As an elder law attorney, I often meet families who are overwhelmed by the high costs of nursing home care. In Ohio, these costs can range from $8,000 to $15,000 per month, depending on the facility and level of care needed. For many, it’s not just the financial strain but also the confusion surrounding Medicaid rules that make this process so challenging. That’s where Medicaid estate planning comes in—helping you protect your assets while securing the care you or your loved ones need.

As the year winds down, now is the perfect time to focus on one of the most important things you can do for your future: plan your estate. Whether you’re starting fresh or revisiting an existing plan, these five simple steps will help you stay on track before the New Year begins.

Creating an estate plan is a significant step toward ensuring that your wishes are carried out and your loved ones are taken care of. However, there’s another crucial step many people overlook: discussing your estate plan with family. While it may seem uncomfortable, having this conversation can prevent misunderstandings, reduce potential conflicts, and give your loved ones peace of mind.

In today’s digital era, estate planning extends beyond managing physical assets like property or bank accounts. With our lives increasingly conducted online, digital assets are becoming a crucial aspect of modern estate planning. This includes social media profiles, online bank accounts, digital currencies like Bitcoin, and more. But have you considered what happens to these digital assets in estate planning after you’re gone?

When you think about those loved ones who’ve passed away, you probably don’t think very much—or even at all—about the “things” they’ve left you. And when they do leave something behind, what you likely cherish most about the object are the memories and feelings it evokes, not the thing itself.

WILLS, TRUSTS, HEALTH CARE directives, POWERS OF ATTORNEY, and LEGAL GUARDIAN nominations are on many of our hearts and minds as COVID-19 compels us to FACE our own FRAGILITY and MORTALITY.

While MOST people ASSUME only the uber wealthy NEED to WORRY about asset PROTECTION, those with LESS wealth and FEWER assets may be at even GREATER risk. For example, if you’re a multi-millionaire, a $50,000 judgment against you might not be that big of a burden. But for a family with a modest income, home, and savings, it could be catastrophic.

Today, we want to FOCUS on one of the major RISKS of not being “in the KNOW” when it comes to your PARENTS’ ESTATE planning MATTERS: the undue INFLUENCE of bad ACTORS.

NVESTING in LIFE INSURANCE is a foundational part of estate PLANNING. However, when naming your POLICY’S BENEFICIARIES, there are a number of MISTAKES you can make that could lead to potentially dire CONSEQUENCES for the very people you’re trying to PROTECT and SUPPORT.

Do your PARENTS have an estate PLAN? Is it up to DATE? No matter how RICH or POOR you or your parents are, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, YOU need to be ASKING these and several other QUESTIONS. When your parents become INCAPACITATED or DIE, their AFFAIRS will become your RESPONSIBILITY , and it will be IMPOSSIBLE to ASK them to CLARIFY anything. So, if you do not know whether or not they have estate planning in place that will help you best support them, read on.

With four confirmed deaths in OHIO from CORONAVIRUS, the state has taken many PRECAUTIONS to keep the numbers from rising. COLLEGES including MIAMI UNIVERSITY and UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI have moved to online classes and suspended face-to-face instruction. Cincinnati’s St. Paddy’s Day Parade and the CINCINNATI RED’S Opening Day, have both been cancelled/postponed due to the coronavirus. Even huge money makers, like the NBA, have terminated their season.

Both WILLS and TRUSTS are estate planning documents that can be used to pass your WEALTH and PROPERTY to your loved ones upon your death. However, TRUSTS come with some distinct ADVANTAGES over WILLS that you should consider when creating your plan.