Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is estate planning and elder law?
A: When we say "estate planning," people often think we're talking
about planning for estate taxes for the wealthy. But that is only one small
concern of estate planning. Everyone needs estate planning. Likewise, "elder
law" isn't just about Medicaid.
What we do is help people keep control, stay out of court,
and protect themselves and their assets should they ever become incapacitated.
Q: Who should care about estate planning and elder law?
A: Everyone needs to be concerned as, in any given year, the likelihood of
becoming seriously disabled is much higher than that of dying. We help older
clients clearly understand how the government will and won't help pay for
various types of care as they age, will a spouse at home be protected, whether
it makes sense for them to do planning in advance, and if so, what kind of
planning.
Q. How does the process work?
A: We help make sure that clients' assets get to the right people and in the
right way when they die. We look carefully at what's going on outside their
legal documents to make sure this happens, like form of asset ownership and
beneficiary designations.
Q. Do you deal with complicated situations?
A: We address all sorts of combinations of concerns and difficult planning
issues, such as second marriages (his kids/her kids), questionable sons-in-law
or daughters-in-law, irresponsible children or children with substance abuse
or other problems. We handle out-of-state real estate, probate avoidance,
estate taxes, planning for professional practices and business succession,
and how to provide for children and grandchildren with significant disabilities
without disqualifying them from critical government assistance. We also address
the concerns of young parents: making sure their children are cared for should
the clients die young, and yet not letting money spoil and demotivate their
children once they've become young adults.
Q. What if I don't have a difficult situation?
A: Some clients don't seem to have any particular issues at all, and their
grown children are doing wonderfully, yet we point out exciting opportunities
few clients are aware of. For example, clients have the ability to pass their
financial legacy on to their perfectly OK children in a way that provides
the child with a high degree of protection from lawsuits in our litigious
society, whether from tenant lawsuits, malpractice claims, divorce, or just
garden variety car accidents, yet keeps the child in control of his or her
inheritance.
Other clients are past the planning stage. They or a loved one may be in
a nursing home, or a family member has died. It is never too late for good,
specialized legal counsel to help at these times, and such counsel can spot
important issues and save the client a great deal of money.
Q. What makes you different from other estate planning
and elder law attorneys?
A: We are experts in estate planning and elder law. We do not perform any
other kind of legal work. Our senior partner, Mark W. Worthington,
travels nationwide to continually educate the firm on the latest legal issues.
He holds a Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.) from Northeastern University School
of Law, a Masters of Laws in Taxation (LL.M.) from Boston University School
of Law, and is a Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA).
In addition to our technical expertise, we accomplish all of the above through
hours of listening, thoughtful legal counselling, and careful custom crafting
of legal documents such as trusts, wills, durable powers of attorney, and
partnerships that go beyond the mere conventional.
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