Crafting Your Legacy: Essential Tips for Protecting Your Family’s Future with Brian Tully, Episode #191

Brian Tully, Esq. is the founder and managing partner of Tully Law Group. He enjoys serving his clients and the community as a trusted senior advocate in the legal, financial, and healthcare realms.

Brian’s firm is known for a unique and comprehensive elder care service called “Life Care Planning” which combines asset protection, Medicaid qualification, care coordination, advocacy, and crisis intervention.

He also provides traditional elder law and trusts and estates services with a focus on Guardianship and Probate proceedings and Estate and Trust Litigation.

Listen in for some great takeaways about Brian and his journey to helping families navigate the financial and legal challenges of aging.

What is estate planning? Why is it important?

Estate planning has evolved into “Upon my passing, this is where my assets go.” Estate planning also encompasses incapacity planning (i.e. who helps you make decisions as you age).

Many people believe that they don’t need to do estate planning and that “Things will take care of themselves.” Only 20–25% of Americans have a will, much less a comprehensive plan in place. Secondly, people don’t understand that a will requires a probate proceeding, which can last 6–18 months before loved ones can inherit from you.

In New York, a probate proceeding is public. Everything that’s filed—the assets, kid’s addresses, personal information, etc.—are in the public realm. Companies go into the courthouses and copy the data. You don’t want that to happen.

That’s why a do-it-yourself type of plan often doesn’t cut it. Brian has seen too many estate plans and power of attorneys lacking critical information. You need to work with an experienced attorney.

Key documents for estate planning and end-of-life care

There is likely going to be a point in time in-between documents being signed and your passing that there will be a need for long-term care. Where will you receive it? Who will provide it? How will it be paid for? Will it be private funding, a long-term care policy, or covered by Medicaid?

You need to make sure you have advanced directives in place. Brian emphasizes that a “Durable Modified Power of Attorney (POA)” is the most important foundational document. The Tully Group creates plans that include a last will and testament, POA, health care proxy, and a living will.

POAs exist to appoint 1–2 agents to help you if you lose mental capacity or decline cognitively. They handle legal and financial matters. But the document is only as good as the powers written in it. Most standard forms are insufficient.

If there’s a decline in capacity and no POA in place, the family is thrust into a guardianship or conservatorship process (far worse than a probate proceeding). Listen to learn about other crucial documents to have in place.

Navigating healthcare proxies and POAs

Both Brian’s kids had a power of attorney and healthcare proxy in place before they went to college. Why is it so important? Legally, when a person turns 18, they’re no longer a minor. If something happens to them, someone needs to make their medical decisions. It’s easier and more efficient to have a healthcare proxy saying someone like mom or dad can talk to the doctors on their behalf.

It can also be as simple as a student traveling abroad for a semester. If they need help with banking or other financial matters, having a POA in place can help. Every adult, young or not, should have a basic plan in place.

If a parent passes away and there are minor children, a guardian is appointed by the court (even if one parent is still alive) to ensure the minor child is taken care of. To avoid this, name a guardian in your last will and testament.

Guardianship and inheritances for minor children

You don’t want a minor or young adult inheriting property at a young age. It’s often squandered. Instead, you want to build a trust to protect the money. The trust is made available for health and education needs but they won’t get full access to that inheritance until a certain age, specified by you. There can be protections in place for other circumstances that may arise.

Learn more about the importance of estate planning in this educational episode of Mitlin Money Mindset®!