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…
We meet the lifetime legal needs of children and adults with disabilities, the elderly, and their families.
Estate Planning
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…
Why a Living Will is Important
Some clients are hesitant about signing a Living Will. Many believe that signing a Living Will is a death sentence and the doctor will not save them if they are in severe distress. Others believe signing a Do Not Resuscitate Order (DNR) in a hospital is equivalent to a Living Will. However, a Living Will’s purpose is far from these…
What Seniors Can Learn from the Crash-and-Burn of Buzz Aldrin’s Estate Plan
It’s been all over the news lately – world famous hero and astronaut, Buzz Aldrin, actually had to sue two of his children and a former business manager to remove them from handling his finances. This is a sad crash-and-burn landing for an American hero. And the wreckage to his family continues – the dispute is ongoing in Florida courts.…
Who is the Perfect Fiduciary?
A fiduciary is a broad legal term. Essentially, a fiduciary is a person who is invested with rights and powers to be exercised for the benefit of another person.[1] A fiduciary in the context of this article is an administrator of an estate, a trustee of a trust, a court appointed guardian, or an agent of a power of attorney.…