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Last week Gov. Snyder signed 2 new pieces of legislation that can affect an estate plan.

Senate Bill 551 contains several amendments to Michigan’s Probate Code (EPIC) allowing you to designate a “Funeral Representative” who will have the power to make decisions about your funeral arrangements. Before enactment of these amendments, Michigan law established an order of priority for who had authority to plan your funeral, and you could not change it. Now, you  can designate a person who will have that authority.

The second piece of legislation is the “Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act”. Among other things, this legislation creates the procedures for how you can give legal authority to an individual to access your digital assets (i.e. email, Facebook, twitter, etc.) in the event of your incapacity or death. The legislation overcomes many of the limitations on access to your digital assets created by Terms of Service Agreements. The legislation, also, establishes what you need to do if you do not want a fiduciary to have access to your digital assets.

Did you recently get a notice that your personal information was exposed in a data breach? Or learn that an online account was hacked? Depending on what information was lost, here are steps recommended by the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) that you can take to help protect yourself from resulting identity theft: Lost or Exposed Personal Information.

Did someone steal and use your personal information? You must act quickly to limit the damage. Fortunately, the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) provides detailed instructions on what you need to do at IdentityTheft.gov.

You can help prevent a loved one’s identity from theft after their death by contacting the credit reporting bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion). You will have to provide their Social Security number, and tell the credit bureau that the person has died. Request that their credit report be flagged with the note “Deceased. Do Not Issue Credit.”

If you are in charge of settling the estate you can, also, request a copy of the deceased’s credit report so you know what accounts need to be closed. You might have to provide the credit bureau with a death certificate and your Letters of Authority.

Although you are divorced, you may be surprised to know that you still may be entitled to receive social security benefits on your former spouse’s work record. Even if your former spouse has remarried! However, if you have remarried, you normally cannot collect benefits on your former spouse’s record unless your subsequent marriage ends. According to the Social Security Administration, you can receive benefits if:

• Your marriage lasted 10 years or more;
• You are 62 years of age or older;
• You are unmarried;
• Your former spouse is entitled to Social Security retirement or disability benefits; and
• The benefits that you are entitled to receive based on your own work record are less than the benefits you would receive based on former spouse’s record.

What if your former spouse hasn’t applied for benefits?

If your former spouse has not applied for benefits, you still may receive benefits on his or her record if (1) your former spouse qualifies for them, and (2) you’ve been divorced for at least two years.

What if you are eligible for benefits?

If you’re eligible for benefits, Social Security will pay that amount first. However, if your former spouse qualifies for a greater amount, you will receive a combination of benefits equivalent to the greater amount (reduced by age). If you have reached full retirement age and you qualify for a former spouse’s benefit and your own benefit, you will have a choice to receive only the former spouse’s benefits and delay receiving retirement benefits until later.

What if your former spouse is now deceased?

If your former spouse has died, you may still be able to receive benefits just as a widow or widower would. Your marriage to the worker must have lasted 10 years or more. If you care for a child who is (1) under 16 or is disabled and (2) is getting benefits on your former spouse’s record, the length of the marriage doesn’t matter. The child must be a natural child of your former spouse or legally adopted by your former spouse.

I am pleased to report that as of February 24, I am now an accredited attorney for the preparation, presentation, and prosecution of claims for veteran’s benefits before the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). If you are the surviving spouse of a veteran, and in need financial assistance, please call and set a time for us to get together to see if veteran’s benefits might be available to you.

Money Smart Week® (MSW) is a series of free classes and activities designed to help consumers better manage their personal finances. MSW partners will be hosting their events April 21 – 28, 2012.