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Making the heart-wrenching decision to seek long-term care for an elderly loved one is never easy. Choosing what appears to be the right facility to provide the level of care you want for your loved one can be a long, and stressful process. Once your loved one is settled in though, the worst should be behind you right? Maybe not. Imagine getting a phone call a few months later informing you that your loved one has been “involuntarily discharged” from the nursing home. If you aren’t sure what this means, you are not alone. Many people do not even realize [Read more…]

When you think about estate planning, you likely focus on decisions surrounding the division of your estate assets when you are gone and the desire to provide for loved ones with those assets. Your estate plan, however, should do more than simply create a roadmap for the distribution of your estate assets. It should also include strategies for growing and protecting those assets over the course of your lifetime. In fact, without incorporating asset protection strategies into your estate plan now, you might not have any assets left to pass down when you die.  To help you get started protecting [Read more…]

At some point during your retirement years there is a very good chance that you, or a spouse, will need long-term care (LTC). Although you may prefer not to dwell on the possibility that you will end up in a nursing home, failing to plan for it could result in unwanted financial ramifications. Specifically, you could be forced to “spend-down” your estate assets in an effort to qualify for Medicaid benefits. To help you understand the importance of including Medicaid planning in your estate plan, Lincolnshire Medicaid attorneys explain the Medicaid spend-down rules. Will You Need LTC? No matter how [Read more…]

Like most people, your initial estate plan probably consists of nothing more than a Last Will and Testament. Over time, however, that basic estate plan should grow to accommodate the growth of your assets and your family. One of the most common estate planning tools people add when expanding their basic estate plan is a living trust. To find out if a living trust would make a beneficial addition to your specific estate plan you should consult with your Illinois estate planning attorney. It may also help, however, to learn as much as possible about living trusts and how they [Read more…]

If you are currently enjoying your retirement years, or are nearing retirement age, one issue you need to give serious thought to is the likelihood that you (or a spouse) will need long-term care (LTC) at some point in the future. Although none of us like to dwell on the possibility that we might end up in a nursing home, or other LTC facility, statistics tell us it could happen. If you fail to plan for the financial impact LTC will have on you and your family, you could pay an even high price than the already high cost of [Read more…]

Comprehensive estate planning requires you to think about much more than simply who you want to receive your estate assets when you are gone. You also need to incorporate strategies that protect those assets and help them grow while you are here as well as tax avoidance strategies that limit the impact gift and estate taxes will have on your estate. One tax avoidance strategy you do not want to rely on is using the marital deduction without any additional tax avoidance tools. If you fail to plan ahead, however, the unlimited marital deduction may be the only way for [Read more…]

When a family member or loved ones dies, it is typically a time filled with heightened emotions and difficult decisions. The last thing most people want to think about are the practical and legal ramifications of their loved one’s death. If, however, you were named as the Executor of the estate in the decedent’s Last Will and Testament, or you have been elected to handle the probate of the estate if the decedent died intestate (without a Will), you will be forced to consider those aspects of the decedent’s death. If this is the first time you have administered an [Read more…]

Estate planning can be extremely simple or extraordinarily complex. For the average person, their initial estate plan includes nothing more than a Last Will and Testament; however, as their estate grows and their family expands, additional strategies and tools are added to the plan as needed to accomplish increasingly complex estate planning needs and goals. One of the most common additions to an estate plan is a trust. A trust can help accomplish a wide range of estate planning goals and can be tailored to the Settlor’s needs. If you have never created a trust, served as a Trustee, or [Read more…]

Each year, the month of April is recognized as National Donate Life Month in the United States. The goal of National Donate Life Month (NDLM) is to bring awareness to the need for organ donation and to encourage people to register as organ donors. There is a good chance you will be asked whether you wish to be an organ donor at some point in your life. Driver’s license agencies routinely include a question about organ donation when you initially get your license or when you renew it. Another opportunity to ponder the organ donation question is if you choose [Read more…]

If you recently lost a family member or loved one, the last thing you may wish to think about are the practical and legal ramifications of your loved one’s death. If, however, you were named as the Executor of the estate in the decedent’s Last Will and Testament, you are obligated to focus on the probate of the estate. If you have never served as the Executor of an estate before, you may not know where to start. Although no two estates are exactly the same, there are some common steps you will likely need to take when you probate [Read more…]