Services

We can help you today, so you won't be caught unprepared in the future!

• Ensure your wishes are carried out, just in case you are unable to express yourself someday in the future.
• Have the final say on how your personal property is passed on to loved ones.
• Rest easier, knowing you've done what you can to prepare for whatever the future has in store.

Our Legal Services Include:

Wills
While death is inevitable, the transfer of a person's assets to heirs upon death does not have to be a nightmare.

A will is a written legal document that permits you to control the disposition of your assets after death. If you own a home, car, possessions with sentimental or financial value, or if you keep a bank account, you have an estate that will be left behind upon your death.

A will lets you choose who will receive your assets and who will serve as executor of your estate. Without a will, the court distributes your assets according to Pennsylvania law, which may not be according to your wishes.

And while you may have heard from friends and neighbors that you can prepare a will yourself, or you may have read one of the "do-it-yourself" books on the subject, preparing your will without the assistance of a qualified lawyer can be risky. Each state has different legal requirements for a will, and becoming involved in a lawsuit concerning its validity can quickly eat up the assets of one's estate.

Powers of Attorney
No one likes to believe that there may come a day when we are unable to handle our personal and financial affairs. Unfortunately, this could happen, since we're all getting older.

A power of attorney is a legal document that allows you to authorize another person to manage your affairs in the event you become disabled or incapacitated down the road and are unable to oversee them yourself. Such authority can include paying bills, making bank deposits, making a legal claim, or signing tax returns. Preparing a power of attorney now for you or an elderly loved one makes the caring process easier in the event of future disability.

Living Wills
Modern technology has enabled physicians to keep unconscious and terminally ill patients alive for long periods of time. Thousands of dollars may have to be spent to keep someone alive without being able to provide that person with any real quality of life.

A living will is a legal document that permits you to declare beforehand whether you want treating physicians to take extraordinary measures to keep you alive, in the event you become unconscious or terminally ill. Extraordinary measures include medical procedures such as placing a person on a respirator.

You do have the legal right to direct your physicians to withhold any life-sustaining treatment that only serves to prolong your dying process. We can help you prepare your living will. We'll discuss with you your treatment options, and answer questions regarding which treatments, if any, you choose to withhold - just in case you may one day find yourself in such a circumstance.

Trusts
A trust can be an important estate planning tool. Basically, a trust is created when you (the settlor) transfer property with the intention that it be administered by a trustee for another person's benefit. There are many different types of trusts which we can assist you with, depending on your specific needs. Some trusts are used to provide tax savings while others are used to protect the assets of the beneficiary.

Trusts can be either inter vivos or testamentary. An inter vivos trust is a trust which is created, becomes operational, and is usually funded during the settlor's lifetime. A testamentary trust is a trust established after your death in accordance with the provisions of your Will.

Below is a summary of the more common trusts used in our elder law practice to assist our clients:

Credit Shelter or By-Pass Trust
This type of trust is a testamentary trust that can be used by a married couple to decrease the amount of the Federal estate taxes owed by their estate. Presently, the Federal estate tax is not owed on an estate of two million dollars or less because of the Federal credit, which is available to each spouse. If you or your spouse own assets in excess of two million dollars, it is important that you let us know so that we can assist you in preparing your Wills with credit shelter or by-pass trusts in them. Without using the credit shelter or by-pass trust, the estate of the spouse who dies first will lose the Federal credit, which will cause the estate to incur a substantial tax liability.

Special Needs Trust
This type of trust can be either inter vivos or testamentary. It is usually established for the benefit of a disabled individual who is receiving governmental benefits such as medicaid or social security supplemental income. By placing the disabled individual's funds in a properly prepared special needs trust, that individual will not lose their governmental benefits, and the trust income and principal can be used by the trustee to pay for the individual's special needs.

Following the disabled individual's death, if the original source of the funds in the trust came from the disabled individual, any funds remaining will have to be used to reimburse the government for funds expended on behalf of the disabled individual. If the original source of the funds in the trust was from someone other than the disabled individual, the funds can pass to the disabled individual's heirs.

Revocable Living Trust
This type of trust can be created by you during your lifetime. You transfer assets, which can include personal and real property, to the trustee to manage the assets. You can serve as the trustee of the trust as long as you have legal capacity. If you become incapacitated, a successor trustee, specified in the trust document, would take over the management of the trust assets. Upon your death, the trustee will make distribution of the assets in accordance with the terms of the trust.

The advantage of this type of trust is that it provides for the management of your assets and payment of your debts and other expenses during your lifetime. At your death, the assets will pass to your beneficiaries without the need to probate your Will. This type of trust, however, could have an adverse impact on your eligibility for medicaid benefits because the assets in the trust are countable to you (the settlor) as if you owned them outright.

Guardianships
If you or a loved one becomes disabled or incapacitated and there is no power of attorney in place, then a guardian must be appointed by the court to care for you and manage your financial affairs. Upon appointment of a guardian, you lose certain legal rights to act on your own behalf, and the guardian will be empowered to act for you.

It's possible to avoid the guardianship process if you plan now. We'll guide you and your family through the steps Pennsylvania law requires so a guardianship won't be necessary.

If you currently have a family member who is no longer able to manage financial and other important matters on his or her own, and that person has not prepared a power of attorney, we can assist you through the guardianship process.

Medicaid (Asset Protection Planning)
Among the concerns of a family facing the prospect of admitting a loved one to a nursing home is how they will afford the costs, which in Pennsylvania, average just below $7,000 per month.

Most health insurance plans and Medicare provide very limited coverage for patients in nursing homes. Unless you have long-term care insurance to cover your care, the only option is to pay for the care yourself until your assets are exhausted and then apply for Medicaid. Medicaid is a joint federal/state program begun in the 1960's to provide medical care, including nursing care, to those who cannot afford it.

Generally, to qualify for Medicaid eligibility, your financial resources can be no more than $2,400. This includes cash, stocks and bonds, bank accounts, your IRA, and real estate not your principal residence. Also, if you transfer any financial resources to family or friends within five years of the date you apply for Medicaid, these will be counted as available resources, and may affect your eligibility.

There are a number of resources that are not counted in determining your eligibility for Medicaid. These include your automobile, household goods, clothing, jewelry, a gravemarker, a pre-paid funeral, and your home if you state an intention to return to it after your nursing home stay, or it is used as the principal residence of your spouse or dependent child.

After qualifying by showing your resources have been spent down to $2,400, you will have to prove that your income is insufficient to pay for your nursing home care. Generally, all of your income, but not your spouse's income, is counted. This includes pensions, Social Security, and interest and dividends from bank accounts and other investments. You are, however, permitted to keep $40 per month as a personal needs allowance.

If you are married and living at home with your spouse, different rules may apply in determining your eligibility. Generally, your spouse is permitted to keep his or her income and any qualified retirement funds. Also, your spouse is permitted to keep a portion of the resources owned by either of you, in addition to the resources mentioned above that are not counted in determining your eligibility for Medicaid. This amount is approximately one-half of the couple's non-exempt resources, with the low limit of $20,328 and a high limit of $101,640 for 2007. These amounts change from year to year.

Probate and Estate Administration
Upon death, an individual known in the law as an "executor" or "administrator" will have the responsibility for ensuring that the deceased person's financial affairs are taken care of, and that assets are distributed according to that person's will.

Estate administration consists of various steps depending on the size and makeup of the decedent's estate. At the very least, it requires the payment of outstanding bills, preparation of an inventory of assets, legal advertising of the estate, and payment of inheritance and other taxes which may be due. Since the probate process can be quite complex, it's best to have a qualified attorney assist you in handling it.

Have you been appointed as someone's executor or administrator? If so, we can assist you in the proper handling of the estate.