This article is for you if you need an estate planning attorney in Midvale Utah. It’s difficult for parents to become dependent on their adult children as they age. The role reversal from caregiver to patient isn’t an easy one. Instead of leaving everything to chance, take advantage of estate planning attorneys who specialize in elder law. These firms are well versed in protecting seniors and their families, and can help ensure a smooth transition for adult children and aging parents.

First, Find A Will Attorney Who Specializes In Elder Law

Not all firms are the same. While it’s possible for a lawyer to help with elder law issues, it’s best to find one that specializes in creating a will and other legal documents such as a medical directive. An attorney with this experience will know what documents are needed and will be able to help preserve a client’s assets and manage estates and trusts. It’s a wise idea to interview a few firms before choosing one to work with. Ask if they’re a member of professional organizations such as The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Inc, or the Special Needs Alliance. Lawyers in these organizations have proven their commitment to seniors and their families.

Second, Plan For Long-Term Illness

No one wants to think about a long-term illness, but the reality is that by 2020, 12 million older Americans will need some type of care for a long-term illness. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently released a study that found that people over age 65 have a 40% chance of entering a nursing home. It’s expected that 10% of these people may stay more than five years. Long-term care is expensive and no one wants to be a burden on their family. There’s a gap between Medicaid eligibility thresholds and being able to pay for long-term care completely out of pocket – even wealthy families can have problems paying up to $130,000 a year for a long-term care facility. Estate planning attorneys can help you distribute your assets appropriately and legally in case you need professional care.

Third, Spell Things Out With The Help Of Estate Planning Attorneys

No parent wants to think of their children fighting over medical directives or assets. To ensure this doesn’t happen, parents should sit down with their children before meeting with a lawyer to draw up a will. An attorney may suggest other legal documents, including a durable power of attorney, a medical directive, trusts, and more. The important thing is to keep children and their spouses informed about your choices so there’s no surprise when these documents become necessary. Getting older is a fact of life and isn’t easy. However, a little advanced planning of your medical directives and how your assets should be distributed before it’s needed can help your family know all about your wishes if you’re unable to tell them. Estate planning is one of the greatest gifts you can leave for your family. Contact a Midvale Utah will attorney today.

As its name suggests, general procuration (General Power of Attorney) permits your agent to perform a variety of acts such as paying bills, managing your business and personal affairs, as well as estate planning. An Attorney or family member is often appointed, depending on the individual’s preferences and personal situation. There are several reasons to relinquish power of attorney to a lawyer or a trusted relation, but one of the most common reasons is convenience. General procuration gives an individual the freedom to travel, relocate, or focus on other responsibilities while having a capable person handle necessary affairs in their absence or stead. You simply supply the instructions to your agent who then has the power to legally perform the tasks required.

A protection that you may want from your general procuration is the “disability clause”. This clause provides that the general procuration goes into effect only when your general physician certifies that you are unable to handle your affairs. This certification is an affidavit signed by the doctor in front of a notary. This limits the use of the power of attorney until a time when your general physician agrees that you are unable to handle your affairs. This can be temporary or continue onto your passing away, in which case an estate planning attorney is often assigned the role as agent. Remember, if and when you regain your abilities, you will once again regain control after proper legal process is followed. Be aware that the general procuration does not include making health care decisions. That power is granted in a Special Limited Medical Power of Attorney.

Americans are living longer these days and are at more risk for times of incapacity. The time to protect yourself is now while you are still of sound mind, so you can specify how you would like your business and personal issues handled in case there is a time when you are not able to deal with those matters. In these cases, it is common to appoint your estate planning attorney as your agent. There are many benefits to choosing a qualified professional over a personal relation such as a family member. While you may trust a family and friend, often times they are not equipped to handle the complexities of tasks such as amending wills and monitoring trust funds. Improperly prepared wills or financial gifts can lead to heavy taxes and inappropriately distributed funds, which can be potentially devastating to your loved ones. An estate planning attorney has the necessary skills as well as your best interest in mind, as they have no personal or emotional investment in how your affairs are to be handled. If you are considering appointing an agent for general procuration, carefully review your options and discuss the details with a qualified lawyer, such as an estate planning attorney. They can help guide you in the right direction and ensure that you have all of the information you need to appoint an agent that will best serve your needs.

Many a time’s even well prepared estate planning processes might not be as beneficial as some of their viable alternatives. Benefits of correct advice on estate planning are immense.

Clients looking for planning and managing their estates often consult the Estate Planning Attorney for such objectives. Coming across failure in achievement of the objective would never be the nicest of the feelings for any client. Yet such things do happen and when they happen they take their toll from such clients.

Ordinarily when someone gets the trust book salesman services from their trusted attorneys, such situation could take place. Neither appreciating the true requirements of the clients nor studying the situation and environment properly such boilerplate trusts are doomed to failure. Ignorance of law is perhaps one of the greatest reasons for the failure of many estate planning processes. Besides the Federal laws, almost every state has put in place their own set of legislations for regulating the estates of its citizens and those that are within the geographical limits of the state. Changing circumstances have induced most of such authorities to make frequent changes in their legislation. An addition to the fray is the ever changing executive instructions that are modeled on the real time requirements and are mostly time and circumstances specific.

State laws vary from each other largely and what could be perfectly legal and in order in one state could be completely a violation of law in another. Appreciating the legal aspects of managing estate is therefore essential for any client. At the same time it is better for the professionals taking over such issues since they are better equipped to deal with the intricacies of law and judicial processes. Whether it is Midvale or Oregon , a good attorney having experience in the field could be the real solution for your needs in such cases. Finding one such attorney won’t be a difficult task as one could easily approach the bar association, resort to law publications and trade circle magazines, and above all can log on to the Internet for finding out the best attorney available to accomplish the task.

Choosing the Right Estate Planning Attorney

With the help of a qualified estate planning attorney, you can handle the business of making sure your money, belongings, and-most importantly-your loved ones are properly cared for after you are gone. You can make a will that will be legally binding, give over power of attorney to a trusted friend or associate, make your own funeral arrangements, and much more. There are ways to accomplish these things on your own, but you are far better off contacting someone who has the knowledge and experience to help you. Here are some things you should look for when choosing a lawyer.

Affordability

Hiring an estate planning attorney shouldn’t cost you everything you’re trying to pass on. Lawyers are never cheap (and you probably shouldn’t hire someone who is), but that doesn’t mean you can’t find someone with affordable rates. Charging an arm and a leg isn’t a sign of a better lawyer; it’s a sign that he caters to rich clientele and can get away with it. While you certainly shouldn’t look for bargain basement deals, there’s no harm in shopping around a bit before you commit.

Experience

Experience makes all the difference between a good lawyer and a poor one. An estate planning attorney can have a degree from the finest university in the country and they may still not be appropriate for your purposes.

Make sure that they are. You can do this by determining not only how long they have been practicing, but also how long they have been working in this field of the law.

Attention and Availability

You need someone with whom you can consult, not a rubber stamp. If you just want a lawyer to put their signature to a piece of paper, you can find one for a lot cheaper than you’ll find an estate planning attorney. Yet this doesn’t stop many such lawyers from charging a hefty amount, meeting for an afternoon, and then rarely being available from that point forward. Don’t stand for this. If you’re paying for legal counsel, make sure you receive it.

Flexibility

Even if you are retired, you may have a busy schedule. It can be difficult to make time for appointments. If this describes your situation, look for an estate planning attorney who can make the time to meet with you, even if that involves staying late one afternoon or rescheduling another appointment. This is the sign of a lawyer who cares, which is exactly what you want when moving forward with what, can be some very delicate decisions.

Payable on Death Accounts and How an Estate Planning Attorney Can Help

One of the easiest ways to pass assets to an heir is to set up a payable on death (POD) account. All you have to do is name a beneficiary who will receive the funds when you die. There is absolutely no probate or legal rigmarole. The beneficiary need only show a death certificate and personal identification to claim the money at the financial institution where the account was opened. When set up by an experienced estate planning attorney, payable on death arrangements are also quite flexible. They can be used to pass certificates of deposit, bank accounts, and even large stock portfolios to heirs. With that said, POD arrangements aren’t perfect.

The Cons

The most common complaint about them is that they always take a backseat to a legal will. If there are any contradictions or discrepancies between the documents, what is written in the will takes precedence. As such, a beneficiary can never be completely confident that he or she will receive an inheritance. Any change to the primary document by an estate planning attorney could, quite conceivably, invalidate the POD arrangement. It is also important to note that these accounts are based on the expectation that their owner will pass before the intended recipient. But if the heir happens to expire before the owner, the assets in the POD arrangement will revert back to the estate, where they would be subject to probate proceedings. Because these accounts do not allow owners to name alternate beneficiaries, this outcome would be unavoidable if the named party were to die before his predecessor.

The Pros

Even with those weaknesses, payable on death accounts can be quite useful if they are carefully coordinated with the rest of your estate plan. They can make it much easier to pass assets to specific heirs. Perhaps even more importantly, POD arrangements do not legally require the beneficiary to do anything after he/she has claimed the funds. So if the beneficiary were asked to further distribute the money in the account to other heirs, he/she would have no legal obligation to do so. Offered for free at most banks, brokerages, and other financial institutions, POD arrangements give owners the ability to pass an unlimited amount of money to their heirs. They also allow them to avoid the sundry charges and fees associated with the probate process. Not to mention the fact that they may prevent family in-fighting over inheritance.

The Verdict

They may not be perfect, but POD arrangements are a valuable estate planning tool. They allow owners to easily pass monetary assets to whomever they choose. With that said, it is strongly recommended that you hire a Midvale Utah estate planning attorney to set them up. Failure to do so could result in conflicts with other, more important legal documents, such as your will. These discrepancies could result in confusion, even legal battles, over your estate. For these reasons, it is always a good idea to have a lawyer handle the planning for you.

Free Initial Consultation with Lawyer

It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when. Legal problems come to everyone. Whether it’s your son who gets in a car wreck, your uncle who loses his job and needs to file for bankruptcy, your sister’s brother who’s getting divorced, or a grandparent that passes away without a will -all of us have legal issues and questions that arise. So when you have a law question, call Ascent Law for your free consultation (801) 676-5506. We want to help you!