Getting older comes with a host of challenges and serious questions to address. Education and smart planning can make the difference between enjoying your golden years to the fullest and constantly worrying about what might happen next.
You can start by making a list of your concerns, possibly with the help of your family. Then, get help from our estate planning lawyers in Marietta. We can offer advice, draft documents, and assist you in forming a strategy that can address your challenges.
At Nelson Elder Care Law, we’ve assisted over 7,000 families in managing the complex issues associated with aging. Contact us today and request a Legacy Planning Meeting to find out how our elder care lawyers in Marietta can help.
Do You Need an Attorney for Estate Planning?
Estate planning involves organizing your assets and establishing a legal framework that outlines how they will be distributed after your death or in the event of incapacity. Effective estate planning ensures your wishes are honored, even if you can no longer communicate them.
Estate planning tools include powers of attorney, wills, and trusts. While you can create these documents on your own, it’s important to ensure they are legally sound. The guidance of an elder care attorney can help you avoid costly mistakes.
It is wise not to take chances with a task as critical as estate planning. Our estate planning attorneys in Marietta can give you peace of mind knowing your assets are protected for future generations, your finances are secure, and your wishes will be respected.
Common Estate Planning Concerns
Some of the issues our attorneys can assist with include:
- Asset Protection: We can develop a strategy to help safeguard your assets from Medicaid recovery while maintaining eligibility for benefits.
- Decision–Making Authority: Using tools such as powers of attorney, wills, and advance healthcare directives, you can appoint trusted individuals to make decisions on your behalf if you become unable to do so.
- Future Medical Needs: We assist with long-term care planning and identifying strategies to help fund future medical and personal care needs.
- Distribution of Assets: A properly drafted will ensures that your assets are distributed according to your wishes after your passing.
- Succession Planning: If you own a business, we can help you create a succession plan to ensure a smooth transition to a chosen heir or successor.
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Legal Tools for Estate PlanningLegal documents and strategies should form the core of your estate planning strategy. Making the right choices now can protect your assets later and ensure your wishes are carried out. Some of the important documents our attorneys can help with include:
Powers of Attorney
Power of attorney documents give you the ability to appoint one or more people to make decisions on your behalf when you are unable to do so yourself.
It is very important to establish power of attorney documents while you are of sound mind. People who suffer cognitive impairments and are declared incompetent by a physician are not legally allowed to do so.
There are two main types of powers of attorney:
- Financial Power of Attorney: Names another person or persons who can manage your money if you are incapacitated. They may handle your banking, pay your bills, enter into financial agreements, and conduct other business as outlined in your document.
- Medical Power of Attorney: This document names agents who can make medical decisions on your behalf when you cannot make them yourself. This may include consenting to treatments and admission to facilities.
Advance Healthcare Directives
Your Advance Directive, sometimes called a Living Will, may be part of your medical power of attorney document, or it may be a separate document. It outlines your wishes for life-sustaining treatments when you can’t speak for yourself.
Wills
Our Marietta estate planning lawyers can help you draft a will that clearly outlines how your assets and property will be distributed after you pass away. Your will can name specific beneficiaries and appoint an executor who is responsible for carrying out your instructions.
A legally sound will can reduce family conflict and confusion. While a will may help simplify probate in some states, it does not typically avoid probate in Georgia. Most estates must go through the probate process unless assets are placed in a trust or passed by other non-probate means.
Trusts
A trust allows you to place assets under the control of another person on behalf of a beneficiary. You can create a trust for property, investments, and other assets.
- Revocable trusts can be changed while you are still alive.
- Irrevocable trusts can’t be changed, and in some cases can serve as powerful asset protection tools.
- Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts can offer protection for important assets while remaining compliant with Medicaid regulations.
- Our Absolute Protection Trust™ combines the protection of an irrevocable trust with the flexibility of a revocable trust.
Transfer on Death Deeds
Through a Transfer on Death Deed, you can transfer ownership of your home to another person while retaining the right to live in that home. This can protect your home from Medicaid clawback, as long as you establish it at least five years before you apply for benefits.
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Begin Estate Planning Early
One of the biggest mistakes made by older people and their families is waiting too long to discuss estate planning with a knowledgeable attorney. Then, when confronted with an emergency, your family is forced to scramble to find answers that might not be available.
Putting legal documents like powers of attorney, wills, and trusts in place long before you need them can protect assets from Medicaid estate recovery, ensure you have the right people making decisions on your behalf, and save families confusion and frustration.
Get Help From an Estate Planning Attorney in Marietta
You worked hard your whole life and made the best choices you could. Now, as you get older, you are faced with a new array of issues. Estate planning can be daunting and a little confusing at times, but with the right assistance, you can put together an effective strategy.
Our estate planning attorneys in Marietta have the knowledge and experience to answer your questions, create necessary documents, and offer the guidance you need. We can help you handle life’s curveballs.
At Nelson Elder Care Law, we’ve advocated for older Georgians and their families since 2014. Contact us today to request a Legacy Planning Meeting and find out how we can help with your estate planning goals.
