I often talk with couples where one spouse needs full time skilled nursing care.  Medicare is pretty good when treating illnesses, but if a patient cannot get well enough to care for themselves, they will be facing the prospect of long-term skilled care.    There are three basic ways to pay for long-term skilled nursing…

3 Reasons you should consider an Elder Care Law Attorney 1. You’re getting a specialist. Their practice concerns explicitly legal matters unique to elders. Elder law state laws are quite specific, and their administration may differ from one state to another. You need a Elder Law attorney to interpret these rules.  2. You’re getting an attorney with specific…

What's the difference between a Living Trust and a Revocable Trust? The answer is simple. There is no difference. My opinion is that lawyers coined the name "Living" trusts because "Revocable" was too confusing to most people. The term living implies before death, so it is easier for people to understand. A "Revocable" trust is...

As of January 1, 2016, there is a new estate planning tool available to residents in California.  It’s called a “transfer on death”, or TOD deed.  The TOD deed allows owners of certain residential real property to name one or more beneficiaries to receive title to the property upon death, thus avoiding the need to…

Protecting your assets from Nursing Home Costs       The topic of covering nursing home costs is always a difficult one.  No one wants to go to a skilled nursing facility, but sometimes our health puts us there.  I always discuss the issue of planning for the possibility of an extended nursing home stay with all…

ALERT. Be careful when considering a Transfer on Death deed as an estate planning tool. I had a troubling conversation today with a senior title company officer regarding Transfer on Death (TOD) Deeds. As you may know, California adopted the TOD in 2016 as a valid transfer method of passing property to others at death….