Attorney Ethan Welch had his blog Should I Share My Estate Planning Information with My Family featured in the Senior Living tab for The Morning Journal’s July Edition. Ethan states “there is no right or wrong answer when it comes to sharing estate plan information, and some approaches may work better than others”.
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Estate Planning
Generational Differences Call for Differences in Estate Planning
Whether you’re in your 40’s or your 80’s, it’s never too early or late to start thinking about creating an estate plan, and different generations can have specific ideas and approaches when it comes to their estate planning. Baby Boomers, those born generally between 1946 and 1964, are often characterized as having a strong work ethic and whose identities are…
Paying For Long-Term Care
Long-term care is not just nursing home care, like many of us think. I often speak about the “Elder Care Continuum”, which describes what many of us and our loved ones will or are experiencing as we age or face health challenges. In the beginning you may have little to no real limitations, reside in your home with no cost…
Should I Share My Estate Planning Information with My Family?
When establishing your estate plan, you generally review your assets with an attorney. This ensures you create a plan according to your wishes. Your attorney will review things like beneficiary designations to determine those designations follow your requests and provide advice on the estate plan most appropriate for your assets. The question that then arises is should I share this…
Thoughtful Estate Planning Brings Protection and Peace of Mind
Estate planning begins with an exercise of the mind – an uncomfortable internal question and answer session. What happens to my assets when I die? Who will manage my money if I’m in the hospital or a nursing home? For many, answering these questions is difficult and uncomfortable. Sometimes people don’t have relatives to leave their assets with or to…
Estate Planning Misconceptions
Many people are under the misconception that “estate planning” is primarily drafting a last will and testament; however, it’s much more than that. As part of estate planning, you’ll consider durable general (financial) powers of attorney, health care powers of attorney, living wills, guardianships and more. Estate planning is more than planning for your death; it is also planning for…
Special Needs Insights – Retirement Planning
Hickman & Lowder Co., L.P.A. is excited to continue our Special Needs Insights series. Our short videos are designed to help you expand your awareness, reduce your stress and redefine what is possible as you advocate for your loved one. This Week’s Insight: Planning for Retirement Attorney Ethan Welch provides tips on planning for retirement when you have an adult…
How Does the SECURE Act Affect My Estate Plan and My Child with Special Needs?
For most families with a loved one with disabilities, much of the assets which will be used for the loved one’s long-term needs are found in pre-tax accounts, such as IRAs. SECURE Act Means Drastic Changes to Retirement Account Inheritance Rules Congress recently passed, and the President signed into law, the “SECURE Act” (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Act…
Don’t Neglect the Third Stage of Estate Planning
Recently, I was out of the office for an early morning meeting with a client. While waiting in the lobby, I ran into a different client who happened to work in the building. I’d done some significant estate planning for her and her husband, and she told me that she’d been meaning to call me because they had follow-up questions…
Care Advocacy Services: A Case Study
Donald and Shirley engaged Hickman & Lowder to draft their estate plan with special needs considerations in the early 1990s. At that time, their daughter, Angela, who has a developmental disability, was living with them and receiving minimal benefits from the government. Donald and Shirley put a trust in place to provide for Angela after they both were gone. When…