There are many people living the good life and who have not been faced with many adversities, which is always a positive. That being said, I think we all know that life has unexpected twists and turns, and we are not invincible. Whether you are a young adult or a retiree, you really need to create a “roadmap” to help you to navigate your way through life’s challenges.
At Sechler Law Firm, we really only see three types of cases, and we do estate planning which includes writing Wills and creating Trusts. We also do post administration work for families who have lost a loved one, where you may have been asked to be the executor or trustee. We do a fair amount of work for people who are in a long term care nursing home situation, and spending a lot of money on care. These families reach out to us to see if there’s anything we can do to protect assets from long term care expenses. There are opportunities for the people who take the time to learn and educate themselves on estate planning. This is why we like to provide the education.
I don’t believe that people work their entire lives trying to save money and raise a family, only to lose it all if they get sick or end up disabled. When I work with young families, we tell them that Plan A is for them to live into their 90’s. The estate plan we write for them will hopefully not need to be implemented, but things can happen which are beyond our control. Having an estate plan will mitigate the challenge of providing for your family, if you become incapacitated or pass away. We are really committed to the future for your kids, so that they grow up to be great adults. However, this takes a little bit more planning.
Bear in mind that the State of Pennsylvania has a rulebook, and the state will take the necessary steps to get the money back which is used to pay for your care. This is because if you have lost control, the care provided for you in a nursing home, is paid for by the state. This means the money needs to be recovered as compensation. I am sure you will agree that the government should not get involved or have access to your money. You would much rather use the money for your children. This emphasises the need to plan for incapacity to protect your assets, and avoid losing them to the government system.
Essentially, there are three time periods that really matter. The first is while you are alive and in good health. This is when you need to do the planning. If you get sick, or are incapacitated, there needs to be a plan for what happens when you pass away. You would need some documentation so that you can avoid the guardianship court system. We would work with you to get a document called a power of attorney to name your decision makers. These documents would indicate your healthcare wishes so that your decision makers can communicate your wishes to the doctors. We need to provide instructions around how the money will be managed, and more advanced estate planning is required for this.
We are aware that many people believe that they need to get a Will. The problem with a Will is that it is designed to answer the question of who gets the stuff that you own when you pass away. However, a Will doesn’t protect your money while you’re alive. Another reason why many people move away from Wills, is to avoid the probate system which involves the courthouse.
The probate system also gives the government more control. You don’t want people who have different interests to you, to control how your kids are raised. A document like a Will or a Power of Attorney does not complete an estate plan. You want to be able to write your own rulebook, and that’s why an estate plan is important. Consisting of a set of documents, your estate plan documents work together to organise your legal interests, ensuring that your plan works.
We often recommend to our clients to use a trust for better control. A trust can be used as a vehicle to manage who is in control and who has access to the money. Having a trust also avoids the need for government to be involved. There are different types of trusts used for various purposes. Trusts can be used to protect assets from nursing homes, for tax planning and for charitable planning purposes. Deciding which trust, or which combination of trusts will work for you, depends on what your goals are.
We believe in providing you with the education to equip you to make informed decisions by offering monthly free Workshops. You can register for a workshop on our website for these workshops which we offer in various locations in Pittsburgh. We help you to understand what the real risks are, and we also talk about taxes and nursing homes. Understanding the issues you may be faced with, we will help you to decide how to address these issues. We then teach you which tools are appropriate to address those concerns.
I often hear people say that they can’t enjoy living in the present, because they are worrying about the future. We need to remember that yesterday is a memory, and tomorrow is a dream. If we plan now for tomorrow, we can enjoy today.
