In the event that you are incapable of communicating or making decisions for yourself, a living will outlines your end-of-life care and medical treatment preferences. Everyone should have an advance directive, as end-of-life situations can happen at any age due to an accident or illness. Living Will This legal document identifies medical treatments you would […]
Instead of paying someone else or transferring a senior loved one to a facility, wouldn’t it be much better if a family member gave them care at home? The family member can pay the bills, balance the checkbook, keep the house clean, shop and make meals, and take their aging parent on outings and to […]
Although elder law and estate planning are both concerned with aging issues, elder law focuses mainly on issues that seniors face as they grow older. How Estate Planning and Elder Law are Similar No matter what stage of life we’re in, we face challenges. Hope for the best, but plan for the worst. We can […]
In estate planning, two types of trusts are commonly used: irrevocable trusts and revocable trusts. In each case, there are advantages and disadvantages. However, both trusts are legal arrangements to manage and distribute your property during your lifetime or afterward. The creator of a trust is a grantor who funds it by transferring their assets […]
Typically, a special needs trust (SNT) provides additional financial support to individuals of any age with disabilities while maintaining their eligibility for government benefits. Under the SSA expenditure rules, an SNT can provide additional monies to enhance the beneficiary’s lifestyle while maintaining Medicaid, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), or Supplemental Security Income (SSI). The trust […]
The idea that you’ll save money by creating an estate plan on your own may seem appealing. However, it can be costly in the end, both financially and in terms of family well-being. Estate planning involves important decisions about how your assets will be distributed after you die and who will manage your affairs. Online […]
When you don’t discuss your inheritance with your adult children, you risk negatively affecting their decision-making. Managing expectations and knowing how the inheritance situation will affect them can lead to better decisions. These are practical matters of allocating resources for things like housing, retirement, 529 plans, and more. When children don’t understand your inheritance intentions, […]
The importance of estate planning cannot be overstated. If you’re a young couple with minor children, estate planning can help protect your family in case of a medical emergency, such as incapacitation or death. While it’s difficult to think about what happens to your children if you die, ensuring enough money is available for their […]
With advances in medicine, technology, and life science, we are now living longer, on average, than previous generations. But simply living a longer life should not be the goal. Maintaining a healthy quality of life should be. After all, who wants to live a long life filled with sickness and ailments? The earlier you adopt […]
The US imposes estate taxes on assets transferred from the estate of a deceased individual to heirs or beneficiaries. In understanding the basics for estate taxes, an estate tax is not the same as an inheritance tax. It’s a tax on the total value of a person’s assets at the date of death. The estate […]
