Legal-Ease: Three pillars of nursing home planning

Long-term health care, LTC, can have a lot of uncertainty around its planning. Horror stories abound of people losing their life savings due to needing LTC, such as a nursing home. 

Many aspects should be considered when planning for long-term health care, but three pillars compose the foundation. Each should be used at least five years in advance of needing LTC. 

Legal-Ease: Breaking up can be hard to do

Many people inherit real estate and other assets with siblings or other people. Co-owners of real estate have access to all of the property, unless the co-owners have an agreement for another arrangement. If one co-owner doesn’t want to co-own the property, a partition lawsuit can be initiated. 

Legal-Ease: What to consider when starting retirement

Retirement planning can be both exciting and daunting. When you consider the beginning of your retirement, there are a few things that you should keep in mind. 

First, determine your healthcare needs. Second, be sure to prepare a budget and a cash-flow plan. Finally, be sure to be prepared for the event of long-term care needs popping up. 

Legal-Ease: Key steps for agriculture-involved LLCs and trusts

Agriculture-involved LLCs and trusts require certain key steps that aren’t necessarily included in other LLCs and trusts. Omitting these keys steps can be fatal to the LLC or trust’s operation. 

While some law firms do take these key steps for agriculture-involved LLCs and trusts, not all do. Don’t assume the steps are being taken unless your lawyer explicitly tells you that they are. 

Legal-Ease: Powers of attorney and personal liability

Two primary rules apply to all powers of attorney, also called POAs. First, an agent under a power of attorney can only do what the POA explicitly allows the agent to do. Second, an agent under a power of attorney must always do what the principal wants as long as the agent is aware of the principal’s wishes. 

Legal-Ease: Should I worry about my sibling being executor for my parents?

The concern regarding a sibling being executor of a parent’s will generally arises in multi-children families. Sometimes families get concerned that one sibling as executor might rewrite the will in order to benefit themselves more. 

Being an executor is designed to be an administrative task, which means that the executor of a will has little to no discretion. The role of the executor is to simply carry out the task of asset distribution on behalf of the deceased. 

Legal-Ease: Nursing homes and the five-year lookback

The government healthcare program that pays for nursing home care for those who can’t afford it is commonly called “institutional Medicaid.” Poverty is defined by both federal and Ohio law. 

While there are many requirements surrounding eligibility for institutional Medicaid, the most challenging one is typically that the applicant must have a financial net worth of less than $2,000. The applicant also could not have given anything away in the five years before applying in order to qualify. Lee explains the application of the five-year lookback rule and how it can be applied when attempting to become Medicaid-eligible. 

Legal-Ease: How to administer a loved one’s estate

Even when well-planned, estate administration is not entirely automatic. Technically, when someone dies, ownership of their assets is automatically transferred to one or more people. However, until the paperwork memorializing the transfers is finished, the new owner cannot exercise the attributes of ownership. 

Legal-Ease: Four estate planning structures to consider

Estate planning can be difficult since it involves looking ahead and deciding where we want our assets to go when we die. While every situation in estate planning is different, there are four main structures to consider. 

First, some people use an “everybody equal” structure. Second, some people use a structure called “equal opportunity.” Third, others use a “who needs it most” structure when estate planning. Finally, some people use a “this one helped me most” structure. 

Legal-Ease: What to do when facing a nursing home decision

When the time arises to make a decision about long-term healthcare, three steps should be taken. First, be sure that the family member facing care has an updated power of attorney and living will. Second, develop a financial plan with an attorney. Finally, work closely with the attorney regarding bills and asset transfers.