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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.

Viva Las Vegas

We just returned from a trip to Vegas. Taylor, Hailey and I drove over for a Jonas Brothers concert. Thousands of screaming 12 to 15 year old girls made a memory for my daughters, but for me? Well, I’m being fitted for my hearing aid next week. (smile) Las Vegas …

Grandma Rose

Has it been 3 weeks since I last wrote?!!! It has been such an extremely busy time, and unfortunately, last week, I had to say goodbye to another family member who was so wonderful and special to me. So, this is dedicated to my Grandma Rose who passed away November …

My Favorite Halloween

Happy Halloween! I hope you all have a safe and wonderful Halloween this evening! Someone asked me this week what the most fun Halloween I’ve had, and of course, what came to mind was the Halloween of 1999. We always go “all out” on Halloween and have a lot of …

Taking Time To Smell The Roses

This past week, I went to the Chamber of Commerce’s Taste of Encino event. It was a lot of fun! Not only did I meet some great people who were interested in naming guardians for their kids, I had some time to walk around and enjoy it a little as …

Family Feuds Can Happen In The Best Of Families

Family Feuds can happen in the best of families and sometimes occur in the worst of times. When they do, they have the power to rip your family apart, plunging you into a nightmare of bitterness and anger. Or, they can open the door to your greatest dreams. About two …

Success Through Positive Mental Attitude

I have been listening to an audio book in my car on the way to work each morning, and it seems that there is a pattern of what I’m hearing with regard to the economy and such. It is that my having “Success Through Positive Mental Attitude” can and does …

If You Need Help, Don’t Be Afraid To Ask

With Rosh Hashana, dance classes and tryouts for “The Nutcracker” (not me; my daughter, Taylor!), and my daughter Hailey’s IEP, it was such a busy week! I didn’t want to let the opportunity go by, though, without getting some timely information to you about what is on everyone’s mind, what …

“Plan… Plan… Plan… I Can’t Say It Enough”

You’ve heard me time and time again stress the importance of planning. It doesn’t matter the size of your estate, whether you’re single or married, you have to plan. You have to plan for estate taxes, who your guardians and healthcare agents are going to be and you have to …