02-21-2024 PTL - Flipbook - Page 9
A Special Advertising Section of Baltimore Sun Media Group | Wednesday, February 21, 2024
should be a critical thinker and creative
thinker. If all we were was a person to
fill out forms, I don’t know why we’d be
necessary.
“When it comes to advanced directives,” Knepper says, “you can download
a form from the Office of the Attorney
General (www.marylandattorneygeneral.
gov). But ask yourself more probing
questions. Do you want visitors? Do you
want sustenance provided? How well do
you do with pain? These are very hard
questions. I encourage clients to think
about things that are not standard. You
can do that in an advanced directive.”
One thing Knepper tries to do is
keep an eye on practical issues with his
older clients. “I push clients to make firm
decisions, not to leave it up to the heirs
to ‘work it out amongst themselves,’
what is essentially a lottery. It’s unfair to
them, so choose. Someone has to be
in charge and make decisions. Others
come up with ideas that are incredibly
innovative and clever. During the estate
planning process, I enjoy it when clients
say something I never thought of before.
“Today, everything is more fluid.
People are more mobile and a lot less
predictable. They move to other states
due to changes in careers or the economy. There are, naturally, certain areas in
common in all states, but some states’
laws are moving targets and, it seems,
arbitrary. In one state, you need three
witnesses for a will, so if you only have
two, you’re in trouble. Having someone
with experience in this area of the law is
comforting as they know what they are
doing.”
Adashek talked about the process
you go through when making a will or
setting up a revocable living trust. “To do
my job well, I need to know about you.
All the people who provide services try
to sell you products. I don’t. I can look
at where you are in life – your savings,
disability, financial circumstances, plus
what stage you’re in in your life, such as
young children, or college age teens, etc.
– and help you plan for those children
and focus on your goals. I’m another set
of eyes without an ulterior motive.
“The other benefit I bring is when
I’m reviewing their circumstances, I can
provide an overview. And since I don’t
sell insurance or annuities, I can guide
people to what they need, what holes
exist in their plans for the future. Are you
on track or not?
“Depending on your age and whether
or not you have children, your needs
vary. That impacts your insurance planning: life insurance? Income replacement for one spouse or both? And if the
primary income earner dies, that money
needs to be replaced but so do the contributions to retirement?
“I refer to this as ‘integrated estate
planning.’ As you get older, you begin to
take into account your health, to make
sure you have adequate coverage, are
insured to reside and, eventually, die in a
safe, least restrictive environment. I have
never met anyone who wanted to die in
a nursing home. Most people can make
plans to avoid ever having that happen.
“Many of my clients are planning
in case they need care or in case they
become disabled. Then we do powers of
attorney (POAs) for financial matters as
well as health care POAs and trusts and
living wills for health care decision-making. We also help with MOLST (Medical
Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment).
The goal is to make the end of life comfortable and to prevent your assets from
going to the nursing home. We also do
succession planning for small businesses. Too often they are lost to the next
generation. We make sure all your wishes
will be carried out and the end of your life
is planned well.”
Most people are uncomfortable with
these end-of-life decisions, but they do
need to be thought through. They may
not be easy, but they are pretty simple.
Talk with yourself, your spouse or those
who will carry out your decisions. One
difficult talk is about the Quality of Life.
This includes topics such as life extending care or palliative/hospice/comfort
care. Whomever you designate should
know your choices. You need to share
your choices with your family members
in advance.
“In the end,” Adashek says, “you
want your estate planning to bring the
family together after you’re gone.”
Preparing for tomorrow,
continued on page 22
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