Chances are you know someone with special needs or know someone who has a family member with special needs. Such special needs can arise due to a mental or physical defect existing at birth or an injury occurring later in life due to an automobile accident, drug and/or alcohol abuse, injury on the job (including…
When people ask me what area of law I practice, I tell them that, among other things, I practice Elder Law. That response often has me answering a follow-up question: “What is Elder Law?” The definition that I have carefully chosen to give in response focuses on empowerment. I help older adults proactively manage their…
While most people DO get together with their families for at least one of the upcoming holidays, it is rare that the PLANNED discussion involves estate or long-term care planning. However, I have found in my years of practice, that while these discussions are not usually planned, they often occur nonetheless, rather spontaneously. There are…
As an Elder Law attorney, it is rare that my clients show up alone. Most have family members (usually their adult children) along, who are there to offer emotional support, moral support, and, often, a safe ride to and from the appointment. The adult children who show up are usually quite intricately involved in their…
Probate is the process of administering a decedent’s (deceased person’s) estate. The word “probate” comes from a Latin word, probare, which means “to prove.” After your death, the person who approaches the clerk of court to begin administering your estate must first “prove” either of two things: 1) that your Will, if you have one,…
It is a common misconception that if a resident of North Carolina dies without a Will, the resident’s assets will be taken by the State of North Carolina. While there IS such a thing as the State taking unclaimed assets from a deceased person’s estate (“escheat”), it rarely ever happens. Intestate vs. Testate in NC Individuals…
A great deal of what I do as an Estate Planning and Elder Law attorney is to provide my clients with as much control over their futures as possible. While we’d like to think that we will always enjoy the control we have today, we must acknowledge that there is a possibility (even a certainty)…
Many of my clients have heard national financial gurus like Suze Orman emphasize that a Revocable Livings Trust (or RLT, for short) is an essential part of ANY complete Estate Plan. Well, that is not quite true. When clients ask me whether they NEED an RLT, my lawyerly response is, of course, “it depends.” Trusts,…