Key Estate Planning Issues

When first determining your estate planning goals, there are a number of items to consider regardless of your age. Most estate plans begin with fact finding, and an attorney usually has a standard questionnaire to facilitate a thorough assessment. Confidentiality will also be important, and if you don’t know an attorney you might seek a referral from a trusted advisor. 

It's also important to recognize that each family situation is different and will require an individualized assessment. Nonetheless, there are common issues that might influence your initial estate planning goals. 

These key issues typically include matters such as family occupational information, health and medical history. 

You can review a list of ten key issues that might impact your initial estate planning goals on our web site.

Recommended Reading About Alzheimers

Families dealing with Alzheimers or those who might have colleagues or clients touched by Alzheimers might find the book "Still Alice" by Lisa Genova a good resource.


It is an insightful and touching portrayal of the Alzheimer's journey. This fictional story is narrated by Dr. Alice Howland who is an esteemed psychology professor at Harvard. 


Alice is almost 50 years old when the first symptoms of Alzheimer's disease emerge and the author does a wonderful job describing what is going on in Alice's head as the disease worsens. As one reviewer of the book stated, this book will inform you, it will scare you and it will change you. 

A Common Myth About Family Care Givers

People often think that most of the nation's elderly are cared for by nursing homes or health care institutions.  However, this is a myth!


In fact, 87% of those who need long term care receive that care from unpaid caregivers. That being the case, what can you do to make care giving easier down the road? 


The key word is “plan.”

Things Family Care Givers Should Know

In earlier posts we suggested that family care givers are the backbone of long-term care. 


Beyond establishing a starting point and making sure to care for themselves as well, these care givers can also benefit by familiarizing themselves with certain elements of estate planning. 


Five key reasons for this are:

1. Estate planning documents give the person you choose the power to appoint agents to make decisions when you cannot
2. It can avoid guardianship
3. It will help control what happens to your assets upon death
4. It makes things easier for friends and family
5. Even if you have documents, laws change and the documents should be reviewed to determine if any updates are needed; we typically recommend reviews at least every five (5) years

Read the full article... 

A Fundamental of Estate Planning

A fundamental of estate planning has to do with the portability of the estate tax exemption. This means that if the first spouse dies and doesn't use all of his or her federal exemption for estate taxes that the surviving spouse can add the unused estate tax exemption of the deceased spouse to their own exemption, allowing spouses together to transfer up to $10 million tax free.

However, it is important to note that portability is not automatic. To get it, the executor of the first spouse who died must file an estate tax return, even if no estate taxes are due. The safest course for most people is to review their situation with an attorney to make sure portability options are maximized.

Elder Law?

People sometimes ask about the fundamentals associated with the practice of elder law. Simply stated, when people become concerned about long term care planning for themselves as they age or for their aging parents, they often find solutions through the advice provided by an elder law firm. 


The issues may vary. Many fear losing all their assets to a nursing home,  and others need assistance with navigating through the complicated legal waters of Medicaid. 


Additional services may include:

• Protecting the at-home spouse’s assets and income
• Representation at elderly services and going to court for increased benefits for at-home spouse
• Long term care planning
• Addressing concerns about the high cost of nursing home care
• Reviewing long term care insurance plans
• Medicaid planning or assistance with the completion of the Medicaid application
• Helping loved ones stay at home with home care assistance and caregiver help
• Planning for disabled individuals

More on Revocable Trusts

In our last post we discussed the value of a revocable trust and how it can help people avoid probate.


Other reasons for creating a revocable trust include:

• Minimizing estate taxes
• Keeping assets available for children until they reach adulthood

Of course there could be additional advantages associated with creating a revocable trust that are unique to a family's specific circumstances. It's best to review your situation with an attorney and discuss the many reasons that revocable trusts are helpful to an estate plan.