As a loving parent, you want to protect your children through careful and deliberate estate planning. However, you also wish to protect your legacy. If you have concerns about your children’s ability to manage your assets after your passing, then you can establish...
Serving the Cleveland Area since 1994
Serving the Cleveland Area since 1994
Estate Planning
Estate planning for Medicaid applicants
Medicaid eligibility is often complicated. Using Medicaid estate planning, long-term care applicants can meet the program's asset limits for eligibility purposes while maintaining legal protection of their assets for their families and loved ones. Medicaid estate...
Choosing the type of POA your loved one needs
Perhaps your widowed mother is beginning to have some trouble keeping her finances up to date and her bills paid on time. She is asking for your help, and you believe the time has come to create a power of attorney (POA) for finances. However, there are two types....
4 primary components of an estate planning checklist
No one wants to think about what happens when their health declines or what their loved ones will do after they die. But planning for these events while you’re still healthy can prevent many unwanted consequences. Making decisions now over how to manage your estate...
Hire a caregiver or do it yourself: caring for an aging parent
For most people, there comes a time when they have to begin taking care of their parents. For some, this may just mean looking out for them by buying them groceries and assisting them with managing their medications. For others, it means living with them and taking...
With a blended family, you must protect your children’s share
You get married and have two children. Then your spouse files for divorce. You split up, wait a few years, and get married again. Your new spouse also has two kids from a previous marriage. This relationship lasts. As you both grow older, you decide to do your estate...
Dividing up your jewelry in your will: What to consider
One of the questions a lot of our older clients struggle with is what to do with their jewelry and watches. Many of these items are beautiful, costly and hold emotional significance for their owners -- so they want their heirs to inherit the pieces. At the same time,...
‘Fair’ doesn’t always mean ‘equal’ with your heirs
Most of the time, parents try to be fair to their children -- even after those children are grown. Therefore, it's natural for parents to be concerned about how to divide their assets in their wills for their adult children. However, "fair" doesn't always mean "share...
Is it time to write your will?
There are a lot of reasons that people put off writing their wills. Maybe they've simply never thought about -- or maybe they don't want to think about dying. Whatever the reason, around 60 percent of American adults are currently without wills. However, those numbers...
Learning from your parents’ estate planning mistakes
A man came in to talk to me last week, and he said that his own parents had made some serious estate planning mistakes. Now in his 40s with children of his own, he wanted to avoid those errors. I asked him what had happened, and he grinned, looking slightly...
