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Should I Consider Long-Term Care Insurance During the Estate Planning Process
I think longterm care insurance is an important part of the estate planning process. If you become sick and you need to go into a nursing home, it's relatively straightforward and easy to qualify you for Medicaid. If you need care at home, it's a little more...
What Are Letters of Administration?
Letters of administration is an order that's entered by the court, after the probate is opened, after a personal representative is appointed. The letters of administration is the legal authority given to the personal representative to deal with third parties. To deal...
What Assets Are Excluded From The Florida Medicaid Eligibility Asset Test?
Here in Florida, the following assets are exempt from Medicaid; your homestead, the household furnishings, any artwork or jewelry that are collectibles would not be exempt; your car, again so long as it's not an antique or a collectible; $2,000 in cash, that can be...
What Does Medicaid Recovery Mean?
Here in the state of Florida, when somebody's on Medicaid, the state has a lifetime lien on that person, when they die. So, any moneys that Medicaid would have spent during the course of their lifetime, Medicaid now has a lien on their estate. The Medicaid Estate...
What do the Designations Transfer on Death Payable on Death and in Trust for Mean?
TOD, transfer on death. POD, payable on death. ITF, in trust for. Those are beneficiary designations. They're typically seen on bank accounts. So if mom passes away and your on there as ITF, in trust for, you would just take a death certificate and your drivers...
What Does it Mean to Fund a Trust?
Funding a trust means to transfer or retitle the assets into the name of the trust. This is probably the most important part of the process. I don't care who drafts your trust document, it's not worth the paper it's printed on if the assets haven't been retitled into...
What Government Program Will Pay for my Nursing Home Costs?
Medicaid is the federal program that will help to pay for your nursing home costs. It won't pay for all of it. Each person who is in a nursing home and is on Medicaid has a patient responsibility or an amount of money that you're supposed to pay to contribute to the...
What Happens If You Do Not Have a Will or Trust?
When a person passes away here in the state of Florida without a will or a trust, the state of Florida intestate succession statute will determine how your money and property will be distributed. Don't wait to head to our YouTube Channel to learn more. Contact our...
What if the Decedent Owned Real Property in More Than One State?
If a person dies owning property in more than one state, you're going to have to have two probates. You'll have a probate here in Florida, and then we'll have what's called an ancillary probate in the other state. So let's say the person owns a piece of property in...
What is a Durable Power of Attorney?
A durable power of attorney is the legal grant of authority that you give to another person to handle your financial affairs for you if you can't. Typically it would be a spouse or a child, and it allows them to deal with banks, financial institutions, write checks,...