Have You Withdrawn Enough from Your IRA This Year?

Posted on November 14, 2016 by Hawkins Elder Law.

The retirement plan concept leads us to believe that we should contribute as much as possible to IRAs and other tax-deferred retirement plans, and avoid withdrawing more than the required minimum distributions. While this strategy will maximize retirement plan growth and the likelihood that it will provide income late in life, it also sets up […]

Read More »

Plans for Final Illness, Death, and Human Remains Disposition

Posted on October 31, 2016 by Hawkins Elder Law.

[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] A person’s landmark life events might include birth, spiritual dedication, marriage, children’s births, and death. People normally think about most of those events, but few people want to think about final illness and death, much less talk or plan about it. In fact, people probably […]

Read More »

Crisis Management for a Nursing Home Resident without an Estate Plan

Posted on October 17, 2016 by Hawkins Elder Law.

[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] Most of our blog articles encourage people to make estate plans while they are healthy to avoid a legal and financial crisis when they get sick. Unfortunately, many people are too deep in denial to admit that they to plan, or they procrastinate until it […]

Read More »

5 Organizational Tips to Simplify Your Life, Disability, and Death

Posted on October 8, 2016 by Hawkins Elder Law.

[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] Electronic devices, computer software, and the Internet are expanding what we can do and the ways we can do it at a mind-boggling pace. Technology can simplify or complicate life, depending on how well we use it. In this article, we offer 5 tips to […]

Read More »

Don’t Short-Circuit Your Estate Plan

Posted on October 4, 2016 by Hawkins Elder Law.

[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] If a person has made a will, a power of attorney, an advance health care directive, or a trust, the person may think that those documents create a dependable estate plan. Unfortunately, many people do not realize that an estate plan includes every kind of […]

Read More »

Family Property – When Blessings Become Curses

Posted on September 26, 2016 by Hawkins Elder Law.

[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] God told the Israelites in the 25th chapter of the biblical book of Leviticus that in every 50th year, a family would regain ownership of land that the family’s ancestors had sold during the past 50 years. The Mosaic Law ensured the blessings of property […]

Read More »

Does the law really change enough to make estate plan updates important?

Posted on September 20, 2016 by Hawkins Elder Law.

[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] We have written more than once in our blog about the need for people to update their estate plans regularly. We get questions from people sometimes about whether the law really changes enough to justify estate plan updates. This week, we answer that question with […]

Read More »

Plan for Nursing Home Care – Even If You Don’t Want to Go

Posted on August 29, 2016 by Hawkins Elder Law.

We often hear from married couples during estate planning conferences that they do not plan to go to a nursing home. Our half joking reply is that lines rarely form for people wanting to enter nursing homes unless they are visiting nursing home residents. Unfortunately, according to the Indiana Long-Term Care Partnership Program, “individuals living […]

Read More »

Unreasonable Family Promises Create Unbearable Burdens

Posted on August 22, 2016 by Hawkins Elder Law.

[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] The Apostle Paul described balanced responsibilities of children to honor their parents and parents to behave reasonably toward their children this way: “As for children, obey your parents in the Lord, because it is right. The commandment Honor your father and mother is the first […]

Read More »

Can I Give Money to My Family?

Posted on August 4, 2016 by Hawkins Elder Law.

[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] Clients and people that attend our estate planning presentations during our tours around Southern Indiana often ask whether they can give money to their family members. A common version of the question is, “Is it true that I can give $10,000 (or slightly larger value) […]

Read More »

Verified by MonsterInsights