Creating a comprehensive estate plan requires you to consider several factors that might impact you as you age, including the likelihood that you, or a spouse, will need long-term care. If you do end up needing long-term care (LTC), the cost of that care could put your estate assets at risk if you failed to plan for the possibility ahead of time. One way to plan for LTC is to purchase LTC insurance. Long-term care insurance, however, is not right for everyone. To help you decide if it is right … [Read more...] about Should I Have Long-Term Care Insurance?
What Can I Do to Discourage a Will Contest after I Am Gone?
If you are planning to execute a Last Will and Testament, a primary motivation is probably to ensure that your estate assets are distributed according to your wishes after your death. If that Will is invalidated because of a Will contest, however, that State of Vermont (or your state of residence at the time of your death) will decide what happens to your assets. That provides a strong incentive for doing everything you can to discourage a Will contest. An Essex Junction estate planning … [Read more...] about What Can I Do to Discourage a Will Contest after I Am Gone?
When Is an Irrevocable Trust the Best Choice?
A living trust is a common addition to the average estate plan. If you are contemplating the creation of a living trust, you will need to decide if your trust will be a revocable living trust or an irrevocable living trust. As the name implies, an irrevocable living trust is one that cannot be modified or revoked by the Settlor once the trust is established. You may be wondering why you would want to make your trust irrevocable. The Essex Junction trust attorneys at Unsworth LaPlante, PLLC … [Read more...] about When Is an Irrevocable Trust the Best Choice?
An Overview of 2022 Medicare Out of Pocket Costs
Seniors got some encouraging news about the Social Security cost of living adjustment recently, but the Medicare costs that you have to pay out-of-pocket are going to rise in 2022. Part A Deductible You do not have to pay a monthly premium for Medicare Part A, which is the hospitalization coverage. If you are in the hospital for less than 60 days, you are not required to make coinsurance payments. For longer stays that exceed 60 days, the coinsurance in 2022 will be $389 a day. For days 61 … [Read more...] about An Overview of 2022 Medicare Out of Pocket Costs
Why Would Someone Use a Life Estate?
There are many different ways to facilitate asset transfers, and the various methods serve certain purposes. We endeavor to provide explanations here to help you understand your options, and to this end, we will look at the life estate in this post. But first, we will provide some background information that you need to fully grasp why life estates are utilized. Probate Process If you create a will to express your final wishes with regard to the way that your assets will be distributed, it … [Read more...] about Why Would Someone Use a Life Estate?
Understand the Potential Impact of Alzheimer’s Disease
We are all aware of the existence of Alzheimer’s disease, but most people really do not have a thorough understanding of the extent of the impact. About 6 million people are currently living with Alzheimer’s disease according to the Alzheimer’s Association, and this is an eye-catching figure. The disease strikes just under 13 percent of all seniors, and 32 percent of elders that are 85 and older have contracted Alzheimer’s. Your life expectancy is 87 years if you are a 67-year-old woman, … [Read more...] about Understand the Potential Impact of Alzheimer’s Disease
Why Would You Want to Avoid Probate?
Probate is a legal process that is sometimes necessary when assets are being distributed after someone dies. There are those that try to avoid probate when they understand some things about it, and we will explore the subject in this post. Court Supervised Proceeding Most people assume that a will is the asset transfer vehicle to use unless you are a multimillionaire. If you accept this premise and utilize a will, you would name an executor to act as the administrator after your death. The … [Read more...] about Why Would You Want to Avoid Probate?
These Steps Will Lead to the Ideal Estate Plan
A lot of people do not have estate plans in place because they simply do not know where to start or what to do. With this in mind, we are going to share some steps that you can follow to create a framework. Inventory Your Assets The first order of business will be an asset inventory because you have to identify what you expect to be able to pass along to your loved ones. This would include family heirlooms and other personal possessions that are meaningful to you. Another element that you … [Read more...] about These Steps Will Lead to the Ideal Estate Plan
Seven Eye-Opening Facts About Long-Term Care
Elder law attorneys provide assistance to clients that are preparing for the eventualities of aging. Long-term care is one of them, and you should absorb some facts about the subject so you can approach it realistically. You will probably need long-term care. Most people would naturally assume that they will never need paid living assistance. Yes, they may get a little help here and there from family members and friends, but that should be sufficient. In fact, the statistics tell a … [Read more...] about Seven Eye-Opening Facts About Long-Term Care
Four Tips to Help You Prevent Estate Challenges
A contested estate can create a nightmarish scenario for your family, so you should take the appropriate steps to prevent problems before they happen. With this in mind, let’s look at some tips that should help you facilitate a smooth estate administration process. Take Action to Put a Plan in Place When it comes to the difficulty level of the administration phase, the worst thing you can do is nothing at all. If you die intestate or without an estate plan, the probate court would be forced to … [Read more...] about Four Tips to Help You Prevent Estate Challenges
