Horizon Elder Law & Estate Planning Blog

There’s no doubt that having kids can be financially taxing. However, it’s important to note that not all children cost you the same amount of money. When you have multiple children, you likely want to ensure that your kids feel as though they are treated fairly and equally. For that reason, you may be thinking about splitting your property to be divided equally among them. But as mentioned, different children have different financial needs at different points in time.

A Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) is a physician order that helps give people with severe illnesses more control over the end-of-life care they will receive. A POLST and an advanced healthcare directive can include some of the same terms and instructions, but there are quite a few differences between these documents.

A California estate planning attorney can explain these documents and answer your questions, such as, what is the difference between a POLST and an advance healthcare directive? Your lawyer can also draft these and other documents to help you be prepared for future situations.

Differences Between a POLST and an Advance Healthcare Directive

Here are the ways in which a POLST and an advance healthcare directive are not the same:

• They are different types of documents. An advance directive is a legal document, whereas a POLST is a medical order.
  Read more . . .
  
  

Looking for an assisted living center for your aging loved one can cause high anxiety. You want your relative to be happy, safe, and healthy, but you might not have confidence in your ability to select the right place, particularly if you have never gone through this process before.

Here is a sampling of the right questions to ask when choosing an assisted living facility. A California estate planning attorney can provide additional guidance and draft legal documents to make sure your loved one is protected and prepared.

How Many Residents Live at the Facility and at What Level of Assistance?

When there are enough residents, the facility is likely to have more variety in its activities, food options, floor plans, and other features than a smaller center.
Read more . . .

Planning for retirement can be overwhelming. Either it feels so far away that you might not think you need to do anything about it yet, or you might think that it will be impossible to save enough money, so you give up entirely. A sound retirement plan could help you avoid both of these extreme positions and give you financial security and peace of mind.

It is challenging to plan for something you have never experienced, like retirement. The fear of making a mistake can lead to anxiety.
Read more . . .

If your loved one died and named you as the Successor Trustee of a living trust, you will have a great deal of work to do while dealing with your grief and loss. The good news is that because your loved one left a living trust, usually you will not have to go to probate court. The downside is that, even though there are far fewer steps to go through than with a will or a situation of intestacy, serving as the trustee of an estate can take a year or more.

You do not have to go through all of this process alone. A California estate planning attorney can work with you and do much of the heavy lifting on your behalf.

The specific documents in a California estate plan can vary somewhat. The general concept of a California estate plan is a combination of documents that protect the individual while one is alive and the heirs and beneficiaries after one’s death.

Everyone has a unique situation and different goals and needs, which is why one person’s estate plan might contain different papers than another person’s estate plan. A California estate planning attorney can evaluate what you need and answer your questions, like, what is in a California estate plan?

What is Usually Included in a California Estate Plan?

The “starter kit” of a California estate plan typically includes a basic living trust, a pour-over will, a durable power of attorney for financial matters, a living will or healthcare directive, and a HIPAA medical records authorization. The purpose of these documents is:

• A basic living trust keeps you from dying intestate (without a valid will or trust) and helps you to avoid the loss of privacy and the expense of having a will go through probate court.

If you created a living trust 10 or 20 years ago, you probably need to update it to avoid problems for yourself and your beneficiaries. Even a living trust from five years ago could need some revisions if it is going to meet your current goals and needs.

If you are named to serve as the personal representative of a loved one’s estate, you will have many responsibilities under the California probate code. One of these tasks is to file an inventory with the probate court. You will have to follow the rules and perform this task correctly before the judge will approve the inventory.

California law allows you to work with professionals when administering an estate. A California estate planning attorney can help you with estate administration and explain what it means to file the inventory.
Read more . . .

For many people, their home is their largest asset. Therefore, they want their children to inherit their home. Working with a California estate planning attorney is the best way to ensure your children inherit your home after your death.

Leaving Your Home to Your Adult Children

There are four basic ways you can leave your home to your children in your estate plan:

Last Will and Testament

Most individuals choose this simple route to pass their home and other assets to their children. Your Will allows you to choose who inherits your property.

You might decide sometime after making a will that you want to change some of the terms of the document. Perhaps one of the beneficiaries is now deceased, or you no longer own an item you gave away in the will.
Read more . . .

Dementia is one of the common health issues that individuals face as they age. Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia cause a person to lose their memory. They also lose the ability to understand many of the things going on around them, including the ability to make health care decisions.

A California elder law attorney assists you in executing documents that protect your right to choose your medical care. It is important to make your desires known now while you can make informed decisions about medical treatments and care for dementia-related illnesses.