Paul Yokabitus

Creating a last will and testament document is extremely important, especially if you have a significant amount of assets and numerous people who could lay claim to them following your death. Wills can also be used to address a number of other crucial matters, such as determining who will become the legal guardian of a decedent’s children and who will manage property willed to minor children on their behalf until they become of age.

If your child is currently eligible, or will likely become eligible in the future, for government, means-tested benefits based on physical or cognitive disability or impairment, it’s important to protect those benefits long-term. Special Needs Planning generally refers to the maintenance of means-tested public or government benefits. Usually, we’re talking about SSI and Medicaid, but that could also be state-based programs like food stamps or Supplemental Assistance, or generally other resources or agencies that provide resources to disabled individuals.

It is important to sufficiently prepare for retirement as well as the possibility of becoming disabled through an accident, illness, or progressive condition. Many individuals who become disabled and require skilled nursing care cannot afford to pay for such services with their own funds – there just isn’t enough to cover everything. Furthermore, Medicaid is a means-tested benefit program that is directed by the Federal Government and administered at the State level.

When a loved one dies with assets, their family must go through the process of probate (or administration, if they died without a will). This can be a painful and expensive process that should only be addressed. In dealing with probate, not only are you dealing with the death of a loved one but now that has to make sure all of the loved one’s affairs are in order. This can be a substantial undertaking. There are a lot of rules that must be followed in order to settle the estate.

As an elderly individual nears the end of their life, it may be worthwhile for them to consider what kind of medical treatment they would want to receive in the event they become disabled or incapacitated. Naming one or more trusted friends or family members in a healthcare power of attorney on an elderly individual’s behalf could help prepare for their inability to make decisions later on due to incapacitation or incompetence. The prospect of becoming disabled in an accident, by getting sick, or through a progressive condition can be daunting.