What Is Medi-Cal? from Timothy Murphy Medicaid is a health insurance program that is jointly run by the federal government along with each state government. Learn more about Medi-cal in Calfironia in this presentation. … [Read more...] about What Is Medi-Cal?
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What Is a Third Party Special Needs Trust?
It is important to provide for each person on your inheritance list in the optimal manner. You are not compelled to slice everything up like a pie as you provide direct inheritances to each family member with no strings attached. If you act without knowledge of all the facts, negative consequences can result. With this in mind, let's look at third party special needs trusts. Benefit Preservation Many families have members with special needs. If you want to provide for a person with a … [Read more...] about What Is a Third Party Special Needs Trust?
What Happens to a Living Trust When One Spouse Dies?
A revocable living trust can be a very viable solution for you if you want to facilitate efficient postmortem asset transfers. If you use a last will, the will must be admitted to probate unless the estate is modest. The heirs to the estate do not receive their inheritances until the process has run its course. In most jurisdictions, it will take close to a year for a simple case to be probated and closed by the court. More complicated cases can take considerably longer. There are also … [Read more...] about What Happens to a Living Trust When One Spouse Dies?
What Is a Qualified Personal Residence Trust?
If you are exposed to the federal estate tax, a qualified personal residence trust can be a useful tax efficiency tool. Most people are not faced with estate tax exposure, because the credit or exclusion is relatively high. For the rest of 2014, this exclusion sits at $5.34 million. In 2015, it increases to $5.43 million. You can leave unlimited assets to your spouse free of taxation, but the estate tax would be a factor on transfers to other people if the transfers exceed the estate tax … [Read more...] about What Is a Qualified Personal Residence Trust?
What Is Medicaid?
There can be some confusion between the Medicaid program and the Medicare program, and in California, Medi-Cal enters the picture. We will endeavor to provide some answers in this blog post. Need-Based Health Insurance Medicaid is a need-based health insurance program. It is jointly administered by each state government along with the federal government. The individual states have some leeway with regard to the exact way that the Medicaid program is administered. In California, the Medicaid … [Read more...] about What Is Medicaid?
How Is My Property Transferred If I Die Intestate?
A lot of people fail to plan ahead for something that is definitely going to happen. If you were to die without executing any estate planning documents, you would die intestate. Under these circumstances, the state would be forced to sort things out. The probate court would step in, and after final debts were paid, the probate property would ultimately be distributed using the intestate succession laws of the state of California. Before we explain the pecking order as it were, we should point … [Read more...] about How Is My Property Transferred If I Die Intestate?
What Is a Living Trust Successor Trustee?
A revocable living trust can be a very valuable estate planning tool for a wide variety of individuals. You should certainly understand the facts before you decide that a trust is not for you. Many people think that they should use a last will as a vehicle of asset transfer. If you maintain direct personal possession of your property and you arrange for its distribution through the terms of a will, the estate administration process can be complex. The executor that you choose in the will would … [Read more...] about What Is a Living Trust Successor Trustee?
Estate Tax Exclusion Adjusted for Inflation
The federal estate tax is controversial, because it is a tax that is imposed on assets that you have left after you paid taxes all of your life. Many people wonder why death should be a taxable event. Whether it is fair or not, the tax is a fact of life, and you should be aware of the estate tax parameters so that you can take steps to gain estate tax efficiency if you are exposed. Estate Tax Parameters The estate tax is not a factor for most people, because there is a credit or exclusion. … [Read more...] about Estate Tax Exclusion Adjusted for Inflation
What Is an Elder Law Attorney?
Attorneys often focus on certain areas that they are passionate about, and we place an emphasis on elder law and estate planning. An elder law attorney is a legal professional who counsels people who are concerned about the eventualities of aging. There are many questions being asked at the present time, because the baby boomer generation is reaching retirement age, and a lot of people are approaching senior status. If you want to be comprehensively prepared, you may want to discuss … [Read more...] about What Is an Elder Law Attorney?
Do I Still Control Property in a Revocable Living Trust?
You have to decide how you want to transfer assets when you are planning your estate, and you have multiple options. If you simply assume that you should use a last will as a vehicle of asset transfer, you may be overlooking more useful solutions. Most people have heard of trusts, but misconceptions about them circulate. Many individuals are under the impression that you surrender control of assets that you convey into any type of trust. This is not the case. Revocable Living Trusts Revocable … [Read more...] about Do I Still Control Property in a Revocable Living Trust?
