There is no one who wants to think they may be incapacitated by illness or trauma. People experience it every day, unfortunately. With this knowledge, many people like to prepare in advance for the kind of treatment they want in the event of cardiac arrest, respiratory failure, stroke, and brain death. Some people would allow […]
Exactly what are special needs? Individuals with special needs are those who face learning difficulties, behavioral or emotional difficulties, or physical difficulties. For example, individuals with autism, ADHD, Asperger syndrome, Down syndrome, dyscalculia, dyslexia, deafness, blindness, and cystic fibrosis fall into the special needs category, as do cleft lips, missing limbs, and more. The US government […]
Estate planning is a major concern for the older generation, as you might expect, however, a survey found that 19 percent of people over 72 and 42 percent of those between 53 and 71 do not have an estate plan in place. Although managing these details can seem daunting, and even depressing, the task becomes […]
The onset of dementia can lead to a loss of financial security due to the degeneration of your brain function. If you are age 50 or older, easy access to your financial assets like stocks and bonds, checking and savings accounts, money market accounts, and other assets can lead to the loss of these funds […]
There are many legal issues affecting older or disabled individuals that fall under elder law. Attorneys who practice elder law advocate for and create legal plans to assist seniors, and their loved ones, in living better lives. Elder law may include planning for retirement, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, long-term care planning, estate planning, guardianships, […]
No matter where you are in the estate planning process or if you are just starting to consider your options, you probably have questions about how you want your assets distributed and who should be given that responsibility. A trust can be a great tool in your estate planning tool kit. A properly created trust […]
In addition to guardianships and conservatorships, will contests, real estate disputes, and litigation over the true intentions of gifts, probate litigation may include guardianship disputes and conservatorship disputes. The most successful approach to mitigating or avoiding probate litigation risk is carefully planning for the future. Comprehensive estate plans that are routinely updated, careful consideration and […]
Estate planning presents unique challenges for families with special needs children. Optimizing your estate to use, enhance, and enrich assets for your special needs child while maintaining their enrollment in public benefits programs requires careful planning. An estate planning attorney can prepare a special needs trust to accomplish these and other goals you have for […]
Most likely, you have a beneficiary, as beneficiary designations are common in retirement accounts, wills, and trusts. A beneficiary is an individual (or legal entity) to receive the proceeds from a financial product or vehicle when the owner passes away. What begins as a simple directive in naming a beneficiary can suddenly become complex with […]
A Health Care Power of Attorney, also known as a Health Care Proxy or Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care, lets you appoint someone (a proxy or agent) to make health care decisions on your behalf if you are incapable. If you are unable to manage your health care alone, you can give legal […]
At first glance, life insurance may not seem to have any bearing on how assets are distributed in your estate plan. However, life insurance can be an integral, indispensably important part of a well-thought-out estate plan. There are numerous other benefits to owning a life insurance policy aside from providing a large sum of money […]
One of the most difficult things we will have to do in life is contemplate our own death. Yet, if we want our dying to be meaningful and merciful, it is imperative that we think about it while we still can. Most of us want to die at home, in a familiar and peaceful setting […]