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At Tully Law Group, PC, our firm is dedicated to helping families with making decisions that span all life stages, including the honored tradition of allocating your wealth to your loved ones through trusts and through your will. As experienced trust and estates lawyers, we also take the burden off your family by anticipating an adult’s long-term care needs, a minor child’s long or short-term guardianship, or a disabled loved one’s future.
Although much of what you may require falls under the blanket of elder law, we prefer to think of it as life care law. As Riverhead elder law attorneys, we seek to guide you through the entire estate planning process.
A will informs the probate court about how the testator, or the person who has made a will, wishes assets to be distributed and to whom. They can name legal guardians for minor children should both parents die simultaneously. Wills also name executors, which is the person they want to administer asset distributions, pay creditors, and allocate any final federal and New York taxes.
Trusts have different purposes. Makers can use them to avoid probate, which is expensive and public, avoid unnecessary estate taxes, shield assets from creditors, qualify for Medicaid should nursing home care become a reality, fund a business with life insurance proceeds, stop irresponsible beneficiaries from squandering bequests, care for disabled loved ones so their disability payments are not compromised, and even care for beloved pets that outlive them.
Revocable trusts permit the maker to change beneficiaries and add or remove assets during their lifetime. These trusts circumvent probate, so assets are distributed immediately after the maker’s death.
An irrevocable trust becomes the owner of the assets that the maker deposits, which could make this trust a favorable tax strategy. Although the circumstances for changing beneficiaries and trustees are more limited than they are for revocable trusts, makers retain flexibility to do so with a Riverhead attorney attending to their specific needs.
Qualifying for Medicaid to assist in paying for long-term care is a complex process. Generally, Medicaid limits the income both spouses can receive to qualify, even if only one spouse requires nursing home care. However, legal asset transfers are possible. A Riverhead attorney who is skilled in understanding the nuances of elder law ensures one spouse is eligible for nursing home care without impoverishing the other.
A general durable financial power of attorney appoints a trusted other to make financial decisions if the person cannot. Some financial powers of attorney are for limited circumstances, such as closing on real estate for someone out of the country. Many people believe a spouse can handle these decisions, but that only occurs when the assets are held jointly.
A healthcare durable power of attorney permits the appointed person to make medical decisions about a patient who is unable to communicate due to physical or mental incapacitation. Medical decisions include authorizing surgery after an accident or life support if the person does not have a living will. A Riverhead attorney who specializes in elder law could help a person understand their available options.
A living will, or physician’s directive, communicates a person’s final wishes in writing to the medical team providing end-stage care. The directive includes whether life support methods, including ventilators, hydration, and nutrition should be continued. Pain medication is automatic unless a living will directs that it be withheld. Our Riverhead elder law attorneys could sit down with a person and help them come up with a plan to honor their wishes if they find themselves in this circumstance.
We know you value your family as we value ours, and the most enduring gift you can give them is a secure future. Let us help you with that. Based on your individual needs, we can provide suitable trusts to benefit you now, and a will to benefit your heirs later.
We can ensure your final wishes are honored, and your family is not strapped with your nursing home care if it becomes necessary. Sit down with a Riverhead elder law attorney, and let us talk about you and your loved ones during an initial consultation.
