By Darlynn Morgan, Wills Lawyer Orange County

As a wills lawyer Orange County, I hear it from desperate families every day; mom or dad can no longer take care of themselves and the family needs to bring in some form of additional care. Perhaps that’s care from a nursing home, or maybe just some help around the house a few days a week, but regardless of services, the family will often require some form of assistance to afford the costs.

Yet the big shocker always comes when mom or dad finds out they don’t qualify for Medi-Cal or any other assistance because they own too much.    And “too much” is usually an overstatement. Oftentimes mom or dad only has a house or maybe a tiny bit of money in the bank and still can’t qualify.

This situation is heartbreaking as the family is then forced to sell or use up the remaining assets to cover mom or dad’s care.  Not only does this mean there will be no inheritance left for the children, but the possibility still remains that mom or dad will outlive their funds and their children will be forced to pick up the tab.

Scrambling to put mom or dad’s assets into a joint account with one of the children doesn’t help the situation either.   There are “look back periods” where the government can see if you’ve attempted to hide funds.  Not to mention, money in a joint account still counts as a full “asset” to the person applying for government assistance and ultimately works against them in the end.

So how can mom or dad still qualify for Medi-Cal without sacrificing everything they own in the process?

Simply put, they need an irrevocable trust.  With an irrevocable trust, your parent’s assets will be “owned” by the trust and not them personally.  That way when they apply for assistance, they will most likely qualify as they don’t technically own anything in their name.

In my opinion as a wills lawyer Orange County, it’s the hands-down smartest (and probably the most cost-effective) way to protect your parent’s assets from the astronomical costs of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.

However, as I mentioned earlier, there is a look back period when attempting to qualify for any type of assistance, so it’s very important that you sit down with mom or dad as soon as possible to discuss how your family would handle the financial aspects of disability or incapacity before it happens. Then you can work with your parents, in addition to a qualified wills lawyer Orange County, to make sure to protect their assets.

Remember, you don’t have to sit back idly because there are ways to protect what your parents have worked so hard for through the years.  Instead, I encourage you to be proactive, plan ahead and educate your parents on the benefits of having an irrevocable trust.  It’s a great way to protect their assets (and your inheritance!) now, and for years to come.

By Darlynn Morgan, Wills Lawyer Orange County

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that my focus as a wills lawyer Orange County is to preserve not just your financial wealth, but your legacy as well. That often means going beyond your financial assets covered by “traditional” estate planning methods, and delving deep into your human assets such as family values, traditions, and memories.

More and more people are using social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook to record important memories such as the birth of a baby, a child’s graduation, a wedding and so much more.  You will find commentary not just from the owner of the social media account, but also from friends and family as well.  Social media accounts serve as a cache for photos and videos – all of which incredibly valuable to your family.

Clearly in today’s tech-savvy world, social media is quickly becoming the family’s most important depository for their memories.  Doesn’t it make sense, then, that you include a plan to preserve the memories hosted on your social media accounts along with the rest of your family’s legacy?

Even though we are still at the dawn of what social media will become, the major social media platforms are already beginning to address the issue of how to handle social media accounts when the owner passes away.  Here are a few examples:

Twitter

Twitter recently adopted a policy to handle ownership of a deceased user’s account. Twitter requires the following information:

1.     Your full name, contact information (including e-mail address), and your relationship to the deceased user.
2.     The username of the Twitter account, or a link to the profile page of the Twitter account.
3.     A link to a public obituary or news article.

Once you provide Twitter with these three things, you can either request that the deceased user’s account be deleted or receive an archive of all of the deceased user’s tweets offline.

Facebook

Facebook has a unique feature where they will memorialize the profile of a deceased account holder. When a profile is memorialized, only current “friends” will be able to see it.  It is however, still active so that friends can leave messages on the wall in remembrance.

To have someone’s profile memorialized, just click this link and you’ll be able to submit a request.  You can also request that the decedent’s account be deleted using this form.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn has a simple Verification of Death form which is easy to complete.  You can find this form and the information required to close the account on the LinkedIn Customer Support Center. You can opt to submit the form either online or via fax. You will need to know the account holder’s email address used on the account.  This is what is used to verify the person’s identity.

As with all other aspects of estate planning, it is important to discuss what should happen to your online profiles with your wills lawyer Orange County and document your wishes in your will or trust.  If you would like to discuss this with an estate planning attorney who understands the importance of preserving a real legacy for your family, call us today at (949) 260-1400 to schedule your own Family Wealth Planning Session (normally $750). However, these appointments are limited to 10 per month, so call today!

From the Desk of Darlynn Morgan, Wills Lawyer Orange County

I’m often asked, what is estate planning? Let me share with you, first, what estate planning is not.

Estate planning is not about getting a set of documents prepared. Many people think that they can simply get a will, a trust or powers of attorney prepared and then they are covered if they become incapacitated or die.

They feel secure thinking, ‘now there won’t a probate’ and that everything is all taken care of, but this is a huge misconception.

Why?

Well, first, just having a set of documents with your name on it is not going to avoid probate. There is more to it than that.

Essentially, estate planning means taking the time to carefully think through, and plan for, what would specifically happen to your money, your spouse, your kids, your assets, your wishes, your legacy etc. if something happened to you.

It’s also about making sure you are getting the legal guidance you need so you can make the very best legal and financial decisions through every stage of life.

Finally, it’s about forming a long-term relationship with a lawyer so you can make sure your estate plan stays updated (and hence valid!) as your life and the law changes through the years.

But of course, receiving that guidance starts by finding, and forming a relationship with a lawyer who is committed to serving you and your family for life.

You also want that lawyer to take you by the hand and walk you through what I like to call a Family Wealth Planning Session so you know exactly what would happen to your kids, your spouse, your assets and your wishes if something tragic happened to you right now.

Then together you and your trusted attorney will create a specific plan (as opposed to the generic plans you can get online that leave families in a lurch when they need it the most) to ensure someone can make important medical and financial decisions for you if you are injured, your assets stay protected and your children will be cared for by the people you want, in a way you want should the unthinkable happen.

Remember, the state has a plan for you, and you need to know what that is. Once you are informed, then you can decide if you like what would currently happen. If you don’t like what would happen, then your lawyer can make recommendations as to what your next step should be in order to accomplish your objectives.

But again, it all starts with the Family Wealth Planning Session.  Readers of our blog can take book one of these exclusive sessions (normally $750) for free by calling (949) 260-1400 and mentioning this article.  However, these appointments with me, a wills lawyer Orange County, are limited to 10 per month so claim your spot today!