Posts Tagged ‘Elder Law’
Health Care Directives
Most estate planning law firms spend a considerable amount of time writing about wills, trusts, and guardianship documents, but when was the last time you read anything about healthcare directives? That will be the focus of this article, because healthcare directives (also called living wills) are integral to planning for your care, should anything ever happen that causes you to be incapable of making healthcare decisions for yourself. A living will is a document that outlines your wishes for the kind of care and medical intervention that you want (or specifically do not want) if you become terminally ill or find yourself in need of life-support but are unable to speak or otherwise communicate, as could be the case if you fall into a coma. Careful Drafting Required A majority of states have statutory laws that specifically define when a living will must be “activated.” Some states limit the type of medical procedures and interventions that can be controlled with a living will, and interpretation of your wishes is always an issue. Incorporating complex wishes and desires into a legal ...
Adult Day Care Centers – A Promising Option for Seniors
Our parents are living longer. And with those advanced years come problems we may not have considered… Loneliness - spouses and many of their friends are gone… Isolation - it’s harder for them to get out and do even the simplest task… Dependence - they have to rely on us or even strangers for help when they’ve always been independent… We’re all familiar with the standard (and expensive) options for dealing with the lifestyle issues of aging - - Home health care - Assisted living centers - Nursing homes But a new option is becoming more popular and is well worth considering especially for seniors who are at the “in between” stage - too healthy for full time nursing care but unable to manage completely independently. That option is the adult day care center. Here’s what to consider when deciding if an adult day care center is the right option for you and your loved one: What is an Adult Day Care Center? Adult day care centers are managed facilities with planned programs and activities designed to give your loved one social ...
Idaho legal news by Snake River Law
- Not The End But A New Beginning May 4, 2012In the next two months, those words will ring out in high school graduation ceremonies all across the country. And if you have a high school senior in your home, then chances are that things are about to change dramatically, both for you and your high school senior. There are a few things that you […]admin
- QTIP Trusts April 20, 2012A QTIP trust, or Qualified Terminable Interest Property trust, is a special type of A/B trust. Have I lost you yet? Not to worry… keep reading! Let’s start at the beginning. An A/B trust is a marital trust system comprised of two trusts, an A trust and a B trust. The A trust is typically […]admin
- More About Your Estate Plan April 13, 2012The revocable living trust is the basic building block of most estate plans. It’s the tool that allows your estate to avoid the expense, time consumption, and uncertainty of probate court, and it is the tool that can hold just about any of your assets. While revocable living trusts are ubiquitous in the world of […]admin
- Election Year Antics February 8, 2012Welcome to politics in 2012! Did you sign up for what we’re getting in America? In many ways, nobody is happy with the landscape. Most of us—Independents, Democrats, and Republicans alike—are unhappy (or even disgusted) with politics in general. It’s at the point of being most disgruntled, however, that we need to pay the most […]admin
- Assets Without Physical Form November 8, 2011There’s been a lot written about estate planning in recent years. That’s partially because federal laws on the taxation of estates have changed a lot in the past few years, and they will be up for discussion by Congress again before the end of 2012. Anything being discussed by Congress gets a considerable amount of […]admin
- Professional Guidance Through a Complex Process October 18, 2011There is a widespread misconception that estate planning is simply a method of directing one’s assets to designated beneficiaries in the event of death. That’s simply too narrow of a view. Estate planning is necessary—crucial in fact–in the event that you become incapacitated or otherwise need a loved one to manage your finances. This can […]admin
- Three Reasons for Having a Living Trust October 5, 2011There are a multitude of reasons to have a living trust. We can’t begin to cover them all, but we will touch on three reasons very briefly here. Reason #1: Protecting Property for Certain Beneficiaries When most of us think about estate planning, we think about passing our property to our family and […]admin
- Estate Planning and Business Succession September 22, 2011Most people hear the words “Estate Planning” and automatically think about wills, trusts, tax issues, and probate. The reality is that estate planning is about much more than just figuring out how to pass on your hard-earned assets. We’ve written a lot about the ways that estate planning benefits families. Today we’re going to talk […]admin
- A Hypothetical, But It Does Happen August 4, 2011Today we’re going to discuss a situation that happens all the time. It’s a situation that almost nobody thinks about, unless you’re an estate planning attorney, but it does occur often enough to talk about. Consider the following hypothetical: A woman, let’s call her Elizabeth, has passed away. Elizabeth is survived by four adult sons. […]admin
- Beyond the Allocation of Assets July 14, 2011Estate planning is about much more than just deciding who gets what in the event of your death. It’s also about avoiding unnecessary taxes, and in the event that you have minor children, making sure that custody of your children doesn’t go to the state. Yes, you heard that correctly. It’s simply not the case […]admin
