Lots of clients bring their old Wills and Powers of Attorney to our office when we are going through the estate planning process. Whenever we sign new documents with our clients, those new drafts say, “I hereby revoke any prior Will and make this new Will effective as of today’s date…” Signing new documents with […]
There are several tools available to accomplish estate planning goals. One of the most frequently used tools by estate planning attorneys is referred to as a “trust.” Trusts come in all shapes and sizes. You can create a trust during your lifetime (called a “living” trust). Alternatively, you can have your trust come into existence […]
We have already discussed a bit of background on WisPACT trusts. WisPACT trusts are useful tools for disabled beneficiaries, allowing them to set aside assets that normally would push them over an asset limit and make them ineligible for various government programs. Today, I want to explain a bit more about the who, what, and […]
Wisconsin, like many states, has several different requirements to create a valid Will. The particular rules for signing a Will are contained in Wis. Stat. § 853.03. These rules require that a Will be: Signed by the creator (or by another person at the specific direction of the creator); and Signed by at least two […]
Long term care costs present a significant financial stress to many families. For certain veterans (and their surviving spouses) the VA offers a pension program that can provide additional monthly income to offset some of the cost of their care. This program is known as the VA Aid and Attendance pension. In order to be […]
The concept of having too much money is foreign to almost all of us. But if you receive needs-based government benefits like Medicaid, Family Care, IRIS, SSI, or other programs, having money can be an issue. For parents and grandparents of program recipients, it can be a struggle to decide whether to include the recipient […]
Entering a nursing home or assisted living facility can be one of the most confusing and stressful times that a family will ever have. In addition to changing a living situation, families are thrust into an alphabet soup of different government agencies and programs. We have discussed in prior articles the use of irrevocable trusts […]
In my first article on this topic, I wrote about the concept of using an Irrevocable Trust to protect assets from being used to pay for nursing home expenses. In this article, I want to explore this issue a bit further and discuss the ideal timing for the use of an Irrevocable Trust. Estate planning […]
Lots of people have heard about giving away assets to protect them from being used for nursing home expenses. However, giving your house away is not a decision to be taken lightly. The idea behind giving away (the fancy legal term is “divesting”) your house is to take it out of the equation when your […]
