Blog: Estate Planning
Cost of Living Adjustment increases aid for Veterans
President Obama signed the Veteran’s Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2011 on November 9, 2011 which increases the rates of veterans’ disability compensation, additional compensation for dependents, the clothing allowance for certain disabled veterans,...
Can I Get Paid to Care for an Elderly Family Member?
As the number of family members providing care for aging parents increases, the solutions to find help with loss of income because of time off from employment for caregiving has become a major concern for many. The demands on both the time and energy needed to provide...
Comparison between Florida & Ohio as it relates to estate planning, elder law
As an attorney with license to practice law in both Florida and Ohio, I find that many people I come in contact with either live in Florida and have family in Ohio or vice versa. If you or someone you know happens to fall into one of those categories, you may want to...
What is the difference between a living will and a DNR?
A DNR order is not the same as a living will. A DNR is an order signed by a doctor which indicates that the patient should not be resuscitated. This has to be signed by both the doctor and the patient (or their healthcare surrogate, healthcare proxy or court...
Why is a Guardianship Necessary?
Why is a guardianship necessary? A guardianship is a legal proceeding whereby an individual (the “ward) is determined to be incapacitated, their rights are taken away, and a guardian is appointed to take care of the ward and exercise the legal rights of the ward. ...
Florida Guardianship: How does the state determine “incapacitation”?
How is someone found to be incapacitated? Any person can file a petition with the court stating that they believe an individual to be incapacitated. The court then appoints an examining committee of three people to evaluate the individual and render an opinion of...
How Do I appoint a Legal Guardian for my child?
I frequently get phone calls from parents with minor children asking about how they can appoint someone as the legal guardian over their child should something happen to them. The answer is pretty simple – you can sign a legal document designating an individual (or...
Are there Court Costs for all involved in the same estate planning case?
The court costs are separate from attorney's fees. Whomever opened the estate (usually the person wanting to be the personal representative) was the person who paid the filing fee to the clerk of court. However, if the estate planning case is contested and each person...
How can I protect my inheritance from creditors?
In order to fully answer this question, more facts are necessary. Did you receive a cash inheritance and pay off the mortgage on your home? Do you currently have creditors or are there any in the foreseeable future (i.e., possible lawsuits that you know may be filed...
More changes to the Florida Durable Power of Attorney Statute
Last time, I talked about some of the more relevant changes to the DPOA statute such as doing away with “springing” POA’s and how POA’s signed before the new statute is enacted (which is on 10/1/11) will be treated. Some other changes to the statute include the...
Florida’s New Durable Power of Attorney Statute
The purpose of a durable power of attorney (DPOA) is to provide the least restrictive alternative to having someone act on your behalf to make health care and financial decisions. The current DPOA statute (which can be found at Florida Statute Section 709.01 through...
It Has Been a Year Since We Filed for Aid & Attendance for My Father
By Melissa Howell It has been a year since we filed for the Aid and Attendance Pension Benefit for my Father-in-law, John. He is still comfortably situated in his assisted living apartment and receiving good health care from the staff. An important document that our...
Bank of America Says Power of Attorney Does Not Grant Access to Online Banking
When one spouse suffers from dementia, the other spouse often must take over managing the couple's finances, usually with the help of a power of attorney. But things don't always go smoothly with financial institutions. Just ask Chicago resident Eva Kripke, who has...
Is Your Emergency Plan In Place?
I write a lot about getting your estate planning affairs in order, but do you have your financial emergency plan in order? If you have a home disaster (and there have been a lot of natural disasters lately), do you have a plan in place? Here in Florida, as hurricane...
Pet Trusts: What happens to my pets if I die?
A study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society in May of 1999 demonstrated that independently living seniors that have pets tend to have better physical health and mental well-being than those that don’t. They’re more active, cope better with...