Monthly Archives: April 2020

Planning and Administrating Estates During The Time of COVID-19: The State of Surrogate’s Court Practice

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The recent executive orders by Governor Cuomo has allowed estate planning attorneys and clients to use alternative means to prepare and finalize their planning documents. However, while it is still relatively easy to complete your estate planning, the areas of estate administration and practicing before the New York Surrogate’s Courts has become more complicated and uncertain.

Prior to April 13, 2020, the courts had limited the matters that they would hear and proceed upon to those that were deemed to be “essential.” This catch-all criteria was not fully explained and it was left to the petitioners/applicants to prove the essential nature of the specific cases. On April 13th, the courts expanded the matters that they would review to non-essential matters, but several obstacles remain for new and old petitioners.

First, given the state’s stay at home order, the personnel currently working at each court is extremely limited. Second, because of the limitations on movement, all filings are now being made either by mail or the state’s e-filing system.   While the latter is theoretically quicker than in person filing, not all counties are employing it and many are relying solely on mailed in documents. The postal service has become less reliable during this crisis and the timing of delivery of documents is increased.

In addition to these challenges, for matters where there are conflicts, the court has delayed any future in person hearings through May in some cases. In addition, the courts are also delaying issuing citations through the end of May as well. All of this together presents a great challenge to individuals with matters before the court or new matters that need to be filed.

Patience and preparation, as is the case with much of what is going on in the world today, are key to weathering this current modified court administration. Petitions that would normally take several weeks will likely be delayed even after these restrictions are lifted due to the backlog of matters. In order to reduce the delay, if you do have a matter that is already in process or needs to be filed, do not delay collecting, executing or sending any necessary paperwork to the court or your attorneys so that you will be better situated than those who wait for the current pause to end.

 

Planning and Administrating Estates During The Time of COVID-19: Virtual Execution of Documents.

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The current crisis has posed specific problems as it relates to the execution of new estate planning documents. Unlike in other areas of transactional law, the execution of documents which will ultimately be filed with the New York Surrogate’s Court require adherence to a series of formalities not required of other legal documents. Specifically, with regard to last will and testaments and other estate planning documents, there is a requirement for such documents to be witnessed by two or more persons at the time the signatory of the document is executed. The current restrictions on public gatherings made this requirement seemingly impossible until there was an easing or lifting of the restrictions.

Fortunately, over the last month, Governor Andrew Cuomo has issued a pair of executive orders which allow for the virtual execution and witnessing of certain legal documents including wills and other estate planning documents. The executive order can be found here:

https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/no-20214-continuing-temporary-suspension-and-modification-laws-relating-disaster-emergency?fbclid=IwAR3ukaFetCzvov8fgAB8IQM88OWp60gRf_2KX918BKOsRvwYmeIJGYVTq8g

Specifically, in order to utilize virtual execution and witnessing of documents, the following is required, namely:

  • If the person executing the documents is not known to the witnesses, they must present identification at the time of the virtual meeting;
  • The individual, witnesses and any supervising attorney must be able to verbally interact in real time during the execution of the documents;
  • The witnesses must receive an electronic copy of the signed document on the same date it was executed and may then sign where needed and transmit the witnessed document back to the individual; and
  • The witnesses may repeat the witnessing of the documents upon receipt of the electronically executed and witnessed documents within thirty (30) days of the execution of those documents.

This executive order follows a previous order which allows notary publics to take virtual acknowledgment of a signatory’s signature.   Collectively, these two orders remove physical separation and the current stay-at-home orders as barrier to current execution of documents. This is especially important for persons who become sick and need documents executed in a timely manner.

Planning and Administering Estates During the Time of COVID-19: What if I get sick?

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There are two components to any properly drafted estate plan: planning for your assets and family when you die and planning for what happens if you are alive, but become ill, incapacitated or unable to make certain decisions. The former is what many focus on when they begin the process of planning and often treat the latter as an afterthought. During these times of uncertainty, the importance of preparing for possible illness, incapacity or even unavailability has become paramount.

One of the cruel aspects of the current pandemic is that due to the extremely contagious nature of COVID-19, people who become ill typically become isolated either at home or, in more dire situations, in a hospital. If a patient’s condition worsens, they may no longer be able to express their medical wishes to their doctors. If this happens, having a health care proxy and living will can allow a loved one or friend to inform the doctors and other medical professionals of your wishes.

A health care proxy is simply an appointment of another person to speak on your behalf regarding your medical treatment if you cannot do so yourself. Absent further instructions, the proxy will be vested with the ability to decide what forms of treatment the patient should be given and, potentially, if treatment should cease. The living will serves as a guide for the proxy to follow to determine what your wishes are should you be unable to express them. Common provisions in these documents include directions regarding artificial nutrition and hydration, the decision to shift to palliative care and when and how to cease treatment. These decisions are personal to each person and should be considered in consultation with loved ones and your attorney.

In addition to healthcare decisions, if a person becomes significantly ill, it is unlikely that they will be able to handle their financial and personal affairs. To ensure that these matters can continue to be handled, it is recommended that every person have a power of attorney naming one or more persons as their attorney-in-fact/agent. The power of attorney allows an individual to grant their agents’ some or all of an enumerated list of powers to handle their affairs. Power of attorneys can be durable (meaning they go into effect upon execution) or springing (meaning they go into effect upon a specified event occurring). While both accomplish the same goals, a durable power of attorney does not require any outside assessment to be used. For those with concerns over these powers being abused, every agent must counter-sign the document and are considered fiduciaries under New York law.

As more people become sick and are hospitalized, the need for these two essential documents will likely increase. Having them prepared while you are healthy is a valuable safeguard over your personal and financial well being should you fall ill.

Planning and Administering Estates in the Time of COVID-19: Keeping Your Plan Updated

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At the end of any meeting where a will, trust or other document is executed, one of the common questions I receive is how often should a client’s documents be reviewed/changed. My common answer is that major changes to three main areas of importance-health, wealth and family-should trigger a call or email to your attorney to discuss what, if anything, needs to be changed.

It is my sincere hope that during this health and financial crisis, none of you experience any such changes. But, I would suggest that the current national crisis-and any future crisis-should provide a fourth clear reason to review your existing planning. Specifically, during this time when most of us are at home and not venturing out often, there are four areas that should be specifically reviewed, namely:

Fiduciaries: The current crisis has exposed the importance of additional factors to consider when selecting fiduciaries including executors, guardians and trustees. The physical and mental health of chosen fiduciaries may, under circumstances such as the present crisis, may not be as solid as you may wish it to be. Older fiduciaries who are more susceptible to the virus and who also are being advised to remain at home may not be in as great of a position to serve as they would under normal circumstances.   Finally, while proximity is not an official barrier to selecting someone, travel limitations and availability should be factored into these choices.

Funding existing trusts. Whether a trust is irrevocable or revocable and regardless of its intended purpose, if it is not funded, then it accomplishes nothing. Individuals often execute trust agreements and wait till a later date to fund the trust. If you have not funded an executed trust, this is an opportune time to do that for many types of assets. Real property may pose certain problem due to the delays at the county clerk’s offices, but the paperwork can be begun now even if the documents cannot be filed until a later date

Completing beneficiary designations. Amongst the easiest things that you can do to bolster your estate planning is ensure all beneficiary designations for any paid on death accounts and policies (retirement account, life insurance and annuities typically) are up to date and correct.   Most companies have the forms available online and those that do not can be contacted to get such forms.

Making taxable gifts. Individuals often forget to take advantage of the annual $15,000 gift tax exclusion ($30,000 for married couples) that provides a good opportunity to benefit their children and other heirs as well as reduce the size of their taxable estates.   Like reviewing your beneficiary designations, this takes minimal effort and cost to achieve potentially significant results.

A general review of your existing estate plan may uncover additional areas that you may want to revise. In many cases, the benefit of these reviews far exceeds the downside of not doing so.