1. Married with children: Many people falsely believe that the surviving spouse/parent would take all the deceased spouse’s property, especially if the children are young. That is not the case. In this situation, the law of most states awards one-third to one-half of the decedent’s property to the surviving spouse, and the remainder to the children, regardless of age.

2. Married with no children: Again, there is a popular misconception that the intestate decedent’s surviving spouse would take all. Most states, however, give only one-third to one-half of the estate to the survivor. The remainder generally goes to the decedent’s parent(s), if alive. If both parents are dead, many states split the remainder among the decedent’s brothers and sisters.

3. Single person with children: When a single person with children dies without a Will, state laws uniformly provide that the entire estate goes to the children.

4. Single person with no children: In this situation, again, most state laws favor the decedent’s parent(s) in the distribution of his/her property. If both parents are deceased, many states divide the property among the brothers and sisters.

If you want to decide who will inherit your assets, contact an estate planning attorney to discuss your wishes and how best to accomplish your goals.  Please feel free to call our office with questions.

What To Do

• Be aware of your physical limitations and how they may affect your driving.

• Listen to the advice from those who know you best and care about you.

• Discuss driving with your doctor – he or she can evaluate whether any medication you may be taking will affect your driving.

• Refresh your knowledge of safe driving practices and learn about new traffic control and roadway design features through a defensive driving class.

• Plan your route. Drive where you are familiar with the road conditions and traffic patterns.

• Drive during the day and avoid rush hours.  Find alternate routes with less traffic.

• Choose a car with an automatic transmission, power steering and power brakes. If you have a physical condition that limits your mobility, see an occupational therapist or a certified driver rehabilitation specialist to obtain special equipment to make it easier for you to steer and operate the foot pedals.

• Make sure you always wear your glasses and that they are a current prescription.

• If you lose or break your glasses, don’t rely on an old pair; replace them right away with your newest prescription. Avoid eyewear with sidepieces that may block your vision.

• See an eye doctor every year to check for cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and other conditions.

• Begin planning for alternate ways of meeting your transportation needs. Learn about transportation options in your community, and then try them out to see which work best for you.

Source:  www.michigan.gov/documents

     Payments made through the Veteran’s Administration are generally not taxable.  The two primary payment types are (1) Compensation and (2) Pension.  Compensation is payment to a service member for an injury or disease that occurred during service or was due to being in the service.  This type of benefit is the military’s version of worker’s compensation.  The payment is based on the veteran’s disability rating.  Disability compensation is not taxable income.

     Pension is payment to a prior service member who served in the military during a war time period, is 65 or older or is disabled, and has limited income and resources.  This is the VA’s version of Supplemental Security Income (SSI).  When a prior war time veteran has a disability and meets the criteria listed above in this paragraph, then the VA will pay an amount of money to the veteran to bring the Veteran’s income up to a certain level.  This income is not taxable income.

     When a veteran needs the aid and attendance of another person to assist with walking, bathing, dressing, going to the rest room, medication monitoring, etc., then the veteran may also be able to obtain pension with aid and attendance.  This additional income, aid and attendance, is not taxable income.

On the way home he stopped at the hardware Store and bought a bucket and a gallon of paint.
He then stopped by the feed store and picked up a couple of chickens and a goose.
However, struggling outside the store he now had a problem – how to carry his entire purchases home.

While he was scratching his head he was approached by a little old lady who told him she was lost.
She asked, ‘Can you tell me how to get to 1603 Mockingbird Lane?’
The farmer said, ‘Well, as a matter of fact, my farm is very close to that house I would walk you there but I can’t carry this lot.’

The old lady suggested, why don’t you put the can of paint in the bucket, carry the bucket in one hand, put a chicken under each arm and carry the goose in your other hand?’

‘Why thank you very much,’ he said and proceeded to walk the old girl home.

On the way he says ‘Let’s take my short cut and go down this alley.  We’ll be there in no time.’  The little old lady looked him over cautiously then said, ‘I am a lonely widow without a husband to defend me.  How do I know that when we get in the alley you won’t hold me up against the wall, pull up my skirt, and have your way with me?’

The farmer said, ‘Holy smokes lady! I’m carrying a bucket, a gallon of paint, two chickens, and a goose.
How in the world could I possibly hold you up against the wall and do that?’   The old lady replied, ‘Set the goose down, cover him with the bucket, put the paint on top of the bucket, and I’ll hold the chickens.

Shortly thereafter, Hell has air conditioning, flush toilets and escalators. Needless to say, the engineer is a pretty popular guy. One day, God calls Satan and says with a sneer, “So, how are things in Hell?” Satan replies, “Hey, things are going great. We’ve got air conditioning, flush toilets, and escalators; and there’s no telling what this engineer is going to come up with next!”

“What!” God exclaims, You’ve got an engineer? That’s a mistake, he should never have been sent to Hell. Send him to me.” “Not a chance”, Satan replies, “I like having an engineer on the staff, and I’m keeping him!”

God insists,”Send him back or I’ll sue!” Satan laughs uproariously and answers, “Yeah, right. And where are you going to get a lawyer?

     All Special Needs Trusts must be irrevocable, provide that distributions are at the discretion of the trustee, and include that the benefiuciary is not entitled to receive either income or principal.  The trust must also state that the trustee is prohibited from making any distributions that would jeopardize the beneficiary’s eligibility for benefits.  A disabled individual must be the sole beneficiary of the trust during his or her lifetime.

Few people realize the limitations of Medicare—which winds up costing them a substantial loss of dignity if or when they get hit with long term care expenses.  Medicare is the federal health insurance program provided on behalf of persons who are over the age of 65, blind, and/or disabled.  Medicare does not provide long term care benefits (nursing home care, for instance).  Medicaid, which is a poverty health care program, pays for 50% of the nursing home care in America today.

Medicare only cares about short-term or “acute care” health care.  Medicare only cares about your health care expenses if you can get well! Medicare does NOT provide care when a person is diagnosed with a long-term illness and needs nursing home care.  Essentially, our senior citizen health care is based on a “diagnosis lottery.”  If you are “lucky enough” to have a heart attack or diabetes, then you are covered by Medicare.  You are out of luck if you are diagnosed with  Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s disease, or anything else that lands you in a nursing home.  If  you need a nursing home and you are not impoverished, you are on your own dime!

Medicaid is the safety net for the impoverished.  Once you become sufficiently impoverished, then Medicaid is designed to provide care for you.  To qualify for Medicaid nursing home benefits you must be very ill and have no more than $2,000 total assets.

An elder law attorney knows the ins and outs of the public benefit system and can provide the client with solutions that help to fulfill the requirements of the law and still provide a better future for themselves or their loved ones.  .  If you want more information regarding a specific client situation, please contact us.

Bogus senior specialists commonly target senior investors through seminars where the specialist reviews seniors’ assets, including securities portfolios and typically recommends liquidating securities positions and using the proceeds to purchase indexed or variable annuities products or other investments the specialist offers.

In many jurisdictions, including Michigan, these recommendations may be viewed as providing investment advice for compensation. In Michigan, Investment Advisors are registered by OFIS, as are Insurance Counselors. Michigan also allows certified financial planners who can make recommendations about taxes and wills and other financial documents, but cannot make recommendations or give advice about investments or insurance without being licensed or registered by OFIS.

Before doing business with any investment professional, all investors, especially senior investors, should contact OFIS by email or toll-free at 1-877-999-6442 to determine whether the individual is properly licensed and if there have been any complaints or disciplinary problems involving the individual or his or her firm ]]> http://elderlawsolution.com/elderlaw/2011/12/30/check-credentials-of-senior-specialists/feed/ 0 http://elderlawsolution.com/elderlaw/2011/12/19/some-quotes-about-aging/ http://elderlawsolution.com/elderlaw/2011/12/19/some-quotes-about-aging/#comments Mon, 19 Dec 2011 14:09:14 +0000 Elder Law Solutions http://elderlawsolution.com/elderlaw/?p=383

” It is not the years in your life, but the life in your years that counts.”   Adlai Stevenson

•   You’re only young once, but you can be immature forever. ”
  John Greier
• “It is not how old you are, but how you are old. “  
  Marie Dressler
• “Youth is the gift of nature, but age is a work of art.” 
  Garson Kanin 
• “The old believe everything, the middle-aged suspect everything, the young know everything. “  
  Oscar Wilde 
• “Just remember, once you’re over the hill you begin to pick up speed.”
    Charles Schultz 
• “You’re getting old when you don’t care where your spouse goes, just as long as you don’t have to go along. “  
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