Category Archives: Elder Law
Asset Protection Options for Your Business and Personal Wealth
Amassing and maintaining any level of financial security requires planning and sacrifice to ensure that any decisions made do not unnecessarily expose assets to outside risk. People often think that asset protection strategies are only useful to the very wealthy, but anyone with property of value would benefit from review and advice from an… Read More »
When Are Trusts Modifiable?
Trusts are an excellent estate planning vehicle for providing comprehensive and wide control over the use, management, and access beneficiaries have to assets after death. If the right trust is chosen and structured correctly, this arrangement can benefit the financial security of a family for generations. Consequently, working with the right estate planning attorney… Read More »
Who Is Responsible for Remaining Debts after Death?
Estate planning is primarily about settling two issues: distributing property to surviving heirs and limiting one’s exposure to liability for death-related taxes. In line with the second issue is the question of settling a loved one’s remaining debts after death. All estates which pass through probate, which is a substantial number, must provide notice… Read More »
What to Expect in the Guardianship Process
Age affects people differently, and can lead to significant physical and/or mental issues as the body and mind register the toll of living a long and full life. When it appears to family members and friends that an individual’s capacity to handle his/her affairs is compromised, they may look to the guardianship process for… Read More »
Why You Need a Pour-Over Will
With access to online estate planning forms, putting together a basic estate plan, even if insufficient and misdirected, is relatively easy. One popular option people routinely choose is a revocable trust because of the perceived tax advantages and creditor protections, with the creator retaining control until death. Once he/she passes, the trust reverts to… Read More »
Medicaid Liens and Survivor’s Rights
Medical issues rarely arise gradually over time, but instead, often occur suddenly, and require immediate action to address. When a person’s health condition becomes severe, requiring around-the-clock care, many families are forced to put loved ones in nursing homes to provide the individual’s medical needs. Medicaid is the program most Americans living in nursing… Read More »
Taking Control of Your Healthcare
Most people enjoy relatively stable and strong physical and mental health during most of their lives. In fact, good health is easy to take for granted until an emergency injury or illness occurs that causes a person to face the vulnerabilities of the human body. As the body ages, debilitating conditions become more likely,… Read More »
Choosing the Right Trustee
Putting together an estate plan can be quite complicated, especially if a person owns a number of different assets and/or has many heirs/beneficiaries. One common feature of more complex estate plans involves the creation of trusts to achieve goals related to maintaining privacy, avoiding the costs of probate, tax planning, deferred distributions, provisions for… Read More »
Can You Disinherit a Spouse or Child?
When people think about putting together an estate plan, most focus first on how to adequately provide for their spouse and/or children. However, for a number of reasons, a person may desire to leave his/her spouse or child out of the estate plan. Not only is this approach against societal norms, it is also… Read More »
Taking Over the Affairs of Declining Elderly Parents
With the ease of communication and travel, people are no longer tied to a desk or a particular location for work. This reality means more and more people are moving away from family and friends, creating significant relational and legal issues if an elderly parent starts to decline, and is no longer capable of… Read More »
