Articles

Medicare Advantage Changes

Medicare Advantage Plans to Offer Greater Benefits in 2019

On April 2, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) expanded how it defines the “primarily health-related” benefits that insurers are allowed to include in their Medicare Advantage policies. As a result, when these plans roll out t… Read More
Categories: Elder Law, General News
personal representatives estate plan will

Agents, Representatives, and Surrogates: Oh My! Understanding Your Estate Plan Roles

When you create your estate plan, not only do you decide what happens to your belongings and property after you die, you also choose people in the roles of your estate plan to do things for you when you cannot. Some of these people act after your dea… Read More
Special Needs and Estate Planning

Estate Planning and Special Needs

Many families include a person with special needs who receives Supplemental Security Income (“SSI”), Medicaid, or other government benefits. These benefits may provide food, shelter, and/or medical care. Careful planning needs to be in place with… Read More
Categories: Special Needs Law
Elective share

Florida's Elective Share: Why a DIY Approach Usually Does Not Work When Disinheriting Your Spouse

Imagine that two people, later in life, decide to get married. Both of them have their own wealth and savings. They each have established large retirement accounts, and they have savings set aside they want to pass to their children. Sure, they want… Read More
I Love You Will

Let’s Talk About Love*: Is a Simple “I Love You Will” Enough?

Many general legal practitioners will offer an “I love you will” to their married clients as a simple—and less expensive—means of estate planning. After all, simple sounds nice. And less expensive often gets people in the door. And who do… Read More
Wrongful Death and Your Estate

Wrongful Death and Your Estate

Most people have heard about personal injury lawsuits (and we’ve almost all seen the commercials). Someone brings these lawsuits when he is injured, for example, due to someone else’s negligent or intentional act. The damages are, in essence, int… Read More
Business Succession Pic

Business Succession: Does Your Estate Plan Include Your Business?

Only about ten percent of business owners have a business succession plan. Another thirty percent have only an informal plan. Thus, when it comes to estate planning, too often, owners of small businesses fail to plan for what happens to the business… Read More
Money and Stethoscope Title Pic

DPOA vs HCS: Comparing the Powers under Key Estate Plan Pieces

In a recent Instagram post, a question was posed about a DPOA vs HCS. Do you know the difference between a Durable Power of Attorney and a Health Care Surrogate Designation? A Durable Power of Attorney is a document used to grant power to a person to… Read More
Categories: Powers of Attorney
Key Times Header

Five Key Times to Evaluate Your Estate Plan

Life can change daily. Sometimes our focus on what is immediately in front of us is all we can see. Thus overlooking how life changes affect our estate plan is easy. As this new year begins, let’s take a look again at five key times to evaluate… Read More
Categories: Hiring an Attorney
Wooden gate and Disinherit Title

“I Think I Love You”* But Perhaps I Don’t Want to Leave You Anything: Deciding to Disinherit a Child

Several news sources in December covered the revelation about David Cassidy’s will: he disinherited his daughter. When I saw this story about David Cassidy, two things jumped out. What his family might have wanted to be a private issue is now publi… Read More
Categories: Wills