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Almost everyone with whom I work asks me how often they should review or update their estate plan. I don’t have a definitive answer for them, and I sometime I wonder if some people think there is a secret magic formula passes among lawyers to determine the answer to this question. (Spoiler Alert: There is no secret formula) I base this hunch on the reactions I get when I say there is not a definitive time period. Many scoff, others are incredulous that I would not know something so basic (in their minds), and some even react with contempt, accusing me of trying to mislead them, or make … [Read more...]
Protect Your Family (and Yourself!): 7 Questions For Your Power of Attorney Agent
A durable financial power of attorney and a durable medical power of attorney are critical documents to have in place. I have specifically discussed how Powers of Attorney can help protect you on other blog posts here and as part of end of life planning here. These documents allow you to choose someone, or some other entity, to make financial or medical decisions for you, if you are unable to make your own decisions. There are many reasons you may not be able to make your own decisions, including an injury or accident that temporarily takes away your ability to make your own decisions (or … [Read more...]
Protect Your Family: Powers of Attorney for Adult Children
After what sometimes seems like endless years spent raising a child, their adulthood—and all the rights that go with it—may creep up suddenly. When you are about to send a child off to college or to a study abroad program, you're probably busy with travel arrangements, last-minute shopping, packing, worrying about how your baby will fare living away from home, and wondering what the future holds for your child. All of these things are important, and need to be considered and attended to in preparing a child to go off to college. And much as you hope you've prepared your children to take … [Read more...]
Protect Your Family: 12 Ways Power Of Attorney Protects You
“The Twelve Days of Christmas” is a popular song during the holidays, and often misunderstood to be the 12 days leading up to Christmas. The 12 days of Christmas are actually the 12 days after Christmas, leading up to Epiphany - or the day that the manifestation of Christ’s glory was realized - according to Christian tradition. In the spirit of the 12 days of Christmas, here are 12 ways that a Power of Attorney can help and protect you. 1. Allows You to Plan Ahead: Before a Crisis Hits. If you wait until a crisis hits, it may be too late to prepare a power of attorney. Oftentimes I get … [Read more...]
Protect Your Family: Supplementing Your Needs Through Advanced Medicaid Planning
A supplemental needs trust is a special type of trust established to help people qualify for Medicaid and to live while receiving Medicaid assistance. A supplemental needs trust is quite similar to a special needs trust in form and function, as discussed here, except that the term most often applies to Medicaid recipients, and is almost exclusively associated with the United States’ Medicaid program. Supplemental needs trusts are generally set up to provide for the needs of someone receiving Medicaid, but planning for Medicaid generally requires advanced planning. Advanced planning can be … [Read more...]
Protect Your Family: The (Mostly) Complete Guide To Special Needs Trusts
When I was a little child, my mother always told me that I was special. She told my siblings the same thing, and we believed it. Somewhere around Junior High, my classmates began to use the word special with a different meaning, calling someone “special” if they seemed different, or acted differently than what my classmates considered normal. The usage of this word began to bother me, as it was used in a mocking manner, and seemed to have been co-opted for that purpose. Somewhere in High School or college, the mean-spirited us of the work special seemed to fade away. Apparently those … [Read more...]
Write it Down, Get it Right: Why Written Estate Plans Matter
Have you ever heard someone ask, “Can I get that in writing?” Probably you have. The idea is that if someone says something you think is too good to be true, you want them to write it down so you can hold them to what they said. Most people also think if something is written down, it will be legally enforceable. While this may not always be true, having something in writing does help alleviate misunderstandings. Written communication and written directions need to be clear and understandable, and nothing about estate plan differs from that general principal. If anything, the need for a … [Read more...]
Why Creating Your Own Estate Plan is Better than Default Colorado Intestate Laws
Everybody is special, unique, and wonderful, and everyone’s life is a little bit different. Since you are unique, when it comes to the Colorado Intestate Laws, and your final wishes, why would you want to be subject to the default laws set up by the legislature to apply to everyone? The State Legislature makes the laws, and has set up default rules for estate planning and who gets property after someone passes away. When someone dies without a will, that person is referred to as having died “intestate,” meaning without a will, as opposed to the interstate, shown in the picture. The real … [Read more...]
ARE YOU SURE? THE WORST ESTATE PLANNING ADVICE YOU EVER HEARD
Everyone likes to feel knowledgeable and give advice. Unfortunately all of the advice that people give is not always all that good. I frequently meet people who have been given incorrect advice. Some of the most common well-intentioned, yet incorrect, advice I have heard is listed here. Have you ever heard anyone say something like this? “I don’t have anything, so I don’t need a will.” “My family knows everything I want to have happen, and they will take care of it.” “As soon as I die, my spouse automatically gets everything.” or “Everything just goes to my kids.” “That’s … [Read more...]
How NOT to work with your estate planning attorney
How NOT to work with your estate planning attorney I think that I get along with most people. Exceptions seem to include people who treat my children poorly, or basketball coaches who forget how to talk to me when I referee basketball. Other than that, and a few people who seem to not like my sense of humor, I think I do pretty well at getting along with people, including those for whom I do legal work. I often tell people that they should work with an attorney they like, as all attorneys need to have a basic level of competence to practice, and we all like working with pleasant people. … [Read more...]
