Today we’re going to talk about the two types of special needs trusts. Special needs trusts are designed to help a special needs beneficiary continue to qualify for public benefit programs such as Medicaid, by keeping their assets low and their income low. The first type we’re going to talk about is a third party …
How Inherited IRAs can be paid to beneficiaries
Today we’re going to talk about individual retirement accounts, also called IRAs and how they fit into estate planning for you. Before we get into everything, we need to explain a couple of definitions because this can get a little bit complicated and a little bit murky because some of the things sound the same. …
Life Estates vs Enhanced Life Estates
This post discusses the difference between a life estate and an enhanced life estate. These are essential estate planning and Medicaid planning tools, but enhanced life estates are available everywhere. What is a Life Estate? A life estate is created when you give your property to another person, but during your lifetime you retain the …
You Need a Will if you have Young Children
You need a will when you have young children and there are two main reasons why; to name a guardian for your children and for their financial protection. First is if both parents pass away, you need somebody to be the guardian of the kids, and the choices are; do you want to make the …
Difference between an irrevocable trust and a revocable trust
I question I often get is what the difference between an irrevocable trust and a revocable trust, also called a living trust or inter vivos trust. Before we start talking about these trusts, there’s three basic definitions I want to get out there. There’s the person that creates the trust; the person that manages the …
Difference between an irrevocable trust and a revocable trustRead More
Contesting a Will
In the movies and in general people think you can contest or “fight” a will because you aren’t getting what you deserve or what you want. But there are specific grounds on which you can contest a will. First, to contest a will, you need to have standing, but what does that mean? Standing means …
An Overview of the Probate Process
Today, I’m going to give you an overview of the probate process. This is a process that can be somewhat confusing and scary for people, so I’m here to just kind of give you a general overview of it. After somebody dies, the first thing you do is you file the will at probate. You …
What is a Power of Attorney
A question I sometimes get is, “What is a power of attorney?” A power of attorney is a document that allows somebody to act as your agent, in your place. Think of it as somebody basically taking a wooden stick with a picture of your face on it and putting it in front of somebody …