When Should I Create an Elder Law Estate Plan?

The answer is the typically vague "it depends." Elder law estate planning is best viewed by your needs and circumstances, not by your age. The typical concerns prompting a plan include providing for disability, keeping assets out of court when you die or become disabled by using trusts rather than wills, keeping assets in the family, reducing or eliminating estate taxes, and protecting assets from nursing home costs.

It seems some people start to think about estate planning when it is almost too late. Too many people want to "live life to its fullest" and not be troubled with serious issues such as death, disability, and long-term care.

This was the advice in a recent article in the Times-Herald Record titled “Protecting your future: Situation, not age, a factor in elder law estate plan.”

If you are on the younger side, you should consider how you will provide for your family in the event of your timely death. If you are at or nearing retirement, you should also be concerned about elder care—how you will be cared for if you are unable to be on your own.

Regardless, it is essential to get the professional advice and information you need. Speak to an estate planning and elder law attorney as soon as possible. While it may not be the most enjoyable conversation you will ever have (discussing one’s own morbidity and mortality), it may be one of the smartest.

Reference: Times-Herald Record (Hudson Valley, NY) (March 13, 2014): “Protecting your future: Situation, not age, a factor in elder law estate plan”

John Goralka is the lead attorney and founder of the Goralka Law Firm, P.C., and is an experienced Sacramento estate planning and tax planning lawyer. For help in Sacramento with estate planning, business planning or tax planning, please contact our office.