Understanding what you own and what you don’t own as part of your estate is important for the purposes of estate planning. Certain assets pass outside of the probate or estate process, and you’ll want to have appropriate plans in place to protect your loved ones for each type. Estate Assets Assets that are owned… Read More »
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What Do Nursing Homes Cost In Massachusetts?
Have you thought about the possibility of needing long term care to support you? If not, you may need the help of a Massachusetts Medicaid or elder lawyer to help you to create a custom plan. According to data, 17% of the state’s 6.8 million residents who are over age 65 lived in nursing facilities… Read More »
Do I Need to Choose a Specific Nursing Home with Dementia Care?
If you are helping a loved one make the difficult transition into a dementia care facility or a nursing home, there are many questions that must be answered early on in the process. It can be difficult to educate yourself about all of these key issues, but it is important to think about how the… Read More »
Six End-of-Life Care Documents Worth Putting in Your Estate Plan
It’s not easy to think about making difficult decisions at the end of your life. But if you’re unable to speak for yourself, it becomes much more difficult for your loved ones to handle these questions, too. Meeting with an estate planning attorney often begins by completing a questionnaire or an inventory about things that… Read More »
How Often Should You Review Your Will and Power of Attorney?
Most people think of estate planning as something that simply must be done. But the truth is that it’s an activity that starts with an initial meeting with an estate planning attorney and should be evaluated every couple of years along with other major life events. If you let your estate plan sit for years… Read More »
What Happens When a Caregiver Passes Away?
It is very important to have an estate plan in place and to appoint the right people to make decisions on your behalf if you’re unable to do so. When someone passes away, it is important to recognize that these estate planning documents can give a valuable roadmap to surviving family members. Older adults are… Read More »
How Does a Supplemental Needs Trust Work?
Do you have a loved one who relies on public assistance to help cover their bills? If so, you must be careful about how you plan for them in your estate documents. Someone who receives public benefits is likely entirely or mostly reliant on these benefits to cover their major expenses. It can be very… Read More »
Study Shows Real Costs of Long-Term Care
Year over year the cost of getting long-term care support continues to rise. Many people do not anticipate needing this form of support in their retirement or later years, and it can cause significant disruptions to their savings or income streams in place. Assisted living costs saw a 6.15% increase in just the last year…. Read More »
Why Do I Need to Document Health Care Wishes in Writing?
There may come a point in time where you need medical care but are unable to speak for yourself. If you are incapacitated, it is important not only to name an agent who can make these decisions on your behalf based on your state’s rules, but also that you have documented your specific health care… Read More »
What Happens If Your Beneficiary Passes Away First on A Payable on Death Bank Account?
A payable on death bank account is a simple planning instrument that allows you to designate someone to receive the assets inside your account very quickly. If you named more than one payee on your payable on death bank account, this makes it easy for the second person to receive those funds if the original… Read More »