Author Archives: Jesse Thomas

Elder law and estate planning serve two different–but equally vital–functions. The main difference is that elder law is focused on preserving your assets during your lifetime, while estate planning concentrates on what happens to your assets after you die. 

What happens if you become incapacitated and are unable to voice your opinion on your health care? If you don’t have a health care proxy or guardian in place, state law chooses who can make those decisions.

In the event you lose your house in a natural disaster or through another calamity, it is important that your estate planning and other important documents are beyond reach and easily retrievable. 

When interest rates are low, intrafamily loans can be a good way to assist children with purchasing a house or a family business, and in certain circumstances they can be used to gift money to the next generation.

Elder advocacy groups are calling for the elimination of Medicaid estate recovery after a congressional advisory commission concluded the practice recoups a tiny percentage of Medicaid spending while contributing to generational poverty and inequity.

For a variety of reasons, people sometimes want some or all of their assets to pass directly to specific individuals upon their deaths, outside of probate.  POD and TOD accounts are one way to accomplish this.

A number of tax proposals being considered in Congress could significantly affect gifting and estate plans for people with with larger estates — over $3.5 million.