nest eggs grow at the appropriate rate, according to Wealth Management in “Should Millennials Double Retirement Savings Rates?”

Many Millennials will quickly point out that due to other economic factors beyond their control, they cannot afford to save 25% of their incomes, or even the traditional 10-15%.

As a result, people in that age group will be reliant to some extent on Social Security and Medicare when they retire. Since both of those programs face impending financial problems, Millennials need to pay attention to how these programs might change.

They should not consider it just an issue for older people. It will be their issue one day.

Reference: Wealth Management (Jan. 11, 2017) “Ken Thompson’s mother says she was cut out of will by late Brooklyn DA’s wife.”