937.643.2000
A frequent question we get asked in our office is how one can preserve retirement savings from being depleted by long term health care and assisted living costs. The answer more times than not is through the purchase of long term care (LTC) insurance.
Over five hundred estate planning attorneys were originally looked at and then narrowed down to one hundred eight nominees. Only nineteen winners were chosen, after surveys were conducted and scored to determine the estate planning attorneys who provide exceptional service and overall satisfaction, resulting in an elite group of professionals. Nancy Roberson has been selected, and is named, as one of these elite professionals in the October issue of Cincinnati Magazine.
The employees of our firm are big proponents of saving money and being good stewards of your assets. However, many people confuse being cheap with being wise managers of their money. There is definitely a difference between the two actions. That is why we are reminding you to take caution when not seeking a qualified, state-specific lawyer to draft your estate planning documents in an effort to save money.
An important decision that one has to consider when creating a Special Needs Trust is whom to designate as the Trustee. The Trustee is a very important responsibility, for one wrong decision could automatically disqualify the beneficiary from receiving public benefits.
People often confuse these two documents or think that they are both one in the same. The Last Will and Testament is not the same as the Living Will document, for the two documents serve two distinctly different purposes.
Many people do estate planning for reasons like avoiding probate, minimizing estate taxes, and bequeathing charitable gifts; however, another important reason is often overlooked. Doing estate planning for the purpose of making things easier on heirs is enough motivation for some people due to the legal battle that often ensues when a person dies before getting their affairs in order.
The Wall Street Journal recently published a video on its website titled "Four Estate Planning Mistakes to Avoid" that summarizes some typical mistakes that people make when it comes to planning for a death or a disability. The first mistake is a common one that we hear many times in our practice, which is not planning due to fear. Believe it or not, many people are superstitious about planning for death. People fear that once they get the ball rolling on estate planning, inevitably something bad will happen.
We encourage people who don't have long term care insurance to develop a game plan years in advance for paying for long term care, a very costly expense that is not covered by Medicare or private health insurance. This type of planning often involves transferring specific assets out of the name of the person who will be receiving the long term care so that, by the time that the care is needed, the recipient will be eligible for Medicaid to cover the costs of the care.
