The estate planning of children with special needs presents a unique challenge. Optimizing your estate to use, enhance, and enrich assets for your special needs child while maintaining their enrollment in public benefits programs requires careful planning. An estate planning…
It is the responsibility of a personal representative (executor) to publish a public record of the date of death of a testator, usually in a local newspaper. In part, this information serves as notice to creditors if the decedent has…
Estate planning is considered essential by most older adults. Yet, nearly half of Americans age 55 or more do not have a will, and even fewer have designated powers of attorney, a living will, or health care directives. These documents…
The importance of advance care planning and directives is as strong as ever after the COVID-19 pandemic began. Responses to vaccinations and understanding their efficacy, reinfection potential, and long-haul symptoms resulting from COVID-19 continue to baffle our scientific understanding. It…
Americans who are at least five years old and have special needs make up the largest single minority group in this country. The majority of federal and state benefits available to help persons with disabilities are needs-based, meaning income and…
Consider that your estate plan has been finalized. It provides care for your home, savings, and investments so that your family will receive those valuable estate items fairly and efficiently. Your plan will also protect your legacy from your children’s…
A will protect your assets and leaves no doubt as to the wishes of your successors, so if you've already created one, congratulations are in order - you're already ahead of the game! While a will is a necessary document…
Litigation over probate can be triggered by many family circumstances. Still, there are two fundamental reasons: families disagree with how to handle a mentally incapacitated family member or, after death, disagreements regarding the dissolution of the estate. High-risk factors that…
In the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, we have learned life is unpredictable. Too many aging Americans found themselves with a life-threatening COVID-19 illness in 2020 without legal documents naming trusted loved ones to make decisions for their well-being while…
In spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, caring.com reports that the overall percentage of older Americans without a will remains unchanged. Remarkably, younger adults with a will show an increase of sixty-three percent comparative to pre-pandemic times. This 18 – 34…