Aside from protecting assets in a divorce, there are a variety of situations faced by the elderly including potential creditors, taxes, and the exorbitant cost of nursing homes. Fortunately, there are several asset preservation techniques that individuals can utilize to maintain the ability to decide how one’s own assets are distributed.
Successful asset protection, however, requires using specific legal tools and techniques to make financial decisions. Often, an experienced Birmingham family law attorney proves essential for clients who are interested in asset protection. There are also several key pieces of information about asset preservation that individuals should understand.
Asset protection plans frequently involve the use of trusts as part of an estate planning process in order to protect assets inherited by family members, loved ones, and other charities from an individual. Trusts are extremely advantageous in several ways. Trusts allow individuals to avoid the expense of probate, minimize income and estate taxes, protect assets from judgments, and plan ahead for long-term care costs.
Long term care insurance is one method of asset protection. This type of insurance, however, requires that an individual make monthly payments which can prove to be particularly expensive. As a result, for an individual who has enough time to estate plan, long term care insurance is an excellent idea but this option is unavailable to clients who are in an emergency.
Many of the costs involved with the elderly and those interested in estate planning include long term care. Subsequently, many of the costs associated with long term care are not covered by Medicare or private insurance companies. The various rules concerning Medicaid in the state of Alabama are particularly complicated, which make the knowledge and skill of a talented attorney particularly important.
Individuals who implement Medicaid as a type of asset preservation technique will be able to: obtain a great degree of asset preservation, create a health care proxy who can make health decisions in the event that the individual becomes incapacitated, and at least partially cover the large costs associated with long term care like nursing home fees.
There are several risks of which one who is interested in estate planning must be aware. These potential risks include the following:
Most do it yourself legal documents do not fully take into consideration the unique elements of an individual’s case, as a situation might arise which these legal documents are not designed to cover.
Some legal strategies if not done properly could leave individuals open to creditor claims and adverse tax consequences.
If an individual does not institute an asset protection plan in time, there is the risk that an individual’s case could be exposed to creditors.
Individuals in the Shelby area who interested in asset planning often benefit from retaining the services of an experienced Birmingham family law attorney. Do not hesitate to contact Alabama Divorce & Family Law, LLC today, where we will make sure to help craft an estate plan around your unique circumstances.
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