A Letter of Instruction Can Spare Your Heirs Great Stress

Letters of Instruction

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While it is important to have an updated estate plan, there is a lot of information that your heirs should know that doesn't necessarily fit into a will, trust or other components of an estate plan. The solution is a letter of instruction, which can provide your heirs with guidance if you die or become incapacitated.

A letter of instruction is a legally non-binding document that gives your heirs information crucial to helping them tie up your affairs. Without such a letter, it can be easy for heirs to miss important items or become overwhelmed trying to sort through all the documents you left behind.

The following are some items that can be included in a letter:

• A list of people to contact when you die and a list of beneficiaries of your estate plan
• The location of important documents, such as your will, insurance policies, financial statements, deeds, and birth certificate
• A list of assets, such as bank accounts, investment accounts, insurance policies, real estate holdings, and military benefits
• Passwords and PIN numbers for online accounts
• The location of any safe deposit boxes
• A list of contact information for lawyers, financial planners, brokers, tax preparers, and insurance agents
• A list of credit card accounts and other debts
• A list of organizations that you belong to that should be notified in the event of your death (for example, professional organizations or boards)
• Instructions for a funeral or memorial service
• Instructions for distribution of sentimental personal items
• A personal message to family members

Once the letter is written, be sure to store it in an easily accessible place and to tell your family about it. You should check it once a year to make sure it stays up-to-date.


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The Law Offices of Jeremy W. Howe, LTD. are ElderLaw attorneys in Rhode Island who specialize in wills and trusts, estate planning, guardianship, probate, and Veterans Aid and Attendance Benefits.

They also are Newport Rhode Island Divorce Lawyers, Attorneys, Mediators, and Arbitrators providing services for family law issues such as divorce, child custody and visitation, support, and military family law. 

Call them today at 401-841-5700 or visit them on the web at http://www.CounselFirst.com.

Social Security's Benefits for Spouses

Social Security Benefits for Spouses

Read more HERE

Social Security doesn't just pay retirement benefits to retired workers; in some circumstances, it also provides benefits to a worker's spouse or ex-spouse and to a deceased worker's surviving spouse.

Here are the ins and outs of spouse and survivor benefits.

Spousal Benefits

Spouses are entitled to benefits if the marriage lasted at least 10 years. A spouse is entitled to an amount equal to one-half of the worker's full retirement benefit. To receive this benefit, you must be at your full retirement age or caring for a child who is under 16 years old. In addition, your spouse must have filed for Social Security retirement benefits even if he or she isn't receiving them.

If you could receive more from Social Security based on your own earnings record than through the spousal benefit, the Social Security Administration will automatically provide you with the larger benefit. If you have reached your full retirement age, you may also elect to receive spousal benefits and delay taking your benefits, allowing your own delayed retirement credits to accrue, and switch to your own benefit at a later date. However, you cannot elect to receive spousal benefits below your retirement age and later switch to your own benefits.

If you begin collecting your spousal benefit before your full retirement age, your spousal benefit will be permanently reduced. But if your spouse retires early, but you wait until your full retirement age, you will still receive benefits based on one-half of his or her full retirement benefit.

Divorced spouses

An ex-spouse is also entitled to receive one half of the worker's full retirement benefit as long as the marriage lasted at least 10 years. Unlike a current spouse, a divorced spouse can begin receiving benefits even before the worker has applied for benefits. The worker must be at least 62 years old and the divorce must have been final for at least two years.

Survivor Benefits

If you are a surviving spouse at full retirement age, you are entitled to the worker's full retirement benefits. If the worker delayed retirement, the survivor's benefit will be higher. Survivors are entitled to benefits even if they are divorced as long as they had been married for at least 10 years. If you file for benefits before you are over age 60, but below full retirement age, you will receive a reduced percentage of the worker's benefits. Surviving spouses who are younger than 60 receive benefits only in limited circumstances, such as cases of disability or caring for a disabled child.

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The Law Offices of Jeremy W. Howe, LTD. are ElderLaw attorneys in Rhode Island who specialize in wills and trusts, estate planning, guardianship, probate, and Veterans Aid and Attendance Benefits.

They also are Newport Rhode Island Divorce Lawyers, Attorneys, Mediators, and Arbitrators providing services for family law issues such as divorce, child custody and visitation, support, and military family law. 

Call them today at 401-841-5700 or visit them on the web at http://www.CounselFirst.com.

Are you Covered?

Here is an excerpt from our monthly newsletter from Robin G Smith Consulting. Insurance Advice and Advocacy for Seniors.

Call her at 888-363-3914 Or Email robin.g.smith@att.net.

You can contact our office as well to determine whether you could benefit from Robin’s services, or if you want to discuss similar or other elder law issues. 401-841-5700
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Many people will continue to work well past 65, or will have an illness where day to day expenses will not be cov­ered. Critical illness insurance pays a lump sum when you get sick with one of the covered illnesses, and can be pur­chased to age 69 (and kept as long as you pay the pre­mium). This insurance has become very popular as boom­ers know people who have strokes, heart attacks, or who are diagnosed with cancer, and the expenses that ensue.

One of the frustrations of clients trying to get long term care coverage, (i.e., chronic care not covered by Medicare) is that they are deemed too old and/or too sick to qualify. I now offer a Home Care Plan that pays for home care ser­vices and can be purchased at any age. It’s a membership plan, rather than insurance, and a good deal for clients who believe they or a loved one will need home care services in the near future.

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The Law Offices of Jeremy W. Howe, LTD. are ElderLaw attorneys in Rhode Island who specialize in wills and trusts, estate planning, guardianship, probate, and Veterans Aid and Attendance Benefits.

They also are Newport Rhode Island Divorce Lawyers, Attorneys, Mediators, and Arbitrators providing services for family law issues such as divorce, child custody and visitation, support, and military family law. 

Call them today at 401-841-5700 or visit them on the web at http://www.CounselFirst.com.

WHAT IS ELDER AND ADULT FAMILY MEDIATION?

Elder and Adult Family Mediation

Most of what we term mediation involves a process wherein litigants or contestants (or a group of people) with a problem participate in a process with a neutral mediator in order to find common ground by defining issues, exploring options and finding a solution. The participants make the decisions. The mediator(s) act as guides but do not judge or impose a solution.

In the case of "ELDER AND ADULT FAMILY MEDIATION" the process is utilized by elders, families with an elder involved, and families with no elder involved. The term has been coined to distinguish these mediations from "Family Law or Divorce" mediations. What type of problems fall into this category? In the "Elder" type are: Guardianships; Inter-generational issues; Advance Directives and Powers of Attorney; Estate Planning and all other family issues involving either an elder or elders and others. The "Adult Family" type might involve sibling disputes or rivalries, post-death problems or any other family problems that do not necessarily involve an elder.

The Rhode Island Mediator's Association is hosting a seminar regarding this type of mediation on April 18, 2012. Crystal Thorpe, a mediator and co-founder of Elder Decisions, in MA will describe the landscape of Elder and Adult Family Mediation and how it differs from other types of mediation. She will share her insights on why families come to mediation, who should be at the table, and the model her firm employs to serve clients. Jeremy Howe and Nancy Johnson-Gallagher (co-mediators at Partners In Mediation in RI) will also share their individual and joint perspective(s) on elder mediation in the Ocean State. Jeremy is an Elder Law Attorney and Nancy has extensive experience working with elders. This program will include a discussion of cases and it will highlight some of the challenges and benefits of this new area of mediation. If you are interested in attending please visit http://www.rimediators.org

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The Law Offices of Jeremy W. Howe, LTD. are ElderLaw attorneys in Rhode Island who specialize in wills and trusts, estate planning, guardianship, probate, and Veterans Aid and Attendance Benefits.

They also are Newport Rhode Island Divorce Lawyers, Attorneys, Mediators, and Arbitrators providing services for family law issues such as divorce, child custody and visitation, support, and military family law. 

Call them today at 401-841-5700 or visit them on the web at http://www.CounselFirst.com.