If you have a glance at the article, here is a quick guide on what my elder law practice in Jacksonville does:

1. Estate planning.  I do lots of it: wills, trusts, durable powers of attorney,  and the like.
2. Asset preservation and management.  I help clients with assets obtain nursing home benefits through Medicaid planning in order to avoid spending all their money down to $0 before getting Medicaid.  I also help clients with assets obtain VA benefits to help supplement nursing home private payers, assisted living bills, and caregiver costs.

I charge flat fees for my elder law services and I make sure all fees a communicated up front.

Give my office a call at (904) 399-2829 if you need assistance from an elder law attorney in Jacksonville, Florida.

The VA has a benefit called improved pension, which I blogged about here before. The benefit amounts to a tax-free cash payment from the VA that is intended to cover long-term care expenses.  The problem is that there is a lot of misinformation out there, in particular, coming from the VA itself.

The VA improved pension benefit has three levels of payment depending on the senior’s medical need: basic, housebound, and aid and attendance. In order to qualify for the VA improved pension benefit, regardless of the level of care need, the VA also has asset and income requirements.  If you call to the VA and talk to them about the benefit, you will hear from them that you have too much income or assets to qualify.  In a lot of cases, this is not true.  Through an elder law attorney with knowledge of the VA improved pension benefit with aid and attendance, planning can be done to qualify for this benefit.

If you live in the Jacksonville, Florida area, you can contact my office for a free consultation to determine if I can help you.

Under Medicaid rules, if a Nursing Home resident has a monthly gross income of over a certain amount, the Nursing Home resident’s income is excessive under Medicaid eligibility rules and the resident is not Medicaid eligible.  To determine the Medicaid applicant’s income, the department of children and families adds up all the applicant’s income from social security, pensions, investments and other sources for the month.  Basically, what is deposited in the applicant’s account each month?

Annually, the Florida Department of Children and Families sets the amount of monthly income an applicant can have.  For example, for 2011 an applicant cannot make more than $2,022 a month and qualified for Medicaid.  In reality, $2,022 is not enough to pay monthly nursing home costs.  Therefore, a QIT is needed to cure this problem of having too much monthly income to qualify for nursing home Medicaid.

Do you need an attorney for this QIT that I speak of?  First, the actually document needs to be drafted.  Second, the trust needs to be administrated correctly.

A QIT is a trust, which has a grantor, trustee, and beneficiary.  You can learning about the basics of Florida trusts from a youtube video of mine.  The Medicaid laws acknowledge the existence and viability of qualified income trusts in Medicaid planning, but the laws require the trust be drafted in a certain way.

The second step of properly utilizing QITs in Medicaid planning requires someone to properly administrate the QIT.   A new account must be set up at a bank.  Monthly income must be directed correctly through the account to maintain Medicaid qualification.  Some of the money goes to the nursing home, as essentially, a co-pay for care.  A portion of the money goes to the applicant’s needs and allowed expenses.  Upon the death of the applicant, the money remaining in the QIT account goes to the state of Florida.

In the end, the Florida Medicaid laws do not consider the money passing through the QIT and QIT account as belonging to the nursing home resident – the trust owns the money.  As a result, the applicant qualifies for Medicaid to assist in the costs of providing nursing home care.

1. Do the husband and wife have grown children?  If so, then the estate plans will likely need to include specific instructions regarding how inheritance will work.  This is fairly important to ensure that each biological and step child receives what the parent wishes, rather than allowing Florida’s laws to supersede your desires.
2. Does each intend to be the beneficiary of the other?  Older couples who marry may already have their own plans for their estates, and sometimes these don’t involve one another at all.  If spouses do not intend to inherit from one another, they will likely need a prenuptial agreement that clearly spells this out.  Without it, spouses will almost always inherit, despite plans that were made to the contrary.
3. Who will pay medical expenses?  If one spouse becomes ill, it may be the responsibility of the other (usually wealthier) spouse to pay for medical expenses.  Again, a prenuptial agreement can help to limit this, although Medicare will usually supersede a prenuptial agreement.
4. Is one spouse widowed?  Some older couples today have chosen not to marry because it can stop pension or social security benefits from a previous marriage.  This is something that should be carefully explored with your Jacksonville estate planning lawyer.

1. Should you have joint accounts?  When older couples marry, it is sometimes recommended to keep assets separate.  This extends to bank accounts and titles on property.  Any assets that are in both spouse’s name can go to the survivor, even if a prenuptial agreement stating otherwise was in place.

When estate planning, older couples usually do best by choosing an independent trustee.  The passing of a loved one often brings out the worst in people, so naming either you or your spouse’s child as the trustee can have unexpected negative consequences.  Your Jacksonville estate planning lawyer can help you identify a good candidate or even recommend a trust company to keep your trust or will from being ignored or misused.

In addition, the estate planning lawyer can help you uncover other areas of concern that are not obvious at first glance, such as updating legal documents to reflect the new relationship and setting up powers of attorneys, living trusts, etc.

If you need help and are ready to get started, simply call our Jacksonville estate planning law firm at (904) 357-0076 and ask for the date of our next workshop.

The VA improved pension benefit allows qualifying veterans to receive a tax free monthly benefit to help cover the costs of long term care such as in home caregivers (including family caregivers), assisted living costs, and nursing home costs.  I have helped Jacksonville, Florida families qualify for VA aid and attendance, and I can attest to the incredible relief that a family gets when they qualify for the monthly aid and attendance benefit.

For veterans receiving the benefit, you will see the increase starting on January 2012 VA improved pension benefit check.

If you are a Jacksonville, Florida resident with a family member in need of assistance with long term care costs, visit my VA aid and attendance information page on my website about the requirements to qualify or give my office a call.

When engaging in estate planning with an attorney, you likely want to ensure that your steadfast companion is well cared for after your passing.  One approach is to actually set up a Pet Trust.  This type of trust is created here in Jacksonville specifically to take care of your special companion animal or animals when you are no longer able to do so.  When setting up a pet trust, your attorney will ask you to make a few considerations:

• Naming a trustee who will manage the funds.
• Choosing a caretaker who will meet your pet’s needs.  This may be the same person or someone other than the trustee.
• Picking a nonprofit organization that will care for your pet if the caretaker is unable to do so.
• Outlining specific instructions on how your pet is to be cared for.

While it may seem appropriate to simply provide for your pet in your will, most wills and trust lawyers will encourage you to set up a separate trust.  This is because the money set aside for your pet’s care could get tied up in probate.  At the very least, it can take weeks for funds to become available.  Setting up a Pet Trust or making it part of your Revocable Living Trust helps ensure that the money will be there right away.

You may also want to consider including instructions for pets in your Durable Power of Attorney.  This allows for a designated person to take over the care of your pet if you should become unable to do so for reasons other than your own death.  If it is reasonable, you can even arrange for this person to bring your pet to visit you while you are recuperating or receiving other care.

Pets in Jacksonville need to have an appropriate amount earmarked for their ongoing care.  In addition to providing for food and other necessities, the Pet Trust should also include funds that can be used for veterinary fees.  Additionally, you may wish to allot a certain amount to the caregiver in return for looking after Lola, Mickey, and Leroy (my family’s pets).  A few thousand dollars is usually enough to cover the expenses most small pets will incur.

This is actually a very appropriate item to consider in your estate planning.  Some of you might have pets that live a very long time, and the cost of the pet’s care might become expensive over a lifetime.  Some instances pets get abandoned by the family, so it would give you some peace of mind to make sure your pet goes to someone that will love the pet as much as you do.

To create a plan for your pet, simply let your Jacksonville wills and trust lawyer know that it is important to you.  He or she will help you set up a Pet Trust so that you have the comfort of knowing you will be able to continue to provide for the animal or animals that gave so much of their love and comfort to you.

I don’t have an“estate.”

I have more debt than assets.

The only thing I have is my home.

As you may have guessed, these are excuses that people in Jacksonville, Florida make for not preparing an estate plan.  Is it the culture of our area?  They think that they don’t need it.  These people are sadly misinformed. They think estate planning is only about money and transferring that money on their death.  Estate planning does take care of financial issues, but the way I see it, the most important reason for doing an estate plan is for the benefit of the people that you leave behind. 

Further, senior citizens do not think about the life planning aspects of estate planning.  Life planning is planning for the management of your financials (assets and monthly income and expenses) and making medical decisions on your behalf if you cannot make those decisions.  Life planning also means asset preservation if you have long term care needs during you, or your spouse’s, lifetime.

Estate planning is essential for senior citizens who are concerned about the well-being of their loved ones.  No matter what your level of wealth happens to be, there are decisions that will have to be made if you become incapacitated or when you pass on.  If you don’t leave detailed instructions for the type of medical care you want or what to do with your things, you will be putting those you love most in the position of being a mind-reader.  They will have to do their best to figure out what you would have wanted and then deal with the consequences such as unhappy family members who disagree with them.   Do you really want to cause this type of stress for them at a time when they are already upset and mourning?  I doubt it.

I realize thinking about these things is not easy or fun, but approaching it in an organized manner may help. Here’s a list of things to consider when planning your estate:

1. Talk to close family members and let them know how you would like to handle the dispersal of your assets and sentimental items.  Also, talk to them about the type
   of medical care you would like to receive should you become incapacitated.  Chances are, if everyone knows your plans ahead of time, there will be fewer arguments and a lot less stress.  Now, if you do this, it is also necessary to have your wishes outlined in legally binding written documents because one family member might interpret your verbal instructions different from another family member.
2. Prepare a list of all of your assets including your home, your financial accounts, insurance policies and any personal possessions.  This helps transition of financial control from you to your trusted person to handle your finances if you cannot.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard someone say have their loved one passed away that “I have no idea what he owned or owed, how do I find that out?”
3. Make a list of everyone that you would like to be a beneficiary of your estate. You may also want to include organizations that are meaningful to you.
4. Plan for how you would like your pets cared for if something should happen to you.
5. Make a list of passwords, PIN numbers and other codes that someone might need.  If you just do online banking with paperless statements, how will your family know how about the account?
6. Think about who you would like to put in charge of your medical care and who you would like to oversee the dispersal of your assets. You can appoint different people for these critical jobs.
7. Consult with an experienced estate planning attorney who can offer advice about how to arrange your estate so that the person you put in charge of your financial and medical decisions will have the fewest complications.

These steps alone will go a long way in reducing the stress that your loved ones will
experience. Without these steps, the likely result in your family’s opinion, will be that you left a mess.  Isn’t their well-being enough reason to do an estate plan?

If you answered “yes,” then be sure to give our office a call at (904) 357-0076 and ask to schedule a vision meeting.  These comprehensive sessions are normally $500, but you can come in absolutely free with the mention of this article.

The point of creating an LLC in the first place is to protect your personal assets in the event that your insurance cannot cover damages relating to the investment property. Business and corporate lawyers have long advised this approach. It keeps the landlord or property owner from being personally liable when a tenant sues for damages or creditors are looking for payment for various other reasons. The LLC is attached to the property, but not to the landlord’s personal home, vehicles, and life savings.

By creating separate LLCs for each property, you limit liability to that one company. If something goes wrong with one property, a lawsuit will not be able to draw from the others. On the other hand, if four properties are held in one LLC and something happens with one, a lawsuit can go after the equity and assets of the other three. Creditors are only able to seek compensation for the individual LLC and will not have access to funds from the others.

For example, if you have $100,000 equity and assets in each of four properties and are sued over one, there is $400,000 available to settle that suit. If each property had its own LLC, then only $100,000 would be available, saving you considerably.

While there is a cost associated with forming additional LLCs, it is minimal compared to what most property owners stand to lose by overlooking this option.  We can help you with this process here in Jacksonville, Florida so that you’re fully in compliance with all applicable laws. Many property owners look at it in the same way as they do insurance, knowing that it provides considerable asset protection.

By taking the extra step to have your Jacksonville asset protection lawyer create an LLC each time you invest in a property, you are protecting your future earnings and personal assets.

Many couples in Jacksonville see the importance of creating a binding prenuptial agreement in order to protect their assets and plan for their future.

Today, blended families are far from unusual.  During the newlywed planning phase, the couple needs to consider what happens to “yours, mine, and ours” in the event of divorce, as well as death.  You may each have certain items or financial support that you want designated specifically for your own biological children, and a prenup in combination with estate planning documents is used to make these wishes known.

This is also the case when older couples marry.  They may each have their own grown children and grandchildren that they wish to provide for.  Without the proper agreements, a surviving spouse will often become default heir to the other’s estate, allowing the spouse to do with it whatever he or she sees fit.  It could be perfectly legal for the deceased spouse’s children to inherit nothing.

Working with a Jacksonville estate planning lawyer before exchanging vows can help to clarify each partner’s wishes, as well as to provide legal documentation.  Simply discussing your preferences is not enough, either.  To be binding, the prenuptial agreement must be in writing, and both spouses must sign it.  In fact, it is necessary for each spouse to take the appropriate amount of time to read the entire document to ensure that he or she agrees with it and is not being pressured into signing something.

A prenup that seems grossly unfair to one spouse or the other may not hold up in court, so this step is pretty important.  Some states even require that each party is advised by his or her own prenup lawyer rather than sharing the same attorney.  If one spouse omits information or outright lies about it in the prenup, that can also render it invalid.

While creating a prenuptial agreement may not be the most romantic way to go into a marriage, it can be important from an estate planning point of view.  Wouldn’t you want to prevent fighting and facilitate what you think is fair for your new spouse and your adult children?  It allows you to plan for the future and to designate your own heirs.  Some people who skipped this step are now coming to prenup lawyers to request “post-nuptial agreements.”  These documents work quite similarly to the prenuptial agreement but are simply done after the wedding is over.  It’s best not to wait, but if you have to, a Jacksonville, Florida estate planning lawyer can still get the ball rolling for you.

If you’re ready to get started with this process, we invite you to call our office in Jacksonville, Florida at (904) 357-0076 and ask to schedule a vision meeting with an estate planning attorney.

1. Can you get your money back if you change your mind?
2. Does the money you invest earn interest? If so, who gets it?
3. What happens if the funeral home goes out of business?
4. Can the plan be moved if you move to a different state?
5. If money is left over after expenses, what happens to it?

Another key consideration is to find out what happens if the prices increase by the
time the services are needed. Make sure that you are being guaranteed the
services you selected at the contracted price. Some pre-paid plans sneak in
additional payments for “final expense funding” which allows the funeral home
to charge the difference in price.

There are a number of alternatives to pre-paid funeral plans. For example, you can
buy life insurance to cover funeral costs. Another is to set up a bank account
solely for the purpose of paying your funeral expenses. Both of these options
allow you more flexibility to change your plans if you so choose.

However, if either of these options is chosen, it is important to make sure your loved
ones know your wishes. Additionally, clearly lay out these plans in your estate
planning documents. Then there will be no doubt about what you want, which will
go a long way in reducing the stress that your loved ones may experience upon
your passing.

Pre-planned funerals also come into play in my long term care planning practice for
Medicaid planning and VA aid and attendance planning.  Depending on the terms of the contract, some prepaid funerals are not counted as available resources for those planning for Medicaid benefits for nursing home care or VA aid and attendance for assisted living.  Thus, prepaid funerals often purchased for legitimate spend down purposes.

Before you make any decisions, be sure to consult with an experienced Jacksonville, Florida wills and estates attorney. Estate planning attorneys know which questions to ask and can help you better understand all of your options. Then,
you really can feel secure that you’ve taken the burden of making end-of-life
decisions off of the shoulders of your family.