• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Who We Are
    • About Our Firm
    • Attorney and Staff Profiles
    • Scott P. Schomer Certified As Specialist In Estate Planning, Trust And Probate Law
    • Trust and Probate Litigation: Verdicts and Settlements
  • Services
    • Asset Protection & Business Planning
    • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
    • Family-Owned Businesses
    • IRA & Retirement Planning
    • Legacy Planning
    • LGBTQ Estate Planning
    • Loss of a Loved One
    • Power of Attorney
    • Probate
    • SECURE Act
    • Special Needs Planning
    • Trust Administration
    • Trust, Probate and Estate Litigation
    • Young Families
  • Probate
    • Is Probate Always Necessary In California?
    • Probate & Estate Planning Savings Calculator
    • Probate Administration
    • Probate Code 850 Petitions
    • Probate Disputes
    • Probate In California
    • Probate Laws
    • Probate Litigation
    • Why Hire A Probate Attorney
  • Elder Law
    • Conservatorship
    • Coping with Alzheimer’s
    • Estate Planning
  • Resources
    • Elder Law
      • Elder Law & Medi-Cal Definitions
      • Elder Law Reports
    • Estate Planning
      • Estate Planning Articles
      • Estate Planning Checkup
      • Estate Planning Definitions
      • Estate Planning Reports
        • Advanced Estate Planning
        • Basic Estate Planning
        • Estate Planning for Niches
        • Trust Administration
      • Incapacity Planning Definitions
      • Is Your Estate Plan Outdated?
      • Special Needs Planning Can Protect Benefits
      • Top 10 Estate and Legacy Planning Techniques
    • Free Estate Planning Worksheet
    • Free Seminars
      • Webinars
    • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Advance Health Care Directives
      • Asset Protection
      • California Adult Conservatorship
      • Estate Planning
      • Estate Planning & Remarriage
      • Frequently Asked Questions For Families Without An Estate Plan
      • In-Home Elder Care
      • IRA Inheritance Planning
      • IRA & SECURE Act
      • Irrevocable Trust
      • Last Will and Testament
      • Legacy Wealth Planning
      • LGBTQ Estate Planning
      • Living Trust
      • Probate
      • Special Needs Planning
      • Trusts
      • Trust Administration
      • Wills
    • Newsletters
    • Pre Consultation Form
    • Presentations
    • Published Book
    • Trust Administration & Probate Resources
      • Bereavement Resources
      • How to Know if You Need Extra Help With Your Grieving
      • Loss of a Loved One
      • The Mourner’s Bill of Rights
      • Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away With a Trust
      • Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away With a Will
      • Trust Administration & Probate Definitions
  • Reviews
    • Our Reviews
    • Review Us
  • Communities We Serve
    • Los Angeles County
      • Bellflower
      • Cerritos
      • El Segundo
        • El Segundo Probate Resources
      • Hawthorne
      • Inglewood
      • Long Beach
        • Long Beach Elder Resources
        • Long Beach Probate Resources
      • Manhattan Beach
      • Playa del Rey
      • Santa Monica
      • Westchester
        • Westchester Elder Resources
        • Westchester Probate Resources
    • Orange County
      • Anaheim
      • Buena Park
      • Cypress
      • Fountain Valley
      • Garden Grove
      • Huntington Beach
        • Huntington Beach Elder Resources
        • Huntington Beach Probate Resources
      • Los Alamitos
        • Los Alamitos Probate Resources
      • Rossmoor
      • Stanton
      • Seal Beach
      • Westminster
  • Contact Us
  • BLOG
  • Videos

Schomer Law Group, Los Angeles Estate Planning and Elder Law and Elder Law Attorneys

Schomer Law Group, Los Angeles Estate Planning and Elder Law and Elder Law Attorneys

Connect With Us Today (310) 337-7696

Attend a Free Event
Home » Estate Planning » These Estate Planning Errors Can Be Costly

These Estate Planning Errors Can Be Costly

November 6, 2020Estate Planning

estate planning errorsYou can sometimes learn from mistakes that are made by others. With this in mind, we will look at some of the common estate planning errors that are made so you can steer clear of them.

Failure to Consider Long-Term Care Costs

When you have been fully capable all of your life, it can be hard to envision a time when you will need help with your activities of daily living. This is understandable, but if you visit the LongTermCare.gov website, you will see that 70 percent of seniors will need living assistance.

You can expect to pay over a hundred thousand dollars for a year in a nursing home in our area, and 12 months is the average length of stay. The median cost for a home health aide in 2019 was just under $63,000 a year.

Medicare does not pay for this type of care, so the expenses could put a major dent in your legacy, and they can be doubled if you are married.

Medi-Cal does pay for custodial care, but you can’t qualify if you have significant assets in your own name. It is possible to establish a Medi-Cal trust to create the right financial profile, but you have to act in advance, because there is a 30-month look back period in California.

Failure to Update Your Plan

Statistics show that most adults do not have estate plans in place, and this includes individuals that are 50 years of age and older. Since so many people procrastinate, once they finally take action, they often tuck away the documents somewhere and forget about the matter.

Invariably, life changes can call for estate plan updates. Many of the procrastinators that finally take action allow inertia to set in once again when they know that they should make revisions.

Unfortunately, some of these people never get around to it until it’s too late. This is a mistake that you should certainly avoid.

Estate planning should be viewed as an ongoing process from the outset. You should understand the fact that revisions or adjustments will probably be needed over the years and act accordingly.

Settling for a Simple DIY Will

The websites that sell boilerplate, fill in the blanks legal documents contend that anyone can plan their own estate using generic worksheets and downloads. In fairness, a layperson can execute a legally binding simple will, but this is usually not going to be the best choice.

A will must be admitted to probate, which is a time-consuming and expensive legal process. Probate records are available to the general public, so there is also a loss of privacy.

Generally speaking, transfers through the terms of a will would be distributed in lump sums all at once, and many people would prefer to attach some strings.

If you use a living trust instead of a will as the centerpiece of your estate plan, the trustee that you name in the document would be able to distribute assets outside of probate.

You would dictate the nature of the distributions when you establish the trust declaration. If you want to allow for limited distributions over time, you have that ability. It is also possible to protect the principal from the beneficiary’s creditors.

In addition to the revocable living trust, there are other types of trusts that can be used to satisfy specific objectives. There are many tools in the estate planning tool kit, and there is no reason to settle for an approach that is less than ideal.

Attend a Free Webinar!

We are conducting webinars on an ongoing basis to provide educational opportunities to members of our community. There is no charge to attend these sessions, and you don’t have to leave your home to join us, so this is a great way to invest a little bit of your spare time.

Though there is no admission charge, we ask that you register in advance so we can reserve your spot. You can see the schedule and obtain registration information if you head over to our estate planning webinar page.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Cesar Gil
Latest posts by Cesar Gil (see all)
  • What Happens If I Leave Property Out of My Living Trust? - December 21, 2021
  • Answer These Questions to Shape Your Estate Plan - December 8, 2021
  • What Are the Medi-Cal Rules for a Healthy Spouse? - December 6, 2021

Other Articles You May Find Useful

Los Angeles estate planning attorneys
What Is Missing in Your Estate Plan?
Los Angeles estate planning attorneys
What Is the Uniform Transfer to Minors Act?
Abogados de planificación patrimonial de Los Ángeles
Planificación Patrimonial para Parejas Sin Hijos
Now That Mid-Terms Are Over, Let’s Talk Taxes
Los Angeles estate planning attorneys
Estate Planning for Couples Without Children
Common Mistakes in Estate Planning – Part V

Primary Sidebar

Schomer Law Group, Los Angeles Estate Planning, Probate, and Elder Law Attorneys

Schomer Law Group

FREE Estate Planning Worksheet

There's a lot that goes into setting up a comprehensive estate plan, but with our FREE worksheet, you'll be one step closer to getting yourself and your family on the path to a secure and happy future.

Testimonials

Client Review
July 29, 2020
    

We need to update our Living Trust and attended Schomer Law Group’s seminar. Afterwards we made an appointment and were impressed by the attention Scott Schomer and Liran Aliav gave to our case answering all questions and making suggestions how to minimize the estate tax. All the office staff is very friendly and we highly recommend Schomer Law Group.

Frank & Jutta R
Client Review
July 29, 2020
    

Mr. Schomer does an amazing job at explaining all the intricacies of establishing a trust. He and his team help you every step of the way so you always know what to expect and what you are preparing for. Best education you can get and the best gift you can give your family.

Paula M.
Client Review
July 29, 2020
    

We put off getting a trust for years. After attending a seminar with Scott Schomer we realized that the time had come to get a trust. We were given very good reasons for why we should get a trust. No pressure, just the plain facts. We are very relieved and happy to finally get our trust. Scott and Cesar were very knowledgeable, helpful and listened to our ideas of what we had to say. Any questions that we have now and in the future they are available to assist us to solve them. I recommend the Schomer Law Group and I wish we knew about them years ago.

Phillip G.
Client Review
July 29, 2020
    

When you’re presented with an invitation to attend in a mailer, you may have reservations, this was a truly gift!! My wife and I were educated and guided through the process of creating a family trust.
Both of our parents had attorney’s that “worked” with wills/trusts, but came up short. Fortunately, the Schomer Law Group was there! This is a group of attorney’s that only specialize in estate planning, law, and financial advice, so you know you’re getting expert and personalized advice. This is the best money we’ve ever spent!! Thank you!

Bob L.
Client Review
July 29, 2020
    

We knew we had to update our 10 year old ( 20 page ) trust. After several detailed meetings, Liran and Cesar produced a large ( 300 pages + ) highly detailed trust document that we have used to make sure our family estate is well managed and clearly understood.
They were all very helpful in answering myriad questions and explaining all the various options…

We would strongly recommend the Schomer Law Group to anyone with an estate of even modest means, to assure proper planning…

Bob S.
Client Review
July 29, 2020
    

We had contemplated updating our will and starting a trust for a number of years. After attending a talk by Scott Schomer we realized we were long overdue and the potential downside of not having our affairs in order was significant. Scott and his excellent team made the process simple and seamless. They were great listeners, addressed all our concerns and even pulled and processed all the paperwork from our financial institutions. If you are looking for assistance with estate planning, wills and trusts, we highly recommend Schomer Law Group.

Robert F.
Client Review
July 29, 2020
    

Very competent & informative – friendly atmosphere – ready to answer the most mundane questions – relaxed.

Joan S.
Client Review
July 29, 2020
    

Mr. Schomer was excellent in getting our family trust and estate affairs in order. My husband and I had put off doing this and Scott really made the process easy! He is very passionate in making sure his clients get all that they need and we really appreciated it. I would highly recommend him and look forward to the many years he will be available to assist our family.

Kim

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkdin
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Subscribe To Our Blog

Sign up using the form below to get our latest estate planning updates!
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Office Address

El Segundo
2155 Campus Drive
Suite 250,
El Segundo, CA 90245
Phone: (310) 337-7696
Fax: 310-337-1277

See Larger Map Get Directions

Office Hours

Monday9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday9:00 AM - 6:00 PM

Footer

  • Advantages of Working With Our Firm
  • About The American Academy
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • Contact Us

Schomer Law Group

Connect with Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkdin
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

footer-logo
© 2023 American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.

Schomer Law Group

Attorney Advertisement.

© 2023 American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.