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Life Stages and Life Changes that Affect Your Estate Plan: Estate Planning in Los Angeles

Life stages and life changes affect your estate plan and your family's inheritance.  When there are changes in a person's life, a preexisting estate plan needs to be reviewed in light of the changes.

It is wise to have your will, trust and power of attorney reviewed when some or all of these changes have occurred:

a.  You went through a divorce.

b.  Your spouse is ill.

c.  You are ill or have a diagnosis of a chronic disease.

d.  You are about to end a business relationship, or partnership.

e.  You are thinking of retiring and need to find a successor to your business.

f.   You have a child or a grandchild who is disabled, or on Medi-Cal or has a serious medical condition.

g.  You have a child who spends too much, or has a drug or alcohol problem.

There are many other changes which require a visit to your estate planning attorney.   A review can save your estate from unintended consequences.   Call us for an effective and efficient review, if you have life a life stage change, or something in your life has changed.   Don't think that your old estate plan is enough.   Just as you review your health, you should review your estate plan.

Mina Sirkin is an expert in estate planning and estate litigation in Los Angeles County, California. With our legal offices in Woodland Hills, Glendale, and West L.A., we can help you determine what is best for your circumstances.  818.340.4479 or Email:  [email protected]

Mina N. Sirkin

Probate Specialist Attorney

Los Angeles & Woodland Hills California

Learn about Life Stages and Changes that Affect Your Estate Plan, and in Planning your Estate.

Living Trust Workshop - 3/10/17 Woodland Hills Ca

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Estate Planning Workshop, Estate Planning Attorney, Estate Planning Attorney Los Angeles

 LIVING TRUST WORKSHOP

 

 

Attorneys for Families with Alzheimers Dementia CA | Conservatorship | Los Angeles Attorney & Lawyer

Attorneys for Families with Alzheimers Dementia | Los Angeles Attorney | Sirkin Law Group  Wills Trusts Estates | 818.340.4479 | Glendale Pasadena Woodland Hills| Conservatorship

When preparing families with Alzheimer's Dementia, we focus on implementing goals and small steps to protect the person with dementia.   Our attorney in Pasadena and Glendale has over 22 years of experience putting a protective plan together for families like yours.  Attorneys at Sirkin Law Group have a philosophy of preventative legal care.    We do not just manage alzheimer's dementia, we legally prepare for it.

How do you prepare for a person with dementia or alzheimer's disease?

1.  Ask whether any of your parents or other family members have had dementia, Alzheimers or Parkinson's disease ?   

2.   Unfocus from the disease itself and focus on small goals.

3.   If any member of your family has had dementia, Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease, then you must put in place a series of legal documents to protect yourself and your family.

4.   The legal documents we recommend to our clients with a family history of dementia is as follows:

A.   A Living Trust

B.   A Will

C.   Durable Power of Attorney for Asset Management.

D.   Advanced Health care Directive OR a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care and Hipaa authorizations.

E.   A complete inventory of assets updated yearly.  

F.   A legal transfer document allowing transfers of appropriate assets to the trust.

If you have a family member who has already been diagnosed with dementia, it is not too late to put together protective documents, if a physician can certify the capacity of the person with dementia.

Even when a person loses mental capacity, it is still not too late, even if no legal documents are in already in place, because we can still prepare for dementia, with a Conservatorship proceeding, with a substituted judgment petition and a court order.  Yes, we can even prepare wills and trusts after capacity is lost, with a court order.

Mina Sirkin is a dementia attorney, Certified Specialist Attorney in Probate, Estate Planning, and Trust Law in California helping families in Glendale and Pasadena Ca.   With over 22 years of experience, we can advise you on how to legally prepare for dementia step-by-step.   Los Angeles Conservatorship Attorney and to Dementia & Elder Law Attorneys Los Angeles.  Call us at 818.340.4479 0r 800.300.9977 in Los Angeles and Glendale.  

Glendale Conservatorships

Glendale California 

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Los Angeles Probate Lawyer

Managing your older parents' affairs

I made a checklist of estate planning items for my parents and I am sharing it with you. This helped me track lots of items which needed care as my parents were well in their 70s. Use it with care, add to it, and go over it once a year. 1. Do they each have the following documents: a) Power of Attorney for Healtcare or Advance Directive? b) Power of Attorney for Asset Management? Who is named as the agent? Where do they keep the originals? 2. Do they have a Financial Notebook? If not, create a paper ledger for them to list all of their assets. I bought a ledger from Staples and set it up for them to use. One of my sisters keeps the notebook and updates it with them every six months. 3. What are their monthly mortgage, insurance, and other expenses? Automate payment of all of these. Create a Google Spreadsheet and track these expenses with them. 4. Do they have a Medicare Supplement policy? If not, call their insurance agent and arrange this. 5. Do they have an Accountant? Who is it? Name, Address and Tel. Number. 6. What is their monthly income amount and its source? Put this information on the Financial Ledgers. When one parent dies, will the income be sufficient for the survivor? 7. Do they have a Long Term Care plan for when and if they can no longer live on their own? What can they afford in terms of in-home and out-of-home care and housing? 8. Have they done any estate planning? Name, address and Tel. Number of their attorney. When was the last time they reviewed the plan? 9. Where do they keep the originals of their wills and trust documents? 10. Have they done any financial planning? If yes, name, address, and telephone number of their financial advisor. 11. Do they have an irrevocable insurance trust? Who is the trustee? How are the premiums being paid? What insurance policy funded this trust? Name, Address and Tel. Number of Trustee., and policy information including, Name, Address and Policy Number for the insurance company. Were tax returns filed for this type of trust? 12. Do they have a private banker? If yes, Name, Address, and telephone number of their private banker. 13. What can be done to ease collaboration among myself and my siblings regarding my parents' affairs? Mina N. Sirkin is a Family Wealth Lawyer in Los Angeles, California. Ms. Sirkin is a Board Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law by the Board of Legal Specialization of the State Bar of California. Los Angeles Probate Attorney. [email protected]. http://www.SirkinLaw.com. Copyright 2008 Mina Sirkin.