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When choosing a beneficiary for a retirement plan, it is important to understand how your spouse will be treated under the plan. Surviving spouses are treated differently under 401(k)s and individual retirement accounts (IRAs). While a 401(k) provides protections for a surviving spouse, an IRA does not.

There are three main options when you inherit real estate: move in, sell, or rent. Which one you choose will depend on your current living situation, whether or not you have siblings, your finances, whether the house has a mortgage or liens, and the physical condition of the house.

When creating an estate plan, the main decision is how your assets will be distributed after you pass away. Understanding "per stirpes" and "per capita" distribution is key to that decision.  The terms "per stirpes" and "per capita" become important when your descendants include children and granchildren.

Many married couples in Arizona think that if one of them dies without a will, the other will inherit everything from the deceased spouse.  That is only true in Arizona if the deceased spouse was not survived by descendants from another relationship.  Whether you intend to or not, if you fail to do some kind of estate planning, you could end up disinheriting your spouse to some extent.

A fiduciary is a fancy legal term for the person who will take care of your property for you if you are unable to do it yourself, such as the executor of an estate, the trustee of a trust, or an attorney-in-fact under a power of attorney. Your first instinct might be to name one of your children as a fiduciary, but if you want to avoid conflict among your children, this might not be the best option.

Stimulus payments will NOT be treated as income but rather as a tax refund which is exempt (not countable as a resource) for 12 months. For recipients whose countable resources are already below $800, such that the stimulus payment plus the existing countable resources will not exceed the typical $2,000 resource limit, no spend down will be required. Recipients whose existing countable resources are greater than $800 will have 12 months to spend their resources down to below the resourse limit.

Here is DIY estate planning mistake #17: Putting the names of one or more additional persons on your bank and brokerage accounts. This is poor planning for many, many reasons. Here are some of the reasons, in no particular order.

Irrevocable trusts are an excellent way of protecting assets for your heirs, but need to be designed by an experienced attorney.

Surviving spouses are treated differently under 401(k)s and individual retirement accounts (IRAs). While a 401(k) provides protections for a surviving spouse, an IRA does not.

A Revocable Living Trust can be the best way to pass your estate to your heirs, in the way YOU want it to. An experienced, knowledgeable trust attorney is who you need to design the right trust for your unique situation.

Married couples have a special way to jointly own property in some states that has advantages over regular joint ownership. If you are married and own property jointly, you should make sure you have the right form of ownership.

Unmarried couples need health care documents and Powers of Attorney in order to care for each other in the event of incapicity.

When creating an estate plan, the main decision is how your assets will be distributed after you pass away. Understanding "per stirpes" and "per capita" distribution is key to that decision.

Adult care givers need a break from time to time. There are options which can help.

When you do find yourself in charge of making the necessary arrangements, the two main things to consider are usually what type of care your loved one needs and what you or your family can afford.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is waiving the requirement that Medicare beneficiaries must spend at least three days in a hospital before qualifying for coverage in a skilled nursing facility (SNF) for those beneficiaries who need to be transferred as a result of a disaster or emergency.

Nursing home residents do not automatically have to sell their homes in order to qualify for Medicaid, but that doesn't mean the house is completely protected. The state will likely put a lien on the house while the resident is living and attempt to recover the property after the resident has passed away. It can be protected.

Attorneys handling probate in Crossville, Tennessee often advise the following options to help people in our area avoid the process altogether to save time, money, and aggravation.

Federal law requires the state to attempt to recover the long-term care benefits from a Medicaid recipient's estate after the recipient's death. If steps aren't taken to protect the Medicaid recipient's house, it may need to be sold to settle the claim.

Although some people are under the impression that things like planning an estate or creating a trust are for those with a lot of money and property, this is completely untrue. An estate planning attorney can assist you with creating basic but essential documents, including healthcare directives and a power of attorney which everyone, regardless of financial status, should have.

One option is to open an account for the benefit of the minor under the Uniform Transfer to Minors Act (UTMA) of the state. In some states it is called the Uniform Gift to Minors Act (UGMA).

Estate planning and long-term care planning are examples of things that may seem easy to take care of by yourself or by using an online program, but in most cases, legal planning is one area where you should resist the urge to D-I-Y.

By placing a contingency on a gift, you may feel more comfortable about making large bequests, whether to a university, a charity, or an individual. The inclusion of checks and balances—such as requiring the current beneficiary certify compliance to a contingent beneficiary—the trustmaker can feel peace of mind that his or her wishes will be carried out or that an interested party will step in to remedy the situation if there is a violation of the trustmaker’s terms.

I am often contacted by someone whose elderly spouse or parent is being discharged from the hospital with a doctor's certification that the patient has fewer than six months to live. The discharge staff at the hospital is recommending that the patient enroll in hospice care. The spouse or adult child is concerned about how he or she is going to pay for hospice care. While the patient was in the hospital, Medicare was paying the bills.

People have many reasons why they put off estate planning. Maybe they’re young and healthy and don’t think they need to worry about that any time soon. Others find the whole idea uncomfortable, the idea of death and what would happen to their loved ones. But no matter where you are in life, you should have your estate plan in place. This applies especially to first responders and law enforcement.