We often hear from clients many reasons why they waited so long to draft their estate plans.
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We often hear the same reasons over and over as to why people don’t have an estate plan or haven’t gotten around to drafting an estate plan.
Some of the most frequent reasons and why they shouldn’t stop you from having an estate plan are:
I don’t have enough money, property, etc. Estate planning is not just about assets. Estate planning is a way to protect your wishes, in the event of incapacity. If you have young children, estate planning allows you to choose their guardian, something should happen to you. Estate planning also allows you to direct medical and financial care, should you become incapacitated. Further, most people have more assets than they realize. Estate planning is for everyone, no matter the size of your estate.
I’m too young, I’ll worry about it later. We hear this often. Unfortunately, life can change in an instant. No matter how old you are, you could be involved in an accident or have an unexpected health issue. It is essential to get documents in place to protect you. While your documents may change over time, having foundational documents in place will help you later on.
I’m scared to talk about it. We understand. Talking about incapacity and death is not fun. However, once your estate planning is done, it will give you incredible peace of mind. It also allows you the ability to think about it and have documents in place before an emergency occurs. We help our clients have the difficult conversations and put their minds at ease with tailored solutions to their matters.
I did it online. Online estate planning can lead to a lot of issues. Online documents may not be the correct documents for your state or situation. They might not be legal, if they are for a different state and may fail to have the appropriate language. They are also not likely tailored enough to help best protect your interests and your assets. Online estate planning can lead to lengthy and expensive probate battles.
It’s too expensive. We know that estate planning comes with an upfront cost. However, this cost is much less than if your estate has to go through probate. It also allows you to make a plan for your assets, instead of letting the state decide where your assets go upon your death. Estate planning also provides you peace of mind by letting you decide who will get to make financial and healthcare decisions on your behalf. Good estate planning will help you protect your assets in regards to tax liability, future disputes and probate court costs. Upfront planning can save money in the long run.
None of the above reasons should keep you from completing your estate plan. It is always better to do an estate plan now, and update it in the future if need be.
We can help you determine what documents are best suited for your situation and help you get tailored language in place to protect you, your wishes, your family, and your assets.
Contact us today to help you get the right documents in place or to update your current estate plan. We will plan so that you don’t have to worry about your future.
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The Long Island housing market slogged through another disappointing month in December, capping off a year of transition for the residential real estate industry.
As had been the case for most of 2022, home sales slowed down, and home prices continued to retreat again last month.
There were 1,583 Long Island homes contracted for sale in December, down 14 percent from the 1,846 pending sales of the previous month and a drop of 34.4 percent from the 2,414 homes that were contracted for sale in Dec. 2021, according to preliminary numbers from OneKey MLS.
The number of Long Island home sales in December was the lowest number of December home sales in the last nine years.
Home sales on Long Island have seen year-over-year declines since the overheated pandemic market began to cool in the second half of 2021. There were 28,214 homes contracted for sale in Nassau and Suffolk counties in 2022, a nearly 21.5 percent drop from the 36,065 pending sales in 2021.
The meteoric rise in Long Island home prices that was propelled by the pandemic-fueled buying frenzy has come back down to earth. The median price of closed home sales in Nassau last month was $652,500, down from $668,000 the previous month and the lowest median price since last March.
In Suffolk, the median price of closed home sales in December held steady at $545,000, the same as the previous month, and the lowest median price since April’s median of $540,000.
While prices have been sliding back, they remain higher than a year ago, if only barely. Nassau’s median price of closed home sales last month was just 1.2 percent higher than the $645,000 median recorded in Dec. 2021. Suffolk’s median price of closed home sales last month was 3.8 percent higher than the $525,000 median recorded in Dec. 2021.
While current mortgage rates are averaging about 6.5 percent for a 30-year fixed loan and nearly double what they were a year ago, they haven’t caused big drops in home prices because of the still-low inventory of homes for sale here.
There were 5,154 homes listed for sale with OneKey MLS—2,374 in Nassau and 2,780 in Suffolk—as of Thursday, which is down 14.4 percent from the 6,025 homes that were listed for sale at the end of November. But the current inventory is also 17.3 percent higher than the 4,394 homes that were listed for sale at the end of Dec. 2021.
“In 2023, we expect a more normally paced market without the buying frenzy prompted by the pandemic and rock-bottom mortgage rates of the previous two years,” Deirdre O’Connell, CEO of Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty, said when asked about her outlook for the coming year. “With many homeowners locked into very low-rate mortgages, many are not in a rush to move, which is adding to the limited number of available homes on the market.”
Skyrocketing hire and meals prices have firm: Well being care prices are also hovering, and what’s worse, they in all probability will rise far more and will assist hold total inflation elevated for a while, analysts say.
Customers are solely seeing slight will increase in premiums which have lagged total inflation, however these premiums might rise considerably subsequent yr as well being care prices catch up, in line with a Kaiser Household Basis (KFF) research on Thursday.
The medical care index, a subset of the patron worth index, accelerated to 0.8% in September from 0.7% inAugust. Over the previous yr, it was up 6%, the biggest 12-month enhance since 1993 however nonetheless under the general 8.2% tempo of inflation.
That lag in well being care inflation to total shopper inflation may very well be an ominous signal for customers.
“Most of the premiums for 2022 had been finalized within the fall of 2021, earlier than the extent of rising costs grew to become clear,” mentioned KFF’s survey, which included 2,188 interviews with non-federal private and non-private corporations from February by means of July. “As inflation continues to develop at comparatively excessive ranges, we might probably observe the next enhance in common premiums for 2023 than we now have seen in recent times.”
Inflation is anticipated to spice up annual US nationwide well being bills by $370 billion by 2027 in contrast with pre-pandemic projections, consulting agency McKinsey estimated in a report in September.
What do individuals pay now for medical insurance?
Annual household premiums for employer-sponsored medical insurance common $22.463, simply up from $22.221 final yr. On common, staff this yr are contributing $6.106 towards the price of household premium, with employers paying the remaining.
Employees at small corporations with lower than 200 staff pay greater than their counterparts at bigger corporations, KFF mentioned. Employees at small corporations on common pay $7,556 out of their paychecks yearly for household protection, in contrast with $5,580 for these at bigger companies,
“Employers are already involved about what they pay for well being premiums, however this may very well be the calm earlier than the storm, as latest inflation means that bigger will increase are imminent,” KFF President and Chief Government Drew Altman mentioned. “Given the tight labor market and rising wages, will probably be powerful for employers to shift prices onto staff when prices spike.”
Why is well being care getting costlier?
Larger prices of provides and labor are contributing to the will increase.
Early within the pandemic, well being care provide costs spiked amid provide disruptions and better demand. Between 2019 and 2022, pharmaceutical costs rose 21% and provides by 18%, McKinsey mentioned. These prices are nonetheless increased than regular however are displaying indicators of slowing.
In distinction, labor prices are nonetheless rising strongly and possibly will outpace the general inflation price, analysts say.
“Labor’s very important as a result of it has the potential to be persistent,” mentioned Shubham Singhal, world chief of McKinsey’s Healthcare, Public Sector and Social Sector observe.
He expects wages will proceed to rise because the well being care labor scarcity worsens whereas demand for providers grows, partly the results of an growing older inhabitants.
Between 2019 and March 2022, a measure of hospital labor prices known as the median labor expense per adjusted discharge rose 37% to $5,494 from $4,009, Kaufman Corridor consulting agency mentioned in a report in Might.
It is vital to take the time to discover your choices relating to Medicare.
When will well being care premiums go up?
Customers who purchase their very own insurance coverage might see steep premium will increase subsequent yr.
Throughout 72 insurers in 13 states and the District of Columbia within the Reasonably priced Care Act (ACA) Marketplaces, the median proposed premium enhance subsequent yr is 10%, increased than in recent times, early estimates by Peterson-Kaiser Well being System Tracker present. Subsidies could assist some customers keep away from full worth hikes, although.
Well being care costs are set at the very least a yr forward, making a delay earlier than wage will increase and different prices associated to broader inflation are totally integrated into well being care prices.
Suppliers who’ve handled hovering prices prior to now 18 months solely just lately are getting an opportunity to renegotiate funds and move on some added prices to insurance coverage firms or authorities entities.
By 2024, all employers’ prices “will probably be crushing in full drive,” Singhal mentioned. “A lot of that may fall to customers as a result of employers have premium sharing” with staff.
“It is a slow-moving practice,” he mentioned, however it’s coming.
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How do medical care prices have an effect on inflation and Fed price selections?
As a result of well being care, like hire, usually does not see common worth surges, when its costs rise, economists take into account this “sticky” or persistent inflation. They take a very long time to rise and a very long time to say no.
Inflation might keep increased longer and result in the Fed elevating its short-term benchmark fed funds price even increased to squash inflation. Most shopper charges comply with the Fed’s benchmark price increased, which makes borrowing costlier and discouraging spending. Much less spending means much less demand, which cools inflation.
In depth providers: Worth of products could also be stabilizing, however service prices stay excessive, fueling inflation
Inflation warning: Jackson Gap speech: Jerome Powell hints at extra aggressive Fed price hikes to repair inflation
How can the price of well being care be lowered?
Layoffs and growing productiveness can minimize prices, McKinsey mentioned.
Greater than 25% of executives in a McKinsey survey imagine they could have to chop at the very least 10% of their workforce, principally nonclinical staff like private care aids, within the subsequent six to 18 months, it mentioned.
Executives (66%) additionally wish to enhance productiveness with expertise, particularly in processing paperwork.
Longer-term, Singhal mentioned, the trade can speed up value-based care, which ties funds to the standard of care supplied. This contrasts with the dominant fee-for-service reimbursement, which pays suppliers for providers delivered based mostly on invoice prices or annual payment schedules.
One other technique could be shifting some hospital care to completely different websites. “Some surgical procedures could be carried out cheaper in an ambulatory surgical procedure heart as a substitute of a hospital,” Singhal mentioned. “House care settings can be the identical or higher high quality at decrease prices.”
Medora Lee is a cash, markets, and private finance reporter at USA TODAY. You’ll be able to attain her at [email protected] and subscribe to our free Each day Cash publication for private finance suggestions and enterprise information each Monday by means of Friday morning.
This text initially appeared on USA TODAY: Why well being care prices are about to skyrocket due to inflation
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A latest research discovered that over 20% of healthcare organizations hit with ransomware assaults had a rise in mortality charges.
Cyberattacks and breaches proceed to be a relentless stressor on healthcare entities, endlessly.
Frequent assaults towards healthcare entities embrace:
Ransomware
Phishing
Cloud breaches
Provide chain interruption
Ransomware tends to trigger probably the most points with affected person care, as it may result in delays and longer affected person stays.
Many healthcare entities are fearful about their vulnerability within the occasion of a ransomware assault.
Whereas many healthcare entities have taken steps to handle potential areas of concern, breaches proceed to mount.
How will you shield your healthcare entity and your sufferers?
Be certain that your staff are educated. Staff are sometimes the primary to come across the breach, ransomware, or a phishing e mail rip-off. If staff are educated to reply rapidly and effectively, they will usually assist mitigate damages.
Be certain that your know-how is updated. Have a course of for rolling out safety patches and updates in order that software program and {hardware} vulnerabilities do not linger.
Understand how you’ll reply within the occasion of a breach. Anybody may be focused for a breach, however having a backup plan and catastrophe response plan is essential. Will you be capable to change to backup information, in case your entity is hit with ransomware? How lengthy will it take you to stand up and operating on backup programs?
Be sure you know the solutions to those questions and are comfy together with your response occasions.
In case you need assistance figuring out your vulnerabilities and mitigating dangers, contact Rickard & Associates immediately.
It’s important to guard your information and your sufferers now.
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When a whistleblower go well with is introduced in opposition to an organization or apply, there have been normally many warnings that had been ignored or not handled appropriately. Many instances, wrongdoings are dropped at mild internally first.
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Typically, the worker who turns into the whistleblower tried to boost the problem internally earlier than going exterior the corporate.
There are additionally fears of retaliation by many whistleblowers. Concern of retaliation can lead an worker to report wrongdoings to an out of doors board or entity.
So how do you keep away from a whistleblower problem?
Whereas it is not possible to make sure that you’ll by no means have a whistleblower go well with in your palms, you’ll be able to take steps to ensure your staff’ issues are acknowledged.
First, ensure your staff have quite a lot of methods to boost their issues, together with an nameless choice.
As a part of your common compliance coaching, ensure your staff know of all of the methods to boost points and allow them to know that you just need them to return ahead with issues. In case your staff deliver their issues ahead, it may well allow you to enhance your apply, affected person care, and dealing relationships.
Let staff know that you just take issues critically and can absolutely examine, and the place essential, remediate issues.
Once we work with practices and firms on their compliance plans, insurance policies and procedures, or worker handbooks, we ensure to place in place strong inside reporting strategies.
Stress the significance of open communication to your staff after which observe by way of. You possibly can’t anticipate your staff to consider you, for those who do not take the time to truly pay attention and tackle issues.
Busy practices will typically have an legal professional examine and tackle worker issues, to have impartiality and legal professional consumer privilege. This additionally lets your staff know you are taking their issues critically, when an outsider is introduced in to analyze.
Having open communication together with your staff will result in higher working relationships and a greater general firm.
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