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Encino Trust Attorney Answers, “What Should a Special Needs Trust Pay For?”

Trustees of special needs trusts shoulder an incredible amount of responsibility. In addition to providing care for the individual with special needs, they must also make sure the assets in the trust are spent wisely and will not disqualify the person from any benefits they may be receiving.

How to Qualify for Medi-Cal – Even If You Have Too Many Assets

Medi-Cal is a needs-based program meant to help those without considerable resources access medical care and benefits. Since it is needs-based, there are significant asset and income limits attached to eligibility, which can easily lead to a disqualification from receiving benefits if the assets are not monitored closely. However, there are several ways to prevent a Medi-Cal eligibility disqualification through the use of trusts. For the purposes of this article, we’ll focus on how an irrevocable trust can help if a person expects to receive Medi-Cal benefits in the future and a First-Party Special Needs Trust if a person is ready to receive Medi-Cal benefits.

Encino Estate Lawyer: What Happens to Your Digital Assets After You Pass Away?

Digital assets and what happens to them after you pass away are fairly new concerns for people. However, this issue must be given significant thought, since so much of our lives are impacted by the digital age. To help alleviate these concerns and give more control to those managing estates of the recently incapacitated or deceased, Congress passed The Revised Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, otherwise known as RUFADAA. This act allows fiduciaries (executors, trustees, and agents working with a Power of Attorney) to manage digital accounts owned by others, while at the same time affording the account owner a level of privacy.

LA County Elder Law Attorney: How to Help an Elderly Parent Manage Money

A concern for many adult children with an aging parent is whether or not they can still handle money and make sound choices regarding their financial affairs. There are many reasons why an elderly parent would have trouble handling their own finances, usually due to some physical or mental ailment or the loss of a spouse who normally handled the finances, though there are other times when the parent just decides they would rather have someone else handle financial decisions, so they may focus on other things.

Encino Trust Lawyer Answers: “What is a Qualified Personal Residence Trust (QPRT)?”

Family homes and other real property are usually the most valuable assets in an estate. While homeowners may want to leave these properties to children or other beneficiaries as part of an inheritance, tax burdens can throw a wrench into those plans. Unfortunately, without proper planning, most beneficiaries cannot afford the taxes that come along with inheriting property, which usually forces the sale of a family home or other property after the homeowner dies.

Furry Family

Well, it’s official: Our adopted black kitties are members of the family without prejudice. You may remember my telling you when Karen and I brought them home. They are really cute and provide us a lot of entertainment and, of course, love. (Did you know it’s been proven that one’s …

Pets Are People, Too!

If one were to believe for a second that pets are not important, they might consider the impact owners’ love for their furry friends have on the US economy: Over $35 BILLION spent on grooming, healthcare, shelter, food, etc. To put it in perspective: According to the US Census Bureau, …

Sweet 16, Swimming, and Safety Nets

I hope you all are still enjoying the Summer! Vacations, summer camp, swimming, camping… all the things that are most fun when it’s warmer weather keep you busy when these things are “thrown into the mix” of your regular routine! We are having a fairly quiet Summer ourselves. No wild …

A Hypothetical… But It Does Happen

Today we’re going to discuss a situation that happens all the time. It’s a situation that almost nobody thinks about, unless you’re an estate planning attorney, but it does occur often enough to talk about. Consider the following hypothetical: A woman, let’s call her Elizabeth, has passed away. Elizabeth is …

Avoid these 10 Common Estate Planning Mistakes

As a Personal Estate Planning Lawyer, I see many of the same estate planning mistakes made time and again by people who either fail to plan properly or who use “do-it-yourself” estate planning websites or forms in an effort to save money. Without professional guidance, this can cause more problems …

Birthdays and Balloons

One of my client’s gave me some ideas for Karen’s birthday surprise that made me so excited to plan it! She would NEVER guess, and it would make the gap between her “wild and crazy” escapades/surprises and mine a teeny bit smaller. She had no idea where we were headed …

Veterans: Qualifying For Benefits

The sacrifices made by our wartime Veterans and their spouses can never be truly recompensed. The freedoms we enjoy because of our Veterans can never be assigned a value that would be a true representation of its worth. Our Country has not been the most progressive for rewarding those selfless …

If as a Veteran I’m denied benefits, is there another step?

If my pension is denied and I’m told I’m not eligible for a certain benefit or pension, is there anything that an attorney may be able to help me with to clarify my answers so that I do become eligible? If you are a veteran, you know that the VA …