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A common misconception is that a Will, Trust, or Power of Attorney that is prepared in one state will have the same effectiveness and powers in a different state. This is simply not true. It is for that reason why we advise clients who are moving to or from another state to have their estate planning documents reviewed by an attorney who specializes in estate planning in the state where legal residence will occur.
According to the Alzheimer's Association statistics, in 2014, an estimated 5.2 million Americans of all ages have Alzheimer's disease. One in nine people age 65 and older (11 percent) has Alzheimer's disease, and of those with Alzheimer's disease, the vast majority (82 percent) are age 75 or older. These startling statistics mean that there are millions of Americans who are in danger of not having the mental capacity to sign legal documents.
The Ohio Statutory Forms for the Health Care Power of Attorney (HCPOA) and Living Will have been updated for the first time since 2010. Three significant changes have impacted the new forms.
Two documents that we often prepare in conjunction with Medicaid planning are the Personal Services Agreement and Lease. Both documents can be very important proof for substantiating the money paid to a caregiver, who is often a family member, so that the money paid to the family member does not have to be repaid in order for the Medicaid application to be approved.
Over the years, we've fielded panicky phone calls from seniors about charitable solicitations they were receiving and from children whose parents were making inappropriate or excessive charitable contributions.
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.
