We Help Middle-Class Families in Hersey Protect Assets and Preserve Wealth
At Keystone Elder Law P.C., our Hershey middle-class asset protection attorneys are committed to protecting families from the financial risks that come with aging. You deserve personalized legal representation. If you have any specific questions or concerns about wealth preservation strategies for middle-class families, we are here to help. Contact us today for a confidential consultation with a top-tier Pennsylvania asset protection lawyer.
Middle-class families Face Serious Financial Risks from the Cost of Aging
Middle-class families are increasingly vulnerable to significant financial burdens due to the escalating costs associated with aging. Unfortunately, many people are struggling to afford long-term care and medical expenses not covered by insurance—especially in an era of heightened inflation. Here is an overview of three major financial risks to your life savings:
- Long-Term Care Costs: The most daunting financial risk for aging individuals in Hershey is the cost of long-term care. Here is the issue: A private room in a nursing home in Dauphin County, PA runs into the six figures annually. Long-term care costs are extremely high—and they are not covered by Medicare. Instead, Medicaid is the government program that provides long-term care coverage. To qualify for Medicaid, you often have to spend down your assets. In other words, long-term care costs can eat away at your life savings if you lack a proper plan.
- Creditor Claims: Estate planning also must account for the potential impact of creditor claims. Debts and obligations of the deceased can be claimed against the estate, reducing the value of assets passed on to heirs. There are some proactive strategies that you can use to protect your estate against lawsuits and other potential creditor claims that may pose a risk.
- Taxes: Taxes are an important consideration in estate planning. Inheritance taxes, estate taxes, and even income taxes on inherited IRAs can all reduce the amount beneficiaries receive. Proper planning can help protect your assets so that you can leave the most to the people and causes you care about.
Understanding Your Options to Protect Assets and Preserve Wealth
Wealth preservation is important for more than just the very wealthy. Middle-class families need a proactive asset protection strategy to protect their life savings from the risks of getting older, especially the risk posed by long-term care costs. There are a number of different options available. A Hershey estate planning attorney can help you find the best solution for your family. Here is an overview of some of the most effective strategies for asset protection for middle-class families:
- Medicaid-Compliant Trust: Through a Medicaid-compliant irrevocable trust, you can protect assets from long-term care cost risks. These trusts are designed to protect assets from being counted for Medicaid eligibility—allowing individuals to qualify for long-term care benefits without depleting their resources. An irrevocable trust must be at least five years prior to a person’s actual long-term care needed to ensure effectiveness. Medicaid has a five-year lookback period.
- Early Gifting: Using the annual gift tax exclusion, you can give away assets or money each year to your heirs without incurring any tax liability. In doing so, you will reduce the size of your estate over time. The strategy not only helps protect assets from certain risks—such as long-term care costs—it also allows you to see your beneficiaries use and enjoy their inheritances during your lifetime.
- Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT): By placing life insurance policies within an ILIT, the proceeds from the policy are not included in the taxable estate. In some cases, it could reduce taxes and provide liquidity to heirs.
How Keystone Elder Law Can Help With Middle-Class Asset Protection in Hersey, PA
You worked hard to earn your life savings. Now you need to protect it from the costs of getting older. At Keystone Elder Law P.C., we are a law firm committed to providing personalized wealth preservation support to middle claims families in Pennsylvania. Among other things, our Hersey estate planning attorney is prepared to:
- Conduct a comprehensive, confidential evaluation of your case;
- Help you evaluate risks to your wealth and asset preservation options; and
- Develop a comprehensive asset protection plan to best secure your future.
We believe that every middle-class family in the Keystone State deserves the top-tier, attentive estate planning guidance that the largest law firms provide to their more wealthy clients. Personalized representation is a must. We encourage you to check out our client testimonials and to reach out to our Hershey middle-class asset protection lawyers directly with any specific questions.
Contact Our Hershey, PA Middle-Class Asset Protection Lawyer Today
At Keystone Elder Law P.C., our Hershey estate planning lawyers have the skills and experience to help middle-class families protect their assets and preserve their wealth for future generations. Contact us today to arrange your completely confidential initial consultation. We provide elder law services in Hershey, Dauphin County, and across the surrounding region in the Keystone State.
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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.
What an amazing team you have!!! Taking charge and getting things done, but also being so understanding and compassionate
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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