When you are interested in planning your estate, you can't help but think about the period of time that will precede the trigger event, and of course this is as it should be if you want to make comprehensive plans. You may have very specific goals that you want to accomplish with your legacy, and how well you plan for the latter stages of your life will have a significant impact on what it is that you have to leave behind to your loved ones. When you have the larger picture in mind … [Read more...] about Incapacity Planning: Must-Have Documents
Incapacity Planning
Estate Planning & The Realities Of Alzheimer's Disease
On the surface estate planning may seen like a pretty cut and dried matter. You make an appointment and spend some time with an estate planning lawyer, draw up a will or a trust, and that's it, end of story. This can can be the way you go about it, but if you want to be sure that you are truly prepared for all of the eventualities of aging, you would do well to take a more comprehensive approach. Ii is human nature to assume that the state of consciousness that you are in at any given … [Read more...] about Estate Planning & The Realities Of Alzheimer's Disease
Long Term Care Costs: Planning Required
Estate planning is usually seen as something that involves the distribution of your assets after your death, and rightly so. But the totality of the matter blends into the period of your life that precedes your passing. Why is this? To put it bluntly, if you don't have anything left when you die any planning that you may have done regarding inheritances is not going to have a whole lot of value. Obviously there are those who have sufficient assets to easily handle any and … [Read more...] about Long Term Care Costs: Planning Required
Advanced Health Care Directives: A Brief Overview
When you decide to do some research into estate planning you will invariably see a number of legal instruments referred to that you may not be entirely familiar with. Advance health care directives can fall into this category for many people, so we would like to provide a brief overview to give you an idea of what these vehicles are intended to achieve and why they are important. The most commonly used advance health care directives are the living will and the durable medical power of … [Read more...] about Advanced Health Care Directives: A Brief Overview
Long Term Care Insurance Can Be The Solution
One of the top stories in the elder law community of late has been the rising cost of long term care. This is a very complex matter because the playing field is changing as the costs are rising, and there are no easy answers. Let's start by recapping the costs associated with long term care, which we have touched on previously in this space. According to a MetLife market survey, in 2010 the national average charge for a day in a private room in a nursing home was $229; this factors out to … [Read more...] about Long Term Care Insurance Can Be The Solution
How Can I Protect My Loved One in Nursing Home?
Leaving a loved one in the care of others is not an easy decision to make. The best-case scenario would be for a relative or close friend care for them. As this is not always possible due to schedules and the complicated medical care needed, you may have to trust nursing home staff to oversee care of your family member. This can be a nerve-wrecking and frightening decision, but there are some things you can do to ease your mind and ensure that your loved one is receiving optimal care. Make … [Read more...] about How Can I Protect My Loved One in Nursing Home?
What is Guardianship and When is it Necessary?
Guardianship is a legal proceeding by which a person petitions the Court to allow the petitioner to assume control over the physical person or property of another person. Guardianship can occur in several circumstances: Injury or illness of an adult that leaves the adult unable to care for themselves or their propertyMinor Children who do not have a parent to care for themMentally disabled persons who are at risk of being taken advantage by designing personsOlder adults suffering from … [Read more...] about What is Guardianship and When is it Necessary?
When to Use a Living Will
People are living longer, which means more may face mentally debilitating diseases such as Alzheimer’s or other long term illnesses. These people may no longer be able to make their own medical decisions. So, how are decisions made? If there are no disability planning documents, a court will name a guardian to make all decisions for that person. Having someone else make all of your decisions may seem scary. If so, you should use a Living Will along with other disability planning … [Read more...] about When to Use a Living Will
Women and Long Term Care
Many women that are now retired or will retire soon are not prepared, especially when it comes to paying for any long-term care that they might need. Studies have shown that one of the main reasons why a lot of women are not prepared for retirement is the belief system they were exposed to early in life. In one study about half of the women surveyed were brought up to believe that a man would care for their financial needs throughout their lives, but only about 3% of women now believe this. … [Read more...] about Women and Long Term Care
What Is a Special Needs Trust?
If you want to provide for a disabled child or adult, you might want to consider a special needs trust, also called a supplemental needs trust. A special needs trust gives a disabled or incapacitated person the little “extras” in life without endangering their public assistance benefits such as food stamps, Medicaid, or Supplemental Security Income “SSI.” Such trusts can allow for education, travel, and home care above what is provided by public benefits, etc. There are a couple of … [Read more...] about What Is a Special Needs Trust?
