Oak Lawn Estate Planning | How do I know if I need an Attorney for my Will?

I will begin this post with the disclaimer that you probably already know, I am an estate planning lawyer. What does this mean for you, perhaps my opinion iss a little biased, but I also have more experience than you in this area. I warn you to take my opinion as one of many you will look up and you will surely find the answer you are looking for. 

So the question is, when do I need an attorney to do my Will?

 My answer is, almost always. You question should be why. I will give you three options that are non-attorney related and the reasons these option will leave you lacking.

Option One: Get a sample Will online and just change the name to my name.

        Why This Is A Dumb Idea: You Google a Will online and think it may fit your situation. You say, "I don't have a big estate anyway, what could go wrong?" The short answer is everything. Wills have state specific requirements. In order fr Wills to be valid, you must comply exactly with the rules of your state. Do you know how many wittnesses you need in your state. Do you know the requirements for the execution ceremony for your Will? Do you understand how your property will be divided after you pass? You will have to know the difference between per stirpes and per capita with representation. You probably have not even heard of the concept of per stirpes before. I am sure you will Google it now though. An online Will may seem to fit your situation, but in most cases, they do not. There is a good chance that you do not understand what parts of that Will do not apply to you and what parts you may need that are missing. An online Will can only lead to frustration for you and your family. 

Option Two: I will simply hand write my own wishes and leave them where they can be found.

     Why This Is A Dumb Idea: Some states do not recognize a holographic Will. I am sure you will be Googleing holographic Will now. If you do not know if your state recognizes it, you are asking for a world of trouble. Additionally, Holographic Wills are easily challenged in court. This option leaves either two results. One, your will was never valid in the first place and your property will be distributed through your states intestate statute. Option Two, is that your Will is challenged and that means your sanity is challenged  This is a horrible process and usually breaks up families that were tight before the process. 

Option Three: Purchase a Will from a legal zoom type website.

     Why This Is A Dumb Idea: You are hiring an "attorney" to prepare you a Will. Your Will will be a template, based upon a few questions you answer in a pull down menu. What are the chances that an attorney will be able to find out the proper information in a few pull down menu? Not very likely. This is not a customer satisfaction survey from an online retailer. No attorney can create a plan from you with only a few questions. This is a sham of an operation. People can only provide you a proper plan if they can ask you a question and get a response that is not forced to fit one of three options. You are not the same as your neighbor and your plan can not be the same as your neighbors. This is you Will, not an I pod. The ability to have a dialog is vital to getting a plan that is proper for your situation. Additionally, the cost of a live attorney is not substantially more than an online service. I call those who use this service penny wise, pound foolish. 

So this leaves you with the final question, who doesn't need an attorney to draft their Will? Only those individuals who do not care where their property goes when they die. If your opinion is that, I am dead and I don't care what happens to my stuff, intestate is the way for you. If you would like to have some control where your property goes, you should get an attorney to prepare a Will for you.

Law Office of Jonathan W. Cole

5013 W. 95th St.

Oak Lawn, IL 60453

(708) 529-7794

Oak Lawn Estate Planning | Medicaid Planning

You may anticipate that you or a loved one will have to go into a nursing home in the future. You are worried about how you are going to pay for nursing home care. You know it costs between $4,000 and $7,000 a month.  This cost is well beyond the means that most families have saved to cover their medical needs. At $84,000 a year, most families can not keep up with the rising long term care costs. I have already spoken on the benefits of Long Term Care Insurance in an earlier post with a follow up on Long Term Care Insurance in this post. The problem may arise if you are too late to apply for long term care insurance. Long term care insurance is mostly for those who are health now. If you did not get insurance, medicaid planning is the method for you.

Medicaid planning is a very technical type of planning. I will start off the section on Medicaid planning with this warning, you should consult a professional before doing any type of asset transfer. I know you may be skeptical because I am a professional who does Medicaid Planning, but rest assured there is a good reason to go to a professional on this area. If you improperly transfer assets, you could be penalized for up to three times the amount of the asset transfer. This penalty is converted into a period of time and you will be excluded from Medicaid benefits for that many months. The purpose of this post is not to talk about the penalty for an improper asset transfer, but know that the penalty is much greater than it probably should be.

So how does Medicaid planning work? There are assets that are exempt and non-exempt. In order to qualify, you must have a total of non-exempt assets that are below the threshold allowable by Medicaid. This threshold is state specific because each state administrates the federal Medicaid program In Illinois, the Spousal Impoverishment Act allows a community spouse to keep $109,560 in non-exempt assets. It also allows a community spouse to earn a monthly income of $2,739 without having to contribute any of their income to the cared for spouses bills. There are some ways to ensure that your community assets meet this level, but the order of asset transfer must be precise and exact. An "auditor" for Medicaid will look back on any transaction that is made that transfer assets for the five years preceding the application to Medicaid or entry into a nursing home. The key for qualification to medicaid if to transfer assets from non-exempt property to exempt property in a method and manner that will not disqualify you from Medicaid benefits. The problem is if you transfer property in an improper manner, even if the ultimate goal is a proper asset transfer, you will suffer a severe penalty from Medicaid.

The other aspect of Medicaid planning is timely action. If you plan for Medicaid five or more years before you will need it, you will have many more options for transferring your money. You will have a myriad of trusts available to you .These trusts can transfer your assets to anyone you choose. You will not be limited to your spouse or disabled adult children. This is a big advantage for many reasons. You may not have any disabled children and you want to take advantage of tax breaks when giving money to your family. Additionally, you are not limited and under scrutiny with what you do with the money you earned.

If you would like to speak to a professional about Medicaid planning, call me at:

Law Office of Jonathan W. Cole
5013 W. 95th St.
Oak Lawn, IL 60453
(708) 529-7794