July 15, 2019
Documents Vs. Planning – Do you have the Right Plan?
There’s a big difference between having all the right estate planning documents, and having the right plan that works for you. At the Elder Care Firm, we take the time to go through what your needs and goals are, and tailor a plan specifically for you.
In our workshops, we talk about the difference between documents and planning. Having the wrong plan in place can be a hindrance, and a waste of money and time. Our estate planning process is not a one-size-fits-all practice.
Perhaps you already have a plan, and want to see if it needs to be updated. We just ask that you bring your current documents with you to our first meeting, so we can run though them with you, and see what, if any, changes you want made. If your last plan was fairly recent, perhaps only one or two documents may need to be updated, due to changes in the law. Or maybe you only want to make a change to a beneficiary designation- that does not necessarily mean you need a whole new trust.
Along with potentially making minor adjustments to your already existing estate planning documents, we will also tailor the plan so it works for you. For example, if you don’t have kids, and just want the assets from your trust to go directly to your beneficiaries, you would not need a separate share trust, and the added costs that go along with it. Similarly, if you have young children, and you would want them to receive assets from you in a trust, held for them for the future, you would not want a standard revocable trust, and would instead want a Legacy Inheritance Trust.
Perhaps you already had a plan created elsewhere, and it’s not working for you- maybe it won’t do what you need in the future. If you are concerned about paying for long term care costs in the future, you will need a plan that is created specifically for that- in this case a Castle Trust. A Castle Trust is a special kind of irrevocable trust that is created for clients when they are have concerns regarding paying for long term care.
Do you have pets? Are you worried about who will take care of them when you are gone? Did you know we can create pet trusts within your trust? You can allocate an amount of money for their care, and decide in advance who will take care of them.
Maybe you or your spouse is a veteran, and trying to figure out how to pay for assistance in the home. Did you know there is a Veteran’s Asset Protection Trust that we can create for you, along with completing the application- that may get you an additional $1100-2200.00 a month for care?
People’s needs also change over the years, which calls for updates or upgrades to current estate plans. For example, a young married couple may start out with a simple will, and financial and medical powers of attorney. Then they have kids, and want a trust, and separate trusts for each child- so they upgrade to the Legacy Inheritance Trust. Then once they are in their 60’s, they start thinking about paying for long term care costs, so they upgrade to the Castle Plan. At the Elder Care Firm, we can take you through each step of the journey, and tailor your plan so it works for you.