The holidays are a special time with family and friends. You can take the opportunity to check on elderly loved ones. It’s also a great time to discuss planning. Read on to learn more.Getting Together with Family for the Holidays … [Read more...]
Reasons an Estate Plan Could Be Challenged: Part 3 – Fraud
An Estate Plan is an essential part of your planning process. But there are ways an Estate Plan can be challenged as being invalid. This is the third part of a series of articles on ways an Estate Plan might be invalid and how to avoid these pitfalls. This article looks at fraud.Reasons an Estate Plan Could Be Challenged: Part 3 – Fraud … [Read more...]
Reasons an Estate Plan Could Be Challenged: Part 4 – Lack of Testamentary Capacity
An Estate Plan is an essential part of your planning process. But there are ways an Estate Plan can be challenged as being invalid. This is part of a series of articles on ways an Estate Plan might be invalid and how to avoid these pitfalls. This fourth article in the series looks at testamentary capacity.Reasons an Estate Plan Could Be Challenged: Part 4 – Lack of Testamentary Capacity … [Read more...]
What Is a QDOT?
There are many acronyms used in the legal field to shave down wordy descriptions, and the estate planning niche is not immune to this phenomenon. We have a number of different devices that are part of this alphabet soup, and one of them is the qualified domestic trust or QDOT.In this post, we will explain the value of this advanced estate planning tool that can be very useful for some high net worth families.Federal Estate Tax ParametersTo understand the value of a qualified domestic … [Read more...]
Veterans Pension Can Give Seniors a Boost
There are many people from our area that have served in the United States armed forces. These individuals and their families make great sacrifices, but they do get certain rewards for their service.Most people are aware of the fact that people that spend at least 20 years on active duty become eligible for a retirement pension. If you join up, the longer you stay in, the higher the pension amount will be when you put your military career behind you.This provides a clear pathway toward a … [Read more...]
Can Medi-Cal Take Your Home?
Before we get to the specific subject of this blog post, we should explain why Medi-Cal may be relevant to you when you are a senior citizen. If you have worked and paid taxes for at least 10 years, or if your spouse has done this, you will qualify for Medicare when you reach the age of 65. This program will provide a health care insurance underpinning, but there are out-of-pocket expenses, and there is one huge gap.Medicare will pay for convalescent care after an injury or illness when … [Read more...]
Another Type of Medi-Cal Planning
Generally speaking, in the elder law/estate planning field, the term “Medi-Cal planning” is used to describe a very important strategy. To provide a brief explanation, a significant percentage of senior citizens will ultimately reside in nursing homes. Medicare will not pay for the custodial care that these facilities provide, but Medicaid is set up to absorb long-term care costs.Since Medicaid is a health insurance program that is intended for people with very limited resources, you have to … [Read more...]
Charitable Giving Can Enhance Your Legacy Plan
Legacy planning can be described as a more comprehensive approach to the estate planning process, and it is something to take into consideration if you have accumulated significant resources. When you proactively shape your legacy plan, you take control the way that you will be remembered after you are gone.For some, the estate tax will be a concern. It carries a 40% rate on asset transfers that exceed $11.4 million. This is the amount of the exclusion during the current calendar year, and … [Read more...]
The Questions of Estate Planning, Part 5: How
People often have questions about Estate Planning. This is the fifth in a series of articles addressing those questions. This fifth article addresses “how” to do Estate Planning. Read on to learn more.The Questions of Estate Planning, Part 5: How … [Read more...]
Probate, Living Trusts & Heggstad Petitions: Part 3
This is the final post in a three-part series that started out explaining some facts about the probate process.To recap, if you were to use a will to state your final wishes, generally speaking, the executor would admit the document to probate. Subsequently, the court would supervise the administration of the estate.The heirs would not be able to receive their inheritances until the estate was probated and closed by the court, and this will usually take about nine months at minimum. … [Read more...]
