Knowledge is power when you are planning your estate. When you have a thorough understanding of your options, you can make informed estate planning decisions.
We make a concerted effort to disseminate sound information to our neighbors in and around Long Island. During the month of June we will be offering a series of seminars that will cover living trusts and Medicaid asset protection.
These seminars are being offered free of charge, but we do ask that you register in advance so that we can reserve your seat. The first seminar is going to be held in our Smithtown office on June 10th. The starting time is 10 a.m., and the seminar should run for a couple of hours.
During that week we will also be conducting seminars in Ronkonkoma and Stony Brook.
You can visit this page to see the complete June seminar schedule: Living Trust and Medicaid Planning Seminars.
Revocable Living Trusts
When you attend one of our upcoming seminars, you will learn a great deal about revocable living trusts. Contrary to popular belief, some trusts can be very useful for people who are not extraordinarily wealthy. The revocable living trust would fit into this category.
You can efficiently manage your affairs when you have a revocable living trust. When you create a revocable living trust, you are called the grantor. As the grantor, you can also act as the trustee and the beneficiary. While you are living, you retain complete control of the actions of the trust. Because the trust is revocable, you can actually rescind or revoke the trust if you choose to do so.
When you are drawing up the trust agreement, you name a successor trustee and successor beneficiaries. After you die, the trustee distributes monetary assets to the beneficiaries in accordance with your instructions. These distributions are made in a timely and efficient manner outside of the legal process of probate.
Medicaid Asset Protection
Medicaid is very relevant to a significant percentage of senior citizens, because this government health insurance program will pay for long-term care. Medicare will not assist with long-term care costs.
Medicaid is a need-based program. If you want to qualify you must be able to demonstrate financial need. With the proper planning, you can position your assets with future Medicaid eligibility in mind.
The United States Department of Health and Human Services tells us that 70 percent of people who are turning 65 will ultimately require living assistance. Long-term care is extremely expensive, and these costs could easily wipe out your life savings if you were forced to pay out-of-pocket.
We urge you to attend one of our June seminars so that you can learn everything you need to know about Medicaid asset protection.
Mark S. Eghrari, Estate Planning Attorney
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