If you have recently suffered the loss of a parent, you may have a number of practical and legal questions regarding whether or not you need to probate your parent’s estate. When a decedent dies, many states require the estate assets to pass through a legal process known as probate. Which estates require probate, and which type of probate process is required, or available, will depend on a number of factors.

The most important factor in determining whether an estate must pass through probate is what state the decedent died in, or was a resident in at the time of death. Complications can arise right away regarding which state has jurisdiction in the event that the decedent owned property in more than one state. Once the issue of jurisdiction has been settled, however, the laws of the state with jurisdiction over the estate will dictate which probate procedures are required or available.

Typically, estates with significant assets, real property or where the decedent died intestate–or without leaving a valid Last Will and Testament — must go through formal probate. Formal probate can be lengthy, costly and complicated; however, assets of the estate cannot be transferred until the probate process has been completed through the appropriate court.

While a formal probate process is often required, many states also offer the option of a less formal small estate administration or small estate affidavit. If the decedent’s estate is valued at under a certain dollar amount, which varies by state, then a small estate administration or affidavit may be an option. In essence, both these options allow the estate assets to pass to the beneficiaries in a more rapid manner than a formal probate as well as avoid the often high costs associated with formal probate of an estate.

The only way to know for certain which probate process is required in your particular scenario if to contact an experienced probate attorney. Choosing the wrong process can cost you significant time and money as well as hold up the transfer of your parent’s assets.

Purcell and Amen, Attorneys at Law – Your Estate Matters, LLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Unfortunately, many Americans are without much needed health care coverage. As a result, people often cannot afford preventative health care or treatment for serious medical conditions. If you are without health care coverage, the Medicaid program may be an option. Most people have heard of the Medicaid program, but many do not know how the program is administered, what it covers and how you may qualify.

Medicaid is a program that is funded by the federal government; however, the program is administered at the state level by the individual states. As a result, eligibility requirements may vary from one state to the next as will the extent of the coverage provided by the program. Although there are differences among the states, the program is intended to provide health care coverage for low-income individuals and families who would otherwise be without health care coverage.

There are various factors common among the states that go into a decision regarding eligibility for the Medicaid program. First, you must be a U.S. citizen or lawful non-citizen. Your child, however, may qualify even if you do not meet the citizenship test as long as he or she does. After that, your income and resources will be evaluated to determine whether your household is considered “low-income”. Income limits will vary among the states as well as within the various classes of Medicaid coverage. Some classes of applicants can qualify with higher income limits than others. Children, pregnant women and the elderly or disabled typically have higher income limits than able-bodied adults. Most states also have different eligibility guidelines for persons living in a nursing home or long-term care facility.

The services that are covered by the Medicaid program are usually similar to those covered by private insurance companies. The principle difference is that you must find a doctor or healthcare facility that accepts Medicaid. While coverage for adults may not include preventative services, coverage for children often does include preventative services as well as services for illness or injury. Medicaid may also cover a significant amount of the medical care involved in caring for an elderly or disabled individual who is residing in a long-term care facility.

Purcell and Amen, Attorneys at Law – Your Estate Matters, LLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Elder law attorneys have to keep their ears to the ground in an effort to stay abreast of all of the issues that our nation’s senior citizens must address. One of the fine resources that exist to assist in this ongoing endeavor is the MetLife Mature Market Institute. They put out very informative studies on topics that are of interest to the elder law community, and they go into great detail while adhering to some very high research standards.

Recently they released their findings regarding the growing problem of elder financial abuse in the publication titled The MetLife Study of Elder Financial Abuse: Crimes of Occasion, Desperation, and Predation Against America’s Elders.

Elders are abused financially at an alarming rate resulting in massive losses. Statistics provided by the United States the Department of Justice indicate that at least 11% of Americans who are over the age of 60 have been victimized by some form of elder financial abuse. They say at least because of the fact that so many of the cases of elder financial abuse go unreported it is hard to pin down the full extent of the problem. According to the National Council On Aging only about 17% of the actual instances of elder financial abuse are ever reported to authorities.

Why don’t the victims of this abuse report the crimes to the police? There are a number of reasons for this. In some cases, the senior who has been abused is simply not aware of it. But most of the times these cases go unreported it is because the victim is trying to protect the perpetrator. The MetLife study found that over the course of their investigation 34% of the cases that they uncovered involved a family member, friend, or neighbor committing the abuse. Other estimates suggest that this number is much higher.

Without question, elder financial abuse is a serious problem of interest to all seniors. To gain an understanding of how to protect yourself legally, the wise course of action would be to arrange for a consultation with an experienced estate planning lawyer.

Purcell and Amen, Attorneys at Law – Your Estate Matters, LLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

When you can apply for your full Social Security benefit depends on the year during which you were born. For people born between 1943 and 1954 full retirement age in the eyes of the Social Security Administration is 66. After this it goes up by two months per year until 1960; for people who were born in 1960 and later full retirement age is 67. We would like to include the caveat “as of this writing” because there’s a lot of talk about altering the Social Security system coming out of Washington DC these days and changes in the eligibility age would come as no great surprise.

It should be noted that you don’t have to retire when you reach full retirement age. You can choose to retire at the age of 62 and accept a reduced benefit. On the other end of the spectrum, you can work beyond your full retirement age up until the age of 70 and receive delayed retirement credits for each year that you work beyond your full retirement age that will increase your benefit when you do apply for Social Security.

The amount of the benefit that you receive is based on how much you paid into the program over the years. People who did not work enough to contribute a base amount into the Social Security program are not eligible for benefits.

However, people who are at least 65 years old can qualify for SSI, which stands for Supplemental Security Income. As it stands today this can provide up to $674 per month to a single individual. There are stringent requirements however, and one of them states that you cannot receive SSI if you have total assets that exceed $2000. But some significant assets don’t count toward this number, like your home and your car. Another benefit inherent in receiving SSI is that you’re automatically qualified for Medicaid.

If you’re interested in exploring how government programs for seniors can fit into your long-term plan, simply arrange for a consultation with an experienced elder law attorney.

Purcell and Amen, Attorneys at Law – Your Estate Matters, LLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

It is human nature to some extent to avoid subjects that are not especially pleasant. The problem with this is that ignoring the harsh realities of life doesn’t make them go away, and this is certainly true when it come to the eventualities of aging. But anytime that you face any challenging situation, it is much better to enter it totally prepared than to be suddenly thrust into it without any knowledge or information that you can draw from.

With the above in mind, we would like to suggest that you consider the possibility that you may need long-term care at some point. This is something that the majority of people are going to require but too many people take the attitude that it does not apply to them. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services asserts that some seven out of every ten senior citizens are going to need assistance with their day to day needs at some point in time. 25% of people 85 years old and up are living in nursing homes, and believe it or not this is the most rapidly growing age group in the United States.

The thing about long-term care is that you probably don’t want to first start looking for a suitable facility after you find out that you need it. If you do, you may not be the one who makes the decision. The wise course of action is to be proactive and do some research and visit some communities that sound like possibilities after you have made some calls and asked a lot of questions. There is a very useful resource on the Medicare website called the Nursing Home Compare tool that you may want to utilize.

If you have done the legwork beforehand and identified a long-term care facility that you like, you leave nothing to chance and you can ease into your new lifestyle with confidence should you need living assistance at some point.

Purcell and Amen, Attorneys at Law – Your Estate Matters, LLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Estate planning is something that is intimately intertwined with the period of time that will precede your passing. Ideally, planning for the future should include addressing all of the eventualities of aging and there are some very significant elder law concerns that should be taken into consideration. Preparation is the key to enjoying your active retirement years to the utmost while being fully prepared for any contingencies that may arise. To bury your head in the sand is to invite difficulties late in your life.

One of the elder law matters that you would do well to prepare for is the possibility of a stay in a long-term care facility. The majority of senior citizens will eventually need long-term care, and in fact one out of every four individuals aged 85 and older are living in a nursing home at any given time. The average charge for a private room in a nursing home in the United States in 2010 was in excess of $83,000 and the average stay is somewhere in the vicinity of two and a half years.

So when you add it up this is a very significant end of life expense, and Medicare does not cover long-term care. Medicaid will cover it if you qualify, and it is possible to do so while retaining a considerable portion of your assets if you plan ahead carefully with the assistance of an elder law attorney.

The possibility of dementia setting in when you reach an advanced age is another thing to be aware of. Statistics indicate that approximately half of those who are 85 years of age and up are dementia sufferers. To avoid a court-ordered guardianship should such a circumstance befall you it is important to execute the proper powers of attorney, and this is another matter that is best handled by an experienced, licensed elder law attorney.

Purcell and Amen, Attorneys at Law – Your Estate Matters, LLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Estate planning attorneys are going to recommend that you have a plan in place from an early age to protect yourself and your family on a number of different levels. However, this having been said it is only logical that you would take the matter of estate planning more seriously as you get older. Inevitably you realize that there are other matters to consider as you reach an advanced age as well, and they are connected to your legacy plans because your end-of-life expenses are going to impact your ability to provide for your family after you pass away.

One of the things that many people are unaware of is just how expensive long-term care is and just how likely it is that they’re going to need it. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services 70% of senior citizens will ultimately require long-term care of some sort. It is estimated that about 25% of people who reach the age of 85 are residing in a nursing home at any given time. In 2010 it cost an average of $83,500 per year to reside in a single room in a nursing home the United States, and these numbers are expected to rise year-by-year. The average nursing home stay is two and half years, so you could be faced with nursing home expenses that exceed $200,000 using current figures.

This is just one of the many things to take into consideration. Elder law attorneys help people create long-term plans that leave them fully prepared for any and all of the eventualities of aging. Oftentimes this involves implementation of strategies that the layman would simply not be aware of, such as making the proper preparations for retaining the lion’s share of your assets while qualifying for Medicaid to pay for long-term care. The intelligent course of action when planning for the future is to do so with the assistance of an experienced estate planning attorney who has a thorough understanding of elder law issues.

Purcell and Amen, Attorneys at Law – Your Estate Matters, LLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Too many times you see estate planning “advice” offered online that seems to proceed from the standpoint that all readers have virtually unlimited financial resources. It’s great if you’re in this position and there is certainly nothing wrong with it, but the fact is that most people are not. So this type of information is really not all that helpful for 99% of the population. It is much more challenging to prepare for all the eventualities of aging when you do not have unlimited resources, so you have to be proactive and plan ahead intelligently.

Have you asked yourself how you will pay for long-term care if it becomes necessary? People are living longer than ever, and at any given time 25% of elders who are at least 85 years of age are residing in a nursing home. In 2010 the average cost for a year in a private room in a nursing home in the United States was $83,500. The average nursing home stay is approximately 2 1/2 years, so if you do the math you’re looking at a couple of hundred thousand dollars, and this is certainly no small chunk of change for most people.

One way that you can address these costs is through the utilization of Medicaid. Though an individual cannot qualify for Medicaid if he or she has over $2,000 in countable assets, this does not mean that the community or healthy spouse cannot retain assets exceeding this amount. The community spouse may keep half of the shared assets that existed on the “snapshot date,” this point in time being the day that the institutionalized spouse entered long-term care. There is however a limit of $109,560, but the community spouse cannot retain less than $21,912 of the countable assets even if this figure is more than half of the total.

And remember, the above parameters are applicable to “countable” assets. Your home (up to $500,000 in equity), your personal possessions such as jewelry, furniture, etc., and one vehicle are not counted when your assets are being inventoried for Medicaid eligibility purposes.

Purcell and Amen, Attorneys at Law – Your Estate Matters, LLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

One of the reasons why you are almost always going to save more money than you spend when you engage the services of an elder law attorney is because they are fully cognizant of all of the options that are available. As a layperson there is no particular reason why you would understand all of the intricacies of elder law but estate planning attorneys are deeply immersed in these issues every day. And one of these matters that can be very challenging for some of our seniors is the high and rising cost of long term care.

If you could use some assistance paying for long-term care you may be able to obtain it through a military benefit known as the Veterans Aid and Attendance Pension. One of the reasons why a lot of people who are in fact eligible for this benefit never think to look into it is because of the modest length of service requirement. You need to have served at least 90 days on active duty to qualify, with just a single one of those days taking place when the country was at war.

This special pension is available to eligible veterans who need assistance with their day to day lives, things like dressing, eating, bathing, etc. In addition to the length of service requirement, there are some upper asset limits as well but your home, your car, and certain personal valuables do not count against this limit. Single veterans who qualify can receive as much as $1,632 each month; a married couple can receive up to $1,949; and the surviving spouse of a veteran who is eligible may be entitled to as much as $1,055 every month.

If you think that you may qualify, you can find out everything that you need to know by contacting the United States Veterans Benefits Administration either in person, online, or over the phone.

Purcell and Amen, Attorneys at Law – Your Estate Matters, LLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

The rapid aging of the United States population is amazing to behold, with the oldest old being the fastest growing group among us. Though living a long and robust life is the goal, when you reach an advanced age certain possible challenges loom. You can approach this one of two ways. You can keep your head in the sand and pretend that these possibilities don’t exist, or you can be proactive about accepting them and doing everything you can to be prepared come what may.

If the second approach sounds more logical to you, you would do well to consider the emerging issue of elder financial abuse. One of the pitfalls of reaching an advanced age is the fact that dementia becomes a very real possibility, with upwards of half of people who reach the age of 85 suffering from dementia. This makes some of these individuals prime targets for financial abusers, and sadly the majority of these perpetrators are family members or trusted advisers. The MetLife Mature Market Institute estimates that approximately $2.6 billion a year is usurped by elder financial abusers.

This number may be higher because of the fact that most of the cases of elder financial abuse that take place go unreported. It has been estimated that only about 4% of instances of elder financial abuse are ever reported to authorities. The reasons for this include embarrassment at having been bilked, protecting a family member or friend, and simply being unaware of the fact that you are a victim of abuse.

The key to protecting yourself from elder financial abuse is to recognize that the possibility exists and to discuss the matter openly with those that you trust. In addition, your elder law attorney can implement legal strategies that mitigate your exposure to elder financial abuse, and this is something that you can discuss the next time you are reviewing your estate plan.

Purcell and Amen, Attorneys at Law – Your Estate Matters, LLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.