If you become incapacitated at any point in your life, who will manage your finances? You may think that you know the answer to that questions, but from a legal perspective you may not. Incapacity can happen slowly as part of the natural aging process or can happen in a moment as the result of the tragic accident. Regardless of how you become incapacitated, someone will have to manage your finances. If you are married at the time you become incapacitated, your spouse may have access to some … [Read more...] about Who Will Manage Your Finances If You Become Incapacitated?
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What Happens if You Don’t Make Changes to Your Estate Planning Documents After Divorce
If you don’t make formal changes to your estate planning documents after divorce, you may be overlooking many important things. Most estate planning lawyers strongly recommend reviewing your estate planning documents before and after important life changing events, including divorce. In most states, spouses who fail to remove their former spouses as beneficiaries in their Wills may be able to rely on their state’s default probate laws, but in some situations, this may be insufficient. You may … [Read more...] about What Happens if You Don’t Make Changes to Your Estate Planning Documents After Divorce
Veterans Benefits: A Primer – Part 7 of 7
In this final installment, we will focus on additional VA benefits planning strategies. One effective strategy is commonly referred to as "spend down", which simply means to use otherwise countable liquid assets to purchase needed items such as vehicles, medical equipment, etc. The treatment of tax-deferred accounts poses special problems. While the annuitization approach may work in certain circumstances, in others, it may be better to liquidate the account and include it in a spend down … [Read more...] about Veterans Benefits: A Primer – Part 7 of 7
Veterans Benefit: A Primer – Part 6 of 7
As noted in the previous Part, many person who initially contact our office relating to VA benefit eligibility do not immediately qualify for them. In most cases it is because they have too many assets that the VA would count in ascertaining their availability. However, despite the recent restrictions imposed by the VA on eligibility standards, there are effective and legal strategies that can be employed to reduce one's net worth for VA eligibility purposes. One note of caution: There … [Read more...] about Veterans Benefit: A Primer – Part 6 of 7
Veterans Benefits: A Primer – Part 5 of 7
Turning to the financial test in VA eligibility planning, there is much confusion in this area. Unlike the VA Compensation program, whose eligibility tests focus on a veteran's degree of disability and whether or not it was connected to his or her service to our country, the Pension program also focuses on the veteran's income and assets. Effective October 18, 2018, the VA made dramatic changes to the financial eligibility standards. Due to their complexity, they cannot be set forth in … [Read more...] about Veterans Benefits: A Primer – Part 5 of 7
How to Recognize the Signs of Nursing Home Abuse
The increase in the senior population in recent years has caused a corresponding increase in issues that impact the elderly, including nursing home abuse. Fortunately, there are nursing homes that provide competent, caring, and compassionate care to patients; however, you must remain vigilant and on alert for signs of abuse or neglect if you have a loved one in a nursing home. To help ensure that you know what to look for, lets discuss the signs of elder abuse and what to do if you spot … [Read more...] about How to Recognize the Signs of Nursing Home Abuse
Veterans Benefits: A Primer – Part 4 of 7
In this Part, we will explore the disability test. As previously discussed, if a veteran became disabled while serving the country during his or her military service, he or she will likely be eligible for a disability benefit under the VA's Compensation program, which, unlike the Pension program, is not means tested. To receive a VA pension benefit. however, the veteran must establish his disability in one of two ways. First, a veteran can show that a permanent and totally disabling … [Read more...] about Veterans Benefits: A Primer – Part 4 of 7
Veterans Benefits: A Primer – Part 3 of 7
To be eligible for the VA "Pension", a veteran applicant must satisfy three basic tests: 1. Wartime Service; 2. A Disability; and 3. Limited Assets and Income. We will explore each of these requirements in the next few Parts. A surviving spouse of a veteran must also meet a fourth test, the "Marriage" test. He or she must have been married to a veteran of the opposite gender at the time of the veteran's death, been married for more than one year and have not remarried. Unfortunately, this … [Read more...] about Veterans Benefits: A Primer – Part 3 of 7
Veterans Benefits: A Primer – Part 2 of 7
In Part 2 of this Primer series, we will take a closer look at the VA "Pension" benefit available to certain wartime benefits. The "Pension" benefit is commonly and mistakenly referred to as the "Aid and Attendance" (A & A) benefit. As discussed below, the A & A benefit is but one of three "Pension" benefits. The "Pension" benefit is actually three separate but related benefits. The fundamental benefit is the "Improved Pension". There is an additional benefit for those who meet … [Read more...] about Veterans Benefits: A Primer – Part 2 of 7
Veterans Benefits: A Primer – Part 1 of 7
Our firm regularly assists clients with obtaining benefits available from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for assistance in paying for long term care benefits. The VA requires that attorneys be accredited by the VA in order to represent veterans before the VA relative to their benefits. This author is so accredited. In helping our veteran clients and their surviving spouses, we have learned that there is much confusion about VA benefits and their availability. In this Primer … [Read more...] about Veterans Benefits: A Primer – Part 1 of 7
