ARTICLES

The Downsides of Reserving a Life Estate

The Downsides of Reserving a Life Estate

In a previous article, we explored the benefits of reserving a life estate to protect your home from the high cost of nursing home care. (You can read the full article here) Reserving a life estate is a common planning technique where the home is deeded to a loved one, typically your adult child(ren), and...
The Benefits of Reserving a Life Estate

The Benefits of Reserving a Life Estate

Your home is often your most important asset.  Many families want to protect this asset from the high cost of nursing home care.  When nursing home care is not imminent, a common planning technique is to deed the home to a loved one, typically your adult child(ren), and reserve a life estate for yourself. This...
6 Things to Do Before Your Next Vacation

6 Things to Do Before Your Next Vacation

Scheduling a vacation requires a lot of thought and planning.  It may involve booking a flight and hotel room, arranging for a rental car, and finding someone to look out for your home and pets while you are away. You plan to ensure that you and your family’s needs are met and to travel with...
Five Smart Ways to Plan for your Grandchildren’s Financial Future

Five Smart Ways to Plan for your Grandchildren’s Financial Future

Becoming a grandparent is a major milestone for many.  We often hear clients describe the incredible joy that they experience holding their grandchild for the first time.  Whether you’re a rookie grandparent, or a seasoned pro, you’re most likely considering taking a new direction and setting new goals with respect to your estate plan. Perhaps...
Your Documents are Signed – Now What?

Your Documents are Signed – Now What?

As we wrap up estate plan document signings, there is often a sigh of relief from clients who say, “I’m so glad that is taken care of!” But before you check off your to-do list, there are a few steps you should take to ensure that your estate plan is ready for future action. 1....
Buyer Beware: Letting a Nursing Home Complete Your Medicaid Application

Buyer Beware: Letting a Nursing Home Complete Your Medicaid Application

It all sounds too good to be true.  The nursing home offers to prepare and submit your Medicaid Application (called MassHealth in Massachusetts) to get your loved one qualified, free of charge.   Good deal, right? Well, you may want to think twice before accepting this offer. Moving a loved one into a nursing home Moving...
When Do I Need an Elder Law Attorney to Help with Medicaid Planning?

When Do I Need an Elder Law Attorney to Help with Medicaid Planning?

Medicaid (called “MassHealth” in Massachusetts) can help pay for long term care either at home or in a nursing home. If you think MassHealth will be needed in your or your loved one’s future, it’s always best to plan ahead. Five Year Look-back If you apply for MassHealth benefits, the state has the right to...
Top 3 MassHealth Planning Mistakes

Top 3 MassHealth Planning Mistakes

Having MassHealth pay for your care as you age can be an invaluable service. If you think you or a loved one may need MassHealth benefits in the future, there are some things you can do to in advance to meet the eligibility requirements. We’ve compiled the top three most common mistakes well-meaning individuals can...
Where Do I Store My Legal Documents?

When thinking about where to store your important legal documents, a lot of people’s first thoughts are, “I’ll put them in my safe deposit box!” Though that is a good place to safely store some items, safe deposit boxes are not usually a good place for your legal documents. Safe deposit boxes are only accessible...

7 Reasons to Update Your Estate Plan

We sometimes view estate planning as a one and done proposition.  Keep in mind, our lives change and so must our plans. If it has been several years or more since you have signed your estate planning documents, then it is possible that the plan won’t achieve your goals.  Periodically reviewing your plan with an...

Why Do Trusts Sometimes Fail?

Trusts can be great estate planning tools to protect assets, avoiding probate, saving legal costs and a whole host of other reasons.  But did you know many Trusts fail?  This is probably not something you want to hear after the time, effort, and expense you put into creating the Trust.  But it’s true.  Trusts can...

Financial Abuse of Aging Individuals

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is June 15th, so let’s talk about financial abuse against aging individuals – an issue that costs this population billions of dollars every year. Common types of Scams Targeting the Aging Population Technical Scams Along with the pandemic and resulting quarantine, members of our aging population have been isolated more...