Get Help From a Top Camp Hill Estate Planning Attorney
At Keystone Elder Law P.C., our Camp Hill estate planning attorneys are knowledgeable, experienced, and devoted to personalized representation. We handle all types of estate planning matters in Central Pennsylvania. Do you have any specific questions or concerns about estate planning? We are here as a legal resource that you can trust. Contact us today for a fully private, no commitment consultation with a top-rated Camp Hill, PA estate planning attorney.
We Provide a Full Range of Estate Planning Services in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania
Keystone Elder Law P.C. is an estate planning law firm that provides personalized legal services to people and families in Camp Hill, Cumberland County, and throughout the wider region. We know that estate planning can feel overwhelming. Our team is here to make many things easier for you and your family. We believe that strong planning is about more than documents. It is about building security for loved ones and reducing stress in times of transition. Along with other estate planning services, our Camp Hill attorneys have experience with:
- Wills: A will is a legal document that directs the distribution of property after death. In Pennsylvania, a valid will must be in writing, signed by the testator, and witnessed under state law (20 Pa. C.S. § 2501). It appoints an executor with authority to manage the estate through probate. Without a will, intestacy statutes control who inherits your property and assets. Our Camp Hill, PA estate planning attorneys draft customized wills for clients.
- Trusts: A trust is a fiduciary arrangement in which a trustee holds and manages assets for the benefit of named beneficiaries. Trusts may be revocable or irrevocable, depending on the level of control retained by the grantor. They can be used to avoid probate, minimize taxes, and protect assets. They are not one-size-fits-all. You need the right trust for your specific situation. Our Camp Hill estate planning lawyers can help.
- Powers of Attorney: Incapacity planning is a key part of estate planning. A power of attorney is a written authorization allowing an agent to act on behalf of a principal. It can cover financial matters, health care decisions, or both. In Pennsylvania, durable powers of attorney remain effective if the principal becomes incapacitated if they are properly set up (20 Pa. C.S. § 5601). These documents need to be properly drafted to be effective.
- Asset Protection: Too many middle class families in Camp Hill underestimate the importance of asset protection. A proactive asset protection strategy is a must. It can help you preserve your hard-earned wealth. The law provides both statutory exemptions and planning tools to preserve assets. Though, any strategies must comply with fraudulent transfer restrictions under the Commonwealth’s Uniform Voidable Transactions Act.
- Long-Term Care/Medicaid: The cost of long-term care in Pennsylvania is extremely high. It continues to rise even faster than the overall rate of inflation. Medicaid is a joint federal and state program that pays for long-term nursing care for eligible individuals. Eligibility is based on both income and countable assets. Pennsylvania imposes strict resource limits and a five-year lookback period for asset transfers.
- Special Needs Planning: Special needs planning ensures that individuals with disabilities can receive financial support without losing eligibility for means-tested benefits. A special needs trust allows assets to be held for a beneficiary’s benefit without being counted as available resources. Pennsylvania recognizes both first-party and third-party special needs trusts. Our Camp Hill estate planning lawyers can help you develop the right plan.
- Probate Law: Probate is the court-supervised process of administering a decedent’s estate. It includes validating a will, appointing a personal representative, paying debts, and distributing assets. Pennsylvania law requires probate for most estates unless property passes outside probate by contract or title. The process is governed by the Register of Wills and Orphans’ Court in the county where the decedent lived. That is Cumberland County for residents of Camp Hill.
Why Rely On Our Camp Hill Estate Planning Attorney
An estate plan that is right for someone else may not be a good fit for your needs and your goals. At Keystone Elder Law P.C., we invest the time, the resources, and the attention to the small details to help people and families in Cumberland County develop estate plans that work. You can review our client testimonials to learn more. We take a proactive approach. Along with other things, our Camp Hill estate planning attorney is ready to:
- Hear your story and answer your estate planning questions;
- Help you gather supporting records that you need;
- Take care of the estate planning paperwork; and
- Create a personalized estate plan that is best for you and your family.
Estate Planning in Camp Hill, PA: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What happens if someone dies without a will in Pennsylvania?
You will lose control over what happens to your own property and assets. Instead, the Commonwealth’s intestacy statutes decide who inherits. Most often, that means that your assets pass to a spouse, children, or other relatives in a set order.
Can I avoid probate in Pennsylvania?
Yes, you can with the right strategy. Certain assets pass outside probate, such as joint accounts, payable-on-death accounts, assets with proper beneficiary designations, and assets within a properly-funded trust. A Camp Hill estate planning lawyer can help you minimize your exposure to the probate process.
What is the difference between a revocable and irrevocable trust in Pennsylvania?
A revocable trust can be changed or revoked during the grantor’s lifetime. On the other hand, an irrevocable trust generally cannot be altered once created. Revocable trusts provide control and flexibility, but without asset protection. Irrevocable trusts can be a great way to protect your assets.
Contact Our Estate Planning Law Firm in Camp Hill Today
At Keystone Elder Law P.C., our Camp Hill estate planning attorneys are standing by, ready to help. If you have any questions or concerns about the estate planning process, we are here as a legal resource. Call us at 717-697-3223 or contact us online to arrange your fully private, no obligation case review. We provide estate planning legal services in Camp Hill, Cumberland County, and throughout all of the Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan area in Central Pennsylvania.
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REGISTER HERE for LONG-TERM CARE PLANNINGPower of Attorney
A Power of Attorney can be used to give another person the right to sell a car, home, or other property in the place of the maker of the Power of Attorney. A Power of Attorney might be used to allow another person to sign a contract for the maker of the Power of Attorney (the person who makes a power of attorney is called the “principal”). It can be used to give another person the authority to make health care decisions, do financial transactions, or sign legal documents that the principal cannot do for one reason or another. With few exceptions, Powers of Attorney can give others the right to do any legal acts that the makers of the Powers of Attorney could do them themselves. A General Power of Attorney gives the “power of attorney Agent” or simply “Agent” (the legal name of the person who is authorized to act for the principal) very broad powers to do almost every legal act that the principal can do. When Elder Law Attorneys draft general Powers of Attorney, they still list the types of things the Agent can do but these powers are very broad. People often do general Powers of Attorney to plan ahead for the day when they may not be able to take care of things themselves. By doing the General Power of Attorney, they designate someone who can do these things for them.
Normal Powers of Attorney terminate if and when the principal becomes incompetent. Yet many people do Powers of Attorney for the sole purpose of designating someone else to act for them if they cannot act for themselves. It is precisely when persons can no longer do for themselves that a Power of Attorney is most valuable. To remedy this inconsistency, the law created a Durable Power of Attorney that remains effective even if a person becomes incompetent. The only thing that distinguishes a Durable Power of Attorney from a regular Power of Attorney is special wording that states that the power survives the principal’s incapacity. Even a Durable Power of Attorney, however, may be terminated under certain circumstances if court proceedings are filed. Most Powers of Attorney done today are durable.
Yes. At the time the Power of Attorney is signed, the principal must be capable of understanding the document. Although a Power of Attorney is still valid if and when a person becomes incompetent, the principal must understand what he or she is signing at the moment of execution. That means a person can be suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease or be otherwise incompetent sometimes but as long as they have a lucid moment and are competent at the moment they sign the Power of Attorney, it is valid even if they do not remember signing it at a later date. At the time it is signed, the principal must know what the Power of Attorney does, whom they are giving the Power of Attorney to, and what property may be affected by the Power of Attorney.
Any competent person eighteen years of age and older can serve as an agent. Certain financial institutions can also serve. There is no course of education that agent must complete or any test that Agent must pass. Because a Power of Attorney is such a potentially powerful document, agents should be chosen for reliability and trustworthiness. In the wrong hands, a Power of Attorney can be a license to steal. It can be a big responsibility to serve as an agent.
For Medicaid
Medicare is health insurance and covers medical services such as physician appointments, therapy, blood tests, x rays, medical procedures and hospitalization. Medicare will sometime pay for rehabilitation in a long-term care facility for a period of 20 to 100 days, but not longer. In long-term care, Medicaid covers the cost of ongoing support services for daily functioning, such as room and board in a nursing home.
Medicaid is a federal program that is overseen by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). In Pennsylvania, Medicaid is called Medical Assistance and is administered by the Department of Human Services (DHS).
In Pennsylvania, Medicaid funds are not available to pay for assisted living or personal care.
For Medicaid to pay for care in a nursing home, an individual recipient must be determined to need a nursing home level of care by a physician and the local Office of Aging. An individual whose income is not greater than three times the poverty level may keep up to $8,000 of total resources, but may otherwise keep only $2,400. The cash value of life insurance counts as a resource, but one car and a residential home does not count as a resource.
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Empowering Clients with Holistic Planning at
Keystone Elder Law
At Keystone Elder Law, we believe that the physical, social, legal, and financial considerations of our clients all intertwine. We utilize an interdisciplinary approach to evaluate each area, which allows for the creation of a plan that addresses the concerns of the individual as a whole as well as the family. To this end, our model of practice includes a Care Coordinator (usually a nurse or social worker), whose expertise complements our team of attorneys.
When the road of life is smooth, decisions about legal and financial matters are easy to push aside for “a rainy day.” Planning ahead, however, will allow for more options as you view the map of where you’ve been and where you want to go. Don’t let a crisis limit your choices or derail your plans.
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