Elder Law

Estate Planning for the Elderly, including protecting and preserving assets for loved ones who require care in a nursing home.

What if your loved one is no longer able to care for himself/herself and requires 24 hour care? With the average cost of long term skilled nursing care being nearly $10,000.00 per month in the State of Indiana, most individuals’ assets will be depleted within months, not years. However, you do not have to spend all your money on long term care. With proper planning you can protect your loved ones’ estate and still qualify for Medicaid benefits.

Estate Planning

Wills; Durable Powers of Attorney (health and financial); Trusts

How do you ensure that in the event of death or disability, you maintain control over your affairs? Specifically, who is going to make your health care and financial decisions in case of disability? Who is going to manage your estate upon your death, and who is going to inherit your property upon your death? How do you minimize estate taxes? Do not procrastinate and let the Probate Court decide who manages your affairs upon death and disability and who inherits your property upon your death. Take control over your affairs now and ensure that your estate is handled according to your wishes and outside of Probate Court. A comprehensive Estate Plan is the ultimate act of love to your loved ones!

Probate

Decedent Estates; Guardianships; Conservatorships; Trust Administration

Probate is already a complicated issue, but trying to handle it alone can simply make things even more difficult. One simple mistake can be catastrophic.

An experienced probate lawyer will know what needs to be done from start to finish and can guide you through the process to ensure that your case is handled properly and that there are no unnecessary delays in the probate process. Most people, particularly those that have never had to deal with such matters before, may not even realize when they are overlooking a matter that is actually of crucial importance to the smooth-running of the probate process.

Dealing with probate can be made more difficult through the grief that may be involved from the death or incapacity of a loved one. This can often cloud both judgment and ability, making this a particularly difficult time to decide to try and handle matters without the help of an objective and experienced professional. If you are the personal representative or executor of the will, guardian or conservator, one slip up could cost you a great deal of time and even money from your own pocket, so having an experienced probate attorney is crucial.

Special Needs Planning

Estate Planning for loved ones with special needs

How do we ensure our loved ones with special needs are taken care of after we’re gone, while maintaining their government benefits? A properly drafted special needs trust will allow you to leave assets to your special needs loved one while maintaining their government benefits.

Special needs trusts allow a disabled beneficiary to receive gifts, lawsuit settlements, or other funds and yet not lose his or her eligibility for certain government programs. Such trusts are drafted so that the funds will not be considered to belong to the beneficiary in determining eligibility for public benefits.

As their name implies, Special Needs Trusts are designed not to provide basic support, but instead to pay for comforts and luxuries that could not be paid for by public assistance funds. These trusts typically pay for things like education, recreation, counseling, and medical attention beyond the simple necessities of life. Special needs can include medical and dental expenses, annual independent check-ups, necessary or desirable equipment (such as specially equipped vans), training and education, insurance, transportation, and essential dietary needs. If the trust is sufficiently funded, the disabled person can also receive spending money, electronic equipment and appliances, computers, vacations, movies, payments for a companion, and other self-esteem and quality-of-life enhancing expenses.