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Without a survivorship requirement in their wills, the law requires separate probate cases to administer assets and family should you and your partner pass at the same time, begin by reviewing your will or trust

Wills. The long-term consequences of not having a will are huge. Your assets will go to probate, which can leave your family with huge expenses that will eat away at your wealth. Many folks don’t have a will—even though they know they should. It should come as no surprise that many baby boomers are stuck dealing with an estate without a will. This has encouraged many baby boomers to invest their time in making sure that their own children are better prepared. An outdated will can also cause major issues for a family. If you have been divorced or recently widowed and remarried, it is crucial to reflect those changes in your will. Think it would go over well if your estate is left to your ex? Funerals. If funds are tied up in probate or otherwise inaccessible for funeral planning, it can create considerable stress and a financial burden. In theory, an entire inherited estate can be used to pay for the funeral, but you should have liquid assets available for the funeral. More baby boomers are opting to pre-pay for their funerals or to set up an account designated to use for funeral expenses. US News says that about 23% of people over 50 have prepaid for at least some of the funeral or burial expenses for themselves or someone else. Healthcare Costs. Unexpected healthcare costs can put a major dent in a retirement plan. Baby boomers need to have early conversations to determine if their parents have included health care costs in their retirement planning. And they shouldn’t neglect health care costs in their own retirement plans. People often fail to add these expenses into their long-term retirement planning. You should know your health care costs and account for them into your long-term strategy. In order to plan for health care expenses, you should consider the following: Current healthcare expenses Details and coverage of each plan Plan providers Insurance details Prescription costs Doctor fees Current budgets and budget adjustments required for the future If there are health concerns now, be sure you plan for them long-term. Baby boomers are learning the hard way that it’s important to plan for the worst and hope for the best. Trying to find health information in a crisis is stressful. Having family planning meetings and going over all of the possibilities will help when the time comes to deal with these issues. If you have experienced the loss of a parent, you already know first-hand the importance of strong estate planning and the benefits to surviving family members. Learn from poorly planned estates and implement better planning for yourself and those you love. Reference: A Place for Mom (March 25, 2016) “Poor Estate Planning Lessons Inherited by Baby Boomers” #AssetProtection #ProbateAttorney #ProbateCourt #Inheritance #Funerals #Wills #HoustonEstatePlanningLawyer #TaxPlanning #HoustonTrustsandEstates

Should you create trusts that protect assets for your children and grandchildren, or simply provide that Whom should you appoint in various roles—as agent under powers of attorneys, as trustees, as personal

Prior to receiving any benefits from Medicaid, individuals must “spend down” their cash assets to below $2,000. Some property is termed by Medicaid officials as “exempt” property—to include one vehicle, limited life insurance, a home, a funeral plan and personal property. While such property doesn’t have to be spent down, that’s very misleading. You see, those limited assets may be exempt for qualifying for Medicaid, but they’re not exempt after the person dies. They’re subject to what’s called “estate recovery.” Estate recovery is the process that allows Medicaid to recover the amounts it paid on a person’s behalf from that person’s estate. Kansas’ Estate Recovery is a “privatized” agency which can seek repayment of Medicaid benefits against the “estate” of a deceased Medicaid recipient or—as described above—against the estate of a spouse. Kansas has what is call expanded estate recovery. Usually when someone dies, the person’s family may need to initiate probate. When the deceased had all of the property in joint tenancy with a spouse, probate isn’t needed. However, if a piece of property isn’t held in joint tenancy or is not otherwise automatically conveyed to a third person upon the death of the owner, then only that property will have to be probated. These items typically don’t have to be probated: joint tenancy property property with a transfer-on-death or pay-on-death provision life insurance with named beneficiaries life estates But Estate Recovery in Kansas allows an agency to bring in all of the property that an individual may have any interest in at the time of death—even though that property would ordinarily not have to go through the probate process. Hence, contrary to standard probate law, the estate can consist of joint tenancy property, property with transfer-on-death or pay-on-death provisions, life insurance payable to a third party, and life estates. It can also include property that was transferred away within one year of death. So you see that Estate Recovery has a much broader definition of what property can be included in an estate than any other creditor in the Jayhawk State. Talk to a qualified elder law attorney who is familiar with how to plan for the possibility of estate recovery. Reference: The Hays (KS) Daily News (April 12, 2016) “Estate recovery — an unexpected surprise” #AssetProtection #MedicaidTrustPlanning #MedicaidPlanning #MedicaidPlanningLawyer #Probate #MedicaidNursingHomePlanning #ElderLaw #estateplanning

HoustonEstatePlanning #ProbateCourt #Inheritance #ClearLakeEstatePlanningLawyer #PowerofAttorney #Wills #TaxPlanning #Trusts

Depending on your situation, trusts and asset transfers may be useful, especially if implemented before

Whether you have stashed it in a safe deposit box or kept it with a lawyer or trusted individual, you

property to a child under the age of 21 or a child who has been determined disabled by the Social Security Administration

For sure, but there may be other items you need, such as a trust if you have a lot of assets that may

A study published last month by the National Bureau of Economic Research revealed that the share of parents with wills that give unequal amounts to their children grew significantly between 1995 and 2010—from 16% to 35%. One important element of this increase is the growing number of “complex” families, or blended households with stepchildren and biological children, as well as families where a parent doesn’t have any contact with one or more biological children (e.g., children from a previous relationship). Among parents who had created a will, 61% of those with stepchildren and biological children planned to divide their assets unequally, compared with 27% of parents with just biological children. Among parents who were divorced at the time they were surveyed, the difference was even greater: 75% compared to 29%. However, researchers noted that living with a stepparent for at least 7 to 10 years eliminated the stepchild “penalty.” The study concentrated primarily on complex families, but there are other scenarios in which parents might choose to pass on their wealth unequally. Parents may have given more to one child in the past and decide to leave more to their other children. Or, they may want to split assets unevenly to try to put their kids on more equal footing. Parents may have the best of intentions in making these decisions, but they should speak to their children to prevent hurt feelings. An estate planning attorney can provide valuable guidance. Reference: The Boston Globe (November 16, 2015) “An unequal sharing of the wealth” #Stepchildren #TrustsandEstates #HoustonEstatePlanning #Probate #Inheritance #BlendedFamilies #Wills #HoustonProbateAttorney

Lincoln and Robert wrote a letter to the judge in Illinois asking that he appoint Davis as the administrator

An estate plan typically includes: A Last Will and Testament A Trust A Medical Power of Attorney A Statutory Others create family foundations or set up charitable trusts. You can also establish a charitable remainder trust (CRT) which gives beneficiaries a stream of income