Blog Author: Stephen C. Hartnett, J.D., LL.M. (Tax), Director of Education,American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.This is another in a series of blogs on the basics of estate planning.Often, one of the most difficult choices for a person to make is the selection of people to make decisions for them. These fiduciaries may have great control over your affairs, typically at times when you would be most vulnerable or already gone.Let’s take a look at the various fiduciaries a … [Read more...]
How an Elder Care Law Firm Can Help
Elder Care Law Firms specialize in the issues that affect seniors. They are equipped to address the legal, healthcare, social and psychological needs of seniors and to develop a plan to meet those needs in an economical fashion that protects and preserves the income and assets of the elder to the greatest extent possible.How Can an Elder Care Law Firm Help You?If you are facing legal issues that include planning for Medi-Cal qualification, incapacity planning or end-of-life planning, an … [Read more...]
Does an Inheritance Count for Medi-Cal? (An Elder Law Today Blog)
Timing is everything. How often have you heard someone express that sentiment? And while it’s often true of life in general, it’s certainly true in Medi-Cal planning.So, does an inheritance count as an asset for Medi-Cal purposes? For a single person, the answer is clearly, “Yes.” If a single individual is spending down his or her assets, and before the spend-down is completed, that individual receives an inheritance, then those assets are added into whatever that person has and must be … [Read more...]
Free Living Trust Seminars April 29, May 2, 4 and 6
Helping to keep our community informed is important to us. We regularly get out into the community to provide helpful information to people here in the greater San Jose area. To this end, we present an ongoing series of informational workshops covering various elder care and estate planning topics.Our workshops and seminars are free of charge and open to the public. During the next two weeks, we will be offering seminars that focus on living trusts.Why Consider a Living Trust?Some … [Read more...]
Limits to Medi-Cal Recovery (An Elder Law Today Blog)
By: Matthew M. Shafae, AttorneyLaw Office of Roy W. LitherlandThe future of Medi-Cal eligibility has been the subject of speculation for a little over a decade now. Will the California implementation of the federal Medicaid system, known as Medi-Cal, finally implement federal laws enacted back in 2005? And now, with a Republican president-elect and a Congress with a Republican majority in both houses, it appears Medicaid funding may be an additional topic for speculation. How will Medicaid … [Read more...]
Advanced Medi-Cal Triggers – Spousal Election
By: Justin M. Kennedy, AttorneyLaw Office of Roy W. LitherlandWhile at an estate planning conference in November, one of the speakers discussed a planning strategy that may benefit many married couples. The planning strategy involves adding Advanced Medi-Cal Triggers to a married couple’s estate plan, specifically a Spousal Election to the Living Trust and testamentary special needs trust language within the Pour-Over-Will. For a married couple, upon the first death, the Spousal Election … [Read more...]
What Happens to a Living Trust when a Spouse Passes Away?
In this blog article, we will address the issue of living trusts as they apply to married couples and what happens to the trust upon the passing of the first spouse.First, we will review the value of living trusts in general.Many people assume that a last will is the best choice when they are planning their estates. They believe that trusts are only useful for those who are very wealthy. However, this is not entirely true. While there are trusts that are utilized to meet the objectives … [Read more...]
Successful Planning (An Elder Law Today Blog)
Elder law attorneys assist individuals and families in developing estate plans to avoid depleting their assets should they become ill and need long term care. For those individuals who are already in a nursing home, elder law attorneys help them qualify for Medi-Cal benefits while maximizing the amount of money they are able to keep.Here is an example of a family my office was able to assist:Planning for someone to take residence in a skilled nursing home and being able to qualify them … [Read more...]
Three Benefits of a Living Trust
There are a number of legal devices that are used in the field of estate planning. Depending on your unique circumstances, various different courses of action may be appropriate.Many people assume that they should use a last will to direct future asset transfers, but in fact a revocable living trust may be a better alternative.You may have heard about the numerous benefits of living trusts. In this blog post, we will address three of those benefits.Avoiding ProbateOne of the … [Read more...]
Register for our Upcoming Free Medi-Cal Planning Workshop, Thursday, April 21
The Medicaid program is a jointly administered federal/state government health insurance program. In California, it is called Medi-Cal.Most senior citizens who worked throughout their lives will qualify for Medicare coverage. This is also a government run health insurance program. If you qualify for Medicare, you won't need Medi-Cal at first, and you probably wouldn't be eligible, because Medi-Cal is a need-based program. People who have a reasonable store of assets cannot qualify.In … [Read more...]
