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ESTATE, TRUST, GUARDIANSHIP

Social Security Survivor Benefits

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Various benefits are available under the Social Security Laws to the survivors of a deceased worker who, at death, had enough credits and was fully insured.

 

At what age can a widow or widower collect? Widow’s or widower’s benefits, albeit reduced, are available when the surviving spouse reaches age 60, provided the widow or widower has not remarried before age 60. If the surviving spouse is disabled, benefits are available at age 50. If a widow or widower is receiving benefits based on the Social Security earnings of his or her late spouse, that widow or widower may, at a later date, switch to his or her own retirement benefit as early as age 62. This would make sense if the widow or widower own retirement benefit was of a greater amount than the survivor’s benefit.

Are survivor benefits available to divorced spouses? Survivor benefits are also available to divorced spouses, following a marriage to the now deceased worker that had lasted at least 10 years. Remarriage may disqualify the widow or widower from survivor benefits under certain circumstances. The amount of the benefit is pegged to the deceased worker’s “primary insurance amount” (PIA) rather than the widow’s or widower’s. The PIA is the benefit a person would receive if he/she elects to begin receiving retirement benefits at his/her normal retirement age.

Do the minor children of a deceased employee and dependent parents have benefits? Survivor benefits are also available to minor children of the deceased worker if they are in elementary or high school, but not college. Survivor benefits may be available to elderly (age 62 or older), dependent parents of a deceased worker if they do not have meaningful Social Security Benefits of their own. A family maximum benefit generally applies.

Surviving spouses, children and parents are entitled to various substantial benefits depending upon the specific circumstances. Urbach & Avraham, CPAs’  partner, Aryeh Levy, specializes in maximization of one’s Social Security benefits.  Please contact us for a consultation regarding your situation.

 

Did Grandma Move in with Your Family?

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Grandma is struggling and someone must take her to her many doctor visits, do her shopping and handle all her finances. Grandpa now needs assistance with daily living activities. It is much easier to take care of grandparents if they live closer…so, they move into your home.
As nursing home costs increase, adult children are finding that living together is an excellent arrangement, both financially and emotionally. However, having a parent move in is a huge adjustment and many logistics are involved.
Siblings tend to resent that one child may be enriching himself under the guise of taking care of Mom. They will be very concerned about many issues which can be subject to great controversy including:
• Compensation: Should Grandpa pay rent? How much can or should the parent contribute to the household? Should Grandma compensate the care-giver child? Will the adult child reduce his work hours or take early retirement as a result of the care-giving duties?
• Renovation of Home: Will the house need to be remodeled to accommodate an aging parent? Usually a room must be converted to a bedroom. Bathrooms need to be fitted with equipment for the elderly. Ramps are needed for easy access to the home.

  • Will the parents gift the funds to renovate?
  • Will the parents retain an ownership interest in the house?
  • Will this affect the parent’s eligibility for Medicaid?

• Tax ramifications: Can the adult child take Grandpa as a dependent and qualify as head of household?

  •  Can someone deduct as a medical expense the renovations to the home done to accommodate a disabled person?

• Healthcare: Should Grandma attend an adult day care? Will home-health aides be needed? What level care is needed? How do we properly pay the aides?
• Finances: Should Grandpa execute a Power of Attorney or is a Guardian needed? Will Mom qualify for Medicaid? Should an accounting be provided periodically to address financial concerns on an on-going basis? This may eliminate suspicions and avoid brewing family disputes.
There are many legal, financial and tax issues involved. Even if there are no siblings, all these items should be reviewed with an elder law attorney and a CPA. We work with many competent elder-law attorneys who can establish and document the plan most suitable for your family. We can advise as to the many tax ramifications. A plan well-structured and documented can reduce income taxes, maximize funds for grandparent’s care, enable your parent to qualify for Medicaid and avoid explosive family battles. Call our CPA firm to see how we can assist.

Taking Care of Mom’s Finances? Need an Accounting?

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For several years you’re taking care of Mom, dashing her to many doctors and handling her finances. All this while juggling a full-time job. Suddenly your siblings ask, “What have you done with Mom’s money?” “Please account for Mom’s funds for the years you were in charge.”

As children you fought over the teddy bear. Now you’re fighting over a million dollars or more. Family members tend to accuse the financial in-charge of mismanagement, improper transactions and pocketing funds. The financial in-charge may be a guardian, trustee or executor with control over a trust or estate, or a Power of Attorney in charge of the assets of an aging person.

Family monetary disputes can escalate quickly. Providing an accounting to interested parties can prevent explosive family battles and avoid costly litigation.

An accounting? No problem! After all, you kept all the bank statements and receipts for every expense. However, unfortunately, a formal accounting must be in a specific format strictly mandated by NJ Statutes in the Uniform Principal and Income Act.  The following do not constitute a formal accounting:

  • A stack of all the bank and brokerage statements
  • Boxes, envelopes and binders of all receipts for all expenses paid
  • The check register for the estate checking account
  • The fiduciary income tax returns for the trust or estate (Form 1041) or the individual income tax returns (Form 1040)
  • An Excel summary of all expenses paid
  • A profit and loss summary from Quickbooks
  • Mom’s medical records

Preparing a formal account can be an overwhelming process for a fiduciary.  The starting point is a list of all assets for the first day of the account period. All receipts, disbursements, gains and losses from disposition of assets, transfers and distributions are detailed.

We can relieve your burden, take your crates of documents and convert them into a formal accounting.  If there is a dispute about a specific asset or disbursement, we will add additional documentation to clarify, strengthen and justify our client’s position. Please contact us to see how our CPA firm can assist you.

 

 

 

Executor of Estate? Use our Executor Checklist as your Road Map

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The responsibilities of an Executor aren’t limited to deciding who gets which assets – it also means identifying all the decedent’s assets, and ensuring that the proper paperwork is filed with the

Overwhelmed?

IRS, the State and other agencies.To help you through this overwhelming time, Urbach & Avraham, CPAs has prepared an Executor Checklist that outlines the issues that an executor needs to consider.

Click here to access the:  Executor Checklist

 

 

The checklist is a roadmap of tasks, from probating the will, to filing a final Income Tax return and other required estate filings, to dealing with beneficiaries and distributing the assets. It’s loaded with tips on how to locate all assets, save various taxes and efficiently manage the estate administration.

This handy checklist is packed with reminders about technical questions to ask your CPA, legal or other financial advisor. We work with many qualified estate attorneys to seamlessly coordinate your situation.

Finally, the Urbach & Avraham Executor Checklist highlights the complexities presented when a family owned business is involved. Was there a buy sell agreement? Who is paying the estate tax on the business, and are funds available to pay the tax?

As an executor, you’re already coping with a lot of emotional and other issues. We’re available to help lift the financial burden by assisting you with accounting and tax matters during this difficult time.

Seminar Invite: How to Preserve Assets in Nursing Home Situation or Long Term Care Situation

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Urbach Avraham, CPAs

INVITES YOU TO A
Complimentary Seminar on “How to Preserve Assets
When Faced with a Nursing Home or Other Long-Term Care Situation”

 

Tuesday, July 9, 2019 from 8:00 a.m. to 9:45 a.m.
At 1581 Route 27, Suite 201, Edison, NJ 08817

As a service to our clients, we are pleased to host guest speaker,

Michael K. Feinberg, Esq. of Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis

Michael will discuss:

• How to preserve assets
• Can we keep our house? Our IRA accounts?
• Debunking the many myths about Medicaid

Michael Feinberg is a partner at Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis, LLP in Woodbridge, NJ. He is the current Co-Chair of the Elder Law Section of the Middlesex County Bar and is listed in NJ Super Lawyers in the Estate Planning and Probate Practice area. Michael concentrates in tax, estate planning, estate administration, elder law and tax controversies. Mr. Feinberg is a frequent lecturer on, and author of, various estate planning and elder law topics. He specializes in planning for incapacity and the availability of government benefits, while maximizing asset preservation.

Please RSVP to Pamela at  mailto:pma@ua-cpas.com

Bagel breakfast will be served!

Special Needs Trust Seminar

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Urbach & Avraham, CPAs

INVITES YOU TO A

Complimentary Seminar on Special Needs Trusts  

for your Disabled Family Member

Wednesday, May 22, 2019 from 8:00 a.m. to 9:45 a.m.

At 1581 Route 27, Suite 201, Edison, NJ 08817

As a service to our clients, we are pleased to host guest speaker,

Shirley B Whitenack, Esq. of Schenck, Price, Smith & King, LLP 

Shirley will discuss:

  • Brief overview of Special Needs Trusts
  • First and third-party Special Needs Trusts
  • Sole benefit of trusts- allows seniors to give money to a
    disabled person without incurring a Medicaid penalty-
    both elderly and disabled person can receive Medicaid benefits

Shirley Whitenack is a partner at Schenck, Price, Smith & King in Florham Park, NJ. She helps NJ families with elder and special needs law, estate planning and administration and trust & estate litigation. She is a Past President of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and a member of the Special Needs Alliance, an invitation-only group of special needs planning attorneys. Shirley publishes and lectures on topics related to guardianship, elder and special needs law, planning for incapacity and availability of government benefits, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability (SSD), Medicaid planning and estate and trust litigation.

Please RSVP to Pamela at pma@ua-cpas.com

Bagel breakfast will be served!