Do any of the following situations apply to you?
- When I reach age 65 I will automatically be eligible to receive Medicaid benefits.
- I don’t need a Power-of-Attorney because I put my daughter’s name on my accounts?
- I don’t need a Will because I don’t have much.
- I can gift up to $14,000 a year to each of my children and thereby protect this money from the nursing home and qualify for Medicaid when my funds run out.
- I can protect my money by adding my son’s name to my accounts.
- I’ll just transfer everything I have into my children’s names. I know they will take care of me and then my money will be safe from the nursing home.
- I know many people who have added their children to their deed to protect their home against the nursing home and that will work for me!
- I don’t need legal documents now because I am in good health.
- I will never have to go into a nursing home because I have good kids who will take care of me and make sure I never have to go into a nursing home.
- I really don’t need legal documents now because my kids’ names are on all our accounts and our home.
- I have a disabled son who has lived with me his entire life. I recently put his name and my daughter’s name on all my accounts and on my house in case something happens to me. My daughter said she will make sure my son is taken care of and I know I depend on her.
- Mom has Alzheimer’s, and I want to put mom’s accounts and house in my name to protect them from the nursing home.
- Most of the money belongs to me and is only in my name, so my money is protected if my wife has to go into a nursing home.
- I have left my house and all my savings to my sister and my children equally in my Will. If I put my sister on all my accounts and name her as the Personal Representative in my Will that will avoid any conflict among my children, who don’t get along.
- I don’t need to plan for nursing home expenses because I have good health insurance and a good income.
- I’m in a second marriage. All my money belonged to me before I remarried and I keep all my money in separate accounts.
- If I need a legal guardian, my children will ask the Court to appoint my oldest child as guardian.
- The nursing home said they can help me apply for Medicaid and I don’t need to see a lawyer.
- I can apply for Medicaid myself and if the paperwork isn’t complete, the Dept. of Social Services will tell me what I need to do to address any issues.
- My kids all work full-time and have a busy life, but they promised they would never put me in a nursing home so all I really need right now is a simple Will.
- I want to treat all my children equally, but one has a drug problem and another is in a bad marriage and I don’t want their shares to go down the drain, so I’m leaving everything to my son who said he will take care of his sisters.
- I have three siblings but only I take care of my dad. My brothers state they are too busy. They hardly ever visit or call to find out how dad is doing. Dad told them he was going to take them off his Will. Now they accuse me of manipulating our dad and are threatening to take me to court if they are not treated equally.
- My friend’s daughter is a paralegal and she says I can save a lot of money by going onto the internet and doing things myself.
- If I give someone power of attorney, they will be in charge of me and my property and I won’t be able to make any more decisions myself.
- My mother has moderate Alzheimer’s and can be stubborn, even aggressive, at times. But she made me power-of-attorney a few years ago and so if she gets too difficult I can just place her in a nursing home.
Each statement, decision and belief above is erroneous. Not knowing what you don’t know can be scary. Not doing something about it can lead to catastrophic consequences.
How do you make your decisions? Friends can provide helpful pointers and referrals, but just because they are well-intentioned does not mean they are knowledgeable about the law. Effective planning depends on you making the right decision for you. How can you do that if you don’t understand the impact of the various laws that affect estate planning?
It takes considerable legal training and experience to be able to recognize all the issues and potential pitfalls on a case-by-case basis, explain them clearly so that you can make an informed decision, develop a plan that works for you, and help you every step of the way through implementation. – That’s what brings you ‘Peace of Mind!’ At Rob Goldman Legal Solutions, we do this stuff every day! The real question is: Can you afford not to do things right?
Are you a procrastinator? Do you have any idea how often a seemingly healthy person suddenly becomes disabled or dies from a heart attack, stroke, or aneurism, not to mention a car or other accident? Do you think it is sensible, or fair, for those who care about you, to have to take off even more time and run to lawyers and the court and get even more stressed out because you do not have the necessary documents in place to authorize someone to manage your affairs, get access to your information, and make decisions on your behalf? You can always change your documents later, but why not take care of getting your affairs in order now? Don’t wait until it is too late. You may miss out on valuable estate planning and asset protection possibilities.
If you need elder law services in Baltimore, Dundalk, Essex, Rosedale, Middle River, White Marsh, Parkville, Abingdon, Bel Air, Aberdeen, Havre de Grace, Owings Mills, Reisterstown, Pikesville, Maryland, ROB GOLDMAN LEGAL SOLUTIONS is the law firm Marylanders turn to for calm, sensible advice and Peace of Mind.
Contact us now to inquire about our elder law services.
