If you’re considering setting up a trust to protect your assets, you’re not alone. Many people in or near retirement believe a trust is the best way to protect their life savings, especially if long-term care becomes necessary. Some lawyers will push you toward a revocable trust, claiming that it’s all you need. But before you sign anything, it’s worth taking a closer look at what a revocable trust actually does and Read More

When most people think of estate planning, they think of a will. It feels like the obvious first step—something everyone “should have” in place, especially before a big trip or after a significant life event. But the truth is, a will isn’t the be-all and end-all when protecting your assets and ensuring they go where you want them to go. In fact, it might not even be used at all. That might sound surprising, but it Read More

Gifting money or assets to loved ones is a generous and thoughtful way to pass on your legacy. Many people feel delighted at helping their children, grandchildren, or favorite charities while still alive. However, when it comes to estate planning, gifting can have unintended consequences, particularly regarding taxes and long-term care planning. Before making any decisions, it is important to understand both the Read More

The most common oversight associated with trusts jeopardizes their benefits: failing to appropriately title assets in the trust's name. This seemingly small detail has significant implications, potentially undoing the very protections a trust is meant to provide. The Cornerstone of a Functional Trust Drafting the document is only the beginning of setting up a trust. The real power of a trust comes from placing assets Read More

Without exaggeration, this is where your estate planning truly begins. Ask yourself what you want to get from your estate plan because it allows your legal counsel to craft a plan around your answer. There are two fundamental steps to having a complete plan. As much as we would like to say, we came up with them (we didn’t). They aren’t marketing gimmicks to get people to work with us. To show you that we aren’t being Read More

The other day, we received an email and phone call from someone who needed an estate plan. Shortly into the process, the client’s son met with another elder law attorney, who provided conflicting information. They made the right decision by asking us to clarify the discrepancies so they could map out the best path forward in their estate planning journey.  What should anyone do when they read something, speak to Read More

If you remember these three mistakes, you will put yourself and your estate plan in a much better place. The ironic part is that, generally, people get their plans started correctly. The first step is creating a plan, which many people don’t do. This is the first mistake that people make. One of the most pervasive mistakes is that people don’t document their wishes. In the legal community, it is called dying Read More

This message may apply to you even if you don’t have a special needs child. Your surviving spouse may fall under the category of special needs. By definition, a special needs individual is a person who, because of their disabilities, has specific and special needs that are not always covered by traditional government benefits. In many cases, people with special needs or disabilities rely on Medicaid and Medicare as a Read More

An article about Matthew Perry (Friends) appeared in Newsweek, and there’s this presumption that celebrities have a significant amount of money. In this piece, it said he passed away with $1.5 million in a checking account. Granted, that is still a significant amount of money, but based on these contracts from Friends alone, he earned about $89 million. The gist of the article was that Matthew Perry left behind a Read More

A revocable trust is a powerful document because it allows you to retain ownership of your assets, avoid probate, and distribute them per your wishes. One of the things we continue to stress to people is that creating the trust is only the first half of the equation. The other component, often neglected, is that you fund the trust. This entails transferring your assets into it. Though this applies to any of your Read More