Joseph E. Balmer, Author at Ohio Family Law Blog

MEDICAID TRUSTS-WHAT ARE THEY?

A Medicaid Trust Protects Assets if you Have to Enter a Long Term Facility for an Extended Period of Time

There are a number of different trusts available to address different situations. Trusts can be testamentary trusts created out of a will or separate stand-alone trusts known as intervivos trusts or commonly called revocable living trusts. Some trusts are created to avoid the probate process. Others are created to provide estate tax savings. Still others are created to avoid special need beneficiaries from losing need based assistance benefits such as Medicaid or SSI. Another type of trust is commonly known as a Medicaid Trust to protect assets in case the maker has to permanently enter a long term care facility in the future. A short overview of such a trust follows.

AN OVERVIEW OF MEDICAID TRUSTS:

Medicaid is a federal need based program to provide financial long term care benefits to those who have exhausted all of their assets. Medicaid also currently has a “look back period” of five (5) years, which basically means that if you give anything away less than five years before you apply for Medicaid, your application will be denied and a period of ineligibility will … Read More... “MEDICAID TRUSTS-WHAT ARE THEY?”

Providing for a Pet in an Ohio Estate Plan

Pet Trust Option Could Provide Care For Your Pet After One’s Death

Pet Trust Allows For Care Of Pet After Owner’s Death

When creating an estate plan, one indicates who should receive the remaining assets of the individual at the time of one’s death. However, at the time of death, what happens to one’s pets? Although most of us view our pets as beloved members of the family, in the eyes of the law, pets are considered personal property. Therefore, pets can be bequeathed in a will or trust just like any other personal property. How does one ensure that one’s pets are properly cared for? A couple of options may be considered.

If you have someone in mind that you trust to care for your pet or pets, a pet trust is an available option. Ohio Revised Code section 5804.08 allows for pet trusts in our state. It states the during an individual’s lifetime, he or she can set up a pet trust to provide for the care of a pet or pets and to terminate upon the death of the pet, or if more than one, upon the death of the last pet. You must indicate who is … Read More... “Providing for a Pet in an Ohio Estate Plan”

Know Your Ohio Health Care Directives

The 3 Ohio Health Care Documents You Need To Know

When it comes to health care directives in the state of Ohio, there are a few different documents that sometimes work together and sometimes supersede the others. It is important to be aware of these documents and understand the distinctions between them. In Ohio, the documents to be familiar with are as follow:

Durable power of attorney for health care;
Living will; and
A do not resuscitate order (DNR).

DURABLE POA FOR HEALTH CARE

A durable power of attorney for health care authorizes another individual as your attorney in fact to make health care decisions for you at any time that you are not able to make informed health care decisions for yourself. They are to make decisions consistent with those wishes previously made by you and known to them. In a durable power of attorney for health care, you can grant them permission to consent to the issuance of a DNR order by your physician, precluding cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

LIVING WILL

A health care power of attorney is superceded by a living will which is your own written declaration that you do not want life … Read More... “Know Your Ohio Health Care Directives”

Estate Planning Reminder During American Heart Month

estate planning health care last testament

How Important Can Estate Planning Documents Be For Your Loved Ones? Don’t Let The Courts Decide Who Will Get Your Assets!

February is often most associated with love, hearts, and Valentine’s Day – it’s lesser known for being American Heart Month – and it’s the perfect time to revisit the importance of estate planning when it comes to preparing your loved ones for the inevitable.

Do you already have estate planning documents? If you do, but it’s been a while since you’ve reviewed or updated them, it may be a good time to visit an attorney to help make sure everything is in order. If you’re new to estate planning , here are the important basic documents you should have prepared to ensure that your wishes are set forth in writing and upheld:

Last Will and Testament

The COVID-19 pandemic generated some of the more recent interest in estate planning, but according to a 2021 Gallup poll, less than 46% of adults in the U.S. have a will, and a majority of those Americans that do are 65 years of age or older. A Last Will and Testament is a legal outline of how you would like your … Read More... “Estate Planning Reminder During American Heart Month”

Tips on Preventing Senior Financial Abuse. Don’t Let Your Family Get Ripped Off!

Senior Communities Suffer $3.4 Billion In Loss Due to Fraud and Scams in 2020. What can be Done?

When older adults, especially those in long-term care facilities, become victims of a scam, it is known as elder financial abuse, and it is more common than you’d think.

In 2020, over 62,000 Suspicious Activity Reports filed with the federal government were regarding elder financial exploitation, amounting to $3.4 billion, according to the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The average reported loss by elder financial abuse victims is around $60,000.

So how does elder financial abuse happen?

“Unfortunately, there can be financial mistakes, fraud, or identity theft that occurs as a result of living in this kind of community. There are also instances of improper or inflated billing, double bill, and identity theft by ‘bad apples’ on staff,” said Elizabeth Loewy, the former founding chief of the Elder Abuse Unit in the New York County District Attorney’s Office, in an interview with Nextavenue.org.

The COVID-19 pandemic also led to a rise of scams targeting vulnerable adults, as do other “times of crisis”, according to Kelly LaVigne, vice president of consumer insights at Allianz Life.

This kind … Read More... “Tips on Preventing Senior Financial Abuse. Don’t Let Your Family Get Ripped Off!”

Tips to Avoid Holiday Scams

Online Purchase Scams Most Reported Con During Holiday Season. Avoid Being Victimized with These Tips from the Better Business Bureau

Holidays are a time for shopping and gift giving. With all the shopping online and with social media, holiday scams are at an all-time high. Don’t be a victim of scams this holiday season. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) has just released their top 12 holiday scams to look out for. A great list! Here they are:

Misleading Social Media Ads

As you scroll through your social media feed, you often see items for sale from a small business. Sometimes the business even claims to support a charity to try to get you to order, or they offer a free trial. BBB Scam Tracker receives reports of people paying for items that they never receive, getting charged monthly for a free trial they never signed up for, or receiving an item that is counterfeit or much different from the one advertised. The 2020 BBB Scam Tracker Risk Report found that online purchase scams were the most common cons reported to Scam Tracker and the category with the most victims. Do your homework and research the company before ordering.

Why Basic Estate Planning is so Important!

A Reminder to All for National Estate Planning Month…

With October being national estate planning awareness month, this is as good a time as any to reflect on why estate planning is so important. It is part of being a responsible adult and showing that we care about our family and other loved ones. We do it to make things easier for our loved ones if and when unfortunate events occur. We don’t like to talk about or even think about these issues, but life happens. Let’s take a few minutes to talk about what happens when you don’t have any estate plan in place.

If you become physically or mentally incapacitated to such an extent that you can no longer manage your financial or legal affairs, what do you do? Who can pay your bills? Who can execute legal documents? Without proper estate planning well in advance, a loved one would have to petition the probate court to be appointed a guardian over you.

Here in Ohio that would involve guardianship training, continuing guardianship education, a background check, acquiring a financial bond from a bonding company, filing yearly guardianship accounts and guardianship plans and getting the … Read More... “Why Basic Estate Planning is so Important!”

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