Introduction to Elder Law Minute
Hi, I’m Kaye DeSelms Dent with Dent Coulson Elder Law, here with an Elder Law Minute for you. These videos help you understand the elder care journey, which often starts earlier in life than you might expect. We hope you find them helpful. If you have any more questions, please call us at Dent Coulson Elder Law.
Why You Need a Well-Planned Estate
Don’t leave your kids with tough decisions; leave them your assets instead. The same advice applies to your spouse. However, when it comes to your children, this is even more important. Sometimes, people want to leave assets to one child and expect that child to handle everything. For example, a client might say, “If I leave assets to my child with special needs, they’ll lose their benefits, so I’ll leave everything to their sibling, Harry, and Harry will know what to do.” Unfortunately, nobody really knows what to do in those situations.
Making Clear and Effective Decisions
To ensure your estate plan works well, you need to plan it carefully from the start. You should make your own decisions and clearly write them down to make sure they can be carried out. However, sometimes people make things too complicated and think, “Harry will just take care of it.” But that’s not how it works. We don’t know if Harry will outlive you, if he’ll be healthy when you pass away, or if other factors like his spouse’s influence or financial issues will prevent him from doing what you wanted.
Understanding the Risks of Relying on Others
The bottom line is, if you rely on someone else to make decisions later, they might not know what the right thing is because they don’t fully understand your wishes. Even if they do understand, they might not be able to carry out your wishes, or they might simply choose not to. Therefore, it is crucial to have a clear and executable estate plan.
Conclusion
So, come see us today at Dent Coulson Elder Law. We can help you create an estate plan that works for you, makes sense, and can be carried out by your chosen executor or trusted individuals if you become disabled.
Thank you, and we look forward to hearing from you.
Also looking for information about Medicaid and Asset Preservation? Visit these articles:
“Your Trusted Advisor on the Elder Care Journey”
Dent-Coulson Elder Law is dedicated to providing families in the St. Louis area with their Elder Law needs. Our practice areas include Asset Preservation Planning, Veterans Benefits, Medicaid Eligibility, Alzheimer’s Planning, Special Needs Planning, Estate Planning and more. We understand the financial challenges you may face as you and your loved ones grow older. At Dent-Coulson Elder Law, our clients’ well-being is our number one priority. For immediate help, call (618) 632-7000 (IL) or (314) 567-9292 (MO), or Contact Us and we will get in touch as soon as possible.
