Torrance Trusts and Estates Law Blog

Recently on the blog we talked about Medicaid planning and the effectiveness of long-term care insurance. These are important matters, considering the fact that most of us will need some sort of long-term care in the future. To successfully address these matters, individuals need to have some foresight. They need to know how to protect their and their family's financial interests, which usually means that they have to address these matters in a number of ways, including by creating an effective estate plan.

This can be a complicated process, which is why skilled legal professionals stand ready to help. A qualified attorney will know how to create trusts that allow assets to be excluded from consideration with regard to certain public benefits. This tactic is often successful in allowing an individual to retain wealth while at the same time secure benefits through programs like Medicaid.

Watching a parent or loved one get older and become less independent can be a difficult and upsetting experience. You may notice that you have to help them with an increasing amount of daily tasks, and you may also witness their personality change from being energetic and outgoing to reserved and fearful. If you are worried about their safety when they are home alone, you may have considered what the benefits of residential care could be.

If you are already convinced that a nursing home could increase your loved one's quality of life and safety, you will need to bring up the topic, which can be emotional and scary. If you are concerned about your loved one's future, you should consider approaching the topic sensitively. The following are some tips for discussing future living options with an aging family member.

Effective estate planning requires a significant amount of attention to detail. Even some of the most well thought out estate plans can fall on their face when seemingly minor things are missed. This is why it is often critically important to discuss estate planning with a legal professional who will know how to avoid common pitfalls and ensure that asset distribution is in accordance with a testator's wishes.

One way to ensure appropriate asset distribution is to double check how assets are titled. Although an individual can utilize a will to dictate how his or her assets will be distributed, this document will only address assets are part of the probate estate. That is to say that assets that already have a named beneficiary will not go to those heirs named in the beneficiary designation.

The digital era has revolutionized the way we live our lives. Without access to the Internet, many of our daily activities would come to a halt. Our banking, bill paying, and investing are often all conducted in a paperless fashion. While this electronic world has made just about everything more convenient, it can also pose some estate planning challenges.

This is because even though industry professionals suggest not writing down passwords for security purposes, failing to do so can make it extremely challenging for heirs, beneficiaries, and estate executors to identify and properly distribute estate assets. To see just how difficult this issue can be one need only look at the recent death of a crypto currency founder who recently passed away without leaving his password behind. As a result, approximately $190 million is crypto currency may be forever locked away.