When it comes to protecting your assets, an estate planning attorney can be an invaluable resource. Unfortunately, there are a number of risks to your assets that may result in your financial security being lost, or that may make it impossible for you to leave a legacy.
To know for sure if you need to make a plan to protect your assets, consider the following questions.
Do you have a plan in place to cover the cost of long-term care?
For several seniors, long-term care costs can wipe out their entire life savings. In most cases, Medicare isn’t going to pay for nursing home care, and it won’t cover long-term care at home. The only way that Medicare is going to pay for a senior’s care within a facility is if they require skilled nursing services from professionals.
The majority of people who need care only require custodial care or help with activities of daily living. If you wind up needing care that Medicare doesn’t cover, then you are going to have two basic options to pay for it – pay out of pocket or become eligible for Medicaid.
Medicaid is means-tested, which means you may have to spend down a significant portion of your estate before you receive coverage. You can avoid this situation by working with an estate planning attorney like The KC Estate Planner, LLC.
Do you have a plan in place for incapacity?
If you aren’t able to manage the assets you have because you are incapacitated, then you may experience losses because of neglect while waiting to have someone named as a guardian and put in charge of your assets and wealth. Also, if the court winds up appointing the wrong person as your guardian, they may mismanage your money, resulting in a loss, too.
You want to avoid these situations. As a result, you need to create an incapacity plan that includes your power of attorney or other legal tools that will dictate who will be in charge of making any decisions and managing your assets if you wind up incapacitated.
How are your assets going to be transferred after you pass away?
Absent a trust, most assets are going to pass through the probate process after someone passes away. Unfortunately, the probate process can be lengthy and costly. If you have a business or other type of assets that need to be managed by a new owner immediately, then the lengthy probate process may result in a decline in the value of your assets. This is going to undermine all of your efforts to leave a healthy legacy for your family and loved ones. It’s a good idea to create a trust that your assets pass through. Trust administration is much faster than traditional probate.
If you need help protecting your assets, then it is a good idea to speak with The KC Estate Planner, LLC. They can ensure that all your long-term needs are met and that you don’t suffer a loss of assets due to improper planning.