Category Archives: Legal

Threat Over Health Care Reform

Written on August 18, 2009 by in Health, Legal, Rajiv Nagaich, Wills

 

Last Friday, someone left a threating message on my office phone because I deal with living wills, which help people make life-or-death decisions beforehand – in case they are ever put on life support. But somehow, confused people believe I am promoting the violence and confrontations at recent town hall meetings about health care reform.

The anonymous caller said, "People like me need to be stopped because I are enabling a person who is planning to cause violence in our country. And my organization will be protested this weekend and they are going to go after me."

I deal with living wills, estate planning, medicare and medicaid advice – not health care reform.

"And they are ignorant, some people are, saying I talk about the same thing that the administration is talking about – so I must be part of the whole gestapo regime, which is not the case.

"This is nonsense. My wife looks at it, and she’s afraid for our safety now."

I am glad that no protest actually materialized at my seminar in Bellevue. Maybe because I-405 was closed due to construction work….

"What we need to be doing is coming together to help people age better and live better." "I have no skin in the game as to whether the administration does with the health care plan. It will be what it will be."

There is one element of Obama’s plan that’s like a living will – it lets you decide your own fate if you’re incapacitated.

Opponents say the plan calls for "death panels" that would make that decision, but today the president denied again that there is such a thing in place. I will encourage people not to wait for the government to make that decision for us. Be responsible and act today, make your own decision and have a living will in place for yourself.

KOMO News was kind enough to interview me on the subject.

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Having Conversation with Elderly Parents

Written on July 28, 2009 by in Legal

 

We are having a difficult time dealing with our parents whose health is rapidly failing. They refuse to discuss moving and are shutting us out. How should we approach them about these issues?

 

Why is anyone surprised that when a person refuses to consider moving out of their home. Especially when the move is to a nursing home – a term that my well be synonymous with the notion of end of life. Most children who are concerned about their parents make the mistake of thinking that they can rationally debate the issue and have parents to see the errors of their ways.   Some parents are able to deal with it, though most are not. Put yourself in their shoes. A home represents everything in life – a lifetime of hard work; independence, symbolic and actual; and pride of being in control of their own lives. Further, the process of aging is slow. Changes that outsiders can spot quickly are something that the aging elderly will not feel or notice. It is like watching your own children grow. Each day they grow, but those who see the children from time to time will notice the growth while the parents may not. Similarly, those who are aging may not see the deficits the same way others do and when the deficits are pointed out they may dismiss it as being worries not based in reality. Further, remember, as a child your parents raised you and always have had the advantage of experience over you. So, when they guided you all their lives why do you think they will view you any different than the snotty nosed kid who knew little when you were young any differently today? The better way is to encourage your parents to seek advise on how to protect their assets and learn how to avoid nursing home stay. Keeping mom and Dad safe at home.This is likely their goal. And they are likely to listen to outsiders more than someone from their children with whom they have many contacts in many different contexts, most of them being in the context of a wise parent guiding a child through life. Don’t play the role of a teacher or someone who knows more than mom or dad, be the child the parent loves and cherishes – and encourage the parent to seek assistance to address concerns they can and likely do identify with. Have them speak to their physician or a qualified professional, including an elder law attorney. 

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The Probate Process: What to Do Following a Death ?

Written on July 14, 2009 by in Estate Planning, Executor, Legal, Probate, Wills

The emotional trauma brought on by the death of a close family member often is accompanied by bewilderment about the financial and legal steps the survivors must take. The spouse who passed away may have handled all the couple’s finances. Or perhaps a child must begin taking care of administering an estate about which he or she knows little. And this task may come on top of commitments to family and work that can’t be set aside. Finally, the estate itself may be in a disarray or scattered among many accountants, which is not unusual with a generation that saw banks collapse during the Depression.

Here we set out the steps the surviving family members should take. These responsibilities ultimately fall on whoever was appointed executor or personal representative in the deceased  family member’s will. Matters can be a bit more complicated in the absence of a will, because it may not be clear who has the responsibility of carrying out these steps.

First, secure the tangible property. This means anything you can touch, such as silverware, dishes, furniture or artwork. You will need to determine accurate values of each piece of property, which may require appraisals. Later, you will distribute the property as the deceased directed. If property is passed around to family members before you have the opportunity to take an inventory, this will become a difficult, if not impossible, task. Of course, this does not apply to gifts the deceased may have made during life, which will not be part of his or her estate.

Second, take your time. You do not need to take any other steps immediately. While bills do need to be paid, they can wait a month or two without adverse repercussions. It ‘s more important that you and your family  have time to grieve. Financial matters can wait.

When you are ready, but not a day sooner, meet with an attorney to review the steps necessary to administer the deceased’s estate. Bring as much information as possible about finances, taxes and debts. Don’t worry about putting the papers in order first; the lawyer will have experience in organizing and understanding confusing financial statements. Just bring all the information and papers you have to the meeting  and go from there ……………..

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Will or Trust ?

Written on June 10, 2009 by in Estate Planning, Legal, Probate, Trusts, Wills

This is one of most common question I get  asked all the time from my clients & radio listener, should i have a Will or Trust ? Let me start by explaining the difference between a Will & Trust .

Will & Trust do exactly the same thing: who gets what when I die. But they work totally differently.

Will is a very simple document, where I write down my wishes, name the  beneficiaries of my estate & let  my family members  know who gets what when I die. And when I die, my estate will go through  probate. Lots of people are scared of the probate process. I am hear to tell you that probate isn’t a scary process. It usually takes 4-5 months to complete the whole process & during the process all my creditors will be notified & required to submit any claim if they are owed any money before the assets from my estate are transferred to my beneficiaries. Once the probate process is complete, no one can come to the  beneficiaries of my estate and claim their inheritance.

On the other hand Trust is a business arrangement, it basically says I can avoid probate when I die, if I don’t owe any money to anyone. When I create a trust, I give up the ownership of all my assets ( like house, cars, stocks, bank account etc) to the trust. One of the biggest benefits of Trust is protecting my assets from creditors. Trusts are private documents and only those individuals with direct interest in the Trust have any right to know of Trust assets and distribution.

In my personal opinion, I will create a Trust if my estate is worth more than 4 million dollar, I am in a second marriage situation, my kids will fight over the inheritance, or  I have real estate in more than one state. Other than that Will should do fine for me ……………

 

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What is Elder Law?

Written on June 7, 2009 by in Estate Planning, Legal

Most simply put, elder law is a legal specialty focusing on the legal needs of seniors. But that begs the question a bit. What are those legal needs? How do they differ from the legal needs of non-seniors? How do we define ‘seniors’?

Unfortunately, many of the legal issues seniors face arise from their loss of mental capacity or the onset of physical incapacity. The increased likelihood that we will need care as we age, especially after age 85, the failure of the American health care system to provide for such care under standard insurance, the high cost of such long-term care, and the complicated and piecemeal public ‘system’ of subsidizing long-term care combine to create the need for legal expertise to guide seniors either experiencing or anticipating long-term care needs. This is the core service of elder law.

However, elder law also includes more standard estate planning, simply with an eye towards the future need for long-term care, and more urgency given the higher age and likely sooner death of the client. Elder law also includes guardianships and conservatorship proceedings over seniors who may have lost or be losing their mental capacity (or defense against such proceedings), protection of seniors from those who may take advantage of them, the resolution of disputes with nursing homes and assisted living facilities over care and related issues, and the resolution of disputes among family members about the care of their parents and the financial cost of such care.

The term ‘seniors’ often refers to anyone over age 65. While individuals age at different rates, as a group there’s a huge difference between those between 65 and 85 and those over 85. The vast majority of those in the first age group are healthy and enjoying their so-called ‘golden years’, while over half of those in the latter group need some assistance getting through the day. In fact, often it is those in the first group who are caring for their parents in the second group. Elder law attorneys help those in the first group prepare for their post-golden years, and help those in the second group deal with the legal and health care issues they come up against.

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Safe Harbor Trust – Talk

Written on June 6, 2009 by in Legal, Rajiv Nagaich, Trusts

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Should I have Safe Harbor Trust ?

Written on June 5, 2009 by in Legal, Trusts

This was the question asked by one of the caller during my last week radio show Aging Options. This is a very common & good question, I get from my listeners & clients all the time. Answer to this question is if your estate is worth between 50k -1.5k million dollar, you should take a very good look at the Safe Harbor Trust. These are the estate where people have worked very hard all their life, they have said no to expensive vacations, no to brand new car every year. They have set aside money for the house that is paid for & few hundred thousand dollars in bank. These estates are now venerable to the Long Term Care cost, which is very expensive. Average cost can range anywhere between 8k – 15k per month.

Some of the exceptions to not being serious about Safe Harbor Trust is having a very very good Long Term Care Insurance Policy with life time paid benefits or if your estate is worth more than 1.5K million dollars. Here the issue is not the asset preservation but the care management. You should not ignore the importance of care management, if you are looking for dignity & quality of your life in retirement.

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