A guardianship proceeding could be convened if you were to become unable to handle your affairs as a senior citizen without taking any steps in advance to prepare for this contingency. Before you turn the page under the impression that you will never become incapacitated, you should understand some statistics.Incapacity can be caused by various different conditions, but there is one disease that completely changes the playing field. Everyone has heard of Alzheimer’s, but many are surprised … [Read more...]
What’s the Difference Between SSI and SSDI?
In the estate planning field, we often help clients that have concerns about eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI). This will usually be a factor when someone wants to provide for a loved one with special needs.There is another program that is similar in many ways called Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). The fact that it is a source of income for people that are disabled is self-apparent, but this program is separate from SSI. Let’s look at the differences between … [Read more...]
Estate Planning Demystified
People all too often put estate planning on the back burner because they view it as some type of huge, complicated endeavor that seems intimidating.It is true that arranging for the transfer of everything that you have accumulated throughout your life to the people that you love the most is a profound action. However, when you understand the basic structure, this seemingly gargantuan proposition shrinks down to size.With this in mind, let’s look at the basic framework of a typical estate … [Read more...]
Four Reasons to Engage an Estate Planning Attorney
There are companies on the Internet that sell downloads and worksheets that you can use to create legal documents, including estate planning devices like last wills. This can make it seem like you really don’t need a lawyer to plan your estate.Is this true? Since we are in the profession, you may assume that we cannot answer this question objectively, but you don’t have to take our word for it.Several years ago, three legal professors that were enlisted by the magazine and website … [Read more...]
Is Joint Tenancy a Good Estate Planning Solution?
It is said that a little bit of information is a dangerous thing, or something to that effect. This definitely enters the picture in the field of estate planning, because people often hear bits and pieces of information that contain shreds of truth.However, they do not understand the big picture. As a result, they sometimes take important actions that come around to bite them in the future. The decision to use joint tenancy as an estate planning solution is one of them.Probate … [Read more...]
When Does a Living Trust Terminate?
A living trust as an estate planning tool that is the ideal choice for a wide range of people. Unfortunately, many individuals harbor some misconceptions about trusts, and one of them is the notion that you lose all control of assets that you convey into any type of trust.In reality, this is not the case at all, because there are two different classes of trusts. It is true that there are irrevocable trust that cannot be dissolved, and generally speaking, the terms cannot be changed although … [Read more...]
Don’t Forget a Letter of Final Instructions
When you plan your estate, there will be a legal document at the core that you use to state your wishes regarding the distribution of your monetary assets. For most people, it will be a last will, and there are others that use trusts of various kinds.Making your decisions known can seem like the long and short of it, but you should certainly take the estate administration process into account. If you use a will, you would name an executor to act as the trust administrator after you are … [Read more...]
Estate Taxes 101
Many people have questions about the way that taxes come into play when an estate is being distributed. It may be natural to assume that an inheritance would be looked upon as taxable income by the Internal Revenue Service. In a rare instance of good news as it applies to the tax man, generally speaking, direct inheritances are not subject to regular income taxes.Another positive is the way that appreciable assets are treated when they are changing hands after someone dies. If you were to … [Read more...]
What Is a Third Party Supplemental Needs Trust?
When you discuss potentially challenging estate planning matters with an attorney from our firm, you will probably be pleasantly surprised when you become aware of the solutions. There are many different approaches that can be taken depending on the circumstances that exist.With this in mind, we will look at third party supplemental needs trusts in this piece.Government Benefit EligibilityA very significant percentage of people with disabilities rely on Medi-Cal as a much needed source … [Read more...]
What Does an Elder Law Attorney Do?
The attorneys here at Schomer Law Group address elder law and estate planning concerns. In a general sense, everyone knows what inheritance planning is all about, but the same cannot be said about elder law.In an effort to provide an explanation in a manner that is easy to understand, we will provide a hypothetical conversation between a client and an elder law attorney.Why would aging be a legal matter?That is a very good question, because the term “elder law” can be somewhat of a head … [Read more...]
