Estate Planning
Most people assume that they do not need an estate plan or that they only need basic planning. However, both assumptions can be very costly to your estate and your beneficiaries. By not planning ahead, you risk having your property pass to unintended beneficiaries, having your property improperly managed for your children or paying for taxes or nursing home expenses that you may have avoided. Attorney Kristine Romano can assist you with the following issues:
· Wills
· Trusts
· Durable Powers of Attorney
· Health Care Proxies
· HIPAA Release Authorizations
Whether it is planning for an elder entering a nursing home, planning to minimize estate taxes or just creating a basic estate plan, Attorney Romano can assist you.
Elder Law
For those who are ill and are likely to require long-term care in a nursing home facility, planning ahead is essential. Depending on the circumstances of the client, there may be a little that can be done to preserve assets or a lot. Nursing facilities will sometimes offer to assist a client with completing a Medicaid application. For the client who has little or no assets or who has few options, this may be a positive and viable option. For others, this may work to deplete the assets the client wished to preserve.
For those who are healthy, sometimes Medicaid planning is appropriate and sometimes it is not. It is appropriate and prudent to consider your long-term goals with respect to your current assets when doing an estate plan. Medicaid planning in not appropriate for everyone.
It is important to note that Medicaid planning can be devastating to a client if done improperly. Doing the wrong planning can be worse than doing nothing. The laws in this area are constantly changing and can be complex and open to interpretation. For this reason, it is critical to seek appropriate legal advice prior to taking any action.
Estate and Trust Administration
The probate process has notoriously been known as a long and expensive process. Not every probate is a major undertaking that requires substantial work and time. For example, in Massachusetts, probate estates with assets under a certain dollar amount are generally relatively simple and inexpensive. However, there are rules and requirements throughout the probate process including the appropriate time and place to file a Will and when and in what order it is appropriate to pay creditors and beneficiaries. If you are the named Personal Representative (formerly known as Executor), it is wise to seek legal counsel in order to ensure that you are acting in accordance with the law.
Administering a trust can be more complicated than navigating through the Court system for the probate process. It requires interpreting and following the provisions of the trust document in order to appropriately manage and disburse assets to the beneficiaries in the manner intended by the creator of the trust.
Attorney Romano is available to guide through the probate process and to assist you in trust administration regardless of the size of the estate involved.
Most people assume that they do not need an estate plan or that they only need basic planning. However, both assumptions can be very costly to your estate and your beneficiaries. By not planning ahead, you risk having your property pass to unintended beneficiaries, having your property improperly managed for your children or paying for taxes or nursing home expenses that you may have avoided. Attorney Kristine Romano can assist you with the following issues:
· Wills
· Trusts
· Durable Powers of Attorney
· Health Care Proxies
· HIPAA Release Authorizations
Whether it is planning for an elder entering a nursing home, planning to minimize estate taxes or just creating a basic estate plan, Attorney Romano can assist you.
Elder Law
For those who are ill and are likely to require long-term care in a nursing home facility, planning ahead is essential. Depending on the circumstances of the client, there may be a little that can be done to preserve assets or a lot. Nursing facilities will sometimes offer to assist a client with completing a Medicaid application. For the client who has little or no assets or who has few options, this may be a positive and viable option. For others, this may work to deplete the assets the client wished to preserve.
For those who are healthy, sometimes Medicaid planning is appropriate and sometimes it is not. It is appropriate and prudent to consider your long-term goals with respect to your current assets when doing an estate plan. Medicaid planning in not appropriate for everyone.
It is important to note that Medicaid planning can be devastating to a client if done improperly. Doing the wrong planning can be worse than doing nothing. The laws in this area are constantly changing and can be complex and open to interpretation. For this reason, it is critical to seek appropriate legal advice prior to taking any action.
Estate and Trust Administration
The probate process has notoriously been known as a long and expensive process. Not every probate is a major undertaking that requires substantial work and time. For example, in Massachusetts, probate estates with assets under a certain dollar amount are generally relatively simple and inexpensive. However, there are rules and requirements throughout the probate process including the appropriate time and place to file a Will and when and in what order it is appropriate to pay creditors and beneficiaries. If you are the named Personal Representative (formerly known as Executor), it is wise to seek legal counsel in order to ensure that you are acting in accordance with the law.
Administering a trust can be more complicated than navigating through the Court system for the probate process. It requires interpreting and following the provisions of the trust document in order to appropriately manage and disburse assets to the beneficiaries in the manner intended by the creator of the trust.
Attorney Romano is available to guide through the probate process and to assist you in trust administration regardless of the size of the estate involved.
