What is a Will? A will is a legal document that outlines your desires for property distribution and the care of any minor children. Those wishes may not be carried out if you die without a will. Furthermore, your heirs may end up spending more time, money, and emotional energy after you pass awa...
Probate is the legal process that your estate must go through after you pass. The court will begin the process of dispersing your estate to your heirs during this legal proceeding. If you have a Will and/or Living Trust that clearly states your wishes, probate will be much easier. These document...
Wills and trusts both serve the same primary purpose: transferring your property to your heirs after your death. Before deciding between the two documents, however, the differences in how function should be carefully explored. Advantages of a Trust In comparison to a will, a trust has various a...
When you gift your home to your children, if they ever sell the house, they are responsible for paying taxes on the value gained during their ownership as well as the value gained during your ownership. For example, if you bought a house for 100,000 dollars and it is now worth 200,000 dollars, w...
Nursing home costs are expensive and add up quickly. Within a short period of time, an entire life's savings can be depleted by paying for the cost of a stay in a nursing home. With proper planning, however, substantial value may be able to be preserved and passed along. Here is an example of how...
How the Medicaid System Functions The Medicaid System will pay for your care costs if you meet certain qualifications. The Medicaid System has an asset limit. As of the day this article was written, in Wisconsin, you must have less than $2,000 in assets to qualify for Medicaid. If you have more...
Probate is the process of administering the estate of the person who passed by gathering their assets, paying their liabilities, and distributing the remaining assets to the beneficiaries. Trusts, when properly setup and funded, can avoid probate. The question is: Does a will avoid probate? D...
When it comes to families, people often view their pets as part of their family. A common question is whether a will or trust can provide for a pet after the owner passes. Planning for this family member has an added complexity in that our furry family member is not in a position to handle the...
Oftentimes it is easier to start by thinking about what you should not put into your revocable living trust. However, before we begin, I think it is important you start by considering your initial objectives. That is the first step in determining what assets should be in your trust. Assuming tha...
The answer is probably yes. Depending on your situation, it may be yes, even more. Revocable Living Trust One of the wonderful things about revocable living trusts is there are very few downsides. If you are not familiar with a revocable living trust, I like to think of a trust as a bucket. The...
I am often asked by clients whether or not they should gift their house to their children. You're not going to like this lawyerly answer, but, it depends. What are you trying to achieve? Should I Gift My House to My Children? If you are transferring your house to your child as a gift with the i...
It depends. The important thing to understand is there are different types of trusts. The trust most people are familiar with, the revocable living trust, will NOT protect your assets from nursing home expenses. A revocable living trust allows the trust creator to remain in control of the trust...
You have probably heard about the astronomical costs of nursing-home care if you become seriously ill or injured. You might also know that Medicare would cover only a minimal amount of those costs. Private insurance doesn't seem like a good bet either, if you've heard horror stories about skyro...
Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that causes a progression of symptoms including, body tremors, limb rigidity, Bradykinesia (slow movement), as well as balance and gait problems. The cause of Parkinson's disease (PD) remains largely unknown. One well-known indicator of PD is ...
Americans aged 50 or more are experiencing gray divorce more than ever. The term gray divorce generally refers to the baby boomer generation and affects all classes and education levels. Research shows that splitting during middle age is particularly damaging to your financial well being. Accor...
In this COVID-19 epidemic, a difficult question especially demands an answer: if you or someone you love is taken down into life-threatening illness, how far would you want extreme life-prolonging measures to be tried? For us who are particularly vulnerable – seniors, those with compromised i...
Seniors who struggle to adapt to the internet of things (IoT) using digital devices that require typing, clicking, or swiping can now rely on voice commands to get the information they need and the people with whom they want to communicate.
Writing a letter of intent (LOI) for your special needs child can help bring them family continuity and comfort after you are gone. As a parent, the most valuable asset your child has is you and your ability to care for them. You, like no other, fully understand the nuances of your child's copi...
Many parents are uncomfortable talking to their kids about their wealth. Talking about how much money or property you have is usually viewed as taboo. Asking someone else about what they have is often considered impolite. But failing to talk to kids about how much they may inherit could leave...
The medically recommended protocols for social distancing and government mandates that restrict large gatherings of Americans to slow the spread of the coronavirus are minimizing our abilities to interact with each other. This isolation holds especially true for those seniors who live alone or ...
Millennials include fiscally conservative, savings oriented, and future planners seeking financial freedom as core attributes. A large part of millennials' formative years was influenced by the US sub-prime mortgage crisis beginning in 2007, shortly followed by an international banking crisis, ...
There has been an explosion in the numbers of Americans rushing to make their will online. Understandably, the coronavirus pandemic has created the scramble to set up wills and end-of-life-directives. However, online do it yourself (DIY) wills are often deemed invalid as they do not comply wi...
Say your spouse is living in a nursing home because of advanced Parkinson's. Your spouse is currently receiving Medicaid benefits to pay for the high cost of that care. If you were to pass before your spouse, you wouldn't want your spouse to inherit all your life savings, no matter how much you...
The sudden rise of the coronavirus, COVID-19, has left many unprepared and confused. There are numerous reports of shortages of antibacterial hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes, and even toilet paper. While we can't predict when something like COVID-19 might strike, we can take steps to prepare...
The baby boom generation is comprised of those Americans born 1946-1964, and according to the US Census Bureau (Bureau of Census), their numbers are estimated to be 73 million strong. This number represents nearly 20 percent of the American public. As they enter their 60, 70, and 80th decades, ...
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