AL Estate Planning & Elder Law Blog

Are you considering remarrying? Are you thinking that February is the perfect month to plan a wedding, including the venue, the menu and all the combined family, yours and your future spouse’s? As you and your future spouse think about what needs to be done, what about your Alabama estate plan? Whether you currently have one or not, you should have one before you remarry. Here is why.

In a first marriage the goals of most spouses match and estate planning is not a problem. Each spouse wants to take care of the surviving spouse for as long as he or she lives, and then divide what is left equally among their children. Or, if your children are still minors, you set up a trust for the children until they are adults.
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Are you aware that today there is a question of whether children will need to pay an aging Alabama parent’s nursing home bill? The concept of parents being held legally responsible for the action and debts of their minor children is taken for granted, but did you think that there would ever be the possibility of adult children being responsible for the debts of their parents? Almost half of the states in the U.S. have filial responsibility laws, which can create a legal obligation of adult children for their parents.
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As you begin the new year, are you thinking about the resolutions you set for 2023? Did you include being sure you and your family are prepared for whatever the future holds by creating an Alabama estate plan? We want you to know that we believe that one of the most important New Year’s resolutions you can make this year is to create your Alabama estate plan.  With your Alabama estate plan in place you can protect yourself and your loved ones both during your life and at the time of your death. During your lifetime, by working with your qualified Alabama estate planning attorney, you can create a plan that ensures your choices for your health care and finances are honored by your chosen decision maker.

Are you an Alabama senior? Do you enjoy giving gifts of money to all your loved ones during the holidays? Be aware that as you get older you may need to be careful about giving monetary gifts. In fact, there is an elder law risk when you make monetary holiday gifts. We would like to explain why as you continue to read our blog.

To begin, did you know that monetary gifts can impact Medicaid eligibility?  The fact is, if you needed to apply for Medicaid in the next five years, your gift giving could have significant consequences.  The impact of monetary gifts could be on both the giver and receiver.

As the year 2022 comes to an end, have you given any thought to long-term care planning? Have most of your family and friends either passed away or moved? Is your health good or have you had any health scares this year? Have these health scares during the past year caused you to think about where you want to live as you age or what might happen if you had a health crisis or even how to protect your legacy?  We understand that as you age, you want the best for yourself, so learning about long-term care planning before you need it is a great idea. 

As you think about your future, if you became incapacitated due to an accident, surgery or disease what would happen? Who would make your healthcare decisions, pay your bills, or keep an eye on your house? What would happen if you needed extra care to remain in your home or you needed a nursing home? Now is the time to plan, before a crisis occurs, and while you can make decisions for yourself.  By working with an experienced Alabama elder law attorney you can have the peace of mind to ensure your lifetime of savings is protected from your long-term care needs. 

When you locate, make an appointment and meet with an Alabama elder law attorney, how do you even begin the conversation? What should you talk about? Where should you start?  In our firm we understand you questions because most of our clients have these same questions and we know that long-term planning can be complicated. We would like to share an end of the year long-term care planning checklist that you may use as you think about long-term care planning before the end of the year.

Did you know that across the nation November is celebrated as National Family Caregivers Awareness Month? Are you the caregiver for a family member? Do you know someone who is a family caregiver? During the month of November, everyone across the nation is invited to celebrate the importance of all family caregivers.  Family caregivers provide a tremendous amount of both paid and unpaid care to aging loved ones in Alabama. In fact, across the nation there are over 53 million family caregivers hard at work. We know these family caregivers because they are our family, our friends, and our neighbors.

Are you familiar with long-term care planning? If you are not, you are not alone. There are a surprising number of Americans who do not know what long-term care is.  Most everyone is familiar with acute care, or addressing an immediate injury or illness, and something that you would regularly see your doctor about, but again, most people are not familiar with long-term care.

Did you know that according to research many people put off making an estate plan each year? What about you, do you have an estate plan? If you do not, you are not alone. 

There are multiple and varied reasons why people put off creating their Alabama estate plan. Some put it off because they think they do not have enough assets and others think they are too young to even consider it. There are people who do not want to think about dying and avoid creating an estate plan. People who are not married and have no immediate family, may not feel a need to create an estate plan at all.