Medicaid and Asset Preservation

Oct 17

#TuesdayTips: My Role as Court Appointed Counsel

What is guardianship and do I need it? Guardianship is the court process whereby an individual (usually a family member) is appointed by the court to make health care and/or financial decisions form someone who the court has deemed incompetent and not able to make those decisions him or herself. It is what the court calls, “the means of last resort” because the court prefers alternatives over guardianship because it is so restrictive. Such alternatives are powers of attorney, joint account ownership, etc.Read More

Oct 03

#TuesdayTips: Financial Powers of Attorney – To Be or Not to Be?

That is a valid question. One that is not pondered enough and often results in a family member being thrown into a position of great responsibility without any direction or idea how they are to act or what they are to do. In fact, most people sign power of attorney documents naming someone, but then never tell them or have a conversation with that person about what will be expected of them.Read More

Sep 29

#FamilyFriday: Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO)

You’ve gotten divorce and have been awarded a percentage of your spouse’s retirement account, you’re good for now, right? Wrong. Often couples come to us years after their divorce to finally collect on their marital award. They want to file their Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) and collect but they’re realizing it may be easier said than done. Now what? On this week’s #FamilyFriday article, the attorneys of ERA Law Group, LLC discuss QDROs.Read More

Sep 19

What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You

One of the most common misconceptions is that if you are married and you die without a will, your spouse automatically gets everything. Unfortunately, that often is not the case. Instead, it depends on several factors. First, if you have any joint accounts, those accounts will pass automatically to the joint account holder. Second, if you have a named beneficiary on any account or asset, that account or asset will pass automatically to the designated beneficiary. Read More

Sep 01

#FamilyFriday – Military Retirement Pay, Disability Benefits, and Divorce.

On this week’s #FamilyFriday article, the attorney’s at ERA Law Group, LLC are discussing the recent change in how Court’s treat a service member’s waiver of retirement pay for disability benefits and the effects it may have on the former spouse. A service member’s retirement pay is considered marital property. Depending on the length of the marriage and the Court’s Order, a percentage of the marital portion of the retirement pay is reserved for the former spouse upon the service member’s retirement. Read More

Aug 29

Federal Special Needs Trusts: An Overview

One common scenario routinely encountered when planning a client’s estate is figuring out a way to allow a child with special needs to receive an inheritance from a parent (or other loved one) without it adversely impacting that child’s Social Security or Medicaid benefits. As estate planners, we often resort to using special needs trusts (also commonly known as supplemental needs trust) in the parents’ estate plans.Read More

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Medicaid and Asset Preservation

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