Elder Law Issues

Sometimes a trust is just a mechanism for the signer to avoid probate. But sometimes a trust is for a special purpose — like dealing with a beneficiary’s disability, or protecting against a beneficiary’s creditors. In this podcast episode, we discuss some trusts for special purposes, and maybe give you some ideas about your own reason(s) for creating a trust.

The Achieving a Better Life Experience Act (ABLE Act) was adopted in 2104. The first ABLE Act accounts were available by mid-2016. But there’s still a lot of confusion and misunderstanding about the Act, accounts and how to use them.

In this podcast episode, we’ll review some of the basics of ABLE Act account funding. But, more importantly, we’ll discuss the way an ABLE Act account might help improve individual autonomy, personal financial management and quality of life for beneficiaries. And (as we’ll explain) that can be especially true for an individual who is also beneficiary of a special needs trust.

Congratulations to Fleming & Curti, PLC, partner Elizabeth Noble Rollings Friman! She was elected to the Board of Directors of the Special Needs Alliance, the premier national organization supporting special needs planners.

Join us for this week’s Elder Law Issues podcast, where we discuss the Alliance, Elizabeth’s involvement, and the resources available to family members who are trying to figure out special needs trust administration. Also, we get some participation from Rosalind Franklin, one of the Fleming & Curti office dogs.

We often talk (and write) about acting as the alternate agent, trustee or personal representative. But what’s the role of the second alternate? Will you even know that you’ve been named? And if you do know, what should you do about it? How do you prepare?

We tackle these questions — and more — in this week’s Elder Law Issues podcast.

Suppose that you need long-term care in your home. Do you have any idea what it might cost? Or how you might pay for it?

Long term care insurance is one solution many people consider. But of course you can’t purchase insurance after you’ve gone into the nursing home. You also can’t get it if you would qualify for nursing home placement, or even if you have a condition that might lead to institutional care. And home care costs can be impressively expensive.

Long term care insurance is a good planning choice for at least some individuals. In this podcast episode, we discuss some of the considerations and choices you face as your need for care deepens.

Every October for over two decades (well, every October except one) Fleming & Curti, PLC lawyers have travelled to Florida for the annual Special Needs Trust program hosted by Stetson University College of Law. In fact, Robert Fleming has spoken at every one of those annual meetings — including the 2020 meeting that was held virtually.

This week we’re off to Stetson again. Two of our lawyers are speaking at the four-day-long program. We explain (and brag just a little) in this week’s podcast about the annual Stetson Special Needs Trust Program.

Where should you keep your estate planning documents? Many people keep original documents in a bank safe deposit box, or a fireproof safe. Some favor keeping them in electronic storage. None of those are our favorites.

We think you should keep your estate planning documents in an easily-accessible place in your home. Burglars aren’t interested in your documents. Family members are unlikely to snoop. And especially your powers of attorney can be needed on short notice, after hours and under difficult circumstances.

If you have disinherited a child, or worry about someone destroying your documents for some other reason, just make sure that the location is known to people who need that information. Listen to our podcast discussion to hear more of our thoughts on where to keep your estate planning documents.

When clients come to us seeking guardianship over a family member, we almost always spend considerable effort trying to come up with alternatives. Guardianship can be expensive, time-consuming, and even debilitating to the subject of the proceedings. Can we help develop a plan to avoid it?

Of course, sometimes guardianship is required. Even then, though, there may be some limitations that might help. We think it’s our job to try to minimize the cost and impact in most cases.

Clients often ask whether they really need to read their estate planning documents. Aren’t they just filled with “boilerplate” language?

Yes, boilerplate language is important in drafting estate planning documents. But choosing the correct provisions, and customizing them for individual circumstances, is what add significance — and value — to the lawyer’s work.

Join us as we discuss the concept of boilerplate language, and what it means in your estate planning documents.

When a will or trust directs that an inheritance be held in trust, what has to be done to “create” that trust? And whose responsibility is it to take whatever action is required?

We get asked a variant of this question quite often. But there probably isn’t any court or administrative action necessary to “create” the trust, or set its terms. Those are in the will or trust directing the inheritance terms.

That’s not to say nothing needs to be done. The trustee of the new trust (we usually call it a sub-trust) will need to get an Employer Identification Number (EIN) and set up appropriate accounts. There’s work to be done, but it’s usually not work to “create” the trust that already exists, and has terms and limitations in the original document.