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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.

Happy 4th of July!

I hope you had a wonderful July 4th Holiday! It’s been a little quiet in the office since this was a big week for vacations and long weekends for many of my clients. We went to a fireworks show, which was a lot of fun. I’ve heard stories from several …

Protecting Your Children’s Nest Egg

Parents often set up trusts as a way to ensure their assets reach their children and successive generations without being diminished by courts costs and taxes. When leaving assets to a child, parents will be faced with some choices on how to handle or set up their children’s future inheritance. …

Katrine’s New Venture

It’s been coming for a while. I’ve been doing everything I could do to prepare for it, but it’s like most things that change when you don’t want them to change, I’m not happy about it.On the other hand, what can I say? It’s really a huge step in the …

April Is National Autism Awareness Month

As many of you know, I have a daughter with autism. Since April is National Autism Awareness Month, I wanted to speak to you a bit about what it is and what it is not. Because so many Americans are diagnosed with it, you probably know someone who is autistic. …

Shooting Myself In The Foot

This week, I’ve been taking an inventory, so to speak, of how I’m doing with my New Year’s Resolutions. My main Resolution was to say, “Yes, I can!” more often, stepping outside my comfort zone and being more open to new things. To be honest, I think I’ve done pretty …

Is Your Business Putting Your Personal Assets At Risk?

All professionals are aware of the challenges of running their business amidst a barrage of lawsuits. The number of lawsuits filed each year against physicians and small businesses is staggering and has reached over 15 million. That works out to one new lawsuit every two seconds! Or one lawsuit filed …

Sneak Preview

Wow! This week has been so busy! It’s what I love, though, with new clients, and talking to people about their particular situations and providing the solutions that work best for them and their families. Plus, I’m getting ready for the upcoming free seminars, where I have the opportunity to …

Just Who Are You, Anyway?

“Just Who Are You, Anyway?” Like the credit card company commercial that rattles off the cost of a trip with airfare, hotel, meals and entertainment and ends with, “Priceless” (you know which one I’m talking about), I want to introduce you to that concept of what truly is your most …