Generated by All in One SEO Pro v5.0.1.1, this is an llms-full.txt file, used by LLMs to index the site. # Hawkins Elder Law PC Asset Protection & Estate Planning Counsel – Nursing Home Medicaid Solutions; – Experienced Guides for Peace of Mind ## Posts ### [Hawkins Elder Law Blog](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/blog/) **Published:** October 6, 2014 **Author:** newdeal --- ### [MARRIED IRA OWNERS SHOULD UPDATE ESTATE PLANS](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/married-ira-owners-should-update-estate-plans/) **Published:** February 8, 2020 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** Married IRA owners should update estate plans to address SECURE Act changes to IRA taxation and new Indiana Medicaid policy. This article explains why. **Content:** ![Married IRA owners should consider Roth IRA conversions.](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Traditional-IRA-vs-Roth-IRA-written-on-blackboard.-Shutterstock-ID-1355494421-By-Vitalii-Vodolazskyi-1024x538.png "Traditional IRA vs Roth IRA written on blackboard. Shutterstock ID 1355494421 By Vitalii Vodolazskyi - Hawkins Elder Law PC")Married IRA owners should update estate plans about IRAsMarried IRA owners should update estate plans to address SECURE Act changes to IRA taxation and new Indiana Medicaid policy. This article explains why. ## **WHY BLOG ON THE SECURE ACT AGAIN?** We said married IRA owners should update estate plans and IRA strategies in our December 2019 article, [SECURE Act Changes To IRAs](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/secure-act-changes-to-iras/). Our follow-up article, [SECURE Act Changes Education Savings Plans](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/secure-act-changes-education-savings-plans/), explained other important tax law changes. We didn’t intend to write a 3rd consecutive SECURE Act article, but married IRA owners need to know about Indiana’s abrupt Medicaid policy shift. Let’s review tax law changes under the SECURE Act as a backdrop. Then we will explain the related Medicaid issues. ## **SECURE ACT IRA TAXATION CHANGES** ### **SECURE Act Overview** President Trump signed the **[Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019](https://www.congress.gov/116/bills/hr1865/BILLS-116hr1865enr.xml)** (appearing in the “Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020” at Division O) on December 20, 2019. The SECURE Act revises former IRA tax laws, including these big changes: - increases the age for the “Required Beginning Date” when an IRA owner must begin withdrawing the “Required Minimum Distribution” (RMD) from age 70 ½ to age 72; - allows an IRA owner to continue making tax-deductible IRA contributions after age 72; - an IRA owner can still make begin making qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) from an IRA after age 70 ½ up to a total of $100,000 each year, but the annual Q CD value drops by the total annual value of the owner’s tax-deductible IRA contributions (see [Giving Your Taxes to Charities](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/giving-your-taxes-to-charities/)); and - an IRA beneficiary, other than a surviving spouse or one of the other categories of “Eligible Designated Beneficiaries,” must withdraw the beneficiary’s entire share of an inherited IRA (including a Roth IRA) within 10 years after the IRA owner’s death. ### **Death of the Stretch IRA Strategy** The SECURE Act’s 10-year inherited IRA withdrawal requirement eliminates the “Stretch IRA” strategy. The Stretch IRA strategy allowed beneficiaries to withdraw their inherited IRA shares over there life expectancies. A young IRA beneficiary could stretch distributions so thinly that the IRA could grow faster than the distributions could deplete it. The Stretch IRA strategy elimination concentrates a beneficiary’s required withdrawal of taxable IRA funds into a single decade may increase the beneficiary’s income tax rate. Retirees should now consider increasing IRA withdrawals and converting IRAs to Roth accounts to reduce future tax burdens on their IRA beneficiaries. ## **INDIANA’S ABRUPT MEDICAID POLICY REVERSAL** We last described Indiana’s tendency to change its Medicaid policies abruptly in our updated December 2018 article, [Indiana Cancels Favorable Medicaid Policy on IRAs](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/medicaid-ira-rule-offers-nursing-home-cost-protection/). That update reported the state’s abrupt reversal of an unexpected Indiana Medicaid policy that the state had changed about nursing home residents’ IRAs less than 9 months earlier. We report now that Indiana abruptly changed a related policy about IRAs owned by nursing home residents’ spouses in January 2020. ### **Countable Resources Affecting a Nursing Home Resident’s Medicaid Eligibility** An unmarried nursing home resident must not have more than $2,000 worth of assets that are countable as “resources.” A married nursing home resident (the “Institutional Spouse”) is still limited to resources worth no more than $2,000, but the resident’s spouse living outside of the nursing home (the “Community Spouse”) may also keep the lesser of half the couple’s resources or a maximum resource allowance ($128,640 as of January 1, 2020). Indiana General resource exemptions include one vehicle, certain items of personal property, and any amount of real estate that produces income. Resource exemptions for married couples also include any real estate owned by the Community Spouse. After Indiana approves an Institutional Spouse’s Medicaid application, the Community Spouse may have an unlimited value of resources without disrupting the Institutional Spouse’s Medicaid eligibility. ### **Shifting Sands of Indiana Medicaid Resource Policies on IRAs** Indiana began exempting a Community Spouse’s IRA from the couple’s resource assessment values in June 2014. The spring 2018 exemption of a Medicaid applicant’s IRA that issued a regular monthly distribution pleasantly surprised Indiana’s elder law community, but the reversal of that policy in December 2018 disrupted Medicaid applications that relied on that exemption. Finally, in July 2024, the Indiana Medicaid system reversed its policy again and began counting the Community Spouse’s IRA as part of the couple’s resources that the state evaluates to determine the Medicaid applicant’s eligibility. ### **Medicaid Strategies for an Institutional Spouse’s IRA After July 2024** Institutional spouse’s alternatives returned to just 2 choices after July 2024: 1. Liquidate the IRA account, pay taxes on the entire value, and transfer the remaining funds to the Community Spouse; or - Reinvest the IRA into a Medicaid-compliant “immediate” annuity that generates a fully taxable, monthly payment to the Community Spouse that the not allow the Institutional Spouse to withdraw or liquidate the principal value of the IRA account. ## **Married IRA Owners Should Update Estate Plans to Reduce IRA Tax Risks in Long Term Care Situations** Married IRA owners should update estate plans to reduce the tax consequences in case a spouse needs nursing home care. Otherwise, a couple may need to cash in IRAs and pay big taxes to pay for an nursing home costs. Estate plan update alternatives include these options: - Reduce the size of IRA accounts by taking larger withdrawals than the RMD amounts even though the larger withdrawals trigger larger income tax obligations (see [Have You Withdrawn Enough from Your IRA This Year?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/have-you-withdrawn-enough-from-your-ira-this-year/)); - Convert traditional IRA accounts to Roth IRA accounts and pay income taxes on the converted values in order to continue growing the account values in the Roth IRA’s tax-sheltered environment (see [Secure Act IRA Changes – A Mixed Bag](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/secure-act-ira-changes-a-mixed-bag/)); and - Make a will with testamentary trust provisions for the IRA owner’s spouse and designate the trust as the IRA beneficiary to prevent the IRA from being included among the spouse’s countable resources if the IRA owner dies and the surviving spouse requires nursing home care in the future (see [Spendthrift, Special Needs, “Miller” & Other Protective Trusts](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/spendthrift-special-needs-miller-other-protective-trusts/)). All changes in law present complex tax issues that require careful analysis and planning. We encourage people to consult knowledgeable tax advisors about tax issues. They should also consult experienced elder law attorneys before taking any actions on IRA accounts. ## **About the Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html). He served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins), and he is a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch). [Hawkins Elder Law](https://www.martindale.com/organization/hawkins-law-pc-1645736/) is one of the few elder law firms that Martindale-HubbellTM has rated AV Preeminent. Both of the firm’s lawyers ([Jeff Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jeff-hawkins-985574-a/) and [Jennifer Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jennifer-hawkins-985575-a/)) are also rated AV Preeminent. ## **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can like [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2020 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** #PlanningforLongevity, Community spouse, Community Spouse Resource Allowance, Elder Law, Estate Planning, Institutional Spouse, Institutional Spouse Resource Allowance, IRA, Medicaid, Qualified Charitable Distribution, Required Beginning Date, Required Minimum Distributions, Resources, Retirement Plan, Roth IRA, SECURE Act, Stretch IRA, Surviving spouse, Testamentary Trust **Tags:** Community Spouse Resource Allowance, elder law attorney, FSSA, Institutional Spouse Resource Allowance, IRA, Medicaid, Required Beginning Date, Required Minimum Distributions, Resource Allowance, RMD, Roth IRA, SECURE Act, tax advisors --- ### [Indiana Health Care Advance Directives](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/health-care-advance-directives/) **Published:** March 6, 2023 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Computer screenshot of 2021 Senate Enrolled Act 204, which authorized the creation of health care advance directives](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Screenshot-of-2021-Senate-Enrolled-Act-204-1024x581.jpg "Screenshot-of-2021-Senate-Enrolled-Act-204 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Screenshot-of-2021-Senate-Enrolled-Act-204.jpg)Indiana General Assembly gave us health care advance directives in 2021 legislation that was the first overhaul of Indiana’s health care consent laws in over 28 years. This article reviews some of the health care consent law’s features. ## One Advance Directive For All Health Care Decisions The Advance Directive law offers simplicity and flexibility in one document to replace: - durable powers of attorney for health care (Health Care POAs); - appointments of health care representatives (HCR Appointments); and - living will declarations (Living Wills). The law preserved the validity of Health Care POAs, HCR Appointments, and Living Wills signed before January 1, 2023. However, any phased-out documents signed after December 31, 2022, are ineffective. ## What’s Its Name? The new health care consent document is called an “advance directive.” That name is not descriptive, so many estate planning lawyers call it a “health care advance directive.” ## Standardized Signing Options Each kind of health care consent document had a different signature rule under the old laws: - a Health Care POA had to be notarized; - an HCR Appointment had to be signed in the presence of one witness; and - a Living Will had to be signed in the presence of two witnesses. The new law offers two options for signing an advance directive for health care: 1. signed in the presence of two witnesses; OR 2. signed in the presence of a notary public. ## Remote Signing – Pandemic Lessons Learned The law also addressed isolation problems in “locked down” health care facilities. The old law assumed people would sign paper forms in the physical presence of witnesses or notaries. As many readers remember too well, health facilities restricted visitor access until patients received vaccines. The 2021 advance directives law permits isolated people to sign advance directives remotely. A notary public must use one of the complex video conference systems that verify people’s identities by quizzing them about old addresses, phone numbers, and other information. However, witnesses can participate through common video conferencing systems like Zoom, Slack, Google Meet, Facebook Live, and Skype. More advance directive information is available online at the [Indiana Health Care Quality Resource Center’s website](https://www.in.gov/health/cshcr/indiana-health-care-quality-resource-center/advance-directives-resource-center/). ## About the Authors Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). More Information Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). You can also call us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2023 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on our website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Advance Directives, Appointment of Health Care Representative, End of Life Decisions, Health Care Power of Attorney, Living Will Declaration **Tags:** Advance Directives, Appointment of Health Care Representative, Health Care Advance Directive, Health Care Power of Attorney, Living Will Declaration, living wills --- ### [Our Healthcare Advance Directives Preference](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/our_healthcare_advance_directives_preference/) **Published:** June 15, 2024 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** What is a living will’s purpose, and does it serve that purpose well? In this article, we’ll explain living wills and why the reasons behind our healthcare advance directives preference. **Content:** [![This photo of a hospital patient room with a living will declaration in a trash can expresses our healthcare advance directives preference.](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Hospital-patient-room-with-a-living-will-declaration-in-a-trash-can-1024x585.png "Hospital patient room with a living will declaration in a trash can - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Hospital-patient-room-with-a-living-will-declaration-in-a-trash-can.png)If you needed inpatient hospital care or outpatient surgery since 1992, someone probably asked whether you had a living will. While that question has made generations of people think they needed living wills, did they really need them? What’s a living will’s purpose? Does it serve that purpose well? In this article, we’ll explain living wills and the reasons behind our healthcare advance directives preference. ## Life Support Wars ### Karen Ann Quinlan In 1975, Pennsylvania resident [Karen Ann Quinlan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Ann_Quinlan) slipped into a persistent, irreversible coma after consuming Valium and alcohol while crash dieting. After her parents won a nationally publicized court battle to remove her ventilator in 1976, Karen lived comatose without the ventilator until her death in 1985. ### Nancy Cruzan Two years before Karen Quinlan’s death, a vehicle crash ejected Missouri resident [Nancy Cruzan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruzan_v._Director,_Missouri_Department_of_Health) into a ditch full of water in 1983. Although she had no vital signs and lacked oxygen for 12-14 minutes, paramedics got Nancy to begin breathing again. However, Nancy never regained consciousness, and her father fought to remove her life support until the US Supreme Court granted his request in 1990. ### Terri Schiavo Four months before the US Supreme Court ruled in the Cruzan case, Florida resident [Terri Schiavo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terri_Schiavo_case) stopped breathing and suffered extreme brain damage after her 1990 heart attack. Terri became a national political pawn in an epic life support battle between her husband and her parents from 1998 until her death in 2005. ## Living wills and Healthcare Advance Directive initiatives Indiana and most other states tried to clarify some healthcare consent issues in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, including a set of laws called the [Uniform Health-Care Decisions Act](https://www.uniformlaws.org/viewdocument/final-act-168?CommunityKey=3df274d6-776b-4780-8e4e-018a850ef44e). The Act included laws allowing people to make living will declarations and advance healthcare directives. ### Living Wills A living will states medical conditions when a person wants to be removed from life-support. To prevent the improper removal of a patient’s life-support, a physician must decide whether the medical conditions stated in the patient’s living will exist. #### Indiana’s Living Wills Indiana’s living will declaration statute specifies the language and contains the form of a living will declaration including lines for people’s signatures. You could make a living will by printing a copy of the statute, completing the appropriate blanks, and signing it with two witnesses also signing it in each other’s presence. Indiana’s living will form has remained almost completely unchanged since 1993. It begins with a statement, “I, \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_, being at least eighteen (18) years of age and of sound mind, willfully and voluntarily make known my desires that my dying shall not be artificially prolonged under the circumstances set forth below…” The form’s next section says (with our emphasis added): If at any time my attending physician **certifies in writing** that: (1) I have an incurable injury, disease, or illness; (2) my death will occur within a short time; and (3) the use of life prolonging procedures would serve only to artificially prolong the dying process, I direct that such procedures be withheld or withdrawn, and that I be permitted to die naturally with only the performance or provision of any medical procedure or medication necessary to provide me with comfort care or to alleviate pain, and, if I have so indicated below, the provision of artificially supplied nutrition and hydration. #### Indiana’s Living Will Logical Defect The Indiana living will form’s logical defect lies in its requirement of a physician’s written certification of the three listed conditions before removing life-support. Unlike the law that creates the living will form, there is no law specifying a written certification form or giving any guidance on how a physician should make the written certification. So, an Indiana living will is useless until a physician makes and signs a written certification that satisfies all three requirements. While a living will might give physicians and other healthcare providers some informal guidance, they couldn’t rely on it without making the required written certification. If we asked one hundred family practice physicians how many written certifications they had made, we wouldn’t expect any of them to know what we meant, much less tell us how many they had made. If a physician interpreted the written certification’s required findings personally, it’s hard to imagine a physician certifying in writing that: 1. The physician is incapable of curing the patient; 2. The patient is going to die soon regardless of the physician’s efforts; and 3. Life-prolonging procedures would just drag out the patient’s death. Thinking more broadly, what hospital would want a physician to make a written record of those findings? ## Reasons for Our Healthcare Advance Directives Preference We base our healthcare advance directives preference on that system’s broad coverage and flexibility. A healthcare advance directive authorizes a person to appoint friends or family members as healthcare representatives to make healthcare decisions when the person cannot make their own decisions. A healthcare advance directive can allow healthcare representatives to decide to remove or withhold a person’s healthcare even if the decision results in the person’s death. Unlike the living will statute, Indiana law does not provide a standard healthcare advance directive form. However, the 2021 overhaul of [Indiana’s Healthcare Consent Act](https://iga.in.gov/laws/2023/ic/titles/16#16-36) directed the [Indiana State Department of Health](https://www.in.gov/health/) to make and distribute standard forms for all kinds of healthcare consent documents. The 2021 healthcare consent law also allows you to make highly customized advance healthcare directives. While you can still appoint friends or family members to make healthcare decisions, you can also include the best parts of a living will. You can even restrict people you don’t want to be involved in your health decisions and include instructions about your funeral! ## Conclusion We encourage all healthcare providers to stop asking patients whether they have living wills and begin asking whether they have advance healthcare directives. We also encourage people to ask their estate planning lawyers for customized advance healthcare directives that express the people’s wishes about providing, withholding, and withdrawing healthcare. Finally, we hope everyone will share our healthcare advance directives preference. ## MORE INFORMATION For more information about living wills and advance healthcare directives, see our articles published at , [https://www. hawkinselderlaw.com/health-care-representative-power-of-attorney/](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/health-care-representative-power-of-attorney/), and [https://www.hawkins elderlaw.com/will-versus-living-will/](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/will-versus-living-will/). Find more information about other topics at [www.hawkinselderlaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/blog/). You can also call us at 812-268-8777. ## ABOUT THE AUTHORS Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers, and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter, a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/), and a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba). Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). © Copyright 2024 Hawkins Elder Law PC. All rights reserved. See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on our website’s contents. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Advance Directives, Elder Law, Emergency care, End of Life Decisions, Estate Planning, Feeding tube, Guardianship, Health Care, Health Care Power of Attorney, Healthcare System, Hospital, Living Will Declaration, Living Will Declaration, Long-term care, Organ Donation, Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment, Physicians Orders for Scope of Treatment, POLST, POST, POST, Quality of Life, Quality of life, Stroke **Tags:** Appointment of Health Care Representative, Health Care Advance Directive, Health Care Power of Attorney, Living Will Declaration, living wills --- ### [What Is The Indiana Long Term Care Insurance Program?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/indiana-long-term-care-insurance/) **Published:** December 31, 2021 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/image-8.png "image-8 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/image-8.png) Long-term care (LTC) can become a significant issue for you or a loved one, as the cost of care can – and often does – consume a lot of assets. You cannot predict exactly what health care needs you may have in the future, but you can take steps to plan so that you do not become financially crippled by the cost. Long-term care insurance can offset those risks. In Indiana, certain types of long-term care insurance can provide you with asset protection. Here’s more on Indiana’s long-term care program. ## Why Do People Buy Long Term Care Policies? People buy long-term care policies because of concerns over the amount and cost of health care services they will need for a medical condition. Those over sixty-five will have a 60-70 percent chance of needing long-term care. Indiana Long Term Care Insurance Program, known as ILTCIP, is a partnership between Indiana and private long-term care insurance companies. The program aims to protect residents from overburdening costs of long-term care. Participating insurers have offered partnership policies to Hoosiers since 1993. ## What Is The Benefit Of Buying A Long Term Care Policy? As you age, you’ll need health care, but you won’t know in advance how much care you need. You won’t know how much your healthcare will cost. Purchasing long-term care insurance is a way for you to offset the risk of costs such as skilled nursing home care. In Indiana, you can buy long-term care insurance policies, known as either partnership policies or traditional policies. ## Doesn’t Medicare Pay For LTC? Medicare provides benefits for skilled nursing care, which is care meant to improve your health. You must meet specific requirements for this care, including your stay in a Medicare-approved facility and a 3-day prior hospitalization requirement. The most that Medicare Part A covers is all the cost in your first 20 days and 80 percent of the cost for your next 80 days. After 100 days, Medicare does not cover these services. For those who need long-term care for longer than 100 days, Medicare will not foot the bill, but instead, potentially Medicaid. ## How Does Indiana’s LTC Insurance Program Work Rather than Indiana selling insurance policies, its Department of Insurance works with insurance companies offering [long-term care insurance](https://www.in.gov/iltcp/consumer-information/insurance-companies/). The Department of Insurance oversees the process and makes sure that insurance policies meet state regulations. ## How Is A Partnership Policy Different Than A Traditional Long Term Care Policy? If you purchase either policy, you can receive benefits for long-term care services. Partnership policies must include certain benefits in your policy that might not be included in traditional policies. If you apply for Medicaid, partnership policies provide additional financial protection. Specifically, you would not be required to deplete your assets (spend down your assets) to become eligible. In addition, there is no Medicaid estate recovery against protected assets that fall under a partnership policy. ## How Does Asset Protection Work With Partnership Policies? If you have a traditional or partnership policy, you receive benefits up to your policy limits, at which point the policy is exhausted. At that time, if you still need care, you generally must pay out of pocket. If you cannot afford it, you could become eligible for Medicaid – a needs-based program where the government can cover your long-term care costs. Medicaid eligibility is determined partly by your income and assets. If you have the partnership policy, you won’t be required to spend down your assets. ## Total Asset Protection Vs. Dollar For Dollar The Partnership policy provides two types of asset protection: total asset protection and dollar-for-dollar asset protection. If you are applying for Medicaid, then the total asset policy protects all your assets. However, there are certain requirements for a policy to have [total asset protection](https://www.in.gov/iltcp/faqs/), including that you purchase a partnership policy with at least the state-set dollar amount and have a five percent compound inflation factor. Your assets are protected once your policy has paid out all the benefits. Suppose you buy a partnership policy with less than the state-set dollar amount in benefits. In that case, one dollar of assets is protected for each dollar of partnership policy benefits paid out. A dollar-for-dollar partnership policy’s asset protection feature provides asset protection equal to the amount paid in benefits up to the policy maximum. ## How Does Asset Protection Kick In? It is important to note that your assets only receive protection as your insurance policy pays benefits. After accumulating the asset protection, your assets are protected and can be used however you choose, such as gifting those assets to your family. ## How Much Do Partnership Policies Cost? The cost of your long-term care policy is determined by your health status, age at the time of purchasing the policy, the benefits you select, and the insurance company that issues the policy. If you are interested in protecting all your assets through LTC insurance, then at a minimum, you would need to purchase the state-set dollar amount of partnership policy benefits. ## How Is My income Affected By The Partnership Policy? Although a partnership policy can protect your assets can be protected, it doesn’t protect your income. So, you’ll have to consider other Medicaid planning strategies relating to your income (e.g., using a Miller Trust) to get qualified. ## Does A Partnership LTC Policy Mean That I Get Medicaid? Your purchase of a long-term care policy does not automatically entitle you to Medicaid benefits. While you may never need Medicaid if your benefits cover your lifetime of healthcare, you might need Medicaid if you receive maximum benefits under the LTC policy. The beauty of a partnership policy is that you can receive asset protection benefits without spending down your assets to qualify for Medicaid. ## What If I Need Help? Remember that you’ll have to document your health status and finances properly in a Medicaid application. You shouldn’t try to apply for Medicaid without discussing your situation with a Medicaid planning attorney. Critically, an attorney can help you get the benefits you need while preserving and protecting your assets. ## Medicaid Lawyer In Indiana To learn more about Indiana’s long-term care insurance program, [get in touch with an elder law lawyer](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/contact-us/). [Click here](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/elder-law/) to learn more about Indiana Medicaid planning strategies. #### **About The Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author this blog with [Thomas E. Hynes](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-e-hynes-esq), a lawyer admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida who has a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). #### **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call or text us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2022 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Elder Law, Indiana Long Term Care Partnership, Long-term care insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, Nursing home **Tags:** elder law attorney, Indiana Long Term Care Partnership, LTC, Medicaid, nursing home --- ### [Mandatory Electronic Court Filing Coming to an Indiana Court Near You](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/mandatory-electronic-court-filing-coming-to-an-indiana-court-near-you/) **Published:** May 30, 2017 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/courts.in_.gov-screenshot.jpg "courts.in.gov screenshot - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/courts.in_.gov-screenshot.jpg) The Indiana Supreme Court has committed the Indiana judicial system to leap toward paperless record systems. A few Indiana counties established electronic case filing systems as pilot projects in 2015. Gradually, courts have transitioned from paper systems to mandatory electronic filing systems since 2015. Those counties that continue to use paper systems, must transition into [mandatory electronic filing (e-filing)](http://www.in.gov/judiciary/4267.htm) systems in 2018, if not sooner. The e-filing system eliminates tremendous waste and potential for human error when properly trained people use it. Instead of a county clerk’s employees entering data into their computer systems and printing paper records, the people that want to start court cases enter the data into the computer systems without printing any paper anything. Also, the individuals that start court cases are responsible for serving notices of their court cases to the other people that will become involved in the cases, so that the county does not have to pay for mail or comparable delivery costs. Because case records remain digital, instead of filling countless cardboard boxes, courthouses no longer have to build or lease annex facilities to house and protect flammable paper records. These and many other efficiencies should save Indiana counties many thousands of dollars each year. New technology creates a learning curve when people tried to adopt it. E-filing is creating that kind of learning curve in the various county clerks’ offices because they all have to standardize certain procedures to implement the new system. Standardization tends to clash with Indiana’s “home rule” system, which authorizes each county’s elected officials to manage their offices as they think best. Ultimately, however, e-filing will give everyone better access to the court system and streamline court case management in every county. The e-filing system changes several basic procedures that lawyers and courts have followed for decades. Everyone will make mistakes as they use the e-filing system, but the court system provides opportunities to fix some mistakes if people catch their mistakes early enough. Big problems will result, however, when people procrastinate and try to file things in court at the last second. Courts generally offer no forgiveness to procrastinators, so procrastinators will probably pay a much higher price for their bad habits in the new system than in the old system. People that want to start court cases or whose names appear as lawsuit defendants or respondents must organize quickly and act immediately to protect their rights. Regardless of which side of a case a person might stand on, the person needs to contact a lawyer immediately instead of waiting until it is convenient. Such a person should not wait till tomorrow to call their lawyer. This is one of those times when it is important enough to take time off work, cancel a doctor’s appointment, or delay a vacation to avoid losing rights forever. [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2017 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Courts, Indiana e-filing, Law and Justice, Lawsuit **Tags:** case management, E-filing, home rule, Indiana courts, lawsuit --- ### [Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Innovation Center Seeks Crowd-Sourced Ideas and Feedback](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/centers-for-medicare-medicaid-services-innovation-center-seeks-crowd-sourced-ideas-and-feedback/) **Published:** October 5, 2017 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Centers-for-Medicare-Medicaid-Services-Innovation-Center-New-Direction.jpg "Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services - Innovation Center New Direction - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Centers-for-Medicare-Medicaid-Services-Innovation-Center-New-Direction.jpg) The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center (Innovation Center) is seeking public feedback in its [MAX Survey](https://survey.max.gov/429625) to help fulfill its mission of “fostering an affordable, accessible healthcare system that puts patients first.” The Innovation Center wants fresh ideas about how CMS should “promote patient-centered care and test market-driven reforms that empower beneficiaries as consumers, provide price transparency, increase choices and competition to drive quality, reduce costs, and improve outcomes.” The period for public comments will extend until 11:59 p.m. EST November 20, 2017. [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2017 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Healthcare System, Medicaid, Medicare **Tags:** Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Healthcare System, MAX Survey, Medicaid, Medicare --- ### [Indiana LTC Partnership Program - a Powerful Nursing Home Cost Solution](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/indiana-ltc-partnership-program-a-powerful-nursing-home-cost-solution/) **Published:** November 22, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![shutterstock_181476062](https://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/shutterstock_181476062.jpg "shutterstock_181476062 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/shutterstock_181476062.jpg) Most responsible adults buy insurance to protect against risk. We buy auto insurance protection for liability and vehicle damage. We protect ourselves from expensive healthcare costs with health insurance. Likewise, we can also protect ourselves from expensive nursing home costs with long-term care insurance. Few financial risks justify insurance solutions more than nursing home costs. According to “[What You Should Know About Long Term Care](http://www.in.gov/iltcp/files/What_You_Should_Know_print_proof_8-2015.pdf),” an online publication by the State of Indiana, the average Indiana nursing home cost exceeds $70,000 per year and rises at an average rate of 5% per year! Indiana took a national leadership position in the long-term care insurance industry more than 22 years ago by establishing the Indiana long-term care insurance program (ILTCIP). The ILTCIP is a remarkable three-way partnership between the State of Indiana, insurance companies, and insurance customers to help pay the rising cost of nursing home care at home healthcare. In this partnership, the State of Indiana promises to pay long-term nursing home costs for people that by at least minimum long-term care coverage from insurance companies that agree to offer coverage specified by the State. Indiana’s ILTCIP promise offers two levels of protection. First, the purchaser of an ILTCIP insurance policy can keep $1 of assets for every $1 that the insurance company pays for the insurance policy purchaser’s nursing home care (sometimes called “dollar-for-dollar” coverage). Second (and more impressively), if the ILTCIP insurance policy purchaser buys a certain coverage level, once the insurance policy pays out the full coverage amount, the State will pay the remaining nursing home costs without requiring the policy owner to spend down any assets (this is called “total asset protection” coverage). One of the ILTCIP requirements is that the insurance coverage of an ILTCIP policy will increase by 5% each year after the customer purchases the policy. Likewise, the minimum insurance coverage level for total asset protection coverage increases every year by 5%. The 2015 minimum coverage level is $320,883, but the minimum level will increase for 2016 to $336,927. An example may help explain how an ILTCIP policy works. If an insurance customer with a house on 20 acres, a car, and $200,000 of other assets buys $320,883 of ILTCIP coverage in 2015, and then requires nursing home care in 2022, the required insurance policy payout at that time will be $451,515. Once the policy pays out its entire benefit, the insurance customer’s monthly income will pay part of the nursing home costs and the State of Indiana will pay the rest of the bill for the rest of the insurance customers life – with no questions asked. Most full-service investment companies and full-line insurance agencies sell long-term care insurance. In order to sell ILTCIP policies, financial representatives must get an additional training and an ILTCIP endorsement on their life insurance sales licenses. There are many insurance alternatives to ILTCIP policies. Much like life insurance, the cost of long-term care insurance increases with the age of the insurance policy purchaser, so coverage is less expensive when people buy it in their earlier years. People with certain medical histories like diabetes, hypertension, and strokes may not qualify for long-term care insurance coverage, so that is another good reason to buy the insurance early, before such health conditions develop. [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Elder Law, Indiana Long Term Care Partnership, Long-term care, Long-term care insurance, Medicaid, Nursing home **Tags:** Indiana Long Term Care Partnership, Indiana Partnership plan, Medicaid, nursing home --- ### [Child Care Delegation - Empowering the Village](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/child-care-delegation-empowering-the-village/) **Published:** May 28, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![A the parent holds the hand of a small child, Shutterstock Image ID 334758695, Copyright KonstantinChristian](https://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/A-the-parent-holds-the-hand-of-a-small-child-Shutterstock-Image-ID-334758695-Copyright-KonstantinChristian.jpg "A the parent holds the hand of a small child, Shutterstock Image ID 334758695, Copyright KonstantinChristian - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/A-the-parent-holds-the-hand-of-a-small-child-Shutterstock-Image-ID-334758695-Copyright-KonstantinChristian.jpg) Jesus once took a child into his arms while he was teaching and said, “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea.” *The Bible*, Mark 9:42 (NIV). Child care responsibility is such a weighty matter that most states dedicate whole administrative agency departments and massive budgets to help ensure the health and safety of the states’ children. Sometimes, however, situations arise in which parents need to delegate child care responsibility temporarily. Indiana updated its child care delegation law in 2016 and several other times over the past decade to help make child care delegations stable and effective. Indiana Code § 29-3-9-1 provides that a parent of a minor child may use a properly prepared power of attorney to delegate child care authority to another person for: (1) any period during which the care and custody of the minor or protected person is entrusted to an institution furnishing care, custody, education, or training; or (2) a period not exceeding 12 months; any powers regarding health care, support, custody, or property of the minor or protected person. The statute provides that a parent serving on active military duty may delegate child care responsibility for a period longer than 12 months if the parent is on active duty service. However, the term of delegation may not exceed the term of active duty service plus 30 days. The power of attorney must indicate that the parent is required to enter or serve in the active military service of the United States and include the estimated beginning and ending dates of the active duty service. The child care delegation statute provides that the parent or guardian remains responsible for any act or omission of the person having the power of attorney with respect to the affairs, property, and person of the minor or protected person as though the power of attorney had never been executed. Parents and guardians of minor children should consider making child care delegation powers of attorney when: - parents or guardians plan to travel far enough that it would be impossible or extremely difficult for the parents or guardians to respond to a child care crisis - parents or guardians anticipate their own medical procedures that could make it be impossible or extremely difficult for the parents or guardians to respond to a child care crisis - the child will be traveling far enough away from the parents or guardians in the care of family members or friends that it would be impossible or extremely difficult for the parents or guardians to respond to a child care crisis There is no specific form required under Indiana law for child care delegation, but an experienced trust and estate lawyer should be able to prepare a customized power of attorney that satisfies the child care delegation statute. Although the law does not require it, a child care delegation power of attorney should include contact information for the parent and appointed child care provider, as well as information about the child’s health insurance, allergies and other medical conditions, and regular medications. [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Child Care, Power of Attorney **Tags:** Child Care, power of attorney, Trust and Estate Attorney --- ### [Puny Powers of Attorney](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/puny-powers-of-attorney/) **Published:** June 5, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/A-skinny-scrawny-young-man-tries-to-lift-a-barbell.jpg "A skinny, scrawny young man tries to lift a barbell - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/A-skinny-scrawny-young-man-tries-to-lift-a-barbell.jpg)Most people think of wills or trusts when they think of estate planning. However, powers of attorney are probably the most important estate planning documents that most people can have. A last will and testament is a good way to direct how people will distribute and receive your assets when you die, but if disability strikes you before you make a power of attorney (POA), the chaos created by your disability may devour the inheritance that you want to leave to your family or other beneficiaries. Unfortunately, many (perhaps most) POAs are so weakened by hidden and unnecessary restrictions that the POAs are almost as useless as having no POA at all. A POA is a document that a person makes to give someone else authority to sign legal documents or take legal actions on behalf of the POA signer. For example, if a person is going on vacation or a soldier is preparing for overseas service, he or she may sign a POA to allow people to carry on personal business during his or her absence. Such business could include signing income tax returns, signing documents to sell or purchase a house, or signing loan documents to refinance a mortgage loan. POAs are not created equally. Some POAs are specially limited, such as POAs designed by the Internal Revenue Service to allow representatives to sign income tax returns, or POAs designed by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to allow representatives to sign vehicle titles or registration applications while the vehicle owners are unavailable. In those special cases, POA limitations restrict the POAs usefulness to specific situations as solutions to specific problems. General POAs allow representatives to conduct all kinds of business for the people that they represent, but wealthy people or people with wealthy family members often need specially restrictions to prevent unnecessary estate taxation (for purposes of this article, a “wealthy” person’s wealth exceeds $5.45 million). In some cases, wealthy people that have POAs to help their family members can have their family members’ wealth included in their own taxable estates when they die unless the POAs contain restrictions to prevent such expensive taxation. One of the biggest problems with POAs prepared for estate planning is that the preparers often fail to consider whether the POAs should be limited or unlimited. Most people do not have more than $5.45 million of wealth, nor do their close family members to whom they might give powers of attorney have more than $5.45 million of wealth. Those people do not need POA restrictions to avoid estate taxation because estate taxation is mathematically impossible. Sadly, many “standard form” POAs contain “boilerplate” restrictions that limit the ability of faithful and responsible representatives to help their disabled family members. Lawyer should know when to use restrictions and when to remove them. There are two reasons why a POA may contain unnecessary estate tax-inspired restrictions: 1. a lawyer prepared the POA when the federal estate tax exemptions were much more stingy and the client did not ask the lawyer to update the powers of attorney after Congress increased the exemptions; or 2. the lawyer does maintain a high skill level and prepares POAs thoughtlessly. The Indiana Power of Attorney Act includes the estate tax-inspired restrictions in the gift powers under Indiana Code section 30-5-5-9. An Indiana POA that references that statute with language such as, “power to act with respect to gifts pursuant to Indiana Code § 30-5-5-9,” automatically includes the statutory restriction unless the POA also includes language such as, “the power to make gifts under this power of attorney is not limited by the restrictions contained in Indiana Code § 30-5-5-9.” If you and your family are not “wealthy” as this article uses that term, and if you have a POA that contains references to Indiana Code § 30-5-5-9 without language overriding the statutory restrictions, you should ask your lawyer to explain to you why your POA does not override the restrictions. If your lawyer cannot explain the matter, you may need to find a more skillful and experienced estate planning lawyer to take care of your estate planning needs. [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Disability, Estate Planning, Estate Tax, Power of Attorney, Tax Planning **Tags:** estate plan, estate tax, IRS, power of attorney --- ### [Are All Powers of Attorney Created Equal?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/are-all-powers-of-attorney-created-equal/) **Published:** July 26, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![POA Collage](https://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/POA-Collage.jpg "POA Collage - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/POA-Collage.jpg) An audience member at one of our recent presentations about advance health care directives suggested that people should make powers of attorney and advance health care directives when they reach 50 years old or older. We responded that most people over 18 years of age should make powers of attorney and health care planning documents because of health crises do not discriminate between young people and old people. Naturally, however, the planning needs of an unmarried 18-year-old probably differ sharply from a 70-year-old married couple with grandchildren. This article describes some of those differing needs, and explains how powers of attorney and health care planning documents help satisfy those needs. Every adult has a constitutional right to own and control property without interference by others. State and federal laws protect that right by restricting prohibiting financial institutions from giving an account owner’s financial information to unauthorized third parties. Laws prevent strangers from selling a person’s real estate, motor vehicle, or other significant assets, or offering them as loan collateral without the owner’s approval or authority. Unfortunately, if a person becomes injured or too sick to pay bills or conduct other business, the person statutory and constitutional rights can prevent family and friends from helping the disabled person conduct business. If the person has not given someone a power of attorney, the person’s personal business will languish until someone petitions the court for guardianship and the judge appoints a guardian to take control of the situation. A person (referred to in this context as the “principal”) can make a power of attorney to share his or her authority with others to conduct his or her personal business. Spouses often give each other powers of attorney that take effect immediately so that each can represent the other in personal business without restriction. Alternatively, a “springing” power of attorney only takes effect when the person’s physician gives a written opinion that the person is too disabled to manage his or her personal business to prevent a well-meaning power of attorney holder (known as the “attorney-in-fact”) from interfering with the person’s business while the person is healthy. Most powers of attorney only expire upon their principals’ deaths and are “durable,” which means that they continue to function after their principals become disabled. Other powers of attorney may expire on specific dates (such as the expiration date of a contract) or after specified triggering events (such as release from prison or return from military service deployment). Powers of attorney usually only deal with financial and personal business matters, but they can also include powers to make health care decisions. If a principal wants to authorize an attorney in fact to make business decisions health care decisions, the principal can include both kinds of powers in a single power of attorney document. However, a principal may want to limit an attorney-in-fact to only make business decisions with a limited power of attorney that excludes health care powers, and appoint a health care representative separately through a health care power of attorney or an appointment of health care representative. Other power of attorney variations exist, such as the estate tax-motivated versus health care-motivated drafting choices that we described in our recent blog article posted at . We maintain the emphasis that we stated in that article that a lawyer should not create all powers of attorney alike; because the lawyer must consider carefully which power of attorney provisions best satisfy each client’s specific needs and goals. A “One-size-fits-all” power of attorney is often just as useless as a “one-size-fits-all” shoe, dress, or business suit unless its random design happens to fit a principal’s individual needs and goals by mere happenstance. Proper estate planning features deliberate document design by an expert estate planning attorney – not dumb luck, happenstance, or online purchase by a novice. [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Advance Directives, Disability, Estate Planning, Estate Tax, Guardianship, Healthcare Representative, Power of Attorney, U.S. Constitution **Tags:** estate plan, estate plan attorney, estate tax, guardianship, healthcare decisions, power of attorney, spouse --- ### [Power of Attorney - An Estate Plan’s Most Powerful Tool](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/power-of-attorney-an-estate-plans-most-powerful-tool/) **Published:** October 24, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![power of attorney](https://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/power-of-attorney.jpg "power of attorney - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/power-of-attorney.jpg) New clients often ask us to prepare wills and we prepare wills for most of our estate planning clients. We tell clients that wills are important to deal with the business of dying, but death is not usually the biggest issue. A debilitating stroke or other illness can make a power of attorney (often called a “POA”) much more important than a last will and testament. A last will and testament directs how a person’s personal representative should conduct the person’s business after the person’s death, but expenses of hospital treatment, ambulance transportation, and nursing home care can deplete a person’s assets, leaving no business for a last will and testament to address after the person’s death. An appropriate power of attorney allows a patient’s family or friends manage the patient’s health care and protect some of the patient’s assets during a health crisis. Some people think they can wait to make their powers of attorney later in life. We have heard too many people say that they do not need powers of attorney yet. Of course, that logic is almost as senseless as waiting to buy life insurance until after you die or waiting to buy health insurance until after you get sick. Powers of attorney differ in quality and effectiveness like almost everything else. Regardless of television advertisers’ claims, no Internet-based forms vendor can keep up with estate planning issues and state healthcare policies that change without warning almost every month. Likewise, regardless of how many best-selling books America’s favorite financial advisors may sell, most of them offer misleading estate planning advice. Most Indiana lawyers prepare powers of attorney that refer to the Indiana Power of Attorney Act, which appears in Indiana Code Article 30-5. Unfortunately, many experienced lawyers do not know the importance of overriding an obscure tax law provision in the Power of Attorney Act intended to protect very wealthy families with a disruptive asset transfer restriction (a limit of $14,000 in 2015). That hidden restriction strands many nursing home residents’ spouses and other family members without planning options. It is easy to override the Indiana statute, but a lawyer must know when and why to do so. It is increasingly common for naïve people to rely on estate planning software from retail stores or Internet sites to create powers of attorney. A downloaded power of attorney can do the trick occasionally, but most downloaded powers of attorney lack important details that elder law attorneys use to help manage nursing home residents ‘assets. When someone relies on a downloaded power of attorney, it is like taking someone else’s prescribed medicine – it may work or not work, but it may make the situation worse. Retail stores and the Internet are great places to buy computers and underwear because you can return them if they don’t work, but what good is a refund or exchange policy to someone disabled by stroke or Alzheimer’s disease if the power of attorney is underpowered or defective? There is a right way and a wrong way to prepare for future problems, and a skillful elder law attorney with estate planning expertise can make all the difference. Many people never change their estate plans after the ink dries, so they only give themselves one chance to get it right. [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Alzheimer's, Disability, Elder Law, Estate Planning, Gift, Health Insurance, Hospital, Last Will and Testament, Life Insurance, Nursing home, Power of Attorney, Stroke **Tags:** Alzheimer's, assets, estate, estate plan, hospital, Investment advisor, last will and testament, nursing home, power of attorney, spouse, stroke --- ### [Promissory Notes In Indiana Medicaid Planning](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/promissory-notes-medicaid-indiana/) **Published:** August 28, 2022 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/image-6.png "image-6 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/image-6.png)To get Medicaid benefits in Indiana, your income or assets cannot exceed the state’s Medicaid limits. If you don’t qualify because of having more assets than the state limits, you may have to pay out of pocket for your long-term care. Some people spend their assets on long-term care until they qualify, but there could be a better way. One of those ways is through a promissory note. # What Is A Promissory Note? A promissory note is a signed legal document that contains a written promise to pay a stated sum to a specific person or entity. For example, when you take out a mortgage, you also execute a promissory note, agreeing that you will pay the bank X amount of dollars over a period (e.g., 30 years). # Using A Promissory Note In Medicaid Planning Using a promissory note could enable you to get qualified for Medicaid. [](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/1396p)The three requirements for a promissory note to be Medicaid qualified are: 1. The loan term must not last longer than the anticipated life of the lender. 2. Payments must be made in equal amounts during the loan term. 3. The debt cannot be canceled at the lender’s death. ## First Element: Term Of The Loan [Federal law](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/1396p) provides that an excludable promissory note must have an actuarially sound repayment term. The actuarial soundness of the term is determined by actuarial publications of the Office of the Chief Actuary of the Social Security Administration (“Office of the Chief Actuary”). Here is the Office of the Chief Actuary’s [life table](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/NOTES/as120/LifeTables_Body.html). If the table says you only have 15 years left to live, then the promissory note must be for no longer than 15 years. If the promissory note has a term of 25 years, it may be found invalid and likely disqualify you from Medicaid. ## Second Element: Equal Payments [Federal law](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/1396p) provides that an excludable promissory note must have a repayment schedule of equal amounts during the entire term of the loan, with no deferrals or balloon payments. In other words, you cannot keep the payment low for the first 14.75 years and then have large payments for the last .25 years of the loan. Additionally, you cannot defer payments during the life of the loan because it may then become non-excludable and disqualify you from Medicaid. ## Third Element: No Debt Cancellation This element is likely the most straightforward as you cannot cancel the remaining debt for any reason, or you will be disqualified from Medicaid. # How Promissory Note Payments Are Calculated A promissory note payment is calculated as income for the Medicaid recipient, so it is essential to consider how that payment impacts your total monthly income. For example, suppose you are a single parent applying for nursing home Medicaid. You cannot exceed $2,523 in total income per month. You could get disqualified for benefits if the promissory note payment brings you above that point each month. To make sure that the promissory note is an effective Medicaid planning tool, contact an experienced Medicaid planning attorney about your situation. # Medicaid Planning Attorney In Indiana If you’re planning for Medicaid long-term care benefits, contact the Medicaid planning attorneys at Hawkins Elder Law. We can evaluate whether a promissory note is right for you. Contact us today by calling (812) 268-8777 or [online](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/) for an appointment. #### **About The Authors** Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). #### **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2022 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Medicaid **Tags:** Medicaid, Medicaid planner, nursing home, promissory notes --- ### [Indiana’s Continuing Medicaid Crisis](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/indianas-continuing-medicaid-crisis/) **Published:** August 29, 2024 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![This image depicts a managed-care entity making a business decision to prevent a disabled older man and a wheelchair from entering a nursing home.](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Disabled-older-man-blocked-from-entering-a-nusing-home-by-a-goverment-official-1024x585.png "Disabled older man blocked from entering a nursing home by an MCE official - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Disabled-older-man-blocked-from-entering-a-nusing-home-by-a-goverment-official.png)Changes in Indiana’s Medicaid system, which is supposed to help low-income seniors and disabled people, are creating serious problems. The changes are making life harder for people needing nursing home care or needing help staying at home. So, what’s behind Indiana’s continuing Medicaid crisis? ## **How Indiana’s Medicaid System Works** The average Indiana nursing home resident pays more than $90,000 per year for care. When people needing nursing home care or home health care run out of money, they often need Medicaid to help pay for their care. Applying for Medicaid is a complicated process. To qualify, seniors must provide a lot of information about their finances. This includes details about their income, any assets they own, and if they’ve given away any money or property in the past few years. Many people hire elder law attorneys to help them get the Medicaid benefits they need to pay nursing home bills and home health care costs. ## **Privatizing Indiana’s Medicaid System** Earlier this year, we wrote about Indiana’s big Medicaid changes (). Instead of the state managing everything, they handed over the job to private companies known as managed-care entities (MCEs). Indiana hired Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Humana Healthy Horizons, and United Healthcare Community Plan of Indiana to manage the Medicaid system as Indiana’s MCEs. The MCEs manage Medicaid applications for people in nursing homes through a program called PathWays. ### **Problems with Privatization** Unfortunately, Indiana has created a “perfect storm” of problems by turning over the Medicaid system to these private companies. Instead of improving the situation, Indiana’s continuing Medicaid crisis has gotten worse. ### **Incentives to Deny Applications** One of the big issues is that the state pays these MCEs to save money. This gives them a financial incentive to find reasons to deny Medicaid applications. It also encourages them to push people out of nursing homes if they can. The fewer people they have to cover, the more money they make. ### **Red Tape and Delays** By law, the state must process Medicaid applications within 45 days. However, the MCEs often make mistakes, and fixing these mistakes requires approval from state employees. This slow process is slow often leads to delays. As a result, MCE employees often deny Medicaid applicants for “failure to cooperate” to meet processing deadlines. ### **Long Waiting Lists** People applying for Medicaid to receive home and community-based services (HCBC) face even bigger problems. On July 1, the Director of Indiana’s Division on Aging said that the Division would take **a year** to process all the applications that were already on the waiting list before July 1, 2024. For those applying for the newly named Health & Wellness Waiver, the Division could take up to **2 ½ years** for their applications to be processed. ## **What Elder Law Attorneys Are Doing About Indiana’s Continuing Medicaid Crisis** Indiana’s Elder law attorneys in Indiana are monitoring the issues and sharing updates with each other daily. Our Indiana Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) advocates for elderly and disabled Hoosiers. We are pushing for new laws requiring the Division of Aging to fix the system. We want to ensure that seniors and disabled people get the help they need without facing unnecessary delays or denials. ## **Conclusion** The Medicaid system’s purpose is helping some of the state’s most vulnerable residents. But right now, the system is broken. With private companies running a poorly planned system, seniors and disabled people face more hurdles than ever before to get the care they need. Fortunately, elder law attorneys are working to address these issues and push for changes that will make the system better for everyone. ## **Where to Get More Information** If you want to learn more about this issue or need help with Medicaid, visit the Hawkins Elder Law Facebook page at or our website at [www.hawkinselderlaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com). You can also call us at 812-268-8777 for more assistance. ## **About the Authors** Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers, and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter, a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/), and a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba). Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). © Copyright 2024 Hawkins Elder Law PC. All rights reserved. See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on our website’s contents. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Assisted living, Assisted Living Waiver, Elder Law, Family and Social Services Administration, HCBS, Home and Community-Based Services, Home healthcare, Independent Living, Long-term care, Medicaid, Medicaid Planning Advice, Nursing home, Pathways, Uncategorized **Tags:** Indiana Pathways for Aging --- ### [Indiana’s Home Healthcare Crisis](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/indianas-home-healthcare-crisis/) **Published:** July 7, 2024 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** Most people prefer living at home rather than in a healthcare facility. However, a money shortage in Indiana’s Aged and Disabled Waiver program is pushing disabled Hoosier seniors into nursing homes. This Article describes Indiana’s home healthcare crisis and the difficult choices it’s forcing families to make. **Content:** [![This split-screen comparison image shows why people prefer home healthcare to nursing home care.](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Home-and-nursing-home-healthcare-split-screen-comparison-1-1024x585.png "Home and nursing home healthcare split-screen comparison - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Home-and-nursing-home-healthcare-split-screen-comparison-1.png)Most people prefer living at home rather than in a healthcare facility. However, a money shortage in Indiana’s Aged and Disabled Waiver program is pushing disabled Hoosier seniors into nursing homes. This Article describes Indiana’s home healthcare crisis and the difficult choices it’s forcing families to make. ## Indiana’s Home Healthcare System Congress established the home and community-based services (HCBS) program to help older people “age in place” at home without moving to nursing homes. Although Medicaid usually covers nursing home healthcare costs, the Aged & Disabled (A&D) waiver is an HCBS program that helps patients receive healthcare services at home. The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) manages the state’s A&D waiver program. ## FSSA’s Indiana’s Home Healthcare Crisis Announcements ### A&D Waiver Spending Increases The FSSA reported to the Indiana State Budget Committee on December 19, 2023, that its A&D waiver spending had contributed to an unexpected $900 million funding shortage ([https:// www.in.gov/sba/budget-committee/live-video/budget-committee-meeting-video-archives/sba-indiana-state-budget-committee-december-19,-2023/](https://www.in.gov/sba/budget-committee/live-video/budget-committee-meeting-video-archives/sba-indiana-state-budget-committee-december-19,-2023/)). ### COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Complication While Indiana’s home healthcare crisis began before the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), Federal PHE rules magnified the problem. Under those rules, states had to offer Medicaid benefits regardless of applicants’ eligibility (see [https://www.kff.org/medicaid/ issue-brief/payment-rates-for-medicaid-home-and-community-based-services-states-responses-to-workforce-challenges/](https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/payment-rates-for-medicaid-home-and-community-based-services-states-responses-to-workforce-challenges/) and ). ### FSSA’s Indiana’s Home Healthcare Crisis Recovery Plans In January, the FSSA published initial plans to solve its money shortage at [www.in.gov/fssa/ files/MedicaidForecastUpdatesandInitiatives.pdf](http://www.in.gov/fssa/files/MedicaidForecastUpdatesandInitiatives.pdf). ### Managed Care One FSSA strategy published at included hiring managed-care entities (MCEs) Anthem, Humana, and UnitedHealthcare to manage its nursing home and HCBS Medicaid systems. The plan requires choosing one of the MCEs’ benefits programs, like the tough choice of picking a Medicare Advantage plan. ### FSSA’s A&D Waiver Waiting List Indiana’s home healthcare crisis deepened in April when the FSSA announced it would place all new A&D waiver applicants on a waiting list. Sadly, the list forces disabled seniors’ families to make tough choices. Those who can afford it pay home healthcare costs unaided until they reach the top of the waiting list. However, patients may receive nursing home Medicaid benefits in less than two months. ## Murky Plans Despite requests from Indiana elder law attorneys for the plans’ details, the FSSA has responded slowly and incompletely. We will keep digging until the FSSA answers our questions. More Information Find more information about this and other topics at [www.hawkinselderlaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/blog/). You can also call us at 812-268-8777. About the Authors Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers, and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter, a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/), and a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba). Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). © Copyright 2024 Hawkins Elder Law PC. All rights reserved. See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on our website’s contents. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Aged and Disabled Waiver, Elder Law, HCBS, Home and Community-Based Services, Home healthcare, Medicaid **Tags:** elder law attorney, home healthcare, Medicaid, nursing home, Nursing home care --- ### [Benefits of Community Life for Seniors](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/benefits-of-community-life-for-seniors/) **Published:** April 12, 2024 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** Isolation among aging retirees can harm their social, cognitive, and physical well-being. However, seniors can improve their health and overall life experience through community involvement. Let's explore the downside of isolation on aging retirees and the benefits of community life for seniors through social and civic engagement. **Content:** [![Interactive older people share health and happiness](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Smiling-older-man-and-laughing-older-woman-as-they-leave-the-Senior-Center-with-Copyright-1024x585.png "Smiling older man and laughing older woman as they leave the Senior Center with Copyright - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Smiling-older-man-and-laughing-older-woman-as-they-leave-the-Senior-Center-with-Copyright.png)Isolation among aging retirees can harm their social, cognitive, and physical well-being. However, seniors can improve their health and overall life experience through community involvement. Let’s explore the downside of isolation on aging retirees and the benefits of community life for seniors through social and civic engagement. ## Negative Effects of Isolation on Aging Retirees Social isolation among aging retirees can lead to feelings of loneliness. Loneliness, in turn, can contribute to depression, anxiety, and even cognitive decline. The National Institute on Aging’s article, ***[Social isolation, loneliness in older people pose health risks](https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/social-isolation-loneliness-older-people-pose-health-risks)***, posted online at nih.gov on April 23, 2019, reported: > [Research](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23749730) has linked social isolation and loneliness to higher risks for a variety of physical and mental conditions: [high blood pressure](https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/high-blood-pressure), [heart disease](https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/heart-health-and-aging#heart-disease), [obesity](https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/maintaining-healthy-weight), a weakened immune system, anxiety, [depression](https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/depression-and-older-adults), [cognitive decline](https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/memory-and-thinking-whats-normal-and-whats-not), [Alzheimer’s disease](https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/alzheimers), and even death. Isolated retirees may experience a decline in brain function, leading to memory problems and decreased mental sharpness. Additionally, physical health can suffer due to a lack of mobility and activity, increasing the risk of chronic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. Moreover, isolation can increase existing health issues among aging retirees. Their isolation makes them less likely to seek medical attention or follow medical treatment plans. The absence of social connections also impacts emotional well-being, leading to a diminished sense of purpose and satisfaction in life. ## Church, Civic, and Social Engagement: Mental Health Benefits of Community Life Why should seniors engage in community activity? Church, civic, and social activities are key factors in a community’s social and economic health. However, they are also essential sources of mental health benefits of community life for seniors. While church and community events, volunteer work, and social strengthen local organizations, they also foster a sense of belonging and purpose. Social interactions stimulate the brain and help maintain healthy brain function. ## Physical Health Benefits of Community Life The benefits of community life include maintaining physical strength and overall health. Staying active and involved in the community promotes physical health and mobility. Exercise may include walking groups, fitness classes, or other recreational activities. Regular exercise can improve heart health, muscle strength, and balance, reducing the risk of falls and injuries. ## Autonomy and Independence Benefits of Community Life Everyone wants to live independently and control their lifestyles. Ironically, however, independence requires sharing community life with others. So, independence is one of the benefits of community life for seniors. Participating in civic activities allows aging retirees to contribute their skills, knowledge, and experiences to their communities, fostering a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment. By staying engaged, seniors can maintain a sense of independence and control while building strong connections with others. ## Conclusion Isolation can have serious negative effects on the social, mental, and physical health of aging retirees. The benefits of community life for seniors include maintaining their health and independence, enhancing their quality of life, and aging with dignity and purpose. ## MORE INFORMATION You can find other articles like this at [www.hawkinselderlaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/blog/). You can also call us at 812-268-8777 to schedule a conference by phone, videoconference, or in-person meeting. ## ABOUT THE AUTHORS Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers, and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter, a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/), and a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba). Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). © Copyright 2024 Hawkins Elder Law PC. All rights reserved. See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on our website’s contents. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Culture & Society, Elder Law, Health Care, Public Health, Quality of Life, Quality of life **Tags:** age-friendly communities, aging Hoosiers, aging retirees, Caregiver, chronic conditions, civic engagement, cognitive function, diabetes, heart disease, Independence, Independent Living, lack of mobility, Quality of Life --- ### [Updating Homeowner’s Insurance Coverage](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/updating-homeowners-insurance-coverage/) **Published:** March 28, 2024 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** If you haven’t reviewed your insurance coverage lately, you might find yourself out in the cold without enough to replace your home after a fire or storm. This article explains the need for updating homeowner’s insurance coverage and issues you might have overlooked. **Content:** [![Updating homeowner's insurance coverage protects against many disasters](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Stick-figure-people-fleeing-a-tornado-approaching-a-burning-house-1024x536.png "Stick figure people fleeing a tornado approaching a burning house - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Stick-figure-people-fleeing-a-tornado-approaching-a-burning-house.png)## Introduction Is your homeowner’s insurance coverage complete and up-to-date? You might think, “My insurance coverage is fine.” Tragically, a 2023 tornado destroyed homes on the Indiana and Illinois sides of the Wabash River and exposed some families’ insurance gaps the hard way. If you haven’t reviewed your insurance coverage lately, you might find yourself out in the cold without enough to replace your home after a fire or storm. This article explains the need for updating homeowner’s insurance coverage and issues you might have overlooked. ## **What is Homeowner’s Insurance?** As we explained in [Why Should You Buy Insurance?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/why-should-you-buy-insurance/), homeowner’s insurance is like a safety net for your home. If something bad happens, like a tree falls on your house or a burst pipe floods your living room, homeowner’s insurance helps pay for the repairs. It’s there to help you rebuild and repair without breaking the bank. ## **Why Update Your **Homeowner’s Insurance**** **Coverage?** Over time, things change. Your home might get upgrades, prices to rebuild homes might go up, or you might add a cool new shed in the backyard. All these changes can affect how much money you would need to fix or rebuild your home if something happens. That’s why it’s crucial to make sure your homeowner’s insurance coverage keeps up with the current replacement value of your home and other structures. ## **Understanding Replacement Value** Replacement value is how much it would cost to rebuild your home from scratch at today’s prices. It’s not the same as what you paid for your home or its current market value. It’s all about the cost of materials and labor to build a similar home right now. ## **How to Update Your **Homeowner’s Insurance**** **Coverage** **Review Annually:** Make it a habit to check your homeowner’s insurance coverage every year. Things change, and you want to be up-to-date. **Check Home Improvements:** If you’ve made any big upgrades or added new structures, let your insurance company know. These changes can increase the replacement value of your home. **Understand Local Costs:** Building costs can vary a lot depending on where you live. Make sure your coverage reflects the current costs in your area. **Use an Insurance Calculator:** Many insurance companies have tools to help estimate the replacement value of your home. These can be a great starting point. **Ask for a Professional Appraisal:** Sometimes, it’s good to get an expert’s opinion. A professional can provide a detailed estimate of your home’s replacement value. ## **Naming a Trust as an Added Insured Party** If a trust owns your property, it’s smart to name the trust as an “added insured” on your policy. Why? Because if something happens to your home, the trust is involved since it owns the property. By naming the trust, you make sure that the homeowner’s insurance covers the trust’s interest in the home. Just chat with your insurance agent about adding this to your policy. ## **Discuss ****Homeowner’s Insurance**** **Coverage**** **with Your Estate Planning Lawyer** Talking to an estate planning lawyer can also be a big help. They can guide you on how your insurance fits into your overall estate plan. For example, if you’ve set up a trust to manage your assets, your lawyer can help ensure that your insurance policy supports this plan. ## **Conclusion** Keeping your homeowner’s insurance updated might seem like just another task on your long to-do list, but it’s a crucial one. It’s all about protecting your home, your family, and your peace of mind. So, take a little time each year to review your coverage, make updates as needed, and chat with your insurance agent and estate planning lawyer. That way, you can rest easy knowing that if life throws you a curveball, your home is protected. Remember, your home is one of your most significant investments. Treat it with care and make sure your homeowner’s insurance coverage is always in line with its replacement value. Your future self will thank you! ## MORE INFORMATION Find more information about this and other topics at [www.hawkinselderlaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/blog/). You can also call us at 812-268-8777. ## ABOUT THE AUTHORS Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers, and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter, a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/), and a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba). Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). © Copyright 2024 Hawkins Elder Law PC. All rights reserved. See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on our website’s contents. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Estate Planning, Insurance **Tags:** estate plan, estate plan attorney, estate planning, estate planning lawyer, Homeowner's Insurance --- ### [Opening Online Accounts: Your Guide to Managing Finances](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/opening-online-accounts-your-guide-to-managing-finances-2/) **Published:** March 6, 2024 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![An older person can check their account balances with online accounts anytime and anywhere with the web connection.](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Woman-checking-her-bank-account-online-1-1024x585.png "Woman Checking Her Online Accounts - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Woman-checking-her-bank-account-online-1.png)In today’s digital age, managing your money through online accounts is not just convenient; it’s smart! Whether it’s shares of stock through CompuServe, life insurance policies, annuities, investments, or banking, going online makes it easier for you. Let’s break it down so you can see how easy and beneficial it can be. ## Why Should You Use Online Accounts to Manage Finances? Folks who’ve never used online accounts may ask, “Why use online accounts to manage finances?” You can still manage your accounts with paper forms at most banks, insurance companies, and other financial institutions. However, your financial institutions want you to move your business online to serve you faster, cheaper, and more securely. ### **The Benefits of Managing Your Finances in Online** **Accounts** **Convenience:** Do it anywhere, anytime. No need to wait in lines or rely on business hours. **Control:** You have real-time access to your accounts, allowing you to make quick decisions. **Safety:** Online platforms use strong security measures to protect your information. **Education:** Many platforms offer resources to help you understand your finances better. ## **Managing Shares of Stock with CompuServe** CompuServe keeps track of who holds the publicly traded shares of stock in a company owned by its investors. Think of shares like tiny pieces of a company. If you own a company’s shares, you can buy more shares, sell them, or give them to others. CompuServe’ website lets you do all those things in your CompuServe online account. ### **How to Start:** **Create an Account:** Go to the CompuServe website and sign up. **Learn the Basics:** They have guides and tutorials. Use them to understand how stocks work. **Start Small:** Begin with a small investment to see how it goes. If you already have stock from an employer or that you inherited, a CompuServe online account is a great way to manage your stock. ## **Life Insurance Policies Online** **Accounts** Life insurance pays money after your death to people you name on the insurance company’s records (See our articles on life insurance at ). Managing your life insurance online can make things a lot simpler. ### **Steps to Manage Online Accounts:** **Find Your Provider’s Website:** Log in or create a new account. **Check Your Policy Details:** Make sure all the information is correct. **Make Changes if Needed:** Update your beneficiaries or coverage amount easily. ## **Annuities Online** Annuities are like life insurance policies with savings account functions. Although immediate annuities can give you a check every month, deferred annuities grow without paying money until you withdraw the funds. Managing them online helps you keep track of how much money you have for the future. ### **How to Manage:** **Log Into Your Account:** Most companies that offer annuities have a website. **Review Your Annuity:** Check how much money is in there and how it’s growing. **Adjust if Necessary:** You might be able to change how your money is invested. ## **Online Investment Management** Investments can be anything from stocks, bonds, or even real estate. They can grow your money over time. You can look up the tax information about your investments in seconds on an online account. You can also change your investment plans very easily through your online account. ### **Starting Out:** **Choose a Platform:** There are lots of online platforms for investing. **Set Up Your Account:** Provide some basic information about yourself. **Decide on Your Investments:** Do some research or talk to a financial advisor. ## **Managing Bank Accounts Online** Probably the most common thing people manage online is their bank accounts. It’s super easy and lets you do almost everything without going to a bank. ### **How to Do It:** **Find Your Bank’s Website or App:** Download the app or go to their website. **Log In or Sign Up:** You’ll need some personal information to get started. **Start Managing Your Money:** Check your balance, transfer money, pay bills, and more! ## **Tips for Managing Your Online Accounts Safely** While online management is great, staying safe is crucial. Here are some tips: **Use Strong Passwords:** Make them long and unique. **Enable Two-Factor Authentication:** This adds an extra layer of security. **Check Your Accounts Regularly:** Look out for any unauthorized transactions. **Keep Your Software Updated:** This helps protect against security vulnerabilities. ## **Conclusion** Managing your finances online, whether it’s for stocks through CompuServe, life insurance, annuities, investments, or bank accounts, offers a world of convenience and control. It puts the power right in your hands. With the right precautions, you can safely manage your finances from the comfort of your home or anywhere else. So why wait? Start taking control of your financial future today! ## MORE INFORMATION Find more information about this and other topics at [www.hawkinselderlaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/blog/). You can also call us at 812-268-8777. ## ABOUT THE AUTHORS Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers, and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter, a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/), and a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba). Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). © Copyright 2024 Hawkins Elder Law PC. All rights reserved. See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on our website’s contents. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Annuity, Banking, Corporate Stock, Estate Planning, Financial Records, Investments, Life Insurance, Retirement Plan, Uncategorized **Tags:** annuities, bank accounts, CompuServe, Life insurance, Online Account Management, Online Accounts, Online Investment Management --- ### [Spendthrift, Special Needs, “Miller” & Other Protective Trusts](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/spendthrift-special-needs-miller-other-protective-trusts/) **Published:** January 12, 2018 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![This photo portrays 3 generations of a family. Different trusts serve different generations' needs.](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Three-generation-family-on-veranda-by-Air-Images-Shutterstock-photo-ID-217373719-1-1024x683.jpg "Three generation family on veranda, by Air Images, Shutterstock photo ID 217373719 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Three-generation-family-on-veranda-by-Air-Images-Shutterstock-photo-ID-217373719-1.jpg)There’s a trust for every generation, but one trust may not serve all generations correctly. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Trusts are tools that estate planning lawyers use to solve or avoid money management and property management problems for clients. Protective trusts protect assets from problems plaguing the trusts’ beneficiaries. Protective trusts are increasingly common as lawyers and clients focus on solving problems that do not necessarily involve the clients directly. This article introduces some kinds of protective trusts to help people recognize and understand them. A “spendthrift” trust is a trust for a beneficiary plagued by financial or legal problems. The beneficiary may receive some benefits from the trust, but the beneficiary cannot squander the assets, nor can the beneficiary’s creditors take the assets away. People make spendthrift trusts to prevent their family members from losing inheritance because of legal or financial problems such as unstable marriages, employment disruptions, or financial irresponsibility. A special needs trust enables a trustee to use assets for a beneficiary before or after the beneficiary becomes disabled without disqualifying the beneficiary for public assistance benefits like SSI or Medicaid. There are three basic kinds of special needs trusts in Indiana: (1) spousal testamentary special needs trusts, (2) third-party settled special needs trusts, and (3) self-settled special needs trusts. A spousal testamentary special needs trust protects a deceased person’s assets from a disabled surviving spouse’s long-term health care expenses. Couples often make wills with testamentary trusts for each other in case one person requires nursing home care after the other person’s death. If both spouses are healthy when they make their plan, they may divide their assets to direct each person’s share of assets into a trust for the other person’s benefit, thereby protecting at least 50% of the assets in case the surviving spouse requires nursing home care. If one spouse is already in a nursing home, the other spouse may own all of the couple’s assets and protect the assets with a spousal testamentary special needs trust for the disabled spouse. The trust must be part of a last will and testament, because federal law offers no asset protection for revocable trusts (the typical trust with which most people are familiar, sometimes referred to as a “living” trust). A third-party settled special needs trust is a trust that a person can make in his or her will or trust to provide assets for a disabled beneficiary without disrupting the beneficiary’s public assistance benefits eligibility. A third-party settled special needs trust resembles a spendthrift trust, but usually has additional language to direct how a trustee should distribute money for the beneficiary’s benefit so that the distributions do not disrupt public assistance benefits eligibility. A self-settled special needs trust allows a disabled person to receive an inheritance, personal injury lawsuit settlement distribution, or other source of assets without disrupting the disabled person’s public assistance benefits. The most critical requirement for a self-settled special needs trust is that it must distribute any assets that remain in the trust after the beneficiary’s death to the state. A “Miller” trust is a form of self-settled special needs trust designed for nursing home residents with excessive income (in 2018, monthly gross income exceeding $2,250). Indiana Medicaid rules disqualify nursing home residents with excessive income, but a Miller trust can help a high-income nursing home resident achieve Medicaid eligibility. For example, if a nursing home resident receives more than $3,000 of combined monthly pension and Social Security benefits, the resident can become eligible by transferring at least $750 per month to a Miller trust, which the trustee will pay to the nursing home (yes, the system is as goofy as that sounds, but it works). The payment to the Miller trust effectively reduces the countable income down to the income limitation, thereby qualifying the nursing home resident for Medicaid benefits. Protective trusts are powerful asset protection tools. Experienced estate planning and elder law attorneys use those tools to help clients protect assets for their families. Protective trusts will become increasingly common as more people discover the value of expert estate planning. [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2018 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Community spouse, Elder Law, Estate Planning, Last Will and Testament, Medicaid, Miller trust, Nursing home, Protective Trust, Special needs trust, Testamentary Trust **Tags:** elder law attorney, estate plan attorney, estate planning, Medicaid, nursing home, Protective Trusts, special needs trust, trusts, wills --- ### [POD AND TOD PITFALLS AND OPPORTUNITIES](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/pod-and-tod-pitfalls-and-opportunities/) **Published:** February 8, 2024 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![A gumball machine full of money representing a pay on death bank account](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/People-around-a-POD-bank-account-gumball-machine-full-of-money.png "People around a POD bank account gumball machine full of money - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/People-around-a-POD-bank-account-gumball-machine-full-of-money.png)Did you know that Hoosiers can cause their money and property to pass after death to their family members through pay on death (POD) and transfer on death (TOD) arrangements? This Article explains POD and TOD ownership and the POD and TOD pitfalls and opportunities. ## POD and TOD Beneficiary Designations Indiana’s Transfer on Death Property Act lets Hoosiers pass their money, homes, farms, vehicles, and other assets to beneficiaries after death with simple POD and TOD beneficiary designations. While POD and TOD mean nearly the same thing, POD causes a bank to **pay** money on the owner’s death, and TOD directs the **transfer** of investment accounts vehicles, land, and other TOD assets upon the owner’s death. ## POD and TOD Pitfalls and Opportunities ### Greedy POD and TOD Beneficiaries POD or TOD designation works well when the beneficiary is the owner’s only child. However, we wrote in our last blog article about the problem of greedy people in joint tenancies with rights of survivorship (see ). Likewise, if selfish POD and TOD beneficiaries don’t chip in to pay bills, they will leave other beneficiaries stuck paying the bills. ### How POD and TOD Beneficiary Designations Usually Work A deceased beneficiary’s share of their parent’s or grandparent’s POD or TOD asset passes to the deceased beneficiary’s children. If the deceased beneficiary’s child is also deceased, the asset passes down the family tree to the next generation of descendants. ### Avoiding Accidental Disinheritance An unexpected problem can occur if a deceased beneficiary was not the owner’s child or other descendant. In that case, the deceased beneficiary’s children would receive nothing. If an owner wants to name a niece, nephew, or other non-descendant as a beneficiary, the owner can add “LDPS” (lineal descendants *per stirpes*) after the beneficiary’s name. The wording of that beneficiary listing may look like this: “\[Owner Name\], POD \[Beneficiary Name\] LDPS.” Then, if the beneficiary dies and the owner doesn’t update the beneficiary listing before dying, the asset will go to the deceased beneficiary’s descendants. ## What Should Bankers and Financial Advisors Tell Customers About POD and TOD Pitfalls and Opportunities? Smart representatives of banks and other financial institutions should discourage customers from making joint accounts with non-spouse family members without advice from reputable estate planning lawyers. Similarly, banks and investment advisors should discourage designating individual POD or TOD beneficiaries without sound legal advice. ## MORE INFORMATION Find more information about this and other topics at [www.hawkinselderlaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/blog/). You can also call us at 812-268-8777. ## ABOUT THE AUTHORS Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers, and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter, a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/), and a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba). Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). © Copyright 2024 Hawkins Elder Law PC. All rights reserved. See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on our website’s contents. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Estate Planning, Pay on Death, POD, TOD, Transfer on Death **Tags:** beneficiary designations, estate plan, estate plan attorney, pay on death, POD, TOD, transfer on death --- ### [JOINT TENANTS (JTEN) AND HIDDEN JTEN HEADACHES AND HEARTACHES](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/joint-tenants-jten-and-hidden-jten-headaches-and-heartaches/) **Published:** December 31, 2023 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Like people in a three-legged race, JTEN parties are bound to each other until one dies unless they end their shared JTEN ownership sooner](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Three-Legged-Race-JTEN-Analogy-e1703980432550.png "Three-Legged Race JTEN Analogy - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Three-Legged-Race-JTEN-Analogy-e1703980432550.png)*JTEN parties are tied to each other like in a 3 legged race *until** *one dies or they stop the JTEN*Does your name appear with someone on a bank or investment account? If so, you and the other people may be joint tenants with rights of survivorship (JTEN). Indiana law refers to people sharing a JTEN account as “parties.” This article discusses why people make JTEN accounts and some hidden JTEN headaches and heartaches. ## WHY MAKE JTEN ACCOUNTS? Many folks make JTEN accounts for when they get sick or die. They hope the other JTEN parties will help pay bills during their illness or after their death. Sadly, most of them don’t know they can get better results with a power of attorney (POA) without losing control of their money (see our POA articles at or enter “power of attorney” in the search field at for more POA details). ## The Four JTEN PROBLEMS While JTEN accounts are great for happily married couples, they can cause four problems in other cases. ### **1. Control** A person gives up control by making a JTEN account because they can’t remove another party without their written consent. Any account party can sign checks and withdraw money. That may not be a problem if both account parties are on the “same page.” However, if the parties don’t agree, the other party can take all the money against the main party’s will. Although the main party can withdraw the money and open a new account, the main party can’t close the account without the other party’s consent. Also, if the bank charges fees because the account value is too small, both parties will owe 100% of the fees. ### **2. Beneficiaries’ Creditors** What if a JTEN party has debt problems? Can their creditors try to take the money to pay the debts? Creditors will fail if the main party proves they deposited all the money in the account. Still, the best way to win a fight is to avoid it. So, making a JTEN account with anyone other than your spouse is usually unwise. ### **3. Selfish Survivors** Good JTEN parties often pay more than their share of bills after the main party’s death. In contrast, selfish JTEN parties take their money without paying their share of the dead party’s bills. ### **4. Unintended Disinheritance** Suppose you and another JTEN party die in an accident, and the other JTEN parties live. If a dead JTEN party left the surviving children, the other JTEN parties would get the money, leaving nothing for the dead JTEN party’s children. ## FINANCIAL SERVICE PROVIDERS’ ROLES Bankers and Investment advisors should tell customers to get advice from an estate planning lawyer before making JTEN accounts with people not their spouses. Folks should also get legal advice before making others beneficiaries of IRAs, life insurance policies, and other accounts. ## MORE INFORMATION In a future article about choosing people to receive IRAs, life insurance policies, and other accounts, we will share more on concerns like these. Find more information about this and other topics at [www.hawkinselderlaw.com/blog](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/blog/ "www.hawkinselderlaw.com/blog"). You can also call us at 812-268-8777. ## ABOUT THE AUTHORS Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers, and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter, a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/), and a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba). Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). © Copyright 2024 Hawkins Elder Law PC. All rights reserved. See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on our website’s contents. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Estate Planning, Investment Advisor, Investments, Joint Bank Account, JTEN, Pay on Death, POD, Power of Attorney, Rights of Survivorship, TOD, Transfer on Death --- ### [Elder Law Attorneys’ Medicaid Services: Knowledge and Ethics](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/elder-law-attorneys-medicaid-services-knowledge-and-ethics/) **Published:** December 16, 2023 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Jeff-Hawkins-speaking-to-a-class-of-lawyers.jpg "Jeff Hawkins speaking to a class of lawyers - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Jeff-Hawkins-speaking-to-a-class-of-lawyers.jpg) Elder law attorneys’ Medicaid services are essential for many older people needing long-term care. Sadly, Medicaid misinformation leads many people to pay too much money or needlessly avoid essential care. Part of the misinformation comes from unlicensed companies claiming to be “Medicaid specialists” that offer “senior planning services.” This Article explains why people should seek elder law attorneys’ Medicaid services when their family members experience long-term health problems. ## Misinformation about Medicaid and Nursing Homes These are some of the misunderstandings and false beliefs many people have about nursing home care and Medicaid: - Homeowners can’t qualify for Medicaid. - The spouses of married nursing home residents can’t have IRAs. - Nursing homes or the state “take” people’s homes. - Transferring property to your spouse disqualifies you for Medicaid for 5 years. While some of the above-listed statements are true in some cases, some of them are false, and others only apply in certain cases. ## Unlicensed “Elder Care Advocates” and “Senior Planning Services” Providers These are 4 reasons not to hire an unlicensed company for senior planning services: 1. No rules require an unlicensed company’s employees to study Medicaid law and policy changes. 2. No ethics rules hold an unlicensed company’s employees responsible for bad behavior. 3. An unlicensed company can’t advise on safely protecting assets with lawful gifts. 4. An unlicensed person who advises and assists in gifts and other asset protection strategies is a criminal acting in the business of a practicing lawyer under [Indiana Code Section 33-43-2-1](https://iga.in.gov/laws/2023/ic/titles/33#33-43-2-1). ## Elder Law Attorneys’ Medicaid Services: Knowledge and Ethics Indiana’s best elder law attorneys spend at least 6 classroom hours annually and 36 hours every 3 years studying Medicaid and long-term care subjects. Also, the Indiana Supreme Court’s [Rules of Professional Conduct](https://www.in.gov/courts/rules/prof_conduct/index.html) require all Indiana attorneys to serve their clients ethically. ## Elder Law Attorneys’ Medicaid Services Protect People’s Property Elder law attorneys’ Medicaid services help older people afford care in their homes and nursing homes. Using their deep and current knowledge of Medicaid laws and policies, elder law attorneys often help: - Homeowners qualify for Medicaid. - The spouses of married nursing home residents keep IRAs, homes, and other property. - Use lawful gift plans to protect unmarried nursing home residents’ property. ## MORE INFORMATION Find more information about this and other elder law topics at [www.hawkinselderlaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/blog/) and use the “contact us” link or call us at 812-268-8777 to schedule an initial meeting appointment. ## ABOUT THE AUTHORS Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers, and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter, a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/), and a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba). Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). © Copyright 2023 Hawkins Elder Law PC. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on our website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Uncategorized --- ### [Inflation, Interest, and Savings Bonds](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/inflation-interest-and-savings-bonds/) **Published:** November 29, 2023 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/US-Treasury-Building-1024x534.jpg "US Treasury Building - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/US-Treasury-Building.jpg)United States Treasury Building in Washington DC## Introduction US Savings Bonds are traditionally secure and dependable investments. They offer great opportunities to save money while supporting the federal government’s funding needs. However, it’s important to understand how inflation and rising interest rates affect US Savings Bonds. This Article discusses inflation, interest, and savings bonds, and why some banks reject paper savings bonds. ## The Relationship of Inflation, Interest, and Savings Bonds Inflation signifies a general price surge, leading to a decrease in money’s purchasing power. This devaluation affects your savings’ purchasing power, and US Savings Bonds, particularly Series EE and Series I Bonds, respond differently to inflation and interest rate fluctuations. Higher interest rates are often a strategy to counteract inflation, implemented by the Federal Reserve—the US central banking system. By increasing interest rates, borrowing becomes more expensive, reducing spending and, subsequently, inflation. However, this scenario can also influence the returns on US Savings Bonds. **Series EE Bonds**: These bonds are bought at half their face value and mature over 20 years to their full-face value. The interest rate of Series EE Bonds is fixed for the bond’s lifespan. Purchasing a Series EE Bond during a period of low interest rates sticks you with bonds paying low interest rates even if the rates increase later, making it less appealing than other high-return investments. **Series I Bonds**: Crafted to provide inflation protection, Series I Bonds have a fixed interest rate and a variable rate adjusted semi-annually based on inflation. As inflation escalates, so does the interest rate on Series I Bonds, enhancing their appeal as an investment during high-inflation periods. ## Understanding Series EE and Series I US Savings Bonds Series EE and Series I Bonds are both low-risk investments guaranteed by the US government, but they possess distinct differences crucial for investors to consider. Series EE Bonds guarantee a doubling of their value after 20 years, equating to a minimum interest rate of 3.5%. However, if the fixed rate at purchase time increases, investors receive that higher rate. Series EE Bonds are an excellent choice for long-term savings, provided interest rates remain stable. Conversely, a low-interest Series EE Bond loses its appeal if interest rates rise. In contrast, Series I Bonds offer a safeguard against inflation, combining a fixed rate with an inflation-adjusted rate for potentially higher returns during inflationary periods. They are best for investors aiming to maintain their purchasing power. ## Why Many US Banks No Longer Cash Savings Bonds Historically, redeeming US Savings Bonds was a straightforward process at local banks. However, numerous banks have recently discontinued this service, citing fraud concerns and the labor-intensive nature of handling bonds. As explained by Rob Copeland from The New York Times in an American Public Media “Marketplace” podcast interview,[\[1\]](#_ftn1) the complexity and delays in the government’s bond cashing process and the manual effort required by banks have made the service impractical for many banks. This shift underscores the importance of managing your savings bonds through TreasuryDirect, providing convenience and necessity in the modern financial landscape. While redeeming paper bonds via mail remains an option, the online process is much faster and more efficient. ## Converting Paper Bonds to Digital Bonds The US Treasury has transitioned to issuing electronic savings bonds, phasing out paper bonds. Nevertheless, many individuals still possess paper bonds. Converting your paper bonds to digital format through the TreasuryDirect program enhances investment management and ensures investment security. A paper-to-digital savings bond conversion also avoids the problem of cashing paper bonds.[\[2\]](#_ftn2) So, we recommend converting paper bonds to digital bonds as soon as possible. ## Conclusion Grasping how inflation and rising interest rates influence US Savings Bonds is vital for informed investment decisions. Series EE and Series I Bonds present varied benefits and risks, with the appropriate choice depending on your financial objectives and the prevailing economic conditions. Transitioning from paper to digital bonds ensures secure and efficient investment management, aligning with the ongoing shift toward digital transactions. Navigating these uncertain economic times requires knowledge and awareness of your investment choices, ensuring you are well-equipped to make sound decisions for your financial future. By staying informed and proactive, you can optimize your investment strategy and navigate the complexities of inflation, interest rates, and US Savings Bonds with confidence. ## MORE INFORMATION Find more information about this and other topics at [www.hawkinselderlaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/blog/). You can also call us at 812-268-8777. ## ABOUT THE AUTHORS Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers, and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter, a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/), and a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba). Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). © Copyright 2023 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on our website’s contents.\] --- [\[1\]](#_ftnref1) () [\[2\]](#_ftnref2) For a comprehensive guide on converting paper bonds to digital, visit our detailed article . ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Uncategorized --- ### [Convert to Digital Savings Bonds: It's Easy and Safe](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/convert-to-digital-savings-bonds-its-easy-and-safe/) **Published:** September 13, 2023 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** If you have paper US Savings bonds, it's a smart move to convert to digital savings bonds. It makes managing your savings easier now and simplifies things for your family later. **Content:** [![Digital Savings Bonds Are Easier and Safer](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Cartoon-of-a-person-overwhelmed-by-stacks-of-US-Savings-Bonds-1-1024x848.png "Overwhelmed by Paper US Savings Bonds - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Cartoon-of-a-person-overwhelmed-by-stacks-of-US-Savings-Bonds-1.png)Convert to Digital Savings BondsConvert to Digital Savings Bonds# What are US Savings Bonds? US Savings Bonds are government-backed investments that grow over time. They’re a good way to save money for the future. You may have some paper savings bonds, which look like fancy certificates. But did you know you can make them digital? If you have paper US Savings bonds, it’s a smart move to convert to digital savings bonds. It makes managing your savings easier now and simplifies things for your family later. # Why Digital? ## Digital Savings Bonds Are Easy to Manage When your savings bonds are electronic, it’s easy to keep an eye on them. You can log in to check your balance anytime. No more flipping through paper bonds to see what you have! ## Digital Savings Bonds Art Safer Electronic bonds are safer because they’re in your online account. So, you won’t have to worry about losing them or damaging them like paper bonds. ## Help Your Family One day, when you’re not around, your family will have to handle your estate. Having your bonds in an electronic form will make it easier for them. # How to Convert Paper Savings Bonds 1\. **Create an Account:** Go to the TreasuryDirect website () and sign up for an account. 2\. **Identify Your Bonds:** Collect your paper bonds and list the important details like series, denomination, and issue date. 3\. **Mail the Bonds:** Once your account is ready and your bonds are listed, you’ll need to mail them to the US Treasury for conversion. 4\. **Confirm:** After a few weeks, log in to your TreasuryDirect account to make sure all your bonds are now electronic. # Estate Benefits: Make Life Easier for Loved Ones Switching to electronic bonds isn’t just good for you; it’s also good for your loved ones. They won’t have to figure out where your paper bonds are or how to cash them. This will make managing your estate much easier after you’re gone. # Final Thoughts If you have US Savings Bonds in paper form, consider converting them to an electronic account. This simple switch can make your life and the lives of your family members much easier in the long run. Why not simplify your estate today? It’s one of the best gifts you can give your family for the future. # MORE INFORMATION Find more information about this and other topics at [www.hawkinselderlaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/blog/). You can also call us at 812-268-8777. # ABOUT THE AUTHORS Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers, and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter, a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/), and a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba). Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). © Copyright 2023 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on our website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Banking, Digital Assets, Estate, Estate Planning, Financial Records, US Savings Bonds **Tags:** digital savings bonds, electronic bonds, Government-backed, paper bonds, TreasuryDirect, US savings bonds --- ### [Organizing Records and Information for Estate Planning](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/organizing-records-and-information-for-estate-planning/) **Published:** August 7, 2023 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** Estate planning is an essential but complex process, encompassing various financial, legal, and personal decisions. Organizing records and information properly can make this process smoother and more efficient. This article offers tips and links to helpful checklists to prepare for estate planning. **Content:** [![This couple is gathering documents or the initial meeting with their estate planning lawyer](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Cartoon-couple-sorting-documents-on-a-table-1024x848.png "Cartoon couple sorting documents on a table - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Cartoon-couple-sorting-documents-on-a-table.png)Estate planning is an essential process involving many financial, legal, and personal decisions. Organizing records and information properly can make this process smoother and more efficient. We get many questions about storing and organizing records at our public speaking events, so this article offers tips and links to helpful checklists and questionnaires to prepare for estate planning. ## 1. Organizing Essential Records and Information for Estate Planning A well-organized estate plan starts with gathering all necessary documents and information. Records and information for estate planning include wills, trusts, property deeds, investment documents, and more. websites offer valuable tips and resources to help you organize these documents effectively. While it may seem easy, most people are less organized than they believe. However, a checklist or questionnaire designed for estate planning can guide you through this process. Families of nursing home residents and people interested in updating their estate plans can download checklists and questionnaires from our website at . ## 2. Create a Digital Archive In today’s tech-savvy world, having digital copies of essential records is crucial. Scanning and storing these in a secure digital archive ensures that they are easily accessible when needed. While home computer storage is a good start, risks of fire and storm damage make it risky to store everything in just one location. So, we encourage folks to use Microsoft’s OneDrive, Google Drive, or one of the many other affordable cloud-based storage solutions. ## 3. Designate a Trusted Person Appointing a trustworthy individual who knows where all your information is stored and how to access it can be a lifeline in emergency situations. Whether a family member, a friend, or a professional, they act on your behalf when needed. ## 4. Consult Professionals Estate planning is a legal matter that requires expert guidance. Speaking with an estate planning attorney can ensure that your plan complies with current laws and meets your specific needs. ## Conclusion Organizing records and information for estate planning is an essential step in preparing for the future and protecting your legacy. Although we could say much more, we hope this article helps you streamline the process. ## More Information For more information on this subject, see these previous Hawkins Elder Law Blog articles: ; ; and . You can also contact us online at or call us at 812-268-8777. ## About The Authors Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers, and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter, a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/), and a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba). While both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), Jeff Hawkins is also admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). © Copyright 2023 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on our website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Estate Planning, Personal Business Records **Tags:** cloud-based storage, estate plan, Estate plan documents checklist, estate plan intake questionnaire, estate planning, estate planning attorney, Financial records, investment documents, Legacy, medical records, nursing home, property deeds, trusts, wills --- ### [Buying Life Insurance For Children?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/buying-life-insurance-for-children/) **Published:** July 5, 2023 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![This cartoon baby's life insurance policy is a poor investment of money that could help finance the baby's education.](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Cartoon-sketch-of-a-baby-holding-a-life-insurance-policy-1024x536.png "Baby Holding a Life Insurance Policy © Hawkins Elder Law 2023 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Cartoon-sketch-of-a-baby-holding-a-life-insurance-policy.png)Is children’s life insurance a smart investment for your family? As we previously wrote in the Hawkins Elder Law Blog (), a life policy is an important safety net for some people. However, this article explains why life insurance for children may be a poor investment. ## Life Insurance Purpose and Investment Performance ### Life Insurance Purpose A life policy can help replace a dead breadwinner’s income to help the policyholder’s children endure income loss more easily. Young children don’t usually earn much income, so the income replacement purpose does not apply to kids’ life insurance policies. ### Children’s Life Insurance Investment Performance Life insurance policies for children are not sensible investment options. Traditional policies grow at a fixed rate, while variable policies are tied to an investment portfolio’s performance. Regardless, a diversified investment portfolio or even some high-yield savings accounts may outperform these policies’ returns. Plus, high inflation rates undermine fixed-rate and variable policies’ growth performance. Administrative costs consume significant portions of the insurance premiums. In comparison, low-cost index funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs) generally have lower fees and may provide better returns. ### Funding College Savings with Life Insurance Policies Some agents suggest buying life insurance for children to fund their college costs. However, dedicated college savings plans like 529 college savings plans and Coverdell Education Savings Accounts offer state income tax deductions and tax-sheltered growth. ### Children’s Life Insurance Policies’ Poor Odds Consider the risk factor before insuring a child’s life. While a child’s death is tragic, a child’s death is statistically unlikely. Those bad odds make life insurance for children unjustifiable. ## Exposure to Nursing Home Costs When elderly parents need nursing home care, long-term care costs often push them to surrender life insurance policies for their cash values. So, holding their children’s life insurance policies is like burning money as fireplace kindling in those cases. ## Probate Estate Administration Although effective estate planning would help, children’s life policies are often tied up in their deceased parents’ estates. ## MORE INFORMATION See more discussions of life insurance and other investment alternatives at: - - - - - ## ABOUT THE AUTHORS Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba), and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). You can also call us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2023 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on our website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** 529 plan, Investments, Life Insurance, Nursing home, Uncategorized **Tags:** estate planning, nursing home --- ### [You Should Contact a Lawyer When…](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/you-should-contact-a-lawyer-when/) **Published:** June 8, 2023 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![You should contact a lawyer when you encounter major life events](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Pencil-sketch-of-a-man-and-woman-signing-loan-documents-at-a-bank.png "Pencil sketch of a man and woman signing loan documents at a bank - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Pencil-sketch-of-a-man-and-woman-signing-loan-documents-at-a-bank.png)Folks ask us when they should contact us after we’ve helped them make or update their estate plans. So, when should you contact a lawyer? You should contact a lawyer when you encounter major life events. This Article explains why you should seek legal advice before buying or selling a home or business, upon the death of a family member, or in a health crisis that requires hospitalization or nursing home care. ## You Should Contact a Lawyer Before Buying or Selling a Home or Business A home or business sale or purchase is a major life event. While buyers and sellers often feel pressured to act quickly, they should remember the old saying, “The devil is in the details.” You should contact a lawyer when buying or selling a home or business to ensure your deal runs smoothly and avoid expensive problems. The stakes increase for a buyer or seller who has made a will or trust or whose spouse faces a health crisis. So, You should contact a lawyer **BEFORE** calling a realtor or lender about a sale or purchase to avoid forfeiting key rights and opportunities in your sale or purchase deal. ## You Should Contact a Lawyer When a Family Member Dies You should contact a lawyer when a family member has died. Trust and estate lawyers help navigate the complex legal process. Your trust and estate lawyer can help you manage assets, pay debts, distribute assets to beneficiaries, and avoid disputes. ## You Should Contact a Lawyer in a Health Crisis Health crises affect everyone and time is everyone’s enemy. You should contact a lawyer when you or a loved one needs hospital care to understand patients’ rights and ensure you receive and can afford the best possible care. Elder lawyers help people understand and exercise their legal rights. You should contact a lawyer immediately if a health crisis may require nursing home care. Healthcare providers train employees to care for patients, but they don’t train employees to give asset-protection advice or help protect assets. Elder lawyers explain long-term healthcare laws and help families protect assets from long-term care costs. ## Conclusion Timing is everything because it’s hard for a busy, skillful lawyer to get involved in a matter on short notice. So, you should contact a lawyer when you first encounter these situations to give the lawyer time to help you navigate complex legal issues confidently. ## About the Authors Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active in the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA)’s Indiana Chapter. Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba), and served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). ## More Information If you find this article useful, you may also be interested in our [Estate Planning](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/estate-planning/), [Expect Good Lawyer’s Questions](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/expect-good-lawyers-questions/), and [Selling an Indiana Home Without a Realtor? (Part 2)](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/selling-an-indiana-home-without-a-realtor-part-2/) articles Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). You can also call us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2023 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on our website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Uncategorized --- ### [Why Should You Buy Insurance?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/why-should-you-buy-insurance/) **Published:** May 8, 2023 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Illustration of a house, car, paper currency, a faceless person, an insurance policy, and an ink pen](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Insurance-policy-house-car-and-pen-shutterstock_785166724.jpg "Insurance-policy-house-car-and-pen-shutterstock_785166724 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Insurance-policy-house-car-and-pen-shutterstock_785166724.jpg)Why buy insurance? What kinds of insurance do you need? This Article discusses homeowner’s, automobile, and life insurance and why you might need some. ## Homeowner’s Insurance Homeowner’s insurance protects homeowners against financial loss from damage to their property or liability claims made against them. The protection covers losses or damages caused by theft, fire, vandalism, or natural disasters like the tornado that destroyed homes and businesses in Sullivan and other parts of the country on March 31, 2023. It can also cover personal belongings and medical expenses for anyone injured on the property. Every homeowner should insure the replacement value of the home and the personal belongings inside the home. ## Automobile Insurance Automobile insurance protects drivers and vehicle owners against financial losses involving vehicles. Indiana requires a driver to maintain liability insurance coverage for damages and injuries caused to others by the driver’s negligence. However, the law does not require coverage to repair or replace the driver’s vehicle. Most “full coverage” policies cover the costs of vehicle repairs or replacement, medical expenses, and liability claims. Some policies include uninsured or underinsured motorists, roadside assistance, and rental car expenses. ## Life Insurance Life insurance pays beneficiaries a “death benefit” when the insured person dies. Term life insurance provides coverage for a specific period, while permanent life insurance coverage lasts for the insured person’s lifetime. Policy beneficiaries can use the death benefit to pay the deceased person’s funeral costs and unpaid debts, or future expenses that would be difficult to pay without the death benefit. Most full-service financial advisors say life insurance is a poor wealth-building tool, and debt-free people with enough money to pay unpaid expenses after their deaths may not need it. We wrote about this subject in more detail in our [Life Insurance Estate Planning Tips](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/life-insurance-estate-planning-tips/) article. ## Conclusion Now, ask yourself, “Why buy insurance?” Insurance shifts an insurance customer’s financial burden of unpredictable future costs to the insurance company. So, you should pay an insurance company now for its payment of costs caused by things you don’t want to happen to you, your family, or your property in the future. ## About the Authors Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba), and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). ## More Information Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). You can also call us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2023 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on our website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Life Insurance, Real Estate, Uncategorized **Tags:** Homeowner's Insurance, Life insurance --- ### [What Assets Qualify You For Long Term Care Medicaid In Indiana?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/asset-limits-medicaid-indiana/) **Published:** August 29, 2022 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/image-7.png "image-7 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/image-7.png)Indiana Medicaid may be able to cover your nursing home care, assisted living care, or in-home care. But your assets will play an essential role in whether Medicaid will cover these services. When you apply for Medicaid in Indiana, you must disclose your assets. If your assets exceed the state’s asset limits, you may have trouble qualifying for Medicaid. # What Are Assets? [Assets](https://www.in.gov/iltcp/medicaid/assets-and-income/) (called *resources* in Indiana Medicaid) include cash, savings, investments, and property. Assets are different from income (money that you receive. Assets are things you own. ## How Does Medicaid Determine Asset Limits For Long-Term Care In Indiana In 2022? Long-term care Medicaid mainly concerns coverage in nursing homes and through home and community-based services. If you are married but just you apply for nursing home Medicaid, then your asset limit is $2,000, and your spouse’s asset limit is $137,400. If you and your spouse apply for nursing home Medicaid, the total asset limit for you and your spouse is $3,000. If you are single and apply for nursing home Medicaid, your asset limit is $2,000. ## Do All Assets Count Toward The Asset Limit For Long Term Care Medicaid In Indiana? Not all of your assets will count toward Medicaid’s asset total. If you want to apply for long-term care Medicaid in Indiana, many assets likely won’t count toward your asset limit. These are exempt assets. In Indiana, exempt assets could include your car, personal possessions like furniture, and certain types of trusts. Your house may be exempt if its equity (the money that represents the ownership value of your home, not the amount due on a mortgage) does not exceed Medicaid’s limit of $636,000. ## What Assets Count Toward The Asset Limit For Long Term Care Medicaid In Indiana? When you apply for long-term care Medicaid in Indiana, your cash, investments, savings, and checking accounts will likely count toward your total assets. Also, if you own property that is not your home—like a vacation home—it may count as an asset for long-term care Medicaid. ## What If Your Assets Are Above The Long-Term Care Medicaid Asset Limits In Indiana? You may still be able to qualify for Medicaid in Indiana if your assets are over Medicaid’s asset limits. Some of your assets could be converted to income or restructured, depending on your situation. Some of your assets could be given away. Some strategies could enable you to get approved, but those strategies should be discussed with a Medicaid planning attorney. # Indiana Long-Term Care Medicaid Lawyer If you think you may be eligible for Medicaid in Indiana, you should consult an Indiana Medicaid planning attorney to help you determine how to proceed. An experienced Medicaid planning attorney at Hawkins Elder Law can help you review your assets and navigate the application process. To learn more, reach out to Hawkins Elder Law at (812) 268-8777 or [contact us online](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/elder-law/). #### **About The Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author this blog with [Thomas E. Hynes](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-e-hynes-esq), a lawyer admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida who has a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). #### **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2022 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Medicaid **Tags:** assets, exempt resources, Medicaid, nursing home --- ### [Receiving Inheritance While Receiving Medicaid Long-Term Care Benefits In Indiana](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/inheritance-on-medicaid-indiana/) **Published:** August 27, 2022 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/image-5.png "image-5 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/image-5.png)So, you are on Medicaid and might receive an inheritance; what do you do next? You may need to report the inheritance to the Indiana agency that handles Medicaid. # Inheritance As Income If you receive an inheritance in scheduled payments, Medicaid will treat each monthly payment as unearned income for that month, meaning income not earned from working. Unfortunately, this inheritance could push you over Indiana’s Medicaid income eligibility limits, making you ineligible for Medicaid during the month you inherited. And if you aren’t eligible, you will be liable for the medical costs that Medicaid would generally cover during your period of ineligibility. # Inheritance As An Asset According to Indiana Medicaid, if you fail to spend your inheritance during the month you received it, it may be considered an asset. Because of Medicaid’s asset limits, you may be ineligible for Medicaid benefits depending on the amount of the inheritance. # How To Properly Spend Down Your Inherited Assets There are several ways someone can spend down their inheritance in a way that does not violate Medicaid’s look-back rule, which includes paying off debt, paying for long-term care, making home modifications and additions for safety and accessibility purposes, prepaying for funeral and burial expenses through an irrevocable funeral trust, and otherwise buying assets that are exempt from Medicaid’s asset limit. ## Exempt Assets The following assets are exempt and do not need to be applied towards Medicaid benefits, nor will they disqualify the recipient from Medicaid eligibility. Exempt assets include (but aren’t limited to): - $2,000 or less in cash or non-exempt assets ($3,000 per spouse if both spouses apply) - Personal effects and household goods. - One home with a maximum of $636,000 equity in value if: - you plan to return to the home, - it is under your spouse’s name, or - a child under 21 or a disabled person resides in it. - One motor vehicle worth less than $5,000 under current market value, unless the vehicle is used for the applicant’s medical treatment, employment, modified to accommodate a disability, or is the primary vehicle of the applicant’s spouse, then it is exempt regardless of value. - Dividends from life insurance not exceeding $1,500 (interest on dividends from life insurance is not exempt) - Burial spaces and irrevocable burial trusts. - Savings bonds interest. ## Medicaid Planning Strategies Relating To An Inheritance ### Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (Inheritance Received 5 Years Before Applying) Generally, assets in the Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT) do not count towards the Medicaid recipient’s asset limit because the assets are no longer owned by the individual who created the MAPT. However, because of the look-back period, the assets must be placed in this trust five years before applying for benefits to be exempt. ### Half-A-Loaf Strategy (Inheritance Received While On Medicaid) Under this Medicaid planning strategy, the Medicaid recipient will give away approximately one-half of their excess assets and buy a short-term Medicaid complaint annuity with the rest of the assets. The annuity takes a lump sum of cash and converts it into an income stream; the income from the annuity pays for long-term care during the penalization period. The Medicaid recipient in this scenario could effectively give away a portion of assets that they would otherwise have to spend on nursing home care out of pocket during the penalty period. Both of the above strategies are complex and are not applicable in some situations. Speak with a Medicaid planning attorney to determine if those or other strategies could work for your situation. # Medicaid Attorney In Indiana Have you received an inheritance and wondered how this affects your current or future Medicaid benefits? An experienced Medicaid planning attorney will help you navigate these situations. Contact the experienced Medicaid planning attorneys at Hawkins Elder Law by calling (812) 268-8777 or contacting us [online](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/) for a free consultation. #### **About The Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author this blog with [Thomas E. Hynes](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-e-hynes-esq), a lawyer admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida who has a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). #### **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2022 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Medicaid **Tags:** elder law attorney, inheritance, Medicaid --- ### [How Does My Home Affect My Eligibility For Medicaid?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/home-medicaid/) **Published:** August 24, 2022 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/image-2.png "image-2 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/image-2.png)Are you looking into applying for Medicaid in Indiana? Do you currently own a home? If you answered yes to both of these questions, this article explains your home’s effect on your eligibility for Medicaid in Indiana. # What Is A Lien? Typically, a lien gives you an interest in someone’s property in response to their unpaid debts to you. The lien usually stays in effect until that debtor satisfies their debts to you. # What Is A Medicaid Lien? Medicaid liens are based on the presumption that equity in property belonging to Medicaid recipients should be used to offset the Medicaid recipient’s health care costs. There are two kinds of Medicaid liens – a pre-death lien, also known as a Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act (TEFRA) lien, and a post-death lien, also known as an estate recovery lien. ## Tax Equity And Fiscal Responsibility Act Since TEFRA passed in 1982, states have had the option to use liens to prevent Medicaid long-term care recipients from giving away assets, specifically the home they no longer reside in because of being institutionalized. TEFRA liens are the only type of lien that may be placed before the death of a Medicaid recipient whose benefits have been paid. As a result, these are considered pre-death liens. They only apply to permanently institutionalized individuals; however, a TEFRA lien cannot be used to recover anything until the Medicaid recipient dies. There are also current restrictions on placing TEFRA liens to protect an individual’s home when needed by the recipient or their immediate family. ### Tax Equity And Fiscal Responsibility Act Limitations In Indiana, to obtain a TEFRA lien, the state must find the recipient permanently institutionalized (e.g., not returning home) and allow the recipient an opportunity for a hearing on that finding. If the recipient is discharged from the institution, the lien must be released. Moreover, no lien may be placed if any of the following relatives live in the home: - A spouse - Child under 21 - A child of any age who is blind or permanently disabled - A sibling with an equity interest in the home who has resided there for at least one year before the recipient’s admission to an institution A TEFRA lien presumes that any attempt to transfer the property shows that the house is no longer the recipient’s residence or any of the above-stated qualified individuals, resulting in the equity becoming available for consideration as a source of payment. However, the TEFRA lien does not interfere with the recipient’s home use while they or the above individuals continue to reside there. #### Repaying Medicaid With this lien, Indiana may require the recipient to use the home’s equity to repay Medicaid for prior expenses paid towards long-term care on the recipient’s behalf. If there is remaining equity in the hands of the recipient, it may cause them to exceed Indiana’s Medicaid asset limit. They may have to use the funds to cover future long-term care expenses out of pocket until assets are below Medicaid’s asset eligibility level. If a recipient passes away with a TEFRA lien still on their home, Medicaid recovery through the lien occurs as part of the estate administration process. If the property is transferred to a non-protected person (e.g., best friend), the individual receiving the property must pay off the Medicaid claim to clear the property’s title. For some, this may be impossible, which will require them to take a mortgage on the home or sell the property to satisfy the Medicaid claim. ## Estate Recovery Lien Under Indiana’s Medicaid Estate Recovery Program, the state may require liquidation and payment of the following assets to recover costs paid towards the recipient’s long-term care: - Real property, including property conveyed to the recipient’s survivor through joint tenancy with the right of survivorship. - Funds in the recipient’s bank account irrespective of whether the account is jointly owned or has a payable on death (POD) provision. - Funds in the recipient’s nursing home account as of the date of the recipient’s death. - Funds in a Qualified Income Trust as of the date of the recipient’s death. - Funds in a recipient’s funeral trust after the funeral expenses have been paid in full. - Annuities purchased after May 1, 2005, whether or not Indiana is named as a beneficiary. - Funds in the recipient’s revocable trust after May 1, 2002. # Medicaid Attorney In Indiana Are you worried about what a Medicaid lien may mean for the future of your home should you apply for Medicaid nursing home benefits? Reach out to an experienced Medicaid planning attorney at Hawkins Elder Law for guidance. Contact us today by calling (812) 268-8777 or [online](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/) for a free consultation. #### **About The Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author this blog with [Thomas E. Hynes](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-e-hynes-esq), a lawyer admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida who has a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). #### **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2022 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Medicaid **Tags:** elder law attorney, Medicaid, Medicaid lien, nursing home, TEFRA lien --- ### [Can You Qualify For Long-Term Care Medicaid With Higher Income And Assets In Indiana?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/qualify-for-medicaid-indiana/) **Published:** August 31, 2022 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/image-9.png "image-9 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/image-9.png)Indiana Medicaid has specific limits on who is eligible for coverage. Many people in Indiana feel that they fall outside these limits because they make too much money or have too many assets. However, due to the cost of long-term care, Medicaid is not something that can be overlooked. This article explains some misconceptions about applying for Medicaid, including the misconception that you have to be completely impoverished to get long-term care Medicaid benefits. # In Indiana, Can You Still Be Eligible For Long-Term Care Medicaid When Your Income Is Too High? You can still become eligible for long-term care Medicaid when your income is too high. You can put your monthly income into a special type of trust known as a qualified income trust or Miller trust. A trust of this type, which is irrevocable, allows a trustee to hold your extra income each month (income exceeding Medicaid’s monthly income limits). When your income goes into the trust, Medicaid does not count it against you, even though the trust could be used to reimburse Medicaid at your death. # How Will A Trust Help You Qualify For Long-Term Care Medicaid In Indiana? Many people think that putting their money in a trust will allow them to qualify for long-term care Medicaid. However, not all trusts are the same – some count against you for eligibility while others don’t. A skilled Medicaid planning attorney can make sense of it all. They may be able to help you create the right kind of trust to become eligible for long-term care Medicaid in Indiana, whether now or in the future. # In Indiana, Can You Still Become Eligible For Long-Term Care Medicaid When You Have Too Many Assets? You can still become eligible for long-term care Medicaid if you have too many assets. Medicaid divides assets into two categories – exempt and available. Exempt assets do not count towards Medicaid’s asset limits. If an asset is not exempt, it must be liquidated and applied towards the cost of nursing home care before Medicaid benefits may be available. ### Indiana 2022 Exempt Assets The following assets are exempt and do not need to be applied toward nursing home care before Medicaid benefits may be available. - $2,000 or less in cash or non-exempt assets if you are single. - Personal effects and household goods. - One home with a maximum of $636,000 equity in value if: - You plan to return to the home, - It is under your spouse’s name, or - A child under 21 or a disabled person resides in it. - One motor vehicle worth less than $5,000 under current market value, unless the vehicle is used for the applicant’s medical treatment, employment, modified to accommodate a disability, or is the primary vehicle of the applicant’s spouse, then it is exempt regardless of value. - Dividends from life insurance not exceeding $1,500. - Burial spaces and irrevocable burial trusts. - Savings bonds interest. If you have more than five years to plan for Medicaid long-term care, additional options are on the table, such as creating a Medicaid asset protection trust. Specifically, when the state reviews applicants for Medicaid nursing home care eligibility, the state uses a 60-month look-back period to ensure that the applicant’s assets were not given away or sold for less than fair market value to qualify the applicant for Medicaid benefits. If you transfer assets outside of this look-back period, you do not violate Medicaid’s look-back rule. # If Your Income And Assets Are Higher Than The Limits, Should You Still Plan To Apply For Long-Term Care Medicaid In Indiana? Healthcare is expensive, and Medicaid may help reduce the financial hardships of aging. Many people do not meet Medicaid’s strict income and asset thresholds at first, but much can be done to fix this. If you are looking to apply for long-term care Medicaid, it can be complicated. Managing your income and assets while applying for Medicaid can seem complex and confusing. Reaching out to an experienced Medicaid planning attorney can relieve you of the stress. They can help you decide the best course of action for your situation. To learn more about planning to apply for long-term care Medicaid, reach out to Hawkins Elder Law at (812) 268-8777 or [contact us online](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/elder-law/). #### **About The Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author this blog with [Thomas E. Hynes](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-e-hynes-esq), a lawyer admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida who has a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). #### **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2022 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Medicaid **Tags:** asset limits, elder law attorney, income limits, Medicaid, nursing home --- ### [Is Long-Term Care Medicaid Planning Right For You And Your Family? ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/medicaid-long-term-care-planning/) **Published:** August 31, 2022 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/image-10.png "image-10 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/image-10.png)Are you concerned about your health care needs becoming a drag on your family? Are you worried that if you don’t rely upon your family, you’ll have to drain your assets to pay for your care? Being proactive and taking steps today to eliminate these concerns can greatly benefit you down the road. This article touches on how Medicaid planning can help you and your family. # What Is Medicaid Planning? Medicaid Planning is a way for you and your family to prepare for future long-term care needs and costs. Many older adults will need care, whether in a nursing home, assisted living facility, or at home. Long-term care is a substantial financial cost, and Medicare generally does not cover these costs. When you become eligible for long-term care through Medicaid, the bulk of your nursing home bill could be paid by the government. However, successfully applying for long-term care Medicaid is complicated, and mistakes in the application process can be expensive. Medicaid planning attorneys help clients protect their assets and get approved for Medicaid. # How Does Medicaid Planning Impact Families? Medicaid planning has a significant impact on you if you need care, but it also substantially affects your family. When family members step up to provide care for you, this could come at a high cost to them, both physically and financially. Your family members may be unable to help meet your needs, even if they say they will help. Medicaid planning can allow you to relieve your family of these risks. You could be cared for under Medicaid’s long-term care benefits, including at-home care or care in a nursing home or assisted living facility. That takes away the burden of your care falling onto your family members. With careful planning, you could protect your assets for the benefit of your family while still obtaining Medicaid benefits now or in the future. # Indiana Medicaid Planning Lawyer Medicaid planning can be complicated. Deciding on the best course of action for you and your family may be difficult. Reaching out to an experienced Medicaid planning attorney can help. Hawkins Elder Law can help you decide how you or a loved one can protect assets and qualify for long-term care Medicaid. To learn more about planning to apply for long-term care Medicaid, reach out to Hawkins Elder Law at (812) 268-8777 or [contact us online](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/elder-law/). #### **About The Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author this blog with [Thomas E. Hynes](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-e-hynes-esq), a lawyer admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida who has a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). #### **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2022 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Medicaid **Tags:** elder law attorney, long-term care, Medicaid, Medicaid planner --- ### [What Is The Look-Back Period For Long-Term Care Medicaid In Indiana?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/medicaid-look-back-period-indiana/) **Published:** August 30, 2022 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/image-8.png "image-8 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/image-8.png)If you are thinking about applying for Medicaid, you may have heard about the look-back period. A look-back period could significantly harm your ability to receive Medicaid. If you want Medicaid to cover the cost of long-term care—such as nursing home care, assisted living care, or in-home care—it’s essential to understand how the look-back period impacts you and your family. With the help of an Indiana Medicaid planning attorney, you can learn how to become eligible for Medicaid with the least amount of impact on your assets. # What Is The Look-Back Period For Long-Term Care Medicaid In Indiana? When you apply for nursing home Medicaid, the government reviews the things that you own—in other words, the value of your assets. There are limits to the type and value of assets you can have to qualify for Medicaid. The look-back period is when Medicaid looks closely at what you did with your assets five years before applying. If you do something that violates Medicaid rules during this period, you may be ineligible for Medicaid. ## How Long Is The Look-Back Period For Long-Term Care Medicaid In Indiana? It’s easy to assume that you may meet Medicaid’s income and asset requirements when looking at your current finances. However, Medicaid will consider your financial affairs leading up to the application—not just at the time of your application. The point of the look-back period is to prevent people from getting rid of their assets to qualify for long-term care Medicaid. In Indiana, the look-back period is five years from the date of your application. Medicaid may check to see if you gave away or sold assets for less than they were worth. This look-back period may burden those applying within five years, as the penalties for disallowed gifts and transfers mean paying out of pocket for nursing home coverage. ## What If You Gave Away Assets Before The Look-Back Period? Medicaid won’t look at what you did with your assets before the look-back period. If you gave away assets before the look-back period, you could still be eligible for long-term care Medicaid. Remember that the look-back period is five years. Now imagine that you gave a large gift to a family member seven years ago. In this example, you could still be allowed to get long-term care Medicaid. # Long-Term Care Medicaid Planning Lawyer Talking to an experienced Medicaid planning attorney can help you navigate the look-back period and prepare you to become eligible for Medicaid in Indiana. The attorneys at Hawkins Elder Law can help you protect assets from counting against you for long-term care Medicaid eligibility. To learn more about planning to apply for Medicaid, reach out to Hawkins Elder Law at (812) 268-8777 or [contact us online](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/elder-law/). #### **About The Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author this blog with [Thomas E. Hynes](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-e-hynes-esq), a lawyer admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida who has a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). #### **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2022 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Medicaid **Tags:** elder law attorney, look-back period, Medicaid, nursing home --- ### [Inheriting A House With A Medicaid Lien In Indiana](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/medicaid-lien-in-indiana/) **Published:** August 26, 2022 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/image-4.png "image-4 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/image-4.png)A Medicaid lien on a Medicaid recipient’s property works to reimburse the state for Medicaid benefits provided to the recipient, such as nursing home coverage. Even if a home is exempt while the recipient is alive, the home can become subject to the lien once the Medicaid recipient passes away. # Right To Reimbursement Indiana has the right to reimbursement for benefits provided to a recipient through long-term care Medicaid. The state may recover its expenses through a Medicaid lien or Indiana’s Medicaid Estate Recovery Program. ## Medicaid Lien In Indiana, once a lien is placed on the property, the state may seek recovery when the recipient passes away or if the recipient is permanently institutionalized and none of the following individuals live in the home: - A spouse - A child under 21 - A child of any age who is blind or disabled - A sibling with an equity interest in the home who has resided there for at least one year before the recipient’s admission to an institution Once the above-noted people move out, the recipient passes away, or the property is transferred to a non-exempt individual (that is, someone other than the recipient’s adult children), the individual receiving the property must address the Medicaid lien to clear the title to the property. ## Estate Recovery Lien Indiana may require liquidation and payment of the following assets to recover costs paid towards the recipient’s long-term care: - Real property, including property conveyed to the recipient’s survivor through joint tenancy with the right of survivorship. - Any money remaining in the recipient’s bank account regardless of whether the account is payable on death. - Any money remaining in the recipient’s nursing home account as of the date of death. - Any funds in a Qualified Income Trust as of the date of death. - Any funds remaining in a funeral trust after the funeral has been paid in full. - Annuities purchased after May 1, 2005. - Assets in a revocable trust if the assets were transferred into the trust after May 1, 2002. The Medicaid lien is only perfected (meaning, it is due to the state) once the property is transferred. In some situations, the lien may be avoidable or deferred. # Deferment Of Payment If you received a home with a Medicaid lien, you are generally required to pay the lien to clear the title to the property. In most situations, beneficiaries cannot afford to pay the lien in total, so they may need to sell the property or take out a mortgage to pay off the lien. Additionally, in some circumstances, if the beneficiary demonstrates that they lack the liquidity to pay off the lien, they may set a payment schedule with the state to pay off the lien. To determine which option is best for you, contact an experienced Medicaid planning attorney. # Undue Hardship Exception To be eligible for the undue hardship exception, you must meet stringent requirements. Under [Indiana law](https://casetext.com/regulation/indiana-administrative-code/title-405-office-of-the-secretary-of-family-and-social-services/article-2-medicaid-members-eligibility/rule-405-iac-2-8-claims-against-estate-of-medicaid-members/section-405-iac-2-8-2-undue-hardship-due-to-medicaid-estate-recovery), undue hardship exists only if enforcement of the State’s Medicaid lien would result in at least one of the following: - Causing a beneficiary of the decedent’s estate to become eligible for public assistance; - Causing a beneficiary of the decedent’s estate who is currently eligible for public assistance to remain dependent on that public assistance; - The complete loss of an income-producing asset or assets when: - The beneficiary of the decedent’s estate has no other source of income, and - The beneficiary’s income does not exceed 100 percent of the poverty level as determined annually by the Department of Health and Human Services. - Other compelling circumstances as determined on a case-by-case basis. However, undue hardship does not exist when fulfilling the Medicaid lien solely results in losing a preexisting standard of living. The hardship exemptions exist to ensure that the requirement of fulfilling the Medicaid lien would not result in the person paying the lien becoming reliant on the state. #### **About The Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author this blog with [Thomas E. Hynes](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-e-hynes-esq), a lawyer admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida who has a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). #### **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2022 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Medicaid **Tags:** elder law attorney, Estate Recovery, Medicaid, Medicaid lien --- ### [Indiana's Medicaid Estate Recovery Program](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/medicaid-estate-recovery-program/) **Published:** August 25, 2022 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/image-3.png "image-3 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/image-3.png)Paying for medical care can be a daunting task. Where will this money come from, and how are you supposed to be able to pay it? If you or a loved one are seeking to enter into a long-term care facility, you may qualify for Medicaid to reduce some of your expenses related to medical care. However, it is important to note that the state of Indiana may try to recover the costs of your medical care under the Indiana Medicaid Estate Recovery Program. # Indiana Medicaid Estate Recovery Program The Indiana Medicaid Estate Recovery Program is how the state seeks to recover amounts paid by Medicaid on behalf of a qualified individual. When a Medicaid recipient dies, Indiana is required by federal and state law to seek recovery from their estate funds equal to the amount used to pay for their medical expenses. ## What Is An Estate? Under the Medicaid Estate Recovery Program, an estate consists of assets and property owned by the Medicaid recipient at the time of their death. The assets and property include all real and personal property in the recipient’s probate estate. ### Assets That Can Be Recovered Under the Medicaid Estate Recovery Program, the following types of assets may be recovered: - Real property, including property conveyed to the recipient’s survivor through joint tenancy with the right of survivorship. - Any money remaining in the recipient’s bank account regardless of whether the account has a payable on death provision. - Any money remaining in the recipient’s nursing home account as of the date of death. - Any funds in a Qualified Income Trust as of the date of death. - Any funds remaining in the funeral trust after the funeral has been paid in full. - Annuities purchased after May 1, 2005. - Assets in a revocable trust if the assets were transferred into the trust after May 1, 2002. Unfortunately, a Medicaid recipient’s house and real estate may be subject to estate recovery, including a house owned by a Medicaid recipient but conveyed to another individual through joint tenancy with the right of survivorship. ### Assets That Cannot Be Recovered Under the Medicaid Estate Recovery Program, the following assets may not be recovered: - The proceeds of a life insurance policy that names a beneficiary. - Real property held by a Medicaid recipient subject to a life estate. - Non-probate assets transferred out of the probate estate before May 1, 2002. - The sum due from an annuity contract purchased before May 1, 2005. - Personal effects, ornaments, or keepsakes of the Medicaid recipient. - Assets protected by an Indiana Partnership Long-Term Care Insurance Policy. - All assets if the Medicaid recipient is survived by a spouse, a child under 21 years of age, or a child who is disabled or blind. ### Further Limitations On The Medicaid Estate Recovery Program Indiana doesn’t seek recovery of assets if it results in substantial and undue hardship for the surviving beneficiaries. To be eligible for an undue hardship waiver, a beneficiary must be a member of the immediate family of either the deceased recipient or the deceased recipient’s spouse. ## Status Of The State’s Claim When Indiana seeks recovery of assets to pay for Medicaid benefits, the state has preferred status. The state’s claims are supposed to be paid in full before other debts are paid and other distributions are made to the Medicaid recipient’s beneficiaries. However, some expenses can be paid before the state’s claim is paid. These expenses include funeral and cemetery expenses of up to $2,150 and may consist of certain costs of the Medicaid recipient’s last illness. # Limitations On When The State May Seek Recovery Indiana has up to nine months after the Medicaid recipient’s death to seek recovery of assets not included in the probate estate. Under certain circumstances, the time limitation may not apply. Those circumstances include the following: - Assets not reported to the county office of Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, Division of Family Resources. - Assets that were transferred by way of a Transfer on Death deed. - Property transferred during the Medicaid recipient’s life while on Medicaid. - Property transferred after the Medicaid recipient’s death and not included in the Medicaid recipient’s probate estate. - When filing a claim against an *open* probate estate. # Medicaid Attorney In Indiana Are you concerned that your assets will be subject to the Medicaid Estate Recovery Program? Contact an experienced Medicaid planning attorney at Hawkins Elder Law to help you navigate these questions. Reach out to us today by calling (812) 268-8777 or [online](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/) for a free consultation. #### **About The Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author this blog with [Thomas E. Hynes](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-e-hynes-esq), a lawyer admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida who has a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). #### **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2022 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Medicaid **Tags:** elder law attorney, Estate Recovery, Medicaid --- ### [Indiana Medicaid Law In 2022](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/indiana-medicaid-law-in-2022/) **Published:** August 22, 2022 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/image.png "image - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/image.png)Did you know that Medicaid may be able to pay the nursing home bill for you or a loved one? Are you concerned about whether you or a loved one are eligible for Medicaid in Indiana? Here’s a simple overview of a few of the programs through Medicaid that benefit pregnant women, children, the aged, blind, and disabled. # Who Is Eligible For Medicaid In Indiana? The tables below outline eligibility for Medicaid in Indiana. ## Pregnant Women In addition to determining whether the woman is pregnant or not, two factors are considered to be eligible for Medicaid in Indiana. The factors include income and family size. **Family Size****Income Limit (per month)**2$3,250.003$4,088.004$4,926.005$5,764.00### Hoosier Healthwise Program The Hoosier Healthwise program is for children up to 19 years old and pregnant women. This program covers medical care such as doctor visits, prescription medicine, mental health care, dental care, hospitalization, and surgeries. The program ensures that all covered medical care is done at little or no cost to the member or the member’s family. The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) falls under the Hoosier Healthwise program for children whose families have slightly higher incomes. In CHIP, coverage is similar to low premium healthcare. For example, members must pay low monthly premiums for coverage and copays for some services. ## Children Children without healthcare coverage who are not disabled or living in an institution can benefit from the Hoosier Healthwise program. **Family Size****Income Limit (per month)**1$2,889.002$3,891.003$4,894.004$5,898.005$6,900.00## Adults Typically, adults who are not disabled will be served through the Healthy Indiana Plan. **Family Size****Income Limit (per month)**1$1,564.002$2,106.003$2,649.004$3,192.005$3,734.00### Healthy Indiana Plan The Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP) pays for medical costs for its members and can include vision and dental. This plan covers individuals 19 to 64 who do not have annual incomes exceeding $18,764 ($25,276 as a couple; $38,000 for a family of four). If an adult qualifies for this program, they will be required to make a monthly contribution of 2 percent of their family income. ## Elderly, Blind, And Disabled Individuals who are elderly, blind, or disabled (but do not need a nursing home level of care) can be served through traditional Medicaid and Hoosier Care Connect. **Family Size****Income Limit (per month)**1$1,133.002$1,526.003$1,920.004$2,313.005$2,706.00### MED Works MED Works is Medicaid for Employees with Disabilities; this program is for people who desire to return to work but cannot afford to lose their benefits. It offers the same level of coverage as traditional Medicaid. In return, there are small monthly premiums based on the amount of money a worker earns. # How To Apply For Medicaid In Indiana If you or a family member need Medicaid and believe you qualify, there are several options for applying: - Apply online through the [Indiana Family and Social Services Administration](https://www.in.gov/medicaid/members/apply-for-medicaid/eligibility-guide/) or [Healthcare.gov](https://www.healthcare.gov/). - Call Indiana Family and Social Services Administration at (800) 403-0864. - Apply in person at a Division of Family Resources office. [Find a nearby office](https://www.in.gov/fssa/dfr/ebt-hoosier-works-card/find-my-local-dfr-office/). # Medicaid Attorney In Indiana Hawkins Elder Law can help you or a family member qualify for nursing home care Medicaid. Consult with our Indiana Medicaid planning attorneys at Hawkins Elder Law today by calling (812) 268-8777 or contacting us [online](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). #### About The Authors [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author this blog with [Thomas E. Hynes](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-e-hynes-esq), a lawyer admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida who has a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). #### More Information Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2022 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Medicaid **Tags:** elder law attorney, Medicaid, nursing home --- ### [Does My Income Disqualify Me From Medicaid Long-Term Care In Indiana?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/medicaid-long-term-care/) **Published:** August 23, 2022 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/image-1.png "image-1 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/image-1.png)Did you know that if your income is higher than Medicaid’s income limits, you may not qualify for long-term care through Medicaid (also known as Medicaid nursing home coverage)? An experienced Medicaid attorney can help you determine if you will be eligible for this type of Medicaid based on your current assets and income, among other things. Continue reading to gain more background information about long-term care through Medicaid and how it may work for you. # What Is Medicaid Long-Term Care? Long-term care involves various services to meet a person’s health or personal care needs over a long period, usually towards the end of the person’s life. The most common type of long-term care is personal care, which means daily activities, including bathing, dressing, grooming, using the toilet, eating, and moving around. It is tough to predict how much or what type of long-term care a person might need. Some things may increase the risk of needing long-term care, such as: - Age - Gender - Marital Status - Lifestyle - Health and Family History # Indiana Medicaid Long-Term Care Eligibility In 2022, to be eligible for long-term care through Medicaid, you must: - Reside in Indiana and be a U.S. citizen or have proper immigration status - Be 65 years or older (or blind or disabled) - Meet specific medical requirements consistent with a nursing home level of care - **Not exceed Medicaid’s income and asset limits**. ## Income Limitations The following sources of income may be counted towards the income limit – Social Security benefits, Veteran’s benefits, pension payments, dividends from bonds and stocks, interest payments, retirement account distributions, and more. Medicaid applicants must provide documentation of their income with their Medicaid application. ### Single Applicants In 2022, the individual income limit for nursing home Medicaid in Indiana is $2,523 per month. The individual has to use all of their monthly income (aside from a $52 personal needs allowance and Medicare premiums) towards the cost of nursing home care. ### Married Applicants The monthly income limit for nursing home Medicaid is $2,523 per month per nursing home applicant’s spouse. The spouse applying for Medicaid has to use all of their monthly income (aside from a $52 personal needs allowance and Medicare premiums) towards the cost of nursing home care. There is no income limit for the non-applicant spouse. ## What Happens If You Exceed The Medicaid Income Limit? ### Qualified Income Trust Suppose the applicant’s income exceeds Medicaid’s income limits. In that case, it does not automatically disqualify them from Medicaid eligibility, as they can establish a Qualified Income Trust (also called a Miller Trust) to hold their extra monthly income. A Qualified Income Trust is an irrevocable trust. The funds from this trust can only be used for specified reasons, such as paying for the medical expenses of the Medicaid recipient. When the Medicaid recipient dies, funds held in the trust are used to reimburse Medicaid for expenses that Medicaid paid on the Medicaid recipient’s behalf. The remainder of the funds goes to the Medicaid recipient’s beneficiary. # Medicaid Attorney In Indiana Are you or a loved one in need of long-term care through Medicaid? If so, feel free to speak with the experienced Medicaid planning attorneys at Hawkins Elder Law by calling (812) 268-8777 or contacting us [online](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/) for a free consultation. #### **About The Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author this blog with [Thomas E. Hynes](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-e-hynes-esq), a lawyer admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida who has a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). #### **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2022 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Medicaid **Tags:** elder law attorney, long-term care, Medicaid, nursing home --- ### [Financial Protection When Your Spouse Needs Nursing Home Care - Part 2](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/financial-protection-when-your-spouse-needs-nursing-home-care-part-2/) **Published:** September 4, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Cheerful white senior couple holding coffee mugs, Shutterstock Image ID 355987100;](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Cheerful-white-senior-couple-holding-coffee-mugs-Shutterstock-Image-ID-355987100.jpg "Cheerful white senior couple holding coffee mugs, Shutterstock Image ID 355987100; - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Cheerful-white-senior-couple-holding-coffee-mugs-Shutterstock-Image-ID-355987100.jpg) This article concludes a two-part series about how state and federal law can save a nursing home resident’s spouse from poverty and how an experienced elder law attorney can help the spouse increase the amount of assets protected from expensive long-term care. In our first article ([Financial Protection When Your Spouse Needs Nursing Home Care – Part 1](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/financial-protection-when-your-spouse-needs-nursing-home-care-part-1/)), we described the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act (MCCA) passed by Congress in 1988 and some essential Indiana and Illinois asset (resource) and income eligibility concepts. This article explains how the Indiana Medicaid system evaluates married couples’ resources. We describe basic principles of how a skilled elder law attorney can help protect a married couple’s resources. # **Terminology Review** Medicaid law is full of jargon and acronyms. It helps to write this article concisely if we use some of the jargon and acronyms. Therefore, we are using the following terms and acronyms: - The community spouse lives independently in the community, and the institutional spouse lives in a nursing home. - Resources are non-exempt assets under Medicaid resource laws. - The CSRA(Community Spouse Resource Allowance) is the resource value that the community spouse may keep, and the ARA (Applicant Resource Allowance) is the resource value that the institutional spouse may keep. - While Illinois only uses a fixed value for the CSRA ($109,560 in 2022, with significant scheduled increases from January 1, 2023, to January 1, 2034), Indiana uses the federal maximum CSRA amount ($137,400 in 2022), referred to as the “spousal impoverishment ceiling,” and at the federal minimum CSRA amount ($27,480 in 2022), referred to as the “spousal impoverishment floor.” - The “snapshot” is the earliest date when the institutional spouse was admitted for inpatient care continuously for at least 30 days in any combination of one or more inpatient health care facilities on or after September 30, 1989. For example, if the institutional spouse were admitted to a hospital on September 30, 1989, and transferred directly to a rehabilitation facility three days later for 27 days of physical therapy, the combined time in the two facilities would meet the 30-day requirement and the “snapshot date” would be September 30, 1989. - The “snapshot value” is the total value of the couple’s countable resources on the snapshot date. If, in the previous example, the couple’s combined countable resource value was $50,000 on September 30, 1989, the snapshot value would be $50,000. # **Calculating CSRAs With Snapshot Values** Record keeping is a big deal for Hoosier married couples because the resource evaluation process determines the couple’s total resource value on two different dates. First, the Medicaid system calculates the snapshot value as it existed on the snapshot date to determine the community spouse’s CSRA. Then, the Medicaid system calculates the couple’s total countable resources as of the first day of the month in which the couple applied for Medicaid and the first day of each of the three preceding months. An institutional spouse is eligible for Medicaid for a whole month if the couple’s combined value of countable resources is less than the total value of the CSRA and ARA. Here are some examples of a couple’s CSRA calculations: 1. If an Indiana couple’s snapshot value is $300,000 in 2022, the combined resource allowance is $139,400 ($137,400 spousal impoverishment ceiling in 2022, plus $2,000 ARA) and the excess resource value is $178,780 ($300,000, minus $137,400 spousal impoverishment ceiling, and minus $2,000 ARA). If an Illinois couple’s snapshot value is $300,000 in 2022, the combined resource allowance is $111,560 ($109,560 Illinois CSRA in 2022, plus $2,000 ARA), and the excess resource value is $188,440. Indiana’s spousal impoverishment ceiling and spousal impoverishment floor increase yearly with federal cost-of-living adjustments, but the Illinois CSRA has been frozen at $109,560 for the past decade. However, a recent change in Illinois law will cause the Illinois CSRA to begin rising each year with the federal cost-of-living adjustments on January 1, 2023. The law will add $2,784 to the CSRA annually from January 1, 2024, to January 1, 2034. 2. If the Indiana couple’s snapshot value is $200,000, the current combined resource allowance is $102,000 ($2,000 ARA, plus the Indiana CSRA, which is 50% of $200,000) and the excess resource value is $98,000 ($200,000, minus $100,000 Indiana CSRA, and minus $2,000 ARA). An Illinois couple with a $200,000 snapshot value would have access resources of $88,440 ($200,000 – $109,560 Illinois CSRA in 2022 – $2,000 ARA = $88,440). 3. If the Indiana couple’s snapshot value is $25,000, the snapshot value is less than the spousal impoverishment floor ($27,480 in 2022), so the couple would be entitled to keep the entire snapshot value. An Illinois couple with the same snapshot value would have the same result because the snapshot value would be less than the Illinois CSRA. # “Spending” Resources Down to Resource Allowance Values A couple’s combined resource value usually exceeds the total value of the CSRA and ARA when the institutional spouse enters a nursing home. Contrary to popular myth, the couple doesn’t need to pay all the excess resource value to the nursing home to qualify the institutional spouse for Medicaid. Instead, a skilled elder law attorney and help the couple make a strategic plan to reinvest the excess resources in assets exempt from treatment as countable resources. A married couple can keep the same exempt assets as an unmarried Medicaid applicant, including: - one vehicle of unlimited value; - household goods and effects (furniture, clothing, and the other “stuff” most people keep in their drawers, pantries, cabinets, garages, attics, and basements); - life insurance policies if the combined amount of their cash surrender values is less than $1,500; - specific prepaid funeral arrangements; - certain annuities that satisfy the Medicaid annuity rules; and - specific arrangements for loans to other people that satisfy the Medicaid promissory note rules. An unmarried Medicaid recipient can also keep a house if: 1. the recipient is likely to return home (a physician’s letter is usually required as proof); or 2. the recipient’s minor or disabled adult child lives in the home. A married couple can keep a house, farmland, rental properties, and any other real property owned only by the community spouse. Additionally, the community spouse’s IRA or similar retirement plan assets are exempt. # Timing Issues Affecting Resource Allowances ## Old Snapshot Dates The federal Medicaid rule establishes snapshot dates as far back as September 30, 1989. If the institutional spouse had a snapshot date many years ago, the old snapshot date would create record-keeping and resource allowance problems for the couple. The record-keeping problem is that it may be hard to find health care records showing the institutional spouse’s initial admission date and final discharge date to verify the snapshot date. The record-keeping problem can be more complicated if the institutional spouse is admitted to one facility and transferred to one or more other facilities. It would be necessary to prove each facility’s admission date and discharge date to connect the dots for evidence of a continuous 30-day institutionalization. Many financial institutions did not retain customer records for longer than a decade when they relied on paper records, so an old snapshot date could create even worse financial records problems. A skilled elder law attorney may request the Medicaid system’s assistance with establishing the snapshot date and snapshot value if the attorney can show that the couple made reasonable efforts to find and obtain the old records. Still, suppose a married person had a snapshot date from an old health crisis. In that case, the couple should start gathering copies of the old health care and financial records for that period as soon as possible and preserve them for future use in a Medicaid application. Usually, a person’s wealth grows over time if the person pays down debt, saves money, and invests savings for retirement. If an institutional spouse’s hospitalization established an old snapshot date long ago, the couple’s current resource value might be much larger than the old snapshot value. In that case, the loan snapshot value may cause the CSRA to be smaller than it would be if the institutional spouse’s snapshot date were more recent. ## Premature Resource Reinvestment in Exempt Assets Many people mistakenly believe that a married couple should prepay funeral costs and make other investments in assets that are exempt from treatment as countable Medicaid resources. A Hoosier couple’s premature investment in exempt assets can create the same problems that Hoosier couples with old snapshot dates face – small CSRA values. We wrote about this and other mistakes married couples often make in our blog article, Spouses[*Spouses of Nursing Home Residents: Avoid These Medicaid Traps!*](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/spouses-of-nursing-home-residents-dont-let-nonlawyers-apply-for-medicaid/) For a premature exempt asset investment example, suppose a Hoosier couple with combined countable resources worth $200,000 spends $20,000 on prepaid funerals before the snapshot date. In that case, the the prepaid funeral investment will reduce couple’s combined resources to $180,000, which will reduce the CSRA from $100,000 to $90,000, leaving $88,000 of excess resources ($200,000 – $20,000 = $180,000; $180,000 ÷ 2 = $90,000; $180,000 – $90,000 – $2,000 = $88,000). The premature funeral prepayment also eliminates funeral prepayment as an excess resource reinvestment strategy. The removal of funeral prepayment requires the couple to reinvest excess resources in some other exempt investment category. The community spouse may be able to invest some or all the remaining excess resources in a new car or updated household appliances and furnishings. However, the community spouse may have to make a sophisticated investment in a Medicaid-compliant annuity or a Medicaid-compliant loan agreement to reduce the excess resources sufficiently for the institutional spouse’s Medicaid eligibility. Most importantly, the value of the community spouse’s available cash and other liquid resources will be $10,000 less than if the couple had delayed the prepaid funeral investment until after the snapshot date. Imagine another Hoosier couple waiting to prepay their funerals until after the snapshot. In that case, the CSRA is $100,000 ($200,000 ÷ 2 = $100,000) and the excess resource value is $98,000 ($200,000 – $100,000 – $2,000 = $98,000). Then, the couple can prepay the funerals they would have otherwise purchased and reduce the excess resources from $98,000 to $78,000. It may be easier in this case for the community spouse to invest the remaining excess resources in a new vehicle and updated household furnishings and appliances. Best of all, unlike the other community spouse with a $90,000 CSRA, this community spouse can leave the $100,000 CSRA in an ordinary checking account – a big liquidity difference! # **Elder Law Attorneys’ Case Management & Resource Protection Services** A typical institutional spouse’s Medicaid application can include hundreds of pages of income tax returns, account statements, deeds for real estate, and other documents. Elder law attorneys have document management systems that help organize the paper mountain and avoid time-consuming eligibility delays. Experienced elder law attorneys study Medicaid caseworker preferences to anticipate caseworker document requests and provide required documentation quickly and efficiently. An elder law attorney helps a community spouse protect resources by advising the community spouse on legitimate investment decisions that lawfully convert countable resources into exempt assets. Some investment decisions can be as simple as trading a couple of old vehicles for a brand-new, reliable car with a manufacturer’s warranty. Other investment strategies range from home improvements to investments in specially designed annuities or certain other kinds of income-producing assets. However, it is essential to remember that general practice lawyers, nursing home employees, and investment advisors lack the advanced training and knowledge that enable experienced elder law attorneys to provide sound asset protection advice. # **Beware of Amateur Medicaid Planning** Community spouses that try to qualify for Medicaid without experienced elder law attorney assistance risk tens of thousands of dollars. Medicaid law is full of tricky rules, constantly changing policies and procedures, and asset transfer penalties. Experienced elder law attorneys know how to avoid Medicaid traps because they monitor the Medicaid system daily and share information about sudden, unannounced changes in Medicaid policy and procedures that occur almost every month. # About the Authors [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/FindALawyer). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/Lawyer/Search). Jeff is also a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/), a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory), and the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Please find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2022 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Community spouse, Elder Law, Medicaid, Spousal Impoverishment, Transfer penalty **Tags:** elder law attorney, Medicaid, nursing home, Spousal Impoverishment, Transfer penalty --- ### [Financial Protection When Your Spouse Needs Nursing Home Care - Part 1](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/financial-protection-when-your-spouse-needs-nursing-home-care-part-1/) **Published:** September 4, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Serious European senior couple standing together outdoors, Shutterstock Image ID 355987103; Copyright CREATISTA](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Serious-European-senior-couple-standing-together-outdoors-Shutterstock-Image-ID-355987103-Copyright-CREATISTA.jpg "Serious European senior couple standing together outdoors, Shutterstock Image ID 355987103; Copyright CREATISTA - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Serious-European-senior-couple-standing-together-outdoors-Shutterstock-Image-ID-355987103-Copyright-CREATISTA.jpg) Nursing home bills usually turn a person’s world upside down when his or her spouse requires nursing home care (the average Indiana nursing home bed costs $7,167 per month in 2022). This article begins a two-part series about state and federal law can save a nursing home resident’s spouse from poverty, and how an experienced elder law attorney can help the spouse increase the amount of assets that can be saved from expensive long-term care. **Spousal Impoverishment Law** Medicaid helps people pay for nursing home care when their income and assets cannot pay the entire cost. Congress passed the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act (MCCA) in 1988 to protect a nursing home resident’s spouse from poverty. The law guarantees that the spouse living independently in the community (called the “community spouse”) may keep certain “resources” (resources are certain assets that are not exempt from being counted) and amounts of income to be able to live independently after the spouse in a nursing home (called the “institutional spouse”) qualifies for Medicaid. **Resource Allowances** Medicaid eligibility requirements limit an institutional spouse’s allowable resources ($2,000 in Indiana and Illinois in 2022). The spousal impoverishment law sets minimum and maximum resources values that the community spouse can keep in addition to the institutional spouse’s $2,000 allowance (this article abbreviates the institutional spouse’s resource allowance as “ISRA” and the community spouse’s resource allowance as “CSRA”). Assets that are exempt from treatment as resources include the community spouse’s home, personal belongings and household furnishings, one vehicle, and certain other assets. An Indiana community spouse can keep 50% of the couple’s resources up to the maximum CSRA (the 2022 Indiana maximum is $137,400, a value that is increased sometimes by cost-of-living adjustment factors similar to Social Security retirement income increases). An Illinois community spouse’s CSRA is the larger value of the Illinois maximum CSRA or the federal minimum CSRA, instead of keeping only half of the couple’s resources up to that value (the 2022 Illinois maximum CSRA is $109,560, a value that is set by an Illinois statute, and the 2022 federal minimum CSRA is $27,480, a value that is adjusted for cost-of-living sometimes like the Indiana maximum CSRA). An Indiana community spouse can keep at least the federal minimum CSRA even if that value is more than 50% of the couple’s resources (for example, a couple with resources worth $30,000 can keep $29,480 ($27,480 plus the $2,000 ISRA), because the minimum value is less than the community spouse’s $15,000 one half share of the resources). **Community Spouse Income Allowance** The MCCA also protects a community spouse from poverty with a minimum income allowance (the 2022 minimum income allowance is $2,289). If the community spouse’s countable income is less than the minimum income allowance, the community spouse can as much of the institutional spouse’s income as it takes the community spouse to receive the minimum income allowance. For example, if the community spouse’s countable income is $500 per month and the institutional spouse’s countable income is $2,000 per month, the community spouse can keep $2,289 of the couple’s combined monthly income. **To Be Continued** The second part of this article ([Financial Protection When Your Spouse Needs Nursing Home Care – Part 2](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/financial-protection-when-your-spouse-needs-nursing-home-care-part-2/)) describes the Indiana and Illinois spousal impoverishment record keeping requirements and important dates for married couples in both states. We will also describe some basic concepts that elder law attorneys use to help community spouses remain financially secure by maximizing asset protection. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/FindALawyer). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/Lawyer/Search). Jeff is also a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2022 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Community spouse, Medicaid, Nursing home, Spousal Impoverishment **Tags:** elder law attorney, Medicaid, nursing home, Resource Allowance, Spousal Impoverishment, spouse --- ### [What Income Qualifies You For Medicaid?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/indiana-medicaid-income-limits/) **Published:** December 31, 2021 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** If you want Medicaid to cover things like expensive nursing home bills in Indiana, then you'll need to show that you qualify. **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/image-9.png "image-9 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/image-9.png) If you want Medicaid to cover things like expensive nursing home bills in Indiana, then you’ll need to show that you qualify. One of the major qualifications relates to your income. If you have too much income, you may be ineligible for benefits and have to pay for your long-term care out of pocket. The elder law attorneys at Hawkins Elder Law explain more about income limits for long-term care Medicaid and how we can help you get qualified if your income is a problem. ## What Is The Medicaid Income Limit? There are multiple types of Medicaid benefits, and each type has its limits for income. If you apply for Medicaid nursing home benefits or Medicaid waivers (home and community-based services), and you are single, you cannot have more than $2,382 each month in income. If you are married, and one of you applies for benefits, then the person applying cannot make more than $2,382 each month. The other spouse is not limited regarding their monthly income. If you and your spouse apply for benefits, each spouse is entitled to $2,382 each month. It is important to note that Medicaid considers income to include what you receive from social security income, social security disability income, IRA withdrawals, stock, pension payments, employment wages, and more. ## What Is Income? Under Indiana Medicaid, income consists of social security, pensions, retirement accounts, annuities, rental property income, mortgage interest, and loan interest. Income also consists of dividends from bonds and stocks, CDs, bank accounts, and other investments. But interest from I Bonds and Series E/EE Savings Bonds is not considered income and the interest on Zero-Coupon Bonds is considered income only upon maturity. ## About Capital Gains, Capital Appreciation Suppose you have received a capital gain distribution from a mutual fund or real estate investment trust. In that situation, it is considered income regardless of whether you reinvest the dividends or take it as cash. If you received a 1099-DIV, then there is a good chance this is considered income for Medicaid purposes. However, if you incurred a capital gain because you sold real estate or a mutual fund, then that gain is regarded as an increase in the value of the resource. It is also important to note that capital appreciation is not income. ## Life Insurance If you are a beneficiary of a life insurance policy, the money you receive is considered income in the month you receive it. However, Medicaid does not consider dividends that you receive from a life insurance policy to constitute income. It does consider income to be interest on the dividends that you receive from a life insurance policy. ## Periodic Income, Non-Periodic Income Medicaid considers you to have periodic income or nonperiod income. Periodic income means that you receive income regularly (e.g., once a month), which may be the case with your annuities, IRA withdrawals, and pensions. If you receive an inheritance or an award, or another one-off type of payment, this is considered income in the month it becomes available to you. ## Annuities Suppose you receive regular distributions from your annuity or individual retirement income. That is considered income for Medicaid purposes regardless of whether the payment you receive constitutes your principal or interest. But if you take out the entire principal in a lump sum, Medicaid considers this a resource instead. It is important to remember that qualifying for Medicaid also involves you having no more than the state limit for resources, so be careful with executing transactions such as lump-sum payouts without first discussing your situation with an attorney. ## What If My Income Is Above Medicaid Income Limits In Indiana? If your income is above the Medicaid income limits, then you could be denied benefits. There are several ways to avoid this outcome, though, so it is important to discuss your situation with an elder law attorney for guidance. One of the potential solutions may be to park your excess income in a Miler Trust, explained below. Also, if you are married and apply for Medicaid benefits, but you make too much money each month to qualify, then it is possible to direct some of your income to your spouse through a Minimum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance. However, your spouse would have to make less than $2,177.50 per month for this to work. ## How Does A Miller Trust Work? A Miller Trust is also known as a Qualified Income Trust, and it can enable you to get approved for Medicaid nursing home care if you make too much money. You place the amount of your income that exceeds state limits into this irrevocable trust, and the amount in the trust is not counted against you for eligibility. In limited circumstances, the trust might be able to pay for your medical expenses. Also, when you die, the state of Indiana is named as the beneficiary of the trust. ## Indiana Medicaid Attorney To learn more about qualifying for Medicaid in Indiana, [speak with an elder law lawyer](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/contact-us/). [Click here](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/) to learn more about Indiana Medicaid planning strategies. #### **About The Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author this blog with [Thomas E. Hynes](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-e-hynes-esq), a lawyer admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida who has a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). #### **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call or text us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2021 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Annuity, Capital Gains Tax, Elder Law, Life Insurance, Medicaid, Miller trust **Tags:** Annuity, elder law attorney, Life insurance, Medicaid, Medicaid income limits, Miller Trust, nursing home --- ### [How Do I Stop Medicaid From Taking My House In Indiana?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/protect-home-from-medicaid/) **Published:** January 5, 2022 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Large white house, decorative trees, and lawn under blue sky with swirling clouds](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/image-11.png "image-11 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/image-11.png) Suppose Medicaid is paying your nursing home bills. As a Medicaid recipient, you’ve already demonstrated that you have low income and assets. You’ve already confirmed with Medicaid that you own a house. And Medicaid lets you keep your house while you receive benefits. What you might not know is that Medicaid might attempt to take your house when you die. You might be surprised to learn that Medicaid has the legal right to do this in certain circumstances. The Medicaid planning attorneys at [Hawkins Elder Law](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/contact-us/) provide you with a brief rundown of how Medicaid can take your home through estate recovery and how our attorneys could assist you if you have questions relating to Medicaid planning. ## What Is Medicaid Estate Recovery? In Indiana, you could receive nursing home Medicaid benefits when you own a home. But there are strings attached. In the worst-case scenario, Medicaid will attempt to take your home when you die to recoup the benefits you received. The state of Indiana uses a legal process known as [estate recovery](https://www.in.gov/fssa/ompp/files/Medicaid_PM_4700.pdf). If you received Medicaid benefits in Indiana, then after you die, the state uses estate recovery to take some of your assets to cover the benefits Medicaid provided to you, considering the medical expenses they paid after you turned 55 years old. Your estate consists of all assets, including personal property and real property, that you own at your death. Assets could include a vacation home, money remaining in your bank account or nursing home account, money held in your trusts, whole life or universal life insurance policies with cash surrender values, and more. ## What Assets Cannot Be Recovered By The State? Some of your assets might not be reachable by the state, including property that you transfer to certain trusts, personal effects, life insurance proceeds that are paid to your beneficiaries, and assets that are provided to your surviving spouse, a child under 21 years old, or a child who is blind or disabled. If you are a married Medicaid recipient and your spouse survives you, the state will not seek recovery until after your spouse’s death. However, Indiana law prohibits estate recovery against the community spouse’s assets after their death. ## Undue Hardships Medicaid generally does not seek an estate recovery if the Medicaid recipient died and is survived by a beneficiary who is their or their spouse’s immediate family member, and it would be a “substantial and undue hardship” to the beneficiary. The beneficiary would have to apply for a hardship waiver within 90 days of the date of claim. ## What Is A Preferred Claim? The state of Indiana can file a claim against the estate of the Medicaid recipient. This is a preferred claim which means that the claim must be fully paid before other estate debts are paid. The claim must be paid before any heirs receive distributions. But the executor can pay certain expenses before satisfying the claim, including those relating to estate administration and the Medicaid recipient’s last illness and funeral. It is important to note that if the Medicaid recipient has a Miller Trust in place, the funds in that Miller Trust cannot pay the estate’s expenses. ## How Long Does Indiana Have To Seek An Estate Recovery? The state of Indiana can file a claim if the Medicaid recipient’s probate estate is open. So, if it is necessary to open an estate, an elder law attorney might delay opening the estate until after the estate recovery deadlines have expired. Up until nine months after the Medicaid recipient dies, the state of Indiana could potentially pursue a recovery of assets that are not in the recipient’s estate (assets transferred during the Medicaid recipient’s life or after their death so that those assets would not be included in their probate estate). In some cases, the state may have a longer time, and there is no time limit relating to the assets that have not been reported to DFR’s FSSA Division. ## What Is Medicaid Asset Protection? How Do I Protect My Assets From Medicaid In Indiana? Asset protection involves using strategies to protect your assets – including your home – from counting against you for Medicaid purposes. With a skilled elder law attorney’s help, you could protect your home from being considered by Medicaid altogether. An attorney can also help you structure your real estate ownership to avoid any estate recovery. ## How Do I Avoid Medicaid’s 5-Year Lookback? With Medicaid’s five-year lookback period, Medicaid investigates transfers of your assets (including your home) to see if you sold them, gifted them, or transferred them for less than they were worth. If this happens, Medicaid can impose a penalty that essentially requires you to pay out of pocket for long term care for a specified period. For this reason, planning for Medicaid in advance makes a lot of sense. ## Medicaid Lawyer In Indiana To learn more about preventing Medicaid from taking your Indiana home, you should consult with an [Indiana Medicaid planning attorney](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/contact-us/). [Click here](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/elder-law/) to learn more about Medicaid planning strategies in Indiana. #### **About The Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author this blog with [Thomas E. Hynes](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-e-hynes/), a lawyer admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Florida who has a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers](https://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/category/sullivan/) and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/). He is also licensed in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp), a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba), and a member of the [Illinois NAELA Chapter](https://www.naela-il.org/). #### **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at [https://www.linkedin.com/company/hawkinsel](https://www.linkedin.com/company/hawkinselderlaw) ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Elder Law **Tags:** asset protection, elder law attorney, exempt resources, Medicaid, nursing home --- ### [Could An Indiana Medicaid Aged & Disabled Waiver Help You?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/medicaid-aged-and-disabled-waiver/) **Published:** January 3, 2022 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/image-10.png "image-10 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/image-10.png) Medicaid’s Aged & Disabled Waiver can provide a host of health care benefits to you, including valuable care at home and in the community so that you don’t have to live in a nursing home. Here’s a brief overview of what the Aged & Disabled Waiver entails in the state of Indiana and how [Hawkins Elder Law](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/contact-us/) can help you protect your assets while qualifying for Medicaid. ## What Is The Aged And Disabled Waiver? The Aged & Disabled Waiver provides you with home and community-based services to supplemental informal supports. To receive this waiver, you’ll have to meet the following requirements: - Sixty-five or older, blind, or disabled - Need a nursing facility level of care - Live in an HCBS compliant setting - Satisfy Medicaid’s income and resource limits The Waiver’s services can include: - Adult family care - Adult day service - Attendant care - Assisted living - Care management - Community transition - Home modifications - Homemaker - Health care coordination - Home delivered meals: delivery of meals to your home - Personal emergency response system - Nutritional supplements - Respite - Pest control - Structured family caregiving - Special medical equipment and supplies - Vehicle modifications - Transportation ## What Does A Nursing Facility Level Of Care Mean? You need a nursing facility level of care if one or more of the following applies: - You have a complex and unstable medical condition that requires you to receive assistance from others - You need someone’s help with medical equipment (e.g. suctioning, ventilator, tube feeding, IV) - You need someone’s direct assistance for treatments or routines (e.g. oxygen administration) - You need to be observed and assessed by a physician because of your unstable physical condition - You have another type of substantial medical condition ## How Do You Apply For A Aged & Disability Waiver In Indiana? You begin by requesting a Waiver from one of Indiana’s area agencies on aging (the “AAA,” see ). One of your AAA’s case managers will evaluate your eligibility, determine which services will fit your needs, and submit a request for the services. ## Waiver Eligibility Requirements Generally, a Waiver applicant must: - Be 65 or older, blind, or disabled; - Need a “nursing facility level of care;” - Live in a Home and Community-Based Services (“HCBS”) setting; and - Satisfy Medicaid’s income and resource limits. The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) provides additional information about Waiver eligibility requirements online at: and . ## How Do Have You Apply for Medicaid with a Waiver? You apply for Medicaid after the AAA approves the Waiver application and lists your needed services on your Plan of Care (POC) or Notice of Action (NOA). You can apply for Medicaid online, in person at a local Division of Family Resources (DFR) office, or by calling the DFR. However, suppose you have life insurance, an IRA or other retirement plan, a home or other valuable property, or you are married. In those cases, a skilled elder law attorney can help you: - confirm that you qualify for benefits; - ensure that your Medicaid application is complete and correct; and - legally protect assets that most people forfeit by applying without an elder law attorney’s assistance. ## Can The Medicaid Application Process Be Expedited? Yes. If you want to apply for expedited waiver eligibility, you must be eligible for Medicaid and the Aged & Disabled Waiver. - You must be age 65 or older - You can’t already be receiving Medicaid Benefits - You must meet Medicaid’s income and asset limits - You must need help with at least three activities of your daily living (e.g. toileting, dressing, eating) or have a substantial skill need - You must need a nursing facility level of care - You must not have complex financial assets that have to be reviewed If you are eligible for the expedited program, you could potentially start to receive benefits in days, not months. ## Indiana Medicaid Lawyer You should [speak with an elder law lawyer](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/contact-us/) to learn more about qualifying for Medicaid, including the Indiana Aged & Disabled Waiver. [Click here](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/elder-law/) to learn more about Indiana Medicaid planning strategies. #### **About The Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author this blog with [Thomas E. Hynes](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-e-hynes/), a lawyer admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Florida who has a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers](https://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/category/sullivan/) and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/). He is also licensed in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp), a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba), and a member of the [Illinois NAELA Chapter](https://www.naela-il.org/). #### **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2022 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Elder Law **Tags:** Aged and Disabled Waiver, asset protection, elder law attorney, Medicaid --- ### [How Can I Protect My Assets From Medicaid In Indiana?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/protect-assets-from-medicaid/) **Published:** December 13, 2021 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** If you exceed Medicaid’s asset limits, you need to spend down and potentially deplete most of your assets to qualify. If you transfer or give away your assets before applying, you might be penalized and ineligible for benefits. Because of this, satisfying Medicaid’s asset limits requires careful planning and consideration. Read on to learn more about long-term care Medicaid asset limits, including what you can do to protect your assets and still receive benefits. **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/image.png "image - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/image.png) If you or a loved one needs long-term care Medicaid benefits in Indiana, you’ll need to know Indiana’s Medicaid eligibility requirements. Medicaid in Indiana can pay your long-term care costs if you don’t have long-term care insurance and cannot afford to pay privately. However, you must comply with strict income and asset limits to qualify. As Medicaid is a needs-based system, only certain applicants get approved. If you exceed Medicaid’s asset limits, you need to spend down and potentially deplete most of your assets to qualify. If you transfer or give away your assets before applying, you might be penalized and ineligible for benefits. Because of this, satisfying Medicaid’s asset limits requires careful planning and consideration. Read on to learn more about long-term care Medicaid asset limits, including what you can do to protect your assets and still receive benefits. ## What Are The Asset Limits For Nursing Home Medicaid In Indiana? For Medicaid to cover the costs of your nursing home level of care (e.g. care in a nursing home, at home, or in the community), your assets cannot exceed the state’s asset limits. Specifically, the 2022 asset limit (known as the [resource limit](https://www.in.gov/fssa/ompp/files/Medicaid_PM_2600.pdf)) is $2,000 if you are single. If you are married, the spouse applying for Medicaid can keep $2,000, and the nonapplicant spouse can keep up to $137,400 – the community spouse resource allowance (CSRA). If both you and your spouse apply, then the combined asset limit for you and your spouse is $3,000. Medicaid considers some of your assets to count against your eligibility and other assets to be exempt (noncountable). For example, the cash in your checking account is a countable asset. However, your home could be an exempt asset if you are expected to return home or your: - Spouse lives at home, - Child under 18 lives at home, or - Blind or disabled child lives at home. So, you could become eligible for Medicaid by having more than the state resource limits because some of your resources are exempt. But you should speak with a Medicaid planning attorney about your situation to be sure. ## Can You Hide Assets From Medicaid? The only way you can legally hide assets from Medicaid is to execute transfers of those assets before Medicaid’s lookback period. Medicaid does not review your financial transactions that occur more than five years before applying. Intentionally failing to disclose assets or asset transfers made within the lookback period is a crime known as Medicaid fraud that is usually a [felony punishable by a fine and possible imprisonment](http://iga.in.gov/legislative/laws/2021/ic/titles/035/#35-43-5-4). ## How Does Medicaid Know What Your Assets Are? When you apply for Medicaid, you’ll have to disclose the types and values of your assets, including cash, checking accounts, savings accounts, trust funds, individual retirement accounts, and more. Medicaid reviews the last five years of your asset and income records to determine if you gave away assets or transferred them for less than they were worth. Medicaid can require copies of tax returns and account statements for this five-year period. Increasingly, follow-up questions about Indiana Medicaid applications show signs that the state is using advanced investigation technology to find unreported assets and income. ## Can Medicaid Take Your Assets? If you received Medicaid benefits in Indiana after the age of 55, then after you die, the state can potentially take some of your assets to offset the cost of benefits that Medicaid covered. Taking your assets is more commonly referred to as [estate recovery](https://www.in.gov/fssa/ompp/files/Medicaid_PM_4700.pdf), and it is required by state and federal law. Your estate consists of assets, including personal property and real property, that you own at your death. Assets could include your home, farmland, money remaining in your bank account or nursing home account, money held in your qualified income trust (Miller Trust), and assets in a revocable trust, and whole life or universal life insurance policies with cash surrender values. However, some of your assets might not be reachable by the state, including: - Property that transferred to an irrevocable trust more than five years before applying - Personal effects - Life insurance proceeds that are paid to your beneficiaries - Assets that are provided to your surviving spouse, a child under 21 years old, or a child who is blind or disabled Moreover, if you are a married Medicaid recipient and your spouse survives you, the state will not seek recovery until after your spouse’s death. However, Indiana law prohibits estate recovery against the community spouse’s assets after their death. ## What Is Medicaid Asset Protection? Medicaid asset protection includes: - planned advance asset transfers, - exempt asset investment planning, and - planning to minimize as that exposure to Medicaid estate recovery. Through the help of a skilled elder law attorney, you could plan for Medicaid years in advance to avoid issues with Medicaid’s asset limits and lookback period. Suppose more than five years before seeking Medicaid benefits, you transfer some of your assets into an irrevocable trust commonly known as a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT). In this case, the trust holds assets for the benefit of your loved ones and is tailored to serve your unique interests and concerns relating to your beneficiaries. This type of trust could even provide you income. However, losing access to the trust’s principal is essential for the trust not to be determined by Medicaid as one of your assets when you apply. Even if you need Medicaid benefits sooner than five years from now, a skilled attorney can help you protect some of your assets, so Medicaid planning is still worth pursuing. ## Medicaid Lawyer In Indiana To learn more about protecting your assets in anticipation of Medicaid, you should consult with a [Medicaid planning attorney](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/contact-us/). You can also find more information about Indiana Medicaid planning in these and other [Hawkins Elder Law Blog](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/blog/) articles: - [](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/medicaid-transfer-penalty/)[Transfers During Medicaid’s Look-Back Period](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/medicaid-transfer-penalty/) - [Medicaid Lookback, Transfer Penalties, and Property Transfer Strategies](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/medicaid-lookback-transfer-penalties-and-property-transfer-strategies/) - [MEDICAID APPLICATION TRIAL AND ERROR](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/medicaid-application-trial-and-error/) - [Medicaid 5-Year Lookback Q & A](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/medicaid-5-year-lookback-q-a/) #### A**bout The Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author this blog with [Thomas E. Hynes](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-e-hynes-esq), a lawyer admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida who has a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). #### **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call or text us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2022 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Advice of Elder Law Counsel, Elder Law, Medicaid, Medicaid Fraud, Medicaid Planning Advice, Resources **Tags:** asset protection, elder law attorney, Estate Recovery, Medicaid, Medicaid Fraud, nursing home --- ### [American Lawyers - Stewards of the Rule Book](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/494-2/) **Published:** October 17, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** ![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/US-Supreme-Court.jpg "US Supreme Court - Hawkins Elder Law PC") \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] We usually write about subjects within our law practice expertise such as estates, trusts, nursing home care, and small businesses. However, last night’s opening presentation of the Steven Spielberg movie *Bridge of Spies* inspired us to write a few words about what it means for us to be lawyers specifically, and the general pride that everyone should have to be Americans. The *Bridge of Spies* features Tom Hanks’ character, James B. Donovan, a prominent New York insurance defense lawyer and former associate prosecutor in the Nuremberg trials in post-World War II Germany. The movie portrays how Donovan risked his life and career to defend Rudolf Abel, an accused Soviet spy charged with espionage during some of the scariest days of the Cold War in 1957. A federal jury convicted Abel, but Donovan persuaded the court not to sentence Abel to death. Donovan argued his client’s case to the United States Supreme Court, which upheld the conviction by a 5-4 decision but praised Donovan with the “gratitude of the entire court” for accepting the controversial case. The second half of the movie features Donovan’s unofficial role as the lead negotiator to exchange Rudolf Abel for American U-2 spy plane pilot Francis Gary Powers, whom the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) shot down during Powers’ 1960 overflight of strategically sensitive Soviet military facilities. Complex relationships between the United States, the USSR, and the brand-new German Democratic Republic (East Germany) made negotiations for prisoner exchanges almost impossible at official diplomatic levels. Somehow, Donovan’s role in Rudolf Abel’s espionage case drew him into an unlikely negotiating role as a private United States citizen and lawyer to negotiate the exchange of Abel for Powers. The whole matter became more complicated when East Germany captured American economics student Frederic Pryor and threatened to try him for espionage as East Germany was beginning to build the Berlin Wall. People often ask how lawyers can take controversial cases or represent unpopular perspectives. That question implies that lawyers cannot be ethical, moral, or even respectable citizens when they accept such roles. It is difficult to express the high ethical, moral, and social necessity of lawyers filling such roles more eloquently than Tom Hanks’s portrayal of Donovan’s explanation to a CIA agent in *Bridge of Spies* ([see the scene in this YouTube clip](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQtN5g-6s6c)) when he said, “I’m Irish and you’re German, but what makes us Americans? Just one thing…the rule book. We call it the Constitution and we agree to the rules, and that’s what makes us Americans.” James Donovan did not invent his responsibility to the rule of law. Even before America’s founders complained to King George III in the Declaration of Independence, before the United State of America was a sovereign nation, Massachusetts lawyer John Adams boldly and successfully defended the reviled British soldiers accused of murdering members of a violent colonial mob in the pre-revolutionary incident known as the Boston Massacre. Adams went on to negotiate a treaty with England after the Revolutionary War and served as our second United States President. History books overflow with such examples of lawyers shaping our nation’s pivotal moments. Law schools train lawyers to understand and predict how laws emerge and evolve to regulate our constantly changing society and protect its citizens. Lawyers learn to become part of our system of laws, to represent clients within that system, and to rely on the system to solve most problems as effectively as possible. We also accept the charge to monitor, maintain, and improve the system as the stewards of justice and the rule of law. A woman told us while we were teaching a class on advance healthcare directives and end-of-life procedures earlier this year in Washington, Indiana, that she does not trust lawyers. We found sad irony in that statement because, although the law and every other vocation has its rogues and imbeciles, no other profession dedicates itself so faithfully to advise and represent people like her when the rest of the world tolerates abuse, neglect, and other injustices. That misguided woman may have trustworthy friends and family, but when the chips are down, she will probably need a lawyer. In good times and bad times, almost everyone needs a lawyer eventually. That is why we are proud to be American lawyers. # About the Authors Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). # More Information Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). You can also call us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2021 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on our website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Law and Justice, Lawyers as Stewards of Justice, Rule of Law, U.S. Constitution **Tags:** American lawyers, Berlin Wall, Boston Massacre, Bridge of Spies, CIA, Declaration of Independence, Francis Gary Powers, German Democratic Republic, James B. Donovan, John Adams, King George III, Revolutionary War, Rudolf Abel, rule of law, stewards of justice, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, United States Supreme Court --- ### [Should I Apply For Traditional Medicaid?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/apply-for-traditional-medicaid-indiana/) **Published:** December 29, 2021 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/image-7.png "image-7 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/image-7.png) If you or a loved one needs long term care, then Medicaid can potentially pay for this care, whether in a nursing home, assisted living facility, and even at home. However, some seniors are medically frail and need more extensive care in a nursing home setting. Many Indiana nursing home residents who qualify for Medicaid do not have to pay for most of their nursing home costs because Medicaid pays for the brunt of them. Here’s a brief overview of what Medicaid can offer you and how elder law attorneys can help to ensure that you qualify for long term care benefits. ## What Are The Advantages Of Indiana Medicaid? Indiana’s Medicaid programs include [Healthy Indiana Plan](https://www.in.gov/fssa/hip/), [Traditional Medicaid](https://www.in.gov/medicaid/members/297.htm), [Hoosier Care Connect](https://www.in.gov/medicaid/members/26.htm), [Hoosier Healthwise](https://www.in.gov/medicaid/members/174.htm), [Medicare Savings Program](https://www.in.gov/medicaid/providers/860.htm), [HoosierRx,](https://www.in.gov/medicaid/members/194.htm) [MED Works](https://www.in.gov/fssa/ompp/med-works/), [Program of All-Inclusive Care For The Elderly](https://www.in.gov/fssa/da/program-of-all-inclusive-care-for-the-elderly2/), and [Medicaid Home And Community Based Services](https://www.in.gov/fssa/ompp/health-coverage/medicaid-hcbs-programs/). ## Traditional Medicaid In Indiana, Traditional Medicaid provides you with health care benefits if you have low income and assets. Traditional Medicaid covers: - Members in nursing homes, state-operated facilities, and intermediate care facilities for the intellectually disabled. - Members who are dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare. - Members who are eligible for home and community-based services. Notably, Traditional Medicaid has a full range of services, including hospital care, doctor’s visits, wellness visits, well-child visits, clinic services, prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, lab and x-ray services, mental health care, substance abuse services, medical supplies, equipment, home health care, nursing facility services, dental care, vision care, physical therapy, speech therapy, hospice care, emergency and non-emergency transportation, family planning services, routine foot care, surgical foot care, chiropractic services and more. If you want to know whether you are eligible for Traditional Medicaid, you should review the state’s [eligibility guide](https://www.in.gov/medicaid/members/apply-for-medicaid/eligibility-guide/). If you are a disabled individual who is institutionalized or eligible for a home- and community-based waiver, then you qualify if your income and assets fall within the state’s limits. ## What Are The Disadvantages Of Medicaid? Since Medicaid is a needs-based program, not everyone will qualify for benefits. For example, to receive long term care, you’ll need to show that you are eligible financially and medically. Many people who need long term care have income or assets that exceed the state’s limits, preventing them from getting benefits. Another potential disadvantage relates to the quality of care. Medicaid does not offer an endless list of solutions to your medical problems. In some cases, if you suffer an injury or illness while on Medicaid, you may be limited in treatment options. This means that any treatment which is experimental or viewed as unnecessary might be denied. Also, a Medicaid nursing home will likely not measure up to a luxurious private nursing home facility. However, Medicaid aims to ensure that you are comfortable and receive proper treatment, and many seniors have been satisfied with the care they receive through this government program. ## Does Medicaid Pay Retroactively? Retroactive eligibility helps people dealing with unexpected injuries or illnesses that can’t pay for their care and have not sorted out what they must do to obtain government benefits. Medicaid applications take some time to process – it doesn’t happen overnight. Fortunately, if you apply for Medicaid, you can receive nursing home benefits that apply up to three months before your application. Suppose that you met Medicaid’s eligibility guidelines in June when you moved into a nursing home. If you applied for Medicaid in September, Medicaid would cover your unpaid nursing home expenses since June. ## How Do I Know Whether To Apply For Medicaid? For starters, you should investigate the types of Medicaid that Indiana offers to see if you can obtain the care you need through these programs. Each Medicaid program has different services and eligibility criteria. Secondly, if you need long term care, you may be best served by consulting with a Medicaid planning attorney who can evaluate your finances and healthcare needs and help you qualify for benefits. It is important to note that a lot can go wrong with completing your Medicaid application without the help of an attorney. It is better to have peace of mind knowing that a trained professional is involved in helping you protect your assets and get the benefits you need. ## Indiana Medicaid Lawyer To learn more about applying for traditional Medicaid in Indiana, contact a [Medicaid planning lawyer](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/contact-us/). [Click here](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/elder-law/) to learn more about Indiana Medicaid planning strategies. #### **About The Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author this blog with [Thomas E. Hynes](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-e-hynes-esq), a lawyer admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida who has a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). #### **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2021 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Elder Law **Tags:** asset protection, elder law attorney, Medicaid, nursing home, Traditional Medicaid --- ### [Is Applying For Medicaid Difficult In Indiana?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/applying-for-medicaid-indiana/) **Published:** December 27, 2021 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/image-6.png "image-6 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/image-6.png) Medicaid can be difficult to apply for depending on the type of benefits that you need. You might need long term care, which could include living in a nursing home facility. To receive care in a nursing home, you have to qualify in part based on your finances and healthcare. There are many steps to completing the application, and one misstep can equate to the denial of your application. The [Hawkins Elder Law](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/contact-us/) attorneys, who specialize in Medicaid planning, can help you get qualified. Here’s more about applying for Medicaid in Indiana. ## What Is Medicaid For Long Term Care? Medicaid is a government aid program for low-income individuals. One of the critical benefits of Medicaid is that it can cover long term care services. In Indiana, for you to be eligible for Medicaid, you must: - Be a United States citizen (or lawful resident) - Be sixty-five or older, or blind or disabled - Satisfy income and asset limits ## What Is The Process For Getting Medicaid In The State Of Indiana? You’ll have to complete and submit the Indiana Application for Health Benefits, also known as the Medicaid application. Along with that application, you’ll need to provide proof of birth, citizenship, income, resources (e.g. assets), proof of residence, and other documents. You can apply for [Medicaid online](https://fssabenefits.in.gov/bp/), in person at your [local Division of Family Resources (DFR) office](https://www.in.gov/fssa/dfr/ebt-hoosier-works-card/find-my-local-dfr-office/), or by calling Medicaid at (800) 403-0864. You’ll also be able to check your application status online or by calling, but you need a case number to check your status. While some parts of the Medicaid application process seem simple, the process is full of hidden stumbling blocks and pitfalls. Experienced elder law attorneys constantly monitor the application process to find and adapt to small changes that may ruin or delay an applicant’s eligibility. ## How Long Does It Take For Medicaid To Be Approved? Once your application is received and all required documents are submitted to the Division of Family Resources, they’ll begin to process your application. You’ll have to wait up to 90 days to see whether you are eligible, but you can receive an answer from Medicaid in less time. Remember that in applying for Medicaid, you’ll have to properly document your finances and health status and show that you are qualified for benefits. This is not something that you should do without discussing your situation with a Medicaid planning attorney. ## What If I Have Problems Getting Approved For Medicaid Benefits? There are many reasons why your application might not get approved, and submitting incorrect or incomplete documents to Medicaid is one of them. In many cases, people who get rejected for Medicaid apply without an experienced elder law attorney’s guidance and representation. Applicants get denied for not meeting the required income and resource limits. Some applicants get penalized for disallowed transfers within five years of applying for Medicaid. Other applicants lose their rights to keep tens of thousands of dollars in assets because they applied for Medicaid too soon or too late. A DFR supervisor or nursing home business office manager might be able to provide you with clarity on the problems, but they can’t give asset protection planning advice. If you’ve been denied, you should receive a notice stating the reason for the denial. Although, you have a right to appeal a denial, you should speak with a qualified elder law attorney to ensure that you go about this process the right way. Of course, the best path to Medicaid approval while protecting assets begins in a conference with an experienced elder law attorney. ## Hiring A Medicaid Lawyer In Indiana If You Need Benefits To learn more about applying for Medicaid in Indiana, contact an [elder law lawyer](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/contact-us/). [Click here](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/elder-law/) to learn more about Indiana Medicaid planning strategies. #### **About The Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author this blog with [Thomas E. Hynes](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-e-hynes-esq), a lawyer admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida who has a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). #### **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2021 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Elder Law **Tags:** elder law attorney, Medicaid, Medicaid application, nursing home --- ### [How Much Does A Medicaid Planner Cost?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/cost-of-medicaid-planner-in-indiana/) **Published:** December 24, 2021 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/image-5.png "image-5 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/image-5.png) Medicaid can provide you with valuable benefits that make a real difference in your life. This could include Medicaid paying those nursing home expenses that would otherwise set you back close to six figures each year in Indiana if paid out of pocket. The process of obtaining Medicaid might seem rather straightforward, but it is far more complex than most people realize. This is why Medicaid planners exist. Read on to learn more about Medicaid planners and what they might charge for their services. ## What Is Medicaid Planning? Approximately seventy percent of seniors will need long term care in their lifetime. Most people fall out of their seats when they realize how much nursing home care costs and how Medicare does not fully cover long term care in a nursing home. If you need care in a nursing home and have the money to pay for it, then in Indiana, you are expected to pay out of pocket. Paying for a nursing home out of pocket can cause you to be impoverished, losing all your life savings in short order. The safety net is Medicaid, which you could qualify for by meeting strict income and asset requirements. Medicaid planning enables you to protect your assets while still receiving Medicaid benefits. Through effective legal strategies and making the most of Medicaid’s guidelines, attorneys can advise you on how to preserve your assets that would otherwise have to be used for long term care. The Medicaid eligibility process is complex. You might make a simple mistake and receive a denial letter, and that denial can be extremely costly if you are already in a nursing home paying out of pocket. Given the time it takes to process an application, you don’t want to deal with setbacks. A Medicaid planning attorney can help you avoid them. ## What Do Medicaid Planners Do? Given the complexities of Medicaid, there is a great need for planning. Planning generally involves a close review of your healthcare needs and finances to determine your options. Planning then involves implementing strategies meant to benefit you or your family while ensuring that you can get approved for Medicaid. These strategies change along with the changes to federal and state laws or rules relating to Medicaid, so a planner’s job is to stay abreast of new regulations and which strategies to use at the right time. ## Help With Restructuring Assets For example, you might have too many assets to qualify for Medicaid. A Medicaid planning attorney can help you convert some of the assets into exempt (noncountable) assets. They can restructure your assets in a way that Medicaid does not view as countable. Moreover, they could help you shift assets out of your name five years before applying for Medicaid so that Medicaid does not consider those assets at all when determining your eligibility. ## Help With Long Term Care Options Other benefits of using a Medicaid planner are that they can help ensure that you understand the type of long term care options available to you. They can advise you on what options may suit your needs. They will be knowledgeable about the types of government resources that can help cover the cost of your care. ## Considerations For The Spouse Finally, a Medicaid planning attorney can evaluate your and your spouse’s financial circumstances and ensure that the spouse who is not applying for Medicaid still has adequate resources and income to manage their life. ## Do I Need An Attorney? Not all Medicaid planners are attorneys. Some include eldercare financial planners, insurance agents, geriatric care managers, and more. Elder law Medicaid attorneys know the law and can establish the required legal documents that underlie the strategies of protecting your assets. Secondly, Medicaid attorneys are trained to spot and handle legal issues relating to your eligibility. They can analyze the legal impact on how your assets are titled. Thirdly, they can help you avoid Medicaid estate recovery. Other professionals involved in Medicaid planning may be helpful, but it is best to consult an elder law attorney to ensure that you are on the right track. ## How Much Do I Have To Pay For A Medicaid Planner? There is no one-size-fits-all Medicaid strategy, which means that each person’s planning could come at a different cost. Generally, planning costs are less if you have fewer assets and don’t want until the last minute. If you have more than five years before needing Medicaid nursing home care, whether for you or your spouse, then time is on your side, and you have less expensive ways to plan. Those with more significant wealth, or who require Medicaid immediately or within five years, may need what is known as “crisis planning,” which may carry higher costs. The best way to determine the costs is to consult with one or more elder law attorneys regarding your situation. ## Do I Need A Medicaid Planner? Medicaid planners focus on getting you or your loved one approved for Medicaid benefits. If you foresee needing long term care in a nursing home, then it is recommended that you be in contact with a Medicaid planner regarding your situation. They will help you understand what is at stake and how the planning could be effective to you. Not everyone needs planning, but many people do. And the cost of planning can pale in comparison to the benefits that Medicaid provides. ## Medicaid Lawyer In Indiana Medicaid will scrutinize your income, assets, and financial transactions. If denied coverage, the consequences can be financially overwhelming. Given what is at stake, you should get guidance and direction from a skilled elder law attorney regarding long term care Medicaid. Don’t hesitate to contact an [elder law lawyer in Indiana](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/contact-us/) for more information on using a Medicaid planner. [Click here ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/)to learn more about Indiana Medicaid planning strategies. #### **About The Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author this blog with [Thomas E. Hynes](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-e-hynes-esq), a lawyer admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida who has a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). #### **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2021 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Elder Law **Tags:** asset protection, Medicaid, Medicaid planner, nursing home --- ### [What Questions Should You Ask An Elder Law Medicaid Attorney?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/questions-to-ask-medicaid-attorney/) **Published:** December 20, 2021 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/image-3.png "image-3 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/image-3.png) To find out whether an elder law Medicaid attorney can help you, in nearly all cases, you’ll need to communicate with them first. To know whether the attorney is the right fit, you should ask them questions regarding their background. Here are some questions to consider. ## How Much Of The Attorney’s Practice Concerns Elder Law? The attorney you hire should be knowledgeable and experienced with the types of elder law issues you have. In this case, the focus is on Medicaid. If you find that the attorney handles various legal issues and only handles Medicaid planning cases now and then, this is a red flag and could make a difference in the quality of your representation. Estate planning firms commonly refer cases to experienced elder law attorneys for Medicaid planning. An attorney who designates a considerable portion of their work to Medicaid planning issues is in a better position to understand your unique situation and advise you on how to proceed. ## How Long Has The Attorney Been Practicing Elder Law? Suppose an attorney has not handled many elder law cases. Because of this, they may not be aware of how to help you best. They may not know all the legal strategies that may serve your needs. For example, an inexperienced elder law attorney might be unfamiliar with the strategies to protect your assets and get you long term care Medicaid. They may have little-to-no experience with Medicaid altogether. You want an attorney who has worked with Indiana Medicaid and knows the process to get benefits. You want someone who knows what to expect and how to deal with potential obstacles that may surface when you apply to receive benefits. ## Does The Lawyer Have Any Certifications? In Indiana, attorneys can be certified as a specialist by a Commission-accredited certifying organization; however, those attorneys must demonstrate proficiencies to become accredited. Jeff and Jennifer Hawkins are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. ## What Does The Attorney Charge? In some cases, attorneys charge by the hour, while in other cases, attorneys work on a flat fee. It is common for estate planning and elder law attorneys to charge flat fees to reflect the type of planning they do for clients. For example, suppose you hire an attorney for Medicaid asset protection planning, which involves the creation of a trust and other legal documents. In that case, the attorney might offer to create all the documents necessary for your planning for a flat fee. Usually, the more extensive your planning, the higher the cost. ## When Should I Hire An Attorney? You should hire an attorney for elder law issues sooner rather than later. Suppose that you and your spouse are retired, and your spouse is dealing with significant health setbacks that you suspect will worsen soon. To the extent that your spouse cannot care for themself, and they need nursing home care, your expenses could go through the roof. If that happens, you might have to spend most of your assets on nursing home bills. Anticipating the need for long term care is essential. You could plan with an elder law attorney to protect your and your spouse’s assets and preserve their eligibility for Indiana long term care Medicaid. Critically, this planning could help you avoid losing all your assets to a nursing home, and more importantly, help your spouse get the care they need through Medicaid. ## How Can An Elder Law Attorney Help Me? Elder law attorneys can help you or your loved one effectively manage health care issues, including Medicaid eligibility and other long term care solutions. These professionals will have a firm understanding of the types of Medicaid options available and how you could make the most of the government’s benefits while protecting your assets. Moreover, some elder law attorneys can help you with estate planning, including creating trusts and wills, powers of attorney, living wills, and more. ## Indiana Medicaid Attorney Elder law Medicaid planning attorneys aim to protect your assets while ensuring that you receive long term care Medicaid benefits. Consult with a [Medicaid planning attorney](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/contact-us/) to find out how they can help you. [Click here](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/elder-law/) to learn more about Indiana Medicaid planning strategies. #### **About The Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author this blog with [Thomas E. Hynes](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-e-hynes-esq), a lawyer admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida who has a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). #### **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2021 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Elder Law **Tags:** asset protection, elder law attorney, Medicaid, nursing home --- ### [How Does A Trust Help You Qualify For Medicaid In Indiana?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/using-a-trust-for-indiana-medicaid/) **Published:** December 22, 2021 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/image-4.png "image-4 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/image-4.png) When you need Medicaid to cover your or a loved one’s nursing home bills in Indiana, you’ll have to qualify for benefits. The process of planning and qualifying for benefits might involve the creation of trusts. Some trusts can protect your assets, while others won’t. Some trusts are acceptable to Medicaid, while others aren’t. [Hawkins Elder Law](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/contact-us/) explains more about trusts for Medicaid planning in Indiana and how our Medicaid planning attorneys can help you. ## What Is A Trust? A trust is a legal arrangement where you (the person making the trust) authorize a trustee (the person responsible for the trust) to hold and manage assets for the benefit of one or more beneficiaries. Trusts serve a wide range of benefits, including efficient control and distribution of your assets. Two of the most important trusts to note for Medicaid planning include Medicaid asset protection trusts (MAPTs) and Miller Trusts, explained below. ## Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts The assets in a Medicaid asset protection trust won’t count against you for Medicaid eligibility purposes if the trust is properly established and funded five years before you apply for Medicaid. With Medicaid asset protection trusts, you irrevocably transfer your principal to the trust and are not the beneficiary of the trust’s principal. However, you could receive income from the trust, and placing your assets into this trust could provide greater protection for your beneficiaries versus you giving assets directly to your beneficiaries. If the trustee has no discretion to invade principal for the settlor, the settlor’s role as a trustee is not a problem. On the other hand, if any trustee has discretion to distribute principal to the settlor, the entire trust corpus is a countable resource even if the trustee refuses to exercise the discretion. A MAPT is different than a revocable trust. If you have a revocable living trust (a trust that you can terminate for any reason), these are viewed by Medicaid as in your control, so the value of the trust assets will count against you for Medicaid purposes. ## Miller Trusts A Miller Trust is known as a Qualified Income Trust. It allows you to get approved for Medicaid if your income exceeds Medicaid’s income limits. This is because you place the amount of your income that exceeds Medicaid’s income limits into the trust, and Medicaid is listed as a beneficiary of that trust. Medicaid will have the right to the trust assets when you die to offset the costs Medicaid paid for your long term care benefits. Miller Trusts, which are irrevocable, only come into existence when you need Medicaid, not beforehand. ## Medicaid Attorney In Indiana For more information on using a trust with Medicaid, don’t hesitate to contact an [elder law lawyer in Indiana](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/contact-us/). [Click here](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/elder-law/) to learn more about Indiana Medicaid planning strategies. #### **About The Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author this blog with [Thomas E. Hynes](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-e-hynes-esq), a lawyer admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida who has a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). #### **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2021 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Elder Law **Tags:** asset protection, estate planning, Medicaid, Miller Trust, nursing home, trusts --- ### [Why Do I Need An Elder Law Attorney For Medicaid?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/elder-law-attorney-for-medicaid/) **Published:** December 17, 2021 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/image-2.png "image-2 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/image-2.png) If you are like most seniors, you will need long term care in your life. Long term care is expensive, and it could quickly deplete the entirety of your savings and assets. Medicaid is a government program that can pay for your long term care. But since Medicaid is a needs-based program, only certain people qualify. Elder law attorneys who are experienced with Medicaid can help you qualify. ## What Can An Elder Law Medicaid Attorney Do? Among other things, elder law attorneys can help you with long term care planning, including planning for Medicaid to cover the cost of care at a nursing home, assisted living facility, or at home. They can help you with asset protection, estate planning, and special needs planning. ## What Is The Difference Between Elder Law And Estate Planning? Most elder law attorneys engage heavily in estate planning. However, some estate planning lawyers exclude long-term care asset protection from the scope of their services. Elder law attorneys address advance health care directives and guardianship issues in addition to long-term care asset protection. Typically, estate planning attorneys that exclude long-term care issues focus on serving clients whose wealth levels may trigger estate, gift, and generation-skipping tax issues. ## When Should I Hire An Elder Law Attorney For Medicaid? If you want to protect your assets from going to a nursing home or other institution the moment that you need long term care, then you need a lawyer’s advice. Protecting your assets and obtaining Medicaid is hard to accomplish without the guidance of a skilled Medicaid planning attorney. Asset protection strategies, for example, involve the use of legal entities and other legal processes that the typical nonlawyer might not understand. You would be making a big mistake to try to get long term care Medicaid without an elder law attorney’s help. You could walk yourself right into a denial of benefits. You might be penalized for transferring assets before applying. Or, say your child, who is disabled and on government benefits, comes into money from a lawsuit. You don’t want your disabled child’s benefits to go away because they come into money. An attorney can help you understand what is at stake given your situation and ensure that you get and stay approved for benefits. ## Medicaid Lawyer In Indiana As you age, you might need the type of care provided in a nursing home. Most of us will. Paying that nursing home bill each month can erode your assets. Medicaid may help offset those nursing home bills but obtaining Medicaid coverage is not an effortless process. You need an [elder law Medicaid attorney’s help](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/contact-us/) to be sure. [Click here](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/elder-law/) to learn more about Medicaid planning strategies in Indiana. #### **About The Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author this blog with [Thomas E. Hynes](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-e-hynes-esq), a lawyer admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida who has a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). #### **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2021 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Elder Law **Tags:** elder law attorney, Medicaid, nursing home --- ### [What Does A Medicaid Lawyer Do?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/what-does-a-medicaid-lawyer-do/) **Published:** December 15, 2021 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/image-1.png "image-1 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/image-1.png) Medicaid is a needs-based system that can provide value healthcare benefits to you or your loved one. One of the most valuable benefits is long term care Medicaid, where the government can help cover most, if not all, of your nursing home care costs. But these government benefits are not just handed to anyone. You must qualify – and qualifying is a serious and complex process. When your goal is to avoid paying $6,800+ each month in nursing home bills, you cannot afford your Medicaid application to go wrong. That’s why it’s essential to seek an experienced Medicaid attorney’s guidance as soon as possible. ## How Can An Attorney Help Me Qualify For Medicaid? You may be surprised to learn that Medicaid is extensive and complex. It is not like ordering a sandwich at a restaurant or coffee from Starbucks. You must qualify for benefits to receive them, and qualifying requires you to understand Medicaid’s strict eligibility rules. To avoid burdening yourself with this task, a skilled elder law attorney can help you know which benefits you qualify for and how to receive those benefits as soon as you need them. For example, your assets and income cannot exceed state limits. If you exceed state limits, you could be determined ineligible and lose out on significant Medicaid benefits. You might not know which of your assets Medicaid considers or how your past financial transactions can result in your ineligibility. You might be unaware of essential asset protection strategies – ways to keep some or all your assets without sacrificing your eligibility. Fortunately, a Medicaid planning attorney can help you understand these things more clearly. More importantly, they can help you make the right decisions with your finances so that you don’t face obstacles getting approved for long term care benefits. ## Can An Attorney Help Me With My Indiana Medicaid Application? An attorney will take the time to understand your needs, explain Medicaid benefits that might be available to you, protect as much of your assets as possible, and help ensure that your Medicaid application goes through. A skilled elder law attorney knows how to identify your assets, income, and other essential information in your application. For example, you’ll potentially have to identify the past five years of your financial transactions in your Medicaid application. Medicaid can require copies of tax returns and account statements for this five-year period. If you are married, this includes your spouse’s financial transactions. So, you’ll have to undergo thorough analysis and explain the rationale behind transfers, gifts, and other transactions (e.g. opening and closing accounts). Your attorney can make sense of your entire financial situation and present that information accurately and cohesively to Medicaid. This can prevent any possible delay or denial of your application by Medicaid. Remember that a denial of just one month of nursing home Medicaid can cause you to spend $6,800+ out of pocket for care. ## What If My Medicaid Application Is Denied? Medicaid applications can be denied for many reasons. Your income or assets might be above the state limits, or you might have made impermissible transfers of assets within five years of applying. Denials could also stem from your health status (e.g. not requiring nursing home level of care). If your Medicaid application is incomplete or inaccurate, this may result in your application getting denied. Whatever the reason, Indiana Medicaid must provide you with a denial notice within 45-90 days. In this notice, Medicaid is supposed to inform you of the reasons for denying your application. You should be alerted to your rights, including the right to appeal, have a hearing, and have an attorney by your side. ## Indiana Medicaid Attorney To learn more about Medicaid planning in Indiana, you should consult with an [elder law attorney](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/contact-us/). [Click here to learn more about Medicaid planning strategies in Indiana.](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/elder-law/) #### **About The Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author this blog with [Thomas E. Hynes](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-e-hynes-esq), a lawyer admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida who has a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). #### **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2021 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Elder Law **Tags:** asset protection, Medicaid, nursing home --- ### [VETERANS’ LONG-TERM CARE STRAIGHT TALK](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/veterans-long-term-care-straight-talk/) **Published:** November 10, 2021 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** This article describes long-term care benefits and eligibility requirements for our aging Hoosier veterans. **Content:** [![This elderly amputee could be a veteran needing long-term care](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Elderly-male-leg-amputee-in-wheelchair-–-profile-1024x683.jpg "Elderly man with a leg amputated leg sitting in a wheelchair - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Elderly-male-leg-amputee-in-wheelchair-–-profile-scaled.jpg)Veterans’ long-term care needs are expanding as Vietnam War veterans experience age-related health issues. This article describes long-term care benefits and eligibility requirements for our aging Hoosier veterans. # Indiana Veterans’ Home The Indiana Veterans’ Home (IVH) in Lafayette serves honorably discharged Indiana veterans, their spouses, and Gold Star parents. The IVH facility offers long-term care, memory care, rehab to home therapy, and independent living services. ## **Eligible Residents and Patients** The IVH website says an eligible resident or therapy patient must pass a criminal background check and be: - An honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. armed forces, or the spouse (or surviving spouse) of an honorably discharged veteran. - An Indiana resident for at least one year immediately preceding application for admission (some nonresidents may qualify for residency waivers). - A Gold Star parent –a parent of military service member who died while serving in the Armed Forces. ## **Indiana Veterans’ Home Costs** Veterans and their families should read the IVH application packet carefully (available online at ). Veterans with VA service-connected disability ratings of 70% or greater qualify for FREE IVH nursing care. However, the 2021 cost of IVH nursing care for other veterans and qualified family members is $415.14 per day ($151,475 per year). Although it is less expensive, the 2021 IVH independent living cost is $138 per day ($50,370 per year). Veterans with service-connected disability ratings below 70% may need Medicaid assistance to pay for IVH nursing home care. Medicaid is too complex to cover here, so we suggest these articles for more Medicaid eligibility information: - [Transfers During Medicaid’s Look-Back Period](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/medicaid-transfer-penalty/) - [Medicaid and Medicare In Indiana For Older, Disabled Americans](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/medicaid-and-medicare-in-indiana-for-older-disabled-americans/) - [Indiana Medicaid Application Issues](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/indiana-medicaid-application-issues/) - [MEDICAID APPLICATION TRIAL AND ERROR](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/medicaid-application-trial-and-error/) # VA AID AND ATTENDANCE & # HOUSEBOUND BENEFITS The VA offers several programs to help veterans pay for health care. Most notably, veterans with honorable discharges or discharges with honorable terms are eligible for treatment in VA hospitals. The VA also offers the Aid and Attendance and Housebound pensions to help veterans afford long-term care. [![The photo show an elderly man in a wheelchair with an expectant look of someone waiting on an answer to his long-term care questions.](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Elderly-man-in-wheelchair-facing-camera-1024x683.jpg "Handsome,Senior,Citizen,In,Wheelchair - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Elderly-man-in-wheelchair-facing-camera-scaled.jpg)This man wants quality health care with dignity## Aid and Attendance Pension Physical Eligibility The Aid and Attendance (A&A) monthly pension helps veterans and their surviving spouses pay long-term care costs. While the pension is inadequate for nursing home costs, it can make an assisted living facility affordable. An applicant must have one or more of the following issues to receive A&A benefits: - Need help performing activities of daily living, include bathing, feeding, dressing, toileting, adjusting prosthetic devices, or protection from environmental hazards; - Be bedridden by a disability requiring patient to stay in bed between treatments; - Be a nursing home patient because of mental or physical incapacity; - Have corrected visual acuity of 5/200 or less in both eyes; or - Have visual field concentric contraction to 5 degrees or less. ## **Housebound Pension Physical Eligibility** The VA Housebound Pension helps veterans pay for health care in their homes. A veteran must have one of the following health issues to receive Housebound benefits: - a single permanent disability evaluated as 100-percent disabling confining the veteran in one place; or - a single permanent disability evaluated as 100-percent disabling and another disability (or disabilities) evaluated as 60-percent or more. ## **Aid and Attendance Financial Eligibility** The total value of net assets and annual net income of veterans seeking A&A benefits cannot exceed $130,773. Although some folks might think of giving assets to their families to drop their wealth below the limit, it isn’t that simple. The A&A requirements include a transfer penalty system that resembles the Medicaid penalty system. The VA transfer penalty rules disqualify applicants for asset transfers within the three years before they apply for A&A benefits. ### More VA Aid and Attendance Information These VA webpages offer more A&A information: [VA Aid and Attendance benefits and Housebound allowance](https://www.va.gov/pension/aid-attendance-housebound/) [2021 VA pension rates for Veterans](https://www.va.gov/pension/veterans-pension-rates/) [2021 VA Survivors Pension benefit rates](https://www.va.gov/pension/survivors-pension-rates/) The A&A application process is like many other experiences with government agencies – slow and complex. So, call or visit your County Veterans Service Office to get A&A application advice and guidance. Hoosiers can find their County Veterans Service Offices through this webpage: # About the Authors Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). # More Information Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). You can also call us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2021 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on our website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Aid and Attendance, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Veterans Affairs, Disability, Home healthcare, Hospital, Independent Living, Long-term care, Medicaid, Uncategorized, Veterans benefits **Tags:** County Veterans Service Office, Indiana Veterans’ Home, VA Aid and Attendance, Veterans’ long-term care --- ### [Anatomical Gift and Supported Decision Making Laws](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/anatomical-gift-and-supported-decision-making-laws/) **Published:** July 16, 2019 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** ![Group Photo 2 of SEA 112 & SEA 380 Signing Ceremony](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/SEA-112-SEA-380-Bill-Signing-FB-2.jpg "SEA 112 & SEA 380 Bill Signing FB 2 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")Anatomical Gift and Supported Decision Making Laws Featured in Ceremonial Bill Signing – Anatomical gift and supported decision making laws drew Governor Eric Holcomb’s praise at a signing ceremony for bills affecting those laws. Governor Holcomb invited Hawkins Elder Law attorney Jeff R Hawkins and other stakeholder representatives to witness the Governor’s July 8 ceremonial signing of [Senate Enrolled Act 112 (SEA 112)](http://iga.in.gov/static-documents/a/5/6/a/a56a4df6/SB0112.04.ENRH.pdf) and [Senate Enrolled Act 380 (SEA 380)](http://iga.in.gov/static-documents/9/a/7/1/9a71c4bf/SB0380.04.ENRH.pdf) at the [Governor’s Residence](https://www.in.gov/gov/2332.htm). During the ceremony, the Governor recognized key legislators and advocates that had supported the pair of disability-friendly bills. ![Group Photo 2 of SEA 112 & SEA 380 Signing Ceremony](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/SEA-112-SEA-380-Bill-Signing-FB-2-1024x536.jpg "SEA 112 & SEA 380 Bill Signing FB 2 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")Stakeholder representatives look on as Gov Eric Holcomb signs SEA 112 and SEA 380## Supported Decision Making Legislation Inspiration Supported decision-making advocate Jamie Beck basked in Governor Holcomb’s praise for her adult guardianship reform advocacy. Ms. Beck worked hard to gain legal and financial independence after a court appointed a guardian to manage her personal and legal affairs. Hard work paid off with employment to help support her independence, but she wanted to help provide alternatives to guardianship for other disabled adults. She told the group that she hoped the law and stories of her success would help other people in the future. ![Governor Holcomb leads applause for Jamie Beck, whose inspirational story about gaining independence from guardianship prove the value of supported decision making legislation.](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/SEA-112-SEA-380-Bill-Signing-FB-3-1024x536.jpg "SEA 112 & SEA 380 Bill Signing FB 3 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")Gov Holcomb applauds supported decision making advocate Jamie Beck## SEA 380 Requirements SEA 380 requires guardianship petitions to report petitioners’ attempts to protect disabled adults through powers of attorney and other guardianship alternatives. The law requires judges to consider the least restrictive guardianship alternatives to preserve disabled persons’ dignity and autonomy. Less restrictive alternatives could include making a power of attorney or appointing a health care representative. ## Supported Decision Making Advocates’ Frustrations Disability advocates have complained in recent years about the exploitation of disabled adults in unnecessary guardianships. Emily Gurnon highlighted this problem in her three-part 2016 article series entitled “[Guardianship in the U.S.: Protection or Exploitation?](https://www.nextavenue.org/guardianship-u-s-protection-exploitation/)” As Ms. Gurnon’s series highlighted, several reported cases have emerged in recent years of guardians robbing elderly people of their dignity and independence without justification. ## Estate and Trust Attorneys’ Concerns On the other hand, Indiana elder law attorneys worried that the original supported decision-making proposal would obstruct the protection of neglected and abused adults. They pointed out that many guardianship cases begin after health or financial crises have already stricken endangered adults. Lawyers expressed concern that additional procedural safeguards would unnecessarily delay important interventions and increase guardianship costs. Elder law attorneys argued that procedural delays leave advanced stage dementia patients unprotected from their own dangerous behaviors (see these stories about [fatalities caused when a demented bus driver drove into a British supermarket](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/09/18/elderly-bus-driver-had-dementia-killed-two-coventry-crash-court/) and [an elderly Texas woman’s death from exposure after wandering from home](https://abc13.com/83-year-old-woman-with-dementia-likely-died-from-cold/2958888/), and our article, “[Do Old Drivers Fade Away?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/do-old-drivers-fade-away/)“). Lawyers also pointed out that burdensome guardianship procedures can increase guardianship costs. With average Indiana nursing home costs exceeding $80,000 per year (see our article, “[Medicaid Application Trial and Error](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/medicaid-application-trial-and-error/)“) that financially abused or neglected people may not be able to afford. ## Supported Decision Making Stakeholders Compromise Legislators and advocate groups struggled to balance conflicting interests between autonomy and protection in SEA 380’s development. At times, traditional disability allies like ARC of Indiana and the Indiana State Bar Association’s Probate, Trust & Real Property Section found themselves in sharp opposition to one another. Finally, compromises on all sides produce a bill that everyone believes will serve disabled Hoosier adults well in the future. The guardianship petition must state the petitioner’s consideration of less restrictive alternatives, but it may also explain why the alternatives are inadequate. ![Rep. Bacon and Governor Holcomb discuss SEA 112's protections for disabled organ transplant candidates.](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/SEA-112-SEA-380-Bill-Signing-FB-4-1024x536.jpg "SEA 112 & SEA 380 Bill Signing FB 4 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")Gov Holcomb acknowledges Rep Bacons anatomical gift advocacy## Anatomical Gift Legislation Governor Holcomb turned the group’s attention next to State Representative Ronald Bacon’s advocacy for disabled organ transplant candidates. Rep. Bacon, a respiratory therapist from Northwest Warrick County, briefly described his concerns for disabled organ transplant patients. He sponsored SEA 112 to prevent health care providers from discriminating against disabled people in organ transplant cases. ## SEA 112 Anti-Discrimination Protections for Disabled Patients SEA 112 prohibits health care providers from considering a disabled patient’s inability to comply with medical requirements following organ transplantation to be medically significant if a qualified recipient has individuals or entities available to assist in complying with the requirements. The law also prevents a health insurance company from denying coverage for anatomical gifts, transplantation, or related health care services based solely on the disability of the insured patient. Health care providers must now help make transplantation-related treatment and services more accessible to disabled people. However, the law allows restrictive policies and procedures if providers can show that changes would fundamentally alter the nature of the transplantation-related treatment and services. Disabled transplant candidates also have new law enforcement tools through SEA 112. A disabled person who believes that a health care provider has violated the law may seek a court order requiring the provider to follow the law. ![Stakeholder representatives for disabled person protections in organ transplants cases and for supported decision making smile and approval of SEA 112 and SEA 380.](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/SEA-112-SEA-380-Bill-Signing-FB-1-1024x536.jpg "SEA 112 & SEA 380 Bill Signing FB 1 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")All smiles about anatomical gift and supported decision making enactments## **About the Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html). He served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins), and he is a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch). [Hawkins Elder Law](https://www.martindale.com/organization/hawkins-law-pc-1645736/) is one of the few elder law firms that Martindale-HubbellTM has rated AV Preeminent, with both of the firm’s lawyers ([Jeff Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jeff-hawkins-985574-a/) and [Jennifer Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jennifer-hawkins-985575-a/)) also rated AV Preeminent. ## **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can like [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2019 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Anatomical Gifts, Appointment of Health Care Representative, ARC of Indiana, Dementia, Disability, Elder abuse, Elder Exploitation, Elder Law, Elder Neglect, Financial Exploitation, Guardian, Guardianship, Health Care, Health Insurance, Healthcare Representative, Impaired Driving, Independent Living, Indiana State Bar Association, Medicaid, Nursing home, Organ Donation, Organ Transplant, Personal support services, Power of Attorney, Probate Trust & Real Property Section **Tags:** Anatomical Gifts, Appointment of Health Care Representative, ARC of Indiana, disability, elder law, elder law attorney, guardianship, health insurance, impaired driving, Indiana State Bar Association, organ transplant, power of attorney, Probate Trust & Real Property Section --- ### [Transfers During Medicaid’s Look-Back Period](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/medicaid-transfer-penalty/) **Published:** June 27, 2021 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/image-4.png "image-4 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/image-4.png) Grandparents often love to shower their grandchildren with money and expensive gifts. These wonderful heartfelt gifts may cause joy in the moment, but some of them may be costly down the line. Why? State and federal laws penalize some gift-givers for making “uncompensated transfers.” ## What Are Uncompensated Transfers? Federal law prohibits states from paying long-term care expenses for people who have made uncompensated transfers within a specified time before applying for Medicaid. Under Medicaid’s strict criteria, an uncompensated transfer includes any cash or other property that a person transfers to someone else without receiving full market value in return. For example, a “sale” of a $100,000 house for $1 is a $1 sale and a $99,999 uncompensated transfer. Uncompensated transfers can be large or small and can take many forms, including: - cash gifts - gifts of vehicles - gifts of jewelry - buying someone a cell phone - paying someone else’s bills - paying someone else’s medical expenses - transferring real estate as a gift or a below-market sale price - selling any property below its fair market value - paying someone’s college tuition - paying for a grandchild’s wedding If someone gives away money or other property shortly before needing nursing home care, the state Medicaid agency will delay paying the person’s nursing home expenses for days, months, or years. The purpose of the Medicaid look-back period is to find and penalize Medicaid applicants for uncompensated transfers. ## Potential Need For Nursing Home Care It’s difficult to worry about uncompensated transfers when all the elders in your family are happy and healthy. Unfortunately, things can happen suddenly that require either hospitalization, rehabilitative care, or a permanent nursing home admission. Consider these scenarios: - Your retired mother is rushed to a hospital after a negligent driver crashes into her car. She has severe and debilitating injuries. - Your grandmother falls at home and severely injures her hip, requiring full-time rehabilitative care. - The police call because your dad is wandering the streets looking for you. You can’t watch him every minute and realize he needs nursing home care. ## Paying Without Medicare Or Medicaid Most residents begin paying for long-term care services out of their own pocket. The average annual cost of nursing home care in Indiana is more than $80,000 for a semi-private room (slightly less in Southern Illinois). Medicare does not cover most placements in nursing homes, so nursing home residents or their families must pay the necessary costs of long-term care. Medicare also does not pay for hospital facilities on a long-term basis. Nursing homes themselves do not take regular health insurance unless your elder family member happens to have a long-term care policy. Eventually, the money being used to pay for long-term care runs out. Savings accounts, stocks and bonds, property, and any other revenue sources, may all need to be used just to keep up with nursing home care expenses. Real property may need to be sold. All sales and transfers must be at the fair market value, or Medicaid investigators will look back over the last five years and flag them as uncompensated transfers. The look-back period is extensive and detailed. ## 2021 Medicaid Income And Assets Criteria The state criteria for a single nursing home resident’s Medicaid eligibility require that the person cannot have more monthly income than $2,382 in Indiana (or more than the actual monthly nursing home fees in Illinois) and cannot have countable assets of more than $2,000 (assets that are not exempt from inclusion as “resources”). If a married couple needs nursing home care, then the income restriction applies to each spouse, and the couple cannot collectively have resources worth more than $3,000. If one spouse needs Medicaid (the “institutional spouse”), then the institutional spouse cannot have monthly income over $2,382 (again, actual monthly nursing home costs in Illinois) or resources above $2,000. However, an Indiana spouse living independently (the “community spouse” ) does not have to meet income requirements and can possess up to $130,380 in assets (Illinois requires the community spouse to pay some income for the institutional spouse’s care, and the maximum resource allowance is $109,560.00). ## Medicaid Look-Back Period And Transfer Penalties Medicaid pays for an eligible Medicaid recipient’s nursing care services in the home, assisted living facility, or a long-term care facility. However, Medicaid eligibility is not automatic for everyone. ## Look-Back Period State Medicaid officials can review (“look back” over) a Medicaid applicant’s old bank statements and other financial records for the five years preceding the Medicaid application date. Although Indiana applicants don’t always have to produce financial records for all five years, Indiana Medicaid officials can require a full production of records. Illinois applicants must produce the full five years of records. ## Transfer Penalties If the application process reveals uncompensated transfers, the transfers will trigger a “transfer penalty.” The transfer penalty will deprive the applicant of Medicaid assistance for a time duration related to the total value of the applicant’s uncompensated transfers during the look-back. The transfer penalty begins when the applicant needs the level of care provided in a nursing home and satisfies the income and resource eligibility requirements. Indiana calculates the length of a transfer penalty by dividing the total value of uncompensated transfers by the average cost of a one-month stay in a nursing home, which Indiana publishes on its Medicaid policy manual website. Illinois calculates the transfer penalty similarly, but it has multiple types of long-term care environments and applies different standards for the various environments. As of July 1, 2020, the Indiana average nursing home cost was $6,681, so a $66,810 uncompensated transfer would trigger a 10-month penalty ($66,810 ÷ $6,681/month = 10 months). ## Transfers Not Intended To Qualify For Medicaid Not all uncompensated transfers trigger transfer penalties. The federal rule applies transfer penalties for transfers made for the purpose of qualifying for Medicaid. If a Medicaid applicant made uncompensated transfers for reasons other than qualifying for Medicaid, the transfer penalty rule does not apply. Examples of uncompensated transfers that don’t trigger transfer penalties include: - assets taken by theft or fraud (a criminal complaint may be necessary) - a regular pattern of gifts such as church tithes - regular pattern of gifts for holidays or special occasions Medicaid officials consider gift patterns on a case-by-case basis, and it is not always easy to predict whether officials will accept evidence of a transfer purpose other than to qualify for Medicaid. ## Purpose Of The Five-Year Look-Back Period The five-year look-back requirement is only in place for nursing home level of care. Congress established the look-back and transfer penalty system to limit government responsibility for the ballooning costs of long-term care in hospitals, nursing homes, and rehabilitative facilities. The look-back and transfer penalty system ensures that people use private funds to pay for some of their long-term care services instead of giving away the assets and burdening the government-funded Medicaid system. ## Cash Transfers State agencies train Medicaid officials to discover and assume that unexplained cash transfers are penalizable uncompensated transfers. So, they will flag any unexplained bank account withdrawals. They also compare income sources to deposits to catch people depositing less than their income amounts. Increasingly, governmental computer systems are gathering account information through multiple sources to verify whether Medicaid applicants are disclosing their financial information fully and truthfully. ## Property Sales People should maintain detailed records about property sales. If an item is not sold for its fair market value, it will at least partially be deemed an uncompensated transfer. For example, if a car is sold for $10,000 when its fair market value is $20,000, caseworkers may consider that extra $10,000 to be an uncompensated transfer of assets. ## Transfer To Trusts A transfer to an irrevocable trust will usually trigger a transfer penalty. Elder law attorneys sometimes help clients establish and fund irrevocable trusts as carefully planned asset protection strategies. However, if people transfer property without calculating the transfer penalty consequences, they may create financial crises that prevent them from receiving essential health care. So, we often tell people, “don’t try this at home kids!” ## Refusing Future Benefits A person does not have to own property to make an uncompensated transfer. Federal Medicaid law applies transfer penalties to people who refuse income or assets that they are entitled to receive. For example, if a Medicaid applicant disclaimed inheritance from a deceased family member within five years of the applicant’s Medicaid application, the value of the disclaimed assets may trigger a transfer penalty. ## Hiring An Elder Law Attorney For Asset Protection Planning And Long-Term Care Medicaid Applications Medicaid laws change almost every year, and state Medicaid agencies often revise their policies and procedures with little or no notice. So expert elder law attorneys must monitor the Medicaid system vigilantly to serve their clients professionally. The attorneys of Hawkins Elder Law have almost three decades of experience helping clients plan and implement Medicaid planning strategies for asset protection and Medicaid eligibility. #### About the Authors [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author this blog with [Thomas E. Hynes](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-e-hynes-esq), a lawyer admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida who has a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). #### More Information Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2021 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Elder Law **Tags:** asset transfers, look-back period, Medicaid, nursing home, Transfer penalty --- ### [What Executors (Personal Representatives) Need To Know](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/personal-representative/) **Published:** June 17, 2021 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/image-1.png "image-1 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/image-1.png) Most people find news of a loved one’s death emotionally overwhelming. Your stress level may intensify when you discover that the deceased person’s last will and testament (the “Will”) names you as the estate’s executor. As executor, you may be the one person that helps keep all the pieces together as family members deal with the devastating loss. However, the deceased person (the “decedent”) would not have chosen you if they didn’t trust you to fill the role. Here’s more about the executor’s job, and what you can do to receive much-needed help with your responsibilities. ## First Priority: Consult Legal Counsel! A personal representative should consult an experienced attorney known for probate law mastery (also known as a “probate lawyer”), especially for managing large or complicated estates. There are a number of benefits to hiring a probate lawyer. Avoiding mistakes is key among them. Even minor mistakes can be costly. We will point out those risks throughout the article and conclude with tips about hiring a probate lawyer. ## What Is A Personal Representative? A decedent leaving a Will (referred to as a “testate decedent”) usually nominates a person in the Will as an “executor” to manage the decedent’s estate. When a decedent leaves no Will (referred to as an “intestate” decedent), a person may seek appointment by a court to serve as the decedent’s administrator. The term “personal representative” applies equally to an executor or administrator. The typical personal representative’s responsibilities include gathering the decedent’s property and possessions, paying their bills, and distributing remaining property and possessions to the estate’s beneficiaries (sometimes referred to as “distributees”). You may find the process overwhelmingly complex if you try to tackle it alone. However, an experienced estate lawyer can help streamline and manage the estate like a pro. ## What Are Probate And Probate Administration? The term “probate” refers to the legal process of presenting the decedent’s Will to the probate court and securing a court order accepting the Will as an official record of the court. However, when people use “probate” or “probate administration” (our preferred term), they usually mean the entire process of managing all issues of the decedent’s estate. A popular myth about administration suggests that people should avoid probate administration because of its costs, time consumption, and other fictional issues. Although it may take months to resolve all issues in a traditional probate administration process and distribute property to distributees, many of those delays also exist outside of probate administration. Probate administration provides essential problem-solving in estates involving disputes by creditors or distributees. However, a savvy estate plan can transfer huge asset values automatically at death without a Will or an extended probate process. Sometimes, a decedent’s estate does not require a prolonged probate administration process. Generally, you can use the Indiana probate statutes’ small estate administration process to transfer personal property (assets other than land, buildings, etc.) if the estate’s value is not more than $50,000 (Illinois has a similar system with a $100,000 limit). The simplified small estate administration uses affidavits to transfer property faster and less formally than the regular process. Distributees can claim an unlimited value of a decedent’s real property (assets including land, buildings, etc.) without the formal probate administration process. However, the beneficiary cannot use the small estate administration process to claim personal property if the total value of real and personal property exceeds the $50,000 small estate administration limit (again, $100,000 in Illinois). In that case, distributees must either petition for formal administration or forfeit the personal property to claim the real property without probate administration. We can illustrate Indiana’s real and personal property dilemma with an example. Suppose the probate property includes a $300,000 home and a $100 insurance refund check. In that case, it would not make sense to spend hundreds of dollars in filing fees and thousands of dollars of attorney fees to claim and deposit the $100 check, so the lawyer should advise the distributees to abandon the check. While it may appear that the estate’s asset value exceeds small estate limits concerning personal property, some assets don’t count. The estate’s assets (commonly known as “probate property”) only include items that the decedent owned alone without beneficiary arrangements. Probate property excludes life insurance proceeds, pay on death accounts, property held in trust, and other items with specified beneficiary designations outside of the Will. ## Personal Representative Appointment Process Several factors affect a personal representative’s appointment process, including whether - the decedent died leaving probate property; - the decedent died testate; - the decedent’s Will or distributees support unsupervised administration; and - the personal representative resides in the decedent’s state of residence. We will describe the appointment process and how these factors affect the process next. ## Petition for Appointment A personal representative’s appointment process in a testate estate begins with filing the Will and other documents in the Indiana probate court where the decedent resided. While the appointment process is similar for an intestate estate, any person without a felony conviction can petition for appointment as personal representative of an intestate decedent. To file the Will, a petitioner must file a petition to probate the Will (a specialized kind of lawsuit) and request the court’s appointment of someone to serve as the personal representative. Other required documents may include a personal representative’s oath of office, an affidavit of death, a proof of the Will, and other documents. In some cases (especially if the personal representative lives in another state), the probate statutes may require the petitioner to post a bond. ## Kinds Of Estate Administration A personal representative’s authority flows through the probate court from one of two sources: a testate decedent’s will or the probate statutes concerning an intestate decedent’s estate. In both testate and intestate estates, the court can appoint a personal representative to serve with or without court supervision. In supervised administration, a personal representative must file a written inventory of all the estate’s assets and debts, ask the court’s permission for most major decisions, and file a detailed written report in the court about the personal representative’s actions. If the court appoints the personal representative for unsupervised administration, the personal representative can manage the estate relatively informally and file a simplified closing statement with the court at the end of the case. To qualify for unsupervised administration, the court determines that the Will specifies unsupervised administration or that all the estate’s distributees have given written consents for unsupervised administration. Although most people prefer unsupervised administration’s simplicity, wise lawyers use courts as referees in supervised administration if they expect disputes with or among creditors or distributees. ## Letters Testamentary After the probate court judge signs an order approving a petition for appointment of a personal representative, the probate court’s clerk issues a certified document called Letters Testamentary for a testate decedent or Letters of Administration for an intestate decedent. In either case, the Letters are official proof of the personal representative’s broad legal authority you need to oversee and manage the estate, gain access to things like safe deposit boxes, and transfer or sell assets. ## Personal Representative’s Duties A personal representative owes a duty to act wisely, diligently, and honestly, and without favoritism toward, or prejudice against, any person. The duty prohibits a personal representative from seeking self-enrichment by using the estate’s assets for the personal representative’s personal benefit. The personal representative must make and report all transactions transparently according to the Will (in a testate estate) and the probate statutes for the benefit of the estate’s creditors and distributees. ## Personal Representative’s Tasks A personal representative’s tasks vary depending on the estate’s assets, debts, income, expenses, and any legal or practical issues requiring resolution. Common personal representative’s tasks include these responsibilities:. - Contacting potential beneficiaries listed in the Will as soon as possible and informing them about the estate administration’s progress. An experienced probate lawyer will offer systems and procedures to streamline the personal representative’s informational responsibilities. - Making a detailed inventory of all probate assets, including cash on hand, homes, antiques, art collections, boats or other vehicles, jewelry, collector’s items, the amount in bank accounts or certificates of deposit, and any other property owned by the decedent, including partial ownership interests. The inventory will also list all the decedent’s unpaid debts and expenses. An experienced probate lawyer will advise a personal representative to list all assets so the lawyer can help identify the necessary inventory items. The probate lawyer will advise the personal representative whether to include the following assets in the inventory’s list of probate property (some circumstances can require inclusion of each category): - Life insurance policies - Assets that are held in a trust - Certain types of jointly-held property - Accounts that are Payable on Death (POD) - Property designated as Transfer on Death (TOD) - Employer retirement, pension, or insurance accounts - Listing all reasonably identifiable creditors. The personal representative should examine the decedent’s mail carefully for several months and add contact information to the list for any creditors appearing in bills, invoices, or collection notices addressed to the decedent. The probate lawyer will help the personal representative notify creditors and publish a general notice of the estate administration to creditors in the local newspaper. The notification gives non-governmental creditors a deadline to file claims in the probate court. - Paying the decedent’s legitimate debts and the personal representative’s administrative expenses. The personal representative can take reimbursements and reasonable personal representative fees, and pay the probate lawyer’s fees under the lawyer’s legal services engagement agreement with the personal representative in unsupervised administration. However, the personal representative must seek court pre-approval of payments to the personal representative and the personal representative’s lawyer in unsupervised administration. - Calculate any state or federal taxes owed, and file final tax returns for the estate. The probate lawyer will take primary responsibility for this work by either preparing the tax returns or coordinating with a tax advisor. - Submit a closing statement to all beneficiaries, creditors, and to the court if needed. The probate lawyer will prepare the closing statement for the personal representative. ## Hiring A Probate Lawyer Experience and legal scholarship are essential attributes that a personal representative should seek in a probate lawyer. For almost three decades, Hawkins Elder Law has helped personal representatives, trustees, and guardians fulfill their administrative duties The firm’s lawyers also work year-round with their estate, trust, and elder law colleagues to study and propose improvements to the Indiana laws that affect their clients. #### About the Authors [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author this blog with [Thomas E. Hynes](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-e-hynes-esq), a lawyer admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida who has a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). #### More Information Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2021 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Estate Planning **Tags:** estate planning, executor, executrix, personal representative --- ### [What Is A Donor-Advised Endowment Fund?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/donor-advised-endowment-fund/) **Published:** June 10, 2021 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/image.png "image - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/image.png) You’re interested in supporting tax-exempt charities but don’t want your money used any way they please. Suppose you want a charity to manage donations with your input and under your direction. In that case, a charitable foundation in your home community could help you achieve that goal with a donor-advised endowment fund. A donor-advised endowment fund allows you to make charitable donations in a relatively easy and cost-effective manner while supporting the causes you are most passionate about. Because an endowment fund keeps its principal holdings, its earnings can help your charitable purpose perpetually. ## Purpose Of A Donor-Advised Fund A donor-advised endowment fund’s purpose is to manage charitable donations on your behalf. It is a simplified and immediate way to make tax-deductible charitable gifts and influence how a charity uses your gifts. Typically, the charity charges a small annual fee to each of its endowment funds to pay the charity’s operating costs. Once the endowment’s earnings cover its share of operating costs, your endowment agreement directs the foundation to use the remaining earnings for the fund’s charitable purposes. At its core, an endowment fund is an investment fund that makes consistent distributions of some of its earnings on investments. Universities, nonprofit organizations, churches, and hospitals often use endowment funds to support charitable functions. Public charities rely on corporate and individual donor contributions to the charities’ endowment funds. For example, many PBS television programs are funded through corporate involvement. Some prominent corporations encourage individual contributions by agreeing to match individual contributors’ gifts to endowment funds. ## Favorable Tax Deductions Donor-advised endowment funds receive favorable tax treatment because they provide essential financial support for public charities. You will immediately receive the maximum U.S. tax deduction the IRS allows and will continue to receive deductions for your additional charitable donations to the fund in the future. Some donors can deduct up to 30% of the value of their stock or other appreciated assets from their taxable income for state and federal income tax purposes. Qualifying donors can also deduct 60% of adjusted gross income on gifts of cash. “Qualified Charitable Distributions” are direct distributions from an IRA to a charity that offer two income tax benefits. First, the donor claims the distributions as the donor’s annual required minimum distributions. Second, the charity receives the IRA distributions tax-free. Perhaps your wealth level is over the federal estate tax exemption limit ($11.7 million per individual in 2021, dropping to about $6 million per individual in 2026). Charitable contributions may help reduce your family’s federal estate tax burden (40% of wealth above the exemption limit) after your death. ## Maintains Charitable Direction A donor-advised endowment fund is an excellent way to protect your philanthropic interests over the long term. An endowment fund’s focused objectives allow multiple generations to continue a charitable giving legacy while preserving the original donor’s ideals and goals. ## Ease Of Creation And Use A donor-advised endowment fund can be established with any amount of money. However, most charitable foundations require endowment funds to reach minimum values before charitable beneficiaries receive endowment distributions (see “Disbursement Policy” below). Once you establish your fund, you can continue to add to it anytime, receiving tax benefits with each new gift. Most charitable organizations offer standardized donor agreement templates to create endowment funds quickly and cost-effectively. Standardized agreements enable the organizations to operate leanly with few employees and minimal payroll costs. Although the agreement templates simplify many funds’ formations, donors must negotiate with charitable organizations for agreement customizations to match donors’ sophisticated goals. Endowment agreement negotiations take time to achieve sophisticated goals, so donors should consult legal counsel and begin negotiations as soon as possible. A donor’s charitable gift is the donor’s only financial responsibility after establishing a fund. So, many donors make their charitable contributions after estimating their tax liability at the end of the year. ## Endowment Fund Policies Most charitable organizations’ standardized agreement templates connect to the organizations’ standardized policies on disbursements, investments, and usage through a contract law concept called “incorporation by reference.” A typical two-page endowment agreement template’s references to multiple standard policies combine those policies into the template. Incorporation by reference allows the endowment agreement to avoid “reinventing the wheel “and maintain its modest page length by recycling the policies into the agreement through the references. ## Disbursement Policy Disbursement policies often depend on the amount of money in the fund and the organization’s needs. Most endowments have an annual disbursement limit. Typically, for endowments that are meant to last in perpetuity, the percentage of disbursement is low. Most university endowments are established to last forever, and as such, have capped annual spending limits. For example, established in 1638, Harvard University has one of the largest endowments with over $40 billion. However, in 2019, distributions from the endowment were limited to $1.9 billion because Harvard’s annual payout was capped at 5.1%. Despite having a yearly return on the Harvard endowment fund of 6.5%, the donors’ policies meant that only 5.1% could be used. ## Investment Policy An endowment fund’s investment policies govern how the fund generates distributable earnings while preserving and building the fund for the future. Most endowment fund investment policies limit the fund’s permissible risk categories. The policy guidelines also require managers to invest funds across various investment types (diversification) to minimize overall risk exposure. As a donor, you don’t need to know all details about investment yields or rates of return. You can simply donate Funds and count on the charitable foundation’s professional managers to help achieve your charitable goals. ## Usage Policy You can govern a donor-advised endowment fund‘s use through a usage policy. This policy states the fund’s purposes and uses according to your specifications under the donor-advised endowment fund agreement. An endowment can support general purposes: - research - teaching - public service - scholarships - fellowships - endowed chairs An endowment can also be allocated for specific purposes: - sports program - a particular program of study - A specific type of research - a designated school at a college or university ## Types Of Endowment Funds An endowment fund can be restricted or unrestricted. An unrestricted fund gives the charitable organization free reign to use the funds to pay operating costs and serve the organization’s other purposes. Although charitable organizations need unrestricted funds to finance their daily operations, most donors establish restricted endowment funds that focus on the donors’ charitable goals. A charitable organization holds its restricted funds’ principal in perpetuity and disperses earnings from the invested assets according to the funds’ endowment agreement restrictions. ## Types Of Charitable Entities Charitable entities operate under the laws of the states where founders have established the charities. A founder could establish an entity as a charitable trust or as a foundation. A philanthropist can create a charitable trust through the philanthropist’s last will and testament or a separate trust agreement. Alternatively, a philanthropist could file organizational documents with a state’s Secretary of State to establish a foundation as a corporation, limited liability company, or other nonprofit entity under that state’s laws. A charitable trust or foundation can be a public or private charity. Although founders can control private charities, federal tax law limits private charity donors’ tax deductions. So, most charitable organizations that host endowment funds are public charities. ## Hiring A Donor-Advised Endowment Fund Attorney Experience and legal scholarship are essential attributes that philanthropic clients should seek in their estate planning attorneys. For almost three decades, Hawkins Elder Law has helped clients make personalized estate plans for managing their personal business and health decisions and distributing assets after their deaths. The firm’s lawyers also work year-round with their estate, trust, and elder law colleagues to study and propose improvements to the Indiana laws that affect their clients. #### About the Authors [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author this blog with [Thomas E. Hynes](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-e-hynes-esq), a lawyer admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida who has a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). #### More Information Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2021 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Estate Planning **Tags:** charitable gift, charitable organizations, Charitable tax deduction, donor-advised endowment fund --- ### [Health Care Representative V. Attorney-In-Fact In Indiana](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/health-care-representative-power-of-attorney/) **Published:** June 30, 2021 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/image-3.png "image-3 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/image-3.png) ## Gradual Recognition You notice your mom is forgetting things and begin to worry about her health. She recognizes that her memory loss is affecting her life and agrees to see a neurologist. Together, you hear the devastating news that your mom has early-onset Alzheimer’s. She realizes it too. The doctor recommends taking precautions regarding your mom’s ability to make future decisions regarding health care and finances. For this purpose, you contemplate whether to become a health care representative for your mom or an attorney-in-fact with broader responsibilities. ## Sudden Need You never think it could happen to you, but suddenly you’re driving around carefree when another car crashes into your vehicle. You have minor injuries, but your brother flies through the windshield and ends up in a coma. You know your brother does not want to be kept alive artificially, but the doctors cannot follow those wishes because your brother never appointed a health care representative. ## *Appointment Of Health Care Representative* ## Need For Appointment Of A Health Care Representative A health care representative represents a person’s health care interests when the person (the “principal”) is unable to communicate health care decisions or lacks adequate mental capacity to make health care decisions. If there is no appointed health care representative for health care decisions, state medical consent laws determine who makes the decisions. ## Appointment Of A Health Care Representative You don’t need a specific form to appoint a health care representative in Indiana. To be valid, your selection must simply be in writing, signed by you, and witnessed by two adults other than the health care representative. That doesn’t mean that an appointment of health care representative can’t be sophisticated. Written appointments can be adjusted to meet the needs or preferences of the appointing person (“principal”). An appointment of health care representative can specify terms, conditions, and contingencies, including directions for how to deal with certain end-of-life decisions and authorization for the representative to delegate the authority to make health care decisions to another individual. The COVID 19 pandemic created circumstances when people could not be present to make critically ill family members’ health decisions. An appointment of health care representative that authorizes the representative to appoint a delegate enables health care representatives to enlist help from delegates in those cases. ## Duties Of Health Care Representative The appointment as a health care representative becomes effective the moment the principal becomes incapable of consenting to health care measures. The authority to act includes all matters of health care. A health care representative should try to discuss health care decisions with the patient and follow the patient’s wishes. However, if the patient cannot communicate or the doctor determines that the patient lacks adequate mental ability to understand health care decisions, the health care representative may act on the patient’s behalf. A health care representative must act in the best interest of the principal, according to the principal’s wishes expressed in the appointment or otherwise communicated by the principal to the health care representative. ## Decisions A Health Care Representative Can Make A health care representative can make a wide range of health care decisions, including the treatments or medicines the principal should receive and whether to admit or discharge the principal from a hospital. A principal should discuss the principal’s views on health care decisions with the health care representative and confirm that the health care representative is willing and able to communicate the principal’s views during a health crisis. The principal’s discussion with the health care representative should include the principal’s feelings about things like: - when the principal would want to receive or avoid artificial resuscitation and life support; - artificial nutrition (food) and hydration (water) if the principal is permanently incapacitated in an institutional care setting; - being an organ donor; - burial, cremation, or other treatment of the principal’s body after death. ## *Power Of Attorney* ## What Is A Power Of Attorney? A power of attorney is a document by which a principal authorizes someone (the “attorney-in-fact” (preferred term in Indiana) or “agent” (preferred term in Illinois) to make legal and financial decisions and act on the principal’s behalf. By appointing an attorney-in-fact, a principal enables another person to act on the principal’s behalf in legal and financial matters. A power of attorney can be effective immediately or become effective when the principal becomes incapacitated (called a “springing” power of attorney). Although a principal shares authority by appointing an attorney-in-fact, the principal does not surrender authority to the attorney-in-fact. A power of attorney may include limited powers for a specific situation (a limited power of attorney) or general powers to cover countless unforeseeable situations (a general power of attorney). The Social Security Administration and some other government agencies do not rely on powers of attorney, so an attorney-in-fact cannot always represent the principal in every circumstance. Also, an attorney-in-fact cannot update the principal’s last will and testament. Although an attorney-in-fact of an Indiana resident can make transfer on death deeds and other transfer on death and pay on death instruments, Illinois legislation proposed for 2021 would prohibit an attorney-in-fact from making those instruments for an Illinois principal. Most modern powers of attorney are “durable,” which means the attorney-in-fact’s authority remains effective after the principal becomes incapacitated. By contrast, an attorney-in-fact’s authority terminates under a non-durable power of attorney when the principal becomes incapacitated. Most powers of attorney are revocable. So, a principal may decide the attorney-in-fact is a poor choice and terminate the power of attorney. Generally, the attorney-in-fact is not liable for actions made after the principal terminates the power of attorney unless the attorney-in-fact receives notice of the termination. A power of attorney may appoint one or more people to serve simultaneously as the attorney-in-fact. The power of attorney may also appoint one or more layers of successor attorneys-in-fact to serve if their predecessors are unwilling or unable to serve. ## Need For a Power Of Attorney Protections of individual liberties in the United States Constitution and the various states’ constitutions prevent government officials or individuals from interfering with a person’s business without due process of law. While we all cherish our constitutional rights, those rights create roadblocks for people who become incapacitated before appointing attorneys-in-fact. If an incapacitated person has not made a power of attorney to appoint an attorney-in-fact for personal and business decisions, the person’s family or friends may have to petition a court to appoint a court-supervised guardian. ## What Is An Attorney-In-Fact? The term, “attorney-in-fact,“ is not the same as an “attorney at law.” The distinctions between an attorney-in-fact and an attorney at law include their roles and the requirements for them to fill the roles. A principal appoints an attorney-in-fact, who does not have to have any particular skills or licenses. By contrast, the state supreme court licenses a law school graduate to advise clients about the law and represent them in legal matters as an attorney at law after the graduate passes a character and fitness review and a bar exam. Other terms for an attorney at law include “lawyer,” “counselor at law,” “attorney,” and “legal counsel.” ## Appointing An Attorney-In-Fact Appointing an attorney-in-fact is like appointing a health care representative in the sense that a principal appoints someone to make future decisions. However, a power of attorney empowers an attorney-in-fact to act in almost every kind of decision other than health care. State legislatures in Illinois and some other states have established standard power of attorney forms by statutes. Other states, like Indiana, have established a standard list of powers that lawyers can use to help principals make custom-designed powers of attorney. To make a power of attorney in Indiana or Illinois, a principal must sign the power of attorney in the presence of a notary public, who must then “notarize” the principal’s signature. A new law taking effect in Indiana on July 1, 2021 also permits a principal to make a power of attorney by signing it in the presence of two adult witnesses. ## Distinctions Of A Health Care Representative From An Attorney-In-Fact The roles of a health care representative and an attorney-in-fact are very different. A health care representative most know the principal’s wishes about health care and be capable of making difficult and emotionally demanding health care decisions. An attorney-in-fact must make prudent financial decisions and keep detailed records of all the attorney-in-fact’s decisions and actions. Although some people can serve in both kinds of roles, a principal should only appoint people for responsibilities that the appointees can manage effectively. So, a principal should not appoint an indecisive person to serve as the principal’s health care representative, and a person who can’t balance a checkbook should not be an attorney-in-fact. However, if a principal wants to appoint one person to serve as health care representative and attorney-in-fact, the principal should make those appointments by separate appointment of health care representative and power of attorney documents. ## Duties Of Attorney-In-Fact An attorney-in-fact must act in the principal’s best interests. An attorney-in-fact should remember that the principal can revoke a power of attorney at any time if the principal is not incapacitated. Also, because the principal does not surrender authority by appointing the attorney-in-fact, the attorney-in-fact should not try to act against the principal’s wishes. So, if the attorney-in-fact thinks the principal needs nursing home care, the attorney-in-fact should not try to force the principal to move to a nursing home over the principal’s objections. Most powers of attorney nominate guardians. If an attorney-in-fact believes the principal is incapacitated, the attorney-in-fact should consult the principal’s physician about the principal’s health status. If the physician confirms that the principal is incapacitated, the attorney-in-fact should consider petitioning the probate court for appointment of a guardian when an incapacitated principal refuses to receive necessary health care. The attorney-in-fact must keep complete records of all the attorney-in-fact’s actions and decisions on the principal’s behalf. The attorney-in-fact should assume that the principal or a family member will demand a detailed report of the attorney-in-fact’s actions and decisions during the principal’s lifetime or after the principal’s death. In some cases, if the attorney-in-fact does not deliver a detailed account of the attorney-in-fact’s actions, a court can order the attorney-in-fact to deliver the report and pay a demanding party’s attorney fees. ## Estate Planning Lawyers Rewrote Pre-Pandemic Laws On Medical Consent And Powers Of Attorney In 2021 The COVID 19 pandemic made legislators and lawyers rethink how sick and injured people appoint health care representatives and attorneys-in-fact to make critical health and business decisions. The attorneys of Hawkins Elder Law worked with colleagues of the Indiana State Bar Association to help rewrite Indiana laws to make it easier for patients in hospitals and nursing homes to appoint health care representatives and attorneys-in-fact. #### About the Authors [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author this blog with [Thomas E. Hynes](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-e-hynes-esq), a lawyer admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida who has a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). #### More Information Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2021 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Estate Planning **Tags:** Appointment of Health Care Representative, attorney-in-fact, Health Care Power of Attorney, power of attorney --- ### [Revocable Trust V. Irrevocable Trust](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/revocable-trust-irrevocable-trust/) **Published:** June 24, 2021 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/image-2.png "image-2 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/image-2.png) The difference between a revocable trust and irrevocable trust can be the difference between losing property and protecting it as a legacy for future generations. Although the revocable/irrevocable trust distinction may seem obvious, this article explains the distinction’s importance for a variety of estate planning goals. ## Revocable and Irrevocable Trust Examples Imagine two brothers named Bill and Joe, who each inherit $1 million and decide to create trusts for the benefit of their children. Neither brother has other assets worth as much as their $1 million inheritance. Bill creates a revocable trust and transfers his $1 million to the trust because he wants to control all aspects of his property so that he can remove assets and switch beneficiaries at any time. Joe creates an irrevocable trust and transfers his $1 million to the trust without keeping any rights to alter the trust or even to change his mind. **Example 1.** During a downturn in the economy, both brothers fail in their businesses, and creditors come after them as a result. - Bill loses nearly $900,000 worth of property held in trust for his kids because his retained control of the revocable trust exposed his assets to creditors. - Joe, on the other hand, has protected his assets for his children by having decided to give up ownership, thereby shielding those assets from creditors. **Example 2**. Assume the same facts as Example 1. Both Bill and Joe suffer strokes two years after transferring their inheritances to their trusts. Although their conditions stabilize enough for them to live another decade, the brothers need 24-hour care in a nursing home that charges $81,000 per year for room and board. - An elder law attorney helps Bill’s wife transfer the remaining $100,000 of Bill’s inheritance to herself as part of her federally-protected resource allowance, and obtain Medicaid coverage to pay Bill’s nursing home fees. - Sadly, Joe’s $1 million transfer to his irrevocable trust disqualifies him from Medicaid eligibility, so his wife must care for him at home until Medicaid’s five-year look back period expires three years from now. **Example 3**. Assume the same facts as Example 1. Both Bill and Joe suffer strokes five years after transferring their inheritances to their trusts and their wives are deceased. Although their conditions stabilize enough for them to live another decade, the brothers need 24-hour care in a nursing home that charges $81,000 per year for room and board. - An elder law attorney helps Bill’s children salvage about $60,000 of Bill’s remaining $100,000 of inheritance, and obtain Medicaid coverage to pay Bill’s nursing home fees. - Joe’s transfer of his $1 million to his irrevocable trust before Medicaid’s five-year look back period protects his entire inheritance and he still qualifies for Medicaid assistance to pay nursing home fees. ## General Information About Trusts A trust is a relationship that a person creates by entrusting money or almost any other kind of asset or interest in property to a trustee to manage and distribute under terms and conditions specified by the entrusting person. Language in person’s last will and testament can establish a trust after the person’s death (called a “testamentary” trust). However, this article focuses on trusts that the entrusting person (called the “grantor,” “settlor,” or “trustor“) establishes during their lifetime (called “inter-vivos” trusts) as revocable and irrevocable trusts. Trust creation formalities differ among states’ trust laws. For example, while the Indiana Trust Code requires written evidence of the trust’s terms and conditions signed by the settlor or the settlor’s agent under a power of attorney, the Illinois Trust Code validates an oral trust if clear and convincing evidence can prove the trust’s existence and its terms. Also, although the Indiana Trust Code includes the presumption that a trust is revocable unless the trust agreement or declaration of trust specifies otherwise, the Illinois Trust Code offers no presumption about a trust’s revocability. In most states, you can transfer almost any kind of asset to a trust, including real estate, personal property, bank accounts, certificates of deposit, cash, vehicles, boats, planes, antiques, collections, jewelry, or other valuable items or interests. ## Differences Between Revocable And Irrevocable Trusts The definitions of revocable and irrevocable trusts are self-explanatory: a settlor can amend or revoke a revocable trust, but the settlor cannot amend or revoke an irrevocable trust. The consequences of those distinctions include: 1. The settlor’s direct or indirect ability to change beneficiaries and trust property; 2. The settlor’s unlimited or limited asset availability; 3. Estate tax or gift tax consequences; and 4. Vulnerability or protection against creditors’ claims. ## 1. Adaptability And Flexibility Most of us like to control our environments. A settlor can modify a revocable trust at any point before their death. For example, a settlor can make these changes to a revocable trust : - Add, remove or exclude beneficiaries - Create spendthrift limitations to control a beneficiary’s use of their share of trust property - Add or remove the type and length of stipulations - Change how and to whom particular assets are distributed - Alter specific behavior required of beneficiaries - Modify terms, timings, and amounts of distributions Generally, a settlor cannot take any of these actions directly concerning an irrevocable trust during the settlor’s lifetime: - Amend or otherwise change the irrevocable trust’s provisions concerning beneficiaries or trust elements - Withdraw or use the trust property for the settlor’s personal benefit or for the settlor’s close family members However, an experienced estate planning lawyer may suggest including subtle rights and powers for the settlor to influence an irrevocable trust such as: - Appointment of the settlor as the trustee (with limits on the trustee’s power to take self-interested actions) - Power to make a Will that overrides some of the irrevocable trust’s provisions after the settlor’s death when the probate court admits the Will to probate (a “testamentary power of appointment”) - Power to trade property inside the trust for property outside the trust of comparable value (a “power of substitution”) - Power to remove or replace a current or successor trustee A specialized kind of irrevocable trust called a “qualified personal residence trust” (“QPRT”) permits a settlor to transfer the settlor’s residence to the trust and continue occupying the residence for a specified period of time. Another general rule about an irrevocable trust prevents people from terminating the trust until the trust fulfills its purpose. To resolve or avoid unjust outcomes, trust laws include exceptions to modify or terminate a trust such as in cases of fraud, a settlor’s mistake of facts, or an unforeseeable change of circumstances that defeats the trust’s purpose. ## 2. Trust Property Possession And Enjoyment The settlor’s rights to possess and enjoy assets that the settlor transfers is another big distinction between revocable and irrevocable trusts. Although the trust is the legal owner of the trust property, a revocable trust gives the settlor almost the same power over the trust property that the settlor held before the transfer. By contrast, a typical irrevocable trust restricts or prohibits a settlor’s right to possess and enjoy the trust’s property (see the discussion of exceptions in *Adaptability And Flexibility*, above). A revocable trust settlor’s continued rights to modify the trust and enjoy rights to possess and enjoy the trust’s property expose the trust property to the settlor’s financial vulnerabilities. Ownership rights also allow for the attachment of your assets. Be aware that by retaining ownership, the trust assets lose the protections against seizure by the courts or creditors. ## 3. Estate Tax And Gift Tax Consequences A revocable trust settlor’s continued rights to modify the trust and enjoy rights to possess and enjoy the trust’s property expose the trust property to the federal estate tax upon the settlor’s death (and estate tax under state law in states like Illinois). Married couples with wealth above the estate tax exemption ($11.7 million per decedent in 2021) sometimes divide wealth between the spouses’ separate revocable trusts to use each spouse’s tax exemption (a combined exemption total of $23.4 million in 2021). Still, the 40% federal estate tax threatens all assets exceeding the estate tax exemption limits. Some people transfer wealth to irrevocable trusts to protect their assets from the federal estate tax. Although that strategy may avoid the estate tax, Congress created the gift tax and a generation-skipping transfer tax to prevent wealthy people from eliminating all tax liability. The same tax exemptions and tax rates apply to wealthy people’s gifts as exemptions and tax rates on their estates. Congress also tied the gift tax exemptions to the estate tax exemptions, so large gifts that use the gift tax exemptions reduce the federal estate tax exemptions by the same amounts. Most wealthy people have assets that produce income and increase the taxable value of their estates. To reduce the growth of their taxable estates, some people transfer their income-producing assets to irrevocable trusts so the trust’s beneficiaries will receive the resulting growth free of estate and gift taxes. ## 4. Protections Against Creditors A typical irrevocable trust denies the settlor’s creditors access to the trust’s property because the settlor no longer owns the property. By contrast, a revocable trust settlor’s free access to the trust’s property exposes the trust property to creditors’ claims. Generally, an irrevocable trust protects its assets from the settlor’s bankruptcy, business failures, and other types of civil liability. However, federal bankruptcy laws and some state laws permit creditors to recover an irrevocable trust’s assets if the settlor transfers assets to the trust near or after the point of the settlor’s financial crisis. As the examples at the beginning of this article indicate, an irrevocable trust can also shield assets from long-term care expenses if the settlor transfers the assets to the trust more than five years before applying for Medicaid. However, people should not transfer assets to protect them from long-term care expenses without the advice and assistance of an expert elder law attorney. ## Probate Avoidance Through Revocable And Irrevocable Trusts Both revocable and irrevocable trusts remove property from their settlors’ probate estates (see our recent article, “*What Executors (Personal Representatives) Need To Know,*” for an explanation of probate property and probate administration). If a settlor transfers enough assets to the trust to reduce the probate personal property value below the state limit ($50,000 in Indiana and $100,000 in Illinois), the settlor’s family will not need to open a probate estate to administer the assets after the settlor’s death. ## Revocable Trusts And Irrevocable Trusts Are Lawyers’ Planning Tools An experienced estate planning lawyer uses wills, trusts, and other legal devices as estate planning tools like a master builder uses hammers, saws, and other equipment to construct a building. For almost three decades, Hawkins Elder Law has helped personal representatives, trustees, and guardians fulfill their administrative duties. The firm’s lawyers also work year-round with their estate, trust, and elder law colleagues to study and propose improvements to the Indiana laws that affect their clients. #### About the Authors [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author this blog with [Thomas E. Hynes](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-e-hynes-esq), a lawyer admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida who has a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). #### More Information Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2021 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Estate Planning **Tags:** Irrevocable Trust, Revocable trust --- ### [Medicaid and Medicare In Indiana For Older, Disabled Americans](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/medicaid-and-medicare-in-indiana-for-older-disabled-americans/) **Published:** February 3, 2021 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** The attorneys at Hawkins Elder Law provide you with this overview of Medicare and Medicaid in Indiana so that you know which program applies to your situation. **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/image-4.png "image-4 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/image-4.png) Millions of Americans get health care coverage through Medicare or Medicaid, both of which are United States government health insurance programs. Here’s what each program offers so that you know which might apply for purposes of meeting your health care needs in Indiana. ## *Medicare* If you are 65 or older, or you are under 65 and disabled, or you have end-stage renal disease, then you could receive health coverage through Medicare – a federal health insurance program. Medicare is the main medical coverage provider for disabled persons and American’s seniors. Medicare comes in Parts A-D, explained below: **Hospital Coverage**. If you have Part A, then this means that you have coverage for hospitalizations. For you to get Part A, you must pay your Medicare taxes for no less than 10 years and have worked for at least 10 years. Part A normally does not contain a premium requirement – meaning that you don’t have to pay unless you need to rely on the insurance. However, Part A contains coinsurance depending on the benefit period – which is how long you are an inpatient at a hospital. 2021’s costs: for the first 60 days, there is no coinsurance, but for days 61-90, you pay $352 per day ($371 in 2021), and after 90 days, the coinsurance jumps to $704 per day ($742 in 2021). You might be responsible for all costs if you are hospitalized beyond a certain point. The deductible is $1,408 ($1,484 in 2021) per benefit period**.** **Medical Insurance**. If you get Part A, then you automatically qualify for Part B, which provides you with coverage for medically necessary services, preventative services and equipment. Think flu shots, lab work, doctor’s office visits, walkers, wheelchairs, x-rays and outpatient surgeries. The monthly premium for Part B is currently $144.60. In 2021, it is $148.50; however, it will cost more if you make more than $88,000 (or $176,000 if you are married). After meeting a $198 deductible ($203 in 2021) deductible annually, you pay 20% for approved doctor’s services, including in-hospital services, outpatient therapy and durable medical equipment. **Medicare Advantage Plan**. Part C is formally known as Medicare Advantage, which works sort of like an HMO or PPO. This is available for those who are eligible for Part A and Part B. Private companies offer Medicare Advantage – not the government. Part C goes beyond the coverage provided by Parts A and B by providing you with hearing, vision and dental coverage. Some Part C plans cover prescription drugs. The cost of Part C depends on your plan. **Prescription Drugs**. Part D covers your prescription drug costs. Depending on the prescription, Part D could subject you to out-of-pocket costs, premiums, deductibles and copayments. For this reason, those who have Part C don’t rely on Part D unless they need Part D for their particular prescription drug needs. Also note that Part D could be more expensive based on your income. ## *Medicaid* Medicaid is a health insurance program jointly provided by the state and federal government that helps low-income Americans pay for medical care and long-term custodial care. While the federal government provides guidelines for Medicaid, it is the states who generally determine the amount, scope and duration of benefits. Medicaid has various programs, some of which relate to disabled people and older Americans. Notably, the federal government mandates coverage for hospitalizations, doctor’s services, x-rays, laboratory services, family services, clinic treatment, midwife services, pediatric and family nurse practitioner services, nursing facility services, and home healthcare for people who are eligible for nursing facility services. A major thing to note is that Medicaid, not Medicare, can pay for your long-term care costs in a nursing home or elsewhere. Particularly, the biggest funding source for long-term care comes from Medicaid. However, for this coverage to apply, you are typically required to deplete most if not all of your assets and have no other way to pay for care. [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/image-3.png "image-3 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/image-3.png) ## *Health Care Programs In Indiana* In Indiana, Medicaid health coverage is made available through the Family and Social Services Administration (“FSSA”) to those who are eligible based on their income, age, financial resources and medical needs. Here are nine major programs offered in Indiana: 1. [Healthy Indiana Plan](https://www.in.gov/fssa/hip/). This is a state health insurance program for qualified adults who are age 19 to 64, covering things like medical costs and potentially dental and vision coverage. 2. [Traditional Medicaid](https://www.in.gov/medicaid/members/297.htm). Covers a full range of services including hospital care, doctor’s visits, wellness visits, well-child visits, clinic services, prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, lab and x-ray services, mental health care, substance abuse services, medical supplies and equipment, home health care, nursing facility services, dental care, vision care, physical therapy, speech therapy, hospice care, emergency and non-emergency transportation, family planning services, routine foot care, surgical foot care, chiropractic services and more. 3. [Hoosier Care Connect](https://www.in.gov/medicaid/members/26.htm). This is a program for those who are age 65 or older and for those who are blind, disabled or can’t meet Medicare eligibility requirements. Those who receive supplemental security income are eligible for this program. Services consist of those listed under Traditional Medicaid. 4. [Hoosier Healthwise](https://www.in.gov/medicaid/members/174.htm). This is a health care program for pregnant woman and for children up to age 19, covering the same services as Traditional Medicaid. Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,which is for children up to age 19 and whose families have higher income, fall under this Hoosier Healthwise umbrella. CHIP requires a small monthly premium and copays for some services. Notably, under CHIP, services that are not included include nursing facility services, hospice care, non-emergency transportation and routine foot care. 5. Medicare Savings Program. Medicaid is required under federal law to pay certain elderly and disabled persons’ Medicare deductibles, coinsurance and premiums. This happens through a [Medicaid Savings Program](https://www.in.gov/medicaid/providers/860.htm) such as Qualified Medicare Beneficiaries (QMB) and Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiaries (SLMBs). However, to be eligible, you have to be entitled to Medicare, have a [low income and personal resources](https://www.in.gov/fssa/ompp/files/Help_With_Medicare_Costs.pdf), and be at least the age of 65 unless you are entitled to Medicare prior to that age. 6. [HoosierRx](https://www.in.gov/medicaid/members/194.htm). If you need help with your monthly medications, then you might be eligible for HoosierRx. In fact, this program could provide you with as much as $70 on a monthly basis that can help cover your Medicare Part D premiums. 7. [MED Works](https://www.in.gov/fssa/ompp/med-works/). If you are disabled and under Medicaid benefits, then you might be reluctant to return to work for fear of losing those benefits. Fortunately, in Indiana, you could be eligible for MED Works which is a program for employees with disabilities that can provide coverage equal to Medicaid albeit a small premium is applied on a monthly basis which is impacted by your monthly income. Also, MED works might be ideal for someone who wants to work and who has SSDI but no cash benefits. 8. Indiana’s [Program of All-Inclusive Care For The Elderly (PACE](https://www.in.gov/fssa/da/program-of-all-inclusive-care-for-the-elderly2/)) serves the needs of seniors who have chronic care needs. It provides care in the community when possible. You have to be at least 55 years of age, certified by Indiana as needing nursing home care yet be able to live in the community safely and in an area in which PACE services. Notably, a small fraction of those living in nursing homes have PACE but the program still covers and coordinates care in a nursing home if the care is needed. PACE helps cover adult day care, medical care via a PACE physician, home health care, personal care, audiologists, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists, speech language therapists, social services, prescription drugs, respite care, nursing home care (if necessary) and transportation. 9. Medicaid HCBS Programs. In Indiana, eight programs fall under [Home and Community Based Services](https://www.in.gov/fssa/ompp/health-coverage/medicaid-hcbs-programs/). Among them is the Aged and Disabled Waiver which is overseen by the Division of Aging. This program enables you to remain at home and receive services which supplement your support that you would otherwise require in a nursing home. This waiver could also come into play if you aim to leave the nursing home and need support to transition yourself from the nursing home to another location such as home, an assisted living facility or adult family care. ## *Hiring An Attorney* Experience and legal scholarship are essential attributes for elder law and estate planning attorneys. For almost three decades, Hawkins Elder Law has helped clients make personalized estate plans for managing their personal business and health decisions during health crises and distributing assets after their deaths. The firm’s lawyers also work year-round with their estate, trust, and elder law colleagues to study and propose improvements to the Indiana laws that affect their clients. #### **About the Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author this blog with [Thomas E. Hynes](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-e-hynes-esq), a lawyer admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida who has a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). #### **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2021 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Elder Law, Medicaid, Medicare **Tags:** Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), hospitalization, insurance premiums, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare supplemental insurance --- ### [Will Versus Living Will](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/will-versus-living-will/) **Published:** February 10, 2021 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** The attorneys at Hawkins Elder Law discuss the difference between a living will and a last will and testament. **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/image-5.png "image-5 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/image-5.png) At some point in your estate planning, you should come across the terms *last will and testament* and *living will*. Understandably, people get these terms confused because both make reference to a will. The reality is that a will and a living will accomplish two completely separate purposes. Hawkins Elder Law breaks down the key differences between the two. ## *What Is A Will?* When you make a will, (also known as a *last will and testament*) you decide who are the beneficiaries of all or a portion of your property when you die. By property, this means the assets in your estate at your death. If you die with a will, you die testate. If you die without one, you die intestate. A critical difference between the two is that by dying without a will, the Indiana probate court will determine your heirs and provide them with your assets according to a scheme. In other words, if you die without a will, you do not control how your estate is divided up. So, if you have any property whose disposition you aim to control, then you should get a will. Assets in your estate could include things like your home, personal bank account, investment account with no named beneficiaries, artwork, jewelry collection, Indianapolis Colts memorabilia, antiques and vehicles. Some assets that don’t generally pass through a will include financial accounts in which beneficiaries are named, and trust assets or other property which is automatically transferred by law to others at your death. It is also commonplace in estate planning for wills to direct that all estate assets flow into a trust to be managed and distributed according to the trust’s terms. This type of will is known as a pour-over will. Also, with a will, you could name certain people as guardians of your minor children. By doing this, you could avoid costly guardianship proceedings and family strife over the care of your children. A will contains specific information regarding who will carry out your instructions. This person is known as the executor, executrix, or the personal representative. Your executor has a fiduciary responsibility to follow your instructions. In Indiana, for you to make a will, then you must be 18 and of sound mind (e.g. not incompetent). Your will must be in writing and signed and dated by you in the presence of two witnesses. Those witnesses also have to sign and date the will. If you want to revoke or change your will, you can destroy it or make a new one following the same formalities. Note that wills become part of the public record. ## *What Is A Living Will?* A [*living will*](http://184.175.130.101/legislative/laws/2020/ic/titles/016#16-36-4-10) is an advanced healthcare directive. It contains instructions on your care and treatment in end of life scenarios in which you are unable to make or otherwise communicate healthcare decisions for yourself. It allows you to forego life-sustaining treatment if your attending physician certifies in writing that: (1) you have an incurable injury, disease, or illness; (2) your death will occur within a short time; and (3) the use of life prolonging procedures would serve only to artificially prolong the dying process. More particularly, with a living will, you typically indicate whether or not you wish to have artificially supplied nutrition and hydration if the effort to sustain your life is excessively burdensome to you or otherwise futile. You might alternatively indicate in your living will that you choose to make no decision about these things and would rather your health care representative or your attorney-in-fact (who has healthcare powers) be the one to decide. By stating your choices in this type of advanced directive, you are able to help your family and medical professionals know how to proceed with your medical care. For you to make a living will, you must be 18 and of sound mind. Your living will must be in writing and it has to be signed and dated by you and by two witnesses. A weakness of the Indiana living will law is that it lacks forms and procedures for attending physicians to certify the three requirements for a living will’s effectiveness. That is why the lawyers at Hawkins Elder Law recommend that clients establish appointments of healthcare representatives instead of using living wills. ## *Hiring An Attorney* Experience and legal scholarship are essential attributes for elder law and estate planning attorneys. For almost three decades, Hawkins Elder Law has helped clients make personalized estate plans for managing their personal business and health decisions during health crises and distributing assets after their deaths. The firm’s lawyers also work year-round with their estate, trust, and elder law colleagues to study and propose improvements to the Indiana laws that affect their clients. #### **About the Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author this blog with [Thomas E. Hynes](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-e-hynes-esq), a lawyer admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida who has a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). #### **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2021 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Estate Planning **Tags:** Appointment of Health Care Representative, last will and testament, living wills --- ### [Indiana Medicaid Application Issues](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/indiana-medicaid-application-issues/) **Published:** July 30, 2020 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** ![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/image.png "Innovations connection icons - Hawkins Elder Law PC") If you plan on ***Medicaid*** footing your nursing home bill in Indiana, be very careful when completing the [Indiana Application for Health Care Coverage](https://www.in.gov/medicaid/members/52.htm) to avoid getting denied. Medicaid is a government program which provides healthcare benefits including long term care to low income individuals who qualify. However, all too often people have their Medicaid applications completed and submitted by health facility personnel, family members or others who might not be aware of Medicaid pitfalls or strategies to protect your assets. This could be a disaster waiting to happen – one which could result in your ineligibility for Medicaid and lead to large out of pocket nursing home costs. Here’s a brief rundown of some important things to consider before filing a Medicaid application in Indiana so that you can avoid Medicaid eligibility problems including delays or denials. ### ***Causing A Penalty By Gifting Assets*** Although the gift you made to your children years ago was a heartfelt gesture, it is something that Medicaid might look at negatively when determining your eligibility. Namely, Medicaid reviews five years’ worth of your financial transactions to see if you made certain gifts or transfers for less than fair market value. Significantly, gifts to individuals including your own children that are made within five years of your Medicaid application could result in Medicaid’s refusal to provide you coverage for long term care. You determine the number of months of ineligibility by dividing the sum of unapproved gifts by $6,527. Not surprisingly, one way of avoiding Medicaid penalties is to steer clear of making gifts and transfers for less than fair market value within five years of applying for Medicaid. However, if you already gifted assets to someone or you transferred your assets to a trust within the last five years and plan to turn to Medicaid, you should carefully consider the timing of your application and discuss any potentially disqualifying transfers with an attorney as it might be possible for you to avoid or mitigate the effect of those transfers. ### ***Incorrectly Reporting Assets And Income On The Medicaid Application*** In the Medicaid application, you have to disclose your resources (assets) and income for purposes of Medicaid not only determining your eligibility but also establishing the amount that you have to pay, if any, for your long term care. In order for you to qualify, you cannot have more than $2,000 in assets ($3,000 if both you and your spouse need long term care and Medicaid help to pay for the care). Any assets in excess of that amount places you at risk of Medicaid ineligibility. However, not all assets count or need to be disclosed to Medicaid, so be careful what you say on the application. For example, your checking and savings accounts are countable assets in Medicaid’s view. But suppose that you have a retirement account? Depending on the situation, this could count as an asset or income. Perhaps you have a life insurance policy. This policy’s cash value is a countable asset to Medicaid. Or maybe you deeded an investment property to your children ten years ago but have retained a life estate – which is an asset. In that situation, the value of that life estate is what matters for Medicaid purposes, not simply the fair market value of the property. Failing to properly document your assets and income can be a big problem and can cause your application to be rejected. ### ***Failing To Place Extra Income, Assets Into A Trust*** Another mistake that might be made in connection with a Medicaid application in Indiana is the failure to put the portion of your income which exceeds Medicaid’s monthly income limit ($1,485 for one person household) into a Miller Trust (also referred to as a Qualified Income Trust). If you are in a situation where your income exceeds Medicaid’s monthly income limit, then you could make use of a Miller Trust to store your excess income, in effect bringing your monthly income under the eligibility limit. This is considered acceptable to Medicaid because unlike a typical trust, Medicaid is listed as a beneficiary of the Miller Trust and can be reimbursed for the benefits it provides you. In order to obtain a Miller Trust, you should consult with an elder law attorney. ### ***Not Taking Into Account Family Relationships*** With Medicaid, certain benefits are available based on whether you are married and have a family. Namely, if you are married, your spouse’s financial situation could be significantly different than yours which could necessitate a closer review of eligibility. For example, in Indiana, the spouse not going into the nursing home – called the *community spouse* – can have between $2,155 and 3,216 a month through a Minimum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance. Not only that, but the community spouse is entitled to as much as $128,640 in countable assets through a Community Spouse Resource Allowance. Finally, Medicaid could consider your home to be an excluded asset by virtue of your spouse or any blind or disabled child continuing to reside there. ### ***Other Information In The Medicaid Application*** ![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/image-2.png "Cheated investors having claims dissatisfied with loan - Hawkins Elder Law PC") Another thing that you need to take into account is the benefits that you have received in the past and at the present time. You might be receiving benefits such as social security or veterans’ benefits. Remember that Medicaid benefits can be affected by your other benefits, so it is important to review each type of public benefit you have to see how this impacts your eligibility. ### ***Hiring An Elder Law Attorney In Indiana For Medicaid*** One seemingly minor mistake on a Medicaid application can result in a denied claim resulting in hefty out of pocket nursing home costs for you. In Indiana, Medicaid applications are processed by Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) who might take up to 90 days to determine eligibility. This means that it can take months to overcome a mistake made in a Medicaid application. If you rely on getting your Medicaid application done by a health facility person, family member or another person or company that doesn’t know the ins and outs of Medicaid, then your application could be riddled with errors. Fortunately, the way in which your income and assets are classified could potentially be changed while still conforming to Medicaid’s laws and guidelines. You also might have an opportunity to preserve more of your assets for yourself, your family and other loved ones versus having to watch it all vanish at the nursing home. When filing an application for Medicaid in Indiana, it makes a lot of sense to consult with an elder law attorney who is well versed in the areas of Medicaid. This is someone who can help ensure that you have taken advantage of ways to protect your assets while also helping you get Medicaid to pay for your long term care. Hawkins Elder Law has helped countless clients with Medicaid by protecting and preserving their assets while helping them get the care they need. Founders Jennifer J. Hawkins and Jeff R. Hawkins are Board Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers, certified by the Trust & Estate Specialty Board. If you or a loved one is thinking of Medicaid to cover nursing home costs whether it is now or in the future, feel free to reach out to Hawkins Elder Law at (812) 268-8777 for a consultation today. ***About the Authors*** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author the Hawkins Elder Law blog with Thomas E. Hynes, a lawyer who is admitted in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida with a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer Hawkins are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). [Hawkins Elder Law](https://www.martindale.com/organization/hawkins-law-pc-1645736/) is one of the few elder law firms that Martindale-HubbellTM has rated AV Preeminent, with both of the firm’s lawyers ([Jeff Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jeff-hawkins-985574-a/) and [Jennifer Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jennifer-hawkins-985575-a/)) also rated AV Preeminent. ***More Information*** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can like [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2020 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Elder Law, Uncategorized **Tags:** Community Spouse, Indiana Application for Health Care Coverage, Medicaid, Miller Trust, Transfer penalty, Trust & Estate Lawyers --- ### [Indiana Cancels Favorable Medicaid Policy on IRAs](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/medicaid-ira-rule-offers-nursing-home-cost-protection/) **Published:** December 27, 2018 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** This article explains some surprising new IRA protection opportunities created by recent Indiana Medicaid rule changes. **Content:** ![Happy senior couple saving retirement plan and pension money - Shutterstock ID 1062331313 By MicroOne](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Happy-senior-couple-saving-retirement-plan-and-pension-money-Shutterstock-ID-1062331313-By-MicroOne-1024x535.jpg "Happy senior couple saving retirement plan and pension money - Shutterstock ID 1062331313 By MicroOne - Hawkins Elder Law PC")Indiana has cancelled a 2018 Medicaid eligibility policy that helped IRA owners save money The image above is an illustration of a happy senior couple saving retirement plan and pension money By MicroOne Shutterstock ID 1062331313 This is a revision of our December 2018 article about Indiana’s Spring 2018 policy that allowed a Medicaid applicant to keep an IRA. Indiana has withdrawn that policy, so nursing home residents’ IRAs and comparable retirement plans are once again exposed to long-term care costs. This updated article explains the policy reversal and provides additional information about estate planning and long-term care asset protection planning with IRAs and comparable retirement plans. > ***2020 UPDATE: Indiana now counts IRAs owned by the healthier spouse (called the “community spouse”) in the initial resource assessment of Medicaid eligibility for the disabled spouse/applicant (called the “institutional spouse”).*** ## **Medicaid Policy Changes for IRAs** Indiana Medicaid policy changed within the past 5 years to allow a married nursing home resident’s spouse to keep the spouse’s IRA plus other assets. The state of Indiana surprised elder law attorneys with a 2018 Medicaid policy change about a nursing home resident’s IRA. The surprising part of the new policy was that nursing home resident did not have to cash an IRA and spend the money down to $2,000 if the resident receives regular, periodic the retirement account payments. The new Medicaid policy treated retirement account payments as income that the resident must pay for nursing home care. ## **Medicaid IRA Rule Problem for IRA Owners Over 70 ½ Years of Age** Federal tax law requires an IRA owner must withdraw required minimum distributions (RMD) from an IRA after reaching 70 ½ years of age. The amount of the RMD changes each year as the IRA owner’s life expectancy changes. Indiana’s rescinded 2018 IRA rule would have allowed a nursing home resident to withdraw the RMDs on a regular monthly schedule without having to cash the IRA and pay income taxes on the lump sum IRA withdrawal. Indiana’s cancellation of this favorable policy sets IRA owners back to their position before the statement adopted its short-lived policy. ## **Probable Future Medicaid IRA Rule Changes** The state of Indiana often changes a new Medicaid rule several times before settling on a clear rule. At about the same time as Indiana changed its IRA rule in spring 2018, the state also changed its rules on life insurance policies and prepaid funeral plans at least twice. These radical policy changes happen from time to time without public notice. This is why the attorneys of Hawkins Elder Law and their elder law colleagues must monitor Medicaid policy changes constantly. ## **Asset Protection Planning Big Picture** These Medicaid rule changes are just the latest examples of Medicaid law turbulence. Most experienced elder law attorneys focus cautiously on the big picture about all Medicaid rules. Medicaid law turbulence increases the need for people to seek estate planning and asset protection guidance from experienced elder law attorneys. ## More Information About IRAs and Long-Term Care Asset Protection Planning For more information about estate planning and long-term care asset protection planning with IRAs and similar kinds of retirement plans, please see the following these other articles on the Hawkins Elder Law Blog: - [Planning with Retirement Plans, Annuities, and Life Insurance](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/planning-with-retirement-plans-annuities-and-life-insurance/) - [IRA Planning for Long-Term Care and Longevity](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/ira-planning-for-long-term-care-and-longevity/) - [Plan for Nursing Home Care – Even If You Don’t Want to Go](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/plan-for-nursing-home-care-even-if-you-dont-want-to-go/) - [Have You Withdrawn Enough from Your IRA This Year?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/have-you-withdrawn-enough-from-your-ira-this-year/) ## **About the Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) have practiced in the areas of trusts, estates, and elder law for over 26 years. Both lawyers are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff Hawkins is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); and a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba). He was also the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). [Hawkins Elder Law](https://www.martindale.com/organization/hawkins-law-pc-1645736/) is one of the few Indiana elder law firms that Martindale-HubbellTM has rated AV Preeminent, with both [Jeff Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jeff-hawkins-985574-a/) and [Jennifer Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jennifer-hawkins-985575-a/) also rated AV Preeminent. Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). © Copyright 2019 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Asset Protection, Elder Law, IRA, Long-term care, Medicaid, Medicaid Planning Advice, Nursing home, Required Minimum Distributions, Retirement Plan **Tags:** Retirement plan --- ### [Indiana Family Caregiver Agreement](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/indiana-family-caregiver-attorney/) **Published:** August 6, 2020 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** ![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/image-3.png "lose-up Of An Open Law Book On Wooden Desk In Courtroom - Hawkins Elder Law PC")Caregiver agreements (also known as personal services contracts) in Indiana are frequently used in family situations where a son or daughter takes responsibility for caring for mom or dad often by living with them and helping them out with their daily activities. These agreements are also really important when it comes to Medicaid – a government benefit that can pay for long term care such as in the nursing home. Here’s a brief summary of what caregiver agreements entail and what you should consider if you are thinking of setting one up in anticipation of applying for Medicaid. ### ***How Do Caregiver Agreements Or Personal Services Agreements Work?*** Sometimes you need more than just a hand with managing your lifestyle but are not ready to let go of your independence – at least not completely anyway. When your needs require significant time and involvement from family members or other trusted individuals, you could potentially have them be your caregiver. Namely, a caregiver agreement allows you to pay family members for helping you with activities of daily living, including eating, bathing, using the toilet, dressing, moving and taking medication. Caregiver agreements can also come into play for other things like paying the bills, managing finances, driving you to and from places like the doctor’s office, church or even your favorite restaurant. ### ***What Do Caregiver Agreements Have To Do With Medicaid?*** There may be a point when you are best cared for by living in a skilled nursing facility, which is a place that can provide around-the clock nursing care while also providing assistance with meals, hygiene, getting in and out of bed, medications, incontinence and supervision to make sure you don’t wander out into the highway. However, nursing homes are not cheap. In fact, the cost of nursing homes in Indiana ranges from $4,000 to $12,000 a month, with an average price tag of about $6,500. Many people in Indiana privately pay in a nursing home until they are basically impoverished, at which point they turn to Medicaid to foot the bill. However, as an alternative to becoming impoverished through handing over all of your hard-earned money to the nursing home before applying for Medicaid, you could potentially direct that money to your loved ones instead under the terms of a caregiver agreement. There are only a few ways in which you can hand assets to your children within five years of applying for Medicaid without this being problem, and caregiver agreements are one of them. Specifically, you can’t just gift assets to your children right before you apply for Medicaid because it could result in the denial of your application. Specifically, Medicaid takes a close look at your financial transactions for the five years preceding your application to determine if you made any gifts or transfers for less than fair market value. If you provided gifts to your children during that time, then Medicaid will likely impose a penalty, making you ineligible to receive benefits for what could be a long time. So, what do family caregiver agreements have to do with Medicaid? They allow you to direct your assets to your loved ones – rather than the nursing home or assisted living facility – as a way of depleting your assets before applying for Medicaid. More specifically, the payments you make to a family member according to the terms of a caregiver agreement do not count as gifts to your children. ### ***Things To Consider In The Caregiver Agreements*** There are no one-sized fits all caregiver agreements, as each person’s needs are unique. However, there are some things to make sure you cover in each agreement to ensure that it is Medicaid friendly. First of all, in the agreement, you should identify all of the services that will be performed. These services could include help with activities of daily living, finances, chores and even things like transportation and shopping. It is important to specify the types of services that the caregiver will perform to avoid the family member’s help being construed as complimentary or just something that any family member would do such as spending time with you. Next, you will have to specify the period that the caregiver will provide services. You should set a clear starting date and also outline when and how the services will be terminated. There is no requirement for you to set a date that your services will end, although it could be beneficial to outline how much notice you and the caregiver will provide each other. Perhaps one of the most significant elements of the caregiver agreement is the compensation arrangement. For Medicaid purposes, you must pay the caregiver a reasonable rate for it to be construed as legitimate, so you cannot just pay your caregiver ten times the amount of money that caregivers typically get paid and expect that to pass muster with Medicaid. Caregivers in Indiana generally make between $20 and $30 per hour. Also, unlike typical employment relationships, you can pay them in a lump sum too. ![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/image-4.png "Businesswoman looking out of window - Hawkins Elder Law PC") Other things to take into account are that the document needs to be signed by you and the caregiver, the arrangement should be evidenced through one or more payments to the caregiver, and you need to withhold payroll taxes for the caregiver. For these reasons, it makes sense to have the caregiver keep track of their time by logging their dates and hours of service. ### ***Transferring The Home To The Child Caregiver*** The caregiver agreement is not the only way that you can provide money to your loved ones as part of reducing your excess assets to obtain Medicaid eligibility. If your caretaker is your child, then you could potentially transfer your home to that child without penalty. Normally, when you transfer your home to your child for “love and affection” ($0) within five years of applying for Medicaid, then this will result in a penalty. However, if your child has helped you avoid nursing home care by living in your home and serving as your caretaker for the two years prior to you going to a nursing home, then you could transfer your home to that child without penalty. This is a major benefit given Medicaid’s strict rules on transferring assets. ### ***Hiring A Caregiver Agreement Attorney*** As you can see, caregiver agreements are important not just for proving that an agreement exists, but also for directing funds to your loved ones instead of depleting those funds at a health care facility before applying for Medicaid. Critically, these caregiver agreements need to be done right to ensure Medicaid eligibility. For this reason, it is important to consult with an attorney who can help you establish the agreement and can also recommend and implement other important Medicaid strategies so that you can protect funds for your loved ones while also getting approved for Medicaid. Hawkins Elder Law has helped countless clients in Indiana protect and preserve their assets while helping them get coverage for their long term care through Medicaid. Founders Jennifer J. Hawkins and Jeff R. Hawkins are Board Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers, certified by the Trust & Estate Specialty Board. If you or a loved one is interested in using a caregiver agreement that complies with Indiana’s Medicaid guidelines, contact Hawkins Elder Law at (812) 268-8777 for a consultation with one of our experienced attorneys. ***About the Authors*** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author the Hawkins Elder Law blog with Thomas E. Hynes, a lawyer who is admitted in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida with a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer Hawkins are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). [Hawkins Elder Law](https://www.martindale.com/organization/hawkins-law-pc-1645736/) is one of the few elder law firms that Martindale-HubbellTM has rated AV Preeminent, with both of the firm’s lawyers ([Jeff Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jeff-hawkins-985574-a/) and [Jennifer Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jennifer-hawkins-985575-a/)) also rated AV Preeminent. ***More Information*** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can like [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2020 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Medicaid **Tags:** asset transfers, Caregiver, Caregiver Agreement, Medicaid, Transfer penalty --- ### [Second Marriage Estate Planning Issues In Indiana](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/second-marriage-estate-planning/) **Published:** September 26, 2020 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** Hawkins Elder Law provides an overview of second marriage issues in Indiana and how to manage them with marital trusts. **Content:** ![Photo by Adika Suhari on Unsplash](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/image-5.png "image-5 - Hawkins Elder Law PC") A second marriage could be a godsend for you particularly when you compare that marriage to your first one. However, estate planning for your second marriage is often more complicated than your first marriage especially if one or both of you have children from a prior marriage. Hawkins Elder Law provides this brief rundown of some second marriage issues and what you could do if you need to update your estate plan. ***Disinheriting Second Spouse Will Not Work Absent A Pre-Nup (And Sometimes A Post-Nup)*** Under Indiana law, your second or subsequent spouse is entitled to a portion of your assets unless you have a valid pre-nuptual agreement in which your fiancé basically waives inheritance rights. Put more simply, without this type of agreement, you cannot disinherit your spouse in Indiana. Rather, if you have children from a prior marriage but do *not* have children with your spouse, then your spouse would be entitled to one-third of your net personal estate, and a quarter of the value of your real property less encumbrances or liens. However, if you have children from a prior marriage and *also* have children with your spouse, then your spouse will be entitled to half of your net personal and real estate through the elective share. Keep in mind that even if you leave your spouse something in your will, they could actually forego taking those assets in lieu of the elective share – so you can’t just give your spouse your favorite shirt and call it a day. Congress included a provision in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) that prevents someone from disinheriting a spouse from a 401(k) or other similar employer-sponsored retirement plan without the spouse’s consent. Your fiancé’s signature on a prenuptial agreement cannot directly waive rights in an ERISA-governed retirement plan through an employer because a fiancé is not a spouse. So, it is important to include retirement plan language in a pre-nuptial agreement that requires each person to sign a post-nuptial agreement after the wedding so each spouse can preserve independent control over their federally-regulated retirement benefits. ***Second Marriages Can Create Problems For Your Children From A Prior Marriage*** When you get married again, you might be inclined to make your spouse your beneficiary of everything – that is until you realize that if you do, your children from your prior marriage might get nothing. This is because in many cases, naming your spouse as your primary beneficiary typically entitles that spouse to the entirety of your assets. While your surviving spouse might have a healthy relationship with your children from a prior marriage, this does not mean that your spouse will provide any benefit to them whatsoever. Your spouse may have children of their own from a prior marriage. It is not beyond the realm of possibility then that your spouse will favor their own children and see that they – and not your children – receive what is left of their inheritance at their death. Further, if you leave everything to your surviving spouse, they could act in an irresponsible or wasteful fashion with assets, leaving nothing for your children as a result. Your spouse could even intend to provide for your children but simply forget to make your children the beneficiary of their inherited assets. Don’t let any of these situations happen to you. ![Photo by Wes Hicks on Unsplash](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/image-6.png "image-6 - Hawkins Elder Law PC") ***Marital Trusts To The Rescue*** If you are in a second marriage but one or both of you have children from a prior marriage, then there is a way for you and your spouse to provide for each other while ensuring that your respective children are cared for: a *marital trust*. A trust is basically an arrangement where you select a person known as a trustee (e.g. your surviving spouse) to administer and distribute your assets to one or more of your beneficiaries such as your surviving spouse, children or even your favorite charity. Of the few types of marital trusts, one in particular provides for the most control in second marriage situations: the QTIP trust. In this case, your trust provides income to your surviving spouse each year; however, you still get to control what happens to assets that are left over when your spouse dies, meaning that your surviving spouse cannot change your beneficiaries because your spouse is not the true owner of the property. Note that the QTIP trust generally has to be set up so that your spouse receives income for life from the trust; however, your spouse does not have control over the principal, so they cannot just transfer the entirety of the assets to their new spouse. To the extent that you have children from your prior marriage *and* children with your spouse, you might be inclined to give your spouse more control over the trust than what a QTIP provides. In this case, you could consider other marital trusts including providing your spouse a power of appointment which permits your spouse to change the beneficiary or otherwise take income *and* principal from the trust during their life. Of course, there are ways to limit the power of appointment that you provide to your spouse. There are several additional benefits of a marital trust. For one, it allows you to pass assets to your spouse or your children, or both, without going through probate – a court-supervised process for the administration and distribution of assets in your estate at your death. Secondly, a marital trust can be an effective way for you and your spouse to avoid all or a portion of estate taxes. In fact, with proper estate tax planning, you and your surviving spouse could collectively shield up to $23,160,000.00 in 2020. Thirdly, a marital trust can be set up so that if your surviving spouse remarries, then your assets can go to your children or another beneficiary instead of your spouse’s new spouse. Finally, marital trusts can provide your surviving spouse and your children legal protection from their creditors. This is possible because distributions could be made at the discretion of a trustee, and if that trustee is not your surviving spouse or children at the time, then they would not have control over the assets to provide to creditors or those with judgements against them. There are different kinds of marital trusts for different situations. One of the most common kinds of marital trusts is part of a person’s revocable trust (sometimes called a “living trust”). However, if a married couple is concerned about long-term care asset protection, the couple may need to make marital trusts as parts of their last wills and testaments. ***What Is Right For Me?*** With proper planning, you can ensure that your surviving spouse is cared for while also protecting the interests of your children from a prior marriage or the interests of your other beneficiaries. Although marital trust planning might be a bit more complex when it comes to second marriages, it could be just the thing that you need for yourself and your family. Rest assured, an experienced estate planning attorney can help you decide which is best for your situation. Hawkins Elder Law has decades of experience helping clients with estate plans that are tailored to their needs and which provide for the effective management of their assets. Founders Jennifer J. Hawkins and Jeff R. Hawkins are Board Certified Indiana Trust and Estate Lawyers, certified by the Trust and Estate Specialty Board. Reach out to Hawkins Elder Law today by calling (812) 268-8777 or by [contacting us online](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/contact-us/). ***About the Authors*** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author the Hawkins Elder Law blog with Thomas E. Hynes, a lawyer who is admitted in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida with a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer Hawkins are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). [Hawkins Elder Law](https://www.martindale.com/organization/hawkins-law-pc-1645736/) is one of the few elder law firms that Martindale-HubbellTM has rated AV Preeminent, with both of the firm’s lawyers ([Jeff Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jeff-hawkins-985574-a/) and [Jennifer Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jennifer-hawkins-985575-a/)) also rated AV Preeminent. ***More Information*** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can like [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2020 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Estate Planning **Tags:** beneficiaries, ERISA, estate planning, marital trusts, Prenuptial Agreement, QTIP, Retirement plan, second marriages --- ### [Naming Family Members As Trustees, Executors In Indiana](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/family-member-fiduciaries-in-indiana/) **Published:** August 13, 2020 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** ![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/image-5.png "Male lawyer working with contract papers and wooden gavel on table in courtroom - Hawkins Elder Law PC") You might have figured out by now that you need an estate plan, which consists of things like a will, trust, powers of attorney and healthcare directives. The people who you appoint in these documents are fiduciaries – which are basically people who make important decisions on your behalf and who are responsible for acting in your best interests. Before getting these legal documents, you might be confronted with who you trust to manage your finances, property and healthcare decisions. Maybe some of your children are more responsible or tuned into things like money management and healthcare than others. However, selecting certain of your family members to be your fiduciaries could lead to problems. Here are some common issues that you might come across when selecting family members for your estate planning documents, and what you can do about them. ### ***What Is A Fiduciary When It Comes To Estate Planning?*** When it comes to wills, you might have heard the term “executor” or “personal representative,” which is someone who settles your estate and who is a fiduciary for the beneficiaries of your estate. If there is no will, the person administering the estate is called the “administrator.” Another type of fiduciary is a “trustee,” who is someone that oversees, manages and distributes trust assets. Finally, a power of attorney is a fiduciary who makes decisions relating to your finances, healthcare or both. Although a trustee and power of attorney could both manage financial transactions, a power of attorney typically controls assets you own outside of a trust, whereas the trustee controls trust assets. Notably, fiduciaries have a duty to act in good faith, meaning that they must act in your best interest. For this reason, whoever you designate as your fiduciary should be someone who is ethical, trustworthy, and who is able to carry out your wishes when you are no longer in a position to do so. Fiduciaries ought to have at least some financial expertise and must be capable of resolving disputes – especially in situations where the decisions they make might allow them to benefit financially at the expense of others. ### ***Naming Your Child As Your Fiduciary*** In a perfect world, each of our siblings loves and trusts each other. In the real world, however, siblings often face serious conflicts with each other. Adult children argue about things like inheritance and whether one parent has favored or plans to favor one child over another. Also, conflicts can arise between siblings when one sibling is named by mom or dad as a fiduciary and this affects the current or future financial interests of the other siblings. Significantly, giving all of your children equal power to watch over your assets may be unnecessary and actually lead to gridlock. This could be detrimental to all of your children since disputes could take time to resolve and even become costly through lawsuits and other dispute resolution measures. However, selecting only one of your children as your power of attorney, trustee or executor could raise questions and concerns from you and your other children about that appointed child’s competence. It could also raise questions about whether that child will be fair to his or her siblings. Suppose that your assets are managed for the benefit of your children in trust with only one child named as trustee. If that child is more of a risk taker but your other children are conservative and risk averse, then it becomes important for that child to take all of the children’s risk tolerances into account before making investment decisions. One of the siblings may be well off financially and therefore want trust assets to remain invested on a long-term basis, while other children may be in less than ideal financial circumstances and want trust assets to be sold and distributed to them. Another issue that could arise is if you appoint your child as trustee to manage a trust which has been set up for the sole benefit of one of your other children who might be disabled, irresponsible, has problems with creditors, or has substance abuse problems. If your child trustee has the discretion to distribute assets to the other child only if certain terms are met – such as being sober or not subject of any current lawsuits – then it is important for your trustee to withstand that child’s requests for trust assets when the terms for making distributions have not been met. Another commonplace family dilemma involves stepchildren. For example, suppose you are remarried and appoint the children you have together as trustees of a trust established for the benefit of your spouse until his or her death, with the remaining assets to be split equally among those children and your children from a prior marriage. This could be a major problem because your trustee children might try to deplete a large portion of the assets for your spouse’s benefit and indirectly their benefit while leaving your other children with little or none of your inheritance when your spouse dies. Overall, the trustee must take opposing views from beneficiaries into consideration from an objective standpoint and figure out a solution which most closely fits all beneficiaries’ needs. So as a fiduciary, your child must be able to regularly communicate well with the other children and take conflicting views into consideration when making decisions. ### ***Selecting Professional, Corporate Fiduciaries*** Sometimes children are not the best choice when it comes to being your trustee, executor or powers of attorney – particularly if family members are irresponsible or inexperienced with managing finance or healthcare matters. In situations like these, the solution may very well be to hire a professional third-party fiduciary – also known as corporate fiduciaries and independent fiduciaries – which includes trust companies, banks and certified public accountants. A professional fiduciary is someone who you pay to serve as your executor or trustee and who manages, administers and distributes your assets according to your wishes. Since they are not named as your beneficiaries and do not have a relation to your children, it is less likely that there will be a conflict of interest resulting in one beneficiary being treated better than another or treated in a manner which conflicts with your wishes. Of course, it is also possible for one or more of your family members and a professional fiduciary to work together as co-fiduciaries. ### ***Indiana Estate Planning Attorneys*** Conflicts from selecting fiduciaries and beneficiaries can be avoided through careful estate planning. Perhaps one of your children should be your fiduciary, or maybe all or none of them. There are a variety of ways in which you can designate fiduciaries and beneficiaries without causing rifts in the family, such as giving authority to your children for some things but not for others, or by establishing separate trusts for each beneficiary with special instructions. However, this should be discussed with an experienced Indiana estate planning attorney. For more than two decades, the attorneys at Hawkins Elder Law have helped countless clients with preparing estate plans that are tailored to their needs and which provide for the effective management of their assets. Founders Jennifer J. Hawkins and Jeff R. Hawkins are Board Certified Indiana Trust and Estate Lawyers, certified by the Trust and Estate Specialty Board. If you or a loved one is thinking about estate planning, feel free to consult with Hawkins Elder Law at (812) 268-8777 today. ***About the Authors*** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author the Hawkins Elder Law blog with Thomas E. Hynes, a lawyer who is admitted in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida with a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer Hawkins are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). [Hawkins Elder Law](https://www.martindale.com/organization/hawkins-law-pc-1645736/) is one of the few elder law firms that Martindale-HubbellTM has rated AV Preeminent, with both of the firm’s lawyers ([Jeff Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jeff-hawkins-985574-a/) and [Jennifer Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jennifer-hawkins-985575-a/)) also rated AV Preeminent. ***More Information*** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can like [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2020 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Estate Planning **Tags:** executor, Health Care Power of Attorney, power of attorney, Trust & Estate Lawyers, trustee, trusts, wills --- ### [Aging In Place In Indiana?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/aging-in-place-in-indiana/) **Published:** November 12, 2020 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** The attorneys at Hawkins Elder Law discuss what it means to age in place at home and in the community. **Content:** ![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/image-3.png "image-3 - Hawkins Elder Law PC") As you approach retirement, it is normal to contemplate what lifestyle and living arrangements might suit you best. If you are like many, you might be inclined to stay in the place that you have called home for so many years. However, if your health is on the decline, it could be necessary for you to downsize or to live in a community which can provide you with assistance in managing your lifestyle including your activities of daily living. Fortunately, whether you are living at home or in the community, there is an opportunity for you to *age in place*. *What Does It Mean To Age In Place?* Aging in place is all about you living where you want to live for as long as possible. Most often, people think of aging in place as living in their own home until they die, but it could also include living in a community – such as an assisted living facility – which provides a range of services to fit your changing needs. To age in place, you might have to rely on the assistance of someone or something to help you maintain, if not improve, your quality of life. You have to take into consideration your health, your current living situation, finances, among other things to determine the best path forward. *How Aging In Place Is Impacted By Your Health* Your health is one of the biggest determinants as to whether you can continue to stay at home. As you get older, you could face a variety of health challenges including a reduction in strength, mental acuity, mobility, hearing and vision. You are typically at an increased risk of injuring yourself or falling ill. Getting older can cause you to struggle with things like bathing, dressing, moving around, cooking, cleaning, socializing, and maintaining the upkeep on your home. Some people manage the decline of their health better than others. Depending on your limitations, you might be able to live on your own as the majority of seniors prefer. However, you might be one of the many seniors who needs a little more help but are opposed to being dependent on your spouse or other family members to assist you. Should you fall into one of these circumstances, then to avoid a reduction in your quality of life, you could bring in someone to your home to assist you in a variety of ways, with care that could range from helping you with simple tasks to providing you extensive assistance with your activities of daily living. *Aging In Place At Home* If you are staying at home, be prepared to spend money on remodeling your home so that it is more accessible for you. Some of the ways people do this is by building ramps to accommodate wheelchairs, placing support railings on steps, and improving lighting. Part of your plan may involve the use of family caretakers, health aides, nurses and therapists or other people who can come to your home occasionally or regularly to provide you with assistance in managing your lifestyle including your activities of daily living. If you hire a homemaker – which is someone who mainly assists with housekeeping, transportation, meal preparations, and companion services, then this will generally cost around $52,000 per year in Indiana according to the [2019 Genworth Cost of Care Survey](https://www.genworth.com/aging-and-you/finances/cost-of-care.html). If you hire a health aide – who can assist with activities of daily living including bathing, transferring, toileting, eating, dressing and continence, then be prepared to spend slightly more. *Aging In Place At An Assisted Living Facility* Perhaps you have needs that are best met in an assisted living facility, also known as a senior living community. An assisted living facility could consist of townhouses, apartments and condominiums. Your living space might be private or shared with others. In an assisted living facility, you have more hands-on assistance and have quick access to limited medical staff who are usually on site. In this setting, as you age, staff at the assisted living facility are able to tend to your needs and can offer a wide range of services including help with daily activities, medication distribution and management, community recreational activities, transportation, meal service and supervision on a daily basis. You might be a candidate for an assisted living facility if you are: - Able to walk but you might need some assistance - Able to converse coherently and can understand directions - Willing to receive help - In need of some personal care but are still able to handle your normal daily activities - Not in the late stages of dementia Notably, with such a large scope of services offered by an assisted living facility, you may not need to relocate if you need additional help. In effect, you are *aging in place*. In Indiana, assisted living facilities cost about $49,000 per year on average. Alternatively, for those requiring more comprehensive medical care or supervision, a nursing home might be the only way. Nursing homes in Indiana cost approximately $84,000 per year on average if you are sharing a room, and approximately $102,000 per year for a private room. See the previously mentioned 2019 Genworth.com Cost of Care Survey. According to Section 3006.00.00 of the Indiana Family & Social Services Administration’s Indiana Health Coverage Program Policy Manual, Indiana’s average monthly cost of care in a shared nursing home room is $6,681 ($80,172 per year) as of July 1, 2020. Indiana offers public benefits programs like Medicaid which can assist you with paying for long term care. To learn more about long term care planning, consider consulting with an elder law attorney. The attorneys at Hawkins Elder Law have decades of experience helping countless clients with Medicaid planning strategies as well as estate plans that are tailored to their needs and which provide for the effective management and distribution of their assets. Founders Jennifer J. Hawkins and Jeff R. Hawkins are Board Certified Indiana Trust and Estate Lawyers, certified by the Trust and Estate Specialty Board. Get in touch with Hawkins Elder Law by calling (812) 268-8777 or by [contacting us online](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/contact-us/). ***About the Authors*** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author the Hawkins Elder Law blog with Thomas E. Hynes, a lawyer who is admitted in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida with a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer Hawkins are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and he served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). [Hawkins Elder Law](https://www.martindale.com/organization/hawkins-law-pc-1645736/) is one of the few elder law firms that Martindale-HubbellTM has rated AV Preeminent, with both of the firm’s lawyers ([Jeff Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jeff-hawkins-985574-a/) and [Jennifer Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jennifer-hawkins-985575-a/)) also rated AV Preeminent. ***More Information*** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can like [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2020 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Elder Law, Estate Planning **Tags:** age in place, assisted living, home healthcare, Homemaker, long-term health care costs, nursing home, Quality of Life --- ### [Safe Family Holiday Celebrations In The Pandemic](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/are-safe-family-holiday-celebrations-in-the-pandemic-possible/) **Published:** November 22, 2020 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![How families can share holiday joy safely during the pandemic.](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/shutterstock_739883113-1024x683.jpg "Family prayer before Thanksgiving dinner - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/shutterstock_739883113-scaled.jpg)Holiday joy in family celebration is challenging during the COVID 19 pandemicAre safe family holiday celebrations in the pandemic possible? Think about it for a moment. Are you tempted to add a question mark to holiday greetings like “Happy Thanksgiving?” “Happy Hanukkah?” or “Merry Christmas?” Families wanting to celebrate holidays this year face pandemic risks like none the world has seen in over a century. So, as numbers of COVID-19 infections rise, must families suspend their 2020 holiday joy? While folks may need to improvise holiday celebrations, we suggest in this special edition article that holiday joy is worth the extra effort. **Knowledge – the Key to Safe Family Holiday Celebrations** The safe family holiday celebration effort must start with knowledge. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website offers holiday gifts of tips and precautions for families and friends to celebrate safely at: **Technology – Tools for Safe Family Holiday Celebrations** Technology that has kept many of us connected this year can connect us through the holidays. Some families may connect virtually this year instead of sharing a holiday meal around one table. Although a tablet or laptop at the head of the table can’t replace the person normally seated there, that person can share family fellowship remotely. **Sharing – Same Family Holiday Ingredients With Creative Delivery** So families are cooking and sharing parts of their meals with each other by exchanging food. One household may deliver parts of the turkey to another family members’ homes, and return home with other parts of the holiday meal. **Testing and Quarantining – Slam Dunks and Grand Slams for Family Holiday Safety** Some holiday joy seekers are borrowing from the 2020 coronavirus playbooks of professional sports. Professional athletes are quarantining and submitting to weekly COVID-19 tests to protect teammates from infection. Some families are using that strategy before gathering so they can enjoy in-person celebrations fearlessly. The idea is that a family may gather safely if everyone isolates and tests negative in the 14 days before the family celebration. Of course, no plan is foolproof. Still, families willing follow the test and quarantine strategy may not need to sacrifice holiday traditions at all. **Indiana COVID-19 Test Tips** Some Indiana counties have no COVID-19 testing site presently. Some pharmacies outside those counties offer free testing for certain qualified people (employees required to get tested, patients sent by doctors, etc.), but they charge a hefty fee for everyone else. The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) website offers connections to free testing facilities throughout the state. We have found these steps helpful to register and receive COVID-19 tests through the ISDH community testing system: 1. Begin by looking up your county and surrounding counties in the “List of Test Sites by County” on the right side of the map at ; 2. To preregister in a location, click on the “Register for testing at a Community Test Site” button; 3. Entering your ZIP Code in next screen to find nearby testing facilities; 4. After you select a facility, you can schedule an appointment (but schedule far enough out to complete the registration process – there may be 5 additional registration screens after scheduling the appointment); 5. Complete the registration process (we recommend giving your mobile phone so you will receive text messages concerning your appointment and the test results); 6. Allow plenty of time in case other people are receiving tests at the facility; 7. Where your mask into the facility (except during the nose swab procedure) and follow instructions from the testing facility staff; 8. Watch for a text message with your test results in 3 to 5 days. The web link to the ISDH COVID-19 Testing Information webpage is: . **Pay Now or Pay Later – Family Holiday Celebration Costs** Most families will pay costs of holiday joy this year. Families that disregard coronavirus precautions may sacrifice the lives of their most vulnerable members. Alternatively, families that cancel holiday celebrations completely will forfeit opportunities to share holiday joy. However, families that celebrate creatively may fill their homes with lasting, joyful memories from their shared precautionary efforts. We hope every family finds safe, holiday joy this year. With little thought and effort, we can all chip in this year so everyone can celebrate freely next year. ***About the Authors*** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author the Hawkins Elder Law blog with Thomas E. Hynes, a lawyer who is admitted in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida with a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer Hawkins are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba). He served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). ***More Information*** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can like [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2020 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Uncategorized **Tags:** COVID-19, Indiana State Department of Health, ISDH --- ### [SECURE Act Affects Retirement Plan Beneficiaries](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/secure-act/) **Published:** September 5, 2020 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** Hawkins Elder Law provides an overview of SECURE Act’s possible impact on your beneficiaries and what you could do if you need to make a change to your estate plan in light of the new law. **Content:** ![Photo by Micheile Henderson on Unsplash](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/image.png "image - Hawkins Elder Law PC") The *Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019* (“[SECURE Act](https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/1994)”), which went into effect this year, significantly changes retirement account rules including who can contribute and when you have to take withdrawals. While the SECURE Act has its share of perks, such as the removal of an age limit for IRA contributions and the increase of the required minimum distribution age to 72, a major drawback is that many beneficiaries are no longer allowed to take distributions over the course of their lives via a *stretch* provision, but must instead take all distributions within 10 years of the account owner’s death. Here’s an overview of SECURE Act’s possible impact on your beneficiaries and what you could do if you need to make a change to your estate plan in light of the new law. ***Under SECURE Act, Most Beneficiaries Cannot Elect Stretch Status*** Prior to the enactment of SECURE Act, a common option selected by a beneficiary was to stretch payments from an inherited IRA over the course of their lifetime based on their life expectancy so that they could achieve tax-deferred growth, better tax treatment on distributions, and even protection from creditors. SECURE Act basically put an end to this stretch option as it now requires that for all IRAs inherited after December 31, 2019, the beneficiary must take possession of inherited IRA funds within 10 years of the account owner’s death. Fortunately, some of your beneficiaries might still be able to elect stretch status. This includes your surviving spouse, minor children, disabled and chronically ill beneficiaries, and those of your beneficiaries who are within 10 years of your age. This means that your surviving spouse can still take distributions over their lifetime or roll over assets into their own IRA. However, your children are another story. Once your minor child becomes an adult, they are subject to this new 10 year rule unless they are eligible for stretch status on other grounds such as being disabled. ***SECURE Act’s Possible Impact On Naming Your Trust As An IRA Beneficiary*** For decades, a popular estate planning strategy has been to make your trust the beneficiary of your retirement account. Your trust could be in existence before you die, or a testamentary trust could be established through your will. In either event, when your trust is your IRA beneficiary, distributions are made to your trust, and the terms of your trust dictate whether and to what extent distributions are made to your trust beneficiaries. There are two types of trusts which are geared towards administering inherited retirement account payouts: conduit trusts and accumulation trusts. With a conduit trust (also known as a “see-through” trust), distributions made to your trust are supposed to be paid out to your trust beneficiaries each year rather than remain in the trust. The conduit trust allows your trust beneficiary to pay tax at their income tax rate which is typically lower than the trust’s tax rate. It also enables your trust beneficiary to receive distributions over their lifetime via a stretch payout if they are an eligible beneficiary under SECURE Act. Otherwise, your trust might be forced under SECURE Act to receive taxable distributions over a much shorter period of time than the trust calls for, making this type of trust invalid or impractical. With an accumulation trust (also known as a “discretionary trust”), your trustee has the power to hold the assets in the trust rather than make payment to your trust beneficiary. Notably, assets held in an accumulation trust are subject to trust tax rates which could be much higher than your trust beneficiaries’ income tax rates. In fact, trusts with more than $13,050.00 in taxable income are subject to 37% tax – the same tax rate of a single taxpayer making more than $523,600.00 or a married couple making more than $628,300 in 2021. An accumulation trust is generally more viable if you have a Roth IRA since the trust generally does not pay any tax on Roth IRA distributions. This type of trust can also protect against a special needs beneficiary obtaining assets that might disqualify them for public benefits such as Medicaid. ***Problem Children*** A commonplace practice in estate planning is to put special provisions in trusts that empower your trustee to withhold distributions to those of your trust beneficiaries who are irresponsible, at risk of lawsuits, drug-addicted or otherwise dealing with substance abuse issues. These provisions can prevent one or more of your beneficiaries from spending all of their inheritance at the casino and can even protect them from their creditors. With a stretch provision, the trust not only allows the beneficiary to receive favorable tax treatment but also provides asset protection for as long as the assets remain in the retirement account. Unfortunately, with the SECURE Act, a stretch provision may not be available for any of your problem children since there is no provision in the SECURE Act that allows your trust to opt for a stretch provision if your trust beneficiary is immature or irresponsible. This could mean that distributions which are required to be paid to the trust under the SECURE Act might need to be parked in another trust account in which distributions are made at your trustee’s discretion. Although this might not be ideal from a tax perspective, it could make sense for your trust to bear the tax consequences if the alternative is your problem child possessing and potentially wasting the money that you worked so hard to accumulate. ***SECURE Act’s Impact On Disabled Children And Chronically Ill*** Although the SECURE Act allows your disabled and chronically ill beneficiaries to elect stretch status, they would have to qualify as disabled or chronically ill as it is defined under federal law. According to federal law, a disabled beneficiary [(defined in 26 U.S. Code § 72(m)(7))](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/72) is unable to engage in substantial gainful activity because of a medically determinable physical or mental impairment which is expected to result in their death or persist for some indefinite or long-term duration. Notably, your beneficiary might qualify as disabled under the terms of your trust but not under the government’s definition of disabled – even if your beneficiary is facing serious addictions or other challenges that reduce their ability to generate income. According to federal law, a chronically ill beneficiary is someone who a licensed health practitioner determines is unable to perform at least two activities of daily living (e.g. eating, bathing, dressing, transferring, toileting) for at least three months because of a loss of their functional capacity; or someone who basically has to be extensively supervised to protect them from threats to their health and safety because of a cognitive impairment. This means that your beneficiary might not be ill enough in the government’s opinion to warrant a stretch provision. If one of your children has special needs and would be eligible for stretch status, you could designate a special needs trust as your IRA beneficiary. In this case, your trustee could make distributions to cover your beneficiary’s support and care while still being able to stretch distributions from the IRA over your child’s lifetime. Even if your child does not meet the federal government’s definitions of disabled or chronically ill, a trust that is established for their benefit could still accomplish other goals that are as meaningful as mitigating tax consequences. ## More SECURE Act Resources on ACTEC Foundation Podcasts The [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) Foundation](https://actecfoundation.org/)‘s podcast channel provides periodic discussions of many topics and issues concerning estates and trusts. Folks seeking more information about the SECURE Act may find the podcast channel’s 2019 and 2020 [podcasts on the SECURE Act](https://actecfoundation.org/?s=Secure+Act) helpful. ***Hawkins Elder Law Can Help You Modify Your Estate Or Retirement Plan*** Now that the SECURE Act is law, you should have your estate or retirement plan reviewed to ensure that your assets are able to be distributed according to your wishes while providing adequate protection to your beneficiaries from a tax and an asset protection standpoint. For example, your conduit trust might have to be switched to an accumulation trust. It might make sense for you to convert to a Roth IRA or even change which assets that you have earmarked for your beneficiaries. An experienced estate planning attorney can help you decide. For more than two decades, the attorneys at Hawkins Elder Law have helped countless clients with preparing estate plans that are tailored to their needs and which provide for the effective management and distribution of their assets. Founders Jennifer J. Hawkins and Jeff R. Hawkins are Board Certified Indiana Trust and Estate Lawyers, certified by the Trust and Estate Specialty Board. Reach out to Hawkins Elder Law today by calling (812) 268-8777 or by [contacting us online](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/contact-us/). ***About the Authors*** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author the Hawkins Elder Law blog with Thomas E. Hynes, a lawyer who is admitted in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida with a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer Hawkins are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba). He served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). [Hawkins Elder Law](https://www.martindale.com/organization/hawkins-law-pc-1645736/) is one of the few elder law firms that Martindale-HubbellTM has rated AV Preeminent, with both of the firm’s lawyers ([Jeff Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jeff-hawkins-985574-a/) and [Jennifer Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jennifer-hawkins-985575-a/)) also rated AV Preeminent. ***More Information*** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can like [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2021 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Estate Planning, Retirement Plan, Uncategorized **Tags:** accumulation trusts, conduit trusts, disabled beneficiary, SECURE Act, stretch IRA, tax, trusts --- ### [Trust Protector to the Rescue](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/trust-protector-to-the-rescue/) **Published:** January 14, 2017 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Businessman-in-superhero-concept-with-red-cover-Shutterstock-photo-ID-538587385-By-Elnur.jpg "Businessman in superhero concept with red cover; Shutterstock photo ID 538587385; By Elnur - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Businessman-in-superhero-concept-with-red-cover-Shutterstock-photo-ID-538587385-By-Elnur.jpg) The basic purpose for estate planning is to prepare for future situations by empowering people to solve problems or adapt to changing circumstances. Unfortunately, this old planning truism still applies: The finest plans of mice and men often fall apart and leave us with only grief and pain instead of joyful hearts. (Our paraphrased excerpt of the 1785 Robert Burns poem, *To a Mouse*.) The possibility of unexpected problems complicating future trust administration inspires us to add a “trust protector” planning layer in some trusts for additional problem-solving flexibility. A simple trust usually terminates after the trust creator’s death, which minimizes unexpected future trust administration problems. We try to be pessimistic enough to foresee such common problems as a beneficiary’s unexpected disability or a prematurely deceased beneficiary leaving young surviving children, by including additional contingency plan provisions for those circumstances as standard trust features. Problems that derail contingency plans often include relationship meltdowns and communication failures between feuding trustees and beneficiaries. A trust protector provision authorizes someone other than the beneficiaries and trustees to make problem-solving modifications to the trust. The trust protector’s authority can be as broad or narrow as the estate planning client desires. It is usually best to limit the authority to a narrow range of actions to avoid creating a conflict of interest for the trust protector so that the trust protector can remain independent and unbiased about the outcome. Common trust protector powers include the power to change trustees, to change how beneficiaries receive distributions or make other subtle changes in response to unexpected changes in applicable laws. Trust protector selection can be as challenging as trustee selection. Strong integrity is a trust protector’s most important qualification, because people whose interest may be affected by the trust protector’s action or decision not to act may try to influence the trust protector with threats or bribes. A trust protector should be young enough to be physically and mentally capable of acting when a future problem arises, but sufficiently wise and familiar with the client’s family dynamics to know when and how to intervene. A trust protector also needs to be courageous enough to endure harsh responses from disinherited family members, disgruntled beneficiaries, or terminated trustees that may object to the trust protector’s actions or decision not to act. We prefer to include multiple layers of successor trustees and trust protectors as part of our deliberate planning pessimism. A person may be dependable now, but health problems, family dynamics, death, or other changes in circumstances may discourage or prevent the primary successor trustee or trust protector from serving. Current Indiana law permits an estate planning client to protect a trustee or trust protector from liability for consequences of discretionary actions or decisions not to act with exoneration provisions. Exoneration critics argue that trustees and trust protectors should always be accountable to beneficiaries for their actions or decisions not to act, but exoneration proponents counter that people may be reluctant to serve as trustees or trust protectors without exoneration. A client can also provide for a trustee or trust protector to receive compensation or reimbursement for expenses. Expense reimbursement is a simple matter, but compensation planning requires careful thought to make sure that the compensation does not create the unintended potential for conflicts of interest. The [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) Foundation](https://actecfoundation.org/)‘s podcast channel presented a discussion of trust protector concepts in [Episode 151 in April 2021 entitled “Trust Protectors.”](https://actecfoundation.org/podcasts/trust-protectors-estate/) We conclude in reflection on Robert Burns’ poetic epiphany with our own humble composition: Perfect planning requires omniscience, a supernatural attribute, Thus, thoughtful planning may still not spare someone from becoming destitute. God, alone, anticipates the fate of every man, So faithful devotion in soulful prayer should accompany every plan. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel ( ACTEC)](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). [Hawkins Elder Law](https://www.martindale.com/organization/hawkins-law-pc-1645736/) is one of the few elder law firms that Martindale-HubbellTM has rated AV Preeminent, with both of the firm’s lawyers ([Jeff Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jeff-hawkins-985574-a/) and [Jennifer Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jennifer-hawkins-985575-a/)) also rated AV Preeminent. Find more information about these and other topics at , follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw) on Facebook, follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw), or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2021 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Estate Planning, Trust, Trust Protector, Trustee **Tags:** estate plan, trust, Trust Protector, trustee --- ### [5 Organizational Tips to Simplify Your Life, Disability, and Death](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/5-organizational-tips-to-simplify-your-life-disability-and-death/) **Published:** October 8, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![file-storage-closet-copyright-hawkins-law-pc-2016](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/File-Storage-Closet-Copyright-Hawkins-Law-PC-2016.jpg "file-storage-closet-copyright-hawkins-law-pc-2016 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/File-Storage-Closet-Copyright-Hawkins-Law-PC-2016.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] 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 make our personal business management easier for ourselves and for people who must step in for us when we die or become disabled. 1\. **US Savings Bonds** – People buy US savings bonds as gifts for their grandchildren and as investments for themselves. Although savings bonds offer investment security and earnings rates that sometimes beats bank savings accounts, they create problems for estate planning and financial crisis management. First, it is difficult to transfer ownership of savings bonds because you must coordinate ownership changes with the federal Bureau of Public Debt. Second, ownership changes from one person to another during your life or upon your death trigger expensive income taxation at inconvenient moments. Some folks may disagree with us, but we prefer that people avoid savings bond complications by not purchasing them. We suggest that people who insist on owning savings bonds convert their paper certificates into electronic bond accounts because they can manage electronic accounts without having to store and keep track of paper certificates. For more information about converting paper certificates to electronic bonds, visit [www.TreasuryDirect.gov](http://www.TreasuryDirect.gov). 2\. **Bank and Investment Accounts** – The electronic revolution has made bank and investment account management much simpler. Most banks and other financial institutions allow depositors or investors to establish online accounts that they can manage over the Internet. Instead of having to write checks to pay bills each month, we can transfer funds from our smartphones or computer keyboards in seconds and monitor our accounts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. When someone suffers a health crisis and can no longer manage personal business, online accounts allow family members to get up to speed and carry on personal business faster and more seamlessly than with old-fashioned accounts. 3\. **Corporate Stock** – Retirees from large companies often retire with corporate stock issued by their former employers. Traditionally, companies issued stock on fancy stock certificates. Almost all publicly-traded companies offer online accounts that allow people to manage their stocks without having to store and account for paper certificates. Electronic stock management eliminates the risk of loss caused by fire, theft, flood, or forgetfulness, because online accounts cannot be destroyed, stolen, or misplaced. Even if computer hackers hack into accounts, most online accounts have security procedures to protect investors. We recommend taking an additional step by transferring stock to registered financial representatives (stockbrokers) for safekeeping and account management because they can coordinate account transactions for estate planning and estate administration purposes much more easily than is possible for individual online accounts. 4\. **List of Essential Documents and Information** – All of this streamlined electronic account management serve no purpose if you do not maintain some accounts list to keep track of the information. The best way to organize such financial information is to purchase asset management software such as Quicken, YNAB, Personal Capital, Mint, or PowerWallet. For people who want to work more simply, a ledger sheet or computer spreadsheet can also help keep online accounts organized. It is important to share information about how to find your organizational system with the people that you trust to manage things if you become disabled to make it easier for them to help you in a crisis. 5\. **Password Management** – Account security is one of the biggest problems with online accounts. Cybersecurity experts recommend gibberish passwords with a combination of 12 or more lowercase letters, uppercase letters, numbers, and other characters. The experts also recommend changing passwords frequently and maintaining a different password for every account. Unfortunately, most of us cannot memorize long, sophisticated passwords, and writing lists or storing them on computers can be risky. Password managers provide secure solutions for this problem by generating and securely storing sophisticated passwords that we can access from computers and smartphones. We still have to memorize master passwords for the password managers, but it is easier to memorize a single, master password than to memorize a whole page of individual passwords. PC Magazine® evaluated the top password manager applications in its February 17, 2021, online article entitled *The Best Password Managers for 2021*, available online at . Softwarehow.com has also posted its password manager reviews for android, Mac, and iPhone on March 22, 2021, at . The learning curve to improve asset management can be steep and frustrating, but the rewards are worthwhile. You do not have to dive in headfirst and solve all of your asset management problems at once, but you must begin and there is no time like the present. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), like us on [Facebook (@HawkinsElderLaw)](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2021 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Corporate Stock, Disability, Estate Planning, Investment Advisor, Investments, US Savings Bonds **Tags:** Account Management, Asset Management, Cyber security, estate plan, Investment advisor, investments, Password Manager, Stock Certificates --- ### [Three Common Estate Planning Problems Waiting To Happen](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/three-common-estate-planning-problems-waiting-to-happen/) **Published:** October 29, 2020 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** Hawkins Elder Law provides you this overview of issues you might face with family members as it relates to your estate plan. **Content:** ![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/image.png "image - Hawkins Elder Law PC") Poor estate planning can result in your family fighting over your assets when you die. Perhaps nowhere is family strain and strife more obvious than with a will contest or a legal dispute as to who in your family gets what and when they can get it. Hawkins Elder Law provides you this overview of three common issues that you might face when not all of your family members are on the same page with your estate plan, and what you could do to protect against your family suing over your estate. *When Your Children Share In The Same Assets, Drama Might Ensue* Each of your children likely has different financial needs. Some of your children might be better off than others. You might create a timebomb if you designate all your children to jointly own your assets at your death with the majority of them controlling what happens to the assets. The children under financial strain that want money now might clash with other children that want to the assets to grow in a long-term investment strategy. Suppose that you have transferred your home to your children in equal shares. One or more of your children might want to sell the home to obtain their share of the proceeds because they need cash now, while your other children might view a home sale as a big problem especially if they don’t need the proceeds and the home is situated in a buyer’s market. One way of avoiding this dilemma is to specify in advance whether and to what extent your children can sell the home, which is really important if one or more of you anticipates living in the home. It is possible for your home to be held in trust for your benefit during your life and eventually for the benefit of your children at your death, where your trustee (the person who is responsible for managing and disposing of your trust assets) could liquidate the home as long as your conditions are met. Your trustee – whether that is you or someone else — could then distribute the proceeds to each beneficiary knowing that this is what you intended. Your trust could even have a provision where your trustee arranges for your children to buy out a cash-strapped child’s interest in the home if need be, providing that cash-strapped child money when it is needed without placing your other children’s interests in jeopardy. Along these lines, another way of avoiding family strife is to avoid making multiple children share jointly in your assets, and to instead designate different assets for each of your children if this is possible. As part of the estate planning process, it would be normal for you to make use of a trust that controls distribution of your assets after your death. You could select which of the remaining assets would be held for the benefit of each of your children in their own sub-trusts. This way, if one of your children needs money, then income or principal could be distributed to them from their sub-trust at your trustee’s discretion, and this should not affect your other children’s interests in their sub-trusts. *One Of Your Child Beneficiaries Is Also Your Fiduciary, Creating A Conflict Of Interest* If one of your children acts as your fiduciary (attorney-in-fact, trustee, executor), then they have a duty to act in your best interests and, at your death, the best interests of your beneficiaries (e.g. spouse, children). If one of your children happens to be your fiduciary, then your non-fiduciary children might have a problem with your fiduciary child making decisions which might negatively affect all of the children’s interests as beneficiaries. For example, your non-fiduciary child might want jointly held assets allocated more conservatively then your other children want. If your fiduciary child has an aggressive risk tolerance, it can be difficult for them to make a decision affecting all children without their own bias getting in the way. Sometimes children are not the best choice when it comes to being your trustee, executor or attorney-in-fact. This is especially important to take into account when family members that you have in mind to be your fiduciary are possibly irresponsible or inexperienced with managing finance or healthcare matters. In situations like these, you might want to hire a professional third-party fiduciary (e.g. trust companies, banks and certified public accountants) to make the call. *When You Disinherit Your Estranged Family Member But Don’t Make That Clear* If you do not leave an inheritance to your spouse or one or more of your children, then it is possible that they will challenge your decision by bringing a lawsuit after your death. On the surface, it might not be clear as to whether you omitted someone inadvertently or had done so on purpose. To the extent that your estate planning documents are outdated, this might lend itself to a provision appearing to exclude or include someone when this does not reflect your intent in the slightest. It is possible for one or more of your family members to challenge your partial or complete disinheritance of them based on allegations of a perceived mistake or error in your estate plan. Estate litigation often involves a disinherited family member who argues that your trust or will should be interpreted to benefit them. The validity of your estate planning instruments could also be challenged based on allegations of fraud or undue influence. For example, suppose that you have a close relationship with one of your children who you designate to receive a larger portion of your estate at your death than the portions that will be received by your other children. It is possible that those other children – estranged or otherwise – might cry foul, such as by arguing that you did not mean to benefit one of your children at their expense. For this reason, in order to avoid confusion and a potential estate contest, it makes sense for your intent in benefiting one child more than others to be crystal clear. Along these lines, if you want to disinherit your child, then you should use specific language which identifies which child is to be disinherited. Rather than a child’s disinheritance being implied, the trust should explicitly identify the disinherited child (e.g. My son, John Smith, whose birthday is January 1, 1950, shall not be a beneficiary of my trust). ![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/image-1.png "image-1 - Hawkins Elder Law PC") It is also important to note that In Indiana, your spouse or your children might be entitled to a portion of your assets. For instance, your spouse is entitled to an elective share which can constitute a portion of your assets at your death that you left in your will to someone else. Your spouse and children also stand to receive a portion of your probate assets if you die intestate (without a valid will). Moreover, federal law prevents you from disinheriting your spouse as it relates to your 401(k) or employer plan absent your spouse’s consent. So, when you are trying to disinherit someone, you must take into consideration what the law allows you to accomplish to see if it is different than what you want. *Avoid Your Family’s Estate Planning Disputes By Getting Proper Estate Planning* At your death, do you want your children to fight over your assets? If you are like many, the answer is obviously “no.” Avoiding these calamities frequently necessitates the use of a trust containing specific instructions as to how your assets are managed and distributed. Fortunately, trusts can be customized to fit practically any need you might have – and can be carefully drafted to avoid any confusion about who receives what from you at your incapacity or death. At minimum, the more specific your instructions regarding the disposition of your assets at your death, the less likely your family litigates over your legacy. For more than two decades, the attorneys at Hawkins Elder Law have helped countless clients with preparing estate plans that are tailored to their needs and which provide for the effective management and distribution of their assets. Founders Jennifer J. Hawkins and Jeff R. Hawkins are Board Certified Indiana Trust and Estate Lawyers, certified by the Trust and Estate Specialty Board. Reach out to Hawkins Elder Law today by calling (812) 268-8777 or by [contacting us online](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/contact-us/). ***About the Authors*** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author the Hawkins Elder Law blog with Thomas E. Hynes, a lawyer who is admitted in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida with a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer Hawkins are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba). He served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins), and he is a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch). [Hawkins Elder Law](https://www.martindale.com/organization/hawkins-law-pc-1645736/) is one of the few elder law firms that Martindale-HubbellTM has rated AV Preeminent, with both of the firm’s lawyers ([Jeff Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jeff-hawkins-985574-a/) and [Jennifer Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jennifer-hawkins-985575-a/)) also rated AV Preeminent. ***More Information*** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can like [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2021 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Estate Planning **Tags:** asset transfers, beneficiary designations, children, Conflict of Interest, disinherit, estate planning, trusts --- ### [Elder Abuse & Abuse Prevention](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/elder-abuse-abuse-prevention/) **Published:** May 29, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** ![shutterstock_276292787](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/shutterstock_276292787.jpg "shutterstock_276292787 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")\[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] We have all heard about cases of child abuse and spouse abuse, but elder abuse tends not to draw much attention. As the “Baby Boomer” generation ages, it makes sense that the number of elder abuse cases will increase. This article shares information from national elder abuse studies to show the approximate size of the problem, why we know so little about it, and what people can do to help stop elder abuse. The [National Center on Elder Abuse](https://ncea.acl.gov/Search-Results.aspx?searchtext=2050&searchmode=anyword) (NCEA) [reports](https://ncea.acl.gov/What-We-Do/Research/Statistics-and-Data.aspx#dementia) that by 2050, the US population of people age 65 and older will have grown from 13% of the total population to 20% from 2010. The agency reports that the age 85 and older population will have grown during that time from 5.8 million people to 19 million people. Elder abuse often goes unreported and, therefore, we lack accurate statistics to measure the problem, but the NCEA statistical report cites these study results as evidence of the problem’s scope: - Major elder abuse case showed that 7.6%–10% of study participants experienced abuse in the prior year, and 9 of 10 adults experiencing abuse experienced financial abuse. - State Adult Protective Services (APS) agencies see an increasing trend in reported elder abuse. - An overwhelming number of cases of abuse, neglect, and exploitation go undetected and untreated each year. - One study estimated that only 1 in 14 cases of elder abuse ever comes to the attention of authorities. The New York State Elder Abuse Prevalence Study found that for every case known to programs and agencies, 24 were unknown. - Major financial exploitation was self-reported at a rate of 41 per 1,000 surveyed, which was higher than self-reported rates of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse or neglect. NCEA reports, “In the only national study that attempted to define the scope of elder abuse, the vast majority of abusers were family members (approximately 90%), most often adult children, spouses, partners, and others.” The agency adds, “Family members who abuse drugs or alcohol, who have a mental/emotional illness, and who feel burdened by their caregiving responsibilities abuse at higher rates than those who do not.” The statistical report says, “Elders who experienced abuse, even modest abuse, had a 300% higher risk of death when compared to those who had not been abused. Research has also shown that victims of elder abuse have had significantly higher levels of psychological distress and lower perceived self-efficacy than older adults who have not been victimized. In addition, older adults who are victims of violence have additional health care problems than other older adults, including increased bone or joint problems, digestive problems, depression or anxiety, chronic pain, high blood pressure, and heart problems.” “The impact of abuse, neglect, and exploitation also has a profound fiscal cost. The direct medical costs associated with violent injuries to older adults are estimated to add over $5.3 billion to the nation’s annual health expenditures, and the annual financial loss by victims of elder financial exploitation was estimated to be $2.9 billion in 2009, a 12% increase from 2008.” NCEA encourages people to help stop elder abuse on its [Suspect Abuse](https://ncea.acl.gov/Suspect-Abuse.aspx) webpage with these action steps: - Learn when and how to report abuse - Get help for commonly seen “tricky situations” involving possible abuse of elders and adults with disabilities - Learn about the agencies and organizations that respond to reports of abuse - Learn what some communities and multidisciplinary teams are doing to prevent abuse from occurring - Explore how the many fields and organizations that serve elders and adults with disabilities may play a role in abuse intervention and prevention - To learn how to prevent abuse through volunteerism and raising awareness, visit the [Make a Difference](https://ncea.acl.gov/Make-a-Difference.aspx) section. We extend special thanks to Carol Marak, Aging Advocate for Seniorcare.com, for her help in updating this article’s links to NCEA’s website. Carol has written a helpful guide for recognizing the [signs of elder abuse]() on the Seniorcare.com website. Jessica Thomas has also published a helpful [Elder Abuse Prevention Guide](https://sixtyandme.com/elder-abuse-prevention-resource-guide/) on the [SixtyandMe.com](https://sixtyandme.com/https://sixtyandme.com/) website. Please note that we do not endorse or express opinions about the SixtyandMe.com sponsors whose advertisements appear in and around Ms. Thomas’s article. Although Hawkins Elder Law’s practice does not include elder abuse lawsuits, we refer people concerned about Indiana and Illinois elder abuse cases to Indiana and Illinois trial lawyers that focus on elder abuse litigation. # Signs of Elder Abuse [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), follow us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw), or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2021 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Elder abuse, Elder Exploitation, Elder Law, Elder Neglect **Tags:** abuse, Adult Protective Services, elder abuse, emotional abuse, exploitation, National Center on Elder Abuse, NCEA, neglect, New York State Elder Abuse Prevalence Study, physical abuse, sexual abuse --- ### [Who Is In Charge Of My Money?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/who-is-in-charge-of-my-money/) **Published:** January 27, 2021 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** Hawkins Elder Law discusses who is in control of your assets and financial affairs at various points in your life. **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/image-2.png "image-2 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/image-2.png) Over the course of your life, as scary as it might sound, various people might have control over your financial affairs. This type of control could be welcome, as you might have important issues to contend with but would rather someone else handle those issues on your behalf. Other times, such as during incapacity or when you are a minor, you might have no control over your assets. Here’s how you know who is controlling your affairs. ## *Gaining Control Of Your Assets At The Age Of Majority* When you are a minor, the person who has control over your assets is the person who has legal custody of you – which in most cases is your parents. More formally, the custodian of your assets is responsible for the safekeeping and possible investment of those assets for your benefit. Being of age refers to the age of majority, which is when you are an adult and gain legal rights. This includes the right to sign contracts, consent to medical treatment, invest your money, join the military and vote. The age of majority in Indiana is 18. When you are at the age of majority in Indiana, then you typically have the right to control your assets. However, if you have a [Uniform Transfers to Minors Act](http://184.175.130.101/legislative/laws/2020/ic/titles/030#30-2-8.5) (UTMA) account in Indiana, then the age of majority is 21. However, there are exceptions to this UTMA rule if you meet certain conditions (e.g. the transferor is indebted to you, or there is no custodian, or you receive probate property valued at less than $10,000), in which case, you can access UTMA funds as long as you are 18 years of age. Until the age of majority (or your emancipation), you are not legally allowed to own property. Note that if you are the beneficiary of a trust, then you might receive distributions from that trust under the age of majority. Some or all of those assets might be placed into a custodial account. ## *People Who Control Your Assets* Those who are responsible for controlling your assets are known as fiduciaries and might include a custodian, trustee, financial professional, attorney-in-fact, guardian, executor or an attorney. Here’s more on these positions: ***Custodian*.** As eluded to above, a custodian is someone who has legal custody of a child. Legal custody doesn’t just include controlling the child and providing for them, but it also includes controlling the child’s finances. A custodian can place your assets in custodial accounts (e.g. UTMA) which are held at financial institutions. Your custodian is responsible for your assets until which time you reach the age of majority and take over. ***Trustee***. A trustee is responsible for managing and distributing assets held in trust for beneficiaries. You might be a beneficiary of a trust and be set up to receive distributions according to the trust’s terms. With some trusts, the trustee has broad discretion and can freely distribute assets to you, while with other trusts, the trustee only distributes assets to you under strict guidelines. For example, you might be a beneficiary of your parent’s trust in which you receive income from the trust yearly but are unable to access the underlying principal until you are at a certain age which could exceed the age of majority. Relatedly, you might create a trust to manage and distribute your trust assets at your incapacity or death. In that case, as the trustmaker (or grantor), you could establish what type of control applies to your assets. You might even be your own trustee. ***Financial Professional***. You could do what millions of working Americans do every year and place your assets with a financial advisor, securities broker or asset manager. These types of financial professionals all deal with financial transactions but serve slightly different roles. An advisor is mainly responsible for making investment recommendations. A securities broker is principally responsible for trading securities at your direction or with the use of discretion. An asset manager is typically someone who invests assets on your behalf, taking full control for those assets that are under their responsibility. ***Attorney-In-Fact (Agent).*** When you are an adult, you can establish a power of attorney where you nominate someone known as an attorney-in-fact to control your assets whether at your incapacity or right away. You can allow the attorney-in-fact to make all sorts of decisions relating to your assets including establishing bank and investment accounts, creating trusts, investing money on your behalf, buying and selling real estate, and applying for financial benefits such as Medicaid. ***Guardian***. If you are incapacitated, then the court might appoint a guardian to manage your care, your assets, or both. Notably, if you are the incapacitated person, you could permanently lose some of your rights including the right to manage your money. In cases of guardianship in Indiana, a person who is appointed your *guardian of the estate* by the court will gain legal control over your assets for your benefit. In many cases, effective estate planning avoids costly guardianship proceedings. ***Executor***. Your last will and testament, which you can create if you are 18 and of sound mind, will identify who receives your assets at your death. After you die, your executor or executrix is responsible for carrying out the instructions of your will. Specifically, through a court-supervised process called probate, the executor gathers your assets comprising your estate, pays lawful creditors and tax authorities, and then distributes any remaining assets to beneficiaries. ## *Hiring An Attorney* Attorneys come into the picture in many ways when it comes to finances. First of all, attorneys sometimes fill the role of custodian, advisor, attorney-in-fact, trustee, and even guardian. Secondly, attorneys create many of the documents which bring these positions of authority to life. An attorney can craft an estate plan for you so that you can dictate who is in charge of your financial affairs at your incapacity and death. With a proper estate plan, you can avoid unnecessary litigation, taxes and family strife relating to your assets. Hawkins Elder Law has decades of experience helping clients with estate plans that are tailored to their needs and which provide for the effective management and distribution of their assets. Founders Jennifer J. Hawkins and Jeff R. Hawkins are Board Certified Indiana Trust and Estate Lawyers, certified by the Trust and Estate Specialty Board. Reach out to Hawkins Elder Law today by calling (812) 268-8777 or by [contacting us online](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/contact-us/). #### **About the Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author this blog with [Thomas E. Hynes](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-e-hynes-esq), a lawyer admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida who has a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba). He served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins), and he is a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch). #### **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can like [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2021 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Elder Law **Tags:** assets, estate planning, financial issues, financial management and administrative services --- ### [Incapacity And Guardianship In The Hoosier State](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/incapacity-and-guardianship-in-the-hoosier-state/) **Published:** January 20, 2021 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** Hawkins Elder Law provides you with this overview on incapacity and guardianship in Indiana. **Content:** ![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/image.png "image - Hawkins Elder Law PC") For just about anyone, the thought of becoming incapacitated is unpleasant and overwhelming. You might encounter a situation where you have a loved one who becomes incapacitated and is no longer able to care for their health, property, finances and more. In these situations, a person known as a guardian might become legally obligated to protect the incapacitated person. Here’s an overview of what guardianship entails and what you could do if you have questions about becoming a guardian in Indiana. ## *What Is Incapacity?* [According to Indiana laws](http://184.175.130.101/legislative/laws/2020/ic/titles/029/articles/001/#29-3-1-7.5) governing guardianships, you are an incapacitated person if you are partially or completely unable to manage your property or care for yourself, or both, because of one of the following: - mental illness, mental deficiency or insanity - physical illness - habitual drunkenness or excessive use of drugs - incarceration, confinement or detention - fraud, duress, or undue influence by others Mental illness comprises disorders affecting behavior, thinking and mood. Common examples include schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder (manic depression), and severe anxiety. Indiana law also considers you to be an incapacitated person if you have a [developmental disability](http://184.175.130.101/legislative/laws/2020/ic/titles/012/#12-7-2-61) – a severe, chronic disability in which the following applies with respect to the disability: - it is attributable to an intellectual disability, epilepsy, autism, cerebral palsy, or another condition which closely relates to an intellectual disability in that it impairs general intellectual functioning or adaptive behavior and it requires service or treatment similar to that which is provided to someone with an intellectual disability - it manifests before you are 22 years of age - It likely will continue for an indefinite period of time - It substantially limits your major life activities such as breathing, mobility, hearing, speaking, seeing, performing manual tasks, standing, lifting, sleeping, working, self-care, learning, economic self-sufficiency, self-direction, or capacity for independent living Note that the above mentioned developmental disability definition is not applicable to services which an individual receives through an intermediate care facility (ICF, IID) for individuals with intellectual disabilities, or through a home and community-based Medicaid waiver. [Medicaid](https://www.in.gov/medicaid/members/131.htm) considers a developmental disability as one which is severe, chronic and that manifests during the developmental period that results in impaired intellectual functioning or deficiencies in essential skills. Finally, an incapacitated person under Indiana law can be defined as someone who cannot be located with reasonable inquiry. [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/image-1.png "image-1 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/image-1.png) ## *Guardianship Types, Powers* When a person is incapacitated (known as a protected person), there is a legal process by which the Indiana court appoints someone to have the legal authority to make decisions for them. This is known as guardianship. Guardianships often come into the picture when a person is incapacitated due to old age or an illness. These proceedings also come up for developmentally disabled adults and for minor children. [Guardianships in Indiana](http://iga.in.gov/legislative/laws/2020/ic/titles/029#29-3-5) include: - **Guardian of the person**. You manage proper treatment and living conditions for the protected person - **Guardian of the estate**. You manage and oversee the protected person’s financial and investment affairs - **Guardian of the person and estate**. You are responsible for proper treatment and living conditions of the protected person and for managing and overseeing their financial and investment affairs As a guardian, you might have full control over the protected person or their property, or both. Limited guardianship means that you have limited powers over the protected person, their property, or both. This means that you might be responsible for making some decisions but not others. In fact, Indiana allows two people to act as guardian for someone at the same time, sharing guardianship responsibilities. Depending on your status as guardian, you might be able to do things like receive the protected person’s money and apply those funds towards their living arrangements, personal effects, medical care, education or other services. You also might be able to invest the person’s money, pay people who care for them, delegate responsibilities, select their place of living, arrange for their medical care, protect their personal property, enter into contracts on their behalf, and provide consent. Some adults might be partially or totally incapacitated. Being partially incapacitated means that you need at least some amount of help to meet your health and safety needs or to manage your finances. A court could select a guardian to meet those specific needs. In fact, when it is in the protected person’s best interests, the court must limit the scope of the guardianship to promote that person’s independence, self-reliance and self-improvement. In these situations, the court might only appoint someone for the protected person’s life when that person is both incompetent and has a need. Incompetency generally refers to a person who is unable to manage their own affairs as determined by a court of law, not merely a physician. Temporary guardianships are for emergencies that are not expected to last longer than 30 days. However, a permanent guardianship typically remains in place for the life of the protected person unless the court finds that the person is no longer incapacitated, they have relocated to another state, or they have property valued at $3,500 or less. The court could also terminate a guardianship based on finding that the guardianship is no longer necessary or for other purposes. The court may authorize a person to represent an incapacitated person on a temporary basis in a [protective proceeding or single-transaction proceeding](http://iga.in.gov/legislative/laws/2020/ic/titles/029#29-3-4). The court has flexible power to customize a protective order if the court finds that a customized solution is better than a full guardianship. ## *Who Gets To Be Guardian If You Are Incapacitated?* Here’s who the court considers in order of priority: 1. The person who you nominate as your health care representative or attorney-in-fact according to a durable power of attorney 2. A person designated as a [standby guardian](http://iga.in.gov/legislative/laws/2020/ic/titles/029#29-3-3-7) 3. Your spouse 4. Your adult child 5. Your parent 6. Someone named in your deceased parent’s will 7. Someone who you are related to by blood or marriage who has lived with you for the last 6 months 8. Someone who you nominate as your guardian 9. Someone who the court finds to be best qualified ## *How Do You Obtain A Guardianship Over Someone?* In Indiana, guardianship is a court-supervised procedure. The Indiana probate court located in the protected person’s county typically has exclusive jurisdiction over these proceedings. To become guardian: - Get an attorney to help you with the process and applicable paperwork - Gain a substantial understanding of the protected person’s finances and health - If the person is incapacitated due to their health, then obtain a letter or report from that incapacitated person’s physician which verifies that the person is not able to manage their care and finances - File a Petition for Guardianship with the probate court - Notify the incapacitated person, their close family members, and those who have had custody over the incapacitated person or who have cared for them - Pay the probate court a filing fee - The court hears sworn testimony from witnesses who support or oppose the Petition, and determines if the evidence is sufficient to support your appointment as guardian - The court determines whether to appoint you, and if so, the judge will issue you letters of guardianship enabling you to act on the protected person’s behalf A 2019 change in Indiana is guardianship law requires the [Petition to include](http://iga.in.gov/legislative/laws/2020/ic/titles/029#29-3-5-1): A description of the petitioner’s efforts to use less restrictive alternatives before seeking guardianship, including: (A) the less restrictive alternatives for meeting the alleged incapacitated person’s needs that were considered or implemented; (B) if a less restrictive alternative was not considered or implemented, the reason that the less restrictive alternative was not considered or implemented; and (C) the reason a less restrictive alternative is insufficient to meet the needs of the alleged incapacitated person. There may be critical issues that come up in the proceedings which impact the court’s decision to appoint a guardian. Specifically, the court has to decide if the protected person is truly not able to make personal decisions and financial decisions. The court has to determine whether the person who is seeking guardianship or another person out to be appointed guardian. Also, the court has to consider who should have the ability to spend time with the protected person. For this reason, you might have to provide the court with professional evaluations as well as guardianship plans for the care and treatment of the protected person or their property, or both. Also, the court will look into the criminal and civil background of the person who is slated to be guardian. ## *Guardianship Rules* Many [Indiana Probate Code provisions](http://iga.in.gov/legislative/laws/2020/ic/titles/029#29-3-2-6) apply to guardians and guardianship proceedings. If you are appointed guardian, be prepared to segregate your accounts from those of the protected person. You must also prepare and file an [inventory of guardianship property](http://iga.in.gov/legislative/laws/2020/ic/titles/029#29-3-9-5) with the court within 90 days after your appointment as guardian. A guardian must file a [written report of the guardian’s actions](http://iga.in.gov/legislative/laws/2020/ic/titles/029#29-3-9-6) and the incapacitated person’s status with the court every two years, so you’ll also want to keep all receipts and statements and account for all transactions. As guardian, you are not responsible for the protected person’s debt, but you could be liable to the protected person or other parties for fraud, negligence or bad faith. Remember that you have a fiduciary duty as guardian to act in the protected person’s best interests. As for fees, you and your lawyer are entitled to be paid [reasonable expense reimbursements and reasonable fees](http://iga.in.gov/legislative/laws/2020/ic/titles/029#29-3-9-3) for time spent on guardianship business, but you should keep meticulous records of your time. Keep in mind that the court must approve your fee to determine whether it is reasonable. ## *What Rights Does An Incapacitated Adult Have?* As an adult, you have the right to control your assets, get married, enter into contracts, join the military among other things. Your rights might be impacted if you are incapacitated and subject of a guardianship proceeding. However, as the incapacitated person in Indiana, you still have rights. This includes the right to: - Vote - Receive notice of the guardianship proceeding - Be present at the guardianship hearing - Have witnesses be present for questioning - Present evidence - Challenge the guardianship - Visit family and friends It is important to note that if you do not have an attorney for purposes of a legal proceeding that determines someone’s guardianship over you or your property, then an attorney known as a *guardian ad litem* will be appointed to represent you. This type of attorney has a duty to uncover your best interests and advocate for you. A guardian ad litem specifically represents an incompetent person or minor person during litigation. Once that litigation ends, the guardian ad litem’s authority ends. ## *Key Distinctions Between Guardian And An Attorney-In-Fact Or Health Care Representative* In Indiana, as long as you are an adult (at least 18 years old), and you are of sound mind (not incapacitated) and are not acting under fraud, duress or undue influence, then you could appoint an attorney-in-fact to watch over your finances and appoint a health care representative to decide matters concerning your health when you are unable. However, there are key differences between a power of attorney and guardianship: - Guardianships might be voluntary or involuntary, while a power of attorney is voluntary - Guardianships cannot be terminated unless by court order, while a power of attorney can be revoked quite easily - Guardianships pertain to someone who is incompetent either due to their health or their age, while a power of attorney is created by someone who is competent - Guardianships necessitate court proceedings, while a power of attorney can be created without court involvement - A guardian has more formal accountability requirements than an attorney-in-fact or health care representative ## *Indiana Elder Law Lawyers* Guardianship is a serious legal matter that could affect you or a loved one’s most sacred rights. Because of this, you should consult with an experienced attorney who is able to help you determine how to go about guardianship. For more than two decades, the attorneys at Hawkins Elder Law have helped countless clients with guardianships, powers of attorney, and other estate planning services that provide for effective management and distribution of clients’ assets at incapacity or death. Founders Jennifer J. Hawkins and Jeff R. Hawkins are Board Certified Indiana Trust and Estate Lawyers, certified by the Trust and Estate Specialty Board. Reach out to Hawkins Elder Law today by calling (812) 268-8777 or by [contacting us online](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/contact-us/). #### **About the Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author this blog with [Thomas E. Hynes](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-e-hynes-esq), a lawyer admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida who has a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff is also a member of the Illinois NAELA Chapter. Both Hawkins are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba). He served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins), and he is a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch). #### **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can like [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at (812) 268-8777. © Copyright 2021 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Elder Law, Guardianship **Tags:** financial management and administrative services, Guardian of the Person, guardianship, healthcare decisions, incapacitated, Mental Capacity --- ### [What Is Family Business Succession Planning?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/what-is-family-business-succession-planning/) **Published:** November 19, 2020 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** Hawkins Elder Law discusses what business succession planning entails and what you could do to avoid your business closing down abruptly if you die or become disabled unexpectedly. **Content:** ![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/image-4.png "image-4 - Hawkins Elder Law PC") You worked so hard to get your family business to where it is today. The last thing you want is for it to fail because of a lack of business succession planning. In fact, less than a third of family businesses move on to the second generation, and approximately one-in-ten businesses survive to the third generation for this reason. If part of your overall asset portfolio includes a family owned business, you’ll want to be sure that you specify in advance what happens to it when you are no longer involved. But that is just the beginning. We’re discussing in this article what business succession planning entails and what you could do to avoid your business closing down abruptly if you die or become disabled unexpectedly. *What Is Family Succession Planning?* Succession planning is a multi-stage process which involves passing on your ownership and leadership of your business to others. It involves your transfer of skills, client relationship management, and your best practices to those succeeding you in your business. Companies big and small do succession planning to ensure that it does not slow down or abruptly stop functioning when you are not coming back. Suppose that you have assumed a role in your business but your duties are not clearly stated. What if you have not put together a formal record of your business contacts or relationships? What if you have special skills which allows you to have a competitive edge, but which are not documented and protected. Even worse, suppose that you don’t have your business documents in order to show the chain of command in your business or the portfolio of assets held by your business? In these situations, your sudden or unanticipated absence could bring chaos and crippling misfortune to your business. Succession planning strategies involve a structured system by which you transition out of your business but allow it to keep as much of its value as possible. In order to maintain this value, you must be able to plan for others – family members or otherwise — to possess your knowledge, abilities and skills relating to your business. Among other things, these people have to learn what you know, do what you have done, and leverage the skills that have made you competitive and successful. *Transferring Your Family Business To Your Children* In choosing one or more of your family members to take over your business, you’ll want to be sure that they are comfortable assuming your business role, are interested in learning new things, can accept uncertainty that might be part of your business, and are able to adapt to changes. Most importantly, they must be able to possess the very skills and expertise which has brought about your success. At minimum, you should design a job position which covers all or a portion of work performed for your business. You should determine which of your family members might be most suitable for a given role based on the requirements of the job, level of control and other aspects. Also, you’ll want to establish standards by which you could judge the effectiveness of your family members in assuming your responsibilities to keep your business performing well. *Laying The Right Framework Regardless Of Who Takes Over* Succession planning is not really about transferring your business to your children just so they can sell it. Rather, it is about identifying and acquiring the right people for your business whether they are your family members or not. And it’s not just your position that might need to be replaced one day. Think of those who you currently work with. Are their duties and responsibilities defined? Do they have unique skills as well? What happens if one of them leaves the company unexpectedly? Consider each person’s role in the company and contemplate how the departure of each person affects the company’s operations and bottom line. This will make clear for you what type of role will need to be filled, and the training that might go along with performing that job well. Also, consider in advance who you would like to fill certain roles if they become available. It is best for you to make your succession candidates aware that you have them in mind, and to invest in the development of those who you seek to hire. If one or more of your family members will occupy a business role, make sure that they become acclimated to the role by performing some or all of the job functions under your watch. In fact, you could have your successor begin to take over your role slowly but surely by mastering one task at a time. Further, you should consider consulting with someone who has a human resources background who can manage the hiring of people in your business. You might find that none of your family members wants to assume a role in your business and would rather sit tight as investors. If you want to keep your business afloat, then you may have to recruit people months or years before your departure. *How Business Succession Planning And Estate Planning Overlap* Part of business succession planning overlaps with estate planning. Namely, with business succession planning, you are developing, training and supporting your successors; delegating responsibility; and maximizing employee retention. Conversely, estate planning deals more with the transfer of ownership of your business interests, while also taking into account things like who will manage your business, what is in the best interests of both your family and your business, and when transactions should be effected. ![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/image-6.png "image-6 - Hawkins Elder Law PC") An experienced attorney can help ensure that your business is properly established, that your succession plan is in order and ready to be carried out, and that you are in a position to transfer your business to your family members in the most practical and tax efficient manner. *Uncertainties About Disability, Death* Your estate planning attorney can help you determine how much ownership and control to provide to your family members. The attorney can also help you plan against disability risks in case an injury or illness prevents you from managing the business. For example, it might make sense for you to use planning systems such as trusts, family limited liability companies, or corporations to protect your business assets. Estate planning attorneys can also help your business bypass the probate administration system – a court-driven process that can be unnecessarily public, costly, and time-consuming . They can help you determine how best to transfer your business to reduce estate tax exposure, such as by effecting a discounted sale of your business. This especially makes sense if you anticipate that your business will increase substantially in value between the time that you plan your estate and the date of your death. *Advanced Business Succession Planning To Reduce Uncertainty* An estate planning attorney may recommend a buy-sell agreement if you share business ownership with another shareholder or partner. A buy-sell agreement may include a plan for a remaining owner to purchase the business ownership share of a deceased or disabled owner. For more than two decades, the attorneys at Hawkins Elder Law have helped countless clients with preparing estate plans that are tailored to their needs and which provide for the effective management and distribution of their assets including the family business. Founders Jennifer J. Hawkins and Jeff R. Hawkins are Board Certified Indiana Trust and Estate Lawyers, certified by the Trust and Estate Specialty Board. Speak with Hawkins Elder Law today by calling (812) 268-8777 or by [contacting us online](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/contact-us/). ***About the Authors*** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author the Hawkins Elder Law blog with Thomas E. Hynes, a lawyer who is admitted in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida with a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer Hawkins are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html). He served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins), and he is a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch). [Hawkins Elder Law](https://www.martindale.com/organization/hawkins-law-pc-1645736/) is one of the few elder law firms that Martindale-HubbellTM has rated AV Preeminent, with both of the firm’s lawyers ([Jeff Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jeff-hawkins-985574-a/) and [Jennifer Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jennifer-hawkins-985575-a/)) also rated AV Preeminent. ***More Information*** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can like [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2020 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Business, Succession Planning **Tags:** asset transfers, business decisions, Buy-Sell Agreement, estate planning, family relationships, small business, succession planning --- ### [Should I Share My Estate Plan Details With My Family?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/should-i-share-my-estate-plan-details-with-my-family/) **Published:** November 5, 2020 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** Hawkins Elder Law discusses whether and to what extent you should break the news about your estate plan to your family. **Content:** ![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/image-2.png "image-2 - Hawkins Elder Law PC") By having an estate plan, you are better prepared for what happens to your assets at your incapacity and at your death. You select fiduciaries such as an executor, trustee or attorney-in-fact to manage decisions that are supposed to be in your best interests and in the best interests of your beneficiaries. If you are like many, you might be inclined to select one or more of your family members to fill these fiduciary roles, in which case those family members might be privy to certain aspects of your estate plan. Alternatively, you might make an estate plan for your family’s benefit without them knowing about the plan until after you die. The question that Hawkins Elder Law addresses in this article is whether and to what extent you should break the news about your estate plan to your family. *Why Shouldn’t You Speak With Your Family About Your Estate Plan?* You may not want to disclose to your spouse or children how much they stand to inherit from you because you do not want their anticipation of an inheritance to interfere with their work ethic or their will to be a productive member of society. Put more simply, you don’t want your family members mooching off of you. Another reason for keeping your estate plan private is that you have earmarked assets for some of your family members but not for others, and you don’t want to cause family discord by letting certain family members know that they have been (or might be) cut out. Moreover, if you let one of your family members know that you selected them as a fiduciary when other family members have not been selected, and those non-fiduciary family members find out while you are alive, then this could create strain in their relationships with you and each other. *Why Should You Speak With Your Family About Your Estate Plan?* One key reason for discussing your estate plan with your family is to explain why you did what you did, which could make all the difference. In other words, you have an opportunity to make your intentions clear at a time when you are alive. After all, if your family stands to inherit something from you, then they will find out eventually. Plus, if you have made arrangements which might be difficult for them to understand, then they will surely have a more difficult time if you are not around to explain your rationale for making those arrangements. For example, you might have plans to benefit your children of your current spouse more than your children of your former spouse to offset the benefits that you already provided to your children of your former spouse. If your rationale is not made known to your children of your former spouse, then what would lead them to believe that they haven’t been slighted by you? Alternatively, suppose that you have designated a limited amount of assets for your spouse’s benefit with the remainder of your assets going to your children in equal shares. If your spouse does not discover these restrictions on their access to your assets until after your death, then what is to stop them from concluding that you have treated them unfairly? For this reason, if you don’t explain at least some details regarding your estate plan to those affected by it, you might not have an opportunity to express your good intentions as to your decisions, which might increase the risk of tension and litigation in your family. Significantly, if you explain to affected family members why you have restricted or eliminated them as a beneficiary, and they have a problem with it, then you would at least be in a position to address this before it turns into a more serious problem. *You Can Enable Your Children To Better Understand Your Assets And What To Do With Them* You probably do not want your family members being surprised to learn at your death that you held certain types of assets including business interests. Rather, it makes sense to speak with your family members about these assets while you are alive so that they better understand them and they know what to do if they receive them. Notably, if you have business interests, then there might be a lot of decisions that need to be made as far as succession planning and estate planning goes. If your children stand to receive your business interests but don’t know about them until you die, then they might be unsure as to the value or operations of the business. Even worse, they might be inclined to sell the business for less than it is worth. Perhaps you want someone in your family to continue the business. By letting them know this when you are alive, you could implement a succession plan and give them a head start as to how to manage the business and keep it afloat. *You Can Condition Your Benefits To Your Children* Trusts are legal arrangements where a person known as a trustee holds property for the benefit of one or more beneficiaries. You can customize trusts to fit your specific needs and to address a variety of concerns about your beneficiaries. Perhaps one of your children has a problem with keeping a job, managing money, refraining from drugs or alcohol, or is otherwise prone to lawsuits. Understandably, you may not want this child to freely get their hands on your money without strings attached. A possible solution is to have the share which is set aside for that child placed into a trust in which a trustee only distributes assets to that child if certain conditions are met such as the child keeping a job for a specified period of time or by submitting to drug testing or counseling. You can arrange for your trustee to only distribute a certain portion of assets from time to time as a way of maintaining and growing assets in the trust for their future benefit. By telling your family members about restrictions that will be placed on their inheritance, then they will know that you meant to incorporate these restrictions and that their inheritance will not be so freely accessible. This could encourage them to make the types of positive changes sooner rather than later. *What Should You Do Now?* While you are alive, it makes sense for you to disclose at least some information regarding your estate plan with those of your family members who stand to benefit from it. You could do this by communicating with your family members all at once; however, it could make more sense to discuss it with each family member privately as each of them may have varying levels of knowledge regarding your estate plan and they might have unique concerns that they wish to address with you. Also, in disclosing your estate plan to your family members, you might be surprised to learn that one or more of them has no interest in being your fiduciary, which is obviously better for you to know now so that you can make the appropriate adjustments such as selecting another family member or even a third party to be your fiduciary. Relatedly, you might bring in a third party instead of your family members if you get the sense that there will be family strife as a result of you selecting some of your family members as your fiduciaries but not others. Of course, one of the best things that you can do now is touch base with an estate planning attorney who is not only keen on estate planning strategies that might fit your needs, but who can also help you convey information to your family in a way in which it can be best received. You worked hard in life to acquire the assets that you own. The last thing you want is for your family to fight over your assets. This is all avoidable through careful estate planning. For more than two decades, the attorneys at Hawkins Elder Law have helped countless clients with preparing estate plans that are tailored to their needs and which provide for the effective management and distribution of their assets. Founders Jennifer J. Hawkins and Jeff R. Hawkins are Board Certified Indiana Trust and Estate Lawyers, certified by the Trust and Estate Specialty Board. Reach out to Hawkins Elder Law today by calling (812) 268-8777 or by [contacting us online](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/contact-us/). ***About the Authors*** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author the Hawkins Elder Law blog with Thomas E. Hynes, a lawyer who is admitted in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida with a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer Hawkins are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html). He served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins), and he is a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch). [Hawkins Elder Law](https://www.martindale.com/organization/hawkins-law-pc-1645736/) is one of the few elder law firms that Martindale-HubbellTM has rated AV Preeminent, with both of the firm’s lawyers ([Jeff Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jeff-hawkins-985574-a/) and [Jennifer Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jennifer-hawkins-985575-a/)) also rated AV Preeminent. ***More Information*** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can like [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2020 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Estate Planning **Tags:** beneficiaries, Conflict of Interest, estate planning, family relationships, family unity --- ### [Retirement And Estate Planning: What You Need To Know](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/retirement-planning-estate-planning/) **Published:** September 12, 2020 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** Hawkins Elder Law provides an overview of retirement planning and estate planning as it relates to your finances and health care. **Content:** ![Photo by Obi Onyeador on Unsplash](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/image-3.png "image-3 - Hawkins Elder Law PC") As you approach retirement, there is a lot to consider – especially as it relates to your finances, health and family. Undoubtedly, your financial needs, life expectancy, goals and risk tolerance will need to be carefully reviewed since you will likely rely on whatever you have accumulated for retirement to partially or completely sustain the lifestyle that you have come to expect. Relatedly, estate planning involves arranging for the administration and distribution of your assets at your incapacity or death. It necessitates entrusting others to make decisions about your finances and healthcare when you are unable. For this reason, retirement and estate planning often go hand in hand. Here’s what you need to know at a minimum to be prepared. ***Social Security For Lifetime Income*** If you are like many, the age that you can retire is dictated by how much you have saved for retirement and how much income you can reasonably expect to generate from those assets as well as from other sources such as social security, pensions and retirement accounts. Social security retirement benefits typically do not begin until you are at least age 62, which is known as early retirement. Social security considers normal retirement age to be 66 unless you were born on or after 1960, in which case the normal retirement age is 67. Your social security benefits max out at age 70, meaning that you should expect to receive social security benefits no later than that age. Notably, the sooner that you take social security retirement benefits, the less you receive. At age 62, you can expect to receive approximately 25-30% less than at full retirement age, whereas at age 70, you can expect to receive approximately 24-32% more. Notably, for each year that you wait to receive social security benefits, the payout amount increases by about 8% which is more than you might be able to generate each year by investing in conservative-to-moderate risk products. For this reason, waiting to receive benefits can pay off. It also makes sense to wait if you are in good health and have longevity in your family since benefits are payable for your life. ***Pensions, Annuities and Life Insurance*** With a typical defined benefit pension plan, when you reach a set retirement age defined by your plan, you can typically elect to have payments made to you for the rest of your life. The payment largely depends on how long you have worked for your employer and what payout option you select. Some plans give you the option of having payments made to you and your spouse for the rest of your lives in return for a reduced payout rate. As you head towards retirement, it is important that your pension administrator provide you with a quote based on the payout options available to you. To the extent that you are offered a lump sum in lieu of a lifetime payout, it is wise to compare your projected pension payout with the payouts of immediate annuities. These annuity products, which are issued by insurance companies, can provide you with lifetime income in return for a lump sum payment up front. Various payout options are available. Since annuities can mimic a pension, it is commonplace to compare the payout rates of both to determine which one is more favorable. However, don’t be in any rush to take a lump sum from your pension as that decision is generally irrevocable. Likewise, an immediate annuity is typically irrevocable. Depending on the payout option you select with pensions and annuities, both can provide death benefits to your loved ones if you pass away; however, these payouts are not the same as life insurance. With life insurance, you make one or more payments to the insurance company in return for the insurance company’s payment to your beneficiaries when you die. In essence, you are shifting the risk of dying prematurely to the insurance company in return for a fee. Life insurance can allow your spouse, children or other loved ones to receive a tax-free, lump sum payment which can help them offset the loss of income as a result of your death. Conversely, all or a portion of annuity death benefits might be taxable to your beneficiaries, and the amount which your beneficiaries receive could be largely uncertain because of how your particular annuity functions. ***Retirement Accounts*** Perhaps you have a 401(k), 403(b) or some other investment account that you have been contributing to over the years. Most Americans rely on these accounts to supplement the income that they receive through social security and their pensions. Generally speaking, if you withdraw no more than 3-4% per year, then you give yourself a chance at sustaining those withdrawals throughout your retirement. Anything more than 3-4% increases your risk of depleting your account. Also, as you approach retirement, you may want to consider reallocating your portfolio of stocks, bonds and money market securities to assume less risk especially since investing aggressively could result in serious declines in the value of your portfolio – declines that you might not be able to recover from. The old adage is that 100 minus your age reflects how much you should consider investing aggressively; however, each person’s situation is different. ***Factoring In Expenses, Inflation*** Without knowing your anticipated expenses in retirement, it is impossible to know how much income that you will truly need, and in turn, whether you are ready to retire. To get an approximation of your expenses, take into account your monthly mortgage (or rent), utilities, taxes, insurance, transportation, credit card payments, groceries and any other expenses that you foresee paying consistently *throughout* your retirement. You need at least enough income to cover these baseline expenses. Other expenses such as entertainment and traveling are important to take into account too; however, they are discretionary in nature which means that you can likely avoid those expenses if necessary. In fact, if you are like many, unforeseen expenses could cause you to have less money set aside for discretionary spending. Note that inflation could also erode your buying power over time because of increased prices for goods and services. If you are depending on a fixed income, then this means that continued inflation could result in you having to supplement that fixed income to offset inflation unless you are invested in products which provide for inflation adjustments. ![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/image-4.png "image-4 - Hawkins Elder Law PC") ***Don’t Forget About Long-Term Care*** Whether it is through at-home care, an assisted living facility or a nursing home – long-term care can be really expensive. Few Americans have long-term care policies to cover this cost of care. Not only that, but if you try to purchase one of these policies in retirement, you might be ineligible due to your health condition. This could leave you with having to pay out of pocket at a rate of thousands per month. *Medicaid*, rather than Medicare, could pay for your long-term care; however, this needs-based program is typically only available to those with little assets, if any. For this reason, a growing number of retirees have taken steps to plan ahead as it relates to long-term care. Specifically, with the help of an elder law attorney, you might be able to implement strategies that can preserve and protect a significant portion of your assets while still allowing you to become eligible for Medicaid. ***Can You Retire At This Point?*** Add up the monthly income that you can reasonably expect to receive from social security, pensions, retirement accounts and other sources. Next, add up the monthly expenses that you reasonably expect to incur throughout your retirement. Does your income exceed your expenses? If the answer is yes, then this is a sign that you might be set to retire. However, if those numbers are close, or if you are only able to adequately cover your baseline expenses instead of discretionary expenses, then you should consider continuing to work if possible until such time that your retirement income is expected to cover your expenses. In fact, even if you are able to retire, it could still make sense to stick it out a few more years to build an additional safety net. Another way of determining the income that you might need to secure your retirement is by following the 80% rule. That is to say, you could aim for your social security, pensions and retirement portfolio to generate 80% of what you make in your final year of work prior to retirement. ***Getting Your Estate Planning Done Sooner Rather Than Later*** It is never too early to get your estate planning done because you typically do not know when you are going to become incapacitated or die. Basically, estate planning is your instruction for someone to administer your assets at your incapacity and distribute them after your death. Typical estate planning involves the creation of wills, powers of attorney, trusts and other legal documents. A *last will and testament* – commonly known as a will – lays out instructions for what to do with your assets when you die. Those assets could include bank accounts, furniture, jewelry, and any other property which is titled in your name or your estate at your death. A *living will* (also known as an advanced healthcare directive) specifies in advance whether you want life-sustaining treatment at the end of your life when you are unable to give or withhold consent. An example of a living will situation might be a decision of when to withdraw life support after a terminally ill patient has lost consciousness. The Indiana living will statute has a drafting defect that makes Indiana living wills basically worthless, so we recommend that Indiana residents designate health care representatives to make these difficult decisions. A *health care power of attorney* or *appointment of health care representative* is applicable when you are not able to make or communicate your own health care choices. Your health care representative is supposed to discuss health care decisions with you if possible but can act for you if that conversation is not possible. You can even authorize your health care representative to make end-of-life decisions under the circumstances that a living will would cover in states other than Indiana. This includes discussing your health care wishes with your physicians and consenting or refusing treatment. A *trust* is an arrangement where you select a person known as a trustee to administer and distribute your assets. Trusts can be set up before you die or can come into existence at your death. Assets that you place into a revocable trust, which you typically control, can ultimately pass to your trust beneficiaries without the need for probate – an often time-consuming court-supervised process of distributing assets held in your estate at your death. Irrevocable trusts, on the other hand, might be used for things like asset protection or qualifying for public benefits. A *power of attorney* is an authorization of someone whom you choose as your agent (or attorney-in-fact) to make personal business decisions on your behalf mainly as it relates to your finances and legal matters. Specifically, a durable power of attorney allows your agent to make a variety of financial decisions on your behalf during your life, whether you are incapacitated or not, whereas a nondurable power of attorney becomes void when you are incapacitated. Notably, fiduciaries (e.g. trustees, agents, executors) have a duty to act in good faith, meaning that they must act in your best interest. For this reason, whoever you designate as your fiduciary should be someone who is ethical, trustworthy, and who is able to carry out your wishes. ***Indiana Estate And Medicaid Planning Attorneys*** For more than two decades, the attorneys at Hawkins Elder Law have helped countless clients with preparing estate plans that are tailored to their needs and which provide for the effective management of their assets. Founders Jennifer J. Hawkins and Jeff R. Hawkins are Board Certified Indiana Trust and Estate Lawyers, certified by the Trust and Estate Specialty Board. Reach out to Hawkins Elder Law today by calling (812) 268-8777 or by [contacting us online](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/contact-us/). ***About the Authors*** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author the Hawkins Elder Law blog with Thomas E. Hynes, a lawyer who is admitted in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida with a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer Hawkins are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html). He served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins), and he is a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch). [Hawkins Elder Law](https://www.martindale.com/organization/hawkins-law-pc-1645736/) is one of the few elder law firms that Martindale-HubbellTM has rated AV Preeminent, with both of the firm’s lawyers ([Jeff Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jeff-hawkins-985574-a/) and [Jennifer Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jennifer-hawkins-985575-a/)) also rated AV Preeminent. ***More Information*** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can like [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2020 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Estate Planning, Retirement Plan **Tags:** annuities, estate planning, inflation, Life insurance, long-term care, pension, Retirement plan, Social Security --- ### [SERVICE AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS – PART 2](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/service-and-assistance-animals-part-2/) **Published:** November 24, 2019 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** We are focusing this article on some of the legal and public policy issues affecting service animal and assistance animal availability and usage. **Content:** ![Service and assistance animals are described in this sequel article.](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Emotional-support-animals-emblems-Cat-silhouette-Shutterstock-609791279-By-Nevada31-1-1024x538.png "Emotional-support-animals-emblems-Cat-silhouette-Shutterstock-609791279-By-Nevada31-1 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")Federal law protects the use of service animals assistance animals to help with physical mental emotional psychological disabilitiesOur previous article about service and assistance animals introduced the amazing ways that some animals are serving people with disabilities. [\[1\]](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=1936&action=edit#_ftn1) We are focusing this article him him on some of the legal and public policy issues affecting service animal and assistance animal availability and usage. ## **Service Animals and Assistance Animals – Legal Status Differences** Service animals and assistance animals have different federal legal status. The Fair Housing Act (the “FH Act”) prohibits public housing discrimination against protected classes of citizens. The Americans with Disabilities Act (the “ADA”) requires businesses, government entities, and other public facilities to offer reasonable access accommodations for people with disabilities. Both laws protect people with disabilities that use or want to use service animals or assistance animals. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have given written explanations of service animal and assistance animal requirements under the FH Act and ADA. They explain that under the FH Act, a “service animal” is a “dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the ready for the code benefit of an individual with a disability, including physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability.” However, the ADA’s “assistance animal” definition includes other animal species in addition to dogs. So, the ADA requires most public facilities to admit service dogs, but housing providers may also need to accommodate a whole menagerie of assistance animals. ## **Service Animals and Assistance Animals – Different Species and Roles** ![Therapy animals help people with mental disabilities.](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Animal-assisted-therapy-with-a-half-breed-dog-Shutterstock-188312987-By-Miriam-Doerr-Martin-Frommherz-1024x683.jpg "Animal assisted therapy with a half breed dog Shutterstock 188312987 By Miriam Doerr Martin Frommherz - Hawkins Elder Law PC")Therapy dogs are becoming important partners in physical and emotional therapy### **Service Animals – Trained Dogs and Trained Miniature Horses** DOJ and HUD guidelines for ADA compliance make this service animal distinction from assistance animals: The revised regulations specify that “the provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship do not constitute work or tasks for the purposes of this definition.” Thus, trained dogs are the only species of animal that may qualify as service animals under the ADA (there is a separate provision regarding trained miniature horses), and emotional support animals are expressly precluded from qualifying as service animals under the ADA. ### **Assistance Animals – Astonishing Variety of Assistive Species** HUD gives this FH Act definition of an assistance animal on the HUD website: An assistance animal is an animal that works, provides assistance, or performs tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability, or that provides emotional support that alleviates one or more identified effects of a person’s disability. An assistance animal is not a pet.[\[2\]](#_ftn2) ### **Assistance Animals – FH Act Rules for Landlords** The HUD website gives this explanation of housing providers’ obligations about assistance animals under the FH Act (with emphasis added): Individuals with a disability may request to keep an assistance animal as a reasonable accommodation to a housing provider’s pet restrictions. **Housing providers cannot refuse** to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services when such accommodations may be necessary to afford a person with a disability the equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling. The **Fair Housing Act requires a housing provider to allow** a reasonable accommodation involving an assistance animal **in situations that meet all the following conditions**: - A request was made to the housing provider by or for a person with a disability; - The request was supported by reliable disability-related information, if the disability and the disability-related need for the animal were not apparent and the housing provider requested such information, and - The housing provider has not demonstrated that: - Granting the request would impose an undue financial and administrative burden on the housing provider; - The request would fundamentally alter the essential nature of the housing provider’s operations; - The specific assistance animal in question would pose a direct threat to the health or safety of others despite any other reasonable accommodations that could eliminate or reduce the threat; or - The request would not result in significant physical damage to the property of others despite any other reasonable accommodations that could eliminate or reduce the physical damage. A reasonable accommodation request for an assistance animal may include, for example: A request to live with an assistance animal at a property where a housing provider has a no-pets policy; or A request to waive a pet deposit, fee, or other rule as to an assistance animal. ## **More Information for Landlords and Tenants with Disabilities** Landlords and tenants with disabilities that want more information about FH Act rules for service animals and assistance animals can find more information online at these DoJ websites: [https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service\_animal\_qa.html](https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html) and . If you missed our previous article , you can find additional links to articles in the endnotes that appear at the bottom of the article on the Hawkins Elder Law blog site at . ## **More Information for Human Friends of Animals** We’ve received link requests from a couple of vendors that cater to pet owners generally, and specifically to service animals. We don’t claim any expertise about the quality of their material, nor do we endorse the sites or the material that they present. We simply offer the links and hope that the information published on those sites is helpful to some of our readers. These are the links: FluentWoof.com: [102 Scientific Benefits Of Having A Dog](https://fluentwoof.com/benefits-of-having-a-dog/) Lendedu.com: [Should Service Dogs Have Pet Insurance?](https://lendedu.com/blog/service-dog-insurance/) ## **About the Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html). He served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins), and he is a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch). [Hawkins Elder Law](https://www.martindale.com/organization/hawkins-law-pc-1645736/) is one of the few elder law firms that Martindale-HubbellTM has rated AV Preeminent, with both of the firm’s lawyers ([Jeff Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jeff-hawkins-985574-a/) and [Jennifer Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jennifer-hawkins-985575-a/)) also rated AV Preeminent. ## **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can like [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2019 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] --- [\[1\]](#_ftnref1) [\[2\]](#_ftnref2)[https://www.hud.gov/program\_offices/fair\_housing\_equal\_opp/assistance\_animals](https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/assistance_animals) ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** ADA, Americans with Disabilities Act, Assistance Animal, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Disability, DoJ, Elder Law, Emotional Support Animal, Fair Housing Act, HUD, Landlord, Law and Justice, Real Estate, Service Animal, Tenant **Tags:** ADA, administrative burden, Americans with Disabilities Act, Assistance Animal, comfort, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Justice, DOJ, elder law, emotional support, emotional support animal, Fair Housing Act, housing provider, HUD, intellectual disability, Martindale-Hubbell, mental disability, miniature horses, no-pets policy, pet deposit, physical disability, psychiatric disability, reasonable accommodations, sensory disability, Service Animal, well-being --- ### [Covid-19 Raises Teachers’ Interest In Wills](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/covid-19-teacher-will-indiana/) **Published:** August 27, 2020 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** ![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/image-6.png "Law smashing virus cells with a judge's gavel - Hawkins Elder Law PC") Throughout the United States, a growing number of teachers are taking Covid-19 related safety precautions for the upcoming school year. For now, K-12 schools in Indiana are slated to reopen this fall without state mandates on wearing masks. Meanwhile, Covid-19 cases continue to rise, which places teachers at greater risk if in-person classes resume. Although teachers generally look forward to getting back into the classroom, many have grown fearful of the worst and have begun getting their wills in order. This has led many to wonder about what a will does. Here’s a quick rundown of wills and what you can do if you need one in Indiana. ### ***What Is A Will****?* A last will and testament – commonly known as a *will* – is a legal document which basically lays out instructions for what to do with your assets when you die. Think of things like bank accounts, furniture, jewelry, and any other property which is titled in your name or your estate when you die. By making a will, you – a person of sound mind who is at least 18, otherwise known as the *testator* – are choosing to have these assets distributed according to your instructions. The person who is responsible for carrying out your will – known as the *executor* – has the responsibility to take care of the administration of your estate. Particularly, the assets in your name at your death are distributed according to a legal process called probate in Indiana. This is where the court will oversee the accumulation of your assets, payment of debts and distributions to beneficiaries. Theoretically, almost any asset can be distributed by will, including bank accounts, vehicles, homes and even businesses. In reality, many assets are either titled in a trust or they get transferred to beneficiaries directly, bypassing a will altogether. For example, many bank accounts are TOD or POD, in which case you make someone a beneficiary of the account. With retirement accounts, for example, you might name your children as your beneficiaries. Or perhaps, like many people who have estate plans, you have a revocable living trust which is already the owner of bank and investment accounts, your residence and your personal property. There are many reasons why it makes more sense to use a trust and other beneficiary designations versus just having your assets distributed according to a will. One of the most important reasons is avoiding probate. Also, you could have your estate assets flow into a revocable trust according to your will through what is known as a pour-over will. ### ***What If I Have No Will?*** Dying without a will – known as being intestate – results in the State of Indiana distributing your assets according to a scheme. If you are married and your children are from your marriage, then your spouse gets 50% and your children get 50%. If you are married but do not have children, your spouse gets it all, unless one of your parents is alive in which case the spouse gets 75% and your parent gets 25%. If you are not married but have kids, then they will receive it all. And If you die without a spouse or children, then it goes to your parents, siblings, or other family members. If no family, Indiana becomes the owner. ### ***Creating Or Revoking A Will*** Wills have to be written and signed before you die, and they must be witnessed by two people, one who also signs it. Changes to the will also require these formalities. To revoke your will, you could simply destroy it or execute another one – but it is best to run your thoughts by an estate planning attorney first. For more than two decades, the attorneys at Hawkins Elder Law have helped countless clients with estate plans that are tailored to their specific needs and which provide for the effective management of their assets. Founders Jennifer J. Hawkins and Jeff R. Hawkins are Board Certified Indiana Trust and Estate Lawyers, certified by the Trust and Estate Specialty Board. If you or a loved one is thinking of Medicaid to cover nursing home care costs whether now or in the future, feel free to consult with Hawkins Elder Law at (812) 268-8777 today. ***About the Authors*** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) co-author the Hawkins Elder Law blog with Thomas E. Hynes, a lawyer who is admitted in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida with a background in estate planning and elder law. Jeff and Jennifer Hawkins are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html). He served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins), and he is a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch). [Hawkins Elder Law](https://www.martindale.com/organization/hawkins-law-pc-1645736/) is one of the few elder law firms that Martindale-HubbellTM has rated AV Preeminent, with both of the firm’s lawyers ([Jeff Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jeff-hawkins-985574-a/) and [Jennifer Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jennifer-hawkins-985575-a/)) also rated AV Preeminent. ***More Information*** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can like [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2020 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Estate Planning, Last Will and Testament **Tags:** COVID-19, executor, intestate, last will and testament, testator --- ### [COVID-19 HAS TAUGHT US…](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/covid-19-has-taught-us/) **Published:** June 29, 2020 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** COVID-19 has taught us many things about the world, our communities, and ourselves. We learned about distance as the pandemic followed the global economy’s connected pathways into our state capitals and hometowns. The spreading contagion revealed our interdependence as we sheltered in place. Shortages of household goods, high-speed Internet, and access to ailing family members laid bare our vulnerability and unpreparedness. This article reflects on some of those lessons and describes changes that we can expect in the future. **Content:** ![Most of us have learned to accept COVID-19 health precautions.](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/COVID-19-Has-Taught-Us...-1024x683.jpg "COVID-19-Has-Taught-Us... - Hawkins Elder Law PC")COVID 19 has taught us to sanitize wear masks and expect temperature checksCOVID-19 has taught us many things about the world, our communities, and ourselves. We learned about distance as the pandemic followed the global economy’s connected pathways into our state capitals and hometowns. The spreading contagion revealed our interdependence as we sheltered in place. Shortages of household goods, high-speed Internet, and access to ailing family members laid bare our vulnerability and unpreparedness. This article reflects on some of those lessons and describes changes that we can expect in the future. ## **COVID-19 Has Taught Us About Distance** COVID-19 has taught us about the distance between countries and each other. Wuhan seemed far away in as 2019 ended when reporters first described the city’s dangerous respiratory illness (see the *New York Times* coronavirus-timeline article at: ). The coronavirus shortened that distance more rapidly than most people could have imagined. It spread to other countries within one month and became an American problem in less than two months. ## **COVID-19 Has Taught Us About Our Vulnerabilities** We learned that we could slow the pandemic by isolating from each other. However, we also learned that isolation is costly. As the world hunkered down, supply chains broke, and the world economy ground to a halt. We were not prepared for all essential workers to maintain safe distances, so the virus spread and disrupted our food supply. Isolation also exposed Internet vulnerability as educators, and other service professionals struggled to serve communities with poor broadband connections. Although separation helped control the contagion in healthcare facilities, it exposed gaps in law and technology that impaired lawyers’ ability to serve some ailing clients. COVID-19 has taught us about vulnerabilities that we must overcome to withstand the next crisis. The world we once knew has changed, and we must embrace that change to face our future. ## **COVID-19 Has Taught Us About Our Resilience and Resourcefulness** COVID-19 has taught us to rethink our priorities amid enormous socio-economic challenges. Business gurus say businesses must “pivot” toward more successful operations during disruption by competitive forces. Resourceful people across such diverse occupations as musicians, physicians, grocers, and distillers have demonstrated pivot responses to the pandemic. Musicians formed virtual bands and vocal groups on streaming video platforms. Some emergency room physicians constructed face shields from hardware store materials. Grocers reconfigured in-store traffic flows and launched curbside services to protect customers and employees. When bars and restaurants stopped ordering liquor, resourceful distillers modified alcohol production to help resolve national hand sanitizer shortages. Although the pandemic has exposed our vulnerabilities, the enterprising people in these examples discovered strengths and opportunities in their weaknesses. ## **COVID-19 Has Taught Us To Plan Now For Later Crises** We have written several articles about the need to plan ahead for health crises (For examples, see: [You Probably Need A Lawyer If . . .](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/you-probably-need-a-lawyer-if/); [Too Young to Plan? Think Again!](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/too-young-to-plan-think-again/); [Are All Powers of Attorney Created Equal?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/are-all-powers-of-attorney-created-equal/); [Crisis Management for a Nursing Home Resident without an Estate Plan](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/crisis-management-for-a-nursing-home-resident-without-an-estate-plan/); [Does the law really change enough to make estate plan updates important?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/does-the-law-really-change-enough-to-make-estate-plan-updates-important/)). The coronavirus pandemic proved that point sharply. As we will explain in the next section of this article, health safety requirements prevented many nursing home residents from making or updating estate plans. Those residents that had not already made powers of attorney could not authorize people to help them in those restricted environments. Alternatively, well-prepared people that had engaged elder law attorneys for pre-crisis estate planning had already empowered family members to conduct important business during the pandemic. Technology has both enhanced and clashed with many aspects of legal services. Perhaps no legal services aspect has resisted technological change more than the ancient anti-fraud safeguards of our estate planning laws. An example justifying those old safeguards appears in a Bible story ([Genesis Chapter 27](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+27&version=NIV)) of manipulation by a son (Jacob) of his blind father (Isaac) to steal the inheritance of brother (Esau). ## **COVID-19 Has Taught Us That Accessible Electronic Estate Plans Are Essential** Many states have passed laws about digital estate plans in the past five years. Most of those laws have included updated versions of the old anti-fraud safeguards. Witnesses must still be present to watch people sign wills. Also, although a person can make a power of attorney certified over the Internet by a notary public, the notary public must use a complex system to prove the person’s identity and mental capacity. ### Modern Estate Plan Tools Hindered By Ancient Restrictions Anti-fraud protection in traditional and digital estate planning laws became estate planning barriers for people isolated in healthcare facilities during the COVID-19 health crisis. Nursing homes and other long-term care facilities restricted visitor access to prevent visitors from spreading the virus to the patients. So, witnesses and notaries could not help patients update their estate plans in person. ### Emergency Orders Fall Short State supreme courts and other government officials helped resolve the will problem by issuing emergency orders allowing witnesses to participate in signings of wills remotely over the Internet. However, Indiana and some other states maintained strict remote notarization requirements that made it almost impossible for nursing home residents to make powers of attorney. Those remote notarization barriers for powers of attorney rendered the emergency orders for remote will signing almost meaningless. ### **Lawyers Are Pivoting Toward Accessible Estate Planning Legislation** The COVID-19 health crisis has inspired estate planning lawyers to propose new legislation to make electronic estate plans more accessible to isolated people. Jeff Hawkins and other volunteer members of the Indiana State Bar Association’s Probate, Trust & Real Property Section have devoted many hours to overhaul Indiana’s electronic estate plan system. If the Indiana General Assembly adopts the proposals, Hoosier shut-ins may be able to make complete estate plans with remote witnesses as early as spring 2021. # **About the Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys). Both lawyers are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and the Indiana Chapter of the [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx) (NAELA). Jeff Hawkins is licensed to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp), and he is a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Illinois NAELA Chapter](https://naela-il.org/). He served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins), and he is a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch). # **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can like [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2020 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Coronavirus, COVID-19, Elder Law, Electronic Estate Plan Signatures, Electronic Estate Planning, Estate Planning, Last Will and Testament, Nursing home, Power of Attorney **Tags:** Coronavirus, COVID-19, elder law attorney, estate planning lawyer, last will and testament, nursing home, power of attorney --- ### [COVID-19 Challenges Faith Community Assemblies](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/covid-19-challenges-faith-community-assemblies/) **Published:** May 28, 2020 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** COVID-19 challenges faith community assemblies and raises unprecedented worship issues. Churches must decide how to promote health and safety without compromising spiritual priorities. This article describes churches’ coronavirus challenges and offers some resources that church leaders may find helpful. **Content:** ![COVID-19 challenges faith community assemblies like this 2015 community worship event in Sullivan, Indiana](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Photo-of-a-2015-community-worship-event-in-Sullivan-IN.jpg "A 2015 community worship event in Sullivan, IN - Hawkins Elder Law PC")COVID 19 challenges faith community assemblies and raises unprecedented worship issuesCOVID-19 challenges faith community assemblies and raises unprecedented worship issues. Churches must decide how to promote health and safety without compromising spiritual priorities. This article describes churches’ coronavirus challenges and offers some resources that church leaders may find helpful. **Deadly Choir Practice: A Worship Safety Wake-up Call** The Skagit Valley Chorale’s 121 members questioned whether the choir should suspend rehearsals as the coronavirus spread through Washington state earlier this year. No cases had appeared yet in Skagit County, and schools in other public organizations continued operating normally. So, conductor Adam Burdick emailed singers on March 6 that he would still lead the March 10 rehearsal at the Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church in Mount Vernon, Washington. The 60 members that attended the 2 ½ hour rehearsal used hand sanitizer and practiced social distancing. Sadly, 45 members showed COVID-19 symptoms, three members required hospitalization, and two members died within a month after the rehearsal. **Scriptural Mandate Versus Pastoral Responsibility** Christian sermons across centuries have recited admonishments in New Testament’s letter to Hebrew believers in this passage to promote church attendance: > And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. > > *Holy Bible, Hebrews 10:24-25* (King James Version). Most Christian pastors also express a sense of pastoral responsibility for church members’ well-being. Pastoral responsibility pours from passages like Jesus’s reconciling instructions to Apostle Peter: > Feed my lambs… Take care of my sheep… Feed my sheep. > > *Holy Bible, Excerpts of John 21:15-17* (New International version). **Legal Responsibility for Health and Safety** Modern spiritual leaders are legally responsible for decisions affecting congregants’ health and safety on church property and in church activities. For example, results from an Internet browser search of “church abuse litigation” include stories of lawsuits against church leaders for not preventing their subordinates’ abusive conduct. **Government Guidance for Faith Communities on COVID-19** State and federal government officials have issued public health guidance to help churches protect members from coronavirus infection. Indiana has posted its Revised Guidance for Places of Worship ([https://backontrack.in.gov/files/BackOnTrack-IN\_PlacesOfWorship.pdf](https://backontrack.in.gov/files/BackOnTrack-IN_PlacesOfWorship.pdf), referred to in this article as the “Revised Guidance”). The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (the “CDC”) also published its Interim Guidance for Communities of Faith (, referred to in this article as the “Interim Guidance”). The Revised Guidance and Interim Guidance (referred to collectively in this article as the “Guidances”) offer many practical precautions for members of churches and other faith-based organizations. For example, the Revised Guidance says, “Keep cafés, coffee, and other self-service stations closed.” Likewise, the Interim Guidance states, “If food is offered at any event, consider pre-packaged options, and avoid buffet or family-style meals if possible.” The Revised Guidance also says, “Consider waiting to reopen the preschool and children areas until schools reopen.” The Guidances include several other details that should be self-evident to church leaders. **Guidances’ Constitutional Limits** Churches may find the Guidances’ principles helpful in composing, communicating, and enforcing indoor worship policies and procedures for everyone’s safety. Leaders seeking specific details will find frustrating gaps in the Guidances because constitutional restrictions limit the Guidances’ coverage of worship-specific issues. In fairness, it may not be possible for the Guidances to address specific worship practices definitively without encroaching on worshipers’ First Amendment limits. Multiple controversies proved that point earlier this year when churches protested government restrictions on public worship gatherings. Church leader protests would erupt loudly if the Guidances discouraged specific worship practices like congregational singing or communion (Eucharist) observances. **Churches’ Worship Risks** Recent airborne pathogen studies have raised challenging questions about aerosol transmission of COVID-19 by people singing and speaking loudly in enclosed spaces. Sara Austin’s plain-language article entitled “Why Singers Might Be Covid-19 Super-Spreaders” summarizes the issues with links to peer-reviewed scientific sources at . Also, Lee A. Reussner, M.D., Director of the Kansas Voice Center in Lawrence, Kansas, has published a 2-part video series entitled “Singing (and Speaking) Safely in the COVID Era” on YouTube at: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jY\_HueZbRNg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jY_HueZbRNg) and **When and how to Worship In-Person** COVID-19 challenges faith community assemblies to maintain healthy environments for congregants to worship safely without government micromanagement. Many churches have produced “virtual worship experiences” to help members stay connected while sheltering in place. Other congregations have tried to adapt by broadcasting worship services to outdoor congregants with loudspeakers and radio transmissions to worshipers’ vehicles in church parking lots. Most churches recognize that these responses to the COVID-19 quarantine are poor substitutes for in-person gatherings. Churches may base outdoor worship plans on reports that warm summer temperatures might reduce the virus’s contagiousness. Probabilities may be very low for spreading COVID-19 in outdoor assemblies of worshipers practicing responsible social distancing. However, variable summer weather conditions and irritating insects may discourage consistent outdoor worship participation. Virtual and outdoor worship limitations present churches with a persistent question of when and how to meet indoors. No solution is perfect, but Indianapolis-based Center for Congregations provides a generous offering of articles and other resources on its website at [https://thecrg.org/collections/COVID-19\_Resources](https://thecrg.org/collections/COVID-19_Resources). **About the Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html). He served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins), and he is a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch). [Hawkins Elder Law](https://www.martindale.com/organization/hawkins-law-pc-1645736/) is one of the few elder law firms that Martindale-HubbellTM has rated AV Preeminent, with both of the firm’s lawyers ([Jeff Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jeff-hawkins-985574-a/) and [Jennifer Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jennifer-hawkins-985575-a/)) also rated AV Preeminent. **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can like [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2020 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Church Liability, Communities of Faith, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Culture & Society, Faith & Religion, First Amendment, Law and Justice, Public Health, Separation of Church and State, Spiritual Convictions **Tags:** CDC, Church Liability, Communities of Faith, Coronavirus, COVID-19, First Amendment, Separation of Church and State, Super-Spreaders, U.S. Constitution, Worship --- ### [COVID-19 ESTATE PLANNING CHALLENGES](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/covid-19-estate-planning-challenges/) **Published:** April 27, 2020 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** This article describes the problems and solutions that healthcare providers, government officials, and lawyers are pursuing to overcome Coronavirus challenges. **Content:** ![Videoconferencing and electronic signatures are critical estate planning tools during the COVID-19 public health emergency.](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Videoconferencing-During-COVID-19-Cover-1024x536.png "Videoconferencing and electronic signatures are critical estate planning tools during the COVID-19 public health emergency. - Hawkins Elder Law PC")COVID 19 estate planning challenges require videoconferencing and other electronic toolsCOVID-19 estate planning challenges are creating complex issues about pandemic healthcare responses, fraud prevention, and constitutional restrictions on government. This article describes the problems and solutions that healthcare providers, government officials, and lawyers are pursuing to overcome Coronavirus challenges. ## **COVID-19 Estate Planning Challenges in Healthcare** COVID-19 estate planning challenges begin with fundamental healthcare issues. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website () says the COVID-19 virus is highly contagious. The website says the infection may spread through respiration droplets sprayed by an infected person’s cough or sneeze to someone up to 6 feet away. The site also indicates that people may contract the virus by touching a contaminated surface and then touching their mouth, nose, or eyes. ### **Staying at Home or in a Locked-down Healthcare Facility to Reduce Pandemic Spread** The easiest way to avoid contracting COVID-19 is to stay home and avoid contact with other people and surfaces that infected people have toughed. Most US communities allow people to shop for groceries and obtain “essential” goods and services from businesses and professionals. However, most hospitals and nursing homes restrict guest visits to protect patients from infection. ## **COVID-19 Estate Planning Legal Challenges** ### **Estate Planning to Appoint Decision Makers** A thorough estate plan should authorize people to help a confined patient manage personal and healthcare decisions. Estate planning tools allow trusted people to make critical decisions and take daily actions on which we all depend and take for granted. A plan also helps prevent criminals and irresponsible from taking advantage of a healthcare patient’s vulnerability. ### **Healthcare Consent** Healthcare laws prevent people from imposing healthcare treatment on a patient without consent unless the patient cannot direct the patient’s care options. A person lacking the ability to understand and communicate healthcare choices can’t make healthcare decisions. So, an incapacitated patient needs a healthcare representative (HCR). The law allows a person to appoint an HCR before experiencing a health crisis. The law provides a list of HCRs for people who do not plan ahead. Indiana lists HCRs in this order: 1. a person whom the patient previously appointed to serve as HCR in an adequately prepared appointment of HCR; 2. a guardian or HCR appointed and authorized by a court to make the patient’s health decisions; 3. the patient’s spouse; 4. the patient’s adult children; 5. the patient’s parents; 6. the patient’s adult siblings (brothers or sisters); 7. the patient’s grandparents; 8. the patient’s adult grandchildren; 9. the patient’s most closely related aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, and nephews within the same degrees of relationship to the patient as the previously listed family members; 10. an adult friend who has maintained regular contact with the patient and is familiar with the patient’s activities, health, and religious or moral beliefs; or 11. the patient’s religious superior if the patient is a member of a religious order, such as a priest or nun. A prepared patient who has already appointed and HCR should have fewer worries than other people. For example, a patient may prefer that the patient’s brother or sister make healthcare decisions instead of the patient’s substance-abusing children. ## **Estate Planning Antifraud Protections** Dishonest people have taken advantage of vulnerable people throughout history. Estate planning laws help protect against fraud by requiring that a person and witnesses sign a will and some kinds of healthcare advance directives in each other’s presence. A person must sign a power of attorney in the presence of a notary public. Indiana led the nation in 2018 with electronic estate planning laws featuring high-tech anti-fraud protections. When a person makes an electronic will, the person and two witnesses must all “sign” the will in each other’s physical presence. Similarly, a person must “sign” an electronic power of attorney in a notary public’s physical presence. ## **COVID-19 Estate Planning Anti-Fraud Protection Problems** Anti-fraud provisions in Indiana’s traditional and electronic estate planning systems create conflicts with healthcare facilities’ necessary precautions that restrict visitor access to patients. Witnesses and a notary can stand outside a patient’s window to witness and notarize documents, but it is impossible when the patient is on the fourth floor of a hospital. ### **States Relax Estate Planning Requirements in COVID-19 Crisis** Many states have temporarily relaxed estate planning anti-fraud provisions to address social distancing requirements. The Illinois Governor and Secretary of State issued emergency orders and to rules for Illinois residents’ estate plans. Indiana’s Governor and Supreme Court took similar emergency actions in late March for Hoosier Estate plans. The emergency orders allow clients, witnesses, and notaries public to sign and exchange documents with videoconferencing and electronic signature technology. ## **COVID-19 Estate Planning Adaptations** Hawkins Elder Law and many elder law colleagues are using creative methods to help Indiana and Illinois clients make estate plans safely. Many lawyers and clients are meeting by videoconference on mobile phones and computers with WebCams to discuss and make estate plans with electronic signatures. Lawyers are also using low-tech estate plan signing strategies like setting up tables in office parking lots to maintain safe distances during meetings. Health concerns are preventing hospital and nursing home patients from signing estate plans under the emergency orders and rules. Still, elder law attorneys are doing everything they can to help clients make estate plans under these difficult circumstances. ## **About the Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html). He served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins), and he is a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch). [Hawkins Elder Law](https://www.martindale.com/organization/hawkins-law-pc-1645736/) is one of the few elder law firms that Martindale-HubbellTM has rated AV Preeminent, with both of the firm’s lawyers ([Jeff Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jeff-hawkins-985574-a/) and [Jennifer Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jennifer-hawkins-985575-a/)) also rated AV Preeminent. ## **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can like [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2020 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Advance Health Care Directive, Appointment of Health Care Representative, Asset Protection, Attorney-in-Fact, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Elder Law, Electronic Estate Plan Signatures, Electronic Estate Planning, Emergency care, Estate, Estate Planning, Financial Records, Fraud, Health Care, Health Care Power of Attorney, Health Records, Healthcare Representative, Healthcare System, Hospital, Indiana Supreme Court, Last Will and Testament, Power of Attorney, Scam, Undo Influence **Tags:** anti-fraud, Appointment of healthcare representative, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Electronic Estate Planning, Electronic Signature, emergency order, Executive Order, Governor Eric Holcomb, Healthcare, healthcare facilities, hospital, Indiana Governor, Indiana Supreme Court, infection, notarize, Notary Public, nursing home, Nursing residents, Quarantine, remote electronic signature, remote notarization, Secretary of State, signature, Social distancing, Videoconferencing, witness --- ### [SECURE Act Changes Education Savings Plans](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/secure-act-changes-education-savings-plans/) **Published:** January 27, 2020 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** This month we are exploring social problems threatened by the “Baby Boomer” generation’s looming retirement and how the SECURE Act offers tax incentives to help reduce those problems. **Content:** ![Image expressing apprenticeship education concept](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Tradesman-building-skills-Shutterstock-photo-ID-1192760332-By-Billion-Photos-1024x538.png "Tradesman building skills Shutterstock photo ID 1192760332 By Billion Photos - Hawkins Elder Law PC")SECURE Act adds apprenticeship costs to qualified education expense definitionSECURE Act changes to college savings plans may help reduce future skilled labor shortages and expand families’ education savings options. We wrote last month about the changes to IRA rules created by the ‘[Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/secure-act-changes-to-iras/)” (SECURE Act). This month we are exploring social problems threatened by the “Baby Boomer” generation’s looming retirement and how the SECURE Act offers tax incentives to help reduce those problems. ## **Baby Boomer Retirement Problem** ### **Baby Boomer Generation** The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) refers to the Baby Boomer generation as those people born between 1946 and 1964. BLS data shows that 23% of people in the US workforce were 55 years of age or older in 2018, and the data projects that the percentage will rise to 25% by 2028. Some economists fear that skilled labor shortages will emerge as much of the Baby Boomer generation retires this decade. ### **Labor Shortage as Baby Boomers Retire** The apprenticeship expansion of 529 plans may help curb skilled labor shortages by attracting people into apprenticeship training programs. Parents and grandparents should consider 529 plan investments to help young family members pursue interests in these kinds of careers as alternatives to savings for traditional college education. ## **SECURE Act Changes to Education Savings Plans** SECURE Act changes to education savings plans extend the tax benefits of savings plans known as “529 plans” to students enrolled in registered apprenticeship programs under the National Apprenticeship Act. 529 plans established under Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code help people save money to pay future educational costs for their children and grandchildren. ### **529 Plan Overview** Money invested in a 529 plan grows without income taxation much like an IRA protects earnings on retirement savings from taxation. Unlike ordinary IRA withdrawals, however, which are fully taxable, 529 plan owners can withdraw 529 plan funds tax-free to pay “qualified higher education expenses.” 529 plan owners may also claim some state income tax credits as state rewards for investing in 529 plans. A 529 plan owner may not contribute more than the annual gift tax exclusion amount ($15,000 in 2019 and probably also in 2020) for any individual beneficiary in one year, but there is no limit to growth in the plan’s value from investment earnings. ### **Qualified Higher Education Expenses Include Apprenticeship Expenses** SECURE Act Section 302 expands the definition of “qualified higher education expense” to include an apprentice’s expenses for fees, books, supplies, and equipment required in an apprenticeship program registered and certified with the Secretary of Labor. This change allows people to help their younger family members purchase training materials, tools, and supplies for training as carpenters, electricians, and other occupations that feature apprenticeship training systems. ### **Qualified Higher Education Expenses Include Payments on Qualified Education Loans** The SECURE Act also expands the “qualified higher education expense” definition to include payments of principal or interest on qualified education loans. The change allows people to use 529 plan funds to help pay student loan debt. The law does not limit direct payments of qualified higher education expenses, but 529 plan funds paid on student loans of a beneficiary or a beneficiary’s siblings must not exceed a lifetime total of $10,000. ## **About the Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html). He served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins), and he is a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch). [Hawkins Elder Law](https://www.martindale.com/organization/hawkins-law-pc-1645736/) is one of the few elder law firms that Martindale-HubbellTM has rated AV Preeminent, with both of the firm’s lawyers ([Jeff Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jeff-hawkins-985574-a/) and [Jennifer Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jennifer-hawkins-985575-a/)) also rated AV Preeminent. ## **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can like [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2020 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** #BabyBoomersRetire, 529 plan, Baby Boomer, Baby Boomer Generation, Economy, Qualified Education Expense **Tags:** 529 Plan, Baby Boom Generation, Qualified Education Expense, SECURE Act --- ### [FAMILY LAW SOLUTIONS FOR ELDER LAW PROBLEMS](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/family-law-solutions-for-elder-law-problems/) **Published:** November 25, 2019 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** This article describes special problems challenging some older married folks, and explains how elder law attorneys are using family law tactics to help solve those problems. **Content:** ![Legal separation and prenuptial agreements are useful elder law asset protection tools.](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/3D-illustration-of-LEGAL-SEPARATION-title-on-legal-document-Shutterstock-605213087-By-hafakot-1024x538.png "3D illustration of LEGAL SEPARATION title on legal document Shutterstock 605213087 By hafakot - Hawkins Elder Law PC")Legal separation is a family law proceeding that allows some seniors to protect assets from long term care costs Family law solutions for elder law problems that plague some senior couples are becoming very important in Indiana and Illinois. Elder law attorneys are adapting prenuptial agreements, divorces, and legal separation proceedings to protect some nursing home residents’ spouses from financial ruin. This article describes special problems challenging some older married folks, and explains how elder law attorneys are using family law tactics to help solve those problems. ## **When Family Law and Elder Law Overlap** Family law involves legal matters about family relationships that include marriage, divorce, paternity, and adoption. Elder law concerns people’s health, legal, and financial issues that arise as they age into and during retirement years. Family law and elder law issues overlap sometimes when older single parents marry, and then one or the other spouse requires nursing home care costing more than $80,000 per year. Those expensive long-term care costs can press even first-marriage couples need to consider protecting IRAs and other hard-earned retirement assets with family law concepts. ## **Three** Family Law Solutions For Elder Law Problems ### Family Law Solution For Elder Law Problems**: Prenuptial Agreement Estate Plan Protection** Family law solves elder law problems for couples that make prenuptial agreements before marriage. We always encourage engaged parents to protect their children’s inheritance by making prenuptial agreements before marrying (see our previous articles about prenuptial agreements: and ). Prenuptial agreements can’t solve all long-term care issues, but they make important estate plan adjustments possible (see our two-part explanation of prenuptial agreement limits and benefits: , and ). ### Family Law Solution For Elder Law Problems**: Legal Separation to Save Nursing Home Residents’ IRAs** Family law solves elder law problems for some married nursing home residents that own IRAs. Indiana Medicaid caps a married applicant’s total non-exempt asset value at $2,000, but the healthier spouse can keep IRA, other retirement assets, and many other valuable assets. ***2020 UPDATE: Indiana now counts IRAs owned by the healthier spouse (called the “community spouse”) in the initial resource assessment of Medicaid eligibility for the disabled spouse/applicant (called the “institutional spouse”).*** Although applicant cannot normally an IRA to the spouse without triggering tax liability on the entire IRA, federal tax law provides a family law exception to that rule. The exception requires that a judge declare that the couple’s health-related physical separation is a legal separation, and then order the IRA transferred as a property settlement to the healthier spouse. The disabled spouse or the disabled spouse’s legal representative can then transfer the IRA to the healthier spouse without triggering income tax liability. ### Family Law Solution For Elder Law Problems**: Marriage Dissolution for Big Medicaid Problems** Family law solves elder law problems in two kinds of spousal behavior that disrupt an applicant’s Medicaid eligibility if the spouse is unwilling or unable to help pay nursing home costs. The first kind of disruption is a spouse’s refusal to provide written records of assets, income, expenses, and asset transfers that Medicaid requires of each spouse. The second problem occurs if the spouse’s large asset transfers as gifts or undervalued sales disqualify the applicant for Medicaid benefits for a long time as a transfer penalty. An Indiana applicant may be able to appeal the disqualification with great effort, but divorce may be an Illinois Medicaid applicant’s only hope. ## **Indiana Limits on Legal Representatives’ Use of Family Law Solutions** Indiana court decisions and legislation in the past decade have increased the necessity of expert estate planning for engaged or married people in blended families. The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled in one case that an incapacitated spouse’s guardian couldn’t petition to dissolve the person’s marriage. Jeff Hawkins and some colleagues proposed legislation in response to that case that allows a guardian to seek guardianship court authority to petition for marriage dissolution, but the judge can deny the petition. Then, a recent appellate case ruled that an incapacitated spouse’s power of attorney without specific dissolution authority does not permit the attorney-in-fact to petition for marriage dissolution. ## **Plan for the Worst and Hope for the Best** The maxim, “plan for the worst and hope for the best,” describes our estate planning philosophy. We encourage all engaged people to make prenuptial agreements authorizing family law solutions while hoping never to need those solutions. We also encourage all married people consult with expert estate planning lawyers about making powers of attorney with advanced asset protection authority that includes authority for unlimited gifts and appropriate family law solutions for elder law problems. ## **About the Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html). He served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins), and he is a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch). [Hawkins Elder Law](https://www.martindale.com/organization/hawkins-law-pc-1645736/) is one of the few elder law firms that Martindale-HubbellTM has rated AV Preeminent, with both of the firm’s lawyers ([Jeff Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jeff-hawkins-985574-a/) and [Jennifer Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jennifer-hawkins-985575-a/)) also rated AV Preeminent. ## **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can like [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2019 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Attorney-in-Fact, Elder Law, Estate Planning, Guardian, Guardianship, IRA, Legal Separation, Marriage Dissolution, Medicaid, Nursing home, Power of Attorney, Prenuptial Agreement, Retirement Plan, Tax Planning **Tags:** elder law, estate planning, Family Law, financial issues, guardian, guardianship, incapacitated, IRA, Legal Separation, long-term care, Marriage Dissolution, Medicaid, nursing home, Prenuptial Agreement, property settlement, retirement assets, tax liability, Transfer penalty --- ### [Fancy Estate Plan Binders Hide Weak Contents](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/fancy-estate-plan-binders-hide-weak-contents/) **Published:** November 24, 2019 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** ![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Open-Estate-Plan-Binder-Photo-1024x536.jpg "Open-Estate-Plan-Binder-Photo - Hawkins Elder Law PC")**Forget the flashy binder and focus on estate plan contents**“Fancy estate plan binders hide weak contents” should be a mantra for estate planning lawyers and their clients. We have heard clients praise the appearance of leather estate plan binders; especially binders embossed with gold lettering, Unfortunately, most of those clients pay dearly for weak estate plan is that did not address their issues adequately, or addressed issues that the clients were not facing. This article advises people about proper estate plan contents for the average family. ![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Estate-Plan-Binder-Cover-Photo.jpg "Estate-Plan-Binder-Cover-Photo - Hawkins Elder Law PC")**Dont judge this book by its cover because its estate plan contents may be anemic**## Trusts and Wills We have written previously that trusts and wills are tools that estate planning lawyers use to help clients accomplish estate planning goals. A hammer does not replace a wrench, and a saw does a terrible job of tightening screws. Likewise, some estate plans require wills, trusts, or both kinds of tools. ### Revocable Trusts We believe that lawyers began using revocable trusts as estate planning tools in the 20th century. Revocable trusts became very popular over the past 30 years, largely because of exaggerations about their benefits. We use revocable trusts to address three kinds of issues. #### Multistate Property Management Clients that own real estate in multiple states can create complications for family members if do not use estate planning tools to avoid probate administration and those estates. Generally, if a person owns property in the person’s own name, alone, a judge must appoint someone to manage the property after the person dies. Multistate property ownership multiplies this problem and creates unnecessary complications and expenses. A revocable trust allows a property owner to manage properties in multiple states without requiring probate administration in each state when the person dies. #### Investments with Multiple Financial Institutions State and federal regulations control some financial institution functions, but account management forms and procedures vary widely among various banks, insurance companies, and investment advisors. A revocable trust provides a kind of asset container that most financial institutions understand and respect. #### Some States Offer Poor Revocable Trust Alternatives Indiana’s Transfer on Death Property Act offers tremendous flexibility for people to designate beneficiaries of real estate, vehicles, bank accounts, and many other assets without requiring them to make revocable trusts. Most other states, such as Illinois, offer only limited transfer on death and pay on death asset ownership options to avoid probate administration. People that live in those states generally have few non-trust alternatives for probate administration avoidance. ### Irrevocable Trusts Irrevocable trusts have existed for hundreds or thousands of years. As the name indicates, an irrevocable trust usually cannot be amended or revoked directly by the person that makes it. This feature allows a person to protect important assets by transferring them to a carefully designed irrevocable trust. Because irrevocable trusts are not flexible or adjustable, highly experienced estate planning lawyers must design them carefully to avoid problems. Rising long-term health care expenses inspired many families to transfer assets to a revocable trust to protect the assets from those expenses. ### Wills Clients often ask us to prepare wills. Most people can improve their estate plans with wills, but wills do not benefit everyone equally. #### Will Weaknesses If a person in a state like Indiana organizes all assets with beneficiary provisions, the beneficiary provisions will cause assets to pass to the beneficiaries. In fact, beneficiary designations and join asset ownership with rights of survivorship can override a will. For example, if someone makes a will benefiting a local charity, and then makes joint accounts with rights of survivorship or beneficiary designations for all of the assets, the charity may end up receiving nothing. #### Wills for Married Couples A married couple without children may not need wills, because the law provides that childless spouses inherit from each other. However, couples with children may want to make wills because surviving spouses must share inheritance with deceased spouses’ children. #### Wills with Trusts Elder law attorneys are increasingly using wills that contain special trusts known as “testamentary trusts.” Generally, a testamentary trust is simply a trust that is established as part of the language of a person’s last will and testament. Federal law provides asset protections for a deceased spouse’s assets held in a testamentary trust established under his or her will, but the same law does not provide such protection for assets in revocable trusts. ## Powers of Attorney We have written and spoken frequently about powers of attorney in recent years. Most people need powers of attorney so that friends and family members can help them manage personal and business affairs during times of health crisis. These are some articles we have written about power of attorney issues that people should consider and address carefully: [“Free” Power of Attorney](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/free-power-of-attorney/) [Power of Attorney – An Estate Plan’s Most Powerful Tool](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/power-of-attorney-an-estate-plans-most-powerful-tool/) [Are All Powers of Attorney Created Equal?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/are-all-powers-of-attorney-created-equal/) [Puny Powers of Attorney](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/puny-powers-of-attorney/) ## Health Care Directives Indiana has four basic kinds of advance health care directives. Those tools include living wills, appointments of health care representatives, health care powers of attorney, and Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment (POST). We have written a number of articles on the subjects, including: [Hoosier Health Care Advance Directive Options May Improve](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/indiana-health-care-advance-directive-options-may-improve/) [Indiana’s New and Improved POST Form](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/indianas-new-and-improved-post-form/) [Indiana Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/indiana-physician-orders-for-scope-of-treatment/) ## Timing is Everything in Planning The only time to make an estate plan is before trouble strikes. It is too late to make a plan after a person dies or becomes disabled. Time and expense may be precious now, but the costs of time and expense multiply for people who face crises without planning, or with poor planning. ## **About the Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html). He served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins), and he is a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch). [Hawkins Elder Law](https://www.martindale.com/organization/hawkins-law-pc-1645736/) is one of the few elder law firms that Martindale-HubbellTM has rated AV Preeminent, with both of the firm’s lawyers ([Jeff Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jeff-hawkins-985574-a/) and [Jennifer Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jennifer-hawkins-985575-a/)) also rated AV Preeminent. ## **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can like [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2019 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Advance Directives, Advance Health Care Directive, Beneficiary Designation, Elder Law, Estate Planning, Health Care, Healthcare Representative, Joint Bank Account, Last Will and Testament, POST, Power of Attorney, Probate, Real Estate, Revocable Trust, Rights of Survivorship, Testamentary Trust, Transfer on Death --- ### [SECURE ACT CHANGES TO IRAS](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/secure-act-changes-to-iras/) **Published:** December 29, 2019 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** SECURE Act changes to IRAs will affect you or someone you know in 2020. The ‘‘Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019’’ (SECURE Act) begins on page 604 of H. R. 1865, the 715-page Congressional appropriations bill that President Trump signed on December 20, 2019. This article highlights some SECURE Act provisions and suggests income tax planning strategies that may help some families reduce tax burdens. **Content:** ![Foreground text of SECURE Act with US Capital Building background.](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/United-States-Capitol-building-with-the-dome-lit-up-at-night.-Shutterstock-390999490-By-f11photo-1024x535.jpg "SECURE Act text overlaying photo of United States Capitol building with the dome lit up at night. Shutterstock 390999490 By f11photo - Hawkins Elder Law PC")Setting Every Community Of For Retirement Enhancement SECURE ActSECURE Act changes to IRAs will affect you or someone you know in 2020. The ‘‘Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019’’ (SECURE Act) begins on page 604 of H. R. 1865, the 715-page Congressional appropriations bill that President Trump signed on December 20, 2019 (see a copy of the law published online at ). This article highlights some SECURE Act provisions and suggests income tax planning strategies that may help some families reduce tax burdens. # **SECURE Act Changes to IRAs** SECURE Act changes to IRAs will transform basic savings and wealth transfer strategies recommended by estate planning lawyers and financial advisors over the past 2 decades. Americans that worry about outliving their savings may be able to build IRA accounts more effectively to reduce that risk. Changes in how IRA beneficiaries must withdraw inherited IRA funds will require more careful planning for IRA owners to pass wealth to their children and grandchildren. ## **SECURE Act Repeal of IRA Contribution Age Limit** Prior tax law prohibited an IRA owner from investing money in IRAs after reaching 70 ½ years of age. Now, any person that earns taxable income through any kind of lawful employment can contribute to an IRA regardless of age. ## **SECURE Act Extension of Age for Required Beginning Date** The SECURE Act extends the minimum age at which an IRA owner must begin withdrawing IRA funds from 70 ½ years of age to 72 years of age (the “Required Beginning Date”). The 18-month extension of the Required Beginning Date age may seem like a small change, but it can promote significant IRA growth. Coupled with an employed person’s ongoing IRA contributions, savvy plan owners should be able stretch their savings even if they live beyond their 100th birthdays. ## **SECURE Act Limitation of “Stretch” IRAs** The SECURE Act almost eliminates the “Stretch” IRA wealth transfer strategy that became very popular in recent decades. We will explain some of the IRA withdrawal requirements and stretch IRA strategy before explaining how the SECURE Act effectively neuters the stretch IRA strategy. An IRA owner must begin taking a fully taxable minimum annual withdrawal (the “Required Minimum Distribution”) from the IRA after reaching the Required Beginning Date (now age 72). The Required Minimum Distribution is a percentage of the IRA value based on the IRA owner’s statistical life expectancy that the IRS published in life expectancy tables. If the IRA owner does not contribute additional funds to the IRA under the new rules, the Required Minimum Distribution will force the IRA owner to withdraw and pay taxes on most of the IRA account within the IRA owner’s life expectancy. If a deceased IRA owner designated individual beneficiaries, old IRA rules would give the beneficiaries an option of the inherited IRA funds over their life expectancies. An IRA owner’s children or grandchildren could take such tiny IRA withdrawals that most of the IRA funds would remain intact to grow faster than their withdrawal rates. The stretch IRA strategy takes its name from the way it has enabled multiple generations to stretch IRA withdrawals. Savvy family IRA owners and beneficiaries have used the strategy to build tremendous wealth while delaying income taxation of that wealth for many decades. The SECURE Act requires most beneficiaries to withdraw their inherited IRA accounts within 10 years after the deceased IRA owner’s death. Beneficiaries do not have to take annual distributions, but they must complete the entire IRA withdrawal within the 10-year deadline. The 10-year inherited IRA distribution rule does not apply to these beneficiaries of deceased owner’s IRA: - the surviving spouse; - the deceased IRA owner’s children younger than 18 years old (but the rule applies after each child’s 18th birthday); - the beneficiary with a disability that prevents the beneficiary from maintaining gainful employment; - a chronically ill beneficiary with the kind of disability that might require the level of health care service that a nursing home provides; or - a beneficiary that is less than 10 years younger than the deceased IRA owner. # **SECURE Act Wealth Management Strategies** ## **Healthy People with Modest IRAs** Average American life expectancy has dropped slightly in recent years still, but we are living longer than previous generations (see the PBS News Hour article, “American life expectancy has dropped again. Here’s why” published online at ). Most people in 1950 did not think about living into their late 90s when average life expectancy was just over 68 years of age, but today’s average life expectancy is 78.87 years (see U.S. Life Expectancy 1950-2019 published online at ). A healthy person with a family history of long life should consider a financial plan that will support the person in extremely advanced age. The new rules allow such a person to delay withdrawing from an IRA and to continue contributing to it long after traditional retirement age. ## **IRA Owners with Children in Higher Tax Brackets** The stretch IRA strategy’s demise under the Secure Act changes our view of multi-generation wealth and income tax planning. We are encouraging clients to compare income tax returns with their kids and consider bracket management of inherited retirement plans. People that pay income taxes in lower brackets than the income tax brackets of their children should consider converting their traditional retirement plans to Roth IRAs (see our discussion of the Roth conversion strategy in our SECURE Act preview article, “SECURE Act IRA Changes – A Bag” online at ). The strategy reduces the family’s tax burden by taxing the IRA at the older generation’s lower tax rate so that the younger generation’s higher tax rates will not consume the IRA savings. ## **IRA Owners with Children in Higher Tax Brackets** People that are paying income taxes in higher tax brackets than their children should consider a reverse strategy to pass the tax burden to their children. High-tax bracket parents may want to continue contributing to their plans later in life so that they can grow the size of their plans to increase the wealth transfer to their children at their children’s lower income tax brackets. ## **Charitable IRA Planning** We encourage everyone to consider funding their charitable interests with retirement plan distributions. All distributions from traditional IRAs are fully taxable to individual distributees, but tax-exempt charitable organizations can receive IRA distributions tax-free. Therefore, we encourage charitably-minded people to consider designating charities as IRA beneficiaries. We also encourage high-income tax bracket people to consider making qualified charitable IRA distributions to tax-exempt charitable organizations after they reach age 70 ½ (find our blog articles about charitable giving by entering “charitable” into the search field at ). ## **About the Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html). He served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins), and he is a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch). [Hawkins Elder Law](https://www.martindale.com/organization/hawkins-law-pc-1645736/) is one of the few elder law firms that Martindale-HubbellTM has rated AV Preeminent, with both of the firm’s lawyers ([Jeff Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jeff-hawkins-985574-a/) and [Jennifer Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jennifer-hawkins-985575-a/)) also rated AV Preeminent. ## **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can like [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2019 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** #BabyBoomersRetire, 529 plan, Baby Boomer Generation, Congress, Designated Beneficiary, Disability, IRA, IRS, Nursing home, Qualified Charitable Distribution, Required Beginning Date, Required Minimum Distributions, Retirement Plan, Roth IRA, SECURE Act, Stretch IRA, Tax Planning, Tax-free Plan Distributions **Tags:** IRA, President Trump, Retirement plan, Roth IRA, SECURE Act --- ### [MEDICAID APPLICATION TRIAL AND ERROR](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/medicaid-application-trial-and-error/) **Published:** July 16, 2019 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** ![Trial and Error](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Trial-and-Error-FB-photo-by-Hawkins-Elder-Law-1024x536.jpg "Trial and Error Photo. © Copyright 2019 Hawkins Elder Law. - Hawkins Elder Law PC")Trial and Error is a bad nursing home Medicaid application strategyMedicaid application trial and error creates big problems for nursing home residents. Unfortunately, it is a common practice that creates financial nightmares for nursing home residents’ families. This article explains common Medicaid application problems and suggests when people should seek professional help from experienced elder law attorneys. ## **Medicaid Application Trial and Error – Repetition Doesn’t Fit Square Pegs into Round Holes** Trial and error Medicaid application strategy shows a lack of Medicaid training and understanding. Medicaid eligibility requirements are extremely detailed and inflexible, so “close enough” does not work for most cases. When people repeatedly apply without all of the documents and information that Medicaid requires, they delayed Medicaid eligibility. Meanwhile, nursing home resident’s unpaid nursing home may be mushrooming by as much as $7,000 per month (more than $80,000 per year). ## **Medicaid Application Trial and Error – Big Problems for Property Owners** ### **Nursing home residents’ real estate problem** They say “a man’s home is his castle,” but property ownership is a problem for nursing home residents. Medicaid counts nursing home residents’ real estate toward their $2,000 resource limits. The state will always deny a trial and error Medicaid application if the applicant’s resource value exceeds $2,000. ### **Real estate sale authority problem for incapacitated property owners** The U.S. Constitution protects every person from sale of property without the person’s consent. Some people have rude awakenings when they discover this constitutional protection for their family members’ properties. ### **Power of attorney with unrestricted gift powers** Savvy people use authorize spouses or trustworthy family members to manage assets in advance. A property owner’s power of attorney (POA) with unrestricted gift powers can give someone that authority. Then, if a property owner becomes incapacitated, the power of attorney authorizes a necessary property sale or transfer. ### **POA versus guardianship** The property ownership problem for a nursing home resident worsens without a proper POA. The sale or transfer of an incapacitated person’s property without a proper POA requires a court order. This is true even for an incapacitated person’s spouse with a POA if the POA lacks unlimited gift powers. A court-appointed guardian must report all of the incapacitated person’s assets to the court and account for income and expenses. The guardian must also seek the court’s permission to sell or transfer the incapacitated person’s assets. Thus, the guardianship process is slow, intrusive, and expensive. ### **Married couples’ properties** Medicaid generally disqualifies applicants for transferring property for less than market value. However, an applicant can transfer property to the applicant’s spouse without penalty. Therefore, remarried couples should exchange POAs with unlimited gift powers to prepare for this situation. Unprepared couples that lack adequate POAs face expensive Medicaid eligibility delays when incapacitated spouses need nursing home care. ### **Trial and error Medicaid applications for property-owning applicants: exercises in expensive futility** Repeated applications merely trigger repeated denials unless someone solves the property ownership problem correctly. Real estate sale or transfer is usually the only eligibility solution. An unmarried Medicaid applicant must usually sell real estate, but a married applicant can transfer it to the spouse. If someone lacks understanding of this problem and its solutions, reapplying after Medicaid denial is futile and expensive. With average Indiana nursing home care costing $6,682 per month, the unpaid nursing home bill will just keep growing. ## **Medicaid Application Trial and Error – Poor Application Timing Produces Bad Results for Married Couples** ### **Asset protection planning for married couples** This article previously indicated that A nursing home resident’s spouse can keep real estate. A Hoosier spouse can also keep a vehicle, the spouse’s IRA, and up to $126,420 worth of other assets in 2019. (Illinois has capped the community spouse resource allowance at $109,560). Spouses can keep more than $126,420 if they plan wisely, but Medicaid application timing is critical. ### **Asset protection planning takes time and requires complete records and information about a couple’s assets and income** An elder law attorney needs complete information and records about a assets and income to make an asset protection plan. Asset transfers often require time-consuming coordination with financial institutions and life insurance companies. It often takes two or three weeks for financial institutions and life insurance companies to provide asset value verifications. Some unresponsive life insurance companies consume tremendous time and require multiple asset value verification requests. ### **Premature Medicaid application causes expensive delays** Trial and error Medicaid application complicates and slows the asset protection planning process. The state will deny a premature Medicaid application because the applicant will have excess resources. Furthermore, the state will require proof of asset values for the first application date and the reapplication date. Considering the lead time for value verifications, the extra verification requirements create frustrating delays in the planning process. Meanwhile, average Indiana nursing home costs rise by $6,682 per month during Medicaid eligibility delays. ## **Medicaid Application Trial and Error – Generous Givers Require Careful Planning and Application Timing** ### **Medicaid penalizes generous applicants** Generosity may be a virtue, but trial and error strategy hurts people who have given gifts in the past. Medicaid penalizes gift-givers by disqualifying them from Medicaid benefits. Gifts can be the ordinary variety, but they can also be sales for less than fair market value. ### **A brief Medicaid transfer penalty explanation** unless they gave their gifts more than 5 years earlier. So, a gift within five years preceding a Medicaid application creates an important timing issue. Tragically, we have seen several Medicaid applications in the last month or two of the 5-year Medicaid look-back period. Those applicants might have qualified in later applications, but poor timing cost them tens of thousands of dollars of Medicaid benefits. ## **Medicaid Application Trial and Error – When to Seek Elder Law Counsel** ### **You should seek counsel from an experienced elder law firm if…** There are many reasons to hire an experienced elder law attorney to help plan for nursing home eligibility. Consider the following guidelines for when someone should seek an elder law firm’s help immediately for a nursing home resident. - The nursing home resident is married. - Either the nursing home resident or the resident’s spouse owns a home or other property. - The nursing home resident or the resident’s spouse has ever made a trust. - Either the nursing home resident or the resident’s spouse lacks a power of attorney that specifically authorizes unlimited gifts. - The nursing home resident or the resident’s spouse owns multiple vehicles. Vehicles include motorhomes, RV campers, equipment trailers, boats, motorcycles, ATVs, airplanes (some people own these), cars, or trucks. - Either the nursing home resident or the resident’s spouse has made a bargain sale in the past 5 years. Note that a $10 sale of a $100 item is a $90 gift. - The nursing home resident or the resident’s spouse has given away money or other gifts in the past 5 years. Note that there is no minimum or maximum value in this rule of thumb. - Either the nursing home resident or the resident’s spouse has an IRA. - The nursing home resident or the resident’s spouse has investments, life insurance policies, or annuities. - Either the nursing home resident or the resident’s spouse owns a business. - The nursing home resident or the resident’s spouse lives with a disabled adult child. - A son or daughter lived with the nursing home resident in the resident’s home for the past two years. ### **Trial and error is rolling the dice – experienced elder law firms prefer certainty** If any of the listed situations exist, people should consult with experienced elder law counsel promptly. The planning opportunity window may be small, so delay is a costly dice roll. A reputable elder law firm strives for Medicaid qualification on the first application, instead of gambling with trial and error. ## **About the Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html). He served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins), and he is a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch). [Hawkins Elder Law](https://www.martindale.com/organization/hawkins-law-pc-1645736/) is one of the few elder law firms that Martindale-HubbellTM has rated AV Preeminent, with both of the firm’s lawyers ([Jeff Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jeff-hawkins-985574-a/) and [Jennifer Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jennifer-hawkins-985575-a/)) also rated AV Preeminent. ## **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can like [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2019 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Advice of Elder Law Counsel, Annuity, Community spouse, Community Spouse Resource Allowance, disabled adult child, Elder Law, Gift, Guardianship, Investments, IRA, Life Insurance, Long-term care, Lookback period, Medicaid, Medicaid Planning Advice, Nursing home, Power of Attorney, Transfer penalty **Tags:** 5-year lookback period, annuities, Annuity, assets, Community Spouse Resource Allowance, disabled adult child, gift, investments, IRA, Life insurance, long-term care, Medicaid, nursing home, Transfer penalty --- ### [SERVICE ANIMALS AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS – PART 1](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/service-animals-and-assistance-animals-part-1/) **Published:** November 24, 2019 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** Service animals and assistance animals are advancing far beyond family pet status. High-performance creatures are helping military veterans and other people adapt to and overcome many disabilities. **Content:** ![Service dogs are working animals - not pets](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Guide-dog-symbol-with-2-round-service-dog-badges-Shutterstock-609624395-By-Nevada31-1024x538.png "Guide-dog symbol with 2 round service dog badges Shutterstock 609624395 By Nevada31 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")**Service dogs are highly trained workers performing important tasks Bystanders shouldnt distract them with petting or play** Service animals and assistance animals are advancing far beyond family pet status. High-performance creatures are helping military veterans and other people adapt to and overcome many disabilities. Trainers are equipping animals to help humans burdened with an increasing variety of physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, and emotional disorders, injuries, and illnesses. These highly trained animals are enriching disabled people’s lives in amazing ways. This article describes some of the expanding variety of game-changing benefits from animal behavioral research. The article also describes some practical issues affecting service animal and assistance animal availability and usage. ## **Service Animals and Assistance Animals – Assistance Animal Categories** Federal law offers antidiscrimination protections for disabled people that use or want to use “assistance animals.” The US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) described assistance animals in a 2013 joint notice (the “2013 Joint Notice” about antidiscrimination rules on public housing and public facilities.[\[1\]](#_edn1) HUD’s publication of the 2013 Joint Notice offers this description of assistance animals at [https://archives.hud.gov/news/2013/servanimals\_ntcfheo2013-01.pdf](https://archives.hud.gov/news/2013/servanimals_ntcfheo2013-01.pdf): ``` “An assistance animal is not a pet. It is an animal that works, provides assistance, or performs tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability or provides emotional support that alleviates one or more identified symptoms or effects of a person’s disability. Assistance animals perform many disability-related functions, including but not limited to, guiding individuals who are blind or have low vision, alerting individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to sounds, providing protection or rescue assistance, pulling a wheelchair, fetching items, alerting persons to impending seizures, or providing emotional support to persons with disabilities who have a disability-related need for such support.” ``` Assistance animals include the subcategories, “service animals” and “emotional support animals.” More than one blog article says assistance animals may include such exotic species as ferrets, boa constrictors, parrots, potbellied pigs, and capuchin monkeys.[\[2\]](#_edn2) ## **Service Animals** ### **Service Animals – Definitions** The 2013 Joint Notice says DOJ regulations under the US Fair Housing Act (the “FH Act”) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (the “ADA”) define a “service animal” narrowly as a “dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability.” ### **Service Animals – Tasks and Types** An article published by dogster.com lists 10 specific types of service dogs among the growing varieties of service dog categories. The list includes guide dogs, hearing dogs, mobility assistance dogs, diabetic alert dogs, seizure alert dogs, seizure response dogs, psychiatric service dogs, autism support dogs, FASD service dogs, and allergy detection dogs.[\[3\]](#_edn3) ### Service Animals **–** Some Big Claims Some trainers claim that seizure service dogs can detect early signs of oncoming seizures and help seizure sufferers prepare for seizure episodes. The trainers claim that seizure service dogs can smell and react to chemical changes that people’s bodies produce before and during seizures.[\[4\]](#_edn4) ### **Service Animals – No Petting or Playing While On-Duty** Service animals receive extremely detailed training that requires the animals’ to remain focused and undistracted while they are working. Therefore, service animal trainers instruct animal handlers and owners to discourage people from trying to pet or interact with the animals while they are working. ### **Service Animals – Expensive to Train and Expensive to Purchase** The training requirements to produce a service animal are much more complex than training a dog to finish or roll over. Cost varies according to a particular animal’s trained skill sets, but than one online article indicates that that service dog costs can run between $10,000 and $60,000.[\[5\]](#_edn5) ### Service Animals **–** Not Covered by Health Insurance Insurance does not normally cover service animal purchase costs. Likewise, a person cannot purchase a service animal with benefits through Medicare, Medicaid, or the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). However, VA is expanding benefits to help some veterans provide veterinary care for service animals.[\[6\]](#_edn6) ## **Emotional Support Animals (Also known as “companion animals”)** Emotional support animals are assistance animals that help comfort and calm people that have emotional or psychological difficulties. The 2013 Joint Notice says the DOJ regulations exclude “emotional support animals” from the “service animal” definition because: ``` "'the provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship do not constitute work or tasks for the purposes of this definition.' Thus, trained dogs are the only species of animal that may qualify as service animals under the ADA (there is a separate provision regarding trained miniature horses), and emotional support animals are expressly precluded from qualifying as service animals under the ADA." ``` ### Emotional Support Animals **–** No Training Required Emotional support animals do not require the investment of training necessary to develop service animals, so emotional support animals cost much less to purchase. ## **More Reading About Service Animals and Assistance Animals** More online articles about service animals and assistance animals appear from time to time as interest in the subject grows.[\[7\]](#_edn7) We will revisit this topic in a future article about legal and public policy issues affecting service animal and assistance animal availability and usage. ## **About the Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. They are also active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf). He is also a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html). He served as the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins), and he is a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch). [Hawkins Elder Law](https://www.martindale.com/organization/hawkins-law-pc-1645736/) is one of the few elder law firms that Martindale-HubbellTM has rated AV Preeminent, with both of the firm’s lawyers ([Jeff Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jeff-hawkins-985574-a/) and [Jennifer Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jennifer-hawkins-985575-a/)) also rated AV Preeminent. ## **More Information** Find more information about these and other topics on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbCFfBTOku1iR0I1wfN8hQ) and at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). Facebook users can like [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook. Twitter users can follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw). The LinkedIn crowd can follow us at . You can also call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2019 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] --- [\[1\]](#_ednref1) See a copy of the 2013 Joint Notice at [https://archives.hud.gov/news/2013/servanimals\_ntcfheo2013-01.pdf](https://archives.hud.gov/news/2013/servanimals_ntcfheo2013-01.pdf). [\[2\]](#_ednref2) See, for example, disabilityguide.com’s “6 Different Types of Service Animals” at . [\[3\]](#_ednref3) See “10 Types of Service Dogs and What They Do” published online by dogster.com at . [\[4\]](#_ednref4) For an description of seizure service dog training, see the article, “How does 4 Paws for Ability meet the needs of children with seizures?” published online by 4 Paws for Ability at . [\[5\]](#_ednref5) See “How to cover the costs of a service dog,” by Kellye Guinan, Last updated: 24 June 2019, at . See also “Life-changing companions: How to afford a service dog,” by bankrate.com staff, published February 28, 2019, at . [\[6\]](#_ednref6) See “Veterinary Health Benefits for Mental Health Mobility Service Dogs” published online at . [\[7\]](#_ednref7) A couple of general articles on the subject include the American Kennel Association’s article entitled “Service Dogs 101—Everything You Need to Know” at and the “Service dog” Wikipedia page at [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service\_dog](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_dog). ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** ADA, Allergy Detection Dogs, Americans with Disabilities Act, Assistance Animal, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Justice, Department of Veterans Affairs, Disability, DoJ, Elder Law, Emotional Support Animal, Fair Housing Act, Health Insurance, HUD, Medicaid, Medicare, Seizure Dogs, Service Animal, Veterans benefits **Tags:** ADA, allergy detection dogs, Americans with Disabilities Act, Assistance Animals, boa constrictors, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Justice, DOJ, emotional disorders, emotional support, ferrets, HUD, intellectual disability, Medicaid, Medicare, mental disability, parrots, physical disability, potbellied pigs, psychiatric disability, seizure service dogs, sensory disability, Service Animals --- ### [My Spouse Is in a Nursing Home – Will I Lose Everything?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/my-spouse-is-in-a-nursing-home-will-i-lose-everything/) **Published:** February 28, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Elderly 80 plus year old woman in a hospital bed with her caring husband.](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Elderly-80-plus-year-old-woman-in-a-hospital-bed-with-her-caring-husband.-1.jpg "Elderly 80 plus year old woman in a hospital bed with her caring husband. - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Elderly-80-plus-year-old-woman-in-a-hospital-bed-with-her-caring-husband.-1.jpg) The State of Indiana has published that Indiana nursing home care costs an average of more than $71,000 per year. Fortunately, federal law protects most spouses of nursing home residents from impoverishment. Here are some Indiana’s spousal impoverishment rule features: - The Spousal Impoverishment Protection Law applies for nursing home admissions occurring on or after September 30, 1989. The purpose of the law is to allow the community spouse \[spouse at home\] to keep some of the couple’s income and assets while still qualifying the nursing home spouse for Medicaid. - A snapshot of the couple’s assets is taken in order to determine the community spouse’s share. The snapshot reflects the couple’s assets at the time of the Medicaid applicant’s FIRST continuous (minimum 30 days) institutionalization (nursing facility or hospital). - When a nursing home spouse is applying for Medicaid, the couple will need to complete a resource assessment tool based upon the resources (assets) owned at the snapshot date AND an application for Medicaid (which asks for information about current resources). The community spouse’s share is calculated from the resource assessment tool. The nursing home spouse’s eligibility is determined from the application. Assets of a married couple are generally considered to be jointly owned, no matter in whose name they have been placed. - ASSETS: The community spouse is allowed to keep a maximum of 1/2 of the non-exempt assets up to a total of $119,220 (in 2016) or at least a minimum of $23,844 (in 2016). - The nursing home spouse is allowed only $2,000 in non-exempt assets to be eligible for Medicaid. - INCOME: The community spouse is allowed to keep all income that is solely in his/her name, plus 1/2 of all jointly owned income. If his/her income does not equal at least $1,992 per month (in 2016), he/she may keep some of the nursing home spouse’s income to get up to the minimum level of $1,992 (in 2016) each month. If the community spouse has high living expenses, he/she may appeal to keep more of the nursing home spouse’s income – bringing his/her total minimum monthly income up to a limit of $2,981 (in 2016). - The nursing home spouse must contribute all of his/her income towards the nursing home cost except for $52 per month for personal needs and any dollar amounts for health insurance, premiums, taxes, and medical expenses not covered by Medicaid. This contribution of income towards his/her care is called his/her “liability.” - If the spouse in the nursing home receives more income than $2,199 per month, that person must establish a special trust known as a “Qualified Income Trust” or “Miller Trust” to prevent the excess income from disqualifying the nursing home resident from Medicaid. - If either spouse has given gifts, sold assets for less than full value, or withdraw cash from bank accounts or savings without keeping receipts for those expenditures within the past 5 years, the state may “penalize” the nursing home resident disqualifying the nursing home resident from Medicaid benefits even if the couple cannot afford to pay nursing home bills. Qualifying a married person for Medicaid requires careful planning and detailed record-keeping. The State of Indiana prohibits its employees from giving Medicaid eligibility advice and nursing homes only give employees very basic Medicaid training. A botched Medicaid application often costs more than $6,000 to remedy and some couples have lost tens of thousands of dollars because of poor planning and sloppy Medicaid application management. Only experienced elder law attorneys offer solid advice and representation. Experience and expertise really make all the difference! [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Community spouse, Elder Law, Medicaid, Nursing home, Transfer penalty **Tags:** elder law attorney, Medicaid, nursing home, spouse --- ### [SECURE ACT IRA CHANGES – A MIXED BAG](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/secure-act-ira-changes-a-mixed-bag/) **Published:** May 29, 2019 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** SECURE Act IRA changes may affect retirement planning strategies dramatically. On May 23, 2019, 417 members of the U.S. House of Representatives voted to change IRAs with the "SECURE Act" (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019). If Congress and the White House agree on a bill, it will change the landscape for retirement contributions and required IRA withdrawals. This article describes some of the SECURE Act's key aspects and an alternative U.S. Senate bill. **Content:** ![IRA changes are coming if the SECURE Act passes? This serene photo belies the possibility that Congress may change IRA contribution and withdrawal rules radically this year.](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/United-States-Capitol-building-after-dark-with-water-reflection-Shutterstock-59850577-by-SFC-1024x576.jpg "United-States-Capitol-building-after-dark-with-water-reflection-Shutterstock-59850577-by-SFC - Hawkins Elder Law PC")Will SECURE Act IRA changes affect your IRA if Congress and the White House agreeSECURE Act IRA changes may affect retirement planning strategies dramatically. On May 23, 2019, 417 members of the U.S. House of Representatives voted to change IRAs with the “SECURE Act” ([Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019](https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/1994/text)). If Congress and the White House agree on a bill, it will change the landscape for retirement contributions and required IRA withdrawals. This article describes some of the SECURE Act’s key aspects and an alternative U.S. Senate bill. ## SECURE Act IRA Changes: Good for Retirees, But Terrible for Beneficiaries SECURE Act IRA changes would remove the top age limit (now 70 1/2) for IRA contributions. The Act would also raise the minimum age to begin taking required minimum distributions (RMDs) from IRAs (the “Required Beginning Date,” or RBD). The RBD age change would increase from 70 1/2 to 72. Both changes promote retirement savings for IRA owners, but new RMD rules will increase many IRA beneficiaries’ taxes. ## SECURE Act IRA changes Would Displace Beneficiaries’ “Stretch” Distribution Options With 10-Year RMD Withdrawal Rule The SECURE Act IRA changes would wipe out beneficiaries’ popular “Stretch” IRA distribution strategy. A 10-year IRA beneficiary withdrawal rule would shorten deadlines for most IRA beneficiaries to withdraw inherited IRA benefits. Beneficiaries would have to withdraw their fully taxable IRA benefits within 10 years after the IRA owner’s death. The 10-year inherited RMD requirement would wipe out the popular “stretch” RMD withdrawal strategy. It would also shift tax burdens to deceased IRA owners’ designated beneficiaries. ## Current RMD Withdrawal Rule for IRA Beneficiaries Current law allows the designated beneficiaries avoid huge tax bills by delaying RMD withdrawals. Beneficiaries can withdraw inherited IRA immediately, but the withdrawals are completely taxable and they may increase beneficiaries’ income tax brackets. Savvy beneficiaries stretch IRA benefits RMDs over most of their remaining life expectancies (the “stretch” RMD strategy) to delay taxation and avoid higher tax brackets. The stretch RMD strategy helps younger beneficiaries build retirement savings on a tax-deferred basis if they can delay withdrawing some of the IRA benefits. Some families use special trusts to stretch IRAs for beneficiaries. The Stretch strategy protects distributions for young, disabled, and financially distressed beneficiaries. See “[Planning with Retirement Plans, Annuities, and Life Insurance](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/planning-with-retirement-plans-annuities-and-life-insurance/)” on our website for more information about retirement planning. ## SECURE Act IRA Changes Include 10-Year RMD Exceptions The SECURE Act IRA changes include exceptions to its 10-year RMD requirement for certain beneficiaries. The act would preserve current “spousal rollover” rules for a deceased IRA owner’s surviving spouse. Also, the 10-year RMD requirement would not apply to a deceased IRA owner’s minor child until the child’s 18th birthday. Other exceptions apply to certain disabled and chronically ill beneficiaries. ## U.S. Senate’s RESA Alternative An alternative U.S. Senate bill shares the SECURE Act’s idea of shortening their time for RMD withdrawals. The “[Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act](https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/972/text?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22S.972%22%5D%7D&r=1&s=2)” (RESA) would apply a 5-year distribution period to inherited IRA account balances over $400,000. ## Why Is Congress Making New IRA Rules For Your IRA? Congress needs to increase funding for Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Americans are living longer, but they are becoming more dependent on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid in retirement. Retirement savings increases may help seniors pay their own care costs in later years. (See the article entitled, “[IRA Planning for Long-Term Care and Longevity](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/ira-planning-for-long-term-care-and-longevity/)” for more information about retirement planning for long life.) The shortened RMD withdrawal period may increase federal tax revenue by accelerating income tax payments on beneficiaries’ on RMDs and pushing beneficiaries into higher income tax brackets. ## New IRA Rules May Make Roth IRAs and Qualified Charitable Distributions More Attractive The new IRA rules may increase the attractiveness of Roth IRAs and Qualified Charitable Distributions. Roth IRA Owners reduce IRA taxation with tax-free Roth withdrawals after age 59 1/2. Alternatively, traditional IRA owners can eliminate IRA taxation through Qualified Charitable Distributions and charitable IRA beneficiary designations. ### Roth IRAs: “Tax Me Now” for Tax Savings Later A Roth IRA owner contributes after-tax funds to an Roth IRA account. Roth IRAs offer no initial income tax deductions, but Roth withdrawals after age 59 1/2 are tax-free. Some people prefer traditional IRAs because they want to claim current IRA income tax contribution deductions. The income tax burden of converting traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs also discourages some people from making those conversions. The new rules may increase Roth IRA usage to protect owners’ families from heavy taxation on accelerated RMD withdrawals. ### Qualified Charitable Distributions: Uncle Sam as Your Charitable Contribution Partner Qualified Charitable Distributions appeal to people who have sufficient wealth or income that they do not need IRA withdrawals. IRA owners can direct IRA plan administrators to distribute tax-free RMDs directly to charities. Plus, Qualified Charitable Distribution satisfies the IRA owner’s RMD requirements and a qualifying charity can receive the RMD distribution tax-free. So, Uncle Sam becomes a charitable contribution partner in Qualified Charitable Distributions. ## About the Authors [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). [Hawkins Elder Law](https://www.martindale.com/organization/hawkins-law-pc-1645736/) is one of the few elder law firms that Martindale-HubbellTM has rated AV Preeminent, with both of the firm’s lawyers ([Jeff Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jeff-hawkins-985574-a/) and [Jennifer Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jennifer-hawkins-985575-a/)) also rated AV Preeminent. Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). ## More Information Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), like [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook, follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw) on Twitter, follow on LinkedIn, or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2019 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Designated Beneficiary, Estate Planning, IRA, Qualified Charitable Distribution, RBD, Required Beginning Date, Required Minimum Distributions, Retirement Plan, Roth IRA, Stretch IRA, Tax-free Plan Distributions **Tags:** designated beneficiary, IRA, Qualified Charitable Distributions, RBD, Required Beginning Date, Required Minimum Distributions, Retirement benefits, Retirement plan, Retirement Plan Distributions, Retirement Savings, RMD, Roth IRA, SECURE Act, Spousal Rollover, stretch IRA, tax-deferred --- ### ["FREE" POWER OF ATTORNEY](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/free-power-of-attorney/) **Published:** June 29, 2019 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** ![A free power of attorney provides the purchased value, which may be little, nothing, or worse. This image of a power of attorney with an ink pen and set of glasses should remind people to read and question the documents that they sign carefully.](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Pen-glasses-on-power-of-attorney-–-Shutterstock-334985012-By-LifetimeStock.jpg "Pen-glasses-on-power-of-attorney-–-Shutterstock-334985012-By-LifetimeStock - Hawkins Elder Law PC")A free power of attorney is not a good bargainA “free” power of attorney is very much like free firearms, free explosives, and free hazardous chemicals. Each item may be useful when someone uses it properly, but it would be irresponsible to deliver such things to people randomly. This article explains why it is dangerous for people to sign an off-the-shelf, “free” power of attorney distributed by a nonlawyer. The article also explains why nursing homes and other organizations that distribute free powers of attorney may expose themselves to lawsuits. ## Authority Crisis Without a Power of Attorney An authority crisis arises when someone, who does not give a power of attorney to another person, becomes too disabled to manage his or her personal business. The U.S. Constitution requires the person’s spouse or other family members to ask a court for guardianship authority to take control of the disabled person’s legal affairs. The Constitution also requires the court to provide notice of the preceding to the disabled person because Americans value personal liberty very highly. However, the guardianship procedures are time-consuming and expensive. The procedures also disrupt the person’s privacy. ## We Recommend Powers of Attorney We recommend that most people make powers of attorney to avoid a guardianship crisis. A power of attorney is a document that you can sign to allow someone else to help you manage your personal business in the future. A power of attorney can be unlimited or limited, and it can take effect immediately or when you become disabled. ## A “Free” Power of Attorney Can Be Dangerous If you give someone a power of attorney, the person (called the “attorney-in-fact” in Indiana) may be able to take almost every legal action for you that you can do for yourself. For example, your attorney-in-fact can open and close bank accounts, buy and sell real estate, and commit you to all kinds of agreements. That is why this article began by comparing a power of attorney to firearms, explosives, and hazardous chemicals. Your attorney-in-fact can use your power of attorney can protect you, but an irresponsible or unethical attorney-in-fact could also use it to hurt you. ## “Free” Powers of Attorney Can Make Elder Exploitation Easier Corrupt people take advantage of a senior citizens in every community. It may take a lot of work to convince someone to give money or property away, so some crooks look for shortcuts. One of the easiest ways to take a person’s property is to convince the person to sign an unlimited power of attorney. The crook may still be breaking the law by using the power of attorney, but when has the law stopped crooks from breaking it? ## Not All Powers of Attorney are Appropriate We have also explained in previous articles that there are several different kinds of powers of attorney for different purposes (see “[Power of Attorney – And Estate Plan’s Most Powerful Tool](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/power-of-attorney-an-estate-plans-most-powerful-tool/)” and “[Are All Powers of Attorney Created Equal?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/are-all-powers-of-attorney-created-equal/)” on our website). A nursing home resident may need a specially designed power of attorney that authorizes family members to protect assets. A standard power of attorney that simply refers to the Indiana Power of Attorney Act (Indiana Code Article 30-5) includes a power limit that interferes with asset protection. The power limit in Indiana Code § 30-5-5-9 protects wealthy families (people with more than $11.4 million in 2019) from expensive gift tax issues, but the protection prevents most ordinary people from making gifts to protect assets from nursing home costs. So, a free power of attorney that does not specifically override the statutory gift limits prevents families from protecting their disabled family members’ assets from long-term health care costs. ## A “Free” Power of Attorney is Too Good to Be True This old saying probably applies to a free power of attorney: “if something seems to be too good to be true, it probably is.” However, in some cases, a “free” power of attorney may be much worse than that – it may be tragic. ## About the Authors [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). [Hawkins Elder Law](https://www.martindale.com/organization/hawkins-law-pc-1645736/) is one of the few elder law firms that Martindale-HubbellTM has rated AV Preeminent, with both of the firm’s lawyers ([Jeff Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jeff-hawkins-985574-a/) and [Jennifer Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jennifer-hawkins-985575-a/)) also rated AV Preeminent. ## More Information Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), like [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook, follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw) on Twitter, follow on LinkedIn, or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2019 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Elder Exploitation, Elder Law, Gift, Gift Tax, Guardianship, Health Care, Long-term care, Nursing home, Power of Attorney, Privacy, U.S. Constitution **Tags:** bank accounts, elder law, gift tax, gifts, guardianship, long-term health care, long-term health care costs, nursing home, power of attorney, Privacy, real estate, U.S. Constitution --- ### [Spouses of Nursing Home Residents: Avoid These Medicaid Traps!](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/spouses-of-nursing-home-residents-dont-let-nonlawyers-apply-for-medicaid/) **Published:** June 25, 2017 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Sad-elderly-woman-and-her-sick-husband-lying-in-a-hospital-bed.jpg "Sad elderly woman and her sick husband lying in a hospital bed - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Sad-elderly-woman-and-her-sick-husband-lying-in-a-hospital-bed.jpg)The financial pitfalls facing a married couple when one spouse requires nursing home care are wide, deep, and surprisingly hidden. The emotional pain of a married person’s admission of his or her spouse to a nursing home rivals the painful experience of a spouse’s death. Unfortunately, critical financial decisions rush toward the healthier spouse like a flood in that emotionally vulnerable moment. When it seems that things could not get worse, a few seemingly sensible and logical actions can turn a heartbreaking health crisis into an irreversible financial nightmare. These are some of many actions often result in financial tragedies for married nursing home residents and their spouses: - **Normal Fact Pattern**: A demented spouse can usually keep countable resources worth up to $2,000 and the healthier spouse can keep up to 50% of countable resources that the couple owns on the date when the demented spouse requires long-term, inpatient care (called the “Snapshot Date”). **Bad Move**: A healthier spouse might follow advice from non-lawyers to buy a new car and prepay funeral expenses by transferring large life insurance policies to a funeral home. **Sad Result**: The car purchase and funeral expense prepayment shrink the countable resources before the Snapshot Date. The premature resource reduces the countable resource value too soon, so the spouse at home can only keep up to 50% of the reduced countable resource value. **Better Action**: The healthier spouse should delay all expenditures and transfers of life insurance policies and other assets until after consulting with an experienced elder law attorney and after it is clear that the disabled spouse will not return home. - **Normal Fact Pattern**: The healthier spouse could keep the house, all of the couple’s other real estate, a car, and the healthier spouse’s IRA. **Terrible Move**: The healthier spouse might cash out his or her IRA and sell the house, other real estate, or the car. **Tragic Result**: The liquidation of previously Medicaid-exempt assets become countable resources that disqualify the nursing home resident for Medicaid! **Better Action**: Consult with an experienced elder law attorney about which kinds of asset sales and account liquidations fit an ideal plan to conserve and protect the healthier spouse’s assets. - **Normal Fact Pattern:** The couple put their children’s names on the couple’s real estate title about 4 years and 11 months ago and the disabled spouse is in the nursing home now. The title transfer will disqualify the disabled spouse for Medicaid benefits now, but the transfer will have no effect if the couple waits until the transfer is more than 5 years old. **Reckless Move**: Apply for Medicaid for the disabled spouse immediately upon admission to a nursing home. **Nightmare Result**: The premature Medicaid application may fall within Medicaid’s 5-year “lookback period,” so Medicaid disqualifies the disabled spouse for several *months or years* of eligibility. The Healthier spouse must pay the disabled spouse’s nursing home bills during the disqualification months instead of only paying one nursing home for the last month of the 5-year lookback period. **Better Action**: Hire an experienced elder law attorney to coordinate a Medicaid application with nursing home officials and financial advisors to make sure that no one files a Medicaid application too soon. Medicaid is a complicated subject with rules and procedures that change frequently and without warning. Medicaid rules and procedures are especially complicated for married couples. Any amount of training and experience short of and elder law attorney’s years of expert level of training and preparation is insufficient to coordinate a married person’s Medicaid application if the couple has a house, vehicles, IRAs, life insurance, and other assets. Only a reputable lawyer whose practice concentrates on estate planning and Medicaid eligibility for nursing home care can keep a firm grip on what Indiana Medicaid is doing from one moment to the next. We encourage individuals, families, and health care providers to contact us about this important topic. Reliable Medicaid eligibility information empowers people to avoid unnecessary tragedies, and we look forward to the opportunity to share that empowering information with our neighbors. ## **About the Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) have practiced in the areas of trusts, estates, and elder law for over 26 years. Both lawyers are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff Hawkins is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). [Hawkins Elder Law](https://www.martindale.com/organization/hawkins-law-pc-1645736/) is one of the few elder law firms that Martindale-HubbellTM has rated AV Preeminent, with both of the firm’s lawyers ([Jeff Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jeff-hawkins-985574-a/) and [Jennifer Hawkins](https://www.martindale.com/sullivan/indiana/jennifer-hawkins-985575-a/)) also rated AV Preeminent. Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). © Copyright 2019 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Community spouse, Dementia, Elder Law, Lookback period, Medicaid, Nursing home, Prepaid Funeral, Transfer penalty **Tags:** Dementia, elder law attorney, Medicaid, nursing home, spouse --- ### [Have You Withdrawn Enough from Your IRA This Year?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/have-you-withdrawn-enough-from-your-ira-this-year/) **Published:** November 14, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![photo-of-2015-irs-publication-590-b-copyright-2016-hawkins-law-pc](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Photo-of-2015-IRS-Publication-590-B-©-Copyright-2016-Hawkins-Law-PC.jpg "photo-of-2015-irs-publication-590-b-copyright-2016-hawkins-law-pc - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Photo-of-2015-IRS-Publication-590-B-©-Copyright-2016-Hawkins-Law-PC.jpg) 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 some retirees and their families for tax traps. We encourage retirees to discuss with their tax advisors and estate planning lawyers whether to pursue more aggressive retirement plan withdrawal strategy before the end of the year. The minimum required distribution tax trap for retirees is mainly a lost opportunity to match deductible expenses with taxable income. If a retiree pays medical expenses without insurance reimbursement worth more than 7.5% of the retiree’s adjusted gross income, the retiree can deduct those medical expenses against taxable income. If the retiree’s income remaining after tax credits is less than the total value of potentially itemized deductions, the retiree is leaving tax-deductible expenses on the table and forfeiting an opportunity to take tax-free IRA distributions. Even if a retiree has enough income to use all potential itemized deductions, the retiree may be able to save income taxes for future generations by taking extra IRA distributions and paying taxes on them. If a retiree’s children are employed in lucrative jobs, the children may be paying income taxes in higher income tax brackets than the retiree. In that case, if the retiree dies leaving a sizable IRA, the high income-earning children will have to pay income taxes on distributions from the IRA at their high income tax rates. A savvy retiree with high income-earning children will take larger IRA distributions than the required minimum distributions to pay taxes on those distributions at much lower income tax rates than the retiree’s children. It is common for a married retiree to have a much larger retirement plan than the retiree’s spouse. In many cases, the retiree spouse may have very modest personal assets compared to the retiree’s retirement plan. Medicaid laws provide that the spouse of a nursing home resident can keep substantial assets (at least a vehicle, real estate, and more than $120,000 in Indiana) and still qualify the nursing home resident for Medicaid assistance to pay nursing home bills (more than $70,000 per year in Indiana in 2016). Unfortunately, if the nursing home resident is a retiree with a large IRA, the couple is stuck with either paying nursing home bills with the IRA, or cashing out the IRA to fund the nursing home resident’s spouse’s resource allowance and paying taxes in a high tax bracket. If the nursing home resident with the lopsided share of retirement assets had withdrawn from the IRA more aggressively in previous years, the spouse at home would not have had to face such a daunting choice of asset depletion on nursing home expenses versus asset depletion by taxation. We recommend that retirees consult with their tax advisors and estate planning lawyers about retirement plan withdrawal strategies. Retirees should schedule year-end consultations with tax advisors every year, and schedule consultations with an estate planning lawyer at least every 5 years, or more frequently if changes occur in health, asset values, income, or multi-generation family dynamics. Couples with wealth below $1,000,000 and disproportionate retirement plan assets owned by one spouse should discuss long-term care planning with an estate planning lawyer with detailed knowledge of Medicaid resource, income, and transfer penalty issues concerning retirement plans and annuities. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** IRA, Medicaid, Nursing home, Required Minimum Distributions, Retirement Plan, Tax Planning **Tags:** estate plan, IRA, Medicaid, nursing home, Retirement Plan Distributions --- ### [Plan for Nursing Home Care - Even If You Don’t Want to Go](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/plan-for-nursing-home-care-even-if-you-dont-want-to-go/) **Published:** August 29, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Collage of Smiling Blond Nurse helping Senior Man Outdoors in front of Retirement Building on Sunny Day – Shutterstock Image ID 295359311 and 293983016 - Copyright Belushi](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Collage-of-Smiling-Blond-Nurse-helping-Senior-Man-Outdoors-in-front-of-Retirement-Building-on-Sunny-Day-–-Shutterstock-Image-ID-295359311-and-293983016-Copyright-Belushi.jpg "Collage of Smiling Blond Nurse helping Senior Man Outdoors in front of Retirement Building on Sunny Day – Shutterstock Image ID 295359311 and 293983016 - Copyright Belushi - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Collage-of-Smiling-Blond-Nurse-helping-Senior-Man-Outdoors-in-front-of-Retirement-Building-on-Sunny-Day-–-Shutterstock-Image-ID-295359311-and-293983016-Copyright-Belushi.jpg) 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](http://www.in.gov/iltcp/2371.htm), “individuals living over the age of 65 will have a 60-70% chance of needing some type of long term care service.” If that statistic is correct, wise people should plan for nursing home care, and then invest in healthy lifestyles that permit some people to remain at home. The [Indiana Long-Term Care Partnership Program](http://www.in.gov/iltcp/2371.htm) provides a tremendous amount of statistics and information about long-term care investment topics, including this information: - Good News – We Are Living Longer - Bad News – We Are Living Longer - 7 out of 10 individuals will need Home Health Care some time during their lives. - Currently, 40% of those using long term care services in the U.S. are between the ages of 18 and 64. As a population, we are living longer because of healthier lifestyles, new medical technology, and drug treatments. These medical advances enable us to live with a mental or physical condition longer than ever before. A 65 year old individual today is expected to live well into his/her late 80’s. Because we are aging and living longer, our ability to perform normal activities of daily living could be hindered due to a medical issue. Long term care services assist an individual with everyday activities such as eating, bathing, dressing, and mobility that are hindered because of a medical or mental condition. The Indiana Long Term Care Insurance Program (ILTCIP) is an innovative working partnership between the State of Indiana and private long term care insurance companies. Indiana has taken the lead in helping its residents protect their hard-earned life savings from the high cost of long term care by promoting the awareness of long term care. All long term care insurance policies available from insurance companies are not the same. Policies are approved by the Indiana Department of Insurance as meeting required state statutes. “Partnership policies” offer the consumer additional benefits for their long term care needs and protection for their savings. In addition, Partnership insurance policies qualify for a state tax deduction helping Hoosiers to protect even more of their savings. We encourage our younger clients (you are as young as you feel – right?) to speak with their financial advisors about long-term care insurance because insurance is the most reliable way to protect assets from long-term care expenses. Some financial planning gurus, such as [Dave Ramsey](http://www.daveramsey.com/blog/who-needs-long-term-care-insurance/), advise people not to buy long-term care insurance until age 60. The problem with that advice is that many people develop health conditions in their late 40s and early 50s, such as high blood pressure and early diabetes symptoms, that either disqualify them for long-term care insurance or make insurance premiums unaffordable. Furthermore, we have seen several heartbreaking cases of people diagnosed with early onset of Alzheimer’s disease in their 50s. Therefore, we encourage people to buy long-term care insurance before they develop pre-existing conditions that interfere with buying long-term care insurance. It is bad enough for someone’s house to fail to the point of needing nursing home care, but it is unnecessarily tragic for them to plan not to go and end up in a nursing home anyway. We advise all of our clients to establish estate plans with strong powers of attorney and health-care documents that are specifically designed to deal with long-term care issues (our other blog articles on this topic at our website include: [Power of Attorney – An Estate Plan’s Most Powerful Tool](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/power-of-attorney-an-estate-plans-most-powerful-tool/); [Are All Powers of Attorney Created Equal?](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/are-all-powers-of-attorney-created-equal/); and [Puny Powers of Attorney](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/puny-powers-of-attorney/)). [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Dementia, Long-term care insurance, Medicaid, Nursing home, Power of Attorney **Tags:** estate plan, Long-term care insurance, Medicaid, nursing home, power of attorney --- ### [Planning with Retirement Plans, Annuities, and Life Insurance](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/planning-with-retirement-plans-annuities-and-life-insurance/) **Published:** June 14, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![shutterstock_2833000](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/shutterstock_2833000.jpg "shutterstock_2833000 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/shutterstock_2833000.jpg) Retirement plans, annuities, and life insurance policies are great tools to accumulate and protect wealth for some people. However, all investments require some attention to details regarding beneficiary designations and ownership choices. None of these tools fits everyone and some tools can be inappropriate for some people. A knowledgeable estate planning attorney uses these financial tools can help accomplish positive results and avoid problems. **Retirement Plans** Most retirement plans, such as IRAs, 403(b) plans, and 401(k) plans, contain pre-tax income that owners invested without paying income taxes (but not Roth IRAs). All plan owners must begin taking annual withdrawals of pre-tax funds from their retirement plans and paying taxes on the withdrawals by April 1 of the year after they reach age 70 ½. Most married owners of retirement plans should name their spouses as their primary beneficiaries of their retirement plans. A spousal roll over gives the surviving spouse valuable flexibility to preserve wealth and live comfortably after the first spouse’s death. Unfortunately, too few people think beyond a spousal rollover and forget to make secondary beneficiary designations. If the surviving spouse forgets to change beneficiary designations, his or her entire retirement plan will pass through a probate estate, forcing family members to withdraw the entire plan and pay expensive income taxes on it within 5 years after the surviving spouse’s death instead of withdrawing gradually over the beneficiaries’ lifetimes. We encourage clients to designate primary and secondary retirement plan beneficiaries on a beneficiary designation form provided by their retirement plan administrators. There are several ways to make mistakes on beneficiary designations, so we encourage clients to let us help them. For example, if a plan owner has several beneficiaries, it would be a mistake to list only one beneficiary unless that beneficiary should receive and keep the whole plan without sharing it with others. If beneficiaries are young or irresponsible, it may be helpful to set up trusts to manage their inherited shares of the retirement plan so that they will not waste their inheritance and rack up huge tax bills. **Life Insurance** Life insurance is a wonderful way to put cash in the hands of your family members and business partners when they need cash to pay your debts or taxes. Not all life insurance is a good investment and much life insurance advertised on television is a poor investment. As with the retirement plan, a primary and secondary beneficiary should be identified to prevent the life insurance policy from becoming an asset of your probate estate. People with wealth over $5.43 million, business partners, or family members who might take over the family business need to consider special life insurance plans to help pay costs of ownership changes after they die. Business partners should consider “cross-purchase” agreements that direct what surviving partners must do to buy out their deceased partners’ shares. **Annuities** Annuities resemble life insurance policies, but most annuities offer more profitable investment features. A “deferred” annuity owner’s investment grows over time and pays a death benefit to the owner’s named beneficiaries. Some people transfer retirement assets into annuities that follow the retirement plan withdrawal rules. Annuities used to offer great benefits for long-term care (nursing home) planning, but current Medicaid law makes most annuities terrible asset protection tools for nursing home pre-planning in all 50 states (if you hear otherwise, consider the advice questionable). As with life insurance, make and update beneficiary designations from time to time as circumstances change. If an annuity owner expects to enter a nursing home, he or his family should speak with an attorney knowledgeable about elder law issues to make appropriate adjustments to annuity plan. Inappropriate choices can destroy wealth unnecessarily. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** 401(k), 403(b), Annuity, Beneficiary Designation, Estate Planning, Investments, IRA, Life Insurance, Long-term care, Medicaid, Required Minimum Distributions, Retirement Plan, Roth IRA, Social Security, Surviving spouse, Tax-free Plan Distributions, Trusts and Estates **Tags:** Annuity, beneficiaries, death, estate, estate plan, estate plan attorney, estate planning, estate tax, income tax, IRA, Life insurance, Medicaid, nursing home, Retirement plan, Roth IRA, spouse, trusts, wealth --- ### [MEDICAID & PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENTS - PART 2](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/medicaid-prenuptial-agreements-part-2/) **Published:** April 18, 2019 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** This conclusion of our two-part series about Medicaid and prenuptial agreements explains how Medicaid treats prenuptial agreements. **Content:** ![Photo of senior couple smiling in their Beach wedding with the ocean in the background.](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Senior-Couple-Smiling-In-Beach-Wedding-Ceremony-Shutterstock-ID-142807462-by-Monkey-Business-Images-1024x683.jpg "Senior Couple Smiling In Beach Wedding Ceremony Shutterstock ID 142807462 by Monkey Business Images - Hawkins Elder Law PC")Senior newlywed couple happy on a beach because they protected assets from harsh Medicaid treatment with a prenuptial agreement estate planWe left readers asking, “How Medicaid treat a prenuptial agreement estate plan?” in [MEDICAID & PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENTS – PART 1](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/medicaid-prenuptial-agreements-part-1/) last month. The question required Part 1’s background information to support our answer in this Part 2. This conclusion of our two-part series about Medicaid and prenuptial agreements explains how Medicaid treats prenuptial agreements. \[*Please note that this article provides more complex information than we normally provide in this blog, and* *people* *should not act on this information without consulting an experienced and reputable elder law attorney*. *If you missed Part 1, please go to our blog at* [*www.hawkinselderlaw.com/blog/*](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/blog/) *and read it now*.\] ## Prenuptial Agreement Effectiveness in a Nursing Home Resident’s Medicaid Application Remember our discussion of the “Snapshot” and “Resource Allowances” in Part 1? The Medicaid Snapshot counts a married couple’s resources – his, hers, and their resources – even if the couple made a prenuptial agreement. This does not mean that prenuptial agreements are worthless, but couples must plan well to protect assets against nursing home costs. A well organized couple should plan specifically for this situation before a spouse needs nursing home care. Their pre-wedding plans should include a prenuptial agreement estate plan. ### Include LTC Planning in the Prenuptial Agreement Estate Plan A prenuptial agreement and asset protection estate plan that includes long-term care (LTC) details in the prenuptial agreement may offer great results. Important LTC details include: 1. Acknowledgment that a spouse may need Medicaid assistance to pay nursing home costs. 2. A plan to transfer an institutional spouse’s assets to the community spouse for safekeeping from nursing home costs. 3. A plan to deliver each spouse’s assets to that spouse’s intended beneficiaries. #### Foreseeable LTC Needs A prenuptial agreement needs to state that it is foreseeable for the husband or wife to need nursing home care in the future, because Indiana Code Section 31-11-3-8(b) says: > If: > (1) a provision of a premarital agreement modifies or eliminates spousal maintenance; and > (2) the modification or elimination causes one (1) party to the agreement extreme hardship under circumstances not reasonably ***foreseeable*** at the time of the execution of the agreement; > a court, notwithstanding the terms of the agreement, may require the other party to provide spousal maintenance to the extent necessary to avoid extreme hardship. > > An engaged couple should expect the husband or wife to require nursing home care in the future, because the Indiana Long Term Care Insurance Program website says: > Overall, individuals living over the age of 65 will have a 60-70% chance of needing some type of long term care service. > > [https://www.in.gov/iltcp/2371.](https://www.in.gov/iltcp/2371.htm) A prenuptial agreement can cover this base with a statement that it is foreseeable #### Plan to Transfer Assets to Community Spouse When a spouse needs nursing home care (the “Institutional Spouse”), Medicaid limits the Institutional Spouse’s resources to $2,000. However, Medicaid allows the other spouse (the “Community Spouse”) to keep many more countable resources (up to $126,420 in 2019). The Community Spouse can also keep many assets that are exempt from being counted as resources. The couple’s asset protection plan can use the Community Spouse’s large resource allowance and ability to keep exempt assets to protect most of both spouses’ assets. The asset protection plan must include powers of attorney and wills that include specialized language for couples with prenuptial agreements. #### Separate Trusts for Each Spouse’s Beneficiaries The specialized wills must include separate trusts for each spouse’s assets. The separate trusts help ensure that each spouse’s family members will receive that spouse’s assets. ## A Prenuptial Agreement Really Counts After the Community Spouse’s Death Indiana law gives a deceased person’s surviving spouse rights to receive assets even if the deceased person’s will leave nothing to the surviving spouse (see [ http://iga.in.gov/legislative/laws/2018/ic/titles/029#29-1-3](http://iga.in.gov/legislative/laws/2018/ic/titles/029#29-1-3) and ). The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration can disqualify an Institutional Spouse for Medicaid benefits for failing to claim his or her deceased Community Spouse’s assets (See 405 IAC 2-3-1.1(j)(4), downloadable at[ http://www.in.gov/legislative/iac/pdf-iac/iac2006oldfmt/T04050/A00020.PDF?IACT=405](http://www.in.gov/legislative/iac/pdf-iac/iac2006oldfmt/T04050/A00020.PDF?IACT=405) ). Indiana Code Section 31-11-3-5 permits a couple to limit the surviving spouse’s rights with a prenuptial agreement (See ). No Indiana courts have ruled on the issue yet, but a well-drafted prenuptial agreement and asset protection estate plan should protect the couple’s assets and preserve the surviving Institutional Spouse’s Medicaid eligibility ## Seek Expert Elder Law Counsel Before the Wedding An engaged couple should remember that the “pre” of “prenuptial agreement” requires the couple to make a prenuptial agreement and asset protection estate plan before the wedding day. Proper prenuptial agreement planning requires time, so the couple should seek legal counsel as soon as possible before the wedding. Many other details described in this article require unusual estate planning expertise, so older couples that want to protect land, retirement plans, and other assets should seek elder law attorneys that specialize in estate planning. Websites that can help people find lawyers with this expertise include: and . ## About the Authors [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). ## More Information Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsElderLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), like [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://www.facebook.com/HawkinsElderLaw/) on Facebook, follow [@HawkinsElderLaw](https://twitter.com/HawkinsElderLaw) on Twitter, follow on LinkedIn, or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2019 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Advice of Elder Law Counsel, Asset Protection, Community spouse, Community Spouse Resource Allowance, Elder Law, Estate, Estate Planning, Family and Social Services Administration, Institutional Spouse, Institutional Spouse Resource Allowance, Last Will and Testament, Long-term care, Medicaid, Nursing home, Power of Attorney, Premarital Agreement, Prenuptial Agreement, Resources, Retirement Plan, Snapshot Date, Surviving spouse **Tags:** asset protection, Community Spouse, Community Spouse Resource Allowance, Family & Social Services Administration, Institutional Spouse, Institutional Spouse Resource Allowance, last will and testament, Medicaid, power of attorney, Prenuptial Agreement, Resource Allowance, Retirement plan, Snapshot Date, Snapshot Value --- ### [Do Old Drivers Fade Away?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/do-old-drivers-fade-away/) **Published:** September 5, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Deterioration of elderly drivers skills creates dangerous conditions.](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Elderly-female-driver-1-1024x683.jpg "Elderly female driver - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Elderly-female-driver-1.jpg)Could you take this woman’s keys? The ability to drive a car is one of the privileges that most defines quality of life and independent living for the elderly. Unfortunately, the deteriorating effects of aging causes some elderly drivers to become impaired drivers as the following headlines suggest: “Elderly driver crashes into Ziegler’s Ace Hardware in Huntley” (May 4, 2015, Copyright © 2015 Northwest Herald, [http://www.nwherald.com/2015/05/04/elderly-driver-crashes-into-zieglers-ace-hardware-in-huntley/a8toglt/](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/)). “Elderly driver crashes into three parked cars in Brookline” (July 24, 2015, Copyright © 2015 by WTAE.com, ). “Elderly Driver Crashes Into Living Room Near Goleta” (July 28, 2015, Copyright © 2015 NPG of California, LLC, ). “Elderly driver crashes into laundromat” (August 14, 2015, Copyright © 2015, KSWB, a Tribune Broadcasting Station, ). Jeff Hawkins’ grandfather (Ira Chestnut, 1899-1999) was proud to live independently until the last year or two of his life. He was especially proud to still be driving in his mid-90s. He never drove outside of town in his last years and his old Ford rarely exceeded 40 miles per hour. However, the Plainville United Methodist Church set up a separate parking spot for him (away from the other cars) in his final driving years because he had crunched all four of his car doors against other people’s vehicles during his parking maneuvers. As the Baby Boom Generation\* ages, we expect them to push the average age of drivers much higher. With more aged drivers on the road each year, America must deal with the concern that some aged drivers have become too frail to control their vehicles. Legislators and ethicists will wrestle increasingly with how to keep us safe from impaired drivers, while preserving the pride and independence of our aged citizens. Many families grieve about how to deal with their older drivers as their ancient senses and reflexes fade. Should they get a court order to take the keys away? Should they sabotage the vehicle and render it inoperable? Should they stand by and watch their loved ones cause deadly accidents? The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles has authority to intervene with impaired drivers under Indiana Code § 9-24-10-7(a), which provides, “If the bureau has good cause to believe that a licensed driver is: (1) incompetent; or (2) otherwise unfit to operate a vehicle; the bureau may, upon written notice of at least five (5) days, require the licensed driver to submit to an examination, an investigation of the driver’s continued fitness to operate a motor vehicle safely, including requesting medical information from the driver or the driver’s health care sources, or both an examination and an investigation. Someone concerned about an elderly person’s impaired driving can contact the Indiana BMV and explain why the impaired person should not continue to drive. Contact information for the Indiana BMV is as follows: Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles Indiana Government Center North Room 402 100 North Senate Avenue Indianapolis, IN 46204 Phone: 888-692-6841 Online Email submission form: The BMV will then notify the driver that the driver will have a certain number of days to submit to a medical examination and deliver the examination report to the BMV. The BMV will decide then whether to: 1) do nothing, 2) impose restrictions, 3) request that the person take certain action, or 4) suspend the driver’s license. The BMV cannot solve all of our impaired driver problems. Inevitably, some severely impaired drivers will avoid license suspension while less impaired drivers lose their driving privileges. Until a better solution arrives, let’s all be careful on those dangerous roads. \*The term “baby boomer” refers to individuals born in the United States between mid-1946 and mid-1964 (Hogan, Perez, and Bell, 2008). . [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. \[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Elder Law, Impaired Driving, Independent Living, Quality of life **Tags:** Average Age of Drivers, Baby Boom Generation, Bureau of Motor Vehicles, Elderly Drivers, Independent Living, Quality of Life --- ### [Does a Nursing Home Take Everything When You Need Nursing Home Care?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/does-a-nursing-home-take-everything-when-you-need-nursing-home-care/) **Published:** May 29, 2018 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Some people believe nursing homes impoverish their residence.](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Empty-Wallet-white-border-1.jpg "Photo of person's hands holding an empty wallet - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Empty-Wallet-white-border-1.jpg)We have heard variations of the myth over the years: “A nursing home will take everything.” Savvy people rely on facts, not myths, and prepare for nursing home care before a health crisis strikes. Those people use the facts and laws to plan ahead and protect property and savings lawfully and legitimately. This article presents the facts. It also gives basic information about long-term care insurance and asset protection planning for savvy people. ## **Nursing Home Fees – No Free Ride** Nursing homes provide health care goods and services to elderly and disabled patients. A nursing home expects patients to pay for those goods and services. Nursing homes do not seize and sell people’s property, but they do expect payment. The nursing home does not care whether the patient pays directly, through insurance, or through a combination of Medicare, insurance, and Medicaid. If a patient does not make sure that the nursing home gets paid, Indiana law allows the nursing home to discharge the patient. ## **Nursing Home Costs – Over $77,000/Year and Rising** The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) regulates nursing homes and administers the Medicaid system that pays many patients’ nursing home bills. According to the [FSSA website](https://www.in.gov/fssa/files/Medicaid_PM_3000.pdf), private pay nursing home care cost $6,439 per month as of July 1, 2017. The average annual nursing home cost exceeds $77,000 per year and rises each year by about 5%. Those costs overrun most retirees’ incomes, and cause some retirees to drain savings and sell property. ## **Medicare Pays Sometimes, But Only Briefly** Some people believe that their health insurance or Medicare coverage will always pay for nursing home care. Those people believe a myth, because strict rules control Medicare and a Medicare supplemental insurance policy coverage. Medicare and most Medicare supplemental insurance policies limit coverage to the first 100 days of nursing facility care. Worse yet, several eligibility requirements disqualified many patients for any coverage. **(1)** Medicare will not pay cover a patient who transfers directly from home to a nursing home or rehabilitation facility. **(2)** A patient’s hospital admission on “observation” status ruins Medicare nursing home coverage. **(3)** The patient must stay in the hospital on “inpatient” status through at least two consecutive midnights. **(4)** Previous nursing home or rehabilitation admissions can use of all or part of the 100 days. **(5)** Medicare coverage will stop if the patient refuses to cooperate or the facility determines that the patient no longer benefits from skilled care services. ## **Long-Term Care Insurance – The Best Long-Term Care Asset Protection Tool** Long-term care insurance provides the best long-term care asset protection. Long-term care insurance premiums vary depending on a patient’s age and health conditions (much like factors determining life insurance premiums). Long-term care insurance premiums can cost $3,000 or more per year for an individual and $5,000 or more per year for a married couple. Those costs discourage some people from buying long-term care insurance. Other people procrastinate until health problems make them uninsurable. ## **Long-Term Care Asset Protection Planning Without Long-Term Care Insurance** An experienced elder law attorney can help protect some property and savings from nursing home costs without long-term care insurance. Unfortunately, too many people waste time and money on advice from people who are not experienced elder law attorneys. ## **Community Spouse Protection** Medicaid law provides asset protection opportunities for a nursing home resident’s spouse living at home (The law refers to the spouse as the “community spouse.” An experienced elder law attorney can help a community spouse take advantage of those protections. An asset protection plan can help a community spouses keep a car, home, other real estate, and substantial savings. ## **Asset Protection Planning for Single People** A single person protect property and savings in most cases. A married couple with a community spouse can protect assets more easily, but an experienced elder law attorney can help protect assets in some of the worst cases. A carefully designed asset protection plan can often help protect more than half of an unmarried nursing home resident’s property and savings. ## **Consult an Elder Law Attorney Before a Health Crisis Strikes** Every myth begins with a shred of truth. The belief that nursing homes “take” people’s property and savings is a myth. Part of the truth behind the myth is that nursing home care is expensive. The rest of the truth is that people who do not plan ahead must often sell property and wipeout savings to pay nursing home expenses. Savvy people get sound advice and guidance from experienced elder law attorneys to protect their homes and hard-earned savings. ## **About the Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents. Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2018 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** 100 days, Admission, Community spouse, Elder Law, Hospital, Inpatient Status, Long-term care, Long-term care insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare supplemental insurance, Nursing home, Observation Status, Rehabilitation Facility **Tags:** 100 days, asset protection, elder law attorney, Hospital Admission, Inpatient Status, Long-term care insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare supplemental insurance, nursing home, Observation Status, rehabilitation facility --- ### [Hoosier Health Care Advance Directive Options May Improve](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/indiana-health-care-advance-directive-options-may-improve/) **Published:** February 28, 2019 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** Indiana health care advance directive options may improve in 2019. If Indiana passes 2019 House Bill 1516 (HB 1516), then the law will upgrade how Hoosiers plan for future health care decisions. This article describes current health care advance directive laws and how the new law may help Indiana health care patients plan for emergency health care and end-of-life decisions. **Content:** ![Photo of an ambulance speeding through traffic at nighttime](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Ambulance-speeding-through-traffic-at-nighttime-Shutterstock-ID-134436836-cleanfotos-HLPC-1024x536.jpg "Ambulance speeding through traffic at nighttime - Shutterstock ID 134436836 - cleanfotos - Hawkins Elder Law PC")Does the patient in this ambulance have a health care advance directiveIndiana health care advance directive options may improve in 2019. If Indiana passes 2019 House Bill 1516 (HB 1516), then the law will upgrade how Hoosiers plan for future health care decisions. This article describes current health care advance directive laws and how the new law may help Indiana health care patients. ### **Advance Directive Explanation** An advance directive is a person’s written plan for future health care decisions. Some advance directives say what kinds of health care people want to receive or avoid, and other advance directives appoint and empower decision-makers. Advance directives include appointments of health care representatives, living wills, and several other kinds of health care decision tools. ### **Indiana’s 26-Year Old Advance Directive Laws** Terminally ill and chronically ill patients have received huge benefits from Indiana’s 2016 Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment (POST) law. Compared to the “all or nothing” limitations of living wills and do not resuscitate (DNR) orders, POST forms are much more powerful health care planning tools. The 2018 POST form lets patients and their doctors customize treatment plans with more than 5 categories of pre-planning options. ### **HB 1516’s Advance Directives Improvements** POST solves some problems, but many weaknesses remain in Indiana’s health consent laws. Physicians and lawyers for more than a decade, so a team of physicians, professors, legislators, and lawyers formed to update Indiana’s 26-year-old medical consent laws. HB 1516 updates the current laws to address many of this century’s important issues, such as nontraditional families, electronic records, and health care providers with advanced nursing degrees. The bill offers more useful medical decision tools for health care providers and their patients. ### **Current Advance Directives “Grandfathered”** If Indiana passes HB 1516, it will take effect on July 1, 2019, but it would not invalidate people’s current living wills, health care powers of attorney, and appointments of health care representatives. However, all new advance directives made after December 31, 2022, must satisfy the requirements of the new law. ### **Make an Advance Directive Now** People should not wait for the new law to take effect before making advance directives, because they may need emergency health care before July 1, 2019. Also, existing laws and HB 1516 provide plenty of flexibility to make powerful advance directives now, so there is no reason to wait for HB 1516 to take effect. ### **More Advance Directive Reading Material** Readers can find more advance directive information and resources on these webpages: **Indiana General Assembly website for HB 1516**: **Indiana State Department of Health Advance Directives Resource Center**: **National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine**: **Indiana Legal Services, Inc.**: **IU School of Medicine:** I**ndiana Donor Network:** **www.hawkinselderlaw.com:** - - - - - ## **About the Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) have practiced in the areas of trusts, estates, and elder law for over 26 years. Both lawyers are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). © Copyright 2019 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Advance Directives, Anatomical Gifts, Appointment of Health Care Representative, End of Life Decisions, Health Care Power of Attorney, Living Will Declaration, Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment, POST, Power of Attorney **Tags:** Anatomical Gifts, Appointment of Health Care Representative, Health Care Advance Directive, Health Care Power of Attorney, Living Will Declaration, Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment, post --- ### [Joint Bank Accounts & Other Property Transfers To Survivors - Part 1](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/joint-bank-accounts-other-property-transfers-to-survivors-part-1/) **Published:** April 13, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![IMG_20150412_170002721](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/IMG_20150412_170002721-1024x576.jpg "IMG_20150412_170002721 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/IMG_20150412_170002721.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] This article is the first part of a two-part series of about joint bank accounts and other kinds of ownership of bank accounts and investments ([Click here to read Part 2](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/joint-bank-accounts-other-property-transfers-to-survivors-part-2/)). We have seen many avoidable cases of error, fraud, and abuse over the years. In many cases, people created accounts without understanding their choices. They expected bank or investment company representatives to understand their goals and warn them about legal traps and pitfalls, but banks and other financial institution employees cannot read minds and give legal advice. You must know that consequences of your own banking and investment decisions. **Co-ownership** We call two or more people listed as co-owners of anything “cotenants.” Unmarried cotenants can own assets as tenants in common (often abbreviated as “TIC”) or joint tenants with rights of survivorship (often abbreviated as “JTWROS” or “JTEN”). Indiana law presumes that cotenants of a bank or investment account are joint tenants with rights of survivorship unless the account records specify otherwise. The law presumes that cotenants of real estate are tenants in common unless the cotenants are married to each other at the time that they of acquire the real estate, and we call a married couple’s co-tenancy tenancy by the entirety (often abbreviated as “TBE”). The law also presumes a joint tenancy with rights of survivorship (JTEN) when a married couple acquires tangible personal property (stuff other than land that you can touch and move – more information about tangible and intangible property appears in our blog article called *[Untouchable Stuff (Intangible Property)](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/untouchable-stuff-intangible-property/)*). **Life Estate and Remainder Interests** A real estate owner can transfer ownership of real estate to a co-owner while reserving the right of the transferring owner to use and control the real estate for that owner’s lifetime. The reserved use and control right is a “life estate” and the transferred ownership is the “remainder interest.” The life estate owner, called the “life tenant,” can live in a house on the real estate and collect rental income from farm land. The remainder interest owner has no right to use the real estate during the life tenant’s lifetime, but no one can interfere with the remainder interest owner’s right to have complete and unlimited ownership of the real estate after the life tenant’s death. **Survivorship** The papers that you sign to open a new bank account may determine who gets your money when you die. When cotenants own an asset as tenants in common (TIC), the share of a deceased cotenant passes to the deceased person’s heirs or the beneficiaries of the person’s last will and testament. If the co-tenants are joint tenants with rights of survivorship (JTEN) or tenants by the entirety (TBE), the surviving cotenant will receive the deceased co-tenant’s share regardless of whether the deceased co-tenant left a last will and testament. An individual or cotenants can have an additional kind of ownership known as Payable on Death (usually a bank account abbreviated “POD”) or Transfer on Death (real estate and most other assets other than IRAs, life insurance policies, and bank accounts, abbreviated “TOD”) in which the owner identifies one or more beneficiaries on the account ownership records by adding the applicable “POD” or “TOD” after the owner’s name and before the beneficiaries’ names (for example, Kermit Frog POD Bull Frog). **Stay Tuned For Part 2** Our next article will conclude this topic. We encourage readers to ask questions or suggest ideas for other topics by posting comments on our blog on this website or on our [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC) page, tweeting to Jeff Hawkins on Twitter ([@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC "Jeff Hawkins twitter web link")) or calling Hawkins Law PC at 812-268-8777. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Attorney-in-Fact, Deed, Estate, Executor, IRA, Joint Bank Account, Last Will and Testament, Life Insurance, Personal representative, POD, Power of Attorney, Probate, Retirement Plan, Revocable Trust, Surviving spouse, TOD, Trust **Tags:** beneficiaries, death, estate, estate plan, IRA, joint accounts, joit tenants with rights of suvivorship, last will and testament, power of attorney, real estate, survivorship, tenants by the entirety, tenants in common, trusts, wills --- ### [Joint Bank Accounts & Other Property Transfers To Survivors - Part 2](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/joint-bank-accounts-other-property-transfers-to-survivors-part-2/) **Published:** April 18, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![IMG_20150412_170002721](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/IMG_20150412_170002721-1024x576.jpg "IMG_20150412_170002721 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/IMG_20150412_170002721.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] This article concludes a two-part series of about joint bank accounts and other kinds of asset co-ownership ([click here to read Part 1](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/joint-bank-accounts-other-property-transfers-to-survivors-part-1/)). **Joint Accounts – Name Sequence** Some people mistakenly think that it makes a difference whether someone’s name appears first or second on a joint account. It is common for a financial institution to use the Social Security number of the first listed account owner as the accounts tax identification number, but the name sequence is meaningless otherwise. **“And/Or”** Also, we still see the “and/or” notation on some bank accounts. We think banks or other institutions developed this notation as a shortcut for joint account pre-printed account forms that lacked enough space to identify accounts correctly. The notation confuses people about whether the account is a tenancy in common (TIC) or a joint tenancy with rights of survivorship (JTEN), so we discourage everyone from using that designation. **Be Careful With Multi-Party Accounts.** Multi-party accounts (co-tenancy accounts) are simple estate planning devices that people can establish without complex wills or trusts. People often mess up their estate plans, however, by adding one of their children’s names on accounts so that the younger person can pay bills during the parents’ illness or after the parents’ deaths. Unfortunately, as Part 1 of this series explained, Indiana law presumes that multiple names appear together in account ownership records, the people share ownership as joint tenants with rights of survivorship (JTEN). Ownership of the joint tenancy account will pass to the surviving cotenant regardless of whether the deceased tenant’s last will and testament specifies distribution to all of the children. If you insist on adding someone’s name to account for convenience bill payment, avoid the survivorship problem by asking the bank to designate the other person as an agent. Preferably, make a power of attorney that authorizes someone to pay your bills if you become disabled and designate someone in your will as the personal representative (sometimes called and “executor”) of your estate after your death. If other estate planning objectives justify creating a revocable trust, you can also open accounts to be owned by the trust and designate successor trustees to take over for you after your death or if you should become disabled. **Estate Planning with Co-ownership** People often ask us to “put the children on the deed to keep the nursing home from getting it.” It is possible in a small percentage of cases to protect real estate from nursing home expenses by creating co-ownership, but Medicaid (the government program that pays nursing home bills for patients that cannot pay) disqualifies most people for creating co-ownership. Alternatively, joint bank and investment do not trigger Medicaid disqualification, but Medicaid considers the full value of such accounts to belong to the nursing home resident unless the other co-tenants can prove that they deposited their own money in the accounts. We use all kinds of co-ownership systems as estate planning tools, selecting one system or another like a mechanic selects the best tool for a particular job. Using co-ownership for estate planning without reputable legal advice is a lot like performing surgery on yourself with pliers and steak knives – you may fix part of your problem, but you may bleed to death in the attempt. We encourage readers to ask questions or suggest ideas for other topics by posting comments on our blog on this website or on our [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC "Hawkins Law PC Facebook pagelink") page, tweeting to Jeff Hawkins on Twitter ([@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC "Link to Jeff Hawkins' Twitter page")) or calling Hawkins Law PC at 812-268-8777. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Deed, Estate, Estate Planning, Joint Bank Account, Last Will and Testament, Medicaid, Nonprobate transfers, Nursing home, POD, Power of Attorney, Social Security, Transfer penalty **Tags:** estate, estate plan, last will and testament, Medicaid, nursing home, power of attorney, real estate, trusts --- ### [MEDICAID & PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENTS - PART 1](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/medicaid-prenuptial-agreements-part-1/) **Published:** March 28, 2019 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** This article begins a 2-part explanation of how Indiana Medicaid deals with a remarried couple’s assets when one spouse requires nursing home care if the couple made a prenuptial agreement before they married. **Content:** ![Photo of a senior couple gazing into each other's eyes while getting married on the beach](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Senior-Couple-Getting-Married-In-Beach-Ceremony-Shutterstock-ID-142807579-by-Monkey-Business-Images-1-1024x538.jpg "Senior Couple Getting Married In Beach Ceremony Shutterstock ID 142807579 by Monkey Business Images - Hawkins Elder Law PC")Senior Couples Happy Beach Wedding with Prenuptial Agreement A lawyer asked us recently to explain how Indiana Medicaid treats prenuptial agreements. The lawyer’s question referred to our blog comments on the subject in the April 2017 article titled: “[Getting Married? Get a Prenuptial Agreement First!](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/getting-married-get-a-prenuptial-agreement-first/)” We figured that our explanation of the matter may be good information for the blog, so we are circling back to the topic. This article begins a 2-part explanation of how Indiana Medicaid deals with a remarried couple’s assets when one spouse requires nursing home care if the couple made a prenuptial agreement before they married. ## How Medicaid Deals with Prenuptial Agreements – First: Medicaid Basics for Married Couples Most experienced elder law attorneys understand how Medicaid treats prenuptial agreements. Lawyers that do not practice elder law sometimes hire us as advisors to guide them when their clients required nursing home care. Our explanation to the lawyer that asked about our prenuptial agreement blog article began with an explanation of how Medicaid treats married couples. ## Couples’ Two Medicaid Steps Medicaid has special rules for helping a married person pay for nursing home care. Medicaid’s spousal impoverishment rules refer to the ill or injured spouse as the “institutional spouse,” and refer to the spouse living outside of the nursing home as the “community spouse.” The rules require the state Medicaid system to measure the total value of the couple’s money and other assets in 2 steps. This measurement of the couple’s wealth includes most assets that the couple owns jointly and separately. ## Snapshot Date and Snapshot Value In the first step, Medicaid measures the couple’s asset values that existed on the 1st day of the institutional spouse’s unbroken 30-day stay in one or more health care facilities. For example, the institutional spouse may go to the hospital after a stroke, and then transfer to a nursing home or rehab facility. If the institutional spouse goes directly from the hospital to the nursing home, the time spent in each facility counts toward the 30 days. Medicaid refers to this first asset management date as the “snapshot date,” and to the couple’s asset value as the “snapshot value.” ## Assets Exempted from Snapshot Value Medicaid exempts some assets from the snapshot value. For example, Medicaid disregards real estate owned by the community spouse, one vehicle, and the community spouse’s IRA accounts. Medicaid counts all other assets, including joint accounts, life insurance policies, and the institutional spouse’s IRA accounts. The remaining assets are counted as the couple’s “resources.” ## Resource Allowances The Medicaid eligibility targets differ for the community spouse and institutional spouse because each spouse has a different “resource allowance.” The institutional spouse only has a $2,000 resource allowance, but the community spouse’s resource allowance may be much larger. The community spouse can keep the exempt assets that we previously mentioned in this article. The community spouse’s resource allowance also includes up to 50% of the couple’s resources, but not more than a maximum value ($126,420 in 2019). The federal government provides the same kind of cost-of-living increase for the community spouse’s resource value that the government provides for Social Security cost-of-living adjustments. ## Spend Down After Medicaid determines the snapshot value, the couple begins what some people call the “spend down.” The spend down is a process for the couple to reduce their combined resource value until the institutional spouse qualifies for Medicaid. ## Resource Allowance and Spend Down Example This simple example shows how the process works: Bill (the institutional spouse) and Sue (the community spouse) have a house, a $20,000 car, a $20,000 truck, $50,000 in the checking account, Sue’s $50,000 IRA, and Bill’s $100,000 IRA. The house, one car, and Sue’s IRA are exempt, but the truck, the checking account funds, and Bill’s IRA are part of the $170,000 snapshot value. Bill can keep $2,000 and Sue can keep $85,000 (50% of $170,000), but they must reduce the snapshot value by $83,000 ($170,000 – $85,000 – $2,000 = $83,000). Once they reduce the asset value to $83,000, Bill should qualify for Medicaid. ## Next Month: Bill’s Medicaid Eligibility and the Prenuptial Agreement We will explain the rest of the Medicaid eligibility process for Bill and Sue next month. The explanation will also explain how Medicaid treats prenuptial agreements like the one that Bill and Sue made before their marriage. ## About the Authors [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). ## More Information Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2019 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Community spouse, Community Spouse Resource Allowance, Hospital, Institutional Spouse, Institutional Spouse Resource Allowance, Medicaid, Nursing home, Premarital Agreement, Prenuptial Agreement, Resources, Snapshot Date, Snapshot Value, Spousal Impoverishment, Stroke **Tags:** Community Spouse, Community Spouse Resource Allowance, Institutional Spouse, Institutional Spouse Resource Allowance, Medicaid, Resource Allowance, Snapshot Date, Snapshot Value, Spend down --- ### [Personal Business Records Organization Tips](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/personal-business-records-organization-tips/) **Published:** February 1, 2019 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** Few people manage their personal business records properly, so this article gives record-keeping tips. **Content:** ![Personal business records organization example: file folder in a file cabinet marked Files to Keep, 2019 photo by Hawkins Law PC](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/File-folder-in-a-file-cabinet-marked-Files-to-Keep-2019-photo-by-Hawkins-Law-PC-FB-1024x511.jpg "Personal business records organization example - Files to Keep, 2019 photo by Hawkins Law PC - Hawkins Elder Law PC")Personal business records organization example Photo of a file folder in a file cabinet with a note marked Files to Keep People loved tips that we shared in a recent seminar. Few people understand the importance of organizing personal business records properly, so this article gives personal business record-keeping tips. ### **Why is organizing personal business records Important?** Many people rely on memory instead of written personal business records, but what good is memory after a person dies or suffers a disabling injury or illness? How will family members or friends know where to look for information without well-organized records? In our experience, poor planning often delays big decisions and causes expensive problems. People can avoid those problems by organizing personal business records regularly. ### What kinds of records should people keep and organize? We cannot offer a list of records, because the different kinds of information and records that may be important to people is limitless. To keep things simple, we suggest organizing personal business records into 7 basic categories: #### **(1) Identification**. Identification includes: - driver’s licenses or ID cards; - Social Security cards; - Medicare and health insurance cards; - DD 214 military discharge and other military service-related records; and - website usernames and passwords. #### **(2) Relationships**. Relationship records include: - marriage certificates (even for prior marriages); - divorce decrees and property settlement agreements (even after remarriage); - death certificates for deceased parents, spouses, and children; - birth certificates for all close family members; - adoption decrees for adopted children; and - court orders approving name changes. #### **(3) Assets**. Everyone should maintain complete asset records for ***at least 5 years***. Asset records include account agreements and statements for all kinds of assets. - bank accounts; - life insurance policies; - annuity contracts; - investment accounts; and - retirement accounts. Bank accounts may include: - certificates of deposit (CDs); - money market accounts; - checking accounts; and - savings accounts. Investments may include: - small businesses; - farmland and rental houses; - “non-qualified” deferred and immediate annuities; - stocks in publicly traded companies; - bonds (including corporate bonds, municipal bonds, and US savings bonds); and - mutual funds. Retirement accounts may include: - IRAs; - 401(k) plans; - “qualified” or “IRA” annuities; - Roth IRAs; - deferred compensation plans; and - all other kinds of plans that grow on a tax-free or tax-deferred basis. #### **(4) Income**. Income includes: - rent from rental properties; - royalties from coal, oil, gas, and other minerals; - royalties from patents, copyrights, and other intellectual property; - pensions; - Social Security benefits; and - income from current employment. We encourage everyone to keep copies of income tax returns for ***at least 5 years*** for 4 reasons : 1. Income tax returns help identify income-producing assets for which someone has misplaced ownership records. 2. Income tax returns remind taxpayers of past expense deductions that may be deductible in future tax returns. 3. if a tax advisor dies, moves, or retires, old returns can help a new tax advisor get up to speed. 4. State officials can require copies of the last 5 income tax returns in a nursing home resident’s Medicaid application process. The Social Security Administration issues an important notice each fall about cost-of-living changes to benefits that will take effect in January. Medicaid requires a copy of the notice during the Medicaid application process. People should also keep records about asset-based income sources. Those source records may include copies of leases and all other related records about sales or leases of coal, oil, gas, or mineral interests. #### **(5) Past Gifts**. Gifts include gift and bargain transfers of assets to church, family, and friends. - vehicles; - real estate; - life insurance policies; - money (by cash and check); and - other assets. We recommend that everyone keep complete gift records for ***at least 5 years.*** A person that fails to report a gift on a Medicaid application commits a felony, and state officials are developing creative methods to identify and track gifts. Some families can resolve gift problems and save thousands of dollars if they give us complete gift records. However, state officials deal harshly with people that withhold gift information in Medicaid applications. #### **(6) Estate Plan Documents**. We cannot list every kind of important estate plan document, but these are some common document : - powers of attorney; - pre-planned funeral arrangements; - deeds for real estate; - appointments of health care representatives; - wills; and - trust agreements. #### **(7) Your Other Important Information**. Other important records include photographs, videos, and family histories. An old tool or piece of furniture may seem worthless, but a story about an ancestor’s use of something can make it priceless. ### **Time is a records organizer’s enemy**. Delay in organization creates at least 3 big problems. First, the longer that you wait to organize personal business records, the bigger the task becomes. Second, if you wait too long to to replace a lost or destroyed record, you may not be able to replace it. Third, if you wait too long to begin organizing personal business matters, a crisis that requires organized records may strike before you finish the organization job. Therefore, we encourage everyone to begin organizing records today. The best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time, and the best way to begin organizing personal business records is one record at a time. ### **About the Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) have practiced in the areas of trusts, estates, and elder law for over 26 years. Both lawyers are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). © Copyright 2019 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** DD 214, Deed, Elder Law, Estate Planning, Family Archives, Financial Records, Health Records, Medicaid, Medicare, Nursing home, Prepaid Funeral, Retirement Plan, Social Security --- ### [Medicaid Lookback, Transfer Penalties, and Property Transfer Strategies](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/medicaid-lookback-transfer-penalties-and-property-transfer-strategies/) **Published:** November 27, 2018 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** - ![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Medicaid-Lookback-Rule-Question-Balloon-Illustration-Shutterstock-ID-510618688-by-necozawa-1024x640.jpg "Medicaid Lookback Rule Question Balloon Illustration Shutterstock ID 510618688 by necozawa - Hawkins Elder Law PC") This article includes our answers to recent questions about Indiana’s 5-year Medicaid lookback rule. The answers also explain transfer penalties, and some property transfer strategies that elder law attorneys use to protect assets from long-term health care expenses. ## 5-Year Medicaid Lookback **Inquiry** > Could my spouse and I avoid the lookback legally by purchasing my parents’ home at fair market value? If so, could my parents then gift the purchase price however they see fit? ## **Avoiding the 5-Year Medicaid Lookback** You can only “avoid” a Medicaid lookback by avoiding the need for long-term health care and Medicaid help for at least 5 years after an asset transfer. However, the lookback is not the question’s real issue. The real issue is Indiana Medicaid’s transfer penalty system. ## **Medicaid Lookback Function** The 5-year lookback period is like a statute of limitations. The lookback protects people from transfer penalties. A transfer penalty is temporary Medicaid eligibility disqualification. The lookback period is 5 years before someone applies for Medicaid. If a person makes a gift before the lookback, Medicaid will not penalize the person for the gift. ## Medicaid Transfer Penalty Explanation Indiana’s transfer penalty disqualifies a person for Medicaid benefits if the person has transferred money or property for less than fair market value during the lookback. If a person sells something (usually to family members) for less than fair market value, the value difference is called the “uncompensated” value. Indiana calculates the transfer penalty by dividing the uncompensated value by the average cost of a 1-month stay in an Indiana nursing home ($6,527 as of July 1, 2018). ## Medicaid Transfer Penalty Example Let’s assume, for example, that a person sells a $150,000 home to family members for $130,000, and then needs nursing home and Medicaid assistance less than 5 years later. The sale would be within the lookback, so Indiana impose a transfer penalty on the seller. Indiana would consider the sale to be a sale for $130,000 and an uncompensated (or gift) transfer of $20,000. Indiana would calculate amount of time for the seller’s Medicaid disqualification in these steps: - Divide the uncompensated value by the $6,527 average Indiana monthly nursing home room and board ($20,000 ÷ $6,527/month = 3.064194883 months). - Convert the decimal partial month into the number of days in the partial month (Step 2: 0.064194883 months x 30.42 days= 1.952808335 days). - Round the number of days up to the next whole number of days (Round 1.952808335 days up to 2 days). - Combine the whole number of months with the whole number of days to get the complete transfer penalty duration (3 months and 2 days). - ## Asset Protection Transfer Strategies The best asset protection strategy against long-term care expenses is to purchase long-term care insurance before a health crisis strikes. people that do not have long-term care insurance can sometimes protect some of their assets with other strategies, but they cannot protect all of their assets. The rest of this article describes two of those strategies in extremely basic terms. ### **Real Estate Sale/Leaseback Strategy** A transfer strategy that works for some families involves selling a home to family and leasing (often referred to as “renting”) it back from the family. The seller then pays rent to the buyer and continues to live in the home as a tenant. The strategy is simple, but the seller loses the homestead deduction and other property tax deductions. Additionally, buyer should insure the real estate on a commercial property owner’s insurance policy that may be more expensive than a homeowner’s insurance policy. ### Real Estate Remainder Interest Sale to Irrevocable Trust Another real estate protection strategy involves selling partial property ownership to a trust. The partial property ownership, known as a “remainder interest” assures that the trust will gain full property ownership when the seller dies. The trust is specially designed to preserve certain state and federal income tax benefits for the seller. The trust buys a remainder interest from the homeowner, and the homeowner keeps the right to live in the home (the right is called a “life estate”). A family member may contribute money to the trust to finance the trust’s remainder interest purchase. The remainder interest is worth less than the full property value, so the trust does not have to pay the full property value. The seller’s reserved property rights qualify for property tax deductions and eligibility for homeowner’s property insurance. If the seller needs nursing home care in the future, only the money that the trust pays for the remainder interest purchase is exposed to long-term care expenses. ## Remainder Interest Gift to Irrevocable Trust A homeowner with money invested in savings or other investments may want to consider a gift strategy. A gift strategy resembles the remainder interest sale to irrevocable trust plan. Instead of selling the remainder interest, however, the person may give the remainder interest to the trust. People interested in this strategy can request further details that we can provide in a brochure by requesting the brochure through our “[contact us](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/contact-us/)” form hawkinselderlaw.com. ## Strategy Appropriateness No single estate planning strategy satisfies every situation. We evaluate the appropriateness of all strategic alternatives for each client after meeting the client and evaluating the client’s family issues and financial situation. We only recommend strategies that offer valuable benefits and create minimal problems. As we have indicated in other articles, this kind of planning requires an experienced elder law attorney’s expertise. In other words, don’t try this at home kids. ## About the Authors [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) have practiced in the areas of trusts, estates, and elder law for over 25 years. Both lawyers are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx).Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys),and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp).Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) andthe [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html);and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/).© Copyright 2018 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Uncategorized --- ### [Need-Based VA Pension Rules Change October 2018](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/need-based-va-pension-rules-change-october-2018/) **Published:** October 2, 2018 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** ![2018 Need-Based VA Pension Rule Change](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Veteran-Saluting-Shutterstock-ID-588836057-by-flysnowfly.jpg "Veteran Saluting the American Flag, Shutterstock ID 588836057, by flysnowfly - Hawkins Elder Law PC") The US Department of Veterans Affairs (the VA) published a new final rule on September 18, 2018. The new rule radically alters eligibility requirements for need-based VA pensions. This article summarizes and explains new need-based VA pension eligibility requirements that take effect on October 18, 2018. ## **Affected Veterans & Family Members** The revised pension requirements will affect qualifying veterans, spouses, surviving spouses, and parents of veterans, all of whom this article addresses with references to “veterans.” The need-based VA pensions include financial assistance for homebound veterans and veterans needing aid and attendance of another person. ## **Pre-October 2018 Need-Based VA Pension Eligibility Requirements** The VA provides basic information about need-based VA pension eligibility requirements on its website at . Eligible veterans under the new and existing rules must have served at least 90 days of active duty, including at least 1 day of wartime service (the VA website has a web link to a list of periods of wartime). Veterans serving after September 7, 1980, must generally have served at least 24 months or the full period of enlistment or commission. Veterans must also have income and wealth levels below income and “net worth” standards, and they must fall within 1 of these categories: - Age 65 or older with limited or no income - Totally and permanently disabled - A patient in a nursing home receiving skilled nursing care - Receiving Social Security Disability Insurance - Receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) The VA stated in its rule change announcement, “the way that net worth decisions are made now is often inconsistent and arbitrary.” (Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 181, page 47248). Additionally, the VA rules unintentionally encouraged veterans to transfer assets to family members in order to reduce their wealth levels and meet the net worth requirements. Unfortunately, the health of veterans that meet the health needs requirements often declines until veterans required nursing home care, and their gifts to qualify for need-based VA pensions disqualify them for Medicaid benefits (see article on this subject that ). ## **Need-Based VA Pension Eligibility Requirements Beginning October 18, 2018** Most basic need-based VA pension requirements, including active duty service requirements, will remain in effect after the October 2018 rule change. Major eligibility rule changes include: - **Net Worth Limit** = $123,600: - includes Social Security and other annual income - excludes the applicant’s primary residence and up to 2 acres - excludes unmarketable property - allows deductions for certain deductible expenses - **Transfer Penalty** – eligibility disqualification for making gifts and certain other asset transfers: - excludes gifts and transfers made before the 3-year look-back period - transfer penalties do not last longer than 5 years - certain gifts and transfers do not trigger transfer penalties ## **Concerns about the New Rule** Critics worry that the new VA pension requirements will not deal compassionately with veterans. Issues affecting veterans facing special health and cost-of-living problems raise particular concerns. The new standardized net worth limit provide clarity, but the clarity may eliminate compassionate flexibility. > The VA’s rule change publication includes this general policy statement about transfer penalties: > VA pension is a needs-based benefit and is not intended to preserve the estates of individuals who have the means to support themselves. > Accordingly, a claimant may not create pension entitlement by transferring covered assets. VA will review the terms and conditions of asset transfers made during the 36-month look-back period to determine whether the transfer constituted transfer of a covered asset. > However, VA will disregard asset transfers made before October 18, 2018. > > 47272 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 181 / Tuesday, September 18, 2018 / Rules and Regulations available online at: Unscrupulous annuity promoters have advised many veterans in recent years to create irrevocable trusts, purchased annuities, and transfer assets to family members. Elder law attorneys have advised veterans against those strategies to avoid Medicaid transfer penalties. The VA says in its publication of the new rule that it will extend grace to veterans for transfers made “as the result of fraud, misrepresentation, or unfair business practice related to the sale or marketing of financial products or services for purposes of establishing entitlement to VA pension.” ## **About the Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) have practiced in the areas of trusts, estates, and elder law for over 25 years. Both lawyers are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). © Copyright 2018 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Aid and Attendance, Department of Veterans Affairs, Gift, Lookback period, Medicaid, Nursing home, Social Security Disability, SSI, Surviving spouse, Transfer penalty, Veterans benefits **Tags:** 5-year lookback period, Department of Veterans Affairs, Medicaid, Net Worth, nursing home, Skilled nursing care, Social Security Disability, SSI, Supplemental Security Income, VA Aid and Attendance, VA pension --- ### [Estate Plans Must Clarify "Right Things"](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/estate-plans-must-clarify-right-things/) **Published:** October 2, 2018 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** When an estate plan depends on someone to "do the right thing," someone will inevitably dispute **Content:** ## **[![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Do-the-Right-Thing.jpg "Do the Right Thing message typed on vintage typewriter, By Kunal Mehta, Shutterstock photo ID: 260313644 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Do-the-Right-Thing.jpg)Loaded Language: Do the Right Thing** The four-word phrase, “do the right thing,” occurs in many estate plan disasters. The phrase is simple, but people overload it with unbearable importance. The meaning of “do the right thing” may be different, depending on whether the speaker uses the phrase in instruction, assurance, hope, or accusation. This article discourages the reader from building an estate plan or business decision on “the right thing,” because it’s a shaky foundation. ## **Miscommunication of Estate Plan Instructions: Do the Right Thing** The familiar story of a parent instructing the oldest or most dependable child to “do the right thing” rarely ends well. First, the parent gives the child fiduciary responsibility without detailed instructions. Then, parent makes ambiguous statements to the family that the child will “do the right thing.” This common estate plan pattern usually produces heartbreaking results, especially in families with stepchildren. ## **Misconceived Estate Plan Expectations: Do the Right Thing** Inaccurate estate plan expectations can cause as much family dysfunction as sloppy planning and poor communication. Consider, for instance, children’s expectation of their parent’s equal estate plan distributions. However, the parent may want to reward a local child for extra attentiveness. What do you think “do the right thing” will mean to the kids that moved to the city when they find out that their shares of the trust or estate are smaller than their local sibling’s share? Of course, the urbanites will expect their small-town sibling to share equally regardless of his entitlement. ## **Definition Problem of the “Right Thing”** Have you ever heard someone use an old word with a new meaning? Words and phrases change meaning over time, so poor estate plan word choices create big problems. Incomplete or unclear estate plan details describing the “right thing” contribute to family strife and heartache. ## **Character Problem of the “Right Thing”** A common estate plan and business decision failure occurs when the “right thing” depends on the “wrong person.” An incorruptible person resists temptation and coercion, but that kind of person is uncommon. A trustee, attorney-in-fact (under a power of attorney), or personal representative (under a last will and testament) must the incorruptible. Unfortunately, it is not unusual for a person’s materialistic and aggressive spouse to turn the person against his or her family. Other common factors behind failures to “do the right thing” include health crises, financial distress, and addictions to such things as gambling, alcohol, drugs, and pornography. ## **Ability and Willingness Problem of the “Right Thing”** No estate plan or business decision is stronger than the ability and willingness of the person on whom it depends. Even clearly communicated and confirmed instructions to an honorable person may become impossible or undesirable. For example, a task’s performance may become too difficult or undesirable if its cost escalates or a better alternative emerges. A great estate plan empowers reliable people with thorough details and flexible alternatives. ## **An Estate Plan for the “Best Thing” Achieves the “Right Thing”** An experienced estate planning attorney can help a family avoid these heartaches and disappointments. An expert estate planning attorney asks probing questions that expose vulnerabilities in a client’s assumptions and expectations. After the attorney and client discover hidden problems, they can plan with flexibility and detailed instructions to overcome the problems. Then, the estate plan’s flexibility and thoroughness can help the right people achieve the best possible outcome. After all, if an excellent estate plan can produce the best outcome, isn’t that the “right thing?” ## **About the Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents. Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), find us on [Google Maps](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Hawkins+Law+PC/@39.1044068,-87.4074851,18z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x886d8f97be94d401:0xa49a70dc71d2ebaf!8m2!3d39.1062299!4d-87.4090927?hl=en&authuser=0), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, follow us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/hawkins-law-pc/), and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC), or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2018 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Attorney-in-Fact, Business, Estate, Estate Planning, Fiduciary, Gift, Last Will and Testament, Personal representative, Power of Attorney, Stepchildren, Trust, Trustee **Tags:** attorney-in-fact, do the right thing, estate, estate plan, estate planning attorney, fiduciary, last will and testament, personal representative, stepchildren, trust, trustee --- ### [Medicaid 5-Year Lookback Q & A](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/medicaid-5-year-lookback-q-a/) **Published:** October 2, 2018 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** We received a question through hawkinselderlaw.com about Medicaid eligibility, transfer penalties, and the 5-year lookback period. This article restates the Medicaid eligibility question without identifying the inquiring person and shows the typical response that we give to these questions. **Content:** ![Question and Answer About Medicaid 5-year Lookback Period, Shutterstock Photo ID 1186435291, Image by iQoncept](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/QA-Questions-and-Answers-Session-Microphone-Shutterstock-ID-1186435291-By-iQoncept.jpg "Q&A Questions and Answers Session Microphone, Shutterstock ID 1186435291, By iQoncept - Hawkins Elder Law PC")Question and Answer About Medicaid 5 year Lookback PeriodWe received a question through hawkinselderlaw.com about Medicaid eligibility, transfer penalties, and the 5-year lookback period. This article restates the Medicaid 5-year lookback question without identifying the inquiring person and shows the typical response that we give to these questions. ## **Question:** “I inherited a house and land that my family has owned for many years. I want to pass ownership of the property down through future generations of my family. A lawyer advised me to transfer ownership of the property so that my children would own it as tenants in common. How will this affect the 5-year lookback period under Medicaid law if I need nursing home care someday?” ## **Hawkins Law PC Answer:** You did not tell us where you live, so we presume that you live in Indiana. If you do not live in Indiana, please let us know the state in which you live and the state where the real estate is located. If you live in Illinois, Jeff Hawkins can answer your question because he is licensed to practice in Illinois. If you do not reside in Indiana or Illinois, we would refer you to duly licensed counsel in the state where you reside. ### **5-Year Lookback** Federal law requires each state to determine whether a person applying for Medicaid assistance to pay for nursing home care or similar long-term care (let’s call the care “LTC care”) has transferred an asset for less than the fair market value of the asset within the past 5 years (Medicaid law calls this the “5-year lookback”). The 5-year lookback is the first of two Medicaid application steps to determine whether an asset transfer will affect Medicaid eligibility. Medicaid’s 5-year lookback applies if a person transfers an asset as a pure gift or “sells” it for less than the asset’s fair market value within 5 years before applying for Medicaid to pay for LTC care. The person must report information about the transfer with other information that the state Medicaid agency requires as part of the Medicaid application process (the 1st step). ### **Transfer Penalty Calculation** The second step to consider the effect of a transfer on a person’s Medicaid eligibility depends upon state law of the state where the person lives. Normally, Medicaid law requires state Medicaid agencies to divide the uncompensated or under compensated value of the transferred asset by a value that relates to the cost of nursing home care for one month in that state. The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) divides the uncompensated value of a transferred asset by the average cost of a one month stay in an Indiana nursing home, which FSSA usually updates as of July 1 and posts on its website. FSSA’s website states that the current average cost of a one month stay in Indiana nursing home is $6,527, as of July 1, 2018. ### **Transfer Penalty Example** Consider, for example, a $99,999 uncompensated transfer (a $100,000 home sold to family for $1). FSSA calculates the penalty period by dividing the $99,000 transfer value by the $6,527 average monthly nursing cost to determine the number of months of transfer penalty ($99,999/$6,527/mo = 15.32 months, which FSSA converts to 15 months and 10 days). ### **Avoid Real Estate Partition!** We recommend that a person take an extra step to protect family heritage property instead of simply conveying the real estate to children as tenants in common. Most states have real estate partition laws that allow a real estate co-owner to force public sale of real estate and convert the co-owner’s property ownership into cash. A skillful real estate lawyer could file a partition lawsuit against his client’s co-tenants and complete a partition sale in a public auction in about 90 days after filing the lawsuit. The only thing that the partition lawsuit defendants can do to stop the partition sale is to pay enough money to convince the money-hungry co-tenant to sell the real estate to them. Many people say that their family members would never sell important family real estate. That may be true in some families, but job layoffs, serious accidents or illnesses, divorces, and drug or alcohol addiction change everything. Creditors can force and indebted property owner’s property share into a public auction to collect money from the indebted person against the other property owners’ wishes. We often use LLCs and irrevocable trusts to protect family real estate from potential threats that can lead to partition sales. The choice of strategy depends upon the family’s needs, and we customize each case to fit the circumstances. ### **Elder Law Attorneys Explain Laws and Strategies** It intrigues us that you received this advice from an elder law attorney. Some lawyers claim to be elder law attorneys, but experienced elder law attorneys normally explain transfer penalty issues when they recommend asset protection strategies that involve asset transfers. We hope the lawyer with whom you consulted offered such an explanation. ### **About the Authors** [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) have practiced in the areas of trusts, estates, and elder law for over 25 years. Both lawyers are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/). © Copyright 2018 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Advice of Elder Law Counsel, Elder Law, Long-term care, Lookback period, Medicaid, Real Estate Partition, Transfer penalty **Tags:** 5-year lookback period, FSSA, Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, long-term care, Medicaid, nursing home, Real estate partition, Transfer penalty --- ### [Young Parents Need Estate Plans](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/high-stakes-planning-for-young-parents/) **Published:** October 2, 2018 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** This article explains why young parents need to make estate plans more urgently than the older generation that raised them. **Content:** [![Young Parents Need Estate Plans](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Young-Family.jpg "Young Family - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Young-Family.jpg) Most estate planning clients begin estate planning after they reach middle-age or retirement ages and their children have reached adulthood. Ironically, young parents have much to lose by failing to plan than do people in in these later life stages. This article explains why young parents need to make estate plans more urgently than the older generation that raised them. ## Planning for Childcare People often express concerns about avoiding problems that might occur after their deaths. Thoughtful young parents often worry about who will raise their children if the parents die before their children reach adulthood. In those cases when children lose both parents, loving family members often rally to care for the children. Young parents usually do not question whether family members would have their children’s best interest at heart. The big concern for most young parents is whether caregivers will pass the parents’ values to the children about spirituality, education, health, fitness, work ethics, compassion, and healthy relationships. ## Planning for Financial Management A child’s tragic loss of parents stirs most people’s emotions. It does not diminish the tragedy, but reasonably responsible parents often hold life insurance policies and establish basic plans that enable people to care for their children. Most states also have laws that protect orphaned children. Statistically speaking, it is much more likely for one spouse to die and the other spouse to require extensive medical treatment than for both husband and wife to die in a single mishap. Serious parental disability can be a much more distressing tragedy for some young children than the consequences of the parents’ deaths. If injury or illness disables one or both of a child’s parents, the disability may deprive the child of many or all benefits of parental relationship as if the parents had died. Parental disability can trigger financial chaos that compounds and deepens a child’s tragedy even more than the unspeakable loss following a child’s parents’ deaths. In that case, the parents’ income may end, life insurance policies will not provide the relief of death benefits, and the parents’ problems can consume household wealth rapidly. ## 6 Planning Questions for Parents We encourage young parents to devote at least as much thought about disability as the gift to plans for their untimely deaths. Parents of young children should prepare to answer six preliminary questions about their estate plan objectives: 1. Who will take care of the children if at least one parent survives, but is disabled? 2. What financial resources will sustain the family if a surviving parent is disabled? 3. Who will manage the household’s legal and financial business as a fiduciary if a surviving parent is disabled? 4. Who will service healthcare representative to make healthcare decisions for the children and parents if a surviving parent is disabled? 5. Who will raise the children (as “guardian of the person”) if both parents are deceased or fully disabled? 6. Who will oversee the parents’ estates and manage life insurance proceeds and other assets for the children if both parents are deceased? ## Have Backup Plans We also believe that pessimism is an estate planner’s virtue, because planning becomes worthless if “Plan A” fails and there is no “Plan B” or “Plan C.” For example, a primary candidate to raise the children could suffer a serious health or financial setback that would prevent them from carrying out their responsibilities. Therefore, we encourage estate planning clients to consider at least one alternative candidate to fill each role in the answer to each of the six questions about candidates to take care of our clients and their children. They say youth is wasted on the young, but it can also be said that wisdom often arrives too late. Wise people try to plan effectively for all stages of life. Wise young parents plan their estates early and update their plans often. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2018 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Child Care, Disability, Estate Planning, Fiduciary, Guardian of the Person, Healthcare Representative, Life Insurance, Surviving spouse **Tags:** Child Care, estate plan, fiduciary, Guardian of the Person, Healthcare Representative --- ### [Don’t Battle Alzheimer’s Alone](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/dont-battle-alzheimers-alone/) **Published:** January 31, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![shutterstock_193496426](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/shutterstock_193496426-300x185.jpg "shutterstock_193496426 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/shutterstock_193496426.jpg) Ask anyone about Alzheimer’s disease and you will probably get shudder, grimace, and a story about a friend or family member’s tragic loss of consciousness. Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia conditions impact all of us reaches far beyond dementia patient statistics. The [Alzheimer’s Association](http://www.alz.org/index.asp "Alzheimer's Association website") reports that in 2014, Alzheimer’s disease afflicted about 14,000 Indiana residents aged 65-74 years; 45,000 aged 75-84 years; and 45,000 aged more than 85 years (with an imprecisely rounded total of 100,000 patients out of the [US Census Bureau’s 6,666,818 estimated Indiana population as of 2017](https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/in,US/PST045217)). The data for Illinois residents reveals similar population proportions with Alzheimer’s patients constituting approximately 28,000 people age 65-74 years; 89,000 875-84 years; and 94,000 more than 85 years (with an imprecisely rounded total of 210,000 patients out of a [US Census Bureau’s 12,802,023 estimated Illinois population as of 2017](https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/il,US/PST045217)). The Alzheimer’s Association reports that [60% – 80% of all dementia patients suffer from Alzheimer’s disease](http://www.alz.org/what-is-dementia.asp "Alzheimer's Association webpage explaining dementia"), which means that total dementia cases for 2014 could have fallen within the following ranges: **STATE****65-74****74-84****85+****TOTAL**Indiana17,500 – 23,33356,250 – 75,00056,250 – 75,000125,000 – 166,667Illinois35,000 – 46,667111,250 – 148,333117,500 – 156,667262,500 – 350,000Dementia devastates patients and families in many ways. The mere thought of a demented adult’s loss of the ability to live freely and function independently terrifies most people. Dementia patients that live alone often make terrible financial decisions and endanger their own health and safety. A demented patient’s spouse may feel imprisoned by the constant need to supervise an adult whose mind is decaying toward infancy. Close family members may experience loss as if part of the patient is dying each day. It is important for a dementia patient’s family members to protect themselves and the patient from as much pain and loss as possible as early as possible. First, the family needs to know what to expect. In addition, the patient needs to have someone authorized to make legal and healthcare decisions on the patient’s behalf. Furthermore, the family needs a financial strategy to prevent long-term healthcare costs from creating unnecessary financial crisis. Finally, the patient and family needs a support structure to carry the inevitable emotional and physical burdens of caring for a dementia patient. The power of information and supportive people can help family members endure dementia. The Alzheimer’s Association offers important information about dementia and Alzheimer’s disease on its website at [www.alz.org](http://www.alz.org "Alzheimer's Association home webpage"). Friends and family members that have dealt with other dementia patients, especially those who share spiritual faith, can provide invaluable emotional comfort and physical support. Perhaps most importantly with respect to legal and financial planning, early consultation with an experienced elder law attorney can make all the difference between financial catastrophe and reasonable financial security for the patient and family. A decaying mind can overload even the strongest person with an overwhelming burden of grief and loss. No one should bear that load alone. Find more information about mediation, estate and business planning, wills, trusts, and Medicaid issues for nursing home residents on this website, like our [Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC "Hawkins Law PC Facebook page"), or follow Jeff R. Hawkins on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC "Jeff Hawkins' twitter page") for the latest information. \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Jeff R. Hawkins and Jennifer J. Hawkins are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/ "Trust & Estate Specialty Board website"). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/default.asp "American College of Trust and Estate Counsel website") and the 2014-15 [Indiana State Bar Association](https://inbar.site-ym.com/ "Indiana State Bar Association website") President . © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Advance Directives, Alzheimer's, Dementia, Elder Law, Estate Planning, Long-term care, Power of Attorney **Tags:** Alzheimer's, elder law, estate planning, healthcare decisions, Medicaid, nursing home --- ### [Selling an Indiana Home Without a Realtor? (Part 1)](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/selling-an-indiana-home-without-a-realtor-part-1/) **Published:** February 26, 2018 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Photo-of-Preliminary-Documents-for-Indiana-Home-Sale-by-Hawkins-Law-PC-copyright-2018-Hawkins-Law-PC-1024x768.jpg "Photo of Preliminary Documents for Indiana Home Sale by Hawkins Law PC copyright 2018 Hawkins Law PC - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Photo-of-Preliminary-Documents-for-Indiana-Home-Sale-by-Hawkins-Law-PC-copyright-2018-Hawkins-Law-PC.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] We encourage people to use realtor services to sell property instead of trying to sell real estate without realtor assistance. Realtor services can help maximize the sale price (often dramatically) and minimize distractions and headaches that require sellers to take time off work. However, we have tips and ideas for sellers that really want to market their own real estate. While a seller is preparing to sell real estate, the seller should take these initial steps to prepare for the sale negotiations: 1. Research sale prices of similar homes in the community to determine a reasonable asking price for the real estate. Most counties publish sale prices for recent real estate transactions on their property tax websites. To find the county’s property tax website, run a web search with the name of the county in the acronym “GIS” to find a link to the county’s online property tax records. Then, zoom in on the map of town or community area and click on the locations of homes that have sold recently in the community. When the website shows information about the current owner, look for a link to a “parcel report” or “property card,” and scroll through that record to find the date and sale price for the most recent sale of that property. This is part of the work that real estate appraisers perform to identify sale prices of comparable properties when they appraise a property. After examining several comparable sales, the seller may get a feel for the range of prices for properties like the home that seller is trying to sell. 2. Make list of anything that the seller will be including in the sale that the purchase agreement should describe (such as appliances, curtains, furniture, wall hangings or artwork, etc.). 3. Download and complete an Indiana seller’s disclosure form from [in.gov/pla/files/Sellers\_Disclosure\_Form.pdf](http://www.in.gov/pla/files/Sellers_Disclosure_Form.pdf). The disclosure must identify things that are broken or do not work, such as plumbing, electrical systems, sewer or septic systems, floors, walls, ceilings, roof, or foundation, including damage from water, mold, termites, or fire. The seller read the instructions on the form carefully and consult an attorney if the seller has any questions about how to complete the form. 4. If the home was built before 1978, the federal Environmental Protection Agency requires a seller to provide information about lead paint hazards to a potential buyer. If the seller does not know the date that the home was built, the seller should be able to find information about the approximate date of home construction on the county property tax website. The seller can find the lead paint disclosure requirements and forms on the EPA website at: (click on the “Sample Seller’s Disclosure of Information (PDF)” and download it, then, click on the “Protect Your Family From Lead In Your Home (PDF)” link on the EPA webpage and download that document). The seller will need to complete the disclosure form, provide the informational pamphlet to a prospective buyer, and both parties will need to sign and retain a copy of the disclosure form. For more information on this topic, please see [Selling an Indiana Home Without a Realtor? (Part 2)](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/selling-an-indiana-home-without-a-realtor-part-2/) and [Selling an Indiana Home Without a Realtor? (Part 3)](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/selling-an-indiana-home-without-a-realtor-part-3/). [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2018 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Environmental Protection Agency, GIS, Lead Paint Disclosure, Property Tax, Real Estate, Real Estate Appraiser, Real Estate Purchase Agreement, Realtor, Seller's Residential Real Estate Sales Disclosure **Tags:** Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, GIS, Indiana Seller's Disclosure Form, Lead Paint Disclosure, Property tax, Real estate sale, realtor, Seller’s Disclosure of Information --- ### [Selling an Indiana Home Without a Realtor? (Part 2)](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/selling-an-indiana-home-without-a-realtor-part-2/) **Published:** February 27, 2018 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/For-Sale-By-Owner-Sign-FB-photo-by-Hawkins-Law-PC-Copyright-2018-Hawkins-Law-PC-1024x768.jpg "For Sale By Owner Sign FB photo by Hawkins Law PC, Copyright 2018 Hawkins Law PC - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/For-Sale-By-Owner-Sign-FB-photo-by-Hawkins-Law-PC-Copyright-2018-Hawkins-Law-PC.jpg)We wrote tips in our most recent article for people who want to sell their homes without realtor assistance (see recommendation to always hire a realtor in [Part 1 of this article series](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/selling-an-indiana-home-without-a-realtor-part-1/)). In this article, we describe some of the things that a seller can expect in a real estate sale transaction. If a seller does not use a realtor, the seller should hire a lawyer to prepare the real estate purchase agreement that includes important real estate sale transaction details like the details described in this article. If the buyer is represented by a realtor, the seller should engage a lawyer to examine the buyer’s offer and help the seller write a counteroffer (if the seller chooses to counter the initial offer – it is usually a good idea to submit a counteroffer). If the seller uses a hires a lawyer to help with a real estate sale, the seller should tell a potential buyer the seller is working with a lawyer, and that the lawyer will prepare a purchase agreement. If the buyer uses a realtor, then the seller should tell the realtor that the seller will consult with a lawyer about the buyer’s offer. Many variables can exist in a real estate purchase agreement such as these details: - the amount of earnest money that a buyer must pay in advance to the seller; - what appliances and furnishings will remain in the home for the buyer to enjoy (see the recommendation in Part 1 of this article series about making a list of such items); - when the seller must deliver possession of the home to the buyer; - whether the buyer can back away from the sale if the buyer cannot obtain adequate bank financing; - whether the timing of the sale depends upon the buyer’s ability to sell another piece of property; - whether the seller must repair or replace certain broken or defective features of the property; - whether the buyer will use a home inspector to inspect the property; and - what property defects will excuse the buyer from purchasing the home if an inspection reveals defects. The seller’s lawyer will: - coordinate with the title company and buyer’s lender (and the buyer’s realtor, if the buyer uses a realtor); - examine the title insurance commitment and ask the title company to correct any errors that appear in the title insurance commitment; - add any details to the warranty deed that the title company may require in the title insurance commitment; and - submit the warranty deed and attorney fee invoice directly to the title company so that the title company can use the warranty deed and pay the attorney fee fee as part of the closing costs. In our next article, [Selling an Indiana Home Without a Realtor? (Part 3)](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/selling-an-indiana-home-without-a-realtor-part-3/), we will wind up the series with a discussion of what to expect in real estate closing. [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2018 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Bank Financing, Closing Costs, Counteroffer, Deed, Earnest Money, Home Inspection, Offer to Purchase Real Estate, Real Estate, Real Estate Closing, Real Estate Purchase Agreement, Realtor, Title Company, Title Insurance **Tags:** Bank Financing, Closing Costs, Counteroffer, deed, Earnest Money, Home Inspection, Offer to Purchase Real Estate, real estate, Real Estate Purchase Agreement, realtor, Title company, Title insurance --- ### [Selling an Indiana Home Without a Realtor? (Part 3)](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/selling-an-indiana-home-without-a-realtor-part-3/) **Published:** February 27, 2018 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Closing-Documents-Photo-by-Hawkins-Law-PC-Copyright-2018-Hawkins-Law-PC-1024x768.jpg "Closing Documents Photo by Hawkins Law PC Copyright 2018 Hawkins Law PC - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Closing-Documents-Photo-by-Hawkins-Law-PC-Copyright-2018-Hawkins-Law-PC.jpg) This article concludes our 3-part series of articles for people who want to sell their homes without realtor assistance (see recommendation to always hire a realtor in [Part 1 of this article series](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/selling-an-indiana-home-without-a-realtor-part-1/)). In this article, we describe some of the things that a seller can expect in a real estate sale transaction. A typical real estate sale transaction will probably include some or all of these steps: 1. A potential buyer may work with a realtor, who will prepare and present the buyer’s offer to purchase the real estate, and the realtor will represent the buyer in negotiations. Experienced realtors have tremendous knowledge about many real estate transaction variables, so a seller must be prepared to understand real estate contract terminology. 2. Most buyers obtain bank financing for real estate purchases, and most banks require written purchase agreements that show real estate descriptions and the terms and conditions of sale. 3. The bank (or realtor) will probably order the title insurance for the transaction, but is usually the seller’s prerogative to order title insurance because most real estate transactions require the seller to pay title insurance costs. 4. The title company will research the real estate title and prepare a commitment for issuance of a title insurance policy to ensure the buyer’s real estate title quality and the bank’s mortgage title quality. 5. The title company will coordinate with the seller, the buyer, the realtor, and the bank to schedule a closing. 6. The title company will usually manage the closing, including notarization of the seller’s signature, deduction the seller’s share of the closing costs from the sale proceeds, and issuance of checks to pay off the seller’s mortgage loan payable and pay the remaining sale proceeds to the seller. 7. The title company will also deliver IRS Form 1099-S to the seller and file IRS Form 1065 to report the sale proceeds to the IRS. If the seller has occupied the home as the seller’s principal residence for two of the preceding five years, the seller can exclude from capital gains taxation any gain on the sale above what the seller has paid for the real estate up to $250,000 ($500,000 for certain married taxpayers who file a joint return). Property taxes are imposed in arrears, so for example, the 2017 property taxes will become due and payable in May and November of 2018, and the 2018 property taxes will be due in May and November 2019. A seller already owes the 2017 property taxes, even though the county treasurer has not yet prepared the tax bill. The seller also owes part of the 2018 property taxes because the seller has owned the real estate in January and part of February 2018. The title company will allocate property taxes between the parties in the real estate closing transaction with the property tax proration that usually works like this: - calculate the property taxes that it will deduct from the seller’s share sale proceeds by using the most recent amount of property taxes for the real estate and assuming that the amount of property taxes will remain the same for the 2017 property taxes that are due and payable this year; - deduct from the seller share of the sale proceeds the amount of 2017 property taxes that, of course, have not yet been paid in 2018; - calculate the seller share of the 2018 property taxes by using the total annual tax value, dividing that value by the number of days in the year, and multiplying the result by the number of days of this year that have passed up to the day of closing to determine the portion of property taxes related to your 2018 ownership of the real estate; and - then, the buyer will owe all of the property taxes that become due and payable after the date of closing so that the seller will not have to pay the property taxes that would ordinarily be the property owner’s responsibility. These steps do not cover all of the various issues that a seller will probably encounter, but the seller’s lawyer should be able to help deal with the remaining issues. [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2018 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Bank Financing, Capital Gains Tax, Closing Costs, Form 1099-S, Offer to Purchase Real Estate, Property Tax, Property Tax Proration, Real Estate Closing, Realtor, Sales Disclosure Form, Settlement Statement, Title Company, Title Insurance **Tags:** Bank Financing, capital gains tax, Closing Costs, Form 1099-S, Offer to Purchase Real Estate, Property tax, Property Tax Proration, real estate closing, realtor, Sales Disclosure Form, Settlement Statement, Title company, Title insurance --- ### [Administrative Dissolution: Avoidable Death of Corporations/LLCs/LLPs](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/administrative-dissolution-avoidable-death-of-corporations-llcs-llps/) **Published:** April 1, 2018 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Excerpt:** Avoid administrative dissolution of an Indiana corporation or other entity by updating the registered agent's email address and the entity's official business address on the entity's Indiana business entity report and file the report on time. New Indiana law prohibits reinstatement of an entity that has been dissolved for 5 years or more. **Content:** [![Screenshot created by HLPC 4-1-2018 of Indiana Secretary of State business search webpage](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Screenshot-created-by-HLPC-4-1-2018-of-Indiana-Secretary-of-State-business-search-webpage-1024x768.jpg "Screenshot created by HLPC 4-1-2018 of Indiana Secretary of State business search webpage - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Screenshot-created-by-HLPC-4-1-2018-of-Indiana-Secretary-of-State-business-search-webpage.jpg)Writers like to invoke Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin” album title, song title, and lyric concerning change when they refer to inevitable change (we just invoked those words too). Changing times in Indiana threaten administrative dissolution of for-profit and nonprofit corporations, LLCs, and other entities, so owners and managers need to keep up with changes in the Indiana’s corporate laws and the procedures of the Indiana Secretary of State that have emerged over the past year. This article describes how those changes will make some things easier, while other things will become impossible for all such entities (we use “entity” in this article as a general term that includes all for-profit and nonprofit corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships, business trusts, and other organizations that must report to the Indiana Secretary of State). Indiana law has required corporations and some other entities to file reports with the office of the Indiana Secretary of State to maintain the entities’ active status for many decades. The filing fees and filing frequency have changed from time to time, but the general rule has been that if an entity fails to file its report and pay the filing fee, the Secretary of State can “administratively dissolve” the entity. The general rule of the Indiana Code is that a dissolved entity cannot do business in any way except to wind up its affairs, pay its bills, and distribute its assets to the people or entities that are entitled to receive the assets upon the entity’s administrative dissolution. The Indiana Code authorizes the owners or managers of a administratively dissolved entity to apply to the Indiana Secretary of State and the Indiana Department of Revenue for reinstatement of the entity’s activated status in good standing. An applicant must satisfy all of the entity’s tax-related filing obligations to secure a clearance letter from the Indiana Department of Revenue before the Indiana Secretary of State will act on the application. Then, the entity must file a current business entity report and pay business entity report filing fees for the years intervening since the entity’s administrative dissolution. When the Secretary of State reinstates the administratively dissolved entity, the reinstatement restores the entity’s status to good standing as if the entity had never been dissolved. Three recent changes in Indiana law and procedure will probably result in permanent administrative dissolution of entities that can never be reinstated. 1. Although it does not relate directly to administrative dissolution, every entity must give an email address for service of notice to the entity’s registered agent, the entity’s official recipient of all subpoenas, complaints, summons, and other legal notices. 2. Every entity must also give an email address to which the Indiana Secretary of State will give business entity report reminders and other important communications (the Indiana Secretary of State will generally not give notices by mail). 3. If: 1. an entity’s owners or managers do not keep their email connections to the Indiana Secretary of State up-to-date **AND** TAKE STEPS TO **NEVER EVER** MISS AN EMAIL from the Indiana Secretary of State; 2. the Indiana Secretary of State dissolves the entity because the entity failed to file its business entity report and pay the filing fee; and 3. the entity does not apply for reinstatement within 5 years after administrative dissolution, the entity will not qualify for reinstatement and it will be DISSOLVED FOREVER. The 5-year limit on entity reinstatement results from 2018 legislation that Governor Holcomb signed in March 2018. People who want to reinstate administratively dissolved entities should engage a lawyer familiar with the subject and begin the reinstatement process right away to avoid the 5-year reinstatement limit. If you do not know the status of your entity, you can find the entity’s status on the Indiana Secretary of State website at: . [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](https://www.actec.org/directory/profile/Hawkins-Jeff/b7ea7ef2-4479-4147-b2b9-a7b016801ba2/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2018 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Administrative Dissolution, Application for Reinstatement, Corporation, Entity Reinstatement, Indiana Department of Revenue, Indiana Secretary of State, LLC, Nonprofit Corporation, Nonprofit LLC, Registered Agent **Tags:** Administrative Dissolution, Application for Reinstatement, Corporation, Entity Reinstatement, Indiana Department of Revenue, Indiana Secretary of State, Limited Liability Company, Limited Liability Partnership, Limited Partnership, LLC, Nonprofit Corporation, Nonprofit LLC, Registered Agent --- ### [IRA Planning for Long-Term Care and Longevity](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/ira-planning-for-long-term-care-and-longevity/) **Published:** May 17, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Ira Chestnut. 1899 - 1999](https://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Ira-Chestnut.-1899-1999.jpg "Ira Chestnut. 1899 - 1999 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Ira-Chestnut.-1899-1999.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] (**Updated March 14, 2018**) Hollywood actress Betty Davis was quoted as saying, “Old age ain’t no place for sissies.” Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you view it) more people are reaching older ages today than ever (such as Ira Chestnut, pictured at left as a high school basketball player in 1917-19, and just before his death at almost 100 years of age). We encourage readers of this article to consider long-term care insurance as a way to help pay for nursing home care, but a relatively new retirement savings plan offers an additional option for IRA owners younger than age 70 that think they might exceed the average life expectancy. **Retirement, Aging, and Long-Term Care Statistics** On March 13, 2018, Bloomberg.com published these statements in Alexandre Tanzi’s brief article entitled [Graying Americans Will Outnumber Kids by 2035](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-13/demographic-trends-graying-americans-to-outnumber-kids-by-2035): > - 65 and overs expected to exceed number of children in U.S. > - Baby boomers, born in 50s-60s, will all be at least 65 by 2030 > > By 2035, Americans age 65 and older are forecast to outnumber kids for the first time. > > The U.S. Census Bureau projects that the population of older adults will surpass children by almost two million in 2035, growing nearly five million to 78 million by 2035. The growth rate of the population of children, those under age 18, is expected to be slower. > > This demographic transition is in the developing stages for the U.S., while the trend in other countries, notably Japan and some nations in Europe, is already well underway. People often say things like “Americans are living longer” and “more and more people need nursing home care,” but what information supports those general statements? This is what we have found: - Information published online by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at: ) shows that the average US life expectancy increased from 47.3 years of age in 1900 to 78.8 years of age in 2013. - Information published online by the US Department of Health and Human Services at says, > > The duration and level of long-term care will vary from person to person and often change over time. Here are some statistics (all are “on average”) you should consider: > > > Someone turning age 65 today has almost a 70% chance of needing some type of long-term care services and supports in their remaining years > > > Women need care longer (3.7 years) than men (2.2 years) > > > One-third of today’s 65 year-olds may never need long-term care support, but 20 percent will need it for longer than 5 years - The US Department of Health & Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation stated in its [Long-Term Services and Supports for Older Americans: Risks and Financing Research Brief](https://aspe.hhs.gov/basic-report/long-term-services-and-supports-older-americans-risks-and-financing-research-brief) published online by the on July 1, 2015, and updated in February 2016: > Most Americans underestimate the risk of developing a disability and needing long-term services and supports (LTSS). > > Using microsimulation modeling, we estimate that about half (52%) of Americans turning 65 today will develop a disability serious enough to require LTSS, although most will need assistance for less than two years. > > About one in seven adults, however, will have a disability for more than five years. On average, an American turning 65 today will incur $138,000 in future LTSS costs, which could be financed by setting aside $70,000 today. > > Families will pay about half of the costs themselves out-of-pocket, with the rest covered by public programs and private insurance. > > While most people with LTSS needs will spend relatively little on their care, about one in six (17%) will spend at least $100,000 out-of-pocket for future LTSS. - Many more statistics appeared in an online MorningStar article by Christine Benz on August 9, 2012, at , but the picture seems clear that both statements about living longer and people needing nursing home care are true. **Long-Term Care Insurance** Long-term care insurance help solve the nursing home expense problem for people who can afford long-term care insurance premiums. Unfortunately, many people delay purchasing the insurance until their health conditions disqualified them from coverage. Most other people just decide that the insurance is too expensive. **Long-Term Care Planning with IRAs** An ordinary individual retirement plan (IRA) contains money contributed by the plan owner from income on which the plan owner never paid income taxes. Earnings inside the IRA grow without triggering taxation until the plan owner begins withdrawing from the plan, and then 100% of every withdrawal is taxable as income. If a retired IRA owner requires nursing home care, and if the cost of nursing home care is more than 7.5% of the IRA owner’s adjusted gross income (AGI), the portion of the nursing home care in excess of that 7.5% of AGI (the average annual cost of an Indiana resident’s nursing home care is more than $71,000) is a tax-deductible medical expense. Therefore, it is always advisable for an individual or a married couple to pay nursing home expenses out of IRA accounts before spending non-IRA funds. **Qualifying Longevity Annuity Contract (QLAC)** The IRS adopted new regulations in 2014 concerning a relatively new investment product designed for Americans that expect to exceed the average life expectancy. Ordinarily, an IRA owner is required to begin withdrawing from an IRA account when the owner reaches the age of 70 ½ years, but the required withdrawal pace is designed to nearly eliminate the IRA by the time the owner reaches age 90. The new investment strategy, known as a Qualifying Longevity Annuity Contract (QLAC), allows an IRA owner to transfer up to $125,000 from an IRA to a QLAC and set a required beginning date for withdrawals as late as age 85. This delayed withdrawal allows more time for a QLAC to grow on a tax-deferred basis and allows the plan owner to concentrate wealth to pay the cost of living through longer than average longevity. **Ask Your Financial Advisor** A healthy person cannot control the aging process or the cost of living an unusually long life. A wise person with long life potential will consider how to stretch financial resources to support a long life. We encourage people to speak with their financial advisors about all of these long-term care financial planning alternatives and choose a strategy carefully. Even the best laid plans may fail, but careful planners stand a better chance of achieving good outcomes than people who do not plan. [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. #BabyBoomersRetire #PlanningforLongevity . ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** #BabyBoomersRetire, #PlanningforLongevity, Annuity, Estate Planning, Investment Advisor, IRA, Long-term care, Long-term care insurance, Nursing home, QLAC, Retirement Plan **Tags:** #BabyBoomersRetire, #PlanningforLongevity, estate planning, Investment advisor, IRA, IRS, Long-term care insurance, nursing home, QLAC --- ### [Indiana’s Senior Consumer Protection Act](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/indianas-senior-consumer-protection-act/) **Published:** February 3, 2018 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** ![](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Indiana-General-Assembly-webpage-screenshot-of-Senior-Consumer-Protection-Act-1024x512.jpg "Indiana General Assembly webpage screenshot of Senior Consumer Protection Act - Hawkins Elder Law PC") \[See our [Disclaimers page](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] The Senior Consumer Protection Act (referred to in this article as the “Act”) added new financial exploitation protections in 2013 for Hoosiers that are 60 years of age or older (referred to in the Act as “senior consumers”). This article describes how the Act combined existing Indiana case law into statutory anti-fraud definitions, standards of conduct, and law enforcement procedures. The article also previews future changes to the law that already protect Illinois senior consumers. The Act’s first provision solves an old law enforcement jurisdictional problem among three state government entities charged with anti-fraud law enforcement responsibility: (1) the Indiana Attorney General (an elected state official) fights various kinds of consumer fraud; (2) the Indiana Secretary of State (also an elected state official) enforces investment fraud laws; and (3) the Indiana Department of Insurance (a state agency supervised by the Indiana Governor) enforces insurance fraud laws. Before the Act, jurisdictional issues among the three groups could delay anti-fraud law enforcement activity. The Act distinguishes each office’s responsibilities and clarifies when an office should refer a case to one of the other offices to minimize law enforcement delays. The Act provides that a “person commits financial exploitation of a senior consumer when the person knowingly and by deception or intimidation obtains control over the property of a senior consumer or illegally uses the assets or resources of a senior consumer.” Under the Act, “deception” is “misrepresentation or omission of any material fact relating to the terms of a contract or agreement entered into with a senior consumer or to the existing or pre-existing condition of any of the property involved in such a contract or agreement; or the use or employment of any misrepresentation, false pretense, or false promise in order to induce, encourage, or solicit a senior consumer to enter into a contract or agreement.” The Act defines “intimidation” as “the conduct or communication by a person directed toward a senior consumer informing or implying to the senior consumer that the senior consumer will be deprived of food and nutrition, shelter, prescribed medication, or medical care and treatment if the senior consumer does not comply with the person’s demands.” The Act entitles a financially exploited senior consumer to sue the exploiter to recover possession and control of the senior consumer’s property and to recover damages to the property or the value of property that the deceiver or intimidator has destroyed or has transferred with no ability to recover it. An exploiter may be liable for payment of double the property damage value and a civil penalty of up to $5,000. The exploiter’s payment obligation can rise to triple the property damage value and a civil penalty of up to $10,000 if the exploiter holds a “position of trust and confidence” because the exploiter has one of these kinds of relationships: (A) is a parent, spouse, adult child, or other relative by blood or marriage of the senior consumer; (B) is a joint tenant or tenant in common with the senior consumer; (C) has a legal or fiduciary relationship with the senior consumer; (D) is a financial planning or investment professional; or (E) is a paid or unpaid caregiver for the senior consumer. Other provisions could expose an exploiter to civil penalty liability ranging from $5,000 per violation to $15,000 per violation. Indiana House Bill 1123 proposed to add clearer definitions to the Act resembling Illinois financial exploitation protection law definitions, but it bogged down in Indiana’s 2018 legislative session. The bill would have updated the Act with improvements including a new “caregiver” definition and a rebuttable presumption that would void any transfer to a caregiver worth more than $15,000. Part of the bill’s failure in the legislature language in the bill that would have disrupted legitimate estate planning systems involving gifts to senior consumers’ family members. An improved version of the bill may return to the Indiana General Assembly in January 2019. [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2018 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Caregiver, Deception, Elder abuse, Elder Exploitation, Elder Law, Estate Planning, Financial Exploitation, Fraud, Intimidation, Misrepresentation, Senior Consumer, Undue influence **Tags:** ccaregiver, deception, Elder financial exploitation, estate planning, intimidation, misrepresentation, Senior Consumer --- ### [Customer Service by Josh](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/customer-service-by-josh/) **Published:** December 1, 2017 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Josh-1024x683.png ""Josh," by Hawkins Law PC© Hawkins Law PC 2017 All Rights Reserved. - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Josh.png) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] We were enjoying dinner in a chain restaurant earlier this year when we noticed the exceptional service that we were receiving from a young attendant, whom I will call “Josh.” Josh impressed us enough to inspire us to to pay more generously than is our custom (we generally tip at or above normal suggested to percentages). In fact, his service was so exceptional, that we thought Josh’s behavior would be a good example of fine customer service for a brief blog article about three simple things that anyone can do to make excellent impressions on customers. The first thing that we noticed about Josh was the way he engaged us to take our orders. We are accustomed to looking up to attendants from our seats at restaurant tables, but Josh squatted down to meet us at eye level when he took our orders. He locked eyes with each of us as he took our respective orders and confirmed each order in detail before he finished taking the orders. Josh’s second impressive behavior was his communication about the order status. Josh monitored on the order status and gave us a status report before it occurred to us to wonder about the order status. His status report gave us enough detail to adjust our expectations and continue our conversation without another thought about when the food would arrive. Josh cemented our favorable impression of him throughout the remainder of the meal because of his excellent preparedness and attentiveness. Many restaurant attendants get caught up away from the table and miss the opportunity to present food to their customers, but Josh anticipated the meal delivery, prepared everything that we would need, and delivered each person’s meal as if he had rehearsed the delivery. Josh also surveyed the room constantly and maintained full awareness of each customer’s meal progress and needs. When the time came to request the check, a mere glance in Josh’s direction was all it took to summon him and he was ready to deliver the check without delay. Customer service is a lifestyle of engagement, communication, attentiveness, and preparedness. Regardless of the situation or context, a “customer” can be any person whose favor toward you can improve the outcome of your experience in the situation. These are principles that Josh exhibited through his customer service: 1. Josh engaged the customer personally in a way that confirmed that the engagement was active and meaningful. Everyone appreciates communication with someone who absorbs and confirms the communication personally, directly, and immediately. Josh made it clear that he received and understood our orders, and confirmed his understanding in a way that made us confident that we would receive professional service. 2. If delivery cannot be provided immediately upon engagement (in such cases, service is not very important), prompt status communication maintains an active and effective engagement. It is better to report status before a report is generally due than to deliver an overdue report. Josh kept us up to date about the meal status so that we did think about it. 3. Mediocre service may be “good enough” to complete the work, but it is neither memorable nor worthy of reward. Josh’s flawless anticipation and preparation of his delivery and attendance to his customers after the delivery earned him extra compensation and made a sufficient impression to inspire this article many months later. We would love to eat at Josh’s restaurant again the next time we are in his city, but his career path will probably place him with greater responsibility and more lucrative compensation than his earnings as a restaurant attendant. Customer service masters usually move up the food chain rapidly because everyone wants masterful service. --- [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2017 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Culture & Society, Customer Service, Economy, Marketing **Tags:** Customer Service, Marketing --- ### [Pay Attention & Get It in Writing](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/pay-attention-get-it-in-writing/) **Published:** December 1, 2017 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Pay-Attention-Get-it-in-Writing-by-Hawkins-Law-PC-Copyright-2017-All-Rights-Reserved.png "Pay Attention & Get it in Writing, by Hawkins Law PC Copyright 2017 All Rights Reserved - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Pay-Attention-Get-it-in-Writing-by-Hawkins-Law-PC-Copyright-2017-All-Rights-Reserved.png)\[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Teenagers often try to shift blame for breaking rules, misunderstanding assignments, or missing deadlines with statements like, “I asked Joe and he said it wasn’t important,” or “I heard that they never enforce those rules.” Of course, some teenagers retaining their adolescent gullibility and inattentiveness into adulthood and discover that grown-up mistakes have grown-up consequences. This article emphasizes the importance of paying attention and confirming important business details in the grown-up world. The world is a busy place for most people, and it is easy to take things on faith without verifying details. The increasing emphasis on getting things done quickly makes many people feel uncomfortable with taking the time to read documents carefully, seek expert advice, ask questions, or request written confirmations. Instead, many people press forward in business matters and assume that everyone else is paying attention to the details and behaving professionally. Unfortunately, hustle and bustle makes complacency in business matters very dangerous, because hasty people make unnecessary mistakes. These are some examples of errors of haste and inattention that clients have hired us to resolve after the fact: - In a mortgage loan transaction, the title and loan documents described the wrong real estate, and the documents were signed and recorded before anyone discovered the mistake (we have seen this multiple times over the last 25 years, and as recently as fall 2017). - A spouse or other family member of a nursing home resident made unnecessary or harmful changes to retirement plans, insurance policies, and other assets to qualify the nursing home resident for Medicaid without consulting an experienced elder law attorney, because an apparently trustworthy person suggested the changes. - A salesperson told the customer in a phone conversation that deal would include important details and a warranty, but the company refused to deliver all the details or fix defects because the sale documents did not mention the details or warranty. So, what can a person do to avoid these kinds of problems? US President Ronald Reagan would say, “Trust, but verify,” as he famously told Soviet Union General Secretary Mikael Gorbachev many times during their nuclear disarmament talks in the 1980s. Everyone could benefit by using President Reagan’s mantra in important matters. These are some simple, lifestyle habits that can help people avoid headaches and heartaches of sloppy business transactions: - Read documents carefully, ask probing questions, and request written clarification or explanation of details that do not seem clear or easy to understand. - Consult with an experienced attorney if the stakes of a decision or action are costly enough that a person cannot afford to replace something, repair defects, or lose a desired result. - In important or expensive actions, insist on written confirmation of all verbal statements about important transaction details such as quality, quantity, included items, or warranties. No person involved in legitimate business will object when someone takes time to verify details and make sure that everything is correct. In fact, one of the best signs of a shady or unstable business matter is a person who expresses frustration or amusement about another person’s caution and attention to important details. The worst threat to a crooked or sloppy business person is a customer who pays attention to details and insist on getting the details in writing. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2017 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Advice of Elder Law Counsel, Medicaid Planning Advice, Pre-Transaction Document Examination, Transaction Confirmation **Tags:** Business Transaction, Contract, Document Examination, elder law attorney, Medicaid, mortgage, nursing home, real estate closing, Warranty --- ### [“Choose” to Replace “Should” and “Supposed to” in Big Decisions](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/choose-to-replace-should-and-supposed-to-in-big-decisions/) **Published:** October 31, 2017 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Man-stands-opposite-the-doors-lettering-choice-By-dobrodzei-Shutterstock-vector-ID-627238751-1024x550.jpg "Man stands opposite the doors lettering choice, By dobrodzei, Shutterstock vector ID 627238751 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Man-stands-opposite-the-doors-lettering-choice-By-dobrodzei-Shutterstock-vector-ID-627238751.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Is it possible for senses of duty, obligation, and responsibility to be harmful for people? Trust and estate lawyers working with multiple generations of people often see sharp generational differences in people’s expectations of themselves and people of other generations. This article considers when traditional senses of duty, obligation, and responsibility limit people’s abilities to choose among difficult decision alternatives about careers, health care, family relationships, religious activity, and other personal issues. Effective leadership requires effective leadership succession across generations\* in businesses, churches, political parties, and almost every other kind of organization. Many of today’s leadership training programs focus on understanding and engaging younger generations because “Baby Boomer Generation” and “Generation X” leaders recognize that their perspectives differ from the “Millennial Generation.” A perspective of “choice” versus “obligation” subtly distinguishes some members of the Millennial Generation from people of older generations. Older generations often express feelings of obligation about difficult decisions with words like “should” and “supposed to.” People of younger generations also feel senses of obligation and responsibility, but many young people feel free to question traditional expectations and assumptions about important life choices. “Doing the right thing” is more important to many younger people than fulfilling other people’s expectations of them. In some cases, younger people choose the “right thing for me” instead of what their older family members, friends, and colleagues considered to be the “right thing.” This willingness to question and overturn the status quo frees younger people from traditional expectations that burden their elders – a lesson that would benefit some older people to learn. This article does not intend to portray any perspective negatively, but to present samples of traditional and alternative perspectives to help people “think outside the box” about what is the “right thing” on many topics. Consider these sample statements and questions as food for thought: - “I will never put my \[family member\] in a nursing home!” Does this loyal sentiment make sense if the family member’s health is too fragile to care for the family member at home? Even if home care is medically feasible, will the family be able to provide better care than professionally trained health care workers can provide during rotating shifts in a fully-staffed health care facility? If the disabled family member requires 24-hour care and supervision, can one or two family members physically and financially afford to provide that much care at home? - “I am a \[political party label\] because the \[opposing party label\] wants to \[description of “un-American” objectives\].” In today’s politically polarized America, most vocal political activists attack their opponents and news organizations that tend to support the opponents with extremely harsh descriptions. Is it possible that a mainstream party’s chief goal is to destroy the country? Is it rational to believe that one national news organization only reports truthfully, and that other news organizations are purely corrupt? - “I am supposed to \[attend a particular college, attend a particular church, play a particular sport, hold a particular belief, financially support my drug-addicted family member, etc.\] because my \[parents, minister or brethren, coach or teammates, family or peer group\] expect it of me.” Tradition and heritage are not bad things, but history is full of generational departures from traditions, heritages, and beliefs that were harmful (Bible study restricted to clergy), unjust (slavery), or false (the earth orbits the sun, not vice versa). Each individual must be able to choose what to do, where to go, and what to believe, because freedom, genuinely convicted belief, and personal satisfaction require an individual to choose among alternatives. Blind or compelled acceptance of other people’s expectations imprisons individuals within barriers from which they cannot grow, mature, or thrive toward the potential for which their Creator endowed them. The Apostle Paul said in the verses 12 and 13 of second chapter of his letter to the church at Philippi: “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” People differ about some aspects of Paul’s intended meaning, but there would be no reason for anyone to fear or tremble without choice. Choices can be emotionally, physically, politically, and socially challenging, but fear and trembling are necessary elements of some the most important choices. Therefore, we encourage people to get information from all possible sources (even the sources that people criticize) and choose wisely in all of life’s crossroads. --- \* For more information about generational differences, see *The Whys and Hows of Generations Research* published online on September 3, 2015, by the Pew Research Center at . [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2017 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Baby Boomer Generation, Culture & Society, Estate, Faith & Religion, Generation X, Home healthcare, Millennial Generation, News Media, Nursing home, Political Party, Trust **Tags:** Apostle Paul, Baby Boomer Generation, choices, Generation X, Heritage, Millennial Generation, news media, nursing home, Political Party, Tradition, Trust & Estate Lawyers --- ### [Funeral Planning – A Surprisingly Complex Subject](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/funeral-planning-a-surprisingly-complex-subject/) **Published:** October 2, 2017 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Coffin-Shop-by-Phovoir-Shutterstock-photo-ID-344377988.jpg "Coffin Shop, by Phovoir - Shutterstock photo ID 344377988 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Coffin-Shop-by-Phovoir-Shutterstock-photo-ID-344377988.jpg)\[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Concerns about burdening surviving family members with headaches and expenses lead many retirees to think about funeral pre-planning. If you pay attention to life insurance television ads targeted at retirees, you can see several life insurance sales pitches that prey upon those concerns. Like many other retiree financial planning issues (such as, for example, [reverse mortgages](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/what-reverse-mortgage-tv-commercials-dont-tell-you/)), retiree-focused television ads signal issues that are much more complex than television ads indicate. We have seen the costs of funeral goods and services rise during our quarter century of trust and estate practice. A 2015 news release on the [National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) website](http://www.nfda.org/news/media-center/nfda-news-releases/id/840/nfda-releases-results-of-2015-member-general-price-list-survey) confirmed our observations that “Over the past decade, the median cost of an adult funeral in the United States has increased 28.6 percent.” So, does that mean all retirees should prepay funeral expenses or buy life insurance policies to cover funeral costs? We offer our favorite response to that kind of general question: “it depends.” A counter-balancing trend appears in our observations of some people choosing cremation instead of traditional funerals. The 2015 NFDA news release indicates that funeral costs are only slightly higher than cremation costs if the two alternatives differ only in burial versus cremation. Families that replace embalming, public viewing, and other funeral traditions with celebration of life memorial events in churches and other environments, may reduce the cost of goods and services by 36% or more compared to traditional funeral arrangements (based on funeral and cremation cost figures published in the 2015 NFDA news release). People that wonder about life insurance policies promoted in television ads by celebrities like Alex Trebek, the host of the TV game show “Jeopardy!,” should read the common sense MarketWatch.com article entitled, [Stupid Investment of the Week](http://www.marketwatch.com/story/youre-better-off-rejecting-guaranteed-acceptance-life-policy). People that wonder whether they should purchase life insurance from more reputable insurance companies to pay funeral costs should ask these questions of their funeral directors, their investment advisors, and themselves: 1. What are the goods and services cost differences between traditional funerals and no-frills cremations? 2. How do investment expenditures differ between a life insurance plan and a non-life insurance investment plan to have enough money to pay funeral or cremation costs? 3. Would existing money in the checking account or investments be enough to pay reasonable funeral or cremation costs? Many problems arise when people prepay funeral expenses without consulting with an elder law attorney. We cautioned married couples against prepaying funeral expenses without an elder law attorney’s advice in our article, “[Spouses of Nursing Home Residents: Don’t Let Nonlawyers Apply for Medicaid!](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/spouses-of-nursing-home-residents-dont-let-nonlawyers-apply-for-medicaid/)” Members of the Indiana chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys have strong concerns about people transferring sizable life insurance policies to funeral homes without competent legal advice because those transfers may trigger terrible results for nursing home residents under Medicaid law. Funeral planning is an important part of estate planning. Beyond the financial issues that we have already mentioned in this article, we have also written about the related emotional and spiritual issues in our articles, “[Spiritual Issues in Final Illness, Death, and Human Remains Disposition](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/spiritual-issues-in-final-illness-death-and-human-remains-disposition/)” and “[Plans for Final Illness, Death, and Human Remains Disposition](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/plans-for-final-illness-death-and-human-remains-disposition/).” Therefore, we encourage people to include funeral planning as an essential part of the estate planning process under the advice and assistance of an experienced trust, estate, and elder law attorney. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2017 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Elder Law, Estate Planning, Funeral Planning, Investments, Life Insurance, Medicaid, Nursing home, Prepaid Funeral, Reverse Mortgage **Tags:** Alex Trebek, cremation, estate planning, funeral expenses, funeral preplanning, Life insurance, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, National Funeral Directors Association, Reverse Mortgage --- ### [What Reverse Mortgage TV Commercials Don’t Tell You](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/what-reverse-mortgage-tv-commercials-dont-tell-you/) **Published:** September 4, 2017 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Reverse-Mortgage-by-Hawkins-Law-PC-with-inset-image-of-man-dumping-coins-from-a-house-by-Aleutie-Shutterstock-vector-ID-319344971-300x171.jpg "Reverse Mortgage by Hawkins Law PC with inset image of man dumping coins from a house by Aleutie, Shutterstock vector ID 319344971 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Reverse-Mortgage-by-Hawkins-Law-PC-with-inset-image-of-man-dumping-coins-from-a-house-by-Aleutie-Shutterstock-vector-ID-319344971.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Tom Selleck and other charming celebrities have pitched reverse mortgage plans to senior citizens for years in television ads like Selleck’s ad posted on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1eIIQ6s_u0). Mr. Selleck says reverse mortgages are not “too good to be true,” but should people believe him? Well, it depends… on age, homeownership, home equity, intended use of loan proceeds, physical health stability, priorities to leave inheritance for family, and other considerations. **HECM DESCRIPTION**: A reverse mortgage is a mortgage-based financial planning strategy insured by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). A reverse mortgage (officially, a “Home Equity Conversion Mortgage,” or “HECM”) allows a homeowner aged 62 years or older to mortgage the home and borrow money without having to make loan payments, including interest and principal, for as long as the person lives in the home. The HUD website says about a HECM, “Many seniors use it to supplement Social Security, meet unexpected medical expenses, make home improvements and more.” **AGE:** Age matters because a qualified HECM borrower must be at least 62 years old. **RESIDENCE:** A qualified HECM borrower must occupy the real estate as the borrower’s residence, so farm, business, or investment property does not qualify for the program. **OWNERSHIP:** A qualified HECM borrower must own the residence alone or with a spouse, so if the homeowner shares the home ownership with nonqualified people, such as the borrower’s children, the real estate will not qualify for the program. **HOME EQUITY**: A HECM plan can refinance an existing mortgage, but low equity will reduce HECM funds availability for other costs that reverse mortgage advertisements promote. **USE OF FUNDS**: A HECM plan to withdraw or spend a large amount of money at the beginning of the loan costs more than if the borrower withdraws money from the loan account gradually over a long period of time. The basic HECM costs are the Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP), third-party charges, and origination fee, a servicing fee, and interest on the outstanding mortgage loan balance. A big lump sum HECM distribution triggers an initial MIP cost that is 2.5% of the amount of the initial loan distribution for something like refinancing an existing mortgage, but a small distribution to help supplement monthly Social Security income may only trigger a 0.5% MIP. Also, there is an annual MIP hat equals 1.25% of the outstanding mortgage balance. Additionally, although a HECM require loan payments, unpaid interest grows the unpaid loan balance, which becomes due and payable when the borrower dies or moves out of the home permanently. **REASONABLE HECM USES**: - paying off a high interest rate loan - remodeling a home for safety or energy efficiency - supplementing income to pay people to cook, clean, or perform other tasks for a disabled homeowner - paying monthly expenses that would otherwise consume other assets - selling a paid off house and purchasing a disability-friendly house - cash to help replace aging vehicles or other worn out assets **POOR HECM USES**: - paying medical bills that could be paid or simply with proper financial planning - making gifts to family members - financing vacations or other luxuries - generating cash for money-making investments - supporting home health care for a homeowner who whose declining health requires full-time nursing home care **HECM/ESTATE PLANNING CONFLICT**: HECM strategies often conflict with asset protection and family inheritance estate planning strategies. Any transfer of residential ownership or change of residential occupancy can trigger the requirement to pay off a HECM loan. A homeowner who lacks enough money to pay off a HECM loan may have to sell the home or other assets that would otherwise pass through an estate plan. **HUD’S HECM PROMOTION**: HUD promotes the [HECM program](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1eIIQ6s_u0) and outlines [basic HECM requirements](https://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/housing/sfh/hecm/rmtopten) on its website. HUD’s presentation of the information seems more like a product promotion than balanced guidance about HECM benefits and problems. **A GRAIN OF SALT**: People should take the information on both HUD webpages with a grain of salt. A wise person will examine the government website with the same caution and healthy skepticism that everyone should use about legal and financial service advertisements. There is no substitute for consulting with an experienced elder law attorney about HECMs along with the full range of other estate planning alternatives because, ultimately, almost every promise is too good to be true for some people. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2017 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Elder Law, Estate Planning, Mortgage, Real Estate, Retirement Plan, Reverse Mortgage **Tags:** estate plan, real estate, Retirement, Reverse Mortgage, Tom Selleck --- ### [Senate Proposal to Repeal “Obama Care” – Good for Some, but Terrible for Nursing Home Residents](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/senate-proposal-to-repeal-obama-care-good-for-some-but-terrible-for-nursing-home-residents/) **Published:** June 28, 2017 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Official-photo-of-U.S.-Senate-110th-Congress-credit-to-U.S.-Senate-Photographic-Studio.jpg "Official photo of U.S. Senate, 110th Congress - credit to U.S. Senate Photographic Studio - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Official-photo-of-U.S.-Senate-110th-Congress-credit-to-U.S.-Senate-Photographic-Studio.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] This week, the United States Senate is considering a 145-page Republican proposal called the “[Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017](https://www.cotton.senate.gov/files/documents/170622SENATEHEALTHCARE.pdf)” that includes provisions to repeal “Obama Care.” The Senate Republican Policy Committee has published a [section-by-section summary of the proposal](https://www.rpc.senate.gov/legislative-notices/senate-amendment-to-hr-1628-better-care-reconciliation-act). The proposal is full of changes in tax law, health insurance law, public assistance programs for nearly-impoverished people, and Medicaid law affecting nursing home residents. This article describes how some parts of the proposal may help middle income families and explains why two of the proposal’s provisions will hurt many aged nursing home residents and their families. **Health Savings Account (HSA) Relief** Obama Care forced many self-employed people and small businesses employees to purchase high-deductible health insurance through health insurance exchanges. In many cases, those people can spend $7,000 per year or more on medical expenses without reaching their deductibles, and so their health insurance provides little or no actual benefit to them through the year. High-deductible insurance customers can set up health savings accounts (HSAs) to make tax-free health expense payments, but the HSA law caps HSA funding far below those exorbitant health insurance deductibles. The Senate proposal would eliminate HSA account funding caps and allow married couples to pool their money in a single HSA in 2018. Specifically, the proposal would increase a taxpayer’s annual HSA funding “to the sum of the annual deductible plus the maximum out-of-pocket expenses permitted under a high deductible health plan.” **Other Proposal Benefits** The Senate proposal would also eliminate many harsh effects of Obama Care with such relief as (text in quotation marks appears in the Republican proposal summary): - Reduction of the dollar amount limits placed on subsidy repayment for people who received an excess advance premium tax credit. - Reduction of the percentage of income low-income people must pay on health insurance premiums before insurance credits kick in. - Repeals the penalty people must pay for failing to purchase health insurance. - Postpones the 40% excise tax on high-cost employer health plans until 2026. - “Repeals the exclusion of over-the-counter medicines from the allowable uses of tax-advantaged health accounts, effective beginning in taxable year 2017.” - “Repeals the tax increase for purchasing nonqualified medical expenses with tax-advantaged health accounts, effective for distributions made beginning in 2017.” - “Repeals the $2,500 limit on contributions to flexible spending accounts, effective beginning in plan year 2018.” - “Repeals the tax on prescription drugs, effective calendar year 2018.” - “Repeals the 2.3 percent excise tax on medical devices, effective for sales beginning in calendar year 2017.” - “Repeals the increase in the amount of income that must be spent on medical expenses before a deduction is allowed, lowering it from Obamacare’s 10 percent to 7.5 percent, effective beginning in taxable year 2017.” **Bad News for Nursing Home Residents** Two proposal provisions would create serious problems for nursing home residents and their families – Section 128, under the Republican summary’s heading, “Reducing State Medicaid Costs,” and 130, under the Republican summary’s heading, “Eligibility Redeterminations.” **Section 128 “Reducing State Medicaid Costs” = Repeal of Retroactive Medicaid Coverage** The Republican proposal summary says Section 128 of the proposal, “Limits retroactive enrollment in Medicaid to the month in which the applicant applied, beginning October 1, 2017.” That simple sounding change will shift a financial burden of as much as $19,317 onto the backs of many nursing home residents and their families. The $77,268 average annual cost of Indiana nursing home care forces most nursing home residents to apply for Medicaid assistance. Nursing home residents’ family members must often take time off of work to dig into the residents’ personal and financial records to satisfy Medicaid’s financial eligibility requirements. It often takes many hours to complete a records search because Medicaid can require a person to produce bank accounts and other financial records from as far back as 5 years before the Medicaid application date. Unfortunately, federal law requires the state to determine Medicaid eligibility within 45 days after the Medicaid application date, which leads some caseworkers to threaten Medicaid applicants with eligibility denial if they do not deliver financial records quickly. Current federal law provides retroactive Medicaid eligibility to nursing home residents that qualified financially for Medicaid assistance as early as 3 months before the Medicaid application date. This 3-month retroactive Medicaid coverage eases the burden on families that have trouble getting organized for Medicaid application. The 3-month retroactive Medicaid coverage rule allows nursing homes to receive retroactive payment for services that they provide to Medicaid-eligible residents before Medicaid application. Nursing home officials and residents’ families can work together to prepare for Medicaid application without feeling pressured to apply for Medicaid hastily. The Senate proposal’s retroactive Medicaid coverage repeal will influence many nursing homes to push Medicaid applications too fast and make mistakes that will cost nursing homes dearly. Imagine, for example, a nursing home resident that gave $50,000 to his family 4 years and 11 months before his nursing home admission. The resident would qualify for Medicaid if he or his family could pay for his care privately for another month, but the old gift would disqualify him from Medicaid for more than 7 months if he would apply for Medicaid immediately. If the resident cannot pay nursing home fees for the entire 7 months, the nursing home will be stuck with either discharging the resident for nonpayment or providing free nursing home care to the resident the Medicaid disqualification ends. **Section 130 “Eligibility Redeterminations” = Overwhelming Caseworkers & Families** Current federal law requires states to reevaluate nursing home residents’ Medicaid eligibility each year. The Senate proposal would allow states to increase eligibility redetermination frequency from annual inquiries to semiannual inquiries. The increased redetermination frequency will increase administrative and financial burdens on nursing home residents’ families. A Medicaid caseworker usually sends a written Medicaid redetermination notice to the nursing home and the nursing home resident’s lawyer or family members near the anniversary of the initial Medicaid application. In most cases, the nursing home resident’s representatives simply complete a questionnaire and send copies of the resident’s bank records to the caseworker. High Medicaid application volume and Medicaid personnel turnover promotes caseworker errors. Overloaded caseworkers often overlook records that Medicaid recipients provided in the initial application process and mistakenly begin unlawful benefits termination procedures against nursing home residents. Consider, as a common example, a nursing home resident’s farmland that is exempt from Medicaid resource limits because the farm produces crop income that helps pay nursing home expenses. Caseworker operating on a tight deadline sometimes forget to look for the state’s copy of farm leases in the Medicaid files and threaten to terminate nursing home residents’ Medicaid benefits for failure to offer farmland for lease. We were able to correct this kind of error in an actual case of earlier this year, but it costs the nursing home resident’s family a few thousand dollars in legal services to convince the state of its error. An increase in Medicaid redetermination frequency will overwhelm nursing home resident’s families and increase Medicaid caseworkers’ error rates. Semiannual redeterminations will require nursing home residents’ families to respond to more erratic Medicaid redetermination inquiries, but many families will have trouble responding to erroneous inquiries effectively. Many Americans feel that we need to overhaul our broken health insurance system. The Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017 may be a step in the right direction if it does not step on America’s financially vulnerable nursing home residents and their families. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2017 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Health Insurance, Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), Long-term care, Lookback period, Medicaid, Nursing home, Obama Care, Transfer penalty **Tags:** Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), long-term care, Medicaid, nursing home, Obama Care --- ### [Organized Records Minimize Health Crisis Chaos](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/organized-records-minimize-health-crisis-chaos/) **Published:** August 2, 2017 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Hanging-Files-in-File-Cabinet-Drawer-By-stickasa-Shutterstock-photo-ID-256406641.jpg "Hanging Files in File Cabinet Drawer By stickasa, Shutterstock photo ID 256406641 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Hanging-Files-in-File-Cabinet-Drawer-By-stickasa-Shutterstock-photo-ID-256406641.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] A few days after Mom’s stroke, an ambulance crew is moving Mom from the hospital to a rehabilitation facility. Dad is stressed out, losing sleep, and eating poorly because the doctor is not sure that Mom will bounce back enough to come home, and Dad knows that nursing home care is expensive. He is tearing the house apart to find documents on a checklist that the rehabilitation facility’s business office gave him to get ready for his meeting with the business office manager tomorrow morning. The records search is moving slowly, so it looks like Dad is facing another long, sleepless night. Most people experience health crises before they die. Many people receive the most expensive health care of their lives in their last few months. Unfortunately, it is very hard to step into the household record keepers shoes and gather information when the record keeper falls ill. It is even harder for family members to get up to speed when a record keeper does not organize the records well. Everyone should keep a well-organized file system with basic information close at hand. These are some of records that everyone’s file system should contain if the records exist: - **Identification Records**: Drivers’ licenses, Social Security cards, Medicare cards, health insurance cards, DD 214 military discharge records, birth certificates, marriage certificates, and divorce decrees for prior marriages. - **Estate Plan Records**: Powers of attorney, health care powers of attorney or appointments of health care representatives, physician’s orders for scope of treatment (POST), out of hospital do not resuscitate orders, last wills and testaments, and trusts. - **Financial Records**: Account statements for all bank accounts (CDs, checking, savings, etc.), investment accounts, retirement accounts (IRAs, Roth IRAs, etc.), savings bonds, corporate stock, life insurance policies and policy account statements, annuity contracts and annuity account statements, etc. - if a husband or wife has been out of the house for 30 or more continuous days as an inpatient in one or more hospitals or other health facilities, keep all account records showing account values as of the first day of hospitalization **for the rest of the patient’s life**; and - keep records in every other case **for at least 5 years**. - **Medical Records**: Medicare and health insurance notices (for at least 1 year), and admission and discharge records for any inpatient treatment out of the house for 30 or more continuous days. - **Social Security Records**: The most recent Social Security Benefit Rate Change (BRI) Notice delivered December showing benefit values for the upcoming year (not the SSA-1099 notice that the Social Security administration sends at the first of the year for disclosing the previous year’s Social Security benefits for income tax purposes). - **Real Estate Records**: Copies of deeds for currently owns real estate and deeds for sales or transfers of real estate if the original deeds show transferred real estate descriptions with descriptions of currently owned real estate. A more comprehensive list of records that everyone should maintain and be able to access quickly is available for download from the bottom of Hawkins Law PC’s Elder Law webpage at: . [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2017 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** DD 214, Financial Records, Health Records, Medicare, Nursing home, Social Security, Stroke **Tags:** Health Records --- ### [Avoiding Probate is Easy – But Not Always Wise](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/avoiding-probate-is-easy-but-not-always-wise/) **Published:** May 23, 2017 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Last-will-and-testament-with-wooden-judge-gavel-by-Casper1774-Studio-Shutterstock-photo-ID-598340057.jpg "Last will and testament with wooden judge gavel, by Casper1774 Studio, Shutterstock photo ID 598340057 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Last-will-and-testament-with-wooden-judge-gavel-by-Casper1774-Studio-Shutterstock-photo-ID-598340057.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] We have heard people tell us for decades that they want to “avoid probate.” They say it as if they want to avoid cancer. Most people have no idea what it is that they think they should avoid. Fewer people know that the “probate” concept may be their best alternative. This article shines light on the “probate” landscape. A simple Indiana “probate” definition is the process in which a court with probate jurisdiction (often called “probate court”) approves the admission of a deceased person’s last will and testament to the county will record. Most people think of “probate” as the more elaborate process in which the court appoints an executor (or administrator if there is no will – “personal representative” includes “executor” and “administrator”), who gathers and inventories assets, publishes notice of administration in the newspaper, pays creditors, distributes the assets to distributees, and reports all of those activities to the court. An Indiana probate court normally has jurisdiction (authority) over assets of which a deceased person was the sole owner, and people often refer to such assets as “probate assets.” “Nonprobate assets” are assets that a deceased person transferred to a trust (see [Trustworthy Trusts?](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/trustworthy-trusts/)) or owned in some way, such as in a joint bank account, so that the ownership passed automatically to someone else having survivorship rights. A husband and wife often own almost all of their assets together with survivorship rights or have each other as beneficiaries of life insurance policies, retirement plans, and other assets, so most of their assets are nonprobate assets. Nonprobate asset ownership transfers to co-owners or named beneficiaries automatically under the laws governing such ownership. An Indiana probate court does not normally have jurisdiction over because the law already provides a process for asset transfer that does not require court involvement. Nonprobate asset ownership systems include joint asset ownership with rights of survivorship, pay on death (POD) accounts, transfer on death (TOD) beneficiary designations for real estate and personal property, and beneficiary provisions in life insurance policies, annuities, and retirement plans. It is so easy to set up nonprobate asset ownership that probate administration is increasingly rare. It is possible sometimes to bypass probate administration even when a decedent leaves probate assets. The Indiana Probate Code allows a decedent’s beneficiaries to acquire the decedent’s bank accounts and other monetary assets without opening probate estate administration if the total value of those assets remaining after payment of certain expenses is less than $50,000. In some cases, it is possible to transfer probate real estate worth hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars without probate administration. A person’s hasty efforts to avoid probate can undermine an estate plan. A deceased person’s will only controls the distribution of assets after the person’s death if it is admitted to probate and the decedent’s asset ownership system allows the will to control them. Nonprobate assets pass to beneficiaries regardless of a will’s distribution provisions, so it is possible for a decedent’s nonprobate assets to bypass the will’s distribution provisions and render the will useless. It is possible to avoid probate and satisfy important estate planning goals in a well-coordinated estate plan. One of the most powerful asset protection systems for married couples uses nonprobate assets and a sophisticated last will and testament containing custom-designed trust language for the surviving spouse. Such a plan steers directly toward “probate,” as the readers of this article now understand that term, and the decedent’s will can often protect most of the couple’s assets from the surviving spouse’s long-term care costs and other financial threats that simple probate avoidance could never accomplish. Probate avoidance can be a useful part of a wise estate planning attorney’s estate planning strategy. Probate avoidance for the sake of probate avoidance can be as foolish as driving on a moonless night without a destination and without headlights. The difference between wise and foolish probate avoidance depends on whether a skillful estate planning attorney is developing the plan. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2017 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Annuity, Asset Protection, Estate, Estate Planning, Executor, Joint Bank Account, Last Will and Testament, Life Insurance, Long-term care, POD, Probate, Retirement Plan, Surviving spouse, Testamentary Trust, TOD, Trust **Tags:** beneficiaries, estate plan, estate plan attorney, last will and testament, Life insurance, long-term care, POD, Probate, real estate, TOD, trust --- ### [Costly Delay: Importance of Mental Capacity in Estate Planning](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/importance-of-mental-capacity-in-estate-planning/) **Published:** April 8, 2017 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Confused-Old-Man-or-Senior-By-cheapbooks-Shutterstock-ID-524632753.jpg "Confused Old Man or Senior, By cheapbooks - Shutterstock ID 524632753 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Confused-Old-Man-or-Senior-By-cheapbooks-Shutterstock-ID-524632753.jpg)\[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Too people say about estate planning, “I’m not ready for that yet.” A person must be able to think clearly enough to make a will, trust, power of attorney, deed, health care directive or other estate plan document. As we wrote in our blog article, *[Crisis Management for a Nursing Home Resident without an Estate Plan](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/crisis-management-for-a-nursing-home-resident-without-an-estate-plan/)*, an incapacitated person’s options to deal with a health crisis are very limited. An incapacitated person cannot make decisions about things that the person would normally expect to control. When a person procrastinates estate planning until a health crisis incapacitates the person to the incapacitated person’s family must file a petition in court, a judge must hold a hearing, and then the judge must appoint a guardian to make the person’s decisions. Indiana’s courts evaluate a person’s mental capacity to make a will by determining whether the person has sufficient mental capacity at the time of making the will to know: 1. the extent and value of his property, 2. the number and names of those who were the natural objects of his bounty, and 3. their deserts with reference to their conduct toward and treatment of him (as stated by the Indiana Court of Appeals in *Hinshaw v. Hinshaw*, 134 Ind.App. 22, 182 N.E.2d 805 (Ind.App. 1962)). The mental capacity standard uses old-fashioned language that may not make clear sense to modern readers. The reference in the second mental capacity element to “the natural objects of his bounty” means the people that you would ordinarily expect to inherit a person’s assets, such as the person’s children or other family members. The reference in the third mental capacity element to “their deserts” means what they deserve to receive based on how they have treated the person. A modern mental capacity statement would be that if a person wants to make a will, the person needs to know: 1. what money, land, and other belongings the person owns, and what those things are worth; 2. the number of people and their names of people that you would normally expect to receive land, money, and other assets after the person’s death as beneficiaries of the person’s estate; and 3. whether each beneficiary’s behavior toward the person is good enough for the beneficiary to deserve inheritance, or bad enough that the beneficiary should be disinherited. Many things can disrupt a person’s ability to think clearly to make or update an estate plan, and the disruption can come suddenly without warning. Some of the factors that can rob someone of their ability to make or update an estate plan include: - stroke - Alzheimer’s disease or other cause of dementia - extended loss of oxygen to the brain during a heart attack - head injury from a fall or other accident - several kinds of medications, especially when some drugs interact with other drugs - insulin problems related to diabetes - infection, such as a urinary tract infection - breathing problems that limit oxygen flow to the brain - intimidation or improper influence by other people - shock from a traumatic event - depression during serious physical illness or after a major loss such as the death of a friend or close family member Time is the enemy of any person who has not made or updated an estate plan. When a person waits to make or update an estate plan until the person is “ready,” the person risks losing the mental capacity necessary to do the work. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2017 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Alzheimer's, Dementia, Disability, Disinherit, Estate, Estate Planning, Guardianship, Inherit, Last Will and Testament, Mental Capacity, Power of Attorney, Stroke, Trust, Undue influence **Tags:** Alzheimer's, beneficiaries, Dementia, estate plan, guardianship, last will and testament, Mental Capacity, trust, Undue Influence --- ### [Know and Protect Your Boundaries](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/know-and-protect-your-boundaries/) **Published:** April 18, 2017 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Surveyor-checks-measurements-on-new-project-By-tonympix-Shutterstock-ID-141904561.jpg "Surveyor checks measurements on new project - By tonympix - Shutterstock ID 141904561 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Surveyor-checks-measurements-on-new-project-By-tonympix-Shutterstock-ID-141904561.jpg)\[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Three of the most emotionally volatile kinds of legal conflicts that people can encounter are child custody battles, family disputes over a deceased person’s assets, and arguments between neighbors over property boundary lines. Disputes over children and estate assets often stir intense emotion, but the intensity fades once a court enters judgment on the contested issues. By contrast, some boundary disputes rage for generations, and nations have fought wars over slim strips of land along their borders. Fortunately, most boundary disputes are easier to avoid than family conflicts. Americans divide land into various geometric shapes when property owners sell or give parts of their land to other people, their families divide the land after the property owners die, or a federal, state, or local government entity acquires land from the property owners. In an ideal case, someone will hire a reputable surveyor to locate and mark the boundaries of the land, and then locate and mark new boundaries of parts of the land that the property owner is dividing for sale or other transfer to new property owners. Of course, the fact that boundary disputes exist in almost every city and town in the nation tells us that property owners do not always do what is ideal. Several factors can lead to boundary disputes. In densely wooded areas or places with rough terrain (such as areas that have been transformed by mining activities) old survey markers can be hard to find and old survey records may be too sketchy to calculate boundary locations with mathematical precision. Rivers and streams change courses over time and sometimes disrupt boundaries that use those waterways as fixed landmarks. It may surprise people to know that some streets, alleys, and county roads shift locations when maintenance crews repair or replace them without maintaining the original road widths carefully. People sometimes disrupt boundaries accidentally by uprooting survey markers, such as when a farmer bulldozers through a corner point while clearing an old fencerow. Perhaps the most common and avoidable boundary problem occurs when someone builds or installs a permanent landmark, such as a driveway, a row of trees, a garage, or a fence on a neighbor’s property. A real estate buyer can avoid a boundary dispute nightmare by verifying property lines and corner points before making a purchase offer. If a surveyor has marked the property boundaries, the survey markers should be detectable with a metal detector if they are not visible on the surface. If a buyer cannot find the survey markers, it may be worthwhile to speak with the neighboring property owners to ensure that they agree with the seller about the location of the property lines and property corners. If neighbors agree with the boundaries, they should also be willing to install clear corner point markers and sign a boundary location agreement that refers to those markers, so that the parties and the property owners that owned the real estate after them can enforce the agreement against neighboring property owners. It costs precious time and money to install or construct driveway, fence, building, or other significant landmark. If a property owner builds such a landmark in a city that has zoning restrictions, the city may order the property owner to remove the landmark if it is located too close to the boundary lines. Even in communities without zoning ordinances, if you build a landmark across your neighbor’s property line, the neighbor can force you to remove the landmark. Therefore, if it is not possible to visually verify well-established boundary markers before beginning the installation or construction, a property owner should hire a surveyor to set boundary markers and mark the location of the proposed landmark on the survey to ensure that the landmark does not encroach upon the neighbor’s property. A careful and responsible property owner can still end up with a boundary dispute if a neighbor treats the property boundary irresponsibly. Therefore, it is always wise for a property owner to meet a new neighbor and point out the boundary lines before the new neighbor begins building landmarks. Otherwise, it is possible for a sloppy or aggressive neighbor to claim ownership of part of your property under an ancient legal doctrine known as “adverse possession.” Multiple requirements of adverse possession law must exist before the rule changes property ownership, but a simple rule of thumb is that you risk forfeiting ownership of part of your land if you do not dispute a neighbor’s encroaching landmark in court within 10 years after the landmark’s installation or construction. If you are wondering why the boundary line is such a big deal, you should realize that initial attorney fees and survey fees in a simple boundary dispute could exceed a total of $10,000 very quickly. If you build a garage or swimming pool on your neighbor’s property, you may also have to remove it. Finally, if you allow your neighbor to build something on your property, adverse possession may force you to live with it for as long as you own your property. We think those are pretty big deals. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2017 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Adverse Possession, Boundary Dispute, Boundary Location Agreement, Encroachment, Survey **Tags:** Adverse Possession, Boundary Dispute, Boundary Location Agreement, Encroachment, Survey --- ### [Getting Married? Get A Prenuptial Agreement First!](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/getting-married-get-a-prenuptial-agreement-first/) **Published:** April 18, 2017 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Prenuptial-agreement-By-Bartolomiej-Pietrzyk-Shutterstock-ID-397005031.jpg "Prenuptial agreement - By Bartolomiej Pietrzyk - Shutterstock ID 397005031 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Prenuptial-agreement-By-Bartolomiej-Pietrzyk-Shutterstock-ID-397005031.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] What comes to mind when you think of a prenuptial agreement? If you are like most people, you probably think about wealthy celebrities protecting their wealth from divorce. You may also think that a person would have to be a greedy, heartless jerk to ask a fiancé to sign a prenuptial agreement. In most cases, a prenuptial agreement is simply the responsible way for an established adult to enter into marriage, but the “greedy, heartless jerk” stereotype often discourages love-struck people from marrying responsibly. This article expands on our 2016 article entitled, [Best Intentions – Paving Material for a Bad Road](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/best-intentions-paving-material-for-a-bad-road/), to explain why established adults should consider prenuptial agreements carefully before marrying. Most people misunderstand the functions and purposes of prenuptial agreements. To understand those functions and purposes, it is helpful to consider the consequences of marrying without a prenuptial agreement. Those consequences arise differently, depending on whether a marriage ends in divorce or the death of the husband or wife. Most states, like Indiana, divide a divorcing couple’s assets under the concept of “equitable distribution.” Unless the parties agree to a particular property settlement, the divorce court judge orders the couple to divide their assets between them according to what the judge determines to be fair under the circumstances. Because there is no set rule for measuring “fairness,” the judge has tremendous discretion about where to draw the asset division line. When a married person dies without a prenuptial agreement, the surviving spouse is entitled to receive a substantial part of the deceased spouse’s assets. In Indiana, if the deceased spouse’s only children are also children of the surviving spouse, the surviving spouse inherits $25,000 and half of the deceased spouse’s other assets, regardless of the provisions of the deceased spouse’s last will and testament. The surviving spouse’s share of the deceased spouse’s assets is slightly smaller if the deceased spouse had children born of a previous marriage. Couples that marry late in life often speak about not wanting to claim each other’s assets. However, if the surviving spouse is disabled, that person’s family may use a power of attorney or guardianship to claim the surviving spouse’s share in the deceased spouse’s estate. Also, if the deceased spouse’s estate plan leaves nothing for the surviving spouse, and if the surviving spouse requires nursing home care, the state may disqualify the surviving spouse for Medicaid assistance to pay nursing home bills unless the surviving spouse or the spouse’s family contests the deceased spouse’s estate plan. A prenuptial agreement can prevent Indiana divorce and probate laws from imposing asset distribution rules on a married couple. The couple can specify any property division rules that it wants to establish within the prenuptial agreement terms and conditions. Most prenuptial agreements also permit the couple to modify the property division rules in a variety of ways if the couple wants to update the property division plan. The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) does not honor prenuptial agreements. When a married person applies for Medicaid to pay nursing home bills, FSSA considers both spouses’ assets and income, regardless of whether the couple has a prenuptial agreement. However, if the spouse residing at home dies and leaves an estate plan that provides for distributions to family members other than the surviving spouse residing in the nursing home, a prenuptial agreement may be able to prevent FSSA from forcing the surviving spouse to claim the deceased spouse’s assets, because the surviving spouse cannot claim more than his or her legal entitlement. A prenuptial agreement protects can protect farms and other business assets owned by multiple generations of family members by sparing them the necessity of borrowing money to buy back family business assets that a former in-law may acquire through divorce or death. In some cases, that kind of protection may save the family business from forced liquidation. A prenuptial agreement may not be the most romantic way to propose marriage, but it is the responsible way to protect and preserve family assets. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](https://www.zeekbeek.com/isba) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2017 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Divorce, Estate Planning, Last Will and Testament, Medicaid, Nursing home, Prenuptial Agreement, Remarriage, Surviving spouse **Tags:** Divorce, estate, estate plan attorney, FSSA, Medicaid, nursing home, Prenuptial Agreement, surviving spouse --- ### [Indiana’s New and Improved POST Form](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/indianas-new-and-improved-post-form/) **Published:** January 5, 2017 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/2016-POST-form-793x1024.jpg "2016 POST form - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/2016-POST-form.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] The Indiana State Department of health (ISDH) updated and improved the Indiana Physicians Orders for Scope of Treatment (POST) form in December 2016. The new form is available for download in PDF and Microsoft Word formats at , and it should be available in the offices of most health care service providers. We provide the form to our clients that may be able to use it, and we make it available upon request to whoever requests a copy. The Indiana legislature enacted an entire chapter of legislation about POST in 2013 (available online at: ). An Indiana patient is a “qualified person” to establish a POST form under Indiana Code § 16-36-6-5 if the patient has at least one of the following conditions: (1) An advanced chronic progressive illness. (2) An advanced chronic progressive frailty. (3) A condition caused by injury, disease, or illness from which, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty: (A) there can be no recovery; and (B) death will occur from the condition within a short period without the provision of life prolonging procedures. (4) A medical condition that, if the person were to suffer cardiac or pulmonary failure, resuscitation would be unsuccessful or within a short period the person would experience repeated cardiac or pulmonary failure resulting in death. The Indiana General Assembly enacted the 2013 Post legislation in response to a national movement to provide a better way for seriously ill patients to coordinate end-of-life health care with their physicians. The movement began in 1991 with the formation of the Oregon POLST Task Force, which created the original Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) form that Oregon adopted in 1995. We reported a defect in the original Indiana POST form on December 6, 2014, in our article entitled, “[Indiana Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/indiana-physician-orders-for-scope-of-treatment/).” We said in that article: “Patients that have appointed healthcare representatives with an appointment healthcare representative or a healthcare power of attorney should avoid completing the section of the back side of the \[POST\] form that mentions healthcare representatives because a patient can accidentally terminate his or her previous appointment of healthcare representative and thereby prevent an intended healthcare representative from helping with healthcare decisions other than end-of-life choices.” The ISDH replaced that defective language in the new POST form with clearer instructions and alternative signature provisions for adult patients, the parent of a minor patient, a patient’s health care representative, a patient’s health care attorney-in-fact under a Health Care Power of Attorney, or a patient’s legal guardian. The ISDH has also published advance care directives statutes and POST statutes, forms for POST and several kinds of advance care directives, [Information for Health Care Professionals about POST](http://www.in.gov/isdh/files/POST%20Form%20Information%20for%20Healthcare%20Professionals.pdf), and [Information for Patients about POST](http://www.in.gov/isdh/files/POST%20Form%20Information%20for%20Patients.pdf) on the ISDH website at: . [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2017 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Advance Directives, End of Life Decisions, Healthcare Representative, Living Will Declaration, Physicians Orders for Scope of Treatment, POLST, POST **Tags:** advance care directives, Health Care Power of Attorney, Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment, Physicians Orders for Scope of Treatment, POLST, post --- ### [Medicaid Alternatives for Aged and Disabled Adults](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/medicaid-alternatives-for-aged-and-disabled-adults/) **Published:** December 4, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![friendly-nurse-brings-a-mean-to-an-elderly-shut-in-could-also-be-lunch-time-at-the-nursing-home-shutterstock-image-id-69502159-copyright-lisa-f-young](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Friendly-nurse-brings-a-mean-to-an-elderly-shut-in.-Could-also-be-lunch-time-at-the-nursing-home.-Shutterstock-Image-ID-69502159-Copyright-Lisa-F.-Young.jpg "friendly-nurse-brings-a-mean-to-an-elderly-shut-in-could-also-be-lunch-time-at-the-nursing-home-shutterstock-image-id-69502159-copyright-lisa-f-young - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Friendly-nurse-brings-a-mean-to-an-elderly-shut-in.-Could-also-be-lunch-time-at-the-nursing-home.-Shutterstock-Image-ID-69502159-Copyright-Lisa-F.-Young.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] The Medicaid system is maturing and showing promise of improving nursing home alternatives compared to the few meaningful alternatives to nursing home care that existed when we began our elder law career almost quarter century ago. Back then, almost every dementia or stroke patient had to be institutionalized in a nursing home to receive adequate supervisory and therapeutic care. Today, the depth and breadth of non-nursing home care alternatives is growing to include a full range of care between home health care and full nursing home care. Generally, Medicaid pays for nursing home care when an adult qualifies financially and needs help with multiple activities of daily living (ADLs), such as eating, bathing, dressing, toileting, taking medication, etc. The aged and disabled waiver (commonly referred to as “A & D Waiver”) program provides a home health care alternative for some patients needing nursing home level of care. More recently, the assisted living waiver system has provided Medicaid eligibility to provide nursing home level of care for disabled patients in Medicaid-certified assisted living facilities. The A & D Waiver system works well for a patient that lives with a healthy spouse or other family members, who can provide care in the evening and part of the day. Lake Medicaid for nursing home care, the A & D Waiver system requires the patient satisfy financial eligibility requirements. Additionally, the Area Agency on Aging must determine that that the patient needs nursing home level of care, but can live at home with substantial assistance. Qualifying patients can receive Medicaid assistance to pay nurses and therapists for home visits to provide some of the kinds of care that nursing homes provide to their residents. Medicaid also pays respite workers to supervise a patient and give family caregivers time away from home for recreation, shopping, and other out of home activities that caregivers need to maintain their own physical and mental health. The A & D Waiver system does not work for everyone. If a patient does not have family members that are willing and able to live with the patient and provide 18 hours or more of care daily, a dementia patient that wonders or a stroke patient that needs regular assistance every 2 or 3 hours may not be able to live safely without such supervision. Patients in rural communities often struggle to find rural communities with sufficient leave reliable and professionally trained caregivers to do the job. The assisted living waiver provides an intermediate solution for patients that need more care than they can receive at home, but less care than nursing homes provide. An assisted living facility must receive authority from the Indiana family and social services administration to provide Medicaid-reimbursed assisted living care, and not all assisted living facilities have such authority. Therefore, it is necessary for a patient and the patient’s family members to consider an assisted living facility’s Medicaid certification before applying for admission for residency in the facility, or the patient may have experience a disruptive move to a Medicaid-certified assisted living facility. State and federal budgets have limited alternative care innovation and development over the years. The A & D Waiver system was so understaffed and underfunded in past years that some patients’ families had to choose between waiting as much as a year for critical home health care assistance, and admitting their loved ones to nursing homes, where the patients could receive important care immediately, but lose the familiar comforts of home. Assisted living waivers have suffered similarly frustrating budgetary and administrative setbacks. State and federal agencies are beginning to clear roadblocks and improve service delivery. In the fall 2016, an Indiana Family and Social Services Administration official informed lawyers at the Indiana Elder Law Institute that the agency is exploring ways to compensate non-certified caregivers, such as unemployed or underemployed family members, to provide the in-home supervisory care. These promising developments offer future aged and disabled patients hope for more desirable health care alternatives, while saving millions of taxpayer dollars. Indiana elder law attorneys constantly monitor the Medicaid system to help aged and disabled patients and their families use their financial resources cost-effectively and access Medicaid assistance when necessary to obtain the best possible care. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Aged and Disabled Waiver, Area Agencies on Aging, Assisted living, Assisted Living Waiver, Caregiver, Dementia, Elder Law, Home healthcare, Medicaid, Nursing home **Tags:** A & D Waiver, Assisted Living Waiver, elder law attorney, Medicaid, nursing home --- ### [Life Insurance Estate Planning Tips](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/life-insurance-estate-planning-tips/) **Published:** November 27, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![businesswoman-choosing-insurance-instead-of-risk-shutterstock-image-id-191112752-copyright-sindlera](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Businesswoman-choosing-Insurance-instead-of-Risk-Shutterstock-Image-ID-191112752-Copyright-sindlera.jpg "businesswoman-choosing-insurance-instead-of-risk-shutterstock-image-id-191112752-copyright-sindlera - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Businesswoman-choosing-Insurance-instead-of-Risk-Shutterstock-Image-ID-191112752-Copyright-sindlera.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] People buy and use life insurance for many reasons. Unfortunately, too many people make poor life insurance purchase and use decisions because they do not try to understand their options. Instead, they rely on insurance promoters and amateur advisors to tell them what they need to purchase and how they should use it. Their blind faith often leads them to purchase too much insurance, purchase the wrong kind of insurance, or do things with their insurance that trap them in financial problems. Insurance is a risk management tool. We pay insurance companies to bear financial burdens of undesirable future events, such as illness, theft, fire, death, and disability. Like any other tool, each kind of insurance helps solve a particular kind of risk problem. The first important life insurance purchase decisions should be to determine what purpose life insurance serves better than any other investment and how much insurance is necessary to achieve that purpose. A life insurance purchase is an investment like any other expenditure for financial service products, so the investment decision should consider the investment alternatives. Insurance is rarely the only investment alternative to serve a particular purpose, so you should only purchase life insurance if it is the best solution for the intended purpose. Smart life insurance customers buy insurance to ensure that there is enough money available to pay certain expenses that might otherwise be difficult to pay when they or others die. For example, business partners often make buy-sell agreements, in which they purchase insurance on each other’s life to provide money to purchase their deceased partners’ shares of business ownership and avoid the need to borrow buyout money from banks. Similarly, young married homebuyers often purchase life insurance so that a surviving spouse can pay off the mortgage loan and reduce expenses that would otherwise be hard to pay without the deceased spouse’s income. The key is to know why you want to buy life insurance and estimate how much insurance you need. It is sad to see people buy life insurance to produce wealth. When someone buys life insurance simply because they want the death benefit to enrich family members, the insurance customer is placing a casino that the customer will die very soon. Unfortunately for the customer (or fortunately by and other perspective), life insurance companies generally only sell life insurance policies to people that are healthy enough to be insurable, and they have enough life expectancy data to win most of those bets. Thus, much like the saying goes in the casino industry, “the house always wins.” The second level of life insurance purchase decisions should be to determine which life insurance variety solves the insurance problem best and which insurance company offers the best insurance policy for the money. The old saying, “you get what you pay for,” applies to life insurance as much as it applies to automobiles and tennis shoes. There may be as many quality variations among life insurance companies and life insurance policies as there are automobile models and tennis shoe styles. An affordable price does not always mean that something is a good value, so smart life insurance customers shop around and compare products and premiums to get the right kind and amount of insurance for the most reasonable premium. Otherwise, a customer may end up with too much life insurance, or insurance that costs too much in comparison to the death benefits. A reputable estate planning lawyer understands life insurance alternatives and how life insurance fits within an estate plan. Such a lawyer works with many life insurance agents and companies, and has a good understanding of which insurance companies and insurance products best survey client’s particular estate planning needs. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Buy-Sell Agreement, Estate Planning, Life Insurance, Mortgage **Tags:** Buy-Sell Agreement, estate plan, estate plan attorney, Life insurance, mortgage --- ### [Life Insurance, Funeral Expenses, & Medicaid](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/life-insurance-funeral-expenses-medicaid/) **Published:** November 27, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![photo-of-life-insurance-policies-and-notices-copyright-2016-hawkins-law-pc-all-rights-reserved](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Photo-of-life-insurance-policies-and-notices-©-Copyright-2016-Hawkins-Law-PC.-All-rights-reserved.jpg "photo-of-life-insurance-policies-and-notices-copyright-2016-hawkins-law-pc-all-rights-reserved - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Photo-of-life-insurance-policies-and-notices-©-Copyright-2016-Hawkins-Law-PC.-All-rights-reserved.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] There is an old saying that, “the two certainties in life are death and taxes.” Those certainties used to inspire life insurance purchases to provide money for funeral expenses and “death taxes.” Today, increased estate tax exemption and the Indiana inheritance tax repeal have eliminated tax concerns for most Hoosiers, while long-term care cost inflation (an average cost of $72,936 per year as of July 1, 2016, in Indiana) has replaced the tax threat for many disabled retirees. In some cases, the long-term care threat also jeopardizes certain life insurance policies that people purchased to pay death taxes and funeral expenses. We are blogging this week to clarify misinformation that is leading people to take ill-advised and detrimental actions to pay funeral expenses and protect their life insurance policies. Retirees often experience health crises that require expensive long-term care at home, in assisted living, or in nursing homes. Long-term care expenses consume wealth and income rapidly, requiring many disabled retirees to apply for Medicaid assistance. Indiana Medicaid requires applicants to reduce the total value of most assets below $2,000, including the cash surrender values of many kinds of their life insurance policies. Thus, disabled life insurance owners often have to cash out their life insurance policies or transfer ownership of the policies according to the Medicaid rules. Unfortunately, some people transfer life insurance policies the family members or other people without seeking advice from an experienced elder law attorney, and they end up creating big problems. The provisions of the Indiana Health Coverage Program Policy Manual (IHCPPM) allows a life insurance owner to transfer certain life insurance policies with cash surrender values to funeral directors (we have added for emphasis): > 2615.25.05.15 Life Insurance Exemption (MED 1): Effective 7-1-99, when an applicant/recipient is insured by a life insurance policy **with a face value of $10,000 or less** and the beneficiary of the policy is the applicant’s/recipient’s estate or the funeral director who will be providing services, the cash surrender value is exempt. **This also applies if there is more than one policy and the total face value of all policies is $10,000 or less**. **If the face value of one or more policies (excepting term policies) exceeds $10,000, the cash surrender value must be considered, regardless of who is designated as the beneficiary**. > > Effective June 1, 2014, if the total value of an AG’s irrevocable funeral trust, irrevocable prepaid funeral agreement, **and the face value of one or more policies (excepting term policies) exceeds $10,000, the cash surrender value of the life insurance policy or policies that exceeds the $10,000 exception is countable**, **regardless of who is designated as the beneficiary of that policy**. > > Each applicant/recipient is entitled to the $10,000 insurance exemption. So far, we have not encountered a funeral director that was aware of the $10,000 face value rule for Indiana Medicaid eligibility. This disturbing problem has emerged in cases where people have transferred life insurance policies with combined face values totaling more than $10,000 to funeral homes to qualify for Medicaid because neither the applicants nor their funeral directors realized that the combined policy face values were too big. We can usually correct life insurance transfer mistakes, but the mistakes often cost thousands of dollars worth of Medicaid financial assistance unnecessarily. It is always better to consult with an experienced elder law attorney before purchasing or transferring insurance policies to protect the policies or other assets from long-term care expenses, because a more valuable old saying is that, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Estate Planning, Funeral Planning, Life Insurance, Long-term care, Medicaid, Nursing home **Tags:** estate planning, Funeral Planning, Life insurance, long-term care, Medicaid, nursing home --- ### [When Is Cash Business Criminal?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/when-is-cash-business-criminal/) **Published:** November 19, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![criminals-cash](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Criminals-Cash.jpg "criminals-cash - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Criminals-Cash.jpg)[](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Criminals-Cash.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Pop quiz: Which of the following business transactions could involve criminal behavior? 1. Your restaurant customer pays the tab in cash and leaves a cash tip on the table. 2. The next door neighbor gives your child a $10 bill to shovel snow. 3. You clean a friend’s elderly mother’s home every other week and receive a $100 bill for each cleaning. 4. None of the above. 5. All of the above. 6. It depends. Keep reading to see the quiz answer below. According to the “[Reporting Miscellaneous Income](https://www.irs.gov/uac/reporting-miscellaneous-income)” webpage of the IRS, “While most people are aware they must include wages, salaries, interest, dividends, tips and commissions as income on their tax returns, many don’t realize that they must also report most other income, such as: - cash earned from side jobs, - barter exchanges of goods or services, - awards, prizes, contest winnings and - gambling proceeds.” The IRS webpage explains income reporting requirements further: “Taxpayers must report all income from any source and any country unless it is explicitly exempt under the U.S. tax code. There may be taxable income from certain transactions even if no money changes hands.” “Generally, the IRS considers all income received in the form of money, property or services to be taxable income unless the law specifically provides an exemption. This document discusses a few types of reportable income. Information on how to report other types of income can be found in [Publication 525](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p525.pdf), *Taxable and Nontaxable Income*.” Generally speaking, everyone must file an income tax return and report cash receipts if they still have taxable income after applying there applicable exemptions, credits, and tax deductions. IRS [Publication 531](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p531.pdf) explains tip reporting requirements for restaurant employees. IRS [Publication 929](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p929/ar02.html) offers practical tax return filing requirement guidance for children and young adults that are claimed as other taxpayers’ dependents (as of this writing, the 2015 publication is most recent). IRS [Publication 554](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p554/ch01.html) provides a similarly simple guideline to determine when most taxpayers must file tax returns (as of this writing, the 2015 publication is most recent). The answer to the quiz at the beginning of this article is, “F. It depends.” If any of the quiz’s first 3 fact patterns describes you, it is important to get the answer right. If you fail to account cash receipts as taxable income when you are filing your income tax return, you are guilty of a federal misdemeanor that is punishable by up to 1 year in prison and up to a $100,000 fine. If you deliberately plan to conduct business in cash for the purpose of evading taxation (Al Capone’s criminal downfall), you are guilty of a federal felony and punishable by imprisonment for up to 5 years and a fine of up to $250,000. A person described in quiz fact pattern C is the most likely person to be caught in tax evasion for not reporting cash payments because the elderly client may eventually require Medicaid. The 2016 average annual cost of nursing home care in Indiana is $72,816, so most nursing home residents eventually need Medicaid assistance to pay that cost. Medicaid requires people to justify cash expenditures or face eligibility disqualification. The Medicaid system is increasingly integrating with other government data systems and Medicaid caseworkers are constantly refining their financial inquiries. Medicaid will inevitably force applicants to “squeal” on their cash basis service providers to avoid Medicaid benefits disqualification. Then, when the Medicaid system and the IRS data collection system connect, guess what will happen to the nonreporting housecleaner in fact pattern C? [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Income Tax, IRS, Medicaid, Nursing home, Tax Evasion, Tax Fraud, Tax Return Filing Requirements **Tags:** Income Tax Return Filing Requirements, IRS, Medicaid, nursing home, Tax Evasion, tax fraud --- ### [2017 Social Security, Medicare, Military Benefits & Medicaid COLA](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/2017-social-security-medicare-military-benefits-medicaid-cola/) **Published:** November 14, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![ssa-cms-hhs-va-logos](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/SSA-CMS-HHS-VA-Logos.jpg "ssa-cms-hhs-va-logos - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/SSA-CMS-HHS-VA-Logos.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Recipients of Social Security retirement income, Social Security disability income, veterans’ pensions, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicaid, and other social insurance and public assistance benefits will experience cost-of-living adjustments in January 2017. The benefits and applicable deductions, such as Medicare premiums, will rise together with corresponding increases in Social Security taxes paid by the American workforce. Cost-of-living adjustments, often abbreviated as “COLAs,” protect government benefits recipients from inflation. Without COLAs, the rising price of groceries, gasoline, health care, and other essential products and services would become less affordable as the price tags of those items increase with inflation. The Social Security Administration, Veterans Administration, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services known as “CMS”) update the values of Social Security benefits, Medicare premiums, and certain Medicaid eligibility criteria at the beginning of some calendar years to offset inflation. The agencies make cost-of-living adjustments according to changes in U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index (CPI). The annual CPI evaluation compares the current year third quarter (July, August, and September) to the previous year third quarter to measure whether the price level of a hypothetical market basket of consumer goods and services purchased by households has increased. The CPI increased from 2015 to 2016 by 0.3%, so Social Security retirement benefits, Social Security disability benefits, and veterans’ pensions will also increase but by 0.3% in 2017. For example, if a retiree receives a 2016 gross Social Security monthly benefit of $1,500, the gross Social Security benefit will increase to $1,545. That does not mean that the recipient will actually receive the entire $45, because the Social Security Administration subtracts the Medicare premium from the gross Social Security benefit before depositing the net benefit in a recipient’s checking account. When Social Security benefits increase, states (like Indiana, but not Illinois) can provide corresponding COLAs to Medicaid applicants’ spouses. The State of Indiana published in summer 2016 that the monthly average cost of Indiana nursing home care was $6,078, which totals an annual cost of $72,936. Generally, a Hoosier nursing home resident qualifies for Medicaid if the resident’s resource value drops below $2,000. The Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988 (the “MCCA”) offers inflation-adjusted impoverishment protection for nursing home resident’s spouse by qualifying the nursing home resident for Medicaid to pay nursing home bills while allowing the spouse to keep certain assets in addition to the nursing home resident’s allowable assets. The COLAs increase the minimum ($26,180 in 2017) and maximum ($122,900 in 2017) countable resource values that an Indiana Medicaid applicant and applicant’s spouse may keep in addition to other exempt assets that Medicaid permits the spouse to keep (such as a vehicle, residence, IRA, and other real estate). [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, Social Security Disability, SSI, Veterans benefits **Tags:** Consumer Price Index (CPI), disability, Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, SSI, Veterans benefits --- ### [Spiritual Issues in Final Illness, Death, and Human Remains Disposition](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/spiritual-issues-in-final-illness-death-and-human-remains-disposition/) **Published:** November 5, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![spiritual-sensitivity-amalgam-with-120px-religious_syms-svg-png-pienoiskuva5-kesakuuta2007kello14-57tallennetustaversiosta](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Spiritual-sensitivity-amalgam-with-120px-Religious_syms.svg_.png-Pienoiskuva5.kesäkuuta2007kello14.57tallennetustaversiosta.jpg "spiritual-sensitivity-amalgam-with-120px-religious_syms-svg-png-pienoiskuva5-kesakuuta2007kello14-57tallennetustaversiosta - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Spiritual-sensitivity-amalgam-with-120px-Religious_syms.svg_.png-Pienoiskuva5.kesäkuuta2007kello14.57tallennetustaversiosta.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] In our most recent blog, “[Plans for Final Illness, Death, and Human Remains Disposition](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/plans-for-final-illness-death-and-human-remains-disposition/),” we mentioned issues that affect people’s choices about health care in final illness, death, and disposition of their bodies, including a few brief references to spiritual issues. We are expanding that topic in this article as we reflect on a lecture by estate and trust lawyer Martin M. Shenkman at the 42nd Annual Notre Dame® Tax & Estate Planning Institute in South Bend, Indiana, entitled, “Religion and Estate Planning.” These statements in Mr. Shenkman’s presentation outline struck a familiar chord with us: > “There have been too many family tragedies that could have been avoided with a modicum of advance planning. Fist fights have occurred at funerals over which religious customs to observe. Families have fractured forever over an issue such as which cemetery a parent should be buried in. Intermarried couples that grew up with different faiths, but have not arranged ahead of time to be buried in nonsectarian cemeteries, leave their heirs with Solomon-like choices to make at a very difficult time.” > > “With the dynamics of the current society, it has become commonplace for parents to be of different religious denominations from their children, and even from each other. A common scenario is for a client who was adamant about her lack of religious beliefs and feelings, does an abrupt change as she approaches the end of life. It is not unusual for someone, through a progressing illness, to find solace in re-connecting to the religious roots with which she was raised.” Mr. Shenkman recommended that people make letters of instruction to the family members that express important religious convictions on subjects like: - What is defined as death? This has been a vital issue in many highly publicized cases and is fraught with controversy and complexity. Specifying specific beliefs about this. - Can your agent ever withhold nutrition and hydration without violating your religious precepts? - Does quality of life have any relevance in light of your personal religious beliefs? Define with detail what quality of life might suffice to justify heroic measures even if you are terminally ill. Different religions, and different levels of observance within any particular religion, can have significant impact on this. - Must certain medical procedures be avoided? - Can your organs be donated? In some faiths, this is linked to the definition of death. - What of funeral and burial customs? This is often an emotional issue so that addressing it with clear guidance is very important. Further, custom and tradition often clarifies, or even modifies religious precepts, so providing clarity to this issue is especially important. - Should maximum pain relief be tempered to preserve some consciousness to enable you to partake in end of life rituals? - If you do not want religious considerations addressed it is just as important to specify that as well. There is no assurance what your family might believe is appropriate. You must specify your own feelings and beliefs. - What religious or non-religious end of life requests do you have? - What type of memorial or monument, if any, should be used. - Should you be informed, or not, of all medical conditions. Some faiths may restrict the need for full disclosure, especially if the disclosure would negatively impact your health. Family and friends may not know or share a person’s spiritual convictions about end-of-life medical care and treatment of the person’s body after death, and the person cannot defend such convictions in those circumstances. A spiritually sensitive estate planning lawyer wants to help each client express spiritual convictions, consider who might interfere with the client’s preferences, and plan safeguards to minimize or prevent such interference. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. Hawkins Law PC does not claim copyright for the indented and bullet-pointed quotations in this article that appeared in an a presentation outline entitled, “Religion and Estate Planning,” presented by Martin M. Shenkman, CPA, MBA, PFS, AEP (distinguished), JD, during the [42nd Annual Notre Dame® Tax & Estate Planning Institute](https://law.nd.edu/assets/205531/nd_taxestate_oct2016_072016_0727_01_proof_2_.pdf) in South Bend, Indiana, on Friday, October 28, 2016. Portions of Mr. Shenkman’s presentation outline appear in his fascinating blog article entitled, “[Religion and Estate Planning](http://shenkmanlaw.com/blog/2016/09/13/religion-and-estate-planning/),” subject to a 2016 Shenkman Law copyright. Mr. Shenkman is an attorney in private practice in Fort Lee, New Jersey and New York City. More information about Mr. Shenkman appears online at . ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Advance Directives, Funeral Planning Declaration, Religious Rituals, Spiritual Convictions **Tags:** Advance Directives, End of Life Decisions, estate plan attorney, Quality of Life, Spiritual Convictions --- ### [Plans for Final Illness, Death, and Human Remains Disposition](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/plans-for-final-illness-death-and-human-remains-disposition/) **Published:** October 31, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![dead-womans-crossed-hands-holding-flowers-shutterstock-image-id-193353869-copyright-nielskliim](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Dead-woman’s-crossed-hands-holding-flowers-Shutterstock-Image-ID-193353869-Copyright-Nielskliim.jpg "dead-womans-crossed-hands-holding-flowers-shutterstock-image-id-193353869-copyright-nielskliim - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Dead-woman’s-crossed-hands-holding-flowers-Shutterstock-Image-ID-193353869-Copyright-Nielskliim.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] 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 spend more time researching, discussing, and planning all kinds of less significant things like dinner recipes, home entertainment systems, and mobile devices. This week, we encourage people to consider the benefits to themselves and family members of planning for the final landmark event – dying, death, and disposal of their remains. The first part of end-of-life planning concerns how someone dies. The three main alternatives in Indiana for such planning are living wills, physician’s orders for scope of treatment (POST), and appointments of healthcare representatives. Many people have established living wills in Indiana, but estate planning lawyers are increasingly finding that living wills are poor planning devices. A living will does not describe end-of-life circumstances and procedures specifically enough to direct which health care procedures to provide or withhold. More importantly, a living will does not take effect until a doctor certifies in writing that the patient has a terminal injury or illness, death will occur very soon, and healthcare procedures can only slow down the dying process. In actual practice, there is no standard living will certification for doctors to sign and there is overwhelming evidence that doctors almost never sign living will certifications. Thus, living wills are worthless documents that depend on physician certifications that never arrive. A POST form allows a chronically ill (such as COPD, renal failure, congestive heart failure, Alzheimer’s disease, or Parkinson’s disease) or terminally ill patient, or the patient’s healthcare representative to choose which lifesaving procedures and pain management methods healthcare providers should use if the patient is near death and cannot make or communicate healthcare choices. The doctor and patient or patient representative indicate their agreement of procedures and methods on the POST form, they sign it, and the form has the same importance as any other written physician’s medical order, wherever the patient may be. More POST information about is available online at: . A health care representative provides the best planning alternative for end-of-life healthcare decisions for someone who is not chronically ill or terminally ill. A lawyer can prepare an appointment of healthcare representative as a separate appointment document, or as part of a power of attorney. When the person becomes unable to make healthcare decisions, the health care representative can speak on behalf of the patient and make the person’s healthcare decisions for the person. We encourage people to think carefully about situations when they are too ill to make or communicate healthcare decisions and consider what their health care representative should know about how to make end-of-life decisions. Some people have strong spiritual convictions about whether doctors should withhold or discontinue life-prolonging procedures, while other people simply want to avoid pain and discomfort during the dying process. A person should consider those matters and communicate their preferences clearly to the lawyer, healthcare representatives, and family members. A person can make a funeral plan for the second part of planning for death and dying. A plan can be as simple as meeting with a funeral services provider to select burial or cremation services. The person can prepay for those services so that family members do not have to bother with them (our preference for unmarried people), or merely select the services for later purchase (our preference for married couples). A person can also make a funeral planning declaration that spells out all of those details, which a designated person can follow and enforce. As with end-of-life planning, a person should consider whether the person spiritual beliefs should play an important part in how the person’s body is treated after the person’s death. It is also important to communicate those preferences clearly to the person’s lawyer, designated representatives, and family members to avoid misunderstandings and emotional conflicts at the funeral home. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Funeral Planning Declaration, Life Prolonging Procedures, Living Will Declaration, Physicians Orders for Scope of Treatment, Power of Attorney **Tags:** Appointment of Health Care Representative, Funeral Planning Declaration, Health Care Power of Attorney, Living Will Declaration, Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment, post --- ### [Crisis Management for a Nursing Home Resident without an Estate Plan](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/crisis-management-for-a-nursing-home-resident-without-an-estate-plan/) **Published:** October 17, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![wooden-gavel-on-top-of-american-flag-and-bill-of-rights-document-shutterstock-image-id497639149-copyright-mj007](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Wooden-gavel-on-top-of-American-flag-and-Bill-of-Rights-document-Shutterstock-Image-ID497639149-Copyright-mj007.jpg "wooden-gavel-on-top-of-american-flag-and-bill-of-rights-document-shutterstock-image-id497639149-copyright-mj007 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Wooden-gavel-on-top-of-American-flag-and-Bill-of-Rights-document-Shutterstock-Image-ID497639149-Copyright-mj007.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] 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 is too late to plan. This article describes how we deal with those problematic cases. The 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. A US citizen’s 4th amendment rights prevent the government from moving the citizen from the citizen’s home and interfering with the citizen’s assets without the citizen’s consent. A citizen can give someone a power of attorney that will enable the empowered person (called the “attorney-in-fact”) to help the citizen manage the citizen’s legal and business matters in accordance with state law. However, no person has the authority to manage an incapacitated citizen’s legal and business matters without the citizen’s consent unless a court schedules a guardianship hearing, gives notice about the hearing to the citizen, holds the hearing in accordance with state law and the 4th Amendment, and authorizes a guardian to manage the incapacitated citizen’s legal and business matters. We always try to communicate with a disabled person and to determine whether the person has the ability to manage the persons legal and business matters. Sometimes, illness may hinder the patient’s ability to act, but the patient can function sufficiently to make a power of attorney and authorize someone to act on the patient’s behalf. If a patient is too disabled to speak or understand what is happening, we usually seek a medical opinion about the patient’s disability from the patient’s physician. If the physician confirms that the patient needs a guardianship, we attached the medical opinion to a petition for guardianship as incapacity evidence. The court will usually schedule a hearing to take place within 30 days after we file a petition in the court may appoint a lawyer or specially-trained layperson to investigate and advise the court whether the court should grant the guardianship petition. A guardian can gather necessary documents and information to manage an incapacitated person’s legal and business matters from banks and other sources, but several issues make guardianship far less desirable than having an effective estate plan: - Guardianship law generally limits a guardian’s authority to take estate planning for the incapacitated person, so it is much more difficult to protect an incapacitated person’s assets from long-term health expenses that if the incapacitated person had made a power of attorney before becoming incapacitated. - The cost of guardianship proceedings can be expensive if an incapacitated person requires management of many legal and business matters. - The incapacitated persons 4th amendment rights require the court to ensure procedural safeguards that take time to complete before a guardian can take action, so time-sensitive issues are especially problematic. - Guardianship proceedings are matters of public record, so the proceedings destroy the privacy of the incapacitated person and close members of the person’s family. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Estate Planning, Guardian, Guardianship, Long-term care, Power of Attorney **Tags:** disability, estate plan, guardianship, long-term care, power of attorney --- ### [Don’t Short-Circuit Your Estate Plan](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/dont-short-circuit-your-estate-plan/) **Published:** October 4, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![too-many-plugs-in-a-socket-danger-of-using-too-much-electricity-shutterstock-image-id-366125444-copyright-wk1003mike](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Too-many-plugs-in-a-socket-Danger-of-using-too-much-electricity-Shutterstock-Image-ID-366125444-Copyright-wk1003mike.jpg "too-many-plugs-in-a-socket-danger-of-using-too-much-electricity-shutterstock-image-id-366125444-copyright-wk1003mike - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Too-many-plugs-in-a-socket-Danger-of-using-too-much-electricity-Shutterstock-Image-ID-366125444-Copyright-wk1003mike.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] 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 asset ownership, every source of income, every kind of debt, and every kind of advance health care directive that a person may have or create. All too often, people create and change asset ownership or beneficiary designations without considering the effects of those changes on their estate plans. Just a few ownership or beneficiary changes can short-circuit an estate plan and defeat the estate plan’s objectives. It is very common for someone to add a family member to a checking account or certificate of deposit. An account owner often adds a family member to an account so that the family member can help manage the account if the account owner dies or becomes disabled. If the account owner has made a will and power of attorney, it is not necessary to add anyone else to accounts because the estate plan already provides protections against the account owner’s death or disability. Additionally, the addition of someone to an account can cause the ownership of the account to pass to the additional person even if the will says that several people will share ownership of the account upon the account owner’s death. Thus, adding someone to an account can undermine or short-circuit an estate plan. Many people establish revocable (sometimes called “living”) trusts as central parts of their estate plans. In most cases, a revocable trust plan will include a deed to transfer the person’s real estate to the trust so that the trust can control the real estate during the person’s life and after the person’s death. If the person takes out or refinances a mortgage loan, an ignorant or misguided lender may require the person to transfer the real estate out of the trust before approving the loan. If the person follows the lender’s requirements without telling the estate planning attorney about the transaction, the real estate may remain outside of the trust and defeat the purpose of creating the trust in the first place. It is easy for the estate planning attorney to help transfer the real estate back to the trust after the lending transaction, but the client must tell the attorney about the matter before that can happen. We prepare many estate plans for married couples to protect assets in case one spouse requires nursing home care in the future. Those estate plans depend very heavily on specific asset ownership details. The plans include specially designed wills, deeds, and account ownership and beneficiary arrangements. If our clients sell or purchase real estate, or change financial institutions without involving us in those changes, the changes can wipe out important estate plan details and render the estate plans ineffective. Those undermining changes can also disqualify a disabled spouse for critically important Medicaid benefits. If you have paid a lawyer to make an estate plan, you owe it to yourself to keep your lawyer in the loop. It makes no sense to spend good money on a high-quality estate plan, and then dismantle the estate plan through asset ownership and beneficiary changes without your estate planning lawyer’s advice and direction. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Deed, Estate Planning, Last Will and Testament, Long-term care, Medicaid, Nursing home, Power of Attorney, Trust **Tags:** assets, beneficiaries, estate plan, estate plan attorney, Medicaid, nursing home, power of attorney, trusts, wills --- ### [Can Two Estate Planning Lawyers Be Better Than One for Married Couples?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/can-two-estate-planning-lawyers-be-better-than-one-for-married-couples/) **Published:** September 26, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![marital-agreement-shutterstock-image-id-60837736-copyright-lukiyanova-natalia-frenta](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Marital-agreement-Shutterstock-Image-ID-60837736-Copyright-Lukiyanova-Natalia-frenta.jpg "marital-agreement-shutterstock-image-id-60837736-copyright-lukiyanova-natalia-frenta - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Marital-agreement-Shutterstock-Image-ID-60837736-Copyright-Lukiyanova-Natalia-frenta.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] An estate planning lawyer usually serves clients alone, without involving any other lawyers in the estate planning process. In some cases involving married couples, however, one lawyer cannot do the whole job alone because the lawyer’s ethical obligations prohibit the lawyer from serving both the husband and the wife. Sometimes, a lawyer needs to insist on representing only one spouse or the other, and insist that the other spouse hire a separate lawyer for estate planning services. This article explains why and when and estate plan requires two lawyers. The highest-ranking court of each state licenses and regulates lawyers to practice law in that state. All states have adopted some version of a set of ethical rules called the rules of professional conduct to regulate how lawyers act toward clients, third parties, courts, and other lawyers. The rules protect clients and the public by requiring lawyers to do certain helpful things and prohibiting lawyers from doing certain harmful things, depending on who is involved and what is happening at the time. One of the most important rules, the general rule for conflicts of interest, prohibits a lawyer from representing to clients against each other in the same matte. The rule exists because a client should be able to hire a trust a lawyer to serve only the client and work to protect the client’s best interests. Even if a couple is friendly toward each other and not battling each other at all, a lawyer cannot represent or advise both people if the lawyer believes that the representation or advice might force the lawyer to play favorites between the two clients. A lawyer can write an estate plan for a happily married couple when both people want to do the same things and leave money and property to the same group of people when they die. This can even be true if each of the husband and wife has children by a previous relationship. Estate planning for a healthy, mentally strong couple with his and her separate children does not create a conflict if the couple wants to treat all of the children as part of one big family and everyone gets along. A lawyer cannot help or advise a client to break the law, but the rules of professional conduct require the lawyer to represent the best interests of the client and help the client take advantage of legal opportunities. The slippery slope toward lawyer misconduct exists when one spouse’s superior wealth, knowledge, or mental ability offers that person a chance to influence the estate planning process to give his or her children an advantage over their step-siblings. Even if the stronger spouse does not intend to take advantage of the situation, a potential conflict of interest exists that the lawyer must consider carefully. Estate planning lawyers face this gray area frequently, and they must use great caution in these cases to protect their clients harm and themselves from accusations of misconduct. The married couple and estate planning lawyer can avoid messy conflict of interest problems if the lawyer recognizes the potential conflict before accepting the estate planning job. The lawyer can advise the couple to consult one or more other experienced estate planning lawyers so that one spouse can hire a lawyer and the other spouse can hire another lawyer. Separate lawyer representation allows each lawyer to advise the lawyer’s client about the estate plan alternatives without having to worry about the other spouse’s interests. Each person can share problems and concerns with his or her lawyer about relationships with the spouse or the spouse’s children that he or she may not feel comfortable discussing with his or her spouse. This open and honest conversation allows the lawyer to seek solution for those problems and concerns that a single lawyer would never discover in joint representation of the couple. Additionally, a loving couple’s relationship may redirect the lawyers’ naturally, competitive instincts to produce a more creative and effective estate plan than either lawyer could create independently. Therefore, the answer to the question in this article’s title is, yes, two lawyers can be better than one for some married couples. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Uncategorized --- ### [Family Property – When Blessings Become Curses](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/family-property-when-blessings-become-curses/) **Published:** September 26, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![extended-family-shutterstock-image-id-6674134-copyright-julie-keen](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Extended-family-Shutterstock-Image-ID-6674134-Copyright-Julie-Keen.jpg "extended-family-shutterstock-image-id-6674134-copyright-julie-keen - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Extended-family-Shutterstock-Image-ID-6674134-Copyright-Julie-Keen.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] 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 ownership in the ancient Israelites’ tribal culture, but shared land ownership can become a curse in today’s individualistic American culture without expert planning. The ideal of family property breaks down when one co-owner wants to keep the land and another co-owner wants to sell it or someone else forces a land sale. Shared family ownership faces threats from family members’ relational, financial, taxation, legal, marital, health, and alcohol and substance abuse crises. Family rivalries threaten family property when one family group wants to keep the land and another family group is only interest in the land’s monetary value. Indiana partition law allows the money-oriented family members to sue their relatives in court to force a court-ordered public auction of the land. Timing varies from case to case and among the various courts, but it is possible for land to sell at public auction within 4 or 5 months after the lawsuit begins. Even harmonious families face family property threats when individual family members’ personal dramas become financial crises. Layoffs, divorces, uninsured health catastrophes, business failures, and drug or alcohol abuse can snowball into overwhelming debt, collection proceedings, and judgment liens that give creditors collection rights against the indebted family members’ shared ownership of family property. Some forced land sales have nothing to do with such crises. It is inevitable that when land passes down through several generations, some family members will become so disinterested and unresponsive about family property that the family will lose contact with them. Such disconnected families often become unable to pay property taxes, maintain buildings, or make important property management decisions. This lack of coordination leads some families to lose property when government agencies sell the land to pay taxes, fines, or penalties. So what can family patriarchs and matriarchs due to preserve and protect family property from these threats? The answer depends on family size, individual family members’ legal and financial stability, and the number of generations that may participate in property ownership. A large family increases the chances and risks that one or more family members may contaminate family land ownership with the consequences of their individual crises. Likewise, a plan to pass the land down through many generations creates the same prospect of exposing family property ownership to individual problems of many potential property owners. A family limited liability company (LLC) is one of the most effective tools for keeping family property ownership intact and insulating it from individual family member vulnerabilities. Family members own membership shares (usually called “interests”) in a properly designed LLC that creditors cannot use to force the LLC to sell land. An expert estate planning lawyer knows how which options to select when filing articles of organization with the Secretary of State’s office and how to prepare a detailed operating agreement that prevents creditors from gaining meaningful influence over the LLC. If a family member already experiences health or financial crises when a property owner plans his or her estate, and expert estate planning lawyer can design a plan that will prevent that troubled family member’s legal and financial problems from disrupting the family property. Estate plan can include special protective provisions that hold that trouble family member’s inheritance in trust so that the family member can benefit from the inheritance without creditors seizing it. Some families cannot keep family property because their family members are unable or unwilling to do what it takes to keep the property. No one can see the future and predict everything that may threaten family property ownership, but family property ownership stands a better chance in the hands of an expert estate planning lawyer. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Estate Planning, LLC, Property Ownership, Real Estate Partition, Trust **Tags:** estate plan, estate plan attorney, LLC, Real estate partition, trusts --- ### [Does the law really change enough to make estate plan updates important?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/does-the-law-really-change-enough-to-make-estate-plan-updates-important/) **Published:** September 20, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![indiana-state-capital-featuring-house-and-senate-chambers](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Indiana-State-Capital-Featuring-House-and-Senate-Chambers.jpg "indiana-state-capital-featuring-house-and-senate-chambers - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Indiana-State-Capital-Featuring-House-and-Senate-Chambers.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] 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 a few examples of legislative changes in law that occurred in 2016 and sum of the proposed changes that we expect the Indiana legislature to enact in 2017. Indiana Governor Mike Pence signed at least eight separate pieces of Indiana legislation in 2016 that refer to the Indiana Probate Code, which is the set of laws governing the administration of deceased people’s estates; the Indiana Trust Code, which governs most aspects of Indiana trusts; and the Indiana Power of Attorney Act, under which all powers of attorney are authorized were established.. Some of the topics that those enactments address include: - inheritance taxes on estates of people who died before 2013 - management of a deceased or disabled person’s Internet accounts (including access to websites, Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram) in estates, trusts, guardianships, and through powers of attorney - guardianship of a minor or disabled person - real estate partition (forced real estate sales by partial owners of real estate) - fees charged by county clerks - legislative studies of the Probate Code - government purchases and sales of goods and services - tax-deferred investment accounts for disabled people - Cemetery perpetual care funds - disposal (burial or cremation) of a deceased person’s remains - funeral planning declarations Many changes to the Indiana probate Code, Trust Code, and Power of Attorney Act have already been proposed for the 2017 Indiana General Assembly, including five separate legislative proposals that Jeff Hawkins’s has either written or edited about topics that include: - landlord and tenant law - rights of a child born after a parent’s death - rights of creditors and estate beneficiaries to claim a deceased person’s assets - parents’ nomination of guardians for their young children - government rights to make claims against a deceased person’s assets These constant legislative changes fix old problems that interfere with modern life and provide opportunities for people to enjoy life more freely. The legislature makes few significant changes in some years and dramatic overhauls of law in other years. Legislative changes may not always invalidate a person’s estate plan, but they may alter and the estate plan’s outcome in ways that the person could not anticipate and may not desire. We try to update our readers about significant changes the law through this blog, but we also encourage people to meet with their estate planning lawyers and evaluate their estate plans at least once every five years. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Able Act, Estate Planning, Guardianship, Last Will and Testament, Power of Attorney, Real Estate Partition, Trust, Trusts and Estates **Tags:** beneficiaries, estate, estate plan, power of attorney, trusts, wills --- ### [Unreasonable Family Promises Create Unbearable Burdens](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/unreasonable-family-promises-create-unbearable-burdens/) **Published:** August 22, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![A woman says as a witness in court in a lawsuit, will be sworn in and swears on the bible. Shutterstock Image ID 280831940. Copyright, Lisa S.](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/A-woman-says-as-a-witness-in-court-in-a-lawsuit-will-be-sworn-in-and-swears-on-the-bible.-Shutterstock-Image-ID-280831940.-Copyright-Lisa-S..jpg "A woman says as a witness in court in a lawsuit, will be sworn in and swears on the bible. Shutterstock Image ID 280831940. Copyright, Lisa S. - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/A-woman-says-as-a-witness-in-court-in-a-lawsuit-will-be-sworn-in-and-swears-on-the-bible.-Shutterstock-Image-ID-280831940.-Copyright-Lisa-S..jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] 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 one with a promise attached: so that things will go well for you, and you will live for a long time in the land. As for parents, don’t provoke your children to anger, but raise them with discipline and instruction about the Lord.” *Ephesians 6:1-4 Common English Bible* (*CEB*). In this article, we explain why we believe parents should not abuse their children’s respect by demanding unreasonable promises from the children about future actions. **Promises Not to Sell Family Farmland** Few dedicated farmers want to sell farmland. A naïve farmer might think that his children would never sell farmland, but divorce, health crises, or the loss of employment can force even the most faithful children to sell land. This problem becomes even more likely as shared real estate ownership passes on to younger generations. We have heard many deathbed stories of farmers demanding that their children promise never to sell farmland. All too often, however, the children experience shame and guilt when they face legal barriers that prevent them from keeping those promises. Indiana law has empowered co-owners of real estate to file partition lawsuits to compel subdivision or sale of the real estate for more than a century. Revisions of the Indiana partition statutes in 2012 shortened the timeline for a partition lawsuit so that a real estate co-owner could force the real estate to be sold at public auction against the wishes of the other co-owners within 4 to 5 months after filing the lawsuit. A farmer that wants to keep farmland in the family should make an estate plan that accomplishes that goal. A skillful estate planning attorney can set up a limited liability company (LLC) and right an operating agreement that will enable the family to retain family farmland for future generations and prevent creditors from forcing farm sales or family members from suing each other in partition lawsuits. **Promises Not to Put People in Nursing Homes** Long-term health care is expensive, but some people protect themselves from that cost by purchasing long-term care insurance or making other long-term care financial arrangements. People that do not plan for long-term health care expenses need to prepare themselves for the possibility that they will need nursing home care. Unfortunately, some people fantasize irrationally that family members can take care of them at home and avoid nursing home care. Today’s economic pressures require many households to earn dual incomes through employment outside the home. Fully employed couples usually find it almost impossible to care for ailing family members at home, because they cannot take time off from work to provide care. Children often feel grief and guilt when their parents’ failing health requires nursing home care. If a parent demands that children promise not to place the parent in nursing home care, the children experience even more pain when they realize that they cannot keep their cruel anti-nursing home promises. Tragically, those painful emotions often divide families and ruin sibling relationships. **Respect Is a Two-Way Street** It is a parent’s responsibility to guide his or her young children, but adult children must control their own behavior. Parents behave disrespectfully toward their children when their own financial problems or failure to plan responsibly turn their goals into unattainable fantasies, but they demand that their children promise to fulfill those fantasies. Children should honor their parents, but parents must not abuse that honor by demanding unreasonable promises that create unbearable burdens for the children. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Estate Planning, Family Farm, Home healthcare, Long-term care, Long-term care insurance, Nursing home, Real Estate Partition **Tags:** estate plan, Farmland, Home health care, LLC, Long-term care insurance, nursing home, Real estate partition --- ### [Dispute Resolution Principles for Ordinary People](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/dispute-resolution-principles-for-ordinary-people/) **Published:** August 14, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Win Win Solution Lettering, written with Chalk on Blackboard, Shutterstock Image ID 168688622, Copyright airdone](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Win-Win-Solution-Lettering-written-with-Chalk-on-Blackboard-Shutterstock-Image-ID-168688622-Copyright-airdone.jpg "Win Win Solution Lettering, written with Chalk on Blackboard, Shutterstock Image ID 168688622, Copyright airdone - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Win-Win-Solution-Lettering-written-with-Chalk-on-Blackboard-Shutterstock-Image-ID-168688622-Copyright-airdone.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Every adult with a reasonably healthy mind has had a dispute with another person. Chances are good that a person is involved in a dispute while the person is reading this article. Trial lawyers dispute things professionally, but most people want to end disputes or avoid them in the first place. This article offers professional mediation tips that ordinary people can use to avoid or end disputes. Most people think of the number two when they think about disputes (e.g., two opponents, two sides, and to outcomes). The idea of the number two limits dispute resolution possibilities to winning or losing. Some conflicts may only have “Alternative A” or “Alternative B,” but professional mediators are trained to look for ways to build “Alternative C” and “Alternative D” – that is to say that mediators seek win/win solutions instead of the simple win/lose conclusion. As you can imagine, if both sides of an argument can “win” what they want to achieve, both sides can be happy with the result. The first key to finding win/win solutions is to redirect the disputing parties’ attention away from attacking each other. When disputing parties focus on each other, they set their feet to stand their ground in fixed positions – with each insisting that the other party surrender its position. If neither party caves into the other party’s demands, a judge or jury may give a ruling that neither party can control or predict. The win/win approach to redirect parties away from attacking each other allows the parties to gang up on the problem that the disputing parties want to solve. This redirection emphasizes each party’s interest in solving the problem. The parties’ cooperation and collaboration also saves valuable time and energy that the parties would otherwise waste in their attacks against each other. Professional mediators guide parties toward effective communication.. A mediator asks questions, listens to the parties’ answers carefully, and pays close attention to silent communication that the parties give through facial expressions, gestures, and posture. The mediator tries to reflect each party’s statements back to the party using the party’s own language to make sure that the mediator understands the party’s intentions. When parties revert back to personal attacks against each other, the mediator gently reminds them to return their focus to the problem and away from attacking each other. In the best cases, the parties become more attuned to each other and begin collaborating as problem-solving partners. Many disputes result from incomplete information and misunderstandings. Collaborative problem-solving enables the parties to gain new information and more complete perspectives about the problem and its possible solutions. For example, an estate beneficiary may refuse to cooperate with the administrator if he believes that the will provides more generously for other beneficiaries, but he may become cooperative if he discovers that he was mistaken and that all of the beneficiaries will receive fair shares. A mediator works to help each party understand the risk of losing, the probability of winning, and the costs of each potential outcome. The fertile ground for a negotiated solution lies in the space between each party’s best and worst possible outcomes. If a party understands that the best outcome is unlikely, the party may accept something less than an ideal solution. Likewise, if a party understands that the worst outcome is highly likely or extremely undesirable, that party may accept a settlement offer that is less painful than a complete loss. Ordinary people can use win/win dispute resolution ideas to solve many kinds of conflicts. Sometimes, however, it is easier to settle a dispute with a mediator. A civil mediator can help people settle disputes even if the parties have not hired lawyers (although it is usually easier when the parties are guided by reputable lawyers). In some cases, parties can try to save time and litigation costs by pursuing mediation before filing lawsuits. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Dispute Resolution, Interests, Mediation, Negotiated Settlement, Positions, Win-win **Tags:** conflict, mediation, Mediator, negotiated settlement, Negotiation, win-win --- ### [Can I Give Money to My Family?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/can-i-give-money-to-my-family/) **Published:** August 4, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Pile of 100 dollar bills in a gift ribbon, shutterstock Image ID 321537746, Copyright M. Primakov](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Pile-of-100-dollar-bills-in-a-gift-ribbon-shutterstock-Image-ID-321537746-Copyright-M.-Primakov.jpg "Pile of 100 dollar bills in a gift ribbon, shutterstock Image ID 321537746, Copyright M. Primakov - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Pile-of-100-dollar-bills-in-a-gift-ribbon-shutterstock-Image-ID-321537746-Copyright-M.-Primakov.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] 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) to my family each year?” For most people, the answer is, “Yes, but it depends on your wealth level and whether you will end up in a nursing home in the next five years.” We wish we could give a simpler answer to the question, but the most complete answer requires us to explain federal gift tax law and Indiana Medicaid law. A typical gift question like the example at the beginning of this article usually relates to nursing home care or Medicaid benefits, but it signals to us that the inquirer has heard someone speaking about an annual gift limit. This article explains the probable folklore source of the annual gift limit idea, the related laws to that concept, and an actual Indiana gift limit concerning nursing home care and Medicaid benefits. The annual gift limit that most people think about is actually part of the federal gift tax system. The gift tax system is one of three parts of a federal transfer tax system designed to impose and collect taxes from people with more wealth than $5.45 million (an inflation-adjusted exemption value that will rise with inflation in the future). We usually explain the three taxes this way (we sometimes refer to them as the “triplet sister” transfer taxes): - Congress established the modern estate tax in 1916 to tax beneficiaries of wealth that they inherit from deceased people. The current federal estate tax exemption is $5.45 million. - Congress established the gift tax in 1932 to keep wealthy people from avoiding the estate tax by giving away their wealth during their lifetimes. However, Congress gave wealthy people a break by excluding a small annual gift to each of an unlimited number of beneficiaries from gift taxation and the obligation to file gift tax returns. The gift tax exclusion amount was $10,000 from 1981 through 2001, $11,000 from 2002 through 2005, $12,000 from 2006 through 2008, $13,000 from 2009 through 2012, and then it was adjusted for inflation thereafter, which has allowed the exclusion to rise to 14,000 from and after 2013. The gift tax on gifts in excess of the annual exclusion is subject to a gift tax exemption that is currently $5.45 million. We believe that the questions that people ask about annual gift limits relate to the annual gift tax exclusion that really does not apply to anyone with wealth significantly below the $5.45 million level, and is therefore not relevant to most people. - Congress established the generation-skipping transfer tax in 1976 to prevent wealthy people from skipping a generation of inheritance to save transfer taxes in every other generation. The current generation-skipping transfer tax exemption is $5.45 million. One of the most important things for Indiana residents with significantly less wealth than $4.5 million to know about gifts is that there is no real restriction on their ability to make gifts under federal law or Indiana law. However, it is also important for people to know that if they make gifts within 5 years of requiring nursing home care, the gifts will temporarily disqualify them for Medicaid benefits that they may need to help pay for nursing home care, which costs an average of $6,078 per month in Indiana in 2016. The Indiana Medicaid rules provide a de minimis gift exemption if the total value of all of a Medicaid applicant’s gifts does not exceed $1.200 per year, but that is a very small exemption. More information is available about gifts in these Hawkins Law blog articles: , , , and . [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Gift, Gift Tax, Medicaid, Nursing home, Transfer penalty **Tags:** estate tax, generation-skipping transfer tax, gift tax, Medicaid, nursing home --- ### [What Are the Differences between Wills and Trusts?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/what-are-the-differences-between-wills-and-trusts/) **Published:** July 24, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Wills & Trusts Diagram](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Wills-Trusts-Diagram.jpg "Wills & Trusts Diagram - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Wills-Trusts-Diagram.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] People ask us to explain the difference between wills and trusts from time to time when we are speaking to groups about advance health care directives and other estate planning topics. We have tried many ways to answer the question over the years, but we still have not found the perfect explanation. This article provides our most recent description of wills, trusts, and their relationships to each other. Most people understand that a last will and testament is a document that expresses a person’s plan to finish bill payment and other business that the person’s death may interrupt and direct distribution of the person’s assets when the unfinished business concludes. The concept of a trust seems to be harder for people to grasp than a will. Perhaps the easiest starting point to distinguish wills and trusts is to say that they are not the same things, but wills and trusts connect sometimes in more than one way. Some wills establish trusts, some wills direct asset distributions into trusts (called “pour-over” wills), and other wills have no connections to trusts at all. We illustrate the creation of a simple trust with a client sometimes by handing an ink pen to the client and explaining that we want the client to hold the ink pen and take care of it until a young family member reaches a certain age, and then distribute the pen to the family member on that person’s specified birthday. We explain that the “entrustment” of the ink pen creates a trust relationship between us, the creators of the trust, and the client, who serves as the trustee for the benefit of the young family member, the trust beneficiary. A person can make a trust during the person’s lifetime (lawyers call that kind of trust an “*inter vivos*” trust) or the person can make a last will and testament that includes language that establishes a trust to take effect after the person’s death (lawyers call that kind of trust a “testamentary” trust). If a person makes an *inter vivos* trust and retains the power to change or cancel the trust, some lawyers call that trust a “living” trust or a “revocable” trust (we prefer to call them revocable trusts to avoid confusing people with “living wills,” which have nothing to do with trusts or last wills and testaments). If, however, the person does not reserve the power to change or cancel the trust, it may be what lawyers call an “irrevocable” trust. Testamentary trusts may be the oldest kinds of trusts because wills have existed for thousands of years. Federal and Indiana laws that took effect over the past three decades have made testamentary trusts more popular among estate planning lawyers that help married couples plan for nursing home care because federal Medicaid law treats testamentary trusts benefiting surviving spouses more favorably than revocable trusts. We use revocable trusts in some estate plans to simplify complex asset portfolios or provide centralized control and security for clients that unstable family situations. A revocable trust can simplify complex asset holdings, such as numerous bank or investment accounts in multiple financial institutions, or real estate located in multiple states, because the assets can be titled to the trust to allow the trustee and all successor trustees to manage the assets without having to change ownership after the client’s death. Irrevocable trusts allow clients to make gifts to people or charities with protective restrictions that prevent people from squandering or ruining the gifts. Wealthy people use irrevocable trusts for gifts such as life insurance policies to keep the life insurance policies securely in trust so that wealth can pass to beneficiaries through the life insurance policies free of federal estate taxes. Some people use irrevocable trusts to protect assets from nursing home costs and other expenses. Such long-term care planning has become much more common in recent years as nursing home costs have become more pressing threats to middle-class wealth than estate taxes, but Medicaid transfer penalty laws require estate planning lawyers to design such asset protection plans carefully to avoid disqualifying estate planning clients from Medicaid benefits that clients need to pay nursing home bills. We continue to write articles like this about wills and trusts because we find persistent myths and misunderstandings about these topics in our surrounding communities. More information appears in our previous articles including: , , , and . [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Estate Tax, Irrevocable trust, Last Will and Testament, Medicaid, Pour-Over Will, Revocable Trust, Testamentary Trust **Tags:** estate plan, estate plan attorney, estate tax, Irrevocable Trust, last will and testament, Medicaid, Pour-Over Will, Revocable trust, Testamentary Trust --- ### [Indiana’s CARE Act](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/indianas-care-act/) **Published:** July 11, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Geriatric caregiver photos Shutterstock Image IDs 331947971, 331947818, and 331947809, Copyright Robert Kneschke](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Geriatric-caregiver-photos-Shutterstock-Image-IDs-331947971-331947818-and-331947809-Copyright-Robert-Kneschke.jpg "Geriatric caregiver photos Shutterstock Image IDs 331947971, 331947818, and 331947809, Copyright Robert Kneschke - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Geriatric-caregiver-photos-Shutterstock-Image-IDs-331947971-331947818-and-331947809-Copyright-Robert-Kneschke.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] The Indiana legislature passed the “Caregiver Advise, Record, and Enable Act” (known as the CARE Act”), which took effect on January 1, 2016. Under the CARE Act, when a patient is admitted to the hospital, the hospital must give the patient (or the patient’s guardian or health care representative) the opportunity to designate a “Lay Caregiver.” A Lay Caregiver is a person who has a significant relationship with the patient and who may provide care for the patient at the patient’s residence after the patient is discharged from the hospital. If the patient designates a Lay Caregiver, the hospital will ask the patient for written consent to provide the patient’s personal health care information to the Lay Caregiver. When it is time for the patient to be discharged from the hospital, the hospital staff will ask the patient to contact the Lay Caregiver. However, if the patient does not have the capacity to contact the Lay Caregiver himself, the hospital staff will attempt to contact the Lay Caregiver. The hospital staff member will then discuss with the Lay Caregiver the plan for at-home care for the patient. This at-home care plan is developed by a nurse, social worker or other licensed health care professional, based on their evaluation of the patient’s need for care after the patient is discharged from inpatient treatment at the hospital. The health care professional takes into consideration the patient’s physical and mental status and the patient’s ability to care for himself. The at-home care plan will help the Lay Caregiver assist the patient at the patient’s residence with 1. Activities of daily living 2. Managing would care 3. Administering medications 4. Operating Medical Equipment The health care professional will even provide demonstrations of any tasks to the Lay Caregiver to help the Lay Caregiver properly care for the patient after the patient returns home. In addition, the health care professional will give his or her contact information to the Lay Caregiver in case the Lay Caregiver has any questions. If the patient designates someone to be the patient’s Lay Caregiver, the lay Caregiver is not obligated to accept responsibility to provide the patient with after care. Therefore, the patient should discuss his intentions with a potential Lay Caregiver and make sure that this person is willing to help the patient once the patient is discharged from the hospital. Finally, appointing Lay Caregiver does not override the authorization of a person who the patient has previously appointed as Health Care Representative or under a Health Care Power of Attorney under Indiana law. A Lay Caregiver is simply a person who is able to physically provide care to the patient in the patient’s time of need after a stay in the hospital. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Advance Directives, CARE Act, Caregiver, Elder Law, Healthcare Representative, Hospital **Tags:** CARE Act, Caregiver, health, hospital --- ### [NOTICE Act Entitles Hospital Patients to Admission Status Information](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/notice-act-entitles-hospital-patients-to-admission-status-information/) **Published:** July 2, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** > [![Patient Looking At Female Physiotherapist While Walking Between Parallel Bars, Shutterstock Image ID 416627782, Copyright Tyler Olson](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Patient-Looking-At-Female-Physiotherapist-While-Walking-Between-Parallel-Bars-Shutterstock-Image-ID-416627782-Copyright-Tyler-Olson.jpg "Patient Looking At Female Physiotherapist While Walking Between Parallel Bars, Shutterstock Image ID 416627782, Copyright Tyler Olson - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Patient-Looking-At-Female-Physiotherapist-While-Walking-Between-Parallel-Bars-Shutterstock-Image-ID-416627782-Copyright-Tyler-Olson.jpg) > > \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] > > **Special update as of August 18, 2016: The NOTICE Act implementation will not become effective until October 1, 2016, because of delayed promulgation of the Medicare Outpatient Observation Notice (“MOON”) form by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)**. We have reported the problems and pitfalls that result from doctors admitting Medicare patients to hospitals on “observation” status twice over the past 18 months (see, and ). A new federal law promises to begin protecting Medicare patients from those problems and pitfalls in August 2016. Last year, President Obama signed the Notice of Observation Treatment and Implication for Care Eligibility Act (also known as the “NOTICE Act”). The NOTICE Act becomes effective on August 6, 2016. The NOTICE Act will require hospitals to inform patients whether the patients have been admitted to the hospital on “inpatient” status versus “observation” status. When a doctor admits a patient a patient to a hospital, the patient and patient’s family members may assume that the patient has been “admitted” to the hospital as an inpatient. The patient is probably being taken care of by doctors and nurses, may be receiving medication, and even staying overnight for one or more nights. However, the doctor may have ordered the hospital to keep the patient in the hospital for observation instead of ordering full inpatient status for the patient. The difference between observation and inpatient admission status affects patients that receive Medicare benefits. Observation status does not trigger Medicare’s comprehensive hospitalization coverage, so the patient may be required to pay physician and drug co-pays that Medicare would otherwise cover for a hospital inpatient. The most troublesome result of being on observation status is that it interferes with Medicare’s payment of physical rehabilitation costs after observation hospitalization. Medicare will pay for the hospital expenses and up to 100 days in an inpatient physical rehabilitation facility if a doctor admits the patient to the hospital as an inpatient through two consecutive midnights and the hospital discharges the payment sent directly to the physical rehabilitation facility. Medicare and the patient’s Medicare supplemental insurance will pay the physical rehabilitation costs for up to 100 days as long as the physical rehabilitation treatment is beneficial to the patient. However, if the hospital transfers patient to the physical rehabilitation facility after an observation admission to the hospital, Medicare will not pay the full hospitalization cost or any of the room and board charges for the inpatient physical rehabilitation services. Several of our clients have sought our help about hospital and nursing home bills worth many thousands of dollars after they discovered that their doctors had hospitalized them on observation status, and then ordered them transferred them to physical rehabilitation facilities. In some cases, the shock of receiving bills for uninsured medical expenses created such emotional stress that patients’ health declined too much to continue living independently at home. We continue recommending that patients and their families address hospital admission status vigilantly. As we wrote on February 15, 2015: > Patients and their families should be aware of the Medicare rule and make sure that any hospitalization follows the Medicare standards. Because healthcare is so expensive, it is critical that the patient or the patient’s family determine the hospitalization status immediately and challenge an observational placement very vocally and persistently if they think that the status is incorrect. If a patient or the patient’s family waits too long to object to the hospitalization status, the very small time windows for objections and appeals may close and the patient may be stuck with an expensive hospital bill or nursing home bill permanently. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Hospital, Medicare, NOTICE Act, Nursing home, physical rehabilitation **Tags:** Hospital Admission, Inpatient Status, Medicare, NOTICE Act, Observation Status, Physical Rehabilitation, President Obama --- ### [What Does Brexit Mean to Middle America?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/what-does-brexit-mean-to-middle-america/) **Published:** June 25, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![brexit Great Britain flag , euro , eurozone, Shutterstock Image ID 375784684, Copyright kostasgr](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/brexit-Great-Britain-flag-euro-eurozone-Shutterstock-Image-ID-375784684-Copyright-kostasgr.jpg "brexit Great Britain flag , euro , eurozone, Shutterstock Image ID 375784684, Copyright kostasgr - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/brexit-Great-Britain-flag-euro-eurozone-Shutterstock-Image-ID-375784684-Copyright-kostasgr.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Britain and the European Union (the “EU”) seem very far away from the United States of America. Most of us think very little about European affairs except when we think of our nation’s European origins or when American news media reports an extraordinary European event. We are experiencing that latter case in the wake of the historic Brexit referendum vote, but it is difficult for many of us to understand why this British political news should concern us. The EU began as a post-World War II idea of European nations coming together to form what some described as a “United States of Europe,” in which member nations work together as a stronger unified group than they could be as individual nations. Benefits of membership would include a unified currency, reduced trade and immigration barriers among member nations, and uniform laws that simplify trade regulations and thereby reduce business costs for companies that want to invest in the European economy and employ European workers. Detriments of membership include constant arguments about balance of unified regulation of all members versus the rights of individual countries to govern independently of EU influence. British voters decided on June 23, 2016, that they were better off to live without the EU than remain subject to its authority. Worries about terrorist invasion within the flood of Syrian immigrants increased British motivation to exit (or “Brexit”) the EU, but concerns about having to share responsibility to bail out financially troubled nations like Greece, Spain, Portugal, and Ireland added to British disdain for EU membership. So, why should we Americans care about Brexit? First, a breakup of the EU, one of our biggest trading partners, may push Britain and the EU into recession, which will make it harder for American businesses to sell goods and services to the EU, which will force some American businesses to scale back operations and employment of American workers. Second, as Britain and the EU suffer economically, their currencies will become less valuable in relation to the US dollar, which will make American goods and services more expensive for Britons and Europeans to purchase, thereby reducing American exports and putting additional pressure on American employers. Third, the US is not completely out of the woods from the Great Recession, so Americans will probably reduce spending, which will compound pressure on American employers, thereby increasing American unemployment in a vicious, snowballing cycle. Fourth, with American interest rates still near their historic lows, the Federal Reserve cannot help prop up the US economy by reducing interest rates as effectively now as when the Federal Reserve intervened at the beginning of the Great Recession almost a decade ago. The Great Recession introduced us to some of the harsher realities of the global economy. Brexit may give us an even more unpleasant sense of how vulnerable we have become to our global trading partners. Just as President Obama took office just weeks after the Great Recession slammed us almost eight years ago, our next president may face a similar struggle over the next four years as the EU unravels in the Brexit aftermath. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Brexit, Economy, European Union, Federal Reserve, Great Recession **Tags:** Brexit, European Union, Federal Reserve, Great Recession --- ### [Alternative Dispute Resolution – a Conflict Resolution Smorgasbord](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/alternative-dispute-resolution-a-conflict-resolution-smorgasbord/) **Published:** June 18, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Compromise reached by people marching up gears to resolve differences in discussion, negotiation and dispute settlement – Shutterstock Image ID 240769873 - Copyright iQoncept](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Compromise-reached-by-people-marching-up-gears-to-resolve-differences-in-discussion-negotiation-and-dispute-settlement-–-Shutterstock-Image-ID-240769873-Copyright-iQoncept.jpg "Compromise reached by people marching up gears to resolve differences in discussion, negotiation and dispute settlement – Shutterstock Image ID 240769873 - Copyright iQoncept - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Compromise-reached-by-people-marching-up-gears-to-resolve-differences-in-discussion-negotiation-and-dispute-settlement-–-Shutterstock-Image-ID-240769873-Copyright-iQoncept.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Unless you are a lawyer or judge, you probably do not think much about alternative dispute resolution (commonly abbreviated as “ADR”). Most people have experienced or heard about ADR, but many people misunderstand, misuse, or entirely miss creative dispute resolution opportunities that ADR systems provide. We want to help people understand ADR systems in this and other articles so that they can enjoy ADR benefits without suffering problems caused by ADR misuse and abuse (for basic mediation information, see the article entitled [Why Mediation Resolves Conflicts Better Than Litigation](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/why-mediation-resolves-conflicts-better-than-litigation/)). ADR has existed for thousands of years alongside traditional courtroom justice. For instance, the apostle Paul criticized members of the first century A.D. church in Corinth for suing each other in court instead of resolving disputes within the church congregation (the *Bible*, 1 Corinthians 6:1-6). That letter describes one of the key benefits of ADR systems, which is that opponents in a dispute have more shared control over the dispute outcome by submitting to discrete ADR than by submitting their dispute to public scrutiny in a court. Indiana, Illinois, and many other states recognize most ADR system components. Rule 1.3 of the [Indiana Rules of Alternative Dispute Resolution](http://www.in.gov/judiciary/rules/adr/index.html) provides this ADR systems description: **Rule 1.3. Alternative Dispute Resolution Methods Described** **(A) Mediation.** This is a process in which a neutral third person, called a mediator, acts to encourage and to assist in the resolution of a dispute between two (2) or more parties. This is an informal and nonadversarial process. The objective is to help the disputing parties reach a mutually acceptable agreement between or among themselves on all or any part of the issues in dispute. Decision-making authority rests with the parties, not the mediator. The mediator assists the parties in identifying issues, fostering joint problem-solving, exploring settlement alternatives, and in other ways consistent with these activities. **(B) Arbitration.** This is a process in which a neutral third person or a panel, called an arbitrator or an arbitration panel, considers the facts and arguments which are presented by the parties and renders a decision. The decision may be binding or nonbinding as provided in these rules. **(C) Mini-Trials.** A mini-trial is a settlement process in which each side presents a highly abbreviated summary of its case to senior officials who are authorized to settle the case. A neutral advisor may preside over the proceeding and give advisory opinions or rulings if invited to do so. Following the presentation, the officials seek a negotiated settlement of the dispute. **(D) Summary Jury Trials.** This is an abbreviated trial with a jury in which the litigants present their evidence in an expedited fashion. The litigants and the jury are guided by a neutral who acts as a presiding official who sits as if a judge. After an advisory verdict from the jury, the presiding official may assist the litigants in a negotiated settlement of their controversy. **(E) Private Judges.** This is a process in which litigants employ a private judge, who is a former judge, to resolve a pending lawsuit. The parties are responsible for all expenses involved in these matters, and they may agree upon their allocation. ADR systems usually settle disputes faster and less expensively than normal courtroom litigation, but untrained people can create serious problems by using sophisticated ADR systems (such as arbitration) without understanding them. Whether you are writing a rental agreement for a house or bylaws for a social club, consider hiring a lawyer/mediator before adding mediation, arbitration, or other ADR language to the agreement. Your investment in ADR quality can make the difference between enjoying the best and worst ADR experiences. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Arbitration, Arbitration agreement, Contract litigation, Contract negotiation, Dispute Resolution, Mediation **Tags:** ADR, Alternative Dispute Resolution, arbitration, mediation, Mini Trial, Private Judge, Summary Jury Trial --- ### [New Indiana Electronic Records Law](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/new-indiana-electronic-records-law/) **Published:** June 11, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![DIGITAL ASSETS person holding a smartphone on blurred cityscape background Shutterstock Image ID 403241653, Copyright one photo](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/DIGITAL-ASSETS-person-holding-a-smartphone-on-blurred-cityscape-background-Shutterstock-Image-ID-403241653-Copyright-one-photo.jpg "DIGITAL ASSETS person holding a smartphone on blurred cityscape background Shutterstock Image ID 403241653, Copyright one photo - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/DIGITAL-ASSETS-person-holding-a-smartphone-on-blurred-cityscape-background-Shutterstock-Image-ID-403241653-Copyright-one-photo.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] The Indiana General Assembly updated several Indiana laws into the digital age during the 2016 legislative session. The legislature updated existing laws in the Indiana Probate Code, guardianship statutes, the Indiana Trust Code, and the Power of Attorney Act to allow trustees, decedent’s personal representatives, incapacitated people’s guardians, and attorneys in fact appointed under powers of attorney to access and manage digital assets for the people they serve. The legislature also added a chapter to the Indiana Code to adopt the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act. The whole piece of legislation becomes effective on July 1, 2016, and can be found online at: . If you think that you have no valuable digital assets, take a moment to think about what happens when you lose your cell phone or you have to replace or clean a computer that has crashed or been hacked. We are all becoming more dependent upon web and mobile applications to order prescription medicines, shop for Christmas gifts, and communicate with family and friends around the world. That dependence will only grow more comprehensively as we become more comfortable and familiar with cloud storage and online communications. The Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act says, “’digital asset’ means an electronic record in which an individual has a right or interest.” The Act says, “’electronic’ means relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities.” Thinking broadly about such matters, and imaginative person can expect digital assets to include photos, videos, records, and information contained in desktop computers, mobile phones, computer tablets, cloud storage, and every kind of social media website or application. Digital assets can include whimsical things like Facebook posts and more serious matters like banking records and medical records. It would be easy for someone to assume that an attorney-in-fact, a trustee, a court-appointed guardian of an incapacitated person or a court-appointed personal representative of a decedent’s estate would be able to access digital assets of the incapacitated person or deceased person. However, the right to access someone else’s digital information is such a sensitive topic, that representatives of many national and international digital media companies like Facebook, twitter, and Google negotiated with Indiana lawyers and legislators during the legislation drafting process. The legislation will undoubtedly require revision and updates as problems in application of the legislation arise, but it is an important step to make digital assets more manageable and useful for everyone. The part of the new legislation relating to the Indiana Power of Attorney Act as a whole new set of powers with respect to digital assets that attorneys can include in Indiana powers of attorney. Is important to update existing powers of attorney to incorporate the new language because a power of attorney that does not include the new digital asset powers may not be sufficient to allow an attorney-in-fact to manage digital assets effectively. The new legislative changes to the Indiana Probate Code and Trust Code extend power to personal Representatives and trustees to manage digital assets. Those changes make it important to update wills and trusts to include language about digital assets. As we began updating our wills, trusts, and powers of attorney to include new about digital assets, we found opportunities to refine our documents and make them much clearer and effective this spring. We encourage everyone to review their estate plans with experienced estate planning lawyers to make sure that their plans include all the latest language. We specifically encourage people to make sure that their powers of attorney reflect current and emerging issues in their lives as we recommended in our recent blog article entitled “[Puny Powers of Attorney](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/puny-powers-of-attorney/).” Sure, existing plans may be good enough to do many things, but when you say “good enough,” are not you usually trying to convince yourself of something that really isn’t true? [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Digital Assets, Estate Planning, Guardianship, Last Will and Testament, Power of Attorney, Trust **Tags:** Digital Assets, estate plan, estate plan attorney, guardianship, last will and testament, trusts --- ### [Best Intentions - Paving Material for a Bad Road](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/best-intentions-paving-material-for-a-bad-road/) **Published:** May 21, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Green overhead road sign with a Destruction Next Exit concept against a partly cloudy sky background- Shutterstock Image ID388874875 - Copyright northallertonman](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Green-overhead-road-sign-with-a-Destruction-Next-Exit-concept-against-a-partly-cloudy-sky-background-Shutterstock-Image-ID388874875-Copyright-northallertonman.jpg "Green overhead road sign with a Destruction Next Exit concept against a partly cloudy sky background- Shutterstock Image ID388874875 - Copyright northallertonman - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Green-overhead-road-sign-with-a-Destruction-Next-Exit-concept-against-a-partly-cloudy-sky-background-Shutterstock-Image-ID388874875-Copyright-northallertonman.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] They say that the road to destruction is paved with good intentions. The saying fits procrastinators that intend to make or update estate plans involving turbulent families, but never get around to making updated plans. An estate plan procrastinator can create even more destruction by sharing estate plan intentions with family members without following through with the intentions. **Result of No Planning** In most states, if a deceased person dies as the sole owner of an asset without leaving a will, the asset ownership passes to the person’s surviving spouse and children. Some states also grant additional asset distribution rights to spouses and minor children above and beyond their primary distribution shares (for example, $25,000 for a surviving spouse or minor children Indiana; and $20,000 for surviving spouse and $10,000 for each minor child or adult dependent child in Illinois). Surviving spouses often express surprise and frustration when they have to share their deceased spouses’ assets with the decedents’ children, and vice versa, especially in second marriages. **Special Estate Plan Vulnerabilities** In most states, a surviving spouse has the right to “renounce” the deceased spouse’s last will and testament and take a share of the estate even if the will deliberately left nothing for the surviving spouse. Furthermore, those states that provide an extra monetary allowances for a surviving spouse or minor children provide those allowances in addition to the surviving spouse’s right to override the deceased spouse’s will. These rights allow the surviving spouse in a second marriage to take a large share of assets that the deceased spouse may have intended to pass to his or her own children. There are some strategies to minimize this effect, but the best way for a person to ensure that assets pass to his or her children in a second marriage is to make a prenuptial agreement before entering into the second marriage. Understandably, these factors often create fierce tensions between surviving spouses and their disappointed stepchildren. **Sloppy Co-Ownership and Beneficiary Arrangements** People often want to authorize family members to help them manage bank accounts and other assets. A power of attorney is the smartest way to give that authorization to family members. Unfortunately, it is all too common for a person to add one family member’s name to accounts or make that person the sole beneficiary with the intention that that family member will divide the assets equally among the other family members after the person’s death. In countless cases, we have heard people complain that their parents intended to treat all family members equally, but the assets passed to that one person named on joint accounts for check writing purposes or as the sole beneficiary. **Good Follow-Through Beats Best Intentions** Life is full of surprises. There is no better time to plan for tomorrow than today because surprises tend to interfere with tomorrow. Once a person decides what he or she wants to do, the person should take action before illness or injury makes the action impossible. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Beneficiary Designation, Estate Planning, Joint Bank Account, Last Will and Testament, Stepchildren, Surviving spouse **Tags:** beneficiaries, estate plan, joint accounts, stepchildren, surviving spouse --- ### [Straight Talk About Contracts](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/straight-talk-about-contracts/) **Published:** May 7, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Snydley Whiplasch - Dudly Duwright Contract](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Snydley-Whiplasch-Dudly-Duwright-Contract.jpg "Snydley Whiplasch - Dudly Duwright Contract - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Snydley-Whiplasch-Dudly-Duwright-Contract.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] We wonder sometimes whether we will run out of topics for our blog and newspaper columns, but we always find more legal subjects that people misunderstand. People misunderstand contracts more frequently than they misunderstand many other subjects, so we are shining a light on them this week. A contract is an agreement that requires someone to either do something or not do something. A contract exists when someone offers something in exchange for something else and the other party accepts the offer. For an example of an agreement to do something, when you order a pizza, the pizzeria agrees to bake a pizza and you agree to pay for it. For an example of an agreement not to do something, a new employee that signs an employment agreement containing a covenant not to compete agrees not to compete against the employer during the employment and for a certain period after the employment ends. A contract can exist regardless of whether the parties sign a written document. A written contract document helps the parties communicate their respective rights and responsibilities, but the actual contract usually exists before the parties sign the written document. There are many ways for people to have problems with contracts. Some people believe mistakenly that unwritten promises are unenforceable. Other people depend on things that the party said before they signed an agreement, without understanding that an “integration clause” in the written contract wiped out all of their previously spoken understandings. Also, as contract documents become more and more available through the Internet, many people create problems for themselves by trying to write agreements that they do not understand. It is difficult to prove that an unwritten contract exists sometimes, but one person’s action in reliance upon an agreement can prove the agreement’s existence and enforceability. For example, if an employer offers a job to an applicant, but the applicant never shows up for work and the employer does not pay wages to the applicant, their lack of action creates no evidence of their agreement other than their conflicting statements. However, if the applicant shows up and works, but the employer fails to pay wages, the applicant’s work proves existence of the employment agreement even if the amount of the wages is not clear. When people negotiate contracts, such as real estate sales or coal leases, several offers and counter offers may pass between the parties before they sign a contract. When a person neglects to read the written contract carefully, the person exposes himself to an unwelcome surprise if he depends on a spoken promise that does not appear in the final version of the written contract document and the document says that it contains all of the terms and conditions of the parties’ agreement. Almost every lawyer has heard the maxim, “a person who represents himself has a fool for a client.” In today’s do-it-yourself culture, many people hurt themselves by writing their own agreements without fully understanding what they are doing. For example, someone might think that a contract should include an arbitration clause to avoid litigation in court, but if the author writes the arbitration clause poorly, the sloppy arbitration clause may trigger costly litigation to determine how the arbitration should proceed. It is almost impossible to live as an adult for one day without making a contract (such as to open or use a social media account or to buy food or gasoline). No person can afford to hire a lawyer to negotiate or read every insignificant contract, but who can afford to make an important contract without an experienced lawyer’s advice? A good rule of thumb is that if you could not afford to lose the entire benefit of an agreement, you should not make the agreement without discussing it with a lawyer. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Arbitration agreement, Contract, Contract litigation, Contract negotiation, Covenant not to compete **Tags:** Arbitration agreement, Coal lease, Contract litigation, Contract negotiation, Covenant not to compete, Real estate sale --- ### [Undue Influence: Guilty Until Proven Innocent](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/undue-influence-guilty-until-proven-innocent/) **Published:** April 28, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Prodigal Son. Shutterstock Image ID 112336103 Copyright jcpgraphic](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Prodigal-Son.-Shutterstock-Image-ID-112336103-Copyright-jcpgraphic.jpg "Prodigal Son. Shutterstock Image ID 112336103 Copyright jcpgraphic - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Prodigal-Son.-Shutterstock-Image-ID-112336103-Copyright-jcpgraphic.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Many people are familiar with the prodigal son parable that Jesus shared with his critics in Luke 15:11-32. In that story, the prodigal son demanded and squandered his inheritance, returned home in disgrace, and received his father’s embrace and celebration upon return. The story also shows that the faithful son was upset about the celebration because his father had not given him a similar celebration. The father reminded the faithful son that he would inherit the father’s entire wealth because of his faithfulness. Many disputes in estates and trusts arise out of this kind of sibling rivalry, but the faithful sons and daughters do not always fare as well as the young man in Jesus’ parable. It is common for some family members to live nearer their older relatives and maintain more frequent contact than other, more distantly located family members. The older relatives often develop special fondness for their attentive family members, which causes the other family members to feel envious and spiteful toward the attentive family members. Sometimes, those harsh feelings are justifiable when attentive family members exploit their close relationship with older family members for personal gain improperly. Controversies about attentive family members receiving generous gifts and estate distributions often end up in court. It is difficult to distinguish when the generosity has resulted from genuine favoritism instead of greedy manipulation of a feeble, elderly person. Courts in most states have developed a philosophy over the past century to discourage fraud through a legal concept known as “undue influence.” The idea behind the concept is that if someone complains that a person’s receipt of more benefit than other family members is improper, the person receiving the greater benefit should be able to prove that the benefit did not result from fraud. Otherwise, a crook could hoodwink an older person into leaving wealth to the crook, and there would be no way for cheated family members to prove what really happened. Undue influence is a necessary concept to overcome fraud and corruption, but it creates serious problems for a person who has merely benefited from a deceased person’s love. Most people guard their privacy closely and do not share awkward family business outside the family. When a discreet person rewards an attentive family member with extra generosity without leaving an explanatory record to justify the generosity, disgruntled “prodigal sons” can attack the faithful family member in court with undue influence claims. There is nothing wrong with rewarding good people in an estate plan. It is important, however, to think realistically about whether the extra generosity will create conflict. If the generosity will likely create controversy, a skillful estate planning lawyer will guide the estate planning client through steps to support the estate plan against controversy. Defensive planning procedures include things like using independent witnesses that understand the awkward family dynamics personally, engaging neurologists for mental capacity evaluations, and other evidence preservation techniques. Every case is different, so preventative procedures do not work perfectly in every case. Family estate disputes can become almost as ugly as custody battles in divorce cases. Some people seem to be born to pick fights, but as we wrote in our [blog on March 14, 2016](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/family-feud-avoidable/), open family discussions can help avoid or minimize some disputes. No one wants to open the proverbial “can of worms,” but controversy management during the estate planning process may help cherished family members far more than generosity if it is possible that the generosity will trigger controversy. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Contested Estate, Estate Planning, Fraud, Undue influence **Tags:** Estate Litigation, estate planning, Mental Capacity, Undue Influence --- ### [Why Mediation Resolves Conflicts Better Than Litigation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/why-mediation-resolves-conflicts-better-than-litigation/) **Published:** April 23, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Silhouettes of fighting warriors are seen against the background of the rising sun, Shutterstock Image ID 325317404, Copyright Patalakha Serg](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Silhouettes-of-fighting-warriors-are-seen-against-the-background-of-the-rising-sun-Shutterstock-Image-ID-325317404-Copyright-Patalakha-Serg.jpg "Silhouettes of fighting warriors are seen against the background of the rising sun, Shutterstock Image ID 325317404, Copyright Patalakha Serg - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Silhouettes-of-fighting-warriors-are-seen-against-the-background-of-the-rising-sun-Shutterstock-Image-ID-325317404-Copyright-Patalakha-Serg.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Litigation is like war. Just as warfare is expensive and dependent on unpredictable factors like weather and human behavior, lawsuits often burn fortunes with unreliable outcomes. In most war and litigation, each side is partly right and partly wrong, depending on someone’s perspective. More lawsuits end with “winners” and “losers” than wars, but both conflict types exhaust precious emotional energy, time, and financial expense before opponents enter the courtroom or battlefield. Victors often feel like losers because high conflict expenses devour the benefits of their victories. Negotiated dispute resolution allows adversaries to share control of their disagreements instead of relying on other people or external factors. Each side usually understands the dispute details and has a strong interest in getting a good result. Unfortunately, direct negotiation often fails because distrust and competition to win keeps parties from understanding each other well enough to negotiate effectively. A mediator helps opponents understand each other better so that they can make better decisions about agreement opportunities. Mediation rules allow a mediator to speak with each group privately and keep the private conversations confidential. If a mediator discovers fundamentally divisive misunderstandings, the mediator can help correct the parties’ understandings and eliminate division. When both parties want the same thing, but they do not trust each other enough to say so, they can confide in the mediator safely and the mediator can reveal mutually satisfactory agreement opportunities. Progressive mediators often insist on having direct conversations with each party several weeks before a mediation conference to learn each party’s perspective. That early discussion helps the mediator determine each party’s mediation readiness. If the mediator thinks the parties are not ready to mediate, the mediator can help them prepare for a more effective mediation process instead of wasting time in premature mediation. Mediation depends on each party’s willingness to hear the other side of the argument and consider their own litigation prospects realistically. People sometimes resist spending time and money on mediation because they may think mediation cannot solve their disputes. However, well prepared mediation participants usually learn critical things very efficiently in mediation that would require great time and expense to discover through litigation formalities. Therefore, even if mediation does not produce a negotiated settlement, it often streamlines litigation by eliminating wasteful distractions and misunderstandings. Wise lawyers and clients prefer pre-lawsuit mediation. They prepare carefully for mediation because they know that they can recycle mediation preparation in litigation if mediation fails. Successful early mediation saves fortunes in litigation expenses and sometimes reconciles family and business relationships that would permanently disintegrate in litigation. Group decision facilitation is a sophisticated mediation variation that builds bridges within private and government organizations in many productive ways. Leaders of churches, civic organizations, and government bodies often face crossroad decisions involving multiple stakeholder perspectives that complicate and disrupt the information-gathering and decision-making process. A mediator with public policy facilitation training uses mediation principles to help stakeholders and decision-makers build a complete picture of a problem that they can then work together to solve in facilitated meetings. Some people lack the ability to think rationally enough about problems to collaborate effectively, but conflict burns everyone’s resources. The old maxim, “two heads are better than one,” proves itself in collaborative problem-solving because bridges and peace offerings are more productive investments for everyone than fortresses and artillery. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Dispute Resolution, Facilitated Meeting, Mediation, Negotiated Settlement, Pre-Suit Mediation, Stakeholders **Tags:** facilitated meeting, lawsuit, litigation, mediation, Mediator, negotiated settlement, Pre-Suit Mediation --- ### [Does That Trust Need a Tune-Up?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/does-that-trust-need-a-tune-up/) **Published:** April 22, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Garage Mechanic and Customer Happy With Job, Shutterstock Image ID 60352552, Copyright Colleen E. Scott, Scott Designs](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Garage-Mechanic-and-Customer-Happy-With-Job-Shutterstock-Image-ID-60352552-Copyright-Colleen-E.-Scott-Scott-Designs.jpg "Garage Mechanic and Customer Happy With Job, Shutterstock Image ID 60352552, Copyright Colleen E. Scott, Scott Designs - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Garage-Mechanic-and-Customer-Happy-With-Job-Shutterstock-Image-ID-60352552-Copyright-Colleen-E.-Scott-Scott-Designs.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Revocable trust plans have been around for fifty years or more. Revocable trusts were quite the rage when we began practicing law in the early 1990s. Most people wanted the privacy advantage that revocable trusts held over last wills and testaments. Some people believed mistakenly that revocable trusts would also provide better “death tax” protection than wills. Many of those revocable trusts served their purposes of the time, but tax laws have changed, other issues have become more important, and those old trust protections can create new problems today. The tax issues that that our clients feared in the early 1990s were serious. The top federal estate and gift tax rate was more than 50% and an estate could only claim a $600,000 exemption (many farms and retirement plans were more valuable than $600,000). Additionally, the largest non-spousal Indiana inheritance tax exemption value was only $10,000 per child or grandchild. Estate planning attorneys usually advised married clients to limit “death tax” liability in those days by making a separate trust for each spouse. When one spouse died, his or her share of the couple’s assets would remain in a trust for the surviving spouse’s benefit, but harsh restrictions prevented the surviving spouse from gaining unlimited access to the trust assets. Those arrangements were possible with revocable trusts (sometimes called “Living Trusts”) or complex last wills and testaments. The federal estate tax exemption rose to $5.45 million in 2016 and Indiana repealed the inheritance tax in 2013. Wealthy folks still need tax planning to avoid or minimize taxation if their wealth exceeds $5.45 million, but most people have more modest wealth and do not need such restrictive estate plans. Unfortunately, many people still have estate plans designed to fight taxes that no longer threaten their wealth. One of the problems with the old “death tax” avoidance trusts pops up when a surviving spouse needs nursing home care. Federal law says assets in a deceased spouse’s old revocable trust count as the surviving spouse’s assets for Medicaid nursing home benefit eligibility purposes regardless of trust provisions that restrict the surviving spouse’s access to the assets. For some reason, however, Congress did not apply that same treatment to assets in an equally restrictive trust established in a deceased spouse’s last will and testament. This federal discrimination against revocable trusts punishes surviving spouses by disqualifying them for Medicaid assistance to pay nursing home costs even though they may have spent their own assets to zero and cannot access their deceased spouses’ revocable trusts. We advise people to review their estate plans at least every 5 years with an experienced trust and estate lawyer with a strong elder law background to ensure that the plans still work well under current laws and financial circumstances. Those people who made estate plans with wealth greater than $500,000 in the 1990s or more than $1 million in the early 2000s probably have unnecessarily restrictive trusts today. It is easy to update an outdated estate plan while you are healthy, but your plan may torture your surviving spouse if you fail to fix it before you die. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Last Will and Testament, Medicaid, Nursing home, Revocable Trust, Surviving spouse, Testamentary Trust **Tags:** estate plan, estate tax, last will and testament, Medicaid, nursing home, Revocable trust, spouse --- ### [Long Road Through Loss, Grief, and Recovery](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/long-road-through-loss-grief-and-recovery/) **Published:** April 11, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Cancer child comforting despair father shutterstock_279677471](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Cancer-child-comforting-despair-father-shutterstock_279677471-1024x683.jpg "Cancer child comforting despair father shutterstock_279677471 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Cancer-child-comforting-despair-father-shutterstock_279677471.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] We attended the recent funeral of the beautiful matriarch of a family that we have known and loved for many years. Our dear friends expressed mixed feelings of loss from the death of their beloved mother and grandmother, and joy because her death released her from a long health decline. Those conversations inspired us reflect on insights from our decades of helping grief-stricken estate, trust, and elder law clients endure painful losses and find healthy normalcy afterward. King David said in Psalm 139:14 (New International Version, Zondervan 1984), “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made…” Perhaps nowhere is the wonder of God’s creation more evident than in the human mind. Swiss psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross described an amazing grief coping system of the human mind in 1969 as the “five stages of grief.” Psychiatric experts continually refine their understanding of our uniquely individual displays of that grieving process as Dr. Kübler-Ross and co-author David Kessler wrote in their last book collaboration (published after the 2004 death of Dr. Kübler-Ross): The stages have evolved since their introduction, and they have been very misunderstood over the past three decades. They were never meant to help tuck messy emotions into neat packages. They are responses to loss that many people have, but there is not a typical response to loss, as there is no typical loss. Our grief is as individual as our lives. The five stages—denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance—are a part of the framework that makes up our learning to live with the one we lost. They are tools to help us frame and identify what we may be feeling. But they are not stops on some linear timeline in grief. Not everyone goes through all of them or goes in a prescribed order. Our hope is that with these stages comes the knowledge of grief’s terrain, making us better equipped to cope with life and loss. (Kübler-Ross, E. and Kessler, David (2005) *On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss*, Simon & Schuster Ltd, ISBN 0-7432-6344-8). Almost everyone experiences grief in extreme loss. Losses that trigger grief can occur in many parts of life, such as divorce, termination of employment, permanently disabling injury or illness, financial hardship, and death or disability of a beloved person. Long, grueling losses, like the gradual decline of an Alzheimer’s patient or cancer patient, beat down even the toughest people. The effect of loss on a person’s emotional state grows from the person’s realization that the loss has permanently altered the future and that the person’s expectations about the future must change. We have observed the effects of early grief stages in some of our clients. Clients in the denial stage sometimes struggle to understand the reality of a crisis and fail to respond properly to protect their own interests. Clients in the anger stage make personal judgments about people and things that they would never make in normal circumstances. Clients in the bargaining stage sometimes bogged down in in trivial details and struggle to focus on important decisions. Depressed clients often lack motivation to take necessary action. We pay careful attention to our clients’ emotional states so that we can help them help themselves. We advise new clients in stressful situations to make sure that they get plenty of sleep, exercise, healthy food, and hydration because poor physical health often undermines mental health. We discourage clients from making hasty decisions without consulting us and other trusted advisors because intense grief often disrupts a person’s ability to make rational decisions. We also encourage clients to seek counseling from spiritual advisers or professional mental health counselors to help the clients develop self-awareness of how the grief process is affecting them because self-awareness allows a grieving person to participate more effectively in the healing process. If you or someone you know is experiencing a life-changing disappointment or loss, it is important to understand that the grieving process is real and that it affects a person’s behavior and thought processes dramatically. No person should face crisis alone. You can help yourself or a grieving loved one endure and recover from loss by recognizing that the loss exists and seeking help to overcome it. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** 5 Stages of Loss, Alzheimer's, Cancer, Dementia, Disability, Elder Law, Grief and Loss, Grief Counseling **Tags:** 5 Stages of Loss, Alzheimer's, Cancer, elder law, estate, Grief, Grief Counseling, Loss, trust --- ### [Passing It on without Dropping the Baton](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/passing-it-on-without-dropping-the-baton/) **Published:** April 2, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Passing the Baton](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Passing-the-Baton-1024x618.jpg "Passing the Baton - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Passing-the-Baton.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Most people think once in a while about the inheritance that they will leave for others. Some people assume that their wealth will transfer to their family members smoothly and other people believe that they must make detailed plans. To some extent, both ideas are true. State laws cause wealth to pass to a deceased person’s nearest relatives. If a person wants wealth to pass to a nonrelative (such as a stepchild or a life partner who is not a spouse), the person must make a last will and testament, a trust, or other asset transfer device. Estate plans do not always guarantee that wealth transfers will conclude smoothly or correctly. Basic problems that interfere with planned wealth transfers include: - lost or misplaced assets - expenses that consume assets - asset transfer challenges by family members - burdensome asset transfer procedures You might think that lost or misplaced assets would not be a problem, but the Indiana Attorney General’s office reports that [IndianaUnclaimed.gov](https://indianaunclaimed.gov/apps/ag/ucp/index.html) has already returned unclaimed assets to people worth more than $15,000,000 in 2016. Such assets include stocks, bonds, bank and investment accounts, and life insurance policies that deceased peoples’ family members did not know existed. Basic record-keeping and clear communication to family members about financial matters would eliminate that problem for most people. Some asset-eating expenses, such as rising medical and nursing home costs are unavoidable for most people. Even in the worst cases, however, savvy estate planning can improve a family’s asset protection prospects. A proper power of attorney (most powers of attorney have hidden defects) enables a disabled person’s family to conserve assets during his or her health crisis. A nursing home resident’s spouse can salvage assets for the family in case he or she dies before the nursing home resident by making a will that protects assets in a trust instead of leaving everything to the nursing home resident. We have written extensively about planning to minimize family estate battles on our blog at HawkinsLaw.com. If a person’s family members do not get along with each other well, a sloppy estate plan or an unplanned estate may throw fuel on the fire. It is better to plan carefully to head off the battle than to allow wealth transfers to destroy a family. Some assets are difficult to transfer. For example, a retiree that has stock certificates issued by a former employer must coordinate with a national bank or other financial institution to get a Medallion signature guarantee certificate before transferring ownership of the stock. Most small towns lack banks or financial institutions that participate in the Medallion program. When a person dies owning such assets, the stock transfer process often consumes many hours and thousands of dollars to transfer the assets to the deceased person’s family. Careful estate planning can eliminate most of the asset transfer red tape. Family wealth transfer is similar to a relay runner’s passing of the baton in a relay race. Champion relay teams plan and prepare for the transfer process so that each runner can maintain a full stride without dropping the baton. Likewise, a person can pass assets to the next generation as smoothly as possible without dropping the baton by carefully planning the transfer. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Asset Protection, Contested Estate, Estate Planning, Investments, Last Will and Testament, Life Insurance, Nursing home, Power of Attorney, Trust **Tags:** conflict, estate planning, last will and testament, nursing home, power of attorney, trusts --- ### [Criminal Consequences of Deceptive Indiana Nursing Home Medicaid Applications](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/criminal-consequences-of-deceptive-indiana-nursing-home-medicaid-applications/) **Published:** March 30, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Close up photo of a handcuffed elderly woman](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Close-up-photo-of-a-handcuffed-elderly-woman-1024x692.jpg "Close up photo of a handcuffed elderly woman - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Close-up-photo-of-a-handcuffed-elderly-woman.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, and other health crises send thousands of people to nursing homes each year. People often want to protect assets from expensive healthcare costs when they discover that the average annual cost of Indiana nursing home care exceeds $71,000. Legitimate asset protection strategies exist, but people risk stiff criminal penalties when they try to protect assets illegally. Indiana Code section 35-43-5-7.1 says a person commits Medicaid fraud by knowingly or intentionally making, uttering, presenting, or causing to be presented a Medicaid claim that contains materially false or misleading information concerning the claim. The statute goes on to say that, Medicaid fraud is a Level 6 felony if the fair market value of the offense is at least $750 and less than $50,000, a Level 5 felony if the fair market value of the offense is at least $50,000. Medicaid law requires every Medicaid applicant to report all assets owned by the applicant or the applicant’s spouse, including assets that either person owns jointly with other people. The law also requires the applicant to report every gift or transfer of assets for less than full fair market value made within the 5 years preceding the Medicaid application. Failure to report an asset or transfer constitutes Medicaid fraud. The average monthly cost of Indiana nursing home care exceeds $5,900, so a fraudulent Medicaid application will always constitute a Level 6 felony if the nursing home resident receives Medicaid for one month or longer. According to Indiana Code section 35-50-2-7, “a person who commits a Level 6 felony shall be imprisoned for a fixed term of between 6 months and 2 ½ years, with the advisory sentence being 1 year. In addition, the person may be fined not more than $10,000.” If a nursing home resident receives Medicaid benefits for 9 months, the benefit value will usually exceed $50,000. If a person applying for Medicaid benefits for such a nursing home resident knowingly fails to report assets or transfers, he or she commits a Level 5 felony, and faces imprisonment under Indiana Code section 35-50-2-6 “…for a fixed term of between 1 and 6 years, with the advisory sentence being 3 years. In addition, the person may be fined not more than $10,000.” Medicaid law is one of the most confusing and poorly documented legal systems in America. The law sometimes uses almost nonsensical terminology that defies common understanding and common sense. The law also changes constantly as legislators, courts, and administrative agencies restate and redefine Medicaid eligibility requirements. Only experienced and reputable elder law attorneys possess the resources to track and understand Medicaid law, so no person should seek Medicaid advice from another source, even if the source is a licensed attorney. In fact, we have heard a few disappointing reports of ignorant lawyers downplaying or ignoring disclosure requirements. People sometimes respond to our explanation of Medicaid’s asset and transfer reporting requirements by asking, “How would the state know?” We offer three responses to that question. First, the state trains its Medicaid caseworkers to study each applicant’s financial records (including bank and investment account statements, real estate records, and income tax returns) closely for signs of hidden asset ownership and asset transfers. Second, increasing governmental use of data analysis constantly increases the state’s ability to discover fraud. Finally, we take our ethical and moral responsibility seriously, and we do not help people commit crimes. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Alzheimer's, Fraud, Medicaid, Nursing home, Stroke **Tags:** elder law attorney, Fraud, Medicaid, nursing home --- ### [What a Farmer Has Joined Together, Let No Kids Tear Asunder](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/what-a-farmer-has-joined-together-let-no-kids-tear-asunder/) **Published:** March 21, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Torn Corn](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Torn-Corn-1024x628.jpg "Torn Corn - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Torn-Corn.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] One of farming’s “Holy Grails” is to assemble tracts of farmland that join together as one big block so that the farmer can move from one field to another without having to transport equipment down roads or highways. Such a farmland assemblage saves incredible time, fuel, and equipment maintenance expense, and it allows a farmer to focus all farming activities on crop production and harvest efficiently. It takes generations for farmers to assemble such farmland blocks. It is unthinkable to dedicated farmers that future generations might disassemble them, but the dreaded land breakup is inevitable without careful legal planning. Real estate co-owners cannot always agree whether to hold or sell real estate. For that reason, Indiana law has allows a real estate co-owner to sue the other co-owners in a lawsuit known as a “partition” action to force a public land auction. Partition actions have been part of Indiana law for more than a century. However, an Indiana legislator decided in 2012 that the partition procedures were too inefficient and time-consuming, so the legislator proposed a simpler law that would require a judge to schedule a public auction 30 days after the filing of the partition lawsuit. Jeff Hawkins organized a group of volunteer lawyers to negotiate with the bill’s author and persuaded the author to require the judge to order the landowners to hire a civil mediator to help negotiate a solution for up to 60 days, and then schedule the public auction only if the parties could not reach a settlement agreement. The final version of the law gave the landowners that want to keep the land almost three more months to respond to the crisis than the original bill provided, but the partition action remains one of the greatest threats to a growing family farm operation. So how does a family avoid a partition action crisis? An experienced trust and estate lawyer can provide a couple of ways to solve this problem. One solution involves one or more trusts and the other solution involves a limited liability company (LLC). A farm owner can protect farmland against partition actions through trust planning. In one trust strategy, farm owner makes a trust as part of his or her last will and testament that puts a trustee in charge of the land after the farm owner’s death. In another trust strategy, the owner creates a trust and transfer ownership of the farmland to the trust during his or her lifetime. In either trust plan, the land could remain in the trust for a few generations or the trustee could distribute the farmland to family members. If the trust retains the farmland, the trustee could lease the farmland to a family farm operator and the trustee could distribute farm rent payments to the trust beneficiaries. Alternatively, the trustee could distribute the farmland to the trust beneficiaries with an anti-transfer restriction that limits landowner’s abilities to sell the land or folly partition lawsuit. The LLC strategy resembles the trust strategy in which the trustee retains the farmland in trust, but with some extra benefits. An LLC advantage over a trust that retains real estate is that the LLC can retain income for farmland improvements and other purposes without paying the exorbitant taxes that the trust of a deceased trust creator must pay. An LLC advantage over a trust that distributes farmland to trust beneficiaries is that creditors of a disabled or financially unstable beneficiary cannot assert judgment liens against the vulnerable landowner’s real estate share or otherwise interfere with farmland retained in an LLC. Both the trust and LLC strategies require skillful planning and document drafting to satisfy the family farm objectives. Sloppy drafting can create tax nightmares or tie up the farm in ways that make it impossible for farm operators to continue growing the farm or updating it from time to time. Top-notch trust estate lawyers know how to avoid these problems and design solutions and strategies that balance a farm owner’s estate planning concerns for all beneficiaries. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Estate Planning, Family Farm, Farmland, Last Will and Testament, LLC, Real Estate Partition, Succession Planning, Trust **Tags:** crop, estate plan, Family Farm, Farmland, last will and testament, LLC, Partition, trusts --- ### [FAMILY FEUD – AVOIDABLE?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/family-feud-avoidable/) **Published:** March 14, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Young couple showing each other tongue against the evening city](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Young-couple-showing-each-other-tongue-against-the-evening-city.jpg "Young couple showing each other tongue against the evening city - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Young-couple-showing-each-other-tongue-against-the-evening-city.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Do all families fight about money when their members die? We have all heard stories of feuding families, but in more than two decades of estate and trust practice, the attorneys at Hawkins Law PC have only seen a few families fight openly. Most families experience grief and share inheritance with grace and dignity. We believe that the relatively few fighting families could have avoided many of their problems with simple preventative measures. Some fights develop from personality conflicts. Family bonds often motivate family members work out their differences, but in-laws don’t share those unifying bonds. It is important for older generations to understand that a spouse is usually a person’s most influential relationship. In-laws often misunderstand or dislike their spouses’ family traditions and cultures. A family member may not want to fight, but a spouse’s criticism of family customs and expectations can stretch a person’s conflicting sense of loyalties. In fact, tensions often develop when a married person tries to balance between incompatible expectations of his or her parents and the spouse. The sooner that the older generation recognizes this struggle and works to build bridges with the son-in-law or daughter-in-law, the more likely that bridge-building effort will avoid heartache and hurt feelings in the future. Most fights result from poor communication among people in weak relationships. Folks who don’t trust each other tend not to speak to each other very often. If one family member takes on a fiduciary role such as Mom’s guardian, executor, or trustee, his silent treatment of the other family members can attract nightmarish trouble. People that want to know what is happening in a guardianship, estate, or trust often assume that the fiduciary is behaving badly if he operates in secrecy. They expect evil among things done in darkness. Daylight dispels darkness and distrust. Laws governing guardianships, estates, and trusts require fiduciaries to report how they invest and spend assets and income. Smart fiduciaries keep detailed financial records to show with whom they do business; what they do with income, expenses, and assets; and the purpose of each action. Reputable trust and estate attorneys help fiduciaries prepare detailed reports and keep communication lines open with beneficiaries and other interested people. Tense relationships can disrupt a family so badly that no family member can remain objective and coolheaded. It is tempting to ignore the problem and avoid awkward conversations, but avoidance merely allows tension to smolder. Smoldering tensions often break out into raging infernos during family crises such as the death or disability of a matriarch or patriarch. A family patriarch or matriarch may be able to resolve persistent family tensions more effectively through conciliatory mediation. We have seen families resolve problems by inviting respected advisors such as church pastors or mediators to coordinate family council discussions. In conciliatory mediation, the neutral mediator engages family members with probing questions about the sources of their tensions and guides them into healthy communication with one another. The mediator may help the family discover that one person’s subconscious and unintentional behaviors and assumptions have alienated other family members, who assumed that the behaviors and assumptions were deliberately abrasive. Such revelations can enable family members to realign their behaviors and assumptions constructively and strengthen family unity. How can young parents help prevent descendants from fighting? We’ve given that question much thought over the past couple of decades. The answer lies in the heritage that you pass to your children. Families that value material wealth more highly than rich relationships are most vulnerable to conflict. Families that embrace loving relationships much more than money pass on much more treasure than any trust or estate can hold. Parents’ most enriching conversations can be to insist that children cherish each other regardless of pressures their relationships may experience. A family built on love, mutual respect, and open communication is a fortress that repels corrosive greed and selfishness. That family is very wealthy and secure, regardless of its economic fortunes. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Conciliation, Contested Estate, Fiduciary, Mediation, Neutral, Reconcile, Relational Barriers, Relationship Counseling **Tags:** communication, conciliatory mediation, conflict, estate, family relationships, fiduciary, In-laws, Mediator, neutral, reconciliation, trust --- ### [Could You Be Hacked?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/could-you-be-hacked/) **Published:** March 6, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Hacker Attack Browsing Internet Technology Wireless Concept](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Hacker-Attack-1024x843.jpg "Hacker Attack Browsing Internet Technology Wireless Concept - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Hacker-Attack.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] We hear news stories every year about banks, retail stores, and other merchants being “hacked” by cyber criminals that want to steal the merchants’ customers’ identity and credit card data. You might think that hackers only go after “big fish,” and that they do not mess with small businesses or individuals, but you would be wrong. This article describes some of the common hacking schemes, including the kind that appear in news stories. Cyber criminals use software that functions like a superhero (or super villain) safe cracker on individual computers and computer networks. It may take a human hours to try different username and password combinations, but a computer can try millions of combinations from many locations in seconds. One computer may try to decipher your username and password unsuccessfully, but one of 1,000 other computers may find the combination and share with the other computers. From there, other programs designed to identify a sensitive data like Social Security numbers and account numbers can browse your computer without you knowing that it is happening. All of this may have to happen over a number of days if you use strong passwords (numbers, unusual upper and lowercase letter combinations, and various other characters), but passwords such as your name, 123, or ABC are open invitations for hackers to help themselves to your data. Most hackers can access your computer much more simply than using safe cracking technology. They simply send email messages or post messages or photos in social media like Facebook with malware hyperlinks. Just like a fisherman dangles tantalizing bait for fish, these hackers show alluring photos or post eye-catching stories to get victims to click on the hyperlinks that load malware onto the victims’ computers. From there, rather than having to break open a victim’s security system, these hackers can virtually walk through the front door with a full invitation to steal whatever valuable information they can find. Even if they find no valuable financial information, they will infect the victims’ computers with self-replicating programs that spread from the victims to the victims’ contacts through email and social media like a virus. Another old scam commonly known as the “Nigerian scam” plays out when a scammer offers a “too good to be true” opportunity to a potential victim by email or social media. Commonly, the scammer will ask the victim to help process a payment or a sweepstakes contest award. If the victim access the invitation, the scammer will send a check forged on a legitimate bank account and asked the victim to deposit the check in the victim’s bank account. The scammer also asked the victim to send a new check from the victim’s bank account to the scammer or a third-party (who is in on the scheme) for less than the deposited amount so that the victim can “keep some of the money.” If the victim complies with the entire scheme, the scammers will receive real money from the victim’s account and the owner of the account on which the forged check was written will stop payment on the forged check. The victim will then be deprived of the money promised by the scammer and the scammer will get the victim’s money and vanish without a trace. Other highly effective schemes or even lower tech than the ones described above. A person will call a victim and pretend to be a representative of the IRS or other government agency and threaten the victim with criminal prosecution or other strong government action. The caller will give the victim an opportunity to “fix the problem” by making a payment with a credit card or check. Everyone should know that no legitimate government agency ever calls individuals with such demands. When a person receives such a call, the person should hang up immediately and not participate in the conversation at all. In another common scam, a scammer will call a victim and say that the caller represents a computer security company that has detected that the victim’s computer is malfunctioning or in need of repair. The scammer will then try to persuade the victim to open a webpage to allow the scammer to access the victim’s computer. Once the scammer gains access to the victim’s computer, the scammer can have his way with the victim’s computer. Again, no legitimate computer company can monitor an individual computer’s health and know whether the computer require service, so a person should always hang up without engaging the scammer in such a conversation. These are not all of the ways that scammers take advantage of trusting victims, but they are so common that we see them many times each year. Protecting computer accounts with a different complex username for every account can stymie the safe crackers. Avoiding clicking on unsolicited email attachments and hyperlinks or unusually alluring social media content can avoid most other computer hackers. With respect to the other crooks, healthy skepticism about things that seem unusual or too good to be true will keep most people safe most of the time. It may not be possible to avoid becoming a fraud victim, but simple common sense can go a long way to fend off criminals. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Cybercrime, Fraud, Fraud & Theft, Internet, Internet Security, Scam, Theft **Tags:** cyber crime, Cyber security, hacker, password, Scam --- ### [Practical Inheritance Issues & Solutions](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/practical-inheritance-issues-solutions/) **Published:** February 18, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Labeled Legacies](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Labeled-Legacies-1024x584.jpg "Labeled Legacies - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Labeled-Legacies.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Did you ever pick up a button that fell off a shirt or a screw that fell out of a piece of furniture, store it in a place that you are sure you would never forget, and later forget the location of that fool-proof storage? Imagine what your family members might experience when they need to find important things when you die or if you require long-term care before your death. When you think about it, a lifetime of accumulating stuff makes passing those items to someone else difficult. This article offers some ideas about this problem, but it is only a starting point – you won’t find all of your answers here because no single answer fits every family situation. Many people think about listing all of their assets in their last will and testament and dictating who should receive each item. The problem with this approach is that such a list may be just fine for big items, such as furniture, firearms, or other “big ticket” assets, but miscellaneous tools and equipment, such as vacuum cleaners, bed linens, and wall hangings, may be far too numerous to list in a will. Worse yet, if you try to list all of those assets, your list will sooner or later become obsolete if those items break or are replaced by other very different items. Indiana law allows a person to write a will that refers to a separate list that a person may maintain and update from time to time without having to update the last will and testament. The list maker can tell the family members where the list is located and the family can simply follow the list like a cookbook. This strategy works for families whose members love each other and work together, but it is less useful for families in which relatives are selfish and competitive. A trust provides no better solution for this problem. A trust can list assets exactly the same way as a will can list them, but that approach has the same problems as a will. Listing names of beneficiaries on labels attached to specific assets is another strategy. This strategy works well if the label is very easy to see and the family members know to look for the labels, but the listing process can be rather tedious and some labels may be hard to find. Another problem with this strategy is that selfish and competitive relatives may switch labels. One of our favorite strategies is for a client to meet with family members, explain what is valuable, and discuss the best distribution plan. A variation on this strategy is to give a video-taped tour of the household and point out particular items of interest during the tour. Either of these strategies will work well for a family whose members get along well and can be very instructive to help those family members distribute or dispose of assets in an orderly fashion. This method also helps families solve problems ahead of time with less tension than when they must solve problems after a family health crisis. None of these strategies works for every family, so each person must choose the strategy that seems best. As people mature and their personalities evolve, old strategies may require reconsideration. It is important for everyone to take note that personal property are just worldly possessions that usually decline in value over time. Wise people cherish personal relationships that they build over a lifetime more than inherited assets. A legacy of love, generosity, and compassion may be the most priceless gift that any person could pass to family members. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Asset Beneficiary Label, Estate, Estate Planning, Inherit, Last Will and Testament, Legacy, Revocable Trust **Tags:** beneficiaries, estate, estate plan, inherit, trusts, wills --- ### [Myths and Misconceptions about Medicare and Indiana Medicaid](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/myths-and-misconceptions-about-medicare-and-indiana-medicaid/) **Published:** February 12, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Medicaid & Medicare Myths & Misconceptions Debunked](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Medicaid-Medicare-Myths-Misconceptions-Debunked-1024x533.jpg "Medicaid & Medicare Myths & Misconceptions Debunked - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Medicaid-Medicare-Myths-Misconceptions-Debunked.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] We have written articles about estate planning and long-term care for more than a decade to debunk myths and misconceptions that may lead people into unnecessary problems. This article addresses some of those myths and misconceptions about Indiana Medicaid for the elderly. **Permitted Annual Gifts.** People frequently tell us that they know they can give gifts each year of up to a certain value (they usually state a figure of $10,000 – $14,000). Indiana Medicaid excludes small gifts from the Medicaid transfer penalty system, but the total value of all such gifts must be $1,200 per year (that is a total of all gifts to all people as a single figure). The larger gift value ($14,000 in 2016) that most people think about has nothing to do with Medicaid, but is part of the federal gift tax law that applies mostly to people with exceeding $5.45 million. As a practical matter, that annual gift value does not apply to most people with less than $5.45 million of wealth. People wanting to give or transfer money or assets to other people should always discuss their plans with an experienced elder law attorney in advance to make sure that they are not creating gift tax or Medicaid problems. **Asset Co-Ownership.** Some people think that assets owned by two or more people are protected from nursing home expenses. In some co-ownership cases involving real estate motor vehicles, and a few other assets, the state does not require a Medicaid applicant to sell such assets. A Medicaid applicant must disclose his or her share of co-owned assets. The Medicaid system assumes that the applicant owns joint bank accounts and other co-owned accounts completely unless the applicant can prove that other co-owners have invested some of their own money in the account. **5-Year “Lookback.”** Many people understand that a 5-year period applies to certain transactions concerning nursing homes and Medicaid, but they usually misunderstand the rules. Medicaid’s 5-year “lookback” rule provides that a nursing home resident must report any transfer of asset ownership made during the 5-year period immediately preceding the resident’s Medicaid application. **Married Couples.** Most people misunderstand Medicaid rules about married couples. Most people do not realize that if a nursing home resident has a spouse living at home, the spouse at home can keep the residence and its contents, a vehicle, and other real estate, plus 1/2 of other assets worth up to a maximum value ($121,220 in 2016). Medicaid considers all assets owned by the couple, regardless of whether the couple owns the assets together, or one person owns assets in his or her name alone. Remarried couples often misunderstand the Medicaid rules about each spouse’s separately owned assets and assume incorrectly that Medicaid will not consider one spouse’s assets in the other spouse’s Medicaid application. The Medicaid rules about married people are extremely complex, so married people should speak to experienced elder law attorneys about nursing home issues when they make their estate plans and as soon as possible when health issues develop. **Medicare and Health Insurance.** Four major misunderstandings exist about Medicare. First, many people are surprised that Medicare and Medicare supplemental insurance does not pay for nursing home care if a patient enters a nursing home directly from home. Second, Medicaid is implementing a more tolerant case-by-case standard, but most people do not realize that Medicare usually does not cover medical or nursing home expenses unless a patient is admitted as hospital inpatient through two midnights or longer (the “2-midnight rule”). Third, many people (including some nursing home officials) misunderstand that the 100-day Medicare coverage of nursing home expenses will only continue if the patient is “improving,” but the true standard is if “services are needed to maintain the individual’s condition, or prevent or slow their decline.” Finally, many people fail to apply for Medicaid before Medicare coverage expires, creating financial crisis for nursing home residents that cannot pay nursing home expenses privately. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Community spouse, Hospital, Lookback period, Medicaid, Medicare, Nursing home, Transfer penalty **Tags:** elder law attorney, hospital, Medicaid, Medicare, nursing home --- ### [You Probably Need A Lawyer If . . .](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/you-probably-need-a-lawyer-if/) **Published:** February 8, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Rear view of businessman standing in lights of stage](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Rear-view-of-businessman-standing-in-lights-of-stage.jpg "Rear view of businessman standing in lights of stage - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Rear-view-of-businessman-standing-in-lights-of-stage.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Celebrity comedian Jeff Foxworthy has developed a series of jokes that begin with the phrase: “You might be a redneck if . . .” If Mr. Foxworthy was a lawyer, perhaps he might adapt that concept to identify some of the circumstances when an attorney’s advice and representation might save a person from headache and heartache with a list like this: You probably need a lawyer if . . . 1\) A person offers to buy your land, an easement across your land, or the coal, oil, or gas that lies under the land; 2\) You are engaged to be married and you or your parents have valuable personal or business assets or assets that may increase in value in the future; 3\) Same circumstances as in 2, but you have children by a prior marriage or business partners who share ownership in your land or business; 4\) You have a home, business, farmland, or other assets that you wish to pass to others when you die; 5\) You think young children or someone with financial, legal, or medical problems may inherit your wealth; 6\) A friend or family member dies leaving assets and bills, and you believe that you are the logical person to help manage that person’s estate or trust; 7\) It dawns on you that you may have a stroke, car accident, or develop an illness such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, ALS, or Multiple Sclerosis before you die; 8\) You suffer an injury that requires extensive therapy or long-term care, or someone tries to abuse or take advantage of you; 9\) A friend or family member suffers one of the setbacks described in 7 and 8, and you believe that you are the logical person to help protect that person’s assets and other business; or 10\) Anyone tells you that you don’t need a lawyer to do something (BIG RED FLAG! – this statement usually comes from someone who doesn’t want you to get legal advice because the person knows that a lawyer would uncover the person’s real intentions and protect you from harm). This list is our fun way of showing that everyone needs to think ahead and make a game plan to deal with legal, financial, and health problems in the future. Hiring a lawyer to help make that plan is like buying insurance – you pay premiums to protect wealth and income against costly misfortune, and then you hope that misfortune never arises. Likewise, the plan that your lawyer prepares may not stop bad things that you hope to avoid, but it may soften the blow and reduce the damage more than if you fail to plan. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Business, Estate Planning, Prenuptial Agreement, Real Estate **Tags:** Alzheimer's, assets, business, estate plan, nursing home --- ### [Business Entities – Not Just For Businesses Anymore](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/business-entities-not-just-for-businesses-anymore/) **Published:** January 24, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Corporate Minutes Book](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Corporate-Minutes-Book-1024x576.jpg "Corporate Minutes Book - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Corporate-Minutes-Book.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Most people are familiar with corporations. Some people may have encountered a business entity that has existed in Indiana since 1993 called a limited liability company (an “LLC”). Business people have used these entities in Indiana to solve a wide variety of problems, including protection of personal assets from business liability, controlling tax consequences of various business activities, and other purposes. A corporation is simply a business entity that is established and owned by shareholders who own shares of stock in the corporation. The corporation may own, in turn, vehicles, equipment, contractual rights, and other assets. Indiana business corporation laws do not give corporations much flexibility in how shareholder rights are managed and, consequently, a shareholder’s rights and obligations concerning income and expenses of the corporation are allocated based on the number of shares of the corporation’s stock that the shareholder owns. LLC owners, called members, enjoy the same kind of limited liability from risks of the LLC’s business operations that protects corporate shareholders from corporate liability. An LLC owner may lose his investment in the LLC if the LLC suffers a business loss, but the LLC owner will not necessarily be liable for the LLC’s debts. Members may manage the LLC’s business, or they may appoint managers to manage the business. This management by managers resembles a corporation’s management by corporate officers and a board of directors. An LLC member has much more flexibility than a corporation shareholder to make customized business operating agreements with other members and the managers. This great flexibility in designing a member’s relationship to an LLC resembles the great flexibility that estate planning attorneys use in writing wills and trusts. Many estate planning attorneys have been splitting their time between writing wills and trusts for estate planning clients and establishing LLCs and corporations for business clients. Over the past 20 years, estate planning attorneys have also developed LLCs to accomplish sophisticated estate planning objectives, such as minimizing taxes on gifts and estates for wealthy clients. Increasingly, however, less wealthy clients are benefiting from creative LLC estate plan designs to minimize Indiana inheritances taxes, simplify wealth distributions to family members, avoid probate administration complications and costs, and minimize wealth consumption by long-term care expenses. A simple LLC plan can resemble an estate plan that features a revocable trust. The cost of such a plan can also resemble the cost of a revocable trust plan. Wills, trusts, and LLCs are not magical devices that suit every client’s purpose, but they are valuable tools for estate planning attorneys to help clients achieve estate planning goals. As in all estate planning choices, the client and attorney must determine which tool will do the best job within the client’s budget. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Corporation, Estate Planning, Last Will and Testament, Limited Liability Company, Trust **Tags:** Corporation, estate plan, last will and testament, LLC, trusts --- ### [Non-Traditional Households Require Special Planning](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/non-traditional-households-require-special-planning/) **Published:** January 24, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Hospital flight](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Hospital-flight.jpg "Hospital flight - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Hospital-flight.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] A report published by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2009, showed that more than 60% of Americans had been married at least once by age 30 and at least 10% of Americans had been divorced by age 30 (). If a “traditional” household includes a husband, his wife, and the children conceived by them and born during their marriage, the census data tells us that many households are not traditional. This article highlights the special estate planning issues that non-traditional households need to address. A very bitter court battle raged in 2007 about whether Patrick Atkins, an incapacitated homosexual man, should be cared for by his parents or his homosexual partner of 25 years. Patrick’s parents won guardianship over their son, but the Court awarded visitation rights to Patrick’s partner, Brett Conrad. The 2015 Supreme Court ruling in favor of same-sex marriage could have eliminated the Atkins controversy if that couple had married before Patrick’s health crisis, but the case highlights some of the difficult issues that face many non-traditional families – both gay and straight. Unmarried cohabitation (sometimes called “living together” or “shacking up”) is not a new way of life. The legal problems associated with the lifestyle aren’t new either, but the modern legal environment aggravates some of the problems. Most of us think more about dying than becoming disabled. Patrick Atkins must have thought that way too because he left no plan for how to care for him before a stroke damaged his brain. He could have made a power of attorney and an appointment of healthcare representative to determine in advance who should call the shots for him, but his failure to plan resulted in heartbreaking conflict. Indiana guardianship law honors a person’s nomination of a guardian in the person’s power of attorney. If a person does not make a power of attorney and nominated guardian, the law provides a prioritized list of guardian candidates, beginning with the most closely related family members. An unwed life partner is not a family member under Indiana law, which is why Patrick’s family could prohibit his partner from visiting Patrick at the hospital. Life partners can appoint each other to make decisions for each other through a thoughtfully prepared estate plan. People should carefully choose primary and backup decision-makers that will act responsibly in a crisis. This can be a big problem not just for unmarried people, but also spouses in a second or subsequent marriage. If the backup decision maker dislikes the primary decision maker, or vice versa, he or she may exclude the other person from the information loop. Too many people take this issue for granted and spend too little thought about the consequences of their choices. Non-traditional families risk terrible hardship when they share assets, become dependent on each other for income and one partner dies. For example, if a man and woman buy a house together and he dies prematurely, she will not receive Social Security survivor’s benefits to help her pay the mortgage payments. Furthermore, if he owns assets in his name, alone, his biological family will get those assets instead of his surviving partner. To add insult to injury, the man’s kin can plan his funeral and completely exclude the surviving partner. Skillful asset planning is even more important for non-traditional families than for traditional families. At a minimum, both partners should hire an attorney to prepare wills for them and to evaluate their asset ownership. In many cases, trusts and other estate planning strategies may serve the couple well. Every adult should make an estate plan before a crisis strikes. For unmarried couples, failure to plan can turn crisis into tragedy. It may take time and money to plan, but planning beats the alternative hands down every time. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Advance Directives, Caregiver, Guardianship, Hospital **Tags:** estate plan, guardianship, healthcare decisions, power of attorney, Unmarried couples --- ### [Attention Veterans: Avoid VA Pension/Medicaid Eligibility Traps](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/attention-veterans-avoid-va-pensionmedicaid-eligibility-traps/) **Published:** January 16, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![va-aa](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/VA-AA.jpg "va-aa - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/VA-AA.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] The US Department of Veterans Affairs (also known as the “VA”) expresses some of our nation’s respect and gratitude to US military veterans by providing various benefits to veterans, their surviving spouses, and dependent children. Unfortunately, many veterans follow bad advice to pursue the VA’s Aid and Attendance benefit to pay home healthcare and assisted-living costs, and unwittingly disqualify themselves for more important benefits in the future. The VA’s Aid and Attendance benefit provides a small pension to a veteran, the veteran’s surviving spouse, or the veteran’s dependent children, if they are in the nursing home, blind, or in substantial daily need for assistance from another person to perform basic functions required for everyday living. Those basic living functions include the ability to dress, bathe, adjust or use special prosthetic or orthopedic appliances, or use the bathroom. The need for living assistance may result from either physical or mental disability. The amount of the pension varies around $2,000, depending upon the benefit claimant’s income level and household size. Aid and Attendance claimants must satisfy the VA’s “net worth” evaluation to qualify for the pension. The VA considers a claimant’s income, expenses, assets, and debts to determine whether the claimant’s financial resources are sufficient to meet the claimant’s basic needs without help from VA. The VA will not pay the pension if the claimant’s “assets are large enough that the claimant could use these assets to pay living expenses for a reasonable period of time.” The VA does offers no clear net worth eligibility guideline, but some people use a rule of thumb that eligibility is more doubtful if a single claimant’s net worth is $50,000 or more, or if a married couple’s net worth is $80,000 or more. Some annuity sales people make persuasive annuity sales pitches to veterans and their families. The typical sales pitch advises a client to buy an irrevocable annuity that pays enough money each month to cover assisted-living facility fees or other living expenses after the client qualifies for the Aid and Attendance benefit. If the client’s wealth is too high to qualify for the Aid and Attendance benefit, the salesperson will advise the client to give assets away to family members to reduce the client’s net worth. Congress has been considering a rule change to disqualify Aid and Attendance benefit claimants for giving away assets for several years. After Congress changes the law, the annuity and gift strategy will no longer work. The big problem is that federal and state laws already punish older people with a transfer penalty for buying certain kinds of annuities and giving away assets. Medicaid pays nursing home and home healthcare bills for people that cannot afford to pay those costs (the average monthly nursing home cost in Indiana is more than $5,900). In order to keep people from giving away their assets to speed up Medicaid eligibility, Medicaid law disqualifies claimants if they apply for Medicaid within five years after buying certain kinds of annuities or giving away assets. The tragic problem that ignorant or deceptive “advisors” create for veterans is that the annuity and gift advice sacrifices critically important Medicaid eligibility for much less valuable Aid and Attendance benefits. For example, consider a veteran’s investment of $100,000 in an irrevocable annuity (the technical term is “immediate annuity”). The veteran may get around $2,000 per month to pay a $3,000 per month assisted-living bill. That strategy comes back to bite a veteran whose health declines enough to require nursing home care because the annuity investment may disqualify the veteran for Medicaid benefits to pay a $6,500 per month nursing home bill. Veterans and their families should never rely on non-lawyer presentations about VA pensions and Medicaid eligibility. Some of the annuity sales people described in this article make presentations to people at veterans organizations, senior centers, assisted-living facilities, and nursing homes. Just because they have glossy brochures and fancy slideshow presentations does not mean that they know all of the legal consequences of the investments that they promote. Only an experienced elder law attorney can offer an unbiased comparison of the alternatives. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Aid and Attendance, Annuity, Assisted living, Department of Veterans Affairs, Elder Law, Long-term care, Medicaid **Tags:** Annuity, assisted living, elder law attorney, Medicaid, nursing home, Transfer penalty, VA Aid and Attendance --- ### [Too Young to Plan? Think Again!](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/too-young-to-plan-think-again/) **Published:** January 8, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Beautiful woman looking at man lying on bed in hospital](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/unconscious-husband-and-worried-wife.jpg "Tyler Olson - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/unconscious-husband-and-worried-wife.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Young adults have blind spots about life because they were oblivious during their childhood of many decisions that their parents made for them. They never had to worry during childhood about filing income tax returns or whether to have x-rays or stitches because such decisions are “above the pay grade” of children. However, grown-ups must make their own decisions if possible. But what happens when it is not possible? **Health Decision Planning** Most states have medical consent laws that authorize people to appoint healthcare decision-makers ahead of time. For those people who do not make advance healthcare directives such as appointments of healthcare representatives or healthcare powers of attorney, the laws authorize certain people to make medical decisions for such unprepared, incapacitated adults. In Illinois, the attending physician of an incapacitated adult must identify surrogate decision-makers in the following order of priority: (1) the patient’s guardian of the person; (2) the patient’s spouse; (3) any adult son or daughter of the patient; (4) either parent of the patient; (5) any adult brother or sister of the patient; (6) any adult grandchild of the patient; (7) a close friend of the patient; or (8) the patient’s guardian of the estate. In most cases, consent to health care may be given for an incapacitated Indiana patient by: (1) a judicially appointed guardian of the person or healthcare representative; (2) a spouse, a parent, an adult child, or an adult sibling, or (3) the patient’s religious superior, if the individual is a member of a religious order. These laws fill a decision-making gap that every person leaves when the person become seriously ill or injured and cannot make medical decisions. Unfortunately, those potential decision-makers may not be the people that the patient would choose. That is why every adult should make an advance healthcare directive such as an appointment of healthcare representatives or a healthcare power of attorney. **Business Decisions and Legal Actions** The same decision-making issues exist about an incapacitated person’s business and legal decisions that exist about healthcare. Unlike healthcare, however, no person can make business and legal decisions for an incapacitated adult without prior authority under a power of attorney or court order. If a person does not make a power of attorney, guardianship is the only alternative for an incapacitated adult’s family to be able to make business and legal decisions. Guardianship is a costly and time-consuming process because the family must file a petition asking a probate court for appointment of a guardian for the incapacitated person. After the appointment, the guardian must seek the court’s permission for many kinds of decisions and then file written reports in the court about the outcome those decisions. A person can avoid becoming a “headless beast” by empowering a responsible person with a power of attorney to pay bills, deal with insurance, and make other important decisions during a health crisis. We help clients select their decision-makers and encourage them to select multiple layers of decision-makers in case their first choice decision-makers are unable or unwilling to serve. **Conclusion** Most older adults remember feeling almost indestructible when they were younger. The aging process makes us aware of how many things can go wrong at any time. Wise young adults admit that they are not bulletproof and take these very simple planning steps to prevent a future health crisis from melting down into a heart-wrenching business and legal tragedy. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2016 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Estate Planning, Guardianship, Healthcare Representative, Hospital, Power of Attorney **Tags:** Appointment of healthcare representative, estate plan, health crisis, healthcare decisions, hospital, power of attorney --- ### [Happy (Paper) Trails - Good Reasons to Stop Using Cash](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/happy-paper-trails-good-reasons-to-stop-using-cash/) **Published:** December 31, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Happy (Paper) Trails](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Happy-Paper-Trails.jpg "Happy (Paper) Trails - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Happy-Paper-Trails.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] All of our ancestors conducted business by paying with cash. When we were younger, our parents told us that it was irresponsible to live without carrying substantial amounts of cash. Those beliefs may have been valid in the past, but doing business without keeping a paper trail creates costly problems. Today, unless cash users are willing to keep and catalog receipts for ALL of their cash expenditures, their cash dependency may create problems that wise debit card users and check writers never face. **Tax-Deductible Contributions** People who contribute to churches. charities, and certain other nonprofit organizations can claim tax deductions for their contributions on state and federal income tax returns. The IRS has increased paper trail requirements for such contributors to claim income tax deductions in recent years to prevent taxpayers from claiming charitable income tax deductions without proof of their charitable contributions. According to [IRS Publication 1771](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1771.pdf), - a donor must have a bank record or written communication from a charity for any monetary contribution before the donor can claim a charitable contribution on his/her federal income tax return; - a donor is responsible for obtaining a written acknowledgment from a charity for any single contribution of $250 or more before the donor can claim a charitable contribution on his/her federal income tax return; and - a charitable organization is required to provide a written disclosure to a donor who receives goods or services in exchange for a single payment in excess of $75. Cash contributions burden nonprofit groups with record-keeping responsibilities that do not exist with contributions by check or debit card. For that reason, churches are now having to establish policies about how to deal with cash contributors that want written acknowledgments for their contributions. **Nursing Home and Long-Term Care Issues** It costs an average of more than $71,000 per year for a Hoosier to stay in a nursing home in 2016. People who do not have enough income or assets to pay that much money depend on Medicaid to help pay nursing home bills. Medicaid penalizes people forgiving away money and other assets by disqualifying them for nursing home assistance. The state can require disclosure of gifts made within five years before a Medicaid application. Generally, Medicaid caseworkers assume that people who cash their checks or withdraw cash from their bank accounts are giving away the cash and less the people can produce receipts showing how they spent their cash. We help many spouses of a nursing home residents apply for Medicaid to pay for the spouses’ nursing home care. Federal law allows most spouses of nursing home residents to keep at least half of their households’ money, up to a maximum limit ($121,220 in 2016) to avoid poverty. We encounter many couples that habitually withdraw their Social Security and retirement benefits checks every month and spend cash without keeping receipts. It is always heartbreaking to see the stressed-out spouse of a nursing home resident figure out that the couple’s cash dependency and poor record-keeping may trigger a costly Medicaid penalty. **Cash-Free Freedom** Cash still plays an important role in society. We do not recommend that people illuminate cash usage, but we recommend limiting cash usage for things like hotdog purchases at ballparks and paying all significant expenses with checks and debit cards that create paper trails. People that follow this cashless or low-cash advice walk happier, paper-paved trails through life. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Charitable Giving, Charitable Tax Deduction, Income Tax Return, IRS, Medicaid, Nursing home, Transfer penalty **Tags:** Cash, Charitable tax deduction, income tax, Medicaid, nursing home, Publication 1771 --- ### [2015 Year-End Tax Planning Traps and Opportunities](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/2015-year-end-tax-planning-traps-and-opportunities/) **Published:** December 28, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Tax Forms](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Tax-Forms.jpg "Tax Forms - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Tax-Forms.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Congress changes federal tax law almost every year. Some changes are very dramatic, and other changes are so subtle that tax lawyers must scour them to find the nuances. Federal tax law changes for the 2015 tax year (affecting income tax returns filed in 2016) fall in the modest category, but it helps taxpayers to know what to expect. **Affordable Care Act** The affordable care act (sometimes called “Obamacare”) required taxpayers that did not have health insurance in 2014 to pay a penalty of 1% of household income up to a maximum of $285. According to information obtained at [www.healthcare.gov](https://www.healthcare.gov/fees/fee-for-not-being-covered/), the penalty was 2% of household income in 2015 up to a maximum of $975, and it will rise to 2.5% in 2016 up to a maximum of $2,085. As a penalty increases, the cost of being uninsured will become very expensive for people who can afford insurance. **Last-Minute Business Deductions** Business owners that are thinking about buying supplies, tools, equipment, and furnishings often try to make those purchases at the end of the year so that they can deduct the expenses against that year’s income taxes. The deduction limit for 2015 is $500,000. As the economy grows, business owners may want to think carefully about whether to deduct one-time purchases in the current tax year or delay them until the next year, because an unusually large expenditure in a less profitable year will deprive the business owner of the valuable deductions in a more profitable and heavily taxable future year. **Retirement Plans** Some people with individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and employer-sponsored retirement plans such as 401(k) and 403(b) plans can make “catch-up” contributions to their plans, including Roth plans. Plan holders under 50 years old can contribute tax-deductible plan contributions of up to $5,500, but plan holders over 50 years of age can contribute an additional $1,000, for a total of $6,500 per year. **Health Savings Accounts** Almost everyone has experienced an increase in health insurance premiums over the past decade. For those people with high deductibles, health savings accounts offer opportunities to save money for health expenditures with pre-tax dollars much as invest pre-tax income in retirement plans such as IRAs and 401(k) plans. Ordinarily, a taxpayer younger than 65 years old can only deduct medical expenses that exceed 10% of the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income. For example, a taxpayer making $50,000 per year and spending $7,500 per year on medical expenses can only deduct the last $2,500 of medical expenses. By contrast, the same taxpayer could invest $7,500 in a health savings account tax-free, and then spend the same $7,500 on medical expenses without having to pay income taxes on the first $5,000. If the taxpayer is in the 25% income tax bracket (a single taxpayer earning $50,000 per year is in the 25% bracket), the tax savings in this example could be as much as $1,250 per year. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** 401(k), Affordable Care Act, Health Savings Account, Income Tax, IRA, Roth IRA, Section 179 Asset Purchases **Tags:** 401(k), Health Savings Account, income tax, IRA, IRS, Obamacare, Retirement plan, Section 179 --- ### [Register Gifts Cautiously](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/register-gifts-cautiously/) **Published:** December 20, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Christistmas Thief](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Christistmas-Thief.jpg "Christistmas Thief - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Christistmas-Thief.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] People all over the country will be registering electronic gifts for warranty purposes and opening new online accounts on December 25. Most of us have done this so many times that we take online account registration for granted. Unfortunately, careless indifference to technology can become our undoing. The technology itself may not hurt us, but thieves and terrorists can use against us. Most people know that thieves can use birthdates and Social Security numbers to steal identities, but online account usernames and passwords can be just as useful for hackers. Therefore, electronic device users must all guard such information carefully and provide it only when it is necessary for bankers, accountants, attorneys, financial service companies, and government agencies. Online security may seem simple to some people, but hackers use surprisingly slimy strategies. For example, some popular electronic stores sell devices with preloaded malware that can only be installed before the devices hit the showroom shelves. We know of one case in which a computer tablet purchased from a “big box” store and wrapped in the original packaging as a Christmas gift contained malware that directed all Internet searches to a phishing website (a site that collects confidential data without the user’s permission). Hackers often set up fake websites (commonly known as spoofing websites) that resemble legitimate websites. The typical victim searches for a product registration website with a search engine and finds a hacker’s very legitimate looking spoof site. The victim takes the bait by clicking on the spoof site without realizing that the victim has landed in a criminal’s lair. Data entry screens on the spoof site ask the hapless victim to volunteer personal information such as usernames, account numbers, passwords, and dates of birth. You can avoid such scams by typing website web addresses into the product registration web address field at the top of the computer screen instead of searching for the website with a search engine. Speaking of usernames and passwords, some victims invite trouble by using simple passwords (such as family names, addresses, or phone numbers) or using the same password for every kind of Internet login. Other victims invite trouble on websites that use security questions by choosing questions that hackers can easily find on victims’ social media biography pages or websites. Most website registrations have password strength meters that warn users when passwords are too weak. A good strategy for making a strong password is to write a memorable sentence with mixed capital and lowercase letters, make an acronym of the first letter of each word, and then replace some letters with numbers (such as zero instead of the letter O) and symbols (such as ! for the letter i and $ for the letter S). They say a sucker is born every minute and that it is better to be safe than sorry. If someone asks you to expose your private information, make sure that you need the person to have that information. Gifts are great, but hackers can turn them into curses. Don’t be sorry – be safe. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Christmas, Cybercrime, Fraud, Internet Security, Scam, Theft **Tags:** Fraud, Internet security, Pfishing, Social media --- ### [Gifts of Memories](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/gifts-of-memories/) **Published:** December 14, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![1998-12-28 Grandpa Chestnut](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/1998-12-28-Grandpa-1024x1019.jpg "1998-12-28 Grandpa Chestnut - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/1998-12-28-Grandpa.jpg) \[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.\] Inherited material wealth is often very modest, but heritage is priceless. We have enjoyed hearing stories of family heritage from aging clients and their children over the past decades. Clients have shared many stories with us about hidden treasures of old letters, annotated photographs, diaries, and video and audio recordings. In each case, detailed information and expressions of the departed person’s thoughts and feelings increased the sentimental value. One of the most touching records was an audio recording of a man’s statement of faith and prayers for his family. A person may think about leaving a diary or other memento behind, but become intimidated or discouraged by the task. “What do I have to say that is worthwhile?” “I’ll start that next week.” “Who cares about my story?” These thoughts kill many heritages needlessly. Regardless of who you are and what you have done, someone is interested in your story and will suffer the loss of its value if the story remains unrecorded. How should a person record memories? An easy method is to grab a notebook and start writing. Smart phones, audio recorders, and video recorders are great recording tools, especially if they capture someone telling stories to younger family members. The key is to find a system that records voices clearly. Even if you do not record your voice, old photographs are much more interesting if notes appear on their backs identifying their subjects and their photographed scenes. Record storage can make a big difference in preserving heritage. You can keep records at home, in a bank lockbox, or in some other place. Computer record storage makes it possible to store photos, videos, audio recordings, and writings in multiple locations without worrying about destruction by fire, flood, theft, or fading. However you store records, make sure someone knows that the records exist and how to find them. Memories are precious gifts to preserve and share with others. Few of us will appear in history textbooks, but each of us has a story to tell. Don’t try to tackle the whole project in one day – just get started and stick with it. Every unrecorded memory is a tragic loss, but every recorded memory is a gift more precious than any heirloom or monetary legacy. \[The photos featured in this blog post honor Jeff Hawkins’ grandfather, Ira B. Chestnut (7/15/1899 – 3/21/1999). Jeff video recorded Mr. Chestnut’s telling of his early 20th century experiences on Thanksgiving 1997 and posted the video on YouTube in 2011 at to share the video with his remote family members.\] [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Family Archives, Family Resources, Legacy **Tags:** Family Archive, Family Heritage, Heirlooms, Legacy --- ### [Conscience and Ethics in Estate Planning](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/conscience-and-ethics-in-estate-planning/) **Published:** December 5, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Dishonest Man](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Dishonest-Man.jpg "Dishonest Man - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Dishonest-Man.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Humans dominate the animal kingdom partly because we possess physical and mental abilities to change our environment and behavior deliberately. More than that, a person’s values elevate the person above the crude comfort and self-preservation instincts that define other creatures. The power to conceive and do the “right thing” enables a person to have moral or ethical character. People display character by what they do or do not do each day. When a person’s words and deeds match, they display one kind of character, but when the two differ, they display something else. Character questions arise often in nursing home planning and in the administration of estates, trusts, and guardianships. For example, a person may say, “Who would know that I have this asset if I don’t tell them?” Forget for a moment that failure to disclose an asset on a Medicaid application or transfer tax return (for federal gift, estate, or generation-skipping transfer tax) is a felony punishable by years in prison – a person should consider how this thought fits with the person’s moral and ethical values. These wise saying express the character to which we should all aspire: “Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.” C.S. Lewis “The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.” John Wooden “Character is not only doing the right thing when no one is looking, it’s doing the right thing when everyone is looking. It’s being willing to do the right thing even when it costs more than you want to pay.” Michael Josephson Many honorable people demonstrate admirable character without fanfare. They influence our communities by teaching virtuous values to younger generations and contributing to organizations that encourage and reward faithful and moral character. Estate plans can help promote integrity and character. For instance, a plan may offer financial incentives for prodigal beneficiaries to seek redemptive lifestyles. Plans can also encourage family philanthropy to build our communities’ strengths and displace greed and malice from this world. Everyone has a plan. A strategy guides each person’s activities from dawn to dusk. Regardless of the time devoted to a daily schedule, personal behavior forms a pattern of thoughts and actions. Hindsight reveals whether a person’s behavior reflects the financial, social, and moral values by which the person wants to live. It all starts with a plan to get out of bed and “do good,” and ends after a day filled with faithful execution of that plan. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Estate Planning, Integrity, Trust **Tags:** Character, estate plan, Integrity, Medicaid --- ### [Christmas Gifts in the Good Old Modern Days](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/christmas-gifts-in-the-good-old-modern-days/) **Published:** November 28, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Christmas Tree Countertop Ornament](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Christmas-Tree-Countertop-Ornament-576x1024.jpg "Christmas Tree Countertop Ornament - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Christmas-Tree-Countertop-Ornament.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] The “holiday” retail season has expanded beyond December into Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and pre-Thanksgiving sales. We could complain about Christmas commercialization and mourn the loss of Christmas past, but holiday sale jingles would drown out those objections. So what are we to do about the commercial dilution of a season that many consider sacred? If actions speak louder than words, how much louder than TV commercials could collaborative, benevolent communities speak about Christmas values? What lasting impressions can we give our children by reaching beyond traditions, creeds, and fellowships of faith in public celebration of our shared values as a community of faith? Sullivan County and surrounding communities have many opportunities to make Christmas 2015 more of a celebration of God’s Kingdom than a glorification of elves, eggnog, and electronics. Sullivan County’s most notable community event will be “[Christmas in the Park](https://www.facebook.com/groups/866412516799687/?fref=nf)” on December 12, 2015, at the Sullivan City Park, beginning at 6:00 PM. Churches across Sullivan County will continue the [Revive Sullivan](https://www.facebook.com/Revive-Sullivan-1618553805099269/?fref=ts) spirit in a non-denominational presentation of an interactive journey to 4 B.C. Bethlehem. Travelers complying with Caesar’s census decree will find merchants, tax collectors, Roman soldiers, and Bethlehem’s residents wondering about the mysterious event that has attracted Far Eastern royalty to the small Middle Eastern city. Patrons of Baesler’s, Save-A-Lot, and Walmart in Sullivan, and Bloomfield IGA, Baesler’s, Wal-Mart and Save-A-Lot in Greene County, can support the Salvation Army with financial contributions at the bell ringing stations to help local families with food, shelter, utilities, and other emergency needs with financial contributions at bell ringing stations. Local volunteers have always been the backbone of this 125-year-old institution because donors respond more generously to their bell-ringing neighbors. Lela Street welcomes Sullivan County bell ringer volunteers to schedule their service by calling her at 812-268-5958, and Christa Turpin welcomes Greene County bell ringer volunteers to schedule their service by calling her at 812-325-1415. [Our Father’s Arms](https://www.facebook.com/OurFathersArms/?fref=nf) can always use tax-deductible financial contributions to support the charity’s food pantry and poverty relief efforts. Financial support is particularly critical for the organization’s [Brown Bagger School Food Program](https://www.facebook.com/groups/BrownBaggerSchoolFoodProgram/?fref=nf), which provides meals to impoverished children that have nothing to eat when school is not in session. Supporters can visit Our Father’s Arms at 711 South Section St., Sullivan, IN 47882, or call at 812-268-1082. Rebounding from an unexpected loss of institutional support, [Christmas For Kids Sullivan](https://www.facebook.com/TOYSFORTOTSSULLIVANCOUNTY/?fref=nf) (formerly known as “Toys for Tots Sullivan County”) is gathering toys to provide Christmas gifts for children that may lack Christmas trees or gifts under the trees this year. Generous people can support this important effort by delivering tax deductible contributions to Christmas For Kids Sullivan at PO Box 44, Dugger, IN 47438. Greene County residents can support the Greene County Clothe-A-Child and Toys for Tots programs by delivering monetary contributions and toy donations to Reister and Strueh, at 18 S. Franklin Street in Bloomfield. For more information, people can contact Karen Strueh by email at , or by telephone at 812-384-3531. So how can warmhearted people reclaim Christmas from noisy commerce? They can make their own noise by singing carols in the City Park, ringing Salvation Army bells, and tearing checks from their checkbooks to support our local benevolent organizations. We can teach our children the importance of sharing time and money in our community as Christmas gifts in the good old modern days. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Brown Bagger School Food Program, Charitable Giving, Christmas Forkids Sullivan, Christmas in the Park”, Community Investment, Our Father's Arms, Revive Sullivan, Salvation Army **Tags:** Black Friday, Brown Bagger School Food Program, Christmas, Christmas Forkids Sullivan, Christmas in the Park, Cyber Monday, Our Father’s Arms, Revive Sullivan, Salvation Army --- ### [10 Tips To Be Prepared](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/10-tips-to-be-prepared/) **Published:** November 16, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Organizational checklist with background of bank envelopes in the trash](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Organizational-checklist-with-background-of-bank-envelopes-in-the-trash.jpg "Organizational checklist with background of bank envelopes in the trash - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Organizational-checklist-with-background-of-bank-envelopes-in-the-trash.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] People often forget to keep their important papers in order. Disorganization can rob you of the chance to react quickly in critical or important moments. Disorganization can lead to serious errors after your death or if someone is helping you manage your business during a health crisis. We thought about organization issues and came up with these 10 tips to help people manage important records and papers: 1\. If you buy land, be sure to get and keep a recorded copy of your deed (the document that transfers real estate ownership). Every real estate transfer becomes complete when the deed from the seller to the buyer is recorded in the Recorder’s office of the county where the real estate is located. Title companies often give real estate purchasers unrecorded copies of deeds at closing, but those copies do not show the recording information. It sometimes takes a few days after closing for a deed to be recorded and scanned by the Recorder, but you should follow up with the title company or the County Recorder’s office to get a recorded copy of the deed within two weeks after closing. 2\. If you sell a piece of your land be sure to have it surveyed by a top-quality surveyor (do not scrimp on this item), and be sure to get and keep recorded copies (bearing the Recorder’s stamp) of the survey and your deed to your buyer after it is recorded so your attorney and family can figure out what you still own. 3\. If you sign a lease for coal, oil, gas, or natural resources, be sure to get and keep a recorded copy (bearing the Recorder’s stamp) of your lease documents after they are recorded so we can identify what restrictions the lease may impose on you later. 4\. Make sure that both you and your spouse know all of your financial and legal details so that neither of you in the as a confused and bewildered surviving spouse after one of you dies. Clueless surviving spouses are heartbreaking creatures. 5\. Give some basic information now to the primary and secondary people that you intend to manage your financial and legal business in a health crisis or after your death. A little heads up about your financial and legal details now will enable them to do a much better job than if they have to figure it out on their own. 6\. Review your estate plan with a qualified estate planning attorney at least once every five years to ensure that your plan is up to date. 7\. If you want to change your estate plan, do it now – while you still have the ability to change it. 8\. Keep all of your important papers in a well-organized place and inform your attorney, accountant, and future legal representatives (often your spouse or children) of the documents’ location. 9\. Have a qualified estate planning attorney make a will if you own assets in your individual name. 10\. Have a qualified estate planning attorney make a power of attorney for you if you have a spouse, children, or others that you can trust to manage your affairs if you become disabled. These tips will not solve all of your family’s future problems, but they can avoid some big headaches. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Estate Planning, Last Will and Testament, Power of Attorney, Real Estate, Real Estate Closings, Surviving spouse **Tags:** accountant, death, disability, estate plan, Financial records, last will and testament, power of attorney, real estate closing, spouse, Survey --- ### [What’s in a Will?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/whats-in-a-will/) **Published:** October 28, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Last Will and Testament with casebook](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Last-Will-and-Testament-with-casebook-1024x494.jpg "Last Will and Testament with casebook - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Last-Will-and-Testament-with-casebook.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Think for a moment about what “last will and testament” means to you. Maybe the term reminds you of a movie with a widow dressed in black, perhaps wearing a black veil. You may think about a deceased person’s family gathered at a lawyer’s office to hear what inheritance they can expect. Best-selling authors and Hollywood directors of squeezed miles of print and film out of the “reading the will” scene, but a last will and testament can serve many important functions beyond a mere laundry list of wealth distributions. A last will and testament (often referred to as a “will”) is a specially designed document that a person (the “testator”) may use to appoint a personal representative (sometimes called an “executor”), who will follow the requirements of the will after the testator’s death. A will usually requires the personal representative to use the testator’s assets to pay the testator’s debts, and then distribute the testator’s remaining assets to beneficiaries named in the will. A will can accomplish more things than most people realize. For instance, a will can divide separate assets among multiple beneficiaries, or require beneficiaries to share one-of-a-kind assets. Wills routinely provide protective provisions to help youthful and disabled beneficiaries receive financial benefits while protecting those financial benefits from youthful indiscretions and claims from beneficiaries’ creditors. Wills also play highly specialized roles within asset protection estate plans. Some estate plans feature irrevocable trusts that people create to protect important assets like farmland from taxation or rising health costs by transferring assets to the trusts and restricting the transferors’ rights to access the trusts’ assets or change the trusts’ terms and conditions. An irrevocable trust provides no asset protection if the transferor can change the trust during the transferor’s lifetime, but the transferor can reserve the right in the trust document to revise the trust after the transferor’s death with a technique known as a “testamentary power of appointment.” For example, if a person reserves a testamentary power of appointment in an irrevocable trust, and then a beneficiary becomes permanently disabled in a car accident, the trust’s creator can add a provision to her will to modify the irrevocable trust with enhanced protective language for the disabled beneficiary’s benefit. A married couple can improve their chances of passing a legacy to the children with specialized wills even if the husband or wife eventually requires nursing home care. If one spouse dies leaving a will with a special kind of trust known as a “testamentary trust” for the surviving spouse, the testamentary trust can hold assets to benefit the surviving spouse without exposing the assets to the surviving spouse’s nursing home expenses. This estate planning technique does not work in every case, but it can increase the likelihood of protecting assets for the family in most cases. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Disability, Estate Planning, Last Will and Testament, Nursing home, Personal representative, Testamentary Trust **Tags:** beneficiaries, disability, estate plan, last will and testament, nursing home, spouse --- ### [Caregiving Requires Strength, Health, and Realism](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/caregiving-requires-strength-health-and-realism/) **Published:** October 24, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Father visited by daughter & granddaughter](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Father-visited-by-daughter-granddaughter.jpg "Father visited by daughter & granddaughter - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Father-visited-by-daughter-granddaughter.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Economic and sociological factors have transformed the way we care for elderly family members over the past sixty years. We celebrate economic and social progress, but many caregivers pay heavy costs for that progress. Most of us have living parents or grandparents that have survived heart attacks or cancer. Cardiac and cancer patients usually died too young to experience frailties of old age until modern treatments for those conditions emerged over the past sixty years. Today, coronary artery bypass, angioplasty, and various cancer treatments allow people to live long enough to experience physical and mental deterioration that their ancestors never imagined. Post-World War II prosperity permitted couples to marry young, live on one income, and raise children soon after marriage. In today’s weaker economy, many married couples delay marriage, depend on dual incomes, and delay parenthood until early middle age. Society has traditionally expected adult children to care for their aging parents and grandparents. However, the combined effects of parents living long enough to wear out their minds and bodies, working families’ dual income dependence, and couples starting families later in life are causing social pressures that pinch adult children between caregiving responsibilities for their parents and their own children. Sociologists call such pinched adult children the “sandwich generation.” These economic and sociological changes leave elderly couples to care for each other until neither spouse can safely and adequately serve the other spouse’s health care needs at home. Even when the younger generation can participate in the older generation’s home healthcare, the younger generation’s employment and childcare responsibilities stretch many caregivers to the breaking point. Family caregivers must be realistic about their limitations and the care recipients’ physical requirements. Depression, sleep deprivation, malnutrition, physical and emotional fatigue, and physical injury plague many overextended caregivers. When caregivers exceed their physical and psychological breaking points, their own health crises jeopardize the people they are trying to protect. So should we conclude that all caregivers should wave the white flag and admit their aging family members to nursing homes? Realistically, that may be the healthiest and safest solution for many families, but other alternatives exist. Growing concern for our aging generations is attracting more home healthcare and respite care providers than ever before. For those people who cannot afford home healthcare, Indiana’s Area Agencies on Aging (information about Area Agencies on Aging appears online at ) coordinate a Medicaid solution known as the aged and disabled waiver (A & D waiver) to help pay for home healthcare. Other creative solutions are opening around the state such as adult day care facilities that provide structured supervision of mentally disabled adults while caregivers shop, work, or participate in children’s school activities. Caregiving is not for the faint of heart. Caregivers need not be superheroes, nor should they try to give superhuman care. Generally, wise caregivers care more effectively than sacrificial caregivers do. Caregivers need to be strong and healthy, but most importantly, caregivers must be realistic. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Alzheimer's, Area Agencies on Aging, Assisted living, Caregiver, Dementia, Disability, Elder Law, Home healthcare, Independent Living, Medicaid, Nursing home **Tags:** Alzheimer's, Caregiver, children, Dementia, disability, home healthcare, Medicaid, nursing home, spouse --- ### [Hunters Beware: Hunting Without Permission Stinks](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/hunters-beware-hunting-without-permission-stinks/) **Published:** October 11, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Posted Private Property](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Posted-Private-Property.jpg "Posted Private Property - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Posted-Private-Property.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Indiana Conservation Officers ticket several hunters each year for hunting on private property without permission. Indiana Code Section 14-22-10-1 provides that \[a\] person may not: (1) fish, hunt, trap, or chase; (2) shoot with any kind of firearm or archery equipment; (3) search for or gather any plant life (defined as the members of the kingdoms Fungi and Plantae); or (4) search for or gather any artifacts (as defined in IC 14-21-1-2); upon privately owned land without having the consent of the owner or tenant of the land. A person who violates this law commits a Class C Misdemeanor, subject to imprisonment for up to 60 days and fine of up to $500. This means that you must get permission from the landowner or tenant before hunting or trapping birds or other animals. You must also get permission before target shooting or hunting mushrooms. You are responsible for knowing whose land you are using for hunting. Don’t depend solely on a map or plat book for landowner information because plat books are often very inaccurate. Always go to the landowner or tenant and make absolutely sure that you understand which piece of land you have permission to hunt. Ignorance is no excuse. Many hunters hunt land that is owned or leased by the State of Indiana. The local conservation offices have maps of the approved hunting areas, but some of the maps are misleading. For example, coal companies have closed some roads that are shown on the outdated state maps. It is important to verify the location of a public hunting area with a Conservation Officer before hunting to avoid a navigation error. The law does not require you to have written permission to hunt on privately owned property, but you may have a hard time proving your permission without written permission. A smart hunter will always get written permission from the landowner or tenant before hunting. A good plan is to copy a plat map for the property, highlight the hunting ground location on the copy, and get the landowner or tenant to write the permission in a margin or on the back of the map. You can keep the map and your hunting license together in your wallet for future reference. Always practice good safety habits and show respect for landowners’ property when you are hunting. Common sense, common courtesy, and good sportsmanship help make hunting a lasting heritage for generations to come. Happy hunting. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Hunting and Fishing, Property Ownership, Real Estate **Tags:** Conservation Officer, Department of Natural Resources, Fishing, Hunting, Landowner Permission, misdemeanor, Private Property, Trespassing --- ### [In Financial & Healthcare Decisions, “Trust, But Verify”](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/in-financial-healthcare-decisions-trust-but-verify/) **Published:** September 26, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![President Reagan's first meeting with Soviet General Secretary Gorbachev at Fleur D'Eau during the Geneva Summit in Switzerland . 11/19/85. Courtesy Ronald Reagan Library.](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/c32025-25.jpg "C32025-25 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/c32025-25.jpg)President Reagan’s first meeting with Soviet General Secretary Gorbachev at Fleur D’Eau during the Geneva Summit in Switzerland . 11/19/85. Courtesy Ronald Reagan Library. \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Many people today struggle with how to invest money and what to do when a family member faces a health crisis. When you lack expertise for urgent financial and healthcare decisions, take decision-making advice from former US President Ronald Reagan: “trust, but verify.” Mr. Reagan often asserted his “trust, but verify” concept during high-level nuclear disarmament negotiations with Mikhail Gorbachev, the former General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Reagan’s balancing act between attentive listening and healthy skepticism moved the two superpowers from the brink of nuclear annihilation toward a diplomatic relationship that united them briefly as allies in the first Gulf War. We can also benefit from trusting and verifying what we see and hear in financial and healthcare decisions. Financial and healthcare decisions require more knowledge and expertise than most people possess. Some people accept advice and recommendations from service providers unquestioningly. Other people search for information online and assume that reputable sources like national news services and Christian financial advisors have all the answers. Wise people seek advice from reputable local sources and verify the advice with other sources by asking these questions: When I search online and ask people in the community, which local advisor’s name keeps popping up as the most reliable? Does this person listen to me and answer my questions clearly and patiently? Does this person have an interest that conflicts with what I want? Do other information sources verify what this person is telling me? If other information sources contradict or conflict with what this person is telling me, does the person have a sensible explanation for the apparent contradiction or conflict? Do I still have confidence in this person’s advice after verification? A trustee client used this verification process when the trustee needed to invest almost $1 million during the most volatile days of the Great Recession a few years ago. The trust agreement required the trustee to pay income to current beneficiaries and preserve the trust’s value for future beneficiaries. A financial advisor recommended an investment solution that seemed to balance between these two conflicting objectives, but the trustee knew that the advisor would earn a commission on the sale and wanted to verify the investment recommendation. The trustee paid a separate investment advisor for a second opinion, which included sharp criticism of the first advisor’s recommendation. The trustee used the second advisor’s critique to interview the first advisor and was satisfied with the first advisor’s answers. The financial markets crashed just a few days after the trustee’s investment, but the investment remained stable so that the trustee could pay income to the current beneficiaries with complete confidence about preserving wealth for the future beneficiaries. Hospitals and nursing homes need patients to be able to pay the facilities’ fees and expenses. Most hospitals and nursing homes address this need by hiring staff to help patients solve health insurance, Medicare, and Medicaid benefit problems. Hospital and nursing homes pay staff to solve health insurance, Medicare, and Medicaid benefit problems quickly, but not to help families plan or make the best possible financial decisions. This is not to say that hospitals and nursing homes have conflicts of interest in financial matters, but their employees are not expert legal and financial advisors. Therefore, people should use the “trust, but verify” approach to hire expert legal and financial advisors, and let hospitals and nursing homes do what they do best – provide healthcare to patients. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Elder Law, Health Insurance, Hospital, Investment Advisor, Investments, Medicaid, Medicare, Nursing home, Trust, Trustee **Tags:** estate plan attorney, Financial markets, Great Recession, hospital, Investment advisor, investments, Medicaid, Medicare, Mikhail Gorbachev, nursing home, Ronald Reagan --- ### [Stretching Wealth & Protecting Inheritance](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/stretching-wealth-protecting-inheritance/) **Published:** September 19, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/IMG_20150907_211840401-1024x903.jpg "Vices - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/IMG_20150907_211840401.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Entrusting inheritance to family members requires some thought about how family members will manage the money. You’ve worked hard for your money and a poor steward can blow it in no time. Relatively simple planning can help build and protect a financial legacy for future generations. **Jesus Understood This Problem** Jesus gave a parable about a wealthy man who put three servants in charge of managing money, according to the abilities that he believed that they possessed. The two most talented servants invested the money carefully and increased their master’s wealth. The third servant hid the money away to protect it and caused it to earn nothing during the master’s long absence. In Jesus’ parable, the master rewarded the two savvy servants and punished the foolish servant for burying the money. **Drugs, Alcohol, Gambling & Other Vices** Drugs, alcoholism, gambling addiction, and other addictions destroy families and wealth. Some people plan their estates to protect wealth from such threats. A well crafted estate plan can protect money from being squandered by drug addicts and alcoholics. The money can also be used as an incentive for addicted family members to clean up their lives and qualify themselves for inheritance. **Credit Cards** Credit card debt is persistent a problem for many people. Some estate plans provide protections that allow family members to receive money, but prevents creditors from taking their money. It is hard to anticipate whether estate plan beneficiaries will experience financial problems, so estate plans often include discretionary authority for trustees to assess beneficiary’s financial status and withhold distributions until beneficiaries resolve their problems. **Grandchildren Suffer** Grandchildren sometime suffer the consequences of their addicted parents’ behavior. Therefore, many grandparents are making estate plans that preserve wealth for their grandchildren instead of letting their children squander the money. Plans that skip down to grandchildren require more forethought, however, because young grandchildren may need time to mature before receiving significant inheritance. For that reason, many multi-generation plans hold inheritance in trust until younger generations reach more mature ages. **Stretching & Making It Last** The retirement plan rules allow families to stretch wealth over multiple generations and increase its value with time. A retirement plan earns money on a tax-deferred basis. This means that money invested in a retirement plan earns income that does not have taxes taken out of it and the retirement plan grows much faster than a normal investment plan because the tax money continues to earn new income as it is compounded into the retirement account. Many retirees set up plans to enable their children to continue withdrawing small amounts of money from the plan after the retirees’ deaths, without liquidating the plan and paying exorbitant taxes. In some cases, retirees are set up such plans for their grandchildren causing enormous wealth growth for the grandchildren to enjoy as their own retirement plans many years in the future. Such plans, called “Stretch IRAs”, require careful planning and document preparation. A properly designed retirement plan is very important. Appropriate trust agreements and wills can help ensure that future generations of family can build upon their ancestors’ work and live financially sound. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Disinherit, Estate Planning, Retirement Plan, Special needs trust, Spendthrift, Stretch IRA **Tags:** addiction, beneficiaries, disability, disinherit, estate, estate plan attorney, inherit, irresponsible, multi-generational plan, special needs trust, spendthrift, stretch IRA --- ### [Social Security Retirement Income Mathematics](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/social-security-retirement-income-mathematics/) **Published:** September 12, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Social Security Logo](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Social-Security-Logo1.jpg "Social Security Logo - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Social-Security-Logo1.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] The old saying that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush works most of the time, but it may not apply for everyone concerning Social Security retirement income benefits. In fact, the Social Security system rewards people for delaying their retirement income benefits claims. People become eligible to receive Social Security retirement income benefits at 62 years of age. However, people who claim Social Security benefits at age 62 received substantially less than the full amount of benefits that they would receive if they would begin withdrawing at the age of full retirement. Federal legislation has also been increasing the age of full retirement as follows: [![Full Benefits](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Full-Benefits.jpg "Full Benefits - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Full-Benefits.jpg) (source: ): Social Security rewards retirees even more if they delay claiming their retirement beyond full retirement age up to age 70. The following table shows the amount of annual and monthly benefits increase that people can receive if they delay their retirement benefits claims until age 70: ![Delayed Benefits Chart](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Delayed-Benefits-Chart.jpg "Delayed Benefits Chart - Hawkins Elder Law PC") (source: ) For a real-world example of how delayed retirement strategy works, consider a 50-year-old married couple with each person earning $25,000 per year in 2015. If the couple would take their full retirement benefits at age 67, they would receive approximately $11,880 per year; a lifetime benefit value of approximately $522,700. The delayed strategy gets kind of crazy, so follow these steps carefully: 1) wife files and suspends her benefit claim in 2033; 2) husband files, and then restricts application to spousal benefits, receiving approximately $5,940 per year in 2033; 3) husband and wife filed for their own benefits of approximately $14,731 per year each in 2035; resulting in total lifetime benefits of approximately $577,600; a difference of almost $55,000 during the couple’s retirement. The following table shows a comparison of these strategies for such a couple with different annual earned income levels (per person, with household cumulative earnings difference): ![Sample Chart](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Sample-Chart.jpg "Sample Chart - Hawkins Elder Law PC") (source: ) People who have earned enough income to qualify for Social Security retirement benefits can calculate the effects their own benefit strategies using the Social Security Administration’s Retirement Estimator available online at: . [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Estate Planning, Retirement Plan, Social Security **Tags:** Delayed retirement income strategy, Full retirement age, Retirement benefits, Retirement estimator, Retirement income, Social Security, Spousal benefits --- ### [Bringing Aged Family Members Home](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/bringing-aged-family-members-home/) **Published:** August 29, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** ![Young woman helping older woman down stairs](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Young-woman-helping-older-woman-down-stairs.jpg "Young woman helping older woman descending a staircase - Hawkins Elder Law PC")\[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] No reasonably healthy person hopes to end up in a nursing home. Many family members struggle with guilt about admitting their loved ones to nursing homes. Relatively recent changes in Medicaid funding have made it possible for people to care for their elderly family members at home instead of having them admitted to the nursing homes. That change, combined with emotional desires to avoid nursing home care leads many people to bring family members home, even when home healthcare is not the healthiest or smartest alternative. State Medicaid benefits support nursing home residents when they cannot afford to pay the cost of their nursing home care. Medicaid only pays for such care in a nursing home as a general rule, but a patient can apply for an Aged and Disabled (“A&D”) Waiver to get financial assistance with the cost of nursing home-style care at home. Home healthcare is usually much less expensive than nursing home care because patients only pay for the professional nursing, therapeutic, and respite care services that they use instead of sharing operational and facility maintenance costs of nursing home care. The A&D Waiver application process as a step to the Medicaid application process that nursing home residents must follow. A&D Waiver applicants must apply for wavered services through the applicant’s Area Agency on Aging. Agency staff evaluates each applicant’s needs for some of the following services (many of which are included with nursing home care): Adult Day Services, Attendant Care, Case Management, Homemaker, Respite, Adult Family Care, Assisted Living, Community Transition, Environmental Modifications, Health Care Coordination, Home Delivered Meals, Nutritional Supplements, Personal Emergency Response System, Pest Control, Specialized Medical Equipment and Supplies, Transportation, and Vehicle Modifications. The agency adds the applicant’s name to a waiting list and grants the waiver application when waiver funding becomes available (the waiting list time shrank from almost 12 months to just a few days over the past decade). Once the applicant receives the waiver, the applicant must qualify financially and apply for Medicaid much like a nursing home resident must qualify and apply. Family caregivers often underestimate the caregiving burden and overestimate the availability of professional home healthcare resources. An aged man or woman may risk serious personal injury by bringing home a spouse that cannot bathe or get in and out of bed independently. Demented patients often become unpredictably violent and verbally abusive toward their caregivers. Even the strongest and most determined caregivers often slip into chronic depression after enduring daily abuse from an Alzheimer’s patient, and the continuously grievous experience of the beloved family member’s deterioration. Some caregivers never rebound from such deep physical and emotional trauma. Home healthcare is one of several common sense solutions to the rising cost of long-term care. In theory, most people prefer the home healthcare alternative to nursing home care. However, families need to weigh the physical, emotional, and financial costs of the two alternatives rationally and levelheadedly. A choice based on guilt usually leads to the worst possible outcome. The wise choice depends on what the patient needs and what the family can realistically provide in a safe and healthy manner. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Alzheimer's, Assisted living, Caregiver, Dementia, Home healthcare, Long-term care, Medicaid, Nursing home **Tags:** A&D Waiver, Adult Day services, Adult family care, Aged and Disabled Waiver, Alzheimer's, Area Agency on Aging, assisted living, Attendant care, Caregiver, Chronic depression, Community transition, Dementia, disability, Environmental modifications, home healthcare, Homemaker, long-term care, Medicaid, nursing home, Respite care, Wavered services --- ### [Are You Asking the Right Questions about Wills?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/are-you-asking-the-right-questions-about-wills/) **Published:** August 22, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Will of Someone U Know](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Will-of-Someone-U-Know.jpg "Will of Someone U Know - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Will-of-Someone-U-Know.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Financial experts often say that if you die without a last will and testament, the state will decide who gets your assets. That statement is true if you die owning assets without joint owners and without naming beneficiaries of bank accounts, insurance policies, retirement plans, or other assets. However, very few people die without making some of those kinds of arrangements. Also, if you want your spouse, children, and grandchildren to receive your assets, state law already does that. Plus, if you are married and you share ownership of everything with your spouse, the surviving spouse will end up with all of the assets. So why do you need a will? The problem with this whole discussion is that the “experts” and the public are focusing on the wrong questions. The questions should not be, “Do I need a will?” or “Why do I need a will?” The proper questions should be, “What do I want to happen when I die?” and “What estate plan documents will help satisfy my wishes?” You may think that the question of what should happen when you die would have a simple answer. Think again. In fact, think about these issues and how you would respond to them: - If my spouse ends up with Alzheimer’s in a nursing home after I die, do I want my spouse’s nursing home expenses to devour all of our assets? - If I am in a nursing home after my spouse’s death, do I want my nursing home expenses to devour all of our assets? - If any of my family members suffer from disabling injuries or illnesses, will an unrestricted inheritance help or hurt their qualification for Medicaid or other financial assistance? - Do I want to leave certain assets to certain people? - Do I have reasons to limit who inherits from me, or when and how they would inherit? - If for some reason, my adult heirs would die before inheriting for me, how old should their children be before inheriting from me? - What part of my assets could I use to help my church, a local school, or a community organization after my death? - If I own property in more than one county or state, how much trouble must my family overcome to receive my assets? Most people never think of all of those questions. If any of those questions made you think of things that you would want to happen or avoid, an ordinary last will and testament may fail to satisfy your wishes. If you are married and you have concerns about nursing home care, you may need a will with special trust language to protect assets for your spouse. This issue requires the expertise of an elder law attorney. Perhaps 1 lawyer out of 120 lawyers understands the legal issues adequately to address such concerns because nursing home laws change constantly. If you have special preferences about who gets your assets and how they receive them, your will should spell out those preferences. State laws limit some of the things that you can do with a will, so it is important to make sure that you hire an experienced estate and trust lawyer who knows how to deal with those limits. If you have never thought about leaving assets in your estate plan to churches, schools, and other community organizations, you can find more information about that idea in our previous article entitled “helping ourselves” (available online at: ). It would amaze most people how helpful even a small amount of estate planning generosity can help such groups in their own hometowns. If you own property in more than one county or state, even an ordinary last will and testament will not simplify your family’s ability to manage the property after you die. If you think that opening an estate may be a problem, imagine the burden of dealing with estate matters in every county or state where your property is located. Sophisticated planning with specialized wills, trusts, and other estate planning devices can minimize such estate administration headaches. Estate planning is a complicated art form that attorneys have refined for centuries. Choosing a skilled attorney is the most important estate plan decision. Choose well and ask the right questions. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Alzheimer's, Charitable Giving, Disinherit, Elder Law, Estate, Executor, Foreign personal representative, Inherit, Investment Advisor, Joint Bank Account, Last Will and Testament, Life Insurance, Medicaid, Nursing home, Personal representative, POD, Probate, Probate court, Retirement Plan, Revocable Trust, Special needs trust, Surviving spouse, Testamentary Trust, TOD, Trust **Tags:** Alzheimer's, beneficiaries, death, disability, estate, estate plan, healthcare decisions, inherit, last will and testament, Medicaid, nursing home, trusts, wills --- ### [Helping Ourselves](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/helping-ourselves/) **Published:** August 16, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** ![Collection plate](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Collection-plate.jpg "Collection plate - Hawkins Elder Law PC")\[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] As our local schools reopen consider this wish list: new band instruments and industrial arts resources for our schools; - new audio equipment and nursery facilities for local church congregations; - enhanced pediatric resources for our hospitals; and - improved family recreation resources in our parks. Your local schools, churches, hospitals and other community institutions have these wish lists. Unfortunately, government dollars are scarce and the wish list items are not getting cheaper. We can look beyond our communities for help from government and public foundations, but we should also consider how we could help ourselves. Charitable planning is a great way to help ourselves. Much of our community’s charitable energy has focused on academic scholarships. Scholarships serve noble functions, but simple economics limit scholarships’ usefulness to the community. The Indiana State University website indicates that it costs $17,380 per year to pay for a full-time student’s tuition, room, and board for the 2015-16 school year. The website says textbook costs can run as high as $800-$1,200 per year. Therefore, a scholarship would need to generate income of almost $20,000 per year to send one student to a state-supported college and cover all of these expenses for one school year. If you expect a scholarship fund to earn 3% per year (3-year CD rates in August 2015 are about 1.5%), the fund would need to have more than $625,000 invested in order to generate income of $20,000 per year. Scholarships serve great purposes in society, but they drain money from our community permanently. A student may appreciate a scholarship, but he or she will probably not move back home and support the community. Instead, the student will probably take that valuable education to some other community and the student’s home community will have lost the benefit of its scholarship investment forever. Our community can invest more wisely. If our community could invest that same $625,000 in an educational foundation for the benefit of a local school corporation, the school corporation could pay for new computers, band instruments, or extracurricular programs for its students each year for the foreseeable future. That kind of investment in a school would benefit many students for years to come and enrich our community permanently. Many church goers understand that a 10% weekly tithe of their income in a collection plate is a common way to support a church. Just imagine things that our community could accomplish if everyone’s will or trust allocated 10% or more of the estate to pass to a charitable foundation after his death! If 10 people would each leave a 10% gift to a charitable foundation, and if each person’s estate would contain a house and money worth $100,000 or more, the charity would enjoy a $100,000 benefit! Ask a school superintendent that kind of money could do for our children in a properly established educational foundation. At least two things are certain in life: we will all die someday and none of us can take our wealth with us. Every investment in our community helps and each of us can play a big part. Let’s look forward to a great future together as a community that helps itself. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Charitable Giving, Community Foundation, Estate Planning **Tags:** charitable gift, community foundation, estate plan, philanthropy --- ### [Financial Advisor Certifications, Titles, and Pedigrees](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/financial-advisor-certifications-titles-and-pedigrees/) **Published:** August 8, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Guy with a Certificate](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Guy-with-a-Certificate.jpg "Guy with a Certificate - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Guy-with-a-Certificate.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] “Professor” Herald Hill, the con-artist from the acclaimed musical *The Music Man,* wowed River City, Iowa, with his fancy talk and fake credentials. The magic of Broadway and Hollywood gave us a happy ending that does not often appear in the real world. When consultants, salesmen, and advisors waive their certification credentials around we must be sure that their claimed knowledge and skill are authentic. Certified designations such as CSS, CSA, CFRA, CSFP, and ARA are confusing a lot of people. An article entitled *[Alphabet Soup: Industry Churning out Dubious Designations](http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dubious-designations-abound-for-senior-focused-advisers)*, published on the internet by Robert Powell at CBSMarketWatch.com on July 21, 2004, indicated that proliferation of these credential designations is increasing as the “baby boomers” approached retirement age. Caroline Mayer gave a more scathing critique in a 2013 Forbes.com article, entitled [Watch Out For ‘Senior Specialist’ Financial Advisers](http://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2013/04/25/watch-out-for-senior-specialist-financial-advisers/), saying that some credential holders may just want “to use their lofty titles as marketing ploys to lure clients.” On May 31, 2015, Anne Tergesen wrote in the Wall Street Journal’s WSJ.com article entitled “[Credentials to Look for in a Financial Adviser](http://www.wsj.com/articles/credentials-to-look-for-in-a-financial-adviser-1432824631),” “Each month, it seems, financial advisers find a new credential to attach to their names, one they hope will help them snag more business. Many of these designations hold little meaning, but at least a few may be worth your time.” So how can an ordinary person figure out whether a professed investment advisor’s credentials are legitimate? The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) publishes a [professional designations](http://www.finra.org/investors/professional-designations) glossary tool on its website to help investors understand the various advisor credentials. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission offers guidance about using investment advisers on its website entitled [Investment Advisers: What You Need to Know Before Choosing One](http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/invadvisers.htm). Unlike some of the dubious investment advisor credentials, state law generally prohibits attorneys from identifying them as specialists unless they satisfy certification requirements established by their state supreme courts. Under Indiana Law, each certifying organization must obtain authorization as an independent certifying organization (commonly referred to as an “ICO”) from the Indiana Commission on Continuing Legal Education (the “ICCLE”). Presently, the ICCLE has authorized ICOs to distinguish specialists attorneys in these specialty areas: Business and Consumer Bankruptcy and Creditors’ Rights; Civil Trial Advocacy and Criminal Trial Advocacy; Elder Law; Family Law; and Trust and Estate Law. Attorneys can practice in almost any subject matter without specialty certification. Some lawyers have built such distinguished reputations in certifiable practice subjects that they choose not to seek certification because the certifications would not enhance their reputations meaningfully. Other lawyers with specialty certifications in some subjects practice without certifications in other related subjects, such as family law attorneys practicing civil trial advocacy and trust and estate lawyers practicing elder law. If a potential advisor presents you with an impressive list of certified credentials, you may want to investigate how the advisor gained those credentials. If the advisor has no experience or formal training in the subject matter beyond the certification, you should suspect that “advisor” knows more about how to sell you something than how to help you make wise choices. A true expert is confident in his or her expertise and will not act defensively or irritably when you check out the expert’s credentials. When you compare an expert to a poser, the choice of which one to trust should be very clear. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Elder Exploitation, Elder Law, Estate Planning, Fraud, Investment Advisor, Investments, Scam, Tax Planning **Tags:** American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, certification, estate plan attorney, estate planning, FINRA, Fraud, Investment advisor, investments, SEC, securities and exchange commission, Trust & Estate Specialty Board --- ### [Finding Truth In The Information Ocean](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/finding-truth-in-the-information-ocean/) **Published:** July 31, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Too much information](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/People-contemplating-many-news-sources.jpg "Too much information - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/People-contemplating-many-news-sources.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] The discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.” Proverbs 15:14 New International Version (NIV). Information technology has expanded rapidly from print into radio, television, and the Internet, flooding us with more information than anyone can comprehend. Caitlin Dewey, digital culture critic for *The Washington Post*, reported on May 18, 2015, that it could take as many as 305.5 billion pages to print the entire searchable Internet content in her article entitled, “[If you could print out the whole Internet, how many pages would it be?](http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2015/05/18/if-you-could-print-out-the-whole-internet-how-many-pages-would-it-be/)” The rush to produce media content has shifted the editorial burden so that we must filter what we receive instead of trusting the news media to filter it for us. There is no perfect way to sift mountains of information into useful content, but this article offers some tips that researchers use to sort good information from garbage. **1. Check Multiple Sources**. Reputable reporters usually publish reliable information, but everyone distorts information by receiving it incorrectly or sharing it imprecisely. Just as a wise parent always gives a teacher the benefit of the doubt when a child complains about classroom discipline, a wise news consumer always keeps an open mind about a news story’s opposing viewpoint. For example, when two national news channels report opposing sensational versions of a story, responsible researchers seek less biased reports from calm, legitimate sources that refrain from sanctimonious commentary. A good rule of thumb is that if a news report dwells more on accusations of someone’s dishonesty or impure motives than on verifiable facts and information, you may be watching a political infomercial instead of a legitimate news report. **2. Use Fact-Checking Sources**. Gullible friends fill our email junk folders daily with senseless rumors and emotionally-stirring hoaxes. For example, most reports about government plans to undermine churches and American society contain reckless (dishonest?) misrepresentations and exaggerations. Even dear old “Honest Abe” Lincoln manipulated the news media unscrupulously, such as in his [anonymous letter as “Rebecca” to the *Sangamo Journal*](http://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln/lincoln1/1:310.1?rgn=div2;view=fulltext#) to discredit Illinois State Auditor James Shields with false and humiliating accusations. If the most reputable person you know passes information to you and asks you to share it, think twice about your personal verification of the information’s accuracy. Reputable journalists spend almost as much time fact-checking their sources’ stories as the time they spend conducting interviews and preparing reports. When researchers receive stories about outrageous actions or events, they often use fact-checking services like or investigate video and document archives to get reliable information. **3. Use Expert Resources**. Some issues or problems are too complex for untrained people to understand easily. Most lawyers have deep knowledge of certain legal subjects, but no lawyer knows everything about every topic (we cannot “do it all”). When Congress passes a new law or the United States Supreme Court rules in a prominent case, we read the legislation or court opinion, but we also consult expert commentators to help us understand complex details instead of reinventing the wheel. Likewise, if a news story or advertisement directs you to invest money or take legal action, always get a second opinion from someone with an excellent reputation as an expert in the subject. For example, national financial advisors offer game-changing ideas, but even the most acclaimed money management gurus (including some of the most popular Christian financial advisors) give unreliable and misleading information sometimes. Prominent lawyers and accountants in your community can help you test advice and recommendations to help you avoid missteps. The information age surrounds us with data much as an ocean surrounds a castaway in a lifeboat. We can drift aimlessly with the winds and tides, but we will never get where we want to be without thoughtful effort. As this article began with King Solomon’s advice, it also concludes with this sage instruction, “With their mouths the godless destroy their neighbors, but through knowledge the righteous escape.” Proverbs 11:9 New International Version (NIV). [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Internet, News Media **Tags:** Abraham Lincoln, attorneys, Christian financial advisors, Congress, Internet, news media, Proverbs, Snopes.com, the Washington Post, United States Supreme Court --- ### [Buying, Selling & Mortgaging Your Home – Part 2](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/buying-selling-mortgaging-your-home-part-2/) **Published:** July 25, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** ![king and queen of the castle](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/king-and-queen-of-the-castle.jpg "king and queen of the castle - Hawkins Elder Law PC")\[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Business owners hire attorneys to help them establish their businesses and sensible people hire attorneys to prepare their estate plans. Unfortunately, home buyers often rely solely on the advice of non-lawyers to protect them from real estate transaction risks. For most people, a home is a person’s most valuable asset. Why not protect it carefully? This article concludes a two-part series about protecting your real estate investment. **It Can Be Worse Than You Imagine** Very few real estate deals involve perfect conditions. Almost every real estate sale makes the title of the real estate subject to the rights of towns, cities, counties, or states to maintain roadways and drainage ditches along property lines. Waterlines, electric power lines, sewer lines, gas lines, and many other utility systems often pass from one point to another through easements that prior landowners have granted to utility companies. Although it is almost impossible to eliminate such pre-existing conditions, and many of those conditions may be tolerable, you never know when a seemingly simple title issue could become your worst nightmare. Such is the case of more than 100 landowners in Vigo County, Indiana, whose homes are now jeopardized by a plan by Duke Energy to construct high tension power lines through their subdivision in the case of *[Duke Energy Indiana v. Klinge Et Al.](http://www.tribstar.com/news/local_news/duke-asks-court-to-enforce-easements/article_6d0f19fb-60a1-5302-b8be-bc7fc3b3f4b0.html)* The original electric line easements in that case were probably intended to allow public service Indiana to install ordinary power lines, but the relatively simple language of the recorded easements may authorize the electric company to demolish houses built after the easements were granted without having to pay the homeowners for the damage. **Professional Investment Protection** Reputable bankers and realtors work hard to protect their clients from bad real estate transactions. Unfortunately, just because a realtor or a banker works with a nationally recognized real estate franchise or mortgage company does not mean that the person is willing to kill a commission and pull a customer out of a bad deal. Generally, if a real estate customer does not understand a part of a real estate transaction, he or she should discuss the matter with a reputable attorney before committing to a transaction. A buyer should become suspicious immediately if anyone says the buyer doesn’t need an attorney. The deal may be legitimate, but a legitimate lender or realtor with nothing to hide would never discourage someone from consulting a lawyer. **Purchase Agreement Mortgage Contingency** Mortgage loan applications are subject to bank approval. If a buyer expects to borrow part of the purchase price, the purchase agreement should be conditional upon the buyer’s loan package terms. A conditional purchase agreement releases the buyer from the deal if the buyer’s lender will not finance the buyer’s purchase price on favorable terms. For example, the purchase agreement conditions could require 80% financing at 3.5% for 30 years with total closing and financial service charges not to exceed 3% of the purchase price. A reputable realtor will usually insist on conditions for a buyer in a mortgage loan-financed deal. An attorney should double check the conditions. **Double Check Before You Sign![loan application](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/loan-application.jpg "loan application - Hawkins Elder Law PC")** Problems arise sometimes when loan terms change at the last minute for a buyer. Sometimes such changes arise because sloppy lenders promise better loan terms than they can deliver. The buyer should always have the loan package previewed by an attorney before closing. A buyer should never be forced to close a bad deal. If the purchase agreement contains appropriate conditions for the buyer, a closing can be postponed until loan problems are solved. If anyone tells a buyer that he must close on the particular day or be sued, the buyer should speak with an attorney before signing anything. Too many buyers are pressured into closing deals that can bankrupt them. Protecting your investment requires time to study and understand every aspect of the home buying experience. A little bit of care and attention can be the difference between a home being a man’s castle or his prison. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Attorney document review, Mortgage, Mortgage Loan Application, Real Estate Closings, Real Estate Purchase Agreement, Realtor **Tags:** Attorney document review, bank, financing contingency, mortgage loan, real estate, real estate closing --- ### [Buying, Selling, and Mortgaging Your Home – Part 1](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/buying-selling-and-mortgaging-your-home-part-1/) **Published:** July 18, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** ![Man's home is his castle](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Mans-home-is-his-castle.jpg "Man's home is his castle - Hawkins Elder Law PC")\[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] You have probably heard that “a man’s house is his castle.” Many people invest more money in their homes than in all of their other assets. This article begins a two-part series on basic information and precautions that ordinary people should know about buying and selling houses. **Real Estate Title Protection** A real estate buyer usually needs to acquire full property ownership. Likewise, the buyer’s bank needs to know that it can get its money back by forcing a real estate foreclosure sale if the buyer defaults on the loan. Real estate values are usually too high to trust the seller’s honesty or assume that the seller acquired good title. If the seller or a prior seller fraudulently or mistakenly sold the real estate to someone other than the current buyer (yes, we have seen such mistakes), both the buyer and the buyer’s bank would lose a title dispute with the true property owner. The real estate title business evolved to solve that problem. **Abstract** If you bought home more than 25 years ago, you probably received an abstract of title (normally just called an “abstract”). An abstract contains summaries of a property’s ownership changes, often from the state’s earliest history in a book bound at the top. An abstractor searched the ![Abstract of Title in 3 Volumes](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Abstract-of-Title-in-3-Volumes-1024x682.jpg "Abstract of Title in 3 Volumes - Hawkins Elder Law PC")county real estate records before and after each sale or mortgage transaction and added new abstract pages with summaries of any mortgages, deeds, judgments, or other matters that would affect the real estate ownership. **Title Opinion** Abstracts do not interpret the documents that they summarize, so a banker or real estate purchaser would normally hire a lawyer to read an abstract and issue a written title opinion. The title opinion would identify ownership problems (such as federal tax liens or unexplained title gaps after a prior owner’s death) and suggest title corrections. The seller would then fix the title problems, the buyer and seller would meet at the buyer’s bank or the title company office to close the sale, the seller would sign and deliver a new deed to the buyer, the buyer would sign and deliver a mortgage to the bank, and the title company would record the deed and mortgage. The title company would then search real estate title again and update the abstract to verify the proper recordation of the new deed and mortgage in the county recorder’s office. Finally, the attorney would read the updated abstract and write a final title opinion confirming that the buyer acquired good title and the bank acquired an enforceable mortgage. **Title Insurance![Title Insurance Policy](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Title-Insurance-Policy-781x1024.jpg "Title Insurance Policy - Hawkins Elder Law PC")** Title insurance has almost completely replaced the abstract and title opinion system. A title company still conducts a preliminary and follow-up title search, but now it issues a “commitment to issue title insurance” as a replacement for an updated abstract and an attorney’s preliminary title opinion. The commitment identifies title defects and requires title solutions as conditions that the parties must fulfill before the insurance company will issue a title insurance policy. The same real estate transaction closing procedures apply as before, but now the closing agent collects a title insurance premium from parties (usually, the seller) at closing, and then updates the title search and issues a title insurance policy to the buyer after closing. **Title Insurance in Action** Consider this example of how title insurance works. Imagine a title searcher showing up at the courthouse too sleepy after a late-night party to notice a recorded $50,000 mortgage against a $150,000 home during the preliminary title search. If the new property owner would need a home equity loan a few years later, an alert title searcher would discover the overlooked mortgage and the title company would exclude coverage of that old mortgage in a new title insurance commitment. The buyer would then file a title insurance claim with the old title insurance company and the old title insurance company would pay off the old mortgage to clear the title for the new home equity loan. **Stay Tuned** We will conclude this two-part series next week with more real estate investment protection tips. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Abstract of Title, Deed, Mortgage, Mortgage Foreclosure, Real Estate Closings, Title Insurance, Title Opinion **Tags:** abstract of title, deed, mortgage, mortgage foreclosure, real estate, real estate closing, Title company, Title insurance, title opinion --- ### [Lawyer’s Role in Estate and Trust Administration](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/lawyers-role-in-estate-and-trust-administration/) **Published:** July 12, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** ![Music Conductor](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Music-Conductor.jpg "Music Conductor - Hawkins Elder Law PC")\[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Most families experience intense grief and sorrow when a loved one dies. The grief sometimes turns to frustration and depression when family members must organize the deceased person’s records, gain control of the person’s finances, and sell, distribute, or dispose of the person’s property. Many families become overwhelmed with the obligations to deal with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, banks, insurance companies, and other institutions and agencies that play a part in a deceased person’s estate. If you think of all of these participants in the estate and trust administration process as members of a orchestra, the lawyer should serve as the orchestra conductor, coordinating the relationships among the family and the other participants. **Prelude** We begin in this orchestral analogy with a meeting of key family members with a lawyer to discuss what work required in the estate or trust administration, much as a orchestra assembles to tune its instruments. The family should bring the original will to that first meeting with copies of all trust agreements, bank account statements, and other documents that they can find concerning the deceased person’s estate plan and financial affairs. Sometimes not all of the information is available, but the attorney needs as much information as the family can provide in the first meeting to get a clearer idea of what the job will require. A conductor prepares to meet with the musicians in before the first rehearsal to discuss how they concern will develop. Likewise, the family should always meet with the attorney after making early funeral arrangements, but before speaking with bankers, investment representatives, insurance agents, or anyone else, because the lawyer must help the family plan how to deal with all of those other participants (other band members). This is particularly important if the deceased person died without a will or trust, because lawyer must help the family decide who will fill the chief decision-maker role that a will or trust would otherwise specify. **The Lawyer’s Job** Part of the lawyer’s job in an estate is to coach the family through the administration process. Similarly, a conductor coaches musicians during rehearsals to keep everyone on the same performance plan. The lawyer will prepare all documents relating to the estate including all of the court petitions, federal taxpayer identification number applications, death benefit claims on life insurance policies and annuity contracts, and letters directing actions by banks and other financial institutions. The lawyer will coordinate tax return preparation with an accountant and inform the accountant about any special tax issues that the family may face. **Concert Performance** The lawyer can provide customized services to the family during the estate administration process. For example, inheritance may complicate problems for a family member with health or financial issues. The attorney can provide multi-generational estate planning during the estate administration to help all family members preserve and protect wealth. This planning process resembles a jazz conductor’s direction of solo performances during a concert to make sure that each person plays the right part at the right time. **Improvisational Direction** Unexpected things pop up sometimes in estate and trust administration, such as arguments between beneficiaries, liability for environmentally contaminated business properties, and contractual commitments with uncooperative third parties. Unscripted problems also plague musical performances, such as broken instrument strings and microphone malfunctions. Just as a master conductor improvises around such problems without compromising an artful performance, a masterful trust and estate lawyer guides the estate and trust administration process creatively through dramatic disruptions to accomplish the job smoothly and help the family grieve with dignity. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Estate, Executor, Last Will and Testament, Petition, Probate court, Trust, Trusts and Estates **Tags:** estate, estate plan, last will and testament, trusts --- ### [Trustworthy Trusts?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/trustworthy-trusts/) **Published:** July 4, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![shutterstock_173550188](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/shutterstock_173550188.jpg "shutterstock_173550188 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/shutterstock_173550188.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Trusts have become the some of the most widely known and misunderstood documents in estate planning practice today. Skilled trust lawyers use them to help their clients achieve their estate plan goals. Do-it-yourselfers misuse them to avoid “probate” and create wealth sinkholes that devour assets. Thieves use them to trick innocent people into bypassing lawyers and lining the thieves’ pockets with the victims’ money. Whom should you trust? Are trusts “trustworthy?” A trust is simply an agreement that one person makes with another person to care for or manage property. The owner of land or money is called the “settlor,” “trustor,” or “grantor” of the trust. The caretaker or manager is called the “trustee.” A trust is enforceable in Indiana if there is written evidence of the trust agreement’s terms and the agreement is signed by the settlor or his authorized agent. You may make a trust as part of your will (called a “testamentary trust”), or you may make it separately, as a self-supporting agreement (an “inter vivos trust”). An inter vivos trust may be revocable (the settlor can change to stop it) or irrevocable (the settlor can’t change or stop it). A testamentary trust requires special skill in its creation because Indiana law requires testamentary trusts to have particular language. No formal language is required to create an inter vivos trust, but its terms must be sufficiently definite so that the trust property, the identity of the trustee, the nature of the trustee’s interest, the identity of the beneficiary, the nature of the beneficiary’s interest and the purpose of the trust may be easy to recognize. Many trusts today are revocable, inter vivos trusts – commonly known as “living trusts.” The settlors of these trusts usually appoint themselves to serve as the initial trustees. The rules for what to do whether the Settlor becomes disabled often require specially detailed wording. Also, the rules governing how and when beneficiaries receive their shares requires careful thought. Trusts resemble boxes in the sense that they contain the settlor’s stuff. A settlor does not need to load up (loading is called “funding”) the trust at first, but the settlor should ensure that the trust will be funded. Otherwise, the trust will be empty after the settlor dies and the trust will be worthless. Some trusts are funded by naming them beneficiaries of life insurance policies or retirement plan benefits. Indiana’s Transfer on Death Property Act permits Settlors to fund trusts by naming beneficiaries of almost everything from land, to vehicles, to the scissors and rubber bands in their “junk” drawers. Settlors often transfer their land and money to trusts with deeds and reregistration of bank and investment accounts. Many do-it-yourselfers forget to fund their trusts or they fund the trusts improperly. No trust will solve every problem. Thieves are defrauding people constantly in our community with trust scams. A common scam involves a non-lawyer calling or mailing a solicitation about living trusts. The scammer may promise that the trust will eliminate all attorney fees and taxes. The price of the trust is often $2,500 – $5,000. Sometimes, the crook also tries to sell expensive annuities or life insurance policies with the trust. The crook makes the victim think that neither the victim, nor her family will ever have to do anything or pay anything regarding the trust other than the initial fee. The trust is usually prepared poorly and the victim’s family is often surprised by the administrative costs that remain to be paid after the victim’s death. The scammer is nowhere to be found. Well prepared trusts serve important purposes in many estate plans. A skilled estate planning attorney understands when to prepare a trust and how to tailor the trust to accomplish the settlor’s objectives. Not everyone needs a trust and reputable estate planning lawyers explain why. You get what you pay for with estate planning services and there is no substitute for working with an expert. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Estate Planning, Irrevocable trust, Last Will and Testament, Probate, Revocable Trust, Testamentary Trust, TOD, Trust, Trustee **Tags:** estate plan, estate plan attorney, last will and testament, trusts --- ### [Conciliation: Bridge-Building When Relationships Matter](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/conciliation-bridge-building-when-relationships-matter/) **Published:** June 28, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![shutterstock_107383196](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/shutterstock_107383196.jpg "shutterstock_107383196 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/shutterstock_107383196.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] When someone disagrees with you, the disagreement threatens to deprive you of something you that want or load a burden upon you that you do not want. Disagreements end in various ways, including physical violence, smoldering grudges, court orders, arbitration decisions, and negotiated settlements, but most of those endings destroy relationships among friends, coworkers, and family members. Conciliation, a less well-known dispute resolution system, sometimes preserves or strengthens relationships while resolving disagreements. Physical violence, smoldering grudges, court orders, and arbitration decisions pit opposing people against each other as adversaries. In the classic sense, one competitor wins and the other side loses. Unfortunately, with a few exceptions like wealthy professional boxers and football players, everyone loses something in a conflict and the costs often make winners feel like losers. Mediation has emerged and matured among lawyers as a dispute resolution system that helps transform opponents into “win-win” problem-solving teams. Highly trained mediators guide adversaries and their lawyers through a study of each group’s desires and needs, and builds a negotiated agreement that gives each group a better solution than that group’s most dreaded courtroom outcome. Although mediation can lead participants to mend broken relationships, it focuses more on settling disagreements than on improving relationships. Often, parties only begin mediation after they have spent thousands of dollars in attorney fees and an expensive courtroom battle becomes a looming financial and emotional threat. Family members, coworkers, and close friends often mourn broken relationships and regret participating in the disputes that divided them. Usually, if such people calm down and think clearly about their conflicts before tensions get out of control, they recognize that their underlying disputes are less important than reconciling their fragile relationships. Sometimes, however, neither side can step far enough away from the issues to find solutions – both sides need a neutral guide toward conciliation. A conciliator functions like a relationship counselor. Much like a marriage counselor (a kind of conciliator) helps estranged and dysfunctional couples avoid divorce, a conciliator helps people discover why they disagree and guides them to remove or overcome their relational barriers. For instance, if one farm family member’s growing habit of acting alone in farm business decisions enrages other family members, a conciliator may help the lone wolf slow down and seek family participation in important decisions and actions. Conciliation works best in the early days of a dispute when strained relationships remain unbroken. When a conciliator starts working early in a dispute, the parties can manage their emotions better and begin trusting each other sooner. Pride makes some people dismiss conciliation as ridiculous or unnecessary, but such dismissive feelings often signal that pride is part of the divisive problem. Conciliation requires humility from everyone, but the joy of restored relationship usually rewards everyone far beyond the sacrifice of submitting to the conciliation process. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Arbitration, Conciliation, Dispute Resolution, Mediation, Relational Barriers, Relationship Counseling **Tags:** arbitration, attorneys, conciliation, conciliator, conflict, disagreement, dispute resolution, mediation, Mediator, negotiated agreement, problem-solving, reconcile, reconciliation, spouse, win-win --- ### [Taking Care Of Sick People – What’s My Job?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/taking-care-of-sick-people-whats-my-job/) **Published:** June 21, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![shutterstock_259717856](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/shutterstock_259717856-1024x673.jpg "shutterstock_259717856 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/shutterstock_259717856.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Most of us become seriously injured or deathly ill sooner or later and depend upon other people to take care of us. We should all plan for this problem ahead of time so that our caregivers can be well prepared to do the job well. As a caregiver, knowing the ins and outs of the care giving job can make the job much easier and less stressful. **Health Care Decisions** If someone suffers a debilitating health crisis without a comprehensive estate plan, Indiana law gives equal authority to the patient’s parents, adult children, spouse, AND adult sibling to make healthcare decisions. However, Indiana law does not authorize anyone to make other decisions for an incapacitated person unless a judge gives the caregiver that authority or the incapacitated person has planned ahead with a power of attorney. **Guardianships** Only a minority of people plan properly for debilitating injury or illness. Most people do not establish powers of attorney to empower other to care for them in times of sickness. In these circumstances, a caregiver must petition a court for appointment as the sick or injured person’s guardian. Once a guardian is appointed, the guardian can consent to most healthcare decisions and business decisions in a fashion similar to the way a parent can consent on behalf of a young child. This process can take several days or weeks to complete and requires expensive court action. The court retains authority over the guardian and requires the guardian to give a detailed report of all activities at least every two years. **Powers of Attorney** A person can make a power of attorney that authorizes another person (the “attorney-in-fact”) to provide care and make decisions if the giver (the “grantor”) of the power of attorney loses the ability to take care of himself. The power can be effective immediately after the grantor’s signature on the power of attorney or it can be made to “spring” into effect only when the grantor becomes disabled. The power of attorney can give the attorney-in-fact almost unlimited authority, or it can provide limits and guidelines to regulate the attorney-in-fact’s activities. A power of attorney enables a disabled person’s family to manage important personal and business decisions without court involvement, but a disabled person cannot sign a power of attorney if he or she cannot clearly communicate his or her understanding of the power of attorney and the authority that the attorney-in-fact receives through it. **Caregivers Beware!** A person caring for an incapacitated person has certain rights and responsibilities. A person having a power of attorney has no obligation to use a power of attorney or act on it in any way. However, if the person uses the power of attorney, he or she must use it wisely and protect the incapacitated person faithfully. Generally, the caregiver can only use the incapacitated person’s money to take care of the incapacitated person, but some estate plans allow caregivers to make gifts to themselves in certain situations. You should also be aware that some nursing home admission agreements make people who sign the agreements personally responsible for making sure that someone pays the nursing home bill. If the nursing home accepts Medicaid payments, the caregiver may have to apply for Medicaid benefits for the nursing home resident. If the patient qualifies for Medicaid, the nursing home must accept the payments that Medicaid allows, but if the caregiver does something that disqualifies the patient for Medicaid, the caregiver may be responsible for the resulting unpaid nursing home bill. Caregivers should read documents carefully before signing. If you expect that the person you are serving may need nursing home care soon, you should investigate several nursing homes and ask to see copies of their admission contracts before you sign them. If any language in the agreement does not make sense to you or seems to be disagreeable, you should ask an attorney to explain it before you sign it. Life is rarely as simple as we expect. A healthcare crisis is always a difficult situation, but skilled planning can make it less traumatic. Nursing home care may seem simple, but if you speak to people who have helped disabled family members transition to nursing home care, they will probably tell you that it pays to plan early with a knowledgeable elder law attorney. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Caregiver, Elder Law, Guardianship, Long-term care, Medicaid, Nursing home, Power of Attorney **Tags:** admission agreement, attorney-in-fact, disability, elder law, estate planning, guardian, guardianship, health crisis, healthcare decisions, Medicaid, nursing home, nursing home bill, power of attorney, responsible --- ### [Insuring Your Investments: FDIC & SIPC](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/insuring-your-investments-fdic-and-sipc/) **Published:** June 7, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Most banks indicate in their advertisements and letterheads that they are members of the **FDIC**. You may also notice that securities brokers and investment advisers advertise their membership in the **SIPC**. What do these memberships mean? FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION[![shutterstock_284380136](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/shutterstock_284380136.jpg "shutterstock_284380136 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://www.fdic.gov/about/learn/symbol/)** The FDIC’s full name is the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, established by Congress in 1933 to make American bank deposits safer. The insurance protects depositors’ funds from a bank’s financial failure. If a bank becomes “bankrupt,” the FDIC will pay insured deposits as soon as possible after the banking institution is closed by its chartering authority. The standard FDIC coverage insures bank deposits, such as checking accounts, savings accounts, money market deposit accounts, negotiable order of withdrawal (NOW) accounts, and certificates of deposit up to $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, in each account ownership category. According to the [FDIC website](https://www.fdic.gov/deposit/deposits/brochures/Deposit%20Insurance%20at%20a%20Glance%20-%20English.pdf), the account ownership categories are: - Irrevocable trust accounts - Joint accounts - Certain retirement accounts - Revocable trust accounts - Employee benefit plan accounts - Single accounts - Unincorporated association accounts - Government accounts - Partnership accounts - Corporate accounts A depositor could deposit up to $250,000 in each of several banks and each deposit would be separately insured. Also, depositors can open accounts under various names and account relationships and cause each account to be a separately insured account within a single banking institution. For example, a husband and wife could have a joint checking account that would serve as one account and each of them could have separate accounts in their individual names that would count as additional insured accounts. Furthermore, if the husband and wife have engaged in estate planning, they can set up trusts and cause the trusts to be owners of deposit accounts also. The establishment of FDIC insured accounts is an important estate planning matter. You should always consult your estate planning attorney before shuffling accounts to cause them to be FDIC insured. Errors in opening accounts can create tremendous confusion and require expensive estate plan corrections. The FDIC website indicates that the FDIC does not cover: - Stock investments - Bond investments - Mutual funds - Life insurance policies - Annuities - Municipal securities - Safe deposit boxes or their contents - U.S. Treasury bills, bonds or notes **SECURITIES INVESTOR PROTECTION CORPORATION** The Securities Investor Protection Corporation (the “SIPC”) was created by Congress in 1970 to protect money that investors [![SIPC](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/SIPC-1024x683.jpg "SIPC - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://www.sipc.org/about-sipc/introduction)have entrusted to securities dealers. The SIPC is not the FDIC and a securities investor cannot expect the same kind of protection that the FDIC provides. SIPC helps investors recover money, stocks, or other securities that are lost or stolen by a broker if the broker fails or otherwise goes out of business. [SIPC’s website](http://www.sipc.org/about-sipc/sipc-mission) says, “In a [liquidation under the Securities Investor Protection Act](http://www.sipc.org/cases-and-claims/how-a-liquidation-works), SIPC and a court-appointed Trustee work to return customers’ securities and cash as quickly as possible. Within limits, SIPC expedites the return of missing customer property by protecting each customer up to $500,000 for securities and cash (including a $250,000 limit for cash only).” Investors should not expect that SIPC protects their investments from market losses. SIPC does not protect investments from the kinds of losses that occur when stock or bond prices fall and reduce investment values. **COMPARISON OF FDIC AND SIPC** ![IMG_20150607_154319005](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/IMG_20150607_154319005-1024x576.jpg "IMG_20150607_154319005 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")A comparison of the protections provided by FDIC and SIPC may help explain their differences. If a depositor invests $250,000 in certificates of deposit in an FDIC-insured bank account, the depositor will receive the entire $250,000 even if the bank runs out of money and is forced to close. If an investor invests $1,250,000 in stocks, bonds, or mutual funds through a local securities broker and 50% of the securities of the broker turned up missing, the investor will receive $500,000 worth of securities or cash from the SIPC; $625,000 worth of securities (50% of $1,250,000); and have a creditor claim against the securities broker for the remaining $125,000 worth of securities. **KNOWLEDGE IS PROTECTION** The FDIC and SIPC websites provide wonderful information to help explain their respective programs. The FDIC website homepage is located at: [www.fdic.gov](http://www.fdic.gov/). The SIPC website homepage is located at [www.sipc.org](http://www.sipc.org/). Both websites offer information that prudent investors can use to make better investment decisions. Remember, investing in any investment involves risk and a diverse investment mixture is usually the safest plan. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Banking, Deposit Insurance, Investments **Tags:** Annuity, Bank account, Bonds, Deposit insurance, FDIC, investments, Life insurance, Municipal securities, Mutual funds, Securities, Securities dealer, SIPC, Stock, Treasury bills, Treasury bonds, Treasury notes --- ### [Gift Legends & Myths About Nursing Homes, Medicaid & Taxes](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/gift-legends-myths-about-nursing-homes-medicaid-taxes/) **Published:** May 25, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![shutterstock_190605587](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/shutterstock_190605587.jpg "shutterstock_190605587 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/shutterstock_190605587.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] We began writing about estate planning and elder law topics almost 13 years ago because we kept hearing people recite laws and rules that either did not exist or did not work the way people thought. Even some lawyers have misunderstood rules about gifts and some, unfortunately, continue writing estate plans without understanding the rules. **Will The Nursing Home Take Your Home Or Farm?** People tell us that they don’t want a nursing home to get their homes or farms. The fact is that nursing homes want to be paid for health care services, but they don’t want your home, farm, or business. However, the average Indiana price tag of over $68,000 for a year in a nursing home causes many people to sell their homes, farms, and businesses to pay the bill. If an unmarried person succumbs to Parkinson’s disease, debilitating injury, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, or some kind of dementia, the family may need to sell the house house and spend most of the money on nursing home care, and then Medicaid will pick up the tab and pay the nursing home bills. Most unmarried nursing home residents must sell their homes and reduce the value of their assets to $2,000 before Medicaid will begin paying their nursing home bills. If you are healthy and your husband or wife is in the nursing home, you can keep the home, the contents of your home, farm land, rental properties, a car, and more than $120,000 worth of other assets. The transition into Medicaid is complicated and an unwary person can lose a fortune without proper planning. A married person should seek professional guidance as soon as his or her spouse enters the nursing home. **Can You Give $10,000 To Your Kids?** Many people tell us that they know they can give $10,000 (an old value that is now indexed to inflation and is $14,000 in 2015) to their kids when we begin speaking about nursing homes. This legend started with in federal gift tax law. Essentially, wealthy people (folks who have wealth worth more than $5.43 million or have given away enough that the gifts and remaining wealth would exceed $5.43 million today) must file gift tax returns for gifts. However, they can make gifts of up to $14,000 per year to each beneficiary without filing a gift tax return. If you are not one of those people, there is no relevant $10,000+ value that pertains to you. **Must You Make A Gift 5 Years Before Entering A Nursing Home?** A common legend involves the 5-year “look back” period. Remember that Medicaid pays nursing home bills for people with resources (basically, wealth) worth less than $2,000. If you gift away assets or sell things to people for less than fair market value, the gift or discounted sale (for example, selling a home for $1 is a discounted sale that is mostly a gift) will disqualify you from Medicaid eligibility to pay nursing home bills. Medicaid requires disclosure of gifts and discounted sales during the previous 5 years before your Medicaid application. The length of the disqualification period depends on the value of your gift (divide the total of all gifts during the preceding 5 years by the state average monthly nursing home cost, which is $5,733 in the spring of 2015, to calculate the penalty in months and parts of months). The present law prevents Medicaid from “looking back” from the date of admission to the nursing home to the date of a transfer if the transfer was made more than 5 years earlier. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Alzheimer's, Community spouse, Dementia, Disability, Estate Planning, Gift, Gift Tax, Long-term care, Lookback period, Medicaid, Nursing home, Parkinson's disease, Stroke, Transfer penalty **Tags:** Alzheimer's, disability, estate planning, gift tax, lookback, married, Medicaid, nursing home, penalty, spouse, wealth --- ### [Planning For Minor Children & Multi-Generational Objectives](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/planning-for-minor-children-multi-generational-objectives/) **Published:** May 17, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![shutterstock_208017454](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/shutterstock_208017454.jpg "shutterstock_208017454 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/shutterstock_208017454.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Estate planning includes planning with wills and trusts to pass money and possessions from one generation to the next. Too often, an older generation ignores the effect of its plans upon younger generations. That poor foresight allows poorly planned inheritance to vanish quickly, sometimes without fault of the heirs. This article highlights some instances that require more thoughtful planning. **Minor Children** Parents should consider what would happen if they would die or become incapacitated while they are raising young children. Choices of guardians and trustees grieve many parents, but the difficulty of the choice simply emphasizes the importance of the choice. Parents should nominate guardians and appoint trustees in special powers of attorney and wills. Child-sensitive wills include trust language to protect children’s inheritance from their youthful indiscretion and preserve wealth until the children mature. It is important to update those plans with new guardians, trustees, and beneficiaries as circumstances and objectives change. For example, if you nominate a married couple to serve as guardians, you should update the will and power of attorney if that couple divorces. **Multi-Generational Planning** Multi-generational planning makes good sense for grandparents too. Grandparents should consider setting up trusts in their wills or revocable trusts to ensure that young grandchildren do not receive money before they become adults. For example, if the parents die before the grandparents, or become disabled, the grandparents’ estate plans should authorize another person to manage the wealth instead of leaving it to young grandchildren freely. I you own a business that one or more of your children may operate someday, you will need expert-level planning to balance your desire to help the business succeed with your desire to treat your beneficiaries “fairly.” **Disability & Spendthrift Planning** Parents often want to help their children, but a child or the child’s spouse may suffer health problems that require Medicaid assistance. Unless your wealth could bankroll beneficiary healthcare expenses adequately, you should consider planning around a beneficiary’s problems. Parents and grandparents should consider weaknesses and vulnerabilities of their children and grandchildren during the estate planning process. Parents and grandparents of disabled or drug-addicted children may want to use “special needs” or “spendthrift” trusts to provide care for the beneficiaries. The trusts could make funds available for the beneficiaries, but prevent the funds from disqualifying the beneficiaries for public assistance or enabling them to squander the assets on drugs or alcohol. The trusts can also empower trustees to require beneficiaries suspected of drug abuse to submit to drug testing before distributing money to the beneficiaries. **Wealthy Children** Some children accumulate their own substantial wealth. Those children, who have federal estate tax issues in their estate plans, may not need more wealth piled into their estates. Parents should discuss these issues with their financially successful children and plan to compliment their children’s plans. In some families, the older generation should bypass the children and enrich the grandchildren to minimize federal estate taxes for all generations. Most people are fortunate enough not to face these problems in their families. If you are one of those people with disabled, unstable, or very wealthy children or grandchildren you may help them more with more detailed estate planning than normal. An experienced trust and estate lawyer can help you make such a plan. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Business, Disability, Estate Planning, Guardianship, Last Will and Testament, Medicaid, Power of Attorney, Special needs trust, Succession Planning, Trust, Trustee **Tags:** attorneys, beneficiaries, children, disability, estate planning, estate tax, inherit, last will and testament, power of attorney, spendthrift, trusts, wills --- ### [Tax Sale Properties – A Great Deal?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tax-sales-properties-a-great-deal/) **Published:** May 9, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Lawyer's Tax Sale Purchaser File](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/IMG_20150509_1748234321-1024x576.jpg "Lawyer's Tax Sale Purchaser File - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/IMG_20150509_1748234321.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] So, you just bought a nice little house in the country for $2,000 at the county tax sale. “Wow!” You think. “I can’t believe I bought this property for next to nothing! What a deal!!!” Did you really get a great deal? Maybe…or maybe not. A Southern Indiana tax sale buyer paid several hundred dollars for land in a tax sale a few years ago and paid a “consultant” several hundred more dollars to help finish the purchase. The consultant misunderstood the tax sale law and failed to notify the prior owner about the tax sale properly. The tax sale buyer may have lost the land and the large consulting fee. Indiana counties offer thousands of acres of land each year for sale to the public at tax sales. The counties auction land to recover annual property taxes that the previous land owners have failed to pay. The auction proceeds pay the past due real estate taxes. Tax sale law is very complicated and misunderstood. Many new buyers think they can buy land and receive deeds for their new land at tax sales. However, the county will give the buyer a “tax sale certificate” at the tax sale, instead of a deed. The buyer must complete much work before the county will provide a deed. The buyer must make a list of each person having “a substantial interest” in the real estate. This list includes the prior owner, who lost the property on tax sale, and certain creditors, such as banks holding mortgages and judgment lien holders. For a few hundred dollars, a title company can study the real estate records at the courthouse. After purchasing a title search, the buyer needs to hire an attorney to examine the title search report, prepare a list of all the people having a “substantial property interest of public record” in the real estate, and send a “Notice of Sale and Redemption Period Expiration Date” to each person on the attorney’s notice list. Indiana’s notice law sets out 15 different statements that must appear in the notice. The notice must be sent by certified mail. If the notice is unclaimed, undeliverable or refused, the notice may be published three times in the local newspaper (sometimes a sizable expense). Inadequate or late notice may destroy the buyer’s tax sale purchase. Any person may “redeem” the real estate at any time within 1 year after the tax sale. The redeemer must pay money to the county and restore the real estate ownership back to the prior owner. The redemption price must include the amount of the tax sale price and a reimbursement of the expenses paid by the tax sale buyer with interest. If no one redeems the real estate after 1 year has passed, then the buyer must petition the court for a tax deed and send another notice. The buyer must give notice of the petition to the people listed on that notice list. If no one objects to the petition within 30 days after the petition is filed, then the court will direct the county auditor to issue a tax deed to the buyer. The tax sale purchase may still be a good deal, even after the title search fees, attorney’s fees, certified mail fees and newspaper publication fees, but there is 1 more catch. Many title insurance companies refuse to insure title that includes a tax deed because too many buyers (and many attorneys) do not complete the statutory requirements correctly. Therefore, if the buyer wants to sell the property or get a mortgage loan on it, the title insurance company may require the buyer to file a quiet title lawsuit against the people on that list. A quiet title action is a lawsuit against everyone who may hold a claim on the real estate and it seeks the Court’s declaration of clear title. Quiet title actions usually cost several thousands of dollars to prepare and complete. Tax sale buyers should purchase carefully. A tax sale property may be a great deal…..or maybe not. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Deed, Property Tax, Real Estate, Tax Sale, Title Insurance **Tags:** attorneys, Auction, Judgment, Lien, Notice tax sale, Property tax, Quiet title action, Redeem, Tax sale, Tax sale certificate, Title company, Title insurance --- ### [More Scams Targeting Senior Citizens](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/more-scams-targeting-senior-citizens/) **Published:** May 4, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![shutterstock_143040442](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/shutterstock_143040442.jpg "shutterstock_143040442 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/shutterstock_143040442.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Jeff Hawkins recently attended the Illinois State Bar Association’s Second Annual Elder Law Boot Camp continuing education program in Chicago, Illinois, where Joseph H. McMahon and Diana M. Law presented a session on trends in elder law abuse. This article showcases some of the frightening ways that crooks take advantage of older people and why they are so successful. Mr. McMahon and Ms. Law said many senior citizens are more vulnerable to scams than younger people because they: - Trust people who display authority - Spend time at home alone - Read all of their mail - Keep money at home - Are hesitant to call police - Keep money at home - Are hesitant to call police - Fear hospitalization & nursing home admission - Dread court involvement - Are too embarrassed to tell their children about their fraud victimization - Fear newspaper publication of their names Some of the scams committed on people these days include: - Fake caller from Medicare, Life Alert, or a bank claiming to need the checking account number or credit card number, with date of birth or Social Security number for “security confirmation purposes.” - Fake caller claiming that a grandchild or other family member is in jail and needs bail money sent by a wire transfer through Walmart. - Money transfer frauds stating victim won a prize, business opportunities or a relative is in trouble. - Caller claiming a debt is owed and threatening utility shut off or arrest. - A new phone app called Spoofcard.com that enables a fake caller spoof the name of a legitimate person or company on caller ID (such as a grandchild, IRS or a local bank) and carry out any of the foregoing fraud strategies. Another frightening trend is when crooks will show up on a person’s doorstep dressed as utility workers, public employees, or other ordinarily trustworthy people, requested admission to the house to do their work, and then physically abuse and rob the trusting elderly people. Attractive and charming manipulators have used old strategy to take advantage of older people for centuries. The manipulators will behave charmingly and enticingly toward their intended victims and build a trusting relationship very quickly. Older men show particular vulnerability to young female manipulators who display flirtatious interest in their lonely, red-blooded victims. These scammers typically rush the relationship development faster than normal relationships normally evolve and overwhelm their victims before the victims’ common sense detect what is really happening. The old saying that something that seems too good to be true is probably too good to be true never grows old. If someone contacts you unexpectedly, you usually have time to call someone and verify whether the contact is legitimate. If a stranger or relatively unknown person seeks intimate friendship too quickly, it is probably a warning sign of crooked behavior. It is always better to be safe than sorry. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Fraud, Fraud & Theft, Scam, Theft **Tags:** bank, Fraud, IRS, Life Alert, Medicare, nursing home, Scam, Spoofcard.com, wire transfer --- ### [Watch Out For Sharks On Your Doorstep](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/watch-out-for-sharks-on-your-doorstep/) **Published:** April 25, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** ![shutterstock_252850576](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/shutterstock_252850576-300x199.jpg "shutterstock_252850576 - Hawkins Elder Law PC") \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Remember those scary sharks in the “Jaws” movies from the 1970’s and 80’s? Like those monstrous sharks, con-artists prey on unsuspecting Hoosiers every day. Unlike the salt-water sharks, however, vigilance, boldness, and common sense can repel the two legged sharks. **Home Improvement Fraud** Spring is a time for repairing leaky roofs, cleaning out and replacing rusty gutters, complying with modern sewer connection ordinances, painting or re-siding houses, and repairing rotten wood on porch floors and railings. We are blessed with honest, qualified contractors in our community. Unfortunately, sharks lurk in the shadows of all legitimate industries. Indiana Code Chapter 24-5-11 limits the enforceability of home improvement contracts. If a contract does not describe the contractor’s services and fees correctly, the law may prevent the contractor from enforcing the contract completely. However, homeowners should not use the law to cheat contractors, because judges enforce legitimate contracts. The best fraud defense is to see con-artists coming and turn them away. Generally, a contractor that runs a door-to-door sales campaign may be a con-artist. Most reputable contractors have so much work backlogged that they have no time to solicit new business on door-to-door campaigns. Many home improvement con-artists require substantial fee down payments. Many homeowners pay fees in advance, watch jobs begin briefly, and wait in vain for crooks to return to finish work. Con-artists often move to other counties or states after the first day on the job to repeat the scams before the police can catch them. A contractor should provide names and phone numbers of past customers as job references. A homeowner should contact the references and determine whether the contractor’s workmanship and business practices satisfied the former customers. Again, a quality track record is a homeowner’s best assurance of a contractor’s quality workmanship. The Indiana Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division website has more information about [Elder Financial Exploitation](http://www.in.gov/attorneygeneral/2551.htm). **Home Equity Loan Sharks** Remember the days when you had to visit a loan officer at a downtown bank to apply for a loan? Today, banks and mortgage companies flood the mail, internet, television, radio, and newspapers with solicitations for home loans. Most traditional banks and many mortgage companies regulate their own conduct with good lending policies and practices. Unfortunately, however, many lenders hurt homeowners by rewarding loan officers for selling loans at any cost, even if the loans are made sloppily or fraudulently. If you think home loan scams disappeared in the home loan crisis that many have called the Great Recession of 2008-12, think again. Basic lending practices require a lender to determine a borrower’s home value. The loan should be repayable from the borrower’s earnings or the sale of the borrower’s home. Fraudulent home appraisal has been one of the most abused aspects of the home equity loan industry. Reputable lenders use reputable appraisers that value homes reasonably. Disreputable lenders and mortgage brokers bend rules and stretch the truth in loan applications. The Indiana Attorney General identifies the following warning signs that a loan transaction may be predatory or unwise: - The initial contact with a lender or mortgage broker is unsolicited; - The loan value exceeds the value of the home; or - Information on any document a consumer is asked to sign is false or incomplete. The Attorney General recommends further that consumers make lenders answer the following questions before signing any loan documents: - How much are costs, fees, and payments? - Does the payment include insurance and taxes? - Will the payment increase during the life of the loan? - Can I payoff the loan early without penalty? Most importantly, a homeowner should think about her income and expenses and decide whether he or she has enough extra income to pay the mortgage payments as they become due. A fraud victim may contact the Indiana Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division by telephone at 1-800-382-5516 and find information on the division’s website at . Unfortunately, con-artists usually spend the spoils of their crimes and leave nothing for victims to recover. Therefore, the best repellant against these sharks is to be alert, use common sense, and turn away or walk away from a contractor or lender that you do not know and that does not appear to be completely legitimate. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Cybercrime, Fraud, Fraud & Theft, Internet Security, Mortgage, Scam, Theft **Tags:** con-artist, Consumer protection, door-to-door sales, Elder financial exploitation, Fraud, Great Recession, home improvement, Home improvement fraud, Home improvement scam, home loan scam, Indiana Attorney General, Mortgage broker, Mortgage company, Prepayment penalty --- ### [Scavenger Hunt – Finding Stuff After Someone’s Death or Health Crisis](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/scavenger-hunt-finding-stuff-after-someones-death-or-health-crisis/) **Published:** April 4, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Trash Can Treasure Hunt](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/IMG_20150404_152851966-1024x577.jpg "Trash Can Treasure Hunt - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/IMG_20150404_152851966.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Managing someone else’s business when they die or become disabled can take you on a scavenger hunt. You may not know what you need to find or where to find it. To make a tough job worse, privacy laws severely limit the ability of banks and other financial institutions to share missing pieces of the puzzle. Let’s say that “Bob” dies suddenly, leaving no information about his assets or financial affairs. If Bob dies and you are the person who will be managing the estate, your first priority should be to attend the funeral, honor Bob, and encourage his family. Some people feel pressure to settle all issues before the funeral day ends, but most issues are not so time sensitive. You and the rest of the family should take an emotional break and catch your breath – the estate business can wait. Even if Bob has not filed his income tax return by the first full week of April, it is unlikely that you will overcome his procrastination, so don’t sweat it. Now imagine that Bob has survived a severely debilitating stroke, timing may be more urgent than if he had died, but the job still resembles managing a deceased person’s estate. You still need to find out who has authority to act and what needs to be done (like filing tax returns and paying income taxes). Hopefully, Bob left a power of attorney, last will and testament, or other estate plan records that will help you answer those questions. Regardless of whether Bob is dead or disabled, you will need to find his estate plan documents and records of his assets and financial obligations. You may have keys to Bob’s house and be able to search the house for information, but you may be trespassing if you enter the house without lawful authority. Unless Bob authorized you to act with a power of attorney (assuming he is still alive), you may need your lawyer to petition the probate court for guardianship. If Bob is dead, you may need a probate court order to enter the house. Before you waste time and bog down in controversy, hire a reputable trust and estate lawyer to help you plan and carry out the work. Once you gain access to Bob’s house, imagine all the places where Bob could store important papers. You may find them in a kitchen drawer, the freezer, a gun safe, or any other hiding places in the house, but keys or lockbox information may signal that Bob stored important papers and small possessions in a bank safety deposit box. Look for clues that identify Bob’s accountant, banks, and other financial institutions, such as utility bills, bank and credit card statements, loan payment books, etc. Those clues may help you understand how Bob conducted his business and may lead to more information about Bob’s estate plan. Look for addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses of Bob’s closest family members and friends. This may include spouse, children (natural and adopted), grandchildren, brothers, sisters, parents, and in some cases, nieces and nephews. Many people find it helpful to chart Bob’s “family tree.” If Bob left family members out of his estate plan, you’ll still need contact information for those people in case they are entitled to court notices. Coordinate closely with your lawyer’s paralegal staff. They routinely gather information and help solve problems that may stump novices. You can save tremendous time by sharing with them everything that you are doing rely on their training and experience to help you cut to the chase. Reconstructing someone else’s personal business can be a daunting task. You never know what troubling surprises and secrets may spring out of Bob’s closet or trash can. However, these starting points and a skilled trust and estate lawyer can make your scavenger hunt easier and less stressful. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Disability, Estate, Estate Planning, Guardianship, Last Will and Testament, Power of Attorney, Probate court, Stroke, Trusts and Estates **Tags:** accountant, assets, authority, bank, court notice, credit card, deceased, estate, estate plan, financial affairs, financial institution, funeral, guardianship, income tax, last will and testament, paralegal, power of attorney, Privacy, privacy laws, probate court, safety deposit box, stroke, tax return, trespass, trust, trust and estate lawyer, utility bills, will --- ### [Craftsmen Lawyers for the Emerging Global Community](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/craftsmen-lawyers-for-the-emerging-global-community/) **Published:** January 13, 2017 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/ClockBlackford-Reports-Notepad-Fountain-Pen.jpg "Clock,Blackford Reports, Notepad, & Fountain Pen - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/ClockBlackford-Reports-Notepad-Fountain-Pen.jpg)\[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Every profession has craftsmen that constantly refine their skills and performance quality. As technology and society evolve, craftsmen respond to ever-changing societal needs by developing and harnessing new technology to create more effective and useful tools and products. As society faces overwhelming technological advances and accelerating globalization, people will become increasingly dependent on craftsmen lawyers to help them adapt to change. Craftsmen lawyers draw on intense legal training as adaptable creators. Lawyers today receive much of same kind of training that equipped people like John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson to create an entirely new and enduring nation. Where an untrained person may see only gloom and chaos, craftsmen lawyers see patterns and building blocks with which they can define and shape how society and its citizens may survive and thrive in our rapidly evolving global community. Lawyers’ constructive creativity will become an increasingly vital social and political resource as technological evolution and globalization accelerate. Technology often improves the quality, quantity, and availability of goods and services, but it also displaces workers. Automation minimizes the necessity of direct human participation and often produces more uniformly high quality products less expensively than ever. Such technological advances empower consumers to bypass workers that make their living in the creation and delivery of products and services. Paradoxically, permanent technological displacement of workers economically disables displaced workers from supporting the economy as consumers. Globalization connects previously disconnected workers and consumers into the world economy. The phenomenon simultaneously expands demand for goods and services among newly engaged consumers, while flooding the labor force with impoverished workers that will accept far less compensation than the more demanding workers that they are displacing from more prosperous nations. Technology and globalization create problems and opportunities that were unimaginable in our previously unconnected world. Some people that lived under the repressive “Iron Curtain” of communism have learned to use digital technology for piracy and extortion, a problem that has spawned massive employment growth in the cybersecurity industry. Social media has enabled ordinary people to help overthrow repressive political regimes, but terrorists have also used it to attract new recruits. Global terrorism is increasing society’s need to employ public and private security personnel. Some people romanticize a fictional “simpler time” in American history, in which everyone supposedly conducted business on handshakes without lawyers. The truth is that law students study court rulings from ancient lawsuits and criminal prosecutions in their intensive training to become creative and adaptive lawyers. If that simpler time actually existed, law students would have nothing to study. Other people ignorantly blame lawyers for societal problems, such as in the popular 1994 Eagles song, *Get Over It*, which expressed a gross Shakespearean misunderstanding in the line, “The more I think about it, Old Billy was right. Let’s kill all the lawyers, kill ’em tonight.” The Eagles misunderstood Dick the Butcher’s treasonous statement of how to destabilize and overthrow the government in William Shakespeare’s *King Henry the Sixth* (Part 2, Act 4, Scene 2), in which Dick said, “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” However, the Eagles were fortunate that lawyers developed and refined the rule of law that enabled the Eagles to compose, perform, and grow wealthy from their music through recording and distribution contracts and the protections of American and international copyright and trademark laws. Society needs craftsmen lawyers to help cultivate and protect the beneficial products of technology and globalization, and counteract the darker byproducts of change. Free markets and open exchanges of ideas promote creativity and productivity among peaceful and violent cultures alike. Conversely, increased government surveillance and transportation restrictions erode civil liberty and justice while enhancing safety and security. Fortunately, craftsmen lawyers will continue helping society redefine and rebalance the rapidly evolving and frequently competing notions of civil liberty, justice, and prosperity, versus public health, safety, and security throughout the foreseeable future. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2017 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. d. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Craftsmen Lawyers, Cybercrime, Internet Security, Law and Justice, Lawyers as Stewards of Justice, Rule of Law **Tags:** Craftsmen Lawyers, Cybersecurity, Eagles, Globalization, Kill all the lawyers, rule of law, Shakespeare, Terrorism --- ### [Achieving a Better Life Experience For Disabled Hoosiers](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/achieving-a-better-life-experience-for-disabled-hoosiers/) **Published:** January 29, 2017 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Young-man-with-infantile-cerebral-palsy-using-a-touch-screen-computer-by-Belushi-Shutterstock-ID213119035.jpg "Young man with infantile cerebral palsy using a touch screen computer - by Belushi - Shutterstock ID213119035 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Young-man-with-infantile-cerebral-palsy-using-a-touch-screen-computer-by-Belushi-Shutterstock-ID213119035.jpg)\[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Many disabled children face disheartening experiences when they become adults. Public and private resources offer a variety of therapeutic services, summer recreation camps, and adaptive educational accommodations to disabled children, but many of those benefits and abruptly at adulthood. A federal tax law known as the ABLE Act of 2014 authorizes states to establish programs to encourage private funding of special accounts that may eventually soften the blow for some of these disabled new adults. The 113th Congress established Internal Revenue Code Section 529A when it enacted the “Achieving a Better Life Experience Act of 2014” or the “ABLE Act of 2014.” The legislation adapted concepts from Internal Revenue Code Section 529, which offers popular tax incentives for families to save college tuition funds known as “529 plans.” A taxpayer can establish and invest money in a 529 plan to pay certain educational expenses for any person, and the investment produces tax-free earnings much like an IRA or other tax-deferred savings plan. Unlike an IRA, however, a 529 plan to make tax-free distributions to pay qualified educational expenses. The 529 plan belongs to the person that establishes it, and the person can withdraw all of the funds at any time, for any reason, but the person must pay income taxes and a 10% penalty on the earnings portion of the nonqualified distribution. The ABLE Act authorizes the state legislatures to create administrative agencies to administer and regulate ABLE accounts. The Indiana General Assembly enacted SEA 11 in 2016 to establish Indiana’s Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Program. Indiana is assembling its ABLE Board of the Authority in 2017, which will issue regulations and contract with a financial institution to administer an ABLE endowment fund and an ABLE program account. Qualified Hoosier beneficiaries can open ABLE accounts in other states that have already established ABLE endowments, such as Ohio’s STABLE program while Indiana is organizing its program. A qualified ABLE account beneficiary must have been blind or sufficiently disabled before age 26 to qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Childhood Disability Benefits (CDB), or disabled widow’s or widower’s benefits (DWB). There can only be one ABLE account per beneficiary, and only the beneficiary, the beneficiary’s parent, the beneficiary’s legal guardian, or an agent acting under the beneficiary’s power of attorney can create the account. ABLE account distributions can be used to pay “qualified disability expenses,” which may include expenses for education, housing, transportation, employment training and support, assistive technology and personal support services, health, prevention and wellness, financial management and administrative services, legal fees, oversight and monitoring, funeral and burial, and other expenses that the IRS may approve in the future. ABLE accounts offer important advantages that supplement public assistance benefits. One of most exciting advantages is that qualified disability expenses can include in-kind support and maintenance payments that would ordinarily diminish the beneficiary’s SSI benefits. Thus, a beneficiary can use ABLE funds to pay expenses that would otherwise consume SSI benefits, and the beneficiary can use the SSI benefits to pay for things that the beneficiary would not otherwise be able to afford. An ABLE account cannot receive a total value of annual contributions worth more than the federal annual gift tax exclusion value ($14,000 in 2017). If an ABLE account balance reaches $100,000, the account beneficiary’s SSI benefits will terminate. The maximum total value of contributions to the same account is the same as the limit for Indiana CollegeChoice 529 savings plans ($450,000 as of November 2016). An ABLE account is payable to the state upon the beneficiary’s death up to the total value of the state’s payment of Medicaid benefits for the beneficiary, and then any remaining balance may be payable to the contingent beneficiaries designated by the person establishing the account in the unlikely event that there is a remaining balance. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2017 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** ABLE Act, Social Security Disability, SSI **Tags:** ABLE Act, Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE), disability, SSI --- ### [Legal Professionalism – Accept No Substitute](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/legal-professionalism-accept-no-substitute/) **Published:** January 14, 2017 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Fictional-Legal-Forms-Megastore-1024x552.jpg "Fictional Legal Forms Megastore - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Fictional-Legal-Forms-Megastore.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Executive officers of unlicensed software companies LegalZoom and AVVO have infuriated lawyers in presentations at bar association meetings over the past couple of years. The presenters claimed that their technology allows them to provide unlicensed legal services to consumers faster and less expensively than consumers can obtain those services from lawyers. Those claims may be true with respect to complacent lawyers that have neglected their professional responsibilities, but software companies cannot compete with craftsmen lawyers. The world marketplace increasingly demands fast, inexpensive, and disposable products. Fast and cheap products are great if they are simple, indistinguishable commodities. Let’s face it, most of us cannot taste the difference between competing brands of skim milk, so it why should we pay more for one skim milk product than another. Professional services require practitioners to exercise “professional discretion” in the performance of their craft. Professional discretion distinguishes professional services from commodities, because professional service practitioners must develop sufficient knowledge and experience to know whether, when, why, and how to provide services in various circumstances. Consider, for example, a consumer that wants to acquire a revocable trust, commonly known as a “living trust.” A software company customer could probably purchase a revocable trust form for a lower cost than the fee of an experienced estate planning lawyer. However, the customer would end up with a worthless pile of paper if the consumer’s primary estate planning objective is to protect assets from the cost of long-term care, because a revocable trust cannot achieve most long-term care asset protection objectives. Professional discretion about which estate planning tool accomplishes a particular objective in today’s rapidly changing legal environment is the valuable service that distinguishes a craftsman lawyer from an unlicensed software company that sells fast and cheap “legal” forms. The bar imposes strict ethical obligations upon lawyers to protect citizens from fraud and deception, and promote public access to justice. Lawyers must attend continuing education training to maintain their knowledge of new laws and legal procedures. Lawyers must protect client confidentiality and they are prohibited from involvement in activities that conflict with their clients’ interests. The law also requires lawyers to stand by their work and compensate clients for losses caused by inadequate or defective legal services. Customers that buy products from an unlicensed software company like have no way of knowing whether there inexpensive purchases are appropriate or effective. The software company is happy to sell whatever form the customer may order, but the company cannot monitor changing laws and economic conditions sufficiently to tell the customer that the customer really needs an entirely different document or service. Unlike lawyers that must guarantee their work, these unlicensed software companies load the “Terms of Use” pages of their websites with warranty disclaimers to protect them from all possible liability for harm caused by their inadequate or inappropriate products. Their customers generally do not discover that their “bargain” purchases will leave them stranded until they need their inadequate or inappropriate documents to achieve objectives for which the documents were never intended. The finally customers only experience the full scope of loss when the reality of missed opportunity evaporates their false confidence in their worthless documents. People can avoid unnecessary grief when they seek legal services by engaging true legal professionals. A software company can sell almost any form, but only a reputable, duly licensed lawyer can determine which legal services best satisfy a client’s objectives. No software company can match a lawyer’s professionalism and professional discretion. When it comes to legal services, there is no substitute for a lawyer. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2017 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Attorney-Client Privilege, Conflict of Interest, Craftsmen Lawyers, Lawyers as Stewards of Justice **Tags:** Attorney-Client Privilege, Conflict of Interest, Craftsmen Lawyers, LegalZoom --- ### [Ask Good Questions of Yourself and Your Lawyer](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/ask-good-questions-of-yourself-and-your-lawyer/) **Published:** February 26, 2017 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Photo-of-a-successful-lawyer-showing-a-new-contract-to-his-clients-By-Roman-Samborskyi-Shutterstock-ID-556761166.jpg "Photo of a successful lawyer showing a new contract to his clients, By Roman Samborskyi, Shutterstock ID 556761166 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Photo-of-a-successful-lawyer-showing-a-new-contract-to-his-clients-By-Roman-Samborskyi-Shutterstock-ID-556761166.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] When a timid client says, “this is a dumb question, but…,” we usually respond that the only “dumb” question is a question that the client fails to ask. Experienced lawyers know how to draw most important information from timid and unprepared clients, but the most satisfied clients make lists of questions before meeting with their lawyers. A savvy client’s preparation for an initial conference with a lawyer begins with self-assessment. First, the client makes written the story of the client’s situation to answer these questions: - What happened? - When did those things happen? - Who is involved? - What is the status of the situation? - What may happen in the future? - How does the client want the story to end? Next, the client should write questions about what the client believes or has heard like: - I can give $xx,xxx per year to my kids, right? (By the way, expect about a 10-minute answer to this seemingly simple question.) - Do I have to pay taxes if someone pays me with cash to do a job? (By the way, the answer here is always Yes! This is what took down Al Capone!) Other important questions may concern these details about the attorney-client relationship: - How does the lawyer charge fees for the services that I seek? - Regarding payments, can I pay by credit card and will I need to pay anything upfront? - What training and experience does the lawyer have about the subject? - How will the lawyer deal with fees and expenses if our relationship ends prematurely? - What legal deadlines may affect my objectives? - What information and documents does the lawyer need from me? - What alternative solutions can the lawyer provide for my issues? - What are the potential benefits and limitations of the various solutions? - What costs should the client expect for each solution? - Could a particular solution trigger consequences like taxes, fines, penalties, assessments, government benefits disqualification, or retaliation by someone? - How will the lawyer protect my privacy? - Will there be any public disclosure of the subject matter, such as a routine report of some aspect of the matter in a local newspaper? - How should I respond if someone asks me about the subject matter? - What should I do if an emergency arises in the case after the lawyer’s business hours? - What is the best way for me to communicate with the law firm? - Will the lawyer communicate directly with me or through the lawyer’s staff? - How often will the lawyer give me status updates? - What can I do to help the lawyer finish the work quickly and cost-effectively? - If something changes during the engagement, will fees and expenses change? - How will I know that the engagement has concluded? - Will the lawyer provide a written attorney-client agreement? A lawyer may not be able to answer every question without preparation, so the client should try to deliver the questions to the lawyer in advance. Then, a skillful lawyer will appreciate the well-prepared client’s questions and both people will feel confident about their relationship because the client asked good questions. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2017 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Attorney Fee, Attorney-Client Privilege, Attorney-Client Relationship, Confidentiality, Conflict of Interest, Engagement Agreement, Initial Attorney-Client Meeting, Law and Justice **Tags:** Attorney Fee, Attorney-Client Relationship, Confidentiality, Engagement Agreement, Initial Attorney-Client --- ### [Signing Documents Is a Big Deal](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/signing-documents-is-a-big-deal/) **Published:** March 12, 2017 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Last-will-and-testament-with-pen-concept-for-legal-document-By-Casper1774-Studio-Shutterstock-photo-ID-156185702.jpg "Last will and testament with pen concept for legal document, By Casper1774 Studio, Shutterstock photo ID 156185702 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Last-will-and-testament-with-pen-concept-for-legal-document-By-Casper1774-Studio-Shutterstock-photo-ID-156185702.jpg)Indiana is on the front line of a legal services technological revolution. LegalZoom is pushing a bill to allow electronic signatures of wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and other estate planning documents, while the Indiana Secretary of State driving an electronic notarization bill. Indiana State Bar Association members are working to fix serious defects in both proposals because they know that the General Assembly will pass some version of each bill this year or next year. Electronic signatures and notarizations will open many opportunities for paperless estate plans, but digital estate plans will lead many people to shortcut one of the most critical parts of the estate planning process – the signatures. A LegalZoom representative discussed estate plan signatures with Jeff Hawkins after their meeting with the legislator on the electronic signatures bill. The LegalZoom representative told how a lawyer from his former law firm met with him and his wife for a couple of hours about their estate plan, and then met with them for a couple more hours when the couple signed their estate plan. LegalZoom representative, who is a high-ranking in-house lawyer of the company, thought his story was a good example of why it is not necessary for a lawyer to participate in an estate plan signing. Unfortunately, his story and comments merely demonstrated these false assumptions and misunderstandings that he and his employer seem to share about the estate planning process: 1. document assembly programmers are aware of all estate plan alternatives; 2. document assembly programmers understand all existing and emerging legal issues and practical, real-world challenges concerning all of the various estate plan alternatives; 3. document assembly programmers’ questionnaire designs capture all important information about a customer’s specific estate plan needs and desires; 4. the customer is aware of all of the estate plan alternatives; 5. the customer understands all existing and emerging legal issues and practical, real-world challenges concerning all of the various estate plan alternatives; 6. the customer understands the questionnaire; 7. the customer answers the questionnaire correctly; 8. the computer-generated estate plan documents solve all of the customer’s existing and emerging legal issues and practical challenges; 9. the customer will understand all parts of the computer-generated estate plan documents and their legal consequences; 10. the customer will want or need to ask questions of the document assembly programmer about why a particular sentence or paragraph appears in an estate plan document; and 11. the customer’s feelings about the estate plan would not change if a lawyer would meet with the customer and explain every paragraph of each document. Most ordinary people understand just enough about laws, estate planning alternatives, and estate planning practicalities to be dangerous. In fact, the Indiana Supreme Court disciplined a lawyer in 2009 for failing to explain an estate plan to a client because the lawyer sent his paralegal to supervise a client’s signature of a will instead supervising that event personally. A skillful estate planning lawyer fills these important roles in the estate planning process: 1. probing a client’s thoughts and feelings with questions to discover the client’s concerns and desires; 2. educating the client about laws, estate planning alternatives, and practical reasons for the various estate planning alternatives; 3. exercising professional judgment to choose appropriate estate plan provisions; 4. explaining each estate plan document with real-world examples of how the document may affect the client or the client’s family; 5. answering the client’s follow-up questions about the estate plan documents; 6. revising the estate plan when the lawyer’s explanation causes the client to rethink the client’s estate plan feelings and priorities; and 7. ensuring that the client is mentally competent enough and free from improper influence by other people to make estate plan decisions rationally and independently. A lawyer’s involvement in the estate plan signing process is a big deal because it is the last crucial step in the transformation of a stack of documents into a personalized statement of the client’s individual estate planning intentions. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2017 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Electronic Estate Plan Signatures, Estate Planning, Last Will and Testament, Power of Attorney, Trust **Tags:** Electronic Estate Plan Signatures, estate plan attorney, last will and testament, power of attorney, trusts --- ### [Hoosier Hospitals Should Stop Asking Patients about Living Wills](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/hoosier-hospitals-should-stop-asking-patients-about-living-wills/) **Published:** March 19, 2017 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Writing-on-clipboard-with-patient-in-background-in-hospital-By-ESB-Professional-Shutterstock-ID-141478693.jpg "Writing on clipboard with patient in background in hospital By ESB Professional Shutterstock ID 141478693 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Writing-on-clipboard-with-patient-in-background-in-hospital-By-ESB-Professional-Shutterstock-ID-141478693.jpg) Employees of many Hoosier hospitals ask patients the same question during the admission process every day, “Do you have a living will?” This may surprise people, but a patient’s answer to that question does not matter because when a living will arrives at the hospital, it is “dead on arrival.” This article explains why Indiana’s living will declaration form is a failed social experiment and suggests the more appropriate questions that hospitals should ask incoming patients and patients’ families. The idea of a living will emerged in the late 1960s from controversies about whether to end life support for terminally ill patients. National news headlines about end-of-life court battles over unconscious patients like the 1975 Karen Ann Quinlan litigation in New Jersey pushed lawmakers to allow people to decide ahead of time what should happen in end-of-life situations. According to Charles P. Sabatino’s article, [*The Evolution of Health Care Advance Planning Law and Policy*](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2980344/), 41 states had passed living will statutes by the end of 1986. The living will concept was supposed to allow a person to sign a living will as an advance instruction to health care providers about whether to try to keep the person alive in an unavoidable end-of-life situation. Although the definition of end-of-life varied slightly from one state to another, the laws generally described it as: (1) the patient has an incurable injury or illness, (2) the patient is going to die soon, and (3) lifesaving procedures will merely slow down the dying process. The Indiana living will statutes include the actual form of living will, with signature lines appearing in the statute for the individual and witnesses to the individual’s signature. The living will’s weakness appears at the beginning of the living will documents second paragraph, which says (with our emphasis added): If at any time ***my attending physician certifies in writing*** that: (1) I have an incurable injury, disease, or illness; (2) my death will occur within a short time; and (3) the use of life prolonging procedures would serve only to artificially prolong the dying process, I direct that such procedures be withheld or withdrawn, and that I be permitted to die naturally with only the performance or provision of any medical procedure or medication necessary to provide me with comfort care or to alleviate pain, and,… More than a quarter century after Indiana’s living will enactment, mounting evidence has revealed that doctors rarely, if ever, sign the kind of written certification that the living will law requires before the living will can do its job. In fact, is possible that no currently practicing Indiana doctor has ever signed such a certification. If Hoosier doctors do not certify in writing that their patients fit the living will requirements, the patients’ living wills are worthless documents awaiting written certifications that will never arrive. If that is true, then the patients’ living wills have given them and their families false confidence about the reliability of their end-of-life decisions. We suggest that hospitals stop asking whether patients have living wills, and begin asking more meaningful questions about health care powers of attorney, appointments of health care representatives, and Physician’s Orders for Scope of Treatment (POST). Patients can make health care powers of attorney and appointments of health care representatives to appoint health care decision makers for them before medical crises arise. Chronically ill and terminally ill patients can coordinate with their doctors to establish POST forms that specify the same kinds of things that living wills are supposed to accomplish, but with the doctor signing the POST forms in advance. For more information about health care powers of attorney, appointments of health care representatives, and POST forms, see these previous articles on our blog site: [Non-Traditional Households Require Special Planning](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/non-traditional-households-require-special-planning/) [Too Young to Plan? Think Again!](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/too-young-to-plan-think-again/) [Indiana’s New and Improved POST Form](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/indianas-new-and-improved-post-form/) [Plans for Final Illness, Death, and Human Remains Disposition](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/plans-for-final-illness-death-and-human-remains-disposition/) [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2017 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. [![Share on Facebook](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/plugins/simple-share-buttons-adder/buttons/somacro/facebook.png "Facebook")](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/signing-documents-is-a-big-deal/)[![Tweet about this on Twitter](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/plugins/simple-share-buttons-adder/buttons/somacro/twitter.png "Twitter")](http://twitter.com/share?url=http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/signing-documents-is-a-big-deal/&text=Signing+Documents+Is+a+Big+Deal+)[![Share on Google+](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/plugins/simple-share-buttons-adder/buttons/somacro/google.png "Google+")](https://plus.google.com/share?url=http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/signing-documents-is-a-big-deal/)[![Share on LinkedIn](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/plugins/simple-share-buttons-adder/buttons/somacro/linkedin.png "LinkedIn")](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/signing-documents-is-a-big-deal/) ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Advance Directives, End of Life Decisions, Healthcare Representative, Life Prolonging Procedures, Living Will Declaration, POST, Power of Attorney **Tags:** Appointment of Health Care Representative, Health Care Power of Attorney, healthcare decisions, Living Will Declaration, post, power of attorney --- ### [Estate Planning Is More Than Forms](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/estate-planning-is-more-than-forms/) **Published:** April 2, 2017 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Fountain-pen-and-pocket-watch-on-a-last-will-and-testament-by-William-Potter-Shutterstock-ID-434570134.jpg "Fountain pen and pocket watch on a last will and testament, by William Potter, Shutterstock ID 434570134 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Fountain-pen-and-pocket-watch-on-a-last-will-and-testament-by-William-Potter-Shutterstock-ID-434570134.jpg)\[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Several years ago, our daughter’s kindergarten teacher shared with us a simplistic job description that our daughter gave to the class about her lawyer parents. When asked what her parents did for a living, our daughter said, “They type and click.” Many people have a similarly simplistic understanding of estate plan “forms” and the process of signing them. We are focusing this article on the similarly misunderstood concept of the documents that a lawyer uses to build a client’s estate plan. As we wrote in our blog article, [Craftsmen Lawyers for the Emerging Global Community](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/craftsmen-lawyers-for-the-emerging-global-community/), law practice is an ancient art form handed down from one generation of lawyers to the next over thousands of years. Each generation of lawyers builds on the preceding generations’ foundations of law and language that have survived many challenges. An experienced lawyer can serve a client more effectively by recycling and updating old document templates than by re-creating the wheel with original language for each client. Trust and estate lawyers follow this time-honored practice because most of the law and language of estates and trusts is extremely old, and it is too easy to leave important details out of estate plan documents created from scratch. Lawyers wrote estate plan documents by hand with pen and ink for thousands of years. Commercial printers help lawyers speed up the drafting process by producing pre-printed document templates (often referred to as forms) that contained areas that lawyers could complete with language customized for each case. Word processors improved the estate planning even more than the old preprinted forms because lawyers could customize their old templates’ preprinted language instead of crossing out words or added language in the margins or on addenda to override inappropriate preprinted language. Much of the public misunderstanding about legal forms developed when publishing companies made forms available to the public. The publishers tried to offer guidelines to help people prepare their own legal documents, but the guidelines always fell short of addressing the infinite number of existing and emerging legal issues that people face. Lawyers add value to their document templates by applying their doctoral level training in legal analysis and writing to adapt their documents to changing laws and circumstances. An experienced trust estate lawyer constantly edits and refines the lawyer’s document templates as the lawyer encounters new situations that require creative solutions. Thus, you could expect an experienced trust and estate lawyer to say that the lawyer’s best estate plan document is the next document that the lawyer will write. A client once asked a lawyer whether a shoddy last will and testament that the client purchased on the Internet would be effective. As a lawyer trying to describe the will’s defects, the client interrupted the lawyer and insisted that the will was a “legal document.” The lawyer responded, “If you tell a clothing store salesperson that you want ‘clothes’ without regard for color, style, or size, the salesperson will sell clothes to you, but you may not want to be caught dead wearing those clothes. Likewise, this document would be a ‘legal document’ if you would sign it, but you would not want to be caught dead with it as your last will and testament.” We explained in our blog article, [Signing Documents Is a Big Deal](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/signing-documents-is-a-big-deal/), that the Indiana rules of professional conduct require that a lawyer to participate in the estate plan document signing process because the client often gives the lawyer important new information during the lawyer’s document explanation. Word processors allow an experienced trust and estate lawyer to refine documents right up to the moment of a client’s signing of the documents so that the documents will fit the client like a tailored suit. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/) and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); a member of the [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/find-a-lawyer/online-directory) and the [Indiana Association of Mediators](http://www.mediation-indiana.org/find_a_mediator.html); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2017 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Craftsmen Lawyers, Estate Planning, Last Will and Testament, Trust **Tags:** Craftsmen Lawyers, Estate plan forms, estate planning, last will and testament, trust --- ### [Expect Good Lawyer’s Questions](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/expect-good-lawyers-questions/) **Published:** February 26, 2017 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Consultation-By-Lisa-S.-Shutterstock-ID-77997841.jpg "Consultation, By Lisa S., Shutterstock ID 77997841 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Consultation-By-Lisa-S.-Shutterstock-ID-77997841.jpg)\[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] The narrator of the 1948 detective movie, *Naked City*, gave this vivid description of the homicide detective’s painstaking investigative method: “An investigation for murder is under way now in the city of New York. It will advance methodically, by trial and error, by leg and brain work, by asking a thousand questions to get one answer. Ever look for a needle in a dark house? You can find it — if you’re patient enough. Just get down on your knees, examine every inch of every floor of every room — and you’ll find it.” A client and lawyer usually spend most of their initial meeting exchanging detailed information. When a well prepared client meets a skillful lawyer, the client and lawyer work together very productively and finish the initial meeting with clear expectations of possible outcomes and their responsibilities to each other. We are spotlighting the importance of asking good questions about legal services in this article and our next article. This week, we are focusing on questions that a client should expect from a lawyer in an initial meeting. The best lawyers ask many questions in an initial meeting, with the types of questions varying with the client’s needs in each kind of case or project. These are some sample questions: - Who, if anyone, might oppose or disagree with what the client’s objectives? - Who is the client? Is it the person that is meeting with the lawyer, another person, or are multiple people seeking the lawyer’s advice or representation? - What happened or failed to happen that made the client want to contact the lawyer? - When did the client first know about that event or circumstance? - What does the client want to know about the subject of the initial meeting? - What is each bad thing for which the client seeks the lawyer’s help to avoid? - What is each good thing for which the client seeks the lawyer’s help to achieve? - Who was present at the time or aware of the event or circumstance? - What has the client done about the matter before meeting with the lawyer? - Has the client discussed the matter with another lawyer? If so, what happened in that discussion? - What documents or records can the client provide to the lawyer about the matter? - What documents or records may exist about the matter that the client does not possess? - Who else knows things, or possess documents or records about the matter? - Who might know something about the matter that the client does not know, and what might that person know? - What embarrassing or potentially incriminating information about the client, the client’s family, or anyone else involved in the matter does the client not want anyone to know? - What embarrassing or potentially incriminating information does the client know about any other person involved in the matter? - If other lawyers are involved, what are the lawyers’ names and contact information, and what have the other lawyers done? - How does the client expect to pay the lawyer’s fees and expenses in the matter? - If the lawyer cannot give a firm estimate of fees and expenses initially, what are the client’s budget limits for the representation? - With whom may the lawyer discuss the matter and how may the lawyer contact them? - With whom does the client not want the lawyer to discuss the matter and what is their contact information? - Of what important dates or deadlines should the lawyer be aware? - What are the best times and ways for the lawyer to contact the client? - When will the client be unavailable for meetings or phone conversations? Our next article will describe how to ask good questions in an initial meeting with a lawyer. [Jeff R. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) and [Jennifer J. Hawkins](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/) Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and active members of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/search/) and [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.naela.org/Public/Find_a_Lawyer/Find_Lawyer.aspx). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch), a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/), the [American Bar Foundation](http://www.americanbarfoundation.org/fellows/index.html), and the [Indiana Bar Foundation](http://inbf.org/Portals/0/Fellows%20Membership%20Roll%203_21_16.pdf); and he was the 2014-15 President of the [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins). Find more information about these and other topics at [www.HawkinsLaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/), add us to your [Google+](http://google.com/+HawkinsLawPCSullivan) circles, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), follow us on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2017 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Attorney Fee, Attorney-Client Relationship, Confidentiality, Engagement Agreement, Initial Attorney-Client Meeting, Law and Justice, Privacy **Tags:** Attorney Fee, Attorney-Client Relationship, Confidentiality, Engagement Agreement, Initial Attorney-Client Meeting, Privacy --- ### [Estate Planning for Family Unity](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/estate-planning-for-family-unity/) **Published:** October 6, 2014 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Family Unity?](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/shutterstock_228910624-300x200.jpg "Sibling rivalry - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/shutterstock_228910624.jpg)Family Unity? \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Most people have experienced conflict or heard of families that have split after the death of an older family member. Conflicts are a natural part of life, but not all conflicts have to happen. This article describes some things that people can do to maintain family unity after the person dies or becomes disabled. Unless a family is completely divided, most children and grandchildren feel some bond to each other during an ancestor’s lifetime. It is almost as if the older person provides glue to bind the family together. As long as that person remains alive, younger generations within the family may behave well toward each other for no other reason than to honor the older person. After the matriarch or patriarch dies, however, the family glue often dissolves and relationships fall apart. Action by the older person to avoid future family meltdowns can be effective. One source of conflict within families is the decision of what to do about an ailing older family member’s health. The decision of whether and how to treat an older family member’s declining health can be stressful and can strain family relationships. The older person can relieve those burdens by speaking plainly about his or her wishes before a crisis strikes. We encourage people to think specifically about the quality of life they would want to live, the things they would want to be able to do, and under what circumstances the person would not want to receive emergency care and hospital treatment. These decisions are deeply personal and each person must decide things for himself or herself and should communicate them very specifically to as many members of the family as possible or appropriate. A person’s quality of life notion may focus on such things as the ability to recognize family members; to feed himself or herself; or the ability to speak and communicate with others. What to do with a person’s assets can also divide family members. In some families, family heirlooms and memorabilia can trigger very passionate feelings. A properly designed estate plan can resolve some of that tension by either specifying who should receive each item or providing a process that gives each family member some say in how the distribution occurs. For instance, if a person must move into assisted living or nursing home care without bringing personal belongings from home, he or she may minimizing future conflict by directing the family how to sell the residence and dispose of his or her person’s personal belongings instead of leaving the family to solve those problems later. It may seem strange for family members to divide a person’s personal belongings before the person’s death, but the person’s glue-like effects on the family can help the family liquidate and distribute real estate and personal belongings more peacefully than if the family waits until their ancestor’s death. Find more information about mediation, estate and business planning, wills, trusts, and Medicaid issues for nursing home residents on this website, like our [Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC "Hawkins Law PC Facebook Page"), or follow Jeff R. Hawkins on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC "Jeff R. Hawkins on Twitter") for the latest information. Jeff R. Hawkins and Jennifer J. Hawkins are Trust & Estate Specialty Board Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/default.asp "American College of Trust and Estate Counsel") and the 2014-15 [Indiana State Bar Association](https://inbar.site-ym.com/ "Indiana State Bar Association ") President . © Copyright 2014 Hawkins Law PC. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Advance Directives, Deed, Elder Law, Emergency care, Estate, Estate Planning, Home healthcare, Life Prolonging Procedures, Long-term care, Mediation, Nursing home, Quality of life **Tags:** alive, and sister, assisted living, behave, bond, children, circumstances, communicate specifically, conflict, crisis strikes, death, declining health, deeply personal, disabled, divided, Ealing, emergency care, estate plan, experience, family glue, family heirlooms, family meltdowns, family members health, family relationships, family together, family unity, future conflict, glue, grandchildren, honor, hospital treatment, lifetime, maintain, matriarch, memorabilia, natural part of life, nursing home, older family member, older person, passionate feelings, patriarch, personal belongings, process, properly designed, reason, residence, speaking plainly, specifying, split, strain, stressful, wishes, younger generations --- ### [Estate Planning Issues for Remarried People](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/estate-planning-issues-for-remarried-people/) **Published:** October 6, 2014 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Marriage](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Marriage.jpg "Marriage - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Marriage.jpg)Marriage \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Divorce and remarriage causes many estate plan complications. This article describes asset problems that some remarried couples encounter and suggests ways to avoid or reduce the hardships of those problems. A remarried person’s spouse and children may differ about who should receive the person’s assets when he or she dies. One solution is for the couple to decide the estate plan outcome that each person wants and make a estate plan that accomplishes the same outcome will result regardless of which spouse dies first. The couple can then soften the effects of that decision on their families by explaining to their adult children what will happen and why they made those choices. Although no one enjoys tension and stress in the family, it is may be better to have that kind of difficult conversation when a couple is younger than for a surviving spouse to have to break the news to stepchildren after their parent has died. Another problem in second marriages happens sometimes when one spouse owns real estate and the other spouse does not own the real estate. If the real estate owner dies first, the real estate ownership will pass through the deceased spouse’s estate, which may cause the surviving spouse and the deceased real estate owner’s children to share real estate ownership. Also, if the real estate owner has mortgaged the real estate to a bank, the bank will not speak with the surviving spouse upon the death of the real estate owner, even if the real estate owner has transferred partial ownership to the other spouse. The couple can avoid this problem by causing both to be real estate owners and mortgage loan borrowers. Good reasons may lead only one person to own the real estate, but that may cause trouble for the other spouse if he or she is the surviving spouse. When a couple lives together and shares mortgage payments and other real estate costs, it makes more sense for the couple to share ownership and ownership burdens. Shared ownership and ownership burdens can be equal or whatever makes sense for the couple. Remarried couples should consider decision-making issues carefully. Some couples can make business decisions for each other reliably, but a spouse can undermine the other spouse’s estate plan with a power of attorney. Also, if tension exists within the couple’s families, it is important for a power of attorney to eliminate situations where conflict and distrust arise. Health decisions can be even tougher than business decisions. The authority to provide or withhold life support for a dying person can be an emotionally volatile matter. Each person should decide the roles of the spouse and other family members in health care decisions and then to communicate those roles to everyone involved. Ideally, if everyone understands who will be making decisions and how those decisions will be made, the shared information will eliminate surprises and reduce the chances of a health decision authority crisis. All of these matters require careful thought, prayer, and experience. An experienced estate plan attorney can help guide you through the decisions and prepare documents creatively to create a custom-fit plan for your particular circumstances. Find more information about mediation, estate and business planning, wills, trusts, and Medicaid issues for nursing home residents on this website, like our [Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC "Hawkins Law PC Facebook Page"), or follow Jeff R. Hawkins on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC "Jeff R. Hawkins on Twitter") for the latest information. Jeff R. Hawkins and Jennifer J. Hawkins are Trust & Estate Specialty Board Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/default.asp "American College of Trust and Estate Counsel") and the 2014-15 [Indiana State Bar Association](https://inbar.site-ym.com/ "Indiana State Bar Association ") President . © Copyright 2014 Hawkins Law PC. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Advance Directives, Deed, Elder Law, Estate, Estate Planning, Joint Bank Account, Postnuptial Agreement, Power of Attorney, Premarital Agreement, Prenuptial Agreement, Remarriage, Surviving spouse **Tags:** accomplishes, adult children, and outcome, asset problems, assets, authority crisis, bank, borrowers, business decisions, careful, children, choices, circumstances, communicate, complications, conflict, custom-fit, decision authority, decision-making, difficult conversation, distrust, Divorce, dyes, eliminate, eliminate surprises, emotionally, equal, estate, estate plan, estate plan attorney, experience, explaining, hardships, health decision, healthcare decisions, life support, mortgage, mortgage payments, ownership, ownership burdens, partial ownership, power of attorney, prayer, real estate, received, remarriage, remarried couples, roles, second marriages, share information, shared ownership, spouse, stepchildren, stress, surviving spouse, tension, transfer, undermine, volatile, wants, younger --- ### [Estate Planning: Avoiding Confusion](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/estate-planning-avoiding-confusion/) **Published:** November 18, 2014 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Funeral and Estate Planning](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Funeral-Will-300x187.jpg "Funeral Plan & Will - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Funeral-Will.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Many people who think of “probate” or an “estate” think of heirs arguing over a deceased person’s wealth. Thankfully, most estates are not contested and they lack Hollywood-style drama. Estate disputes usually involve unclearly worded wills or inconsistent statements about estate plan intentions from the deceased person to family and friends during his or her life. Usually, a good estate plan eliminates ambiguity and confusion. Bank accounts cause tremendous headaches because people deal with them without thinking about consequences and without discussing them with an estate planning lawyer. Common problems with bank accounts include the following: ● adding some, but not all, beneficiaries to the account, and ● adding someone to an account to be able to sign checks. The problem with putting someone’s name on a bank account is that state law treats the name on an account as an important indication of ownership. Generally speaking, Indiana law provides that each person shown on an account is a “party” with full right to withdraw all of the funds and receive ownership of the funds when another party dies. In Illinois, if the account owner does not clearly indicate why other people are added to an account, lawsuits can arise to argue whether the original owner intended the other people to receive the funds after the owner’s death or merely be people who were supposed to help the owner take care of the account during the owner’s life. If a person’s will or trust leaves assets to several beneficiaries, but his or her accounts name beneficiaries inconsistently with the will or trust, the inconsistencies can leave an estate plan underfunded. An underfunded will or trust can make it impossible for a person’s executor or trustee to pay bills and finish the business of the person’s estate administration. This kind of confusion can cause painful hardship and disagreements that can divide families tragically. A well-organized plan that provides clear and consistent direction with relatively simple and inexpensive legal work prepared by an estate plan attorney. Estate planning lawyers use several tools for assets transfers after the client’s death. The best known tool is a last will and testament. Other tools include trusts and asset ownership systems with “POD” (pay on death) or “TOD” (transfer on death) beneficiary designations. The key to a good plan is to use the right tool to help manage a client’s assets in ways that accomplish the client’s goals. The client’s job is to make goals and the lawyer’s job is to plan to help the client achieve the goals through the estate plan. Find more information about mediation, estate and business planning, wills, trusts, and Medicaid issues for nursing home residents on this website, like our [Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC "Hawkins Law PC Facebook Page"), or follow Jeff R. Hawkins on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC "Jeff R. Hawkins on Twitter") for the latest information. Jeff R. Hawkins and Jennifer J. Hawkins are Trust & Estate Specialty Board Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/default.asp "American College of Trust and Estate Counsel") and the 2014-15 [Indiana State Bar Association](https://inbar.site-ym.com/ "Indiana State Bar Association ") President . © Copyright 2014 Hawkins Law PC. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Beneficiary Designation, Contested Estate, Deed, Estate Planning, Executor, Fiduciary, Joint Bank Account, Last Will and Testament, Nonprobate transfers, Notice of administration, Personal representative, Petition, POD, Power of Attorney, Probate court, TOD, Trust, Trustee, Trusts and Estates, Undue influence, Will contest **Tags:** account owner, achieve, ambiguity, asset ownership systems, asset transfers, bank accounts, beneficiaries, beneficiary designations, bills, business, checks, clear, common problems, confusion, consistent, deceased, direction, disagreements, disputes, divide, drama, estate, estate administration, estate plan, estate plan attorney, estate planning lawyer, estate planning lawyers, Estates, executor, families, funds, goals, hardship, headaches, Hollywood, Illinois, inconsistent, inexpensive, intentions, job, last will and testament, lawsuit, legal work, life, original owner, owner's death, ownership, party, pay on death, POD, Probate, received, simple, statements, TOD, tools, tragically, transfer on death, trust, trustee, underfunded, wealth, well-organized plan, will, wills, withdraw --- ### [Indiana Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/indiana-physician-orders-for-scope-of-treatment/) **Published:** December 6, 2014 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Indiana Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Capture-300x206.jpg "Indiana Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Capture.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] What scares you most about growing old and dying? Everyone may answer the question differently, but a common theme we find among clients is the fear of being so disabled at the end of life that a person cannot participate in his or her final healthcare choices. Most solutions to this problem fell short on some level (such as living wills, appointments of healthcare representative, health care powers of attorney, and do not resuscitate orders). No single solution prevents that nightmare from becoming a reality, but some Indiana patients have a relatively effective new solution. That solution is the [Indiana Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment](http://www.in.gov/isdh/25880.htm "Indiana Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment"), known by its acronym “POST.” Living wills have disappointed doctors and lawyers over the last 20 years because healthcare providers almost never fulfill the statutory requirement of a physician’s written certification that a patient has (1) an incurable injury disease or illness, (2) death will occur in a short time, and (3) life-prolonging procedures were merely artificially prolonging the dying process. The lack of that written physician’s certification makes a living will a worthless piece of paper in the hospital records. Appointments of healthcare representatives and health care powers of attorney offer wonderful solutions to empower trusted family members and friends to make healthcare decisions. Unfortunately, some people do not have family members or friends they can trust to make critical end-of-life healthcare decisions. Do not resuscitate orders are great tools for terminally ill patients, but they operate like a light switch – they tend to direct healthcare providers to either resuscitate a patient or withhold care altogether. There is no room for a custom-designed care plan for a terminally ill patient under a do not resuscitate order. A POST document allows a chronically ill or terminally ill patient and the doctor to make a customized care plan for end-of-life decisions. The POST statute provides predefined terms that doctors can use in the form to describe various kinds of pain management and comfort care that modern medicine has made possible. Patients that have appointed healthcare representatives with an appointment healthcare representative or a healthcare power of attorney should avoid completing the section of the back side of the form that mentions healthcare representatives because a patient can accidentally terminate his or her previous appointment of healthcare representative and thereby prevent an intended healthcare representative from helping with healthcare decisions other than end-of-life choices. The POST form and information about advance care directives appear on the [Indiana State Department of Health website](http://www.in.gov/isdh/25880.htm "Indiana State Department of Health website") at: . Find more information about mediation, estate and business planning, wills, trusts, and Medicaid issues for nursing home residents on this website, like our [Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC "Hawkins Law PC Facebook Page"), or follow Jeff R. Hawkins on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC "Jeff R. Hawkins on Twitter") for the latest information. Jeff R. Hawkins and Jennifer J. Hawkins are Trust & Estate Specialty Board Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/default.asp "American College of Trust and Estate Counsel") and the 2014-15 [Indiana State Bar Association](https://inbar.site-ym.com/ "Indiana State Bar Association ") President . © Copyright 2014 Hawkins Law PC. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Advance Directives, Elder Law, Estate Planning, Feeding tube, Life Prolonging Procedures, Physicians Orders for Scope of Treatment, POLST, POST **Tags:** accidentally, advance care directives, and-of-life, appointed, appointments of healthcare representative, artificial, care plan, chronically ill, comfort care, customized, death, decisions, disease, DNR, do not resuscitate, doctors, dying, dying process, empower, end-of-life, family members, final, form, friends, Growing old, healthcare choices, healthcare powers of attorney, healthcare providers, hospital, illness, incurable, Indiana physician orders for scope of treatment, Indiana State Department of Health, injury, intended, life-prolonging procedures, living wills, medicine, pain management, participate, patience, physician, post, prolonging, resuscitate, statutory requirement, terminal, terminally ill, terminate, written certification --- ### [Giving Your Taxes to Charities](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/giving-your-taxes-to-charities/) **Published:** December 13, 2014 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] We think about gif![Charitable IRA](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Charitable-IRA-248x300.jpg "- Hawkins Elder Law PC")t-giving during the holidays, but many people miss opportunities to give taxable dollars to their favorite tax-exempt churches, colleges, and poverty relief organizations. An entire segment to estate planning is dedicated to the process of helping people give money to charities and take advantage of the related tax benefits. This article describes how charities and contributors can help each other out. You can deduct the value of any money that you put into a church collection plate from the taxable income for that year. For a person in the 15% tax bracket, a $100.00 gift will actually only cost him $85.00, because the remaining $15.00 will be money that he would have otherwise paid to the federal government as income tax. Therefore, he would give the charity $85.00 and the federal government would give $15.00, for a total gift of $100.00. A tax payer in the higher income tax brackets of 25%, 28%, 33%, 35%, and 39.6% get much greater participation from the federal government in their charitable giving. Not only will the government’s share of income taxes go to the charity, but the donor gets significant death tax benefits as well. High income tax bracket tax payers often accumulate wealth faster than other people and the 40% federal estate tax can take big bites out of their children’s inheritance. Fortunately, charitable gift strategies help these people preserve their wealth by giving large portions of it to charities. Preserving wealth by giving it away doesn’t sound possible does it? The fact is that this kind of strategy has been used successfully by wealthy families like the Kennedys and Rockefellers for generations. Although Bill Gates and Donald Trump can use sophisticated charitable giving strategies with greater effect than most of us, you don’t have to own a yacht or a private jet to follow their lead. One of the simplest strategies for charitable giving is to make a charity the beneficiary of your IRA. Remember, you have never paid income taxes on your IRA (unless it is a Roth IRA), so you or your family will have to pay taxes on the money sooner or later when it comes out of the IRA. However, a charity is exempt from income tax obligations and can receive the IRA completely tax-free. Someone in the 28% tax bracket would only be able to keep $72,000 on the liquidation of a $100,000 IRA, but a charity can keep the entire $100,000. Too few individuals, attorneys, and charities understand these relatively simple opportunities. Churches, community foundations, and other charitable organizations could increase their funding significantly if they understood these tools better and explained them to their supporters clearly. With some coordination and public education, many churches and other charities could increase their financial strength through this simple estate planning idea. Find more information about mediation, estate and business planning, wills, trusts, and Medicaid issues for nursing home residents on this website, like our [Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC "Hawkins Law PC Facebook Page"), or follow Jeff R. Hawkins on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC "Jeff R. Hawkins on Twitter") for the latest information. Jeff R. Hawkins and Jennifer J. Hawkins are Trust & Estate Specialty Board Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/default.asp "American College of Trust and Estate Counsel") and the 2014-15 [Indiana State Bar Association](https://inbar.site-ym.com/ "Indiana State Bar Association ") President . © Copyright 2014 Hawkins Law PC. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** 401(k), 403(b), Annuity, Beneficiary Designation, Charitable Giving, Estate Planning, Gift, IRA, Qualified annuity, Retirement Plan, Tax Planning, Tax-free Plan Distributions **Tags:** accumulate, attorneys, Bill Gates, charitable giving, charitable organizations, charities, churches, collection plate, colleges, community foundations, contributors, coordination, death tax, deduct, Donald Trump, estate and business planning, estate planning, estate tax, federal government, financial strength, gift strategies, Gift-giving, give money, holidays, individuals, inheritance, IRA, Kennedy, liquidation, mediation, Medicaid, nursing home, opportunities, organizations, poverty relief, private jet, public education, Rockefeller, Roth IRA, sophisticated, supporters, tax benefits, tax bracket, tax-exempt, tax-free, taxable dollars, taxpayer, trusts, wealthy, wills, yachts --- ### [ABLE Act Passes Congress and Awaits Presidential Signature](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/able-act-passes-congress-and-awaits-presidential-signature/) **Published:** December 17, 2014 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Congress![](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Congress.gov-Logo.png "Congress.gov Logo - Hawkins Elder Law PC") passed the [Achieving a Better Life Experience Act ](https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/647 "ABLE Act of 2014")(ABLE Act) today. The ABLE Act says that its purpose is to: (1) To encourage and assist individuals and families in saving private funds for the purpose of supporting individuals with disabilities to maintain health, independence, and quality of life. (2) To provide secure funding for disability-related expenses on behalf of designated beneficiaries with disabilities that will supplement, but not supplant, benefits provided through private insurance, the Medicaid program under title XIX of the Social Security Act, the supplemental security income program under title XVI of such Act, the beneficiary’s employment, and other sources. If the President signs the law and the states implement it like they implemented Section 529 college savings plans, people will be able to make gifts to savings plans for disabled beneficiaries and beneficiaries can receive tax-free plan distributions for ‘qualified disability expenses.’ The ABLE Act defines ‘qualified disability expenses’as “any expenses related to the eligible individual’s blindness or disability which are made for the benefit of an eligible individual who is the designated beneficiary, including the following expenses: education, housing, transportation, employment training and support, assistive technology and personal support services, health, prevention and wellness, financial management and administrative services, legal fees, expenses for oversight and monitoring, funeral and burial expenses, and other expenses, which are approved by the \[IRS\]…” The new law will make it much easier for people to provide for disabled family members within their estate plans with tax breaks that will stretch dollars for the disabled plan beneficiaries. Find more information about mediation, estate and business planning, wills, trusts, and Medicaid issues for nursing home residents on this website, like our [Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC "Hawkins Law PC Facebook Page"), or follow Jeff R. Hawkins on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC "Jeff R. Hawkins on Twitter") for the latest information. Jeff R. Hawkins and Jennifer J. Hawkins are Trust & Estate Specialty Board Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/default.asp "American College of Trust and Estate Counsel") and the 2014-15 [Indiana State Bar Association](https://inbar.site-ym.com/ "Indiana State Bar Association ") President . © Copyright 2014 Hawkins Law PC. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** 529 plan, Able Act, Assistive technology, Beneficiary Designation, Disability, Elder Law, Estate Planning, Gift, Personal support services, Qualified disability expenses, Savings Plan, Special needs trust, Tax Planning, Tax-free Plan Distributions **Tags:** ABLE Act, assistive technology and personal support services, beneficiaries, college savings plan, Congress, designated beneficiary, disability, education, employment training and support, estate plan, expenses for oversight and monitoring, financial management and administrative services, funeral and burial expenses, health, housing, legal fees, Medicaid, prevention and wellness, private insurance, qualified disability expenses, section 529, Social Security, tax break, transportation --- ### [Business Planning To Boost Yields & Hedge Against Losses](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/business-planning-to-boost-yields-hedge-against-losses/) **Published:** December 28, 2014 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Corn Rows](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Agriculture-300x242.jpg "Corn Rows - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Agriculture.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Many farmers have already planned their next crop by the time their fall harvest ends. With wildly variable grain and livestock market prices and input costs, pennies quickly add up to dollars – whether as expenses or revenue. Planning to reduce expenses and avoid losses can be as fundamental as conquering pests and weeds, or as sophisticated as implementing GPS-coordinated precision farming technology. Legal planning is one of the cost saving and loss prevention variables in a progressive farm operation or other business. Most farmers operate more tillable acres than they own. When a grain elevator issues grain checks to landowners and tenant farmers, the elevator treats both kinds of payments as costs of goods. However, the landowner and tenant do not experience the crop payment in the same way. The landowner pays income tax on the crop as rental income, but, in addition to income tax, the tenant farmer also pays Social Security contributions and Medicare insurance premiums. Unfortunately, many farms even pay those extra costs on land that they own – unnecessarily. Farmers with savvy planning advice can organize their farm operations into corporations that separate the landownership and farm operation parts of farming. The IRS still requires Social Security contributions and Medicare insurance premium payments, but only on the operating revenue. If the farm operation and land ownership are not the same, it is possible to filter the landowner’s portion of farm revenue from the farm operator’s portion and save some farm revenue from extra taxation. If the total rate of combined Social Security and Medicare payments is 15.3% of gross revenue, and if the landowner’s crop share is 1/3, a farmer with extensive farmland holdings can save significant money with a little corporate planning. This same concept applies to most other businesses, but it applies most particularly to farmers. Planning with a corporation can help farmers minimize losses in another way. Moving farm implements during planting and harvest seasons is dangerous. Entrusting those movements to seasonal workers can increase the risks if the workers are poorly trained and inexperienced. Liability insurance is always the first line of defense against financial costs and damage caused by accidents and equipment failures, but unexpectedly high claim values or hidden insurance coverage gaps can expose farm owners to asset seizure to pay uninsured liability claims. Corporate planning can help reduce personal asset exposure to farm operation liability. A corporation bears responsibility for its losses, but its shareholders usually only risk their investments in the corporation. Therefore, if a corporation suffers a loss that liability insurance cannot cover completely, the corporation may dissolve, but its shareholders may be able to keep their homes and other assets. Exceptions to the general rule exist, but corporations with sound legal planning and careful management usually avoid those frightening exceptions. The beginning of the year is a great time to reorganize any business because bookkeeping systems begin each year as a clean slate. Careful coordination among business owners, tax advisers, and attorneys can help business owners maximize tax savings and minimize potentially catastrophic losses. Find more information about mediation, estate and business planning, wills, trusts, and Medicaid issues for nursing home residents on this website, like our [Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), or follow Jeff R. Hawkins on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) for the latest information. Jeff R. Hawkins and Jennifer J. Hawkins are Trust & Estate Specialty Board Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/default.asp) and the 2014-15 [Indiana State Bar Association](https://inbar.site-ym.com/) President . © Copyright 2014 Hawkins Law PC. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Business, Estate Planning, Farm Law, Medicare, Social Security, Succession Planning, Tax Planning **Tags:** accidents, acres, asset seizure, attorneys, avoid losses, bookkeeping, business owners, businesses, catastrophic losses, coordination, corporate planning, corporations, cost of goods, cost savings, crop, crop payment, crop share, defense, dissolve, dollars, elevator, equipment failures, estate and business planning, exceptions, expenses, expose, farm implements, farm operation, farm operation liability, farm operator, farm owners, farm revenue, Farmers, GPS-coordinated, grain, grain checks, grain elevator, gross revenue, harvest, harvest season, holdings, homes, income tax, inexperienced, input costs, insurance coverage gaps, insurance premiums, investments, IRS, land ownership, landowners, legal, legal planning, liability insurance, livestock, loss prevention, management, market prices, mediation, Medicaid, Medicare, minimize losses, nursing home, operating revenue, personal asset, pests, planning, planting, precision farming, progressive, reduce expenses, rental income, reorganize, responsibility, revenue, seasonal workers, shareholders, Social Security, tax advisors, tax savings, technology, tenant farmers, tillable, trained, trusts, uninsured liability, weeds, wills --- ### [Is Estate Planning For "Dummies?"](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/is-estate-planning-for-dummies/) **Published:** January 1, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Imagine if you![Dunce2](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Dunce2-232x300.jpg "Dunce2 - Hawkins Elder Law PC") could buy a do-it-yourself book by noted computer software guide author Dan Gookin entitled*: Brain Surgery for Dummies*. How about a book entitled: *Bypass Surgery for Dummies*? Such titles seem ridiculous, but today’s self-help society encourages people to read simple books and tackle complex projects. Some projects are more complex or dangerous than the authors let on. This trend is particularly worrisome when people try to write their own wills, trusts, and powers of attorney. **Don’t Ruin-It-Yourself** Self-help aids fail because they can’t simplify and explain in simple terms the huge volumes of statutes, regulations, and court opinions issued by the United States and the State of Indiana each year. The Court of Appeals decided about 2,000 cases per year and Indiana Supreme Court actually reviewed 995 cases in 2013, many of which impacted estate planning topics such as retirement account planning, annuities, life insurance, gifts, nursing home planning, Medicaid applications, account ownership, real estate transfers, property ownership, trusts, wills, powers of attorney, healthcare decisions, POD and TOD accounts, guardianships, and property taxes. The Indiana Probate Code, which includes the rules for wills and the administration of estates of dead people, contains 275 separate statutes, with revisions, deletions, and additions every year. The Indiana Health Coverage Program Policy Manual (IHCPPM) covers 27 chapters and contains thousands of pages of details affecting eligibility for assistance to pay home healthcare and nursing home expenses, also with revisions, deletions, and additions every year. A Trust & Estate Specialty Board Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyer must log at least 12 classroom hours of expert-level training every year and submit to a recertification review every five years to remain certified. How can a computer software application organize that much information for an untrained person to make wise decisions and keep the information up-to-date as the law changes? Of course, it is impossible. **How Bad Can It Get?** The consequences of poor planning depend on the stakes. A bad plan could cause the wrong people to inherit wealth or disqualify a disabled beneficiary from critically important public assistance benefits. An incomplete plan could miss important issues such as life support and long-term care. A lawyer can fix some parts of a defective or incomplete plan in a pinch, but the cost of curing a bad plan can be more expensive than the cost of hiring a qualified lawyer to design an appropriate plan in the first place. **Don’t Let Others Ruin It Either** Some people stick their necks out further by letting other untrained people to prepare their estate plans for them. Several people have brought such plans in to our firm for examination and the plans were riddled with errors in each. The only thing worse than a non-lawyer writing his or her own plan is letting another non-lawyer prepare the plan. Few people realize that it is a crime to prepare a will, trust, or power of attorney for a fellow Hoosier unless you are a licensed Indiana attorney. Indiana Code § 33-43-2-1 makes it a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment for up to 180 days and a fine of up to $1,000. Even if a person believes falsely that she can write a will or trust for another person, she is committing a misdemeanor if she prepares such documents for anyone other than herself. A misdemeanor is a crime, whereas a traffic violation, such as illegal parking or speeding, is merely an infraction. Only severe traffic violations such as driving while intoxicated or reckless driving are serious enough to constitute crimes. **Estate Planning Is For Experts – Not “Dummies”** Consider carefully whether the benefits of planning your own estate justify the risks. An old adage says “A lawyer, who represents himself, has a fool for a client.” What does that say about a person, who prepares his own estate plan without an experienced lawyer’s expertise? [![2014 Logo](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/2014-Logo-300x150.jpg "2014 Logo - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/2014-Logo.jpg)Find more information about mediation, estate and business planning, wills, trusts, and Medicaid issues for nursing home residents on this website, like our [Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC "Hawkins law PC on Facebook"), or follow Jeff R. Hawkins on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC "Hawkins law PC on Twitter") for the latest information. Jeff R. Hawkins and Jennifer J. Hawkins are Trust & Estate Specialty Board Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/default.asp "American College of Trust and Estate Counsel website") and the 2014-15 [Indiana State Bar Association](https://inbar.site-ym.com/ "Indiana State Bar Association website") President . © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Elder Law, Estate Planning, Nursing home **Tags:** brain surgery for dummies, bypass surgery for dummies, Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyer, class B misdemeanor, Court of Appeals, court opinions, crime, Dan Gookin, dead people, disabled beneficiary, disqualify, do-it-yourself, eligibility, estate planning, Estates, expenses, expensive, experienced lawyer, fool for a client, guardianships, healthcare decisions, home healthcare, illegal, imprisonment, incomplete plan, Indiana attorney, Indiana health coverage program policy manual, Indiana probate Code, Indiana Supreme Court, infraction, inherit, intoxicated, law changes, license, life support, long-term care, Medicaid, misdemeanor, non-lawyer, nursing home, nursing home residents, poor planning, powers of attorney, property ownership, property taxes, public assistance, qualified lawyer, recertification review, reckless driving, regulations, risks, rules, self-help aids, self-help society, software application, State of Indiana, statutes, traffic violation, traffic violations, trends, Trust & Estate Specialty Board, trusts, United States, wealth, wills --- ### [How Safe Is Your Investment?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/how-safe-is-your-investment/) **Published:** January 9, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] You’ve worked[![Cash](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/IMG_20150109_132131500-300x169.jpg "IMG_20150109_132131500 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/IMG_20150109_132131500.jpg) hard all your life, lived within your means, and saved as much as you could set aside for your retirement. Your children are grown and you qualify for senior citizen’s discounts at many restaurants. A burning question for you and many retirees is how to invest your money safely in an environment of low interest rates. **What Is Safe?** Business schools teach finance students that every use of money is risky. If you save money in a bank account, you risk missing out on higher income from other investments when interest rates drop as low as they have in recent years. If you ride the stock market roller coaster, you may hit bottom like many stock market victims of the “Great Recession.” Ultimately, no investment is “safe” from all risks and a balanced investment strategy remains the correct standard for smart investment. **Limit Three Main Risks** Three major sources of risk exist in all investments: capital risk, rate of return risk, and liquidity risk. You can reduce capital risk; the risk of losing the original amount of your investment, by investing in FDIC-insured bank accounts, U.S. government bonds or other traditionally secure investments. Long-term, diversified investment planning is the best cure for return on investment risk; the risk that your investment with not earn enough income or wealth. You can limit liquidity risk; the risk that you may not be able to get your money when you need it; by keeping adequate funds in cash, checking accounts, passbook savings accounts, and money market accounts. **Investment Pyramid[![pyramid](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/pyramid.png "pyramid - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/pyramid.png)** Many people have seen the Food and Drug Administration’s food pyramid in elementary school. You know – the chart that shows the relative amount of fruits, vegetables, breads, meats, and dairy products that everyone should eat. The investment community also has a pyramid that promotes smart investment strategy. The pyramid deals mostly with capital risk. The largest portion of investment in the bottom of the pyramid should include FDIC-insured savings accounts, government savings bonds, certificates of deposit, money market funds, and government securities. The next level of the pyramid would contain medium risk with investments in excellent quality stocks and bonds issued by solid companies like, and highly rated mutual funds. Higher levels of the pyramid should contain the smallest portions of investment, including real estate (other than your home), lesser quality stocks, and aggressive mutual funds, collectibles and other extremely volatile investments. Capital risk tends to oppose liquidity risk and return on investment risk. An investment that risks capital often promises a higher interest rate or return on investment than investments that don’t risk capital as much. Those kinds of investments may offer higher interest rates and more lucrative earning potential, but high interest rates and lucrative earnings always signal the presence high risk. More information is available in a wonderful series of articles and materials published on the website of the [Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)](http://www.finra.org/Investors/index.htm). Investors should study the financial industry carefully and choose investments wisely. Remember, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably can’t be that good! Always work with experienced financial representatives, whose credentials are verifiably sound. Find more information about mediation, estate and business planning, wills, trusts, and Medicaid issues for nursing home residents at [www.hawkinselderlaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com), like our [Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), or follow Jeff R. Hawkins on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) for the latest information. Jeff R. Hawkins and Jennifer J. Hawkins are Trust & Estate Specialty Board Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/default.asp) and the 2014-15 [Indiana State Bar Association](https://inbar.site-ym.com/) President. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Deposit Insurance, Estate Planning, Retirement Plan, Savings Plan **Tags:** aggressive, capital risk, diversified investment, FDIC, FINRA, food and drug administration, government bonds, Great Recession, Interest rates, investment, investment pyramid, investment strategy, liquidity risk, money market, mutual fund, rate of return, Retirement, secure, volatile --- ### [WILL VS. TRUST - Which Do You Need?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/will-vs-trust-which-do-you-need/) **Published:** January 17, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![shutterstock_171929312](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/shutterstock_171929312-300x200.jpg "shutterstock_171929312 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/shutterstock_171929312.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Estate planning clients express surprise sometimes by our response to the question: “Do I need a will or trust?” We often respond: “Both!” Most plans should include will to ensure that assets pass to the intended beneficiaries. We always use a will in concert with a revocable trust in case some forgotten assets pop up outside the trust after a client dies. Normally, the choice is whether a plan should have a revocable trust – not whether it should include a will. You can transfer your assets to your family with a regular will, a transfer on death instrument, or a revocable trust. There are subtle, but important, differences among the alternatives. Here are some specific reasons for the revocable trust preference: 1\. Privacy: If you go to the Surrogate’s Probate Court of New York County, New York, you can go to the courthouse, look up [Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’s will](http://livingtrustnetwork.com/estate-planning-center/last-will-and-testament/wills-of-the-rich-and-famous/last-will-and-testament-of-jacqueline-kennedy-onassis.html "Copy of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’s will"), and find out exactly how her estate was distributed. Alternatively, if you go to Santa Barbara County, California, you can find the [last will and testament of Paul William Walker IV](http://trialandheirs.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/paul-walker345b0001.pdf "Probate records of the estate of Paul William Walker IV"), the deceased star of the Fast & Furious movies, but you cannot find out who received his wealth because he placed some of it in a revocable trust and designated that trust as the sole beneficiary of his last will and testament. Unless contested, revocable trusts are generally not published as public records. Wills are probated in the local probate court and anyone can examine those public records. Many courts require that their personal representatives file inventories of all of the assets with the court. Some people dislike their family business being that accessible to public view. 2\. No Estate Administration: If most of your assets are in a revocable trust when you die, you have few or no “probate assets” for the court to oversee. If the value of your probate estate is less than $50,000.00, Indiana law permits you to skip the requirement of opening an estate with the court. This can save your family the time and expense of opening an estate. The trustee of the trust can distribute your assets without seeking court approval. Additionally, no notices of your death or your estate will appear in local newspapers. However, some estates are difficult to plan to avoid estate administration perfectly. Clients should not let this goal force them into silly compromises of comfort, convenience, and common sense. You can accomplish the same result with a transfer on death instrument, but revocable trust offer more flexibility. 3\. Fewer attorney fees: As a general rule, most attorneys charge much less to administer an estate where most of the assets are held in trust. If you die owning all of your assets in your own name, which pass through your will, your family can expect to pay a greater percentage of the value of your assets in attorney fees. However, the attorney’s fee for work with assets owned jointly or in trust is often lower than the fee for assets passing through a will. Depending on the size of your estate, this can be a significant savings for your heirs. This is particularly true if you have real estate in multiple states. 4\. Disability Planning: A will only becomes effective upon your death. But a revocable trust is immediately effective. If you become disabled, a revocable trust can dictate how your assets will be managed and who will manage them. This can be resolved also with a power of attorney, but the trust works more smoothly. Recent changes in the laws affecting Medicaid make it necessary to plan extensively with both sophisticated wills and revocable trusts. Many of our clients have revocable trusts and wills that have special testamentary trust embedded in them to protect assets from long-term care costs in case they develop Alzheimer’s disease or other injuries or illnesses that require nursing home admission. Some people need to avoid revocable trusts. If you have creditors, potential adversaries, or family members that may argue about how your estate plan provides for them, the revocable trust will not protect your wealth from their claims. Moreover, some claims can be made against trusts long after your death. Probate administration provides an appropriate arena for conflict resolution. The probate code provides rules and timetables for disputes. If claimants do not file their claims in a timely fashion, their rights terminate and your estate can be settled as planned. Probate administration can offer your family more reliability than a revocable trust if trouble is brewing on your horizon. These choices require careful consideration of the alternatives. One size does not fit all and some people do not need wills or trusts. To be sure of the correct plan, speak with a reputable estate planning attorney. Find more information about mediation, estate and business planning, wills, trusts, and Medicaid issues for nursing home residents at [www.hawkinselderlaw.com](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com), like our [Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), or follow Jeff R. Hawkins on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) for the latest information. Jeff R. Hawkins and Jennifer J. Hawkins are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/category/sullivan/ "Trust & Estate Specialty Board website") practicing in Indiana, and Jeff Hawkins practices in Illinois. Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/default.asp) and the 2014-15 [Indiana State Bar Association](https://inbar.site-ym.com/) President . © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Alzheimer's, Last Will and Testament, Medicaid, Nursing home, Revocable Trust, Testamentary Trust, Trusts and Estates **Tags:** Alzheimer's, estate planning, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, last will and testament, Medicaid, nursing home, Paul William Walker IV, Privacy, Revocable trust, trusts, wills --- ### [Estate and Trust Beneficiary Expectations](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/estate-and-trust-beneficiary-expectations/) **Published:** January 26, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![shutterstock_84813421](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/shutterstock_84813421-300x200.jpg "shutterstock_84813421 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/shutterstock_84813421.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Hollywood must love the will opening “ceremony” because it has recycled the familiar scene repeatedly on the silver screen (*[Mommy Dearest](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082766/?ref_=fn_al_tt_4 "Link to IMDb webpage for the movie "Mommy Dearest""), [Brewster’s Millions](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088850/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 "Link to IMDb website for "Brewster's Millions""), [The Ultimate Gift](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0482629/?ref_=nv_sr_1 "Link to IMDb website for the "Ultimate Gift"")*, etc.). The plot usually either begins or climaxes when a lawyer announces that some unrelated person receives almost all the wealth, and the dead person’s disinherited family members sit bewildered. Most estates are much less dramatic and few estates actually include the formal ceremony that Hollywood portrays so often. So if Hollywood gets it wrong most of the time, what should a beneficiary really expect when a family member dies? Indiana law provides that if a dead person (“decedent” sounds better) owned less than $50,000 worth of assets in his or her own name up to the time of death, the heirs may inherit the assets without much ceremony and with very few legal procedures. A decedent’s estate worth more than $50,000 requires more legal procedure. Estate beneficiaries can expect that an Indiana estate’s personal representative will hold the estate assets for at least 3 months so that creditors can make claims in the estate for payment or resolution of an unresolved issue. Beneficiaries of large (more than $5.43 million in 2015) or complicated estates can expect administration well beyond the first 3 months to finalize federal estate tax return filing and tax payment or to wrap up business matters. Additionally, a dispute may extend the administration timeline indefinitely. Trust administration and administration of assets for whom the decedent named beneficiaries in the asset ownership records follow a similar pattern to estate administration. (Attorneys often refer to trust assets, IRAs, joint accounts, and Transfer on Death (“TOD”) as “non-probate” assets.) Although there is no 3-month claim period for non-assets, a creditor may open an estate, file claims against the assets in rare circumstances, and drag those assets into estate administration up to 9 months after the decedent’s death. Therefore, non-probate assets often remain unavailable to beneficiaries for at least 9 months to make sure the assets remain available to deal with potential creditors and claimants. Trustees and personal representatives keep working to organize assets and pay bills during these waiting periods. Their lawyers help sort out questions about asset ownership and distribution. Non-probate asset beneficiaries can expect this kind of administration to conclude several months faster than traditional estate administration if all the creditors are paid and beneficiaries get along with each other. Estate and Trust administration runs most smoothly when everyone communicates regularly and respectfully with each other. If people remember these ideas while they plan their estates or while they are waiting on asset administration to conclude, a decedent’s wealth administration can proceed smoothly and quickly most of the time. Find more information about mediation, estate and business planning, wills, trusts, and Medicaid issues for nursing home residents on this website, like our [Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC), or follow Jeff R. Hawkins on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC) for the latest information. Jeff R. Hawkins and Jennifer J. Hawkins are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/). Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/default.asp) and the 2014-15 [Indiana State Bar Association](https://inbar.site-ym.com/) President . © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Contested Estate, Estate, Executor, Inherit, Last Will and Testament, Nonprobate transfers, Personal representative, Probate, Trust, Trustee **Tags:** attorneys, beneficiaries, Estates, expenses, inherit, IRA, last will and testament, trusts --- ### [Untouchable Stuff (Intangible Property)](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/untouchable-stuff-intangible-property/) **Published:** February 7, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Intangible property](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Intangible-property-300x180.png "Intangible property - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Intangible-property.png) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Property can be “real property” or “personal property.” Real property (also called “real estate”) is land, including the sky above the land, the land’s surface, and everything attached permanently to it to the land, and everything located below the land’s surface. Personal property is everything else, and it can be either “tangible” (something that you can touch and feel) or “intangible” (something that you cannot touch because it has no physical presence). This article describes intangible property and what you can do to enjoy, preserve, and share it. Bank, investment, and retirement accounts are common kinds of intangible property. Financial institutions keep ownership records and allow owners to manage and spend deposited funds in many way. Your trust and estate attorney should know how your accounts can satisfy your current needs and achieve your long-term goals most effectively. If you have a computer, you probably have numerous subscriptions and accounts (more intangible property) on the Internet with usernames and passwords. You should hide usernames and passwords from cybercriminals, but your accounts are worthless if you lose your usernames or passwords. Smart folks store account information where they and their most trusted people can find it quickly. Your estate plan attorney should know where you keep your account information so that the attorney can help your trusted people to manage your accounts and other assets when you die or if you become incapacitated. Family history often dies when one generation fails to pass it to the next. Your children may seem not to care about your family history now, but they may miss that information if you never deliver it to them. You will surprise yourself with the number of rich family details that you can share if you write one or two in a notebook or on your computer every day or so. Someday, those stories will become your family’s greatest treasures. Property is useful to people in this world when they use it wisely and respectfully. No property lasts eternally, but we can increase its value to us and our community by using it wisely and sharing it generously. Jeff R. Hawkins and Jennifer J. Hawkins are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/ "Trust & Estate Specialty Board website") Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/ "American College of Trust and Estate Counsel website"). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys "Indiana Roll of Attorneys website"), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp "Illinois LAWYER SEARCH website"). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch "Indiana Find a Registered Mediator website") and the 2014-15 [President of the Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins "Jeff Hawkins' profile page on the Indiana State Bar Association website"). Find more about these and other topics on this website, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC "Hawkins Law PC Facebook page"), or follow Jeff Hawkins on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC "Jeff Hawkins' twitter page"). © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Cybercrime, Disability, Intangible property **Tags:** Cybercriminals, disability, estate plan attorney, Intangible property, Internet, Passwords, real estate, Usernames --- ### [Don't Let Observation Kill Your Medicare Coverage](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/dont-let-observation-kill-your-medicare-coverage/) **Published:** February 15, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![No Observation Status © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved.](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/No-Observation-Status-1024x512.png "No Observation Status - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/No-Observation-Status.png) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Most people over age 65 expect Medicare and Medicare supplemental insurance to pay for hospital care and the cost of physical therapy. Tragically, many patients become stranded in a no-man’s-land where no insurance pays hospital or rehabilitation bills because of poor care management by healthcare providers. Medicare pays for physical therapy and other skilled care in a rehabilitation or nursing home facility if the patient admitted to a hospital for a stay lasting at least three nights. Sometimes, however, doctors will place a patient in a hospital for “observation” without formally “admitting” the patient to the hospital for in-patient services. This observational stay does not satisfy Medicare’s admission requirement and does not trigger Medicare coverage of any of the patient’s health care costs – not even the hospital bill. Under those circumstances, if the patient’s private health insurance does not pay for the cost of care, the patient can easily end up with thousands or tens of thousands of dollars in uninsured health care expense. Medicare standards indicate that a doctor can place a patient under hospital care for observation for a short duration that should not exceed 24 – 48 hours. However, evidence (and our observation of actual cases) indicates that some doctors place patients under observational care for more than 48 hours (sometimes several days). Patients and their families should be aware of the Medicare rule and make sure that any hospitalization follows the Medicare standards. Because health care is so expensive, it is critical that the patient or the patient’s family determine the hospitalization status immediately and challenge an observational placement very vocally and persistently if they think that the status is incorrect. If a patient or the patient’s family waits too long to object to the hospitalization status, the very small time windows for objections and appeals may close and the patient may be stuck with an expensive hospital bill or nursing home bill permanently. Jeff R. Hawkins and Jennifer J. Hawkins are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/ "Trust & Estate Specialty Board Website") Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/ "American College of Trust & Estate Counsel Website"). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys "Indiana Roll of Attorneys website"), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp "Illinois Lawyer Search website"). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch "Indiana Mediator search website") and the 2014-15 [President of the Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins "Indiana State Bar Association website"). Find more about these and other topics on this website, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC "Hawkins Law PC Facebook page"), or follow Jeff Hawkins on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC "Jeff Hawkins' Twitter page"). © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Emergency care, Medicare, Nursing home **Tags:** admission, health insurance, hospital, hospitalization, Medicare, nursing home, observation, patient, physical therapy, skilled care, supplemental insurance --- ### [Sign Here – But Beware](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/sign-here-but-beware/) **Published:** February 21, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** ![Are You Sure You Want to Sign That?](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/shutterstock_249949588-300x200.jpg "Are You Sure You Want to Sign That? - Hawkins Elder Law PC") \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] We Americans are very agreeable people. We make agreements with hospitals and doctors to deliver our children and with funeral directors to bury our parents. Some simple agreements only require common knowledge. In other cases, however, seemingly simple agreements may have important, permanent consequences. It is important to know when to get help. If it occurs to you that you may need to speak with a lawyer, you probably should make that call now. If you think you can handle it yourself, think again, because you may be biting off more than you can chew. Savings of time, frustration, and hidden costs in the long run usually justify fees that lawyers charge for advice and representation. ## **Settlement Agreements** Settlement agreements save time and money in disputes between feuding neighbors, insurance companies and insurance claimants, debtors and creditors, and many other common adversaries. Settlement agreements can appear to be simple, but a small sentence buried in the document can pack a huge punch. Once you sign and deliver the agreement to the other party, you may not be able to reopen the dispute to fix problems that you misunderstood. A lawyer can help you make sure that you can live with a deal before you commit to it forever. ## **Nursing Home Admission Agreements** A nursing home may ask you to sign an admission agreement if your disabled family member cannot sign the agreement. Most nursing home admission agreements refer to the signer as the “responsible party” and require the responsible party to either pay the nursing home fees (average monthly Indiana nursing home fee was $5,733 on July 1, 2014) or make sure that someone else pays. Qualifying the resident for Medicaid may satisfy that requirement, but Medicaid qualification is not easy. An experienced elder law attorney can help you navigate the treacherous Medicaid landscape. ## **Other Issues Regarding Nursing Home Care** Local nursing homes serve our elderly neighbors skillfully and often help impoverished, unmarried residents apply for Medicaid. Unfortunately, Medicaid rules for married residents and residents with real estate or other assets are too complex and they change too often for nursing home employees keep up. A wise nursing home employee always recommends that the family hire an elder law attorney. If someone (other than an elder law attorney) says you do not need to hire a lawyer, everything else that person says is probably unreliable. Always discuss a document with the Family & Social Services Administration appearing in it with an experienced elder law attorney before signing it. Better yet, make an appointment with the elder law attorney as soon you think your loved one may need nursing home care in the future. ## **Selling A Disabled Person’s Assets** If someone has given you a power of attorney (making you the “attorney-in-fact”) or appointed you trustee or guardian, you may have the power to sell or dispose of that person’s real estate or personal property. Never commit to sell anything under those circumstances without speaking with an experienced elder law attorney because you may have obligations and opportunities that no realtor, banker, or auctioneer could possibly know. Whether to sell and how to sell it are key decisions that an elder law attorney can help you sort out before you make a binding agreement. It may be too late to solve a problem if you sign something before involving your lawyer. Jeff R. Hawkins and Jennifer J. Hawkins are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/ "Trust & Estate Specialty Board weblink") Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/ "American College of Trust & Estate Counsel weblink"). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys "Indiana Roll of Attorneys weblink"), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp "Illinois Find a Lawyer weblink"). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch "Indiana Registered Mediator Search weblink") and the 2014-15 [President of the Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins "Indiana State Bar Association weblink"). Find more about these and other topics on this website, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC "Hawkins Law PC Facebook page weblink"), or follow Jeff Hawkins on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC "Jeff Hawkins' Twitter page weblink"). © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Attorney-in-Fact, Business, Dispute Resolution, Elder Law, Guardian, Medicaid, Nursing home, Power of Attorney, Settlement agreement, Trustee **Tags:** admission agreement, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, auctioneer, elder law attorney, Family & Social Services Administration, guardian, Indiana State Bar Association, married, Mediator, Medicaid, nursing home, personal property, real estate, realtor, settlement agreement, Trust & Estate Specialty Board, trustee --- ### [Avoid Crooks' Hooks](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/dont-get-hooked-by-crooks/) **Published:** March 2, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Theft & Fraud](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/shutterstock_248995567-1024x1024.jpg "Theft & Fraud - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/shutterstock_248995567.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Swindlers and thieves have plagued the earth throughout time. Jesus was hung on a cross between two of them. They follow different paths into crime, but they all want the same thing – your money. If you don’t know the signs, they may sneak up and take it from you. This article summarizes some of the schemes in use today. Three common fraudulent strategies appear among crooks repeatedly: fear, sympathy, and confidence. Some bandits use fear by posing as government officials and threatening harsh action against you or posing as your rescuer from some imaginary threat. Some other fiends plead for help in an imaginary crisis. Confidence artists (or “con-artists” for short) lull their victims into carelessness by making themselves to appear responsible and trustworthy. Business people have been defrauded recently by a fear scheme in which the crooks send official looking notices that order the businesses to complete questionnaires and send money to comply with corporate laws. These crooks buy the names and addresses of all corporations, LLCs, and other business entities in the state and blanket the state with phony notices. Our law firm received such a notice for our own corporation and we turned the notice over to the Indiana Attorney General for investigation. Crooks also use fear by impersonating government officials, such as IRS agents, and threatening legal action unless the victims pay money over the phone with credit cards. The sympathy scheme appears as a plea for help telephone calls and email scams. In a telephone scam, a caller may drop a name of someone you know to gain your confidence and then ask you to send gas and food money to them through Walmart’s money transfer system (someone tried that scam on us in February 2015). In the email version, hackers will forge an email from one of your friends, and ask you to send money to bail them out of a jam (we see this almost every month – usually a friend supposedly stranded on vacation after losing a purse or wallet). Always verify the communication completely independently of the caller (find someone you trust to meet the person face-to-face) and never click on a link in one of those emails. The confidence scheme can resemble a Trojan horse strategy or something much more direct. Internet variations on the Trojan horse strategy include fake vendor websites that harvest your credit card information or legitimate looking forged emails from friends with hyperlinks that load computer applications on your computer or mobile device and harvest confidential personal data. Another Trojan horse strategy appears as phony mailed notice or phone call from an imposter posing as a representative of a legitimate organization such as Publishers Clearinghouse with news that you have won a cash prize, but instructing you to send personal information and pay a fee to collect the prize (see the [Publishers Clearinghouse fraud alert website](http://blog.pch.com/blog/2014/02/25/beware-of-publishers-clearing-house-scams/ "Beware of Publishers Clearing House Scams!") for more details and advice about this particular scam – PCH is trying to fight the crooks). Some crooks may cheat you more directly by posing as reputable Internet merchants through a legitimate online merchandising system like EBay or Amazon. An online seller usually receives payment before delivering goods, but an online crook may trick an inexperienced seller into shipping the goods before receiving the payment and disappear without paying for the goods. In the spring and early summer months, we often find home-improvement crooks offering to replace roofs or repair driveways at lower than normal prices with substantial down payments. Unfortunately, the swindlers often cash their advance fee checks and disappear without providing any service. The old saying that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is, still works today. If you receive a call, email, or letter seeking your personal information or money, slow down and proceed with caution. If you take the communication to your lawyer, your lawyer should be able to figure out whether the communication is fraudulent or legitimate and protect you and your money from thieves. Jeff R. Hawkins and Jennifer J. Hawkins are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/ "Trust & Estate Specialty Board Website") Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/ "American College of Trust and Estate Counsel weblink"). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys "Indiana Roll of Attorneys weblink"), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp "Illinois Lawyer Search weblink"). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch "Indiana Civil Mediator Registry weblink") and the 2014-15 [President of the Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins "President of the Indiana State Bar Association profile weblink"). Find more about these and other topics on this website, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC "Hawkins Law PC Facebook page weblink"), or follow Jeff Hawkins on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC "Jeff Hawkins Twitter webpage"). © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Business, Elder abuse, Fraud & Theft, IRS, Theft **Tags:** credit card, Fraud, hackers, home improvement, Indiana Attorney General, Internet fraud, IRS, theft --- ### [Property Boundaries Can Shift – Where are Your Property Lines?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/property-boundaries-can-shift-where-are-your-property-lines/) **Published:** March 8, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![shutterstock_118132387](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/shutterstock_118132387-607x1024.jpg "shutterstock_118132387 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/shutterstock_118132387.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] You wake up one morning to the sound of a lawn mower running just outside your window and discover that your neighbor is mowing your lawn. Should your response be: a.) thank your neighbor for this random act of kindness; b.) offer to pay your neighbor for the friendly service; c.) drive your neighbor off with a willow switch; or d.) none of the above? The answer depends on the relationship that you want to have with the neighbor. Rarely does a month pass without a telephone call to our office about a neighbor building a fence or parking a car on someone else’s property. The caller usually asks, “How can I make them stop?” Boundary line disputes can be the nastiest conflicts, second only to child custody battles. Many property owners have spent thousands of dollars haggling over a few feet or even inches of real estate. Legions of property owners have forgotten the biblical commandment: “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” Courts made rules to resolve boundary disputes more than a century ago. The science of settling boundaries in Abraham Lincoln’s day was less precise than the global positioning satellite systems that high tech surveyors use sometimes today. When Abraham Lincoln’s father carved his mark with an ax in the trees surrounding his property, nobody worried very much about the precise location of boundaries. Conflicts arose when the Lincoln neighborhood became more crowded and visible boundary landmarks differed from the written descriptions of real estate contained in deeds. The courts settled fights between neighbors with a rule commonly called “adverse possession.” Courts often follow the adverse possession rule by honoring the long-standing usage of property, regardless of what a deed says about the property ownership. For example, imagine a deed that describes a piece of property as a rectangle that is 100 feet long and 60 feet wide. Imagine that the boundary lines begin at a railroad spike driven into the center of the street, and run around the edges of the rectangle until they end back at the railroad spike. Imagine further that a neighbor built a fence on the back 10 feet and planted a garden there 10 years ago without permission from the true landowner. A court will disregard the true landowner’s deed if the judge believes that the neighbor paid property taxes and maintained the fence and garden openly where everyone could see them, without the opposing owner’s permission or interference, every day for more than a decade. It is not necessary for the neighbor to have actually paid the taxes if the judge decides that it was reasonable for the neighbor to believe that he was the taxpaying owner of the property throughout the disputed land. Boundary line lawsuits require many expensive hours of legal analysis and preparation. A piece of property is rarely worth the money that people spend fighting over it. Therefore, neighbors should spend more time and money trying to get along with each other than arguing over a piece of property. A careful landowner marks the boundary lines clearly and visibly, and discusses a boundary intrusion with an intruder as soon as an intrusion occurs. If a neighbor builds a fence, driveway, or otherwise treats your property as his or her own, you should speak with the neighbor in a friendly fashion and discuss the location of the boundaries. Some neighbors simply cannot agree. If the neighbor ignores the confrontation, you must decide whether to enrage the neighbor with a lawsuit or give up the invaded portion of your property forever. If you want to defend your property, you will need to hire a lawyer with experience in boundary disputes. If you ignore a neighbor’s intrusion long enough, ancient boundary laws may re-write the boundaries of your property and reward your inconsiderate neighbor for his intrusion. Jeff R. Hawkins and Jennifer J. Hawkins are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/ "Trust & Estate Specialty Board website") Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/ "American College of Trust and Estate Counsel website"). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys "Indiana Roll of Attorneys website"), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp "Illinois Find a Lawyer website"). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch "Indiana registered civil mediator website") and the 2014-15 [President of the Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins "Indiana State Bar Association website"). Find more about these and other topics on this website, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC "Hawkins Law PC Facebook page"), or follow Jeff Hawkins on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC "Jeff Hawkins' Twitter page"). © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Deed, Property Dispute, Uncategorized **Tags:** attorneys, conflict, real estate --- ### [Estate Plan Checkups - You Probably Need One](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/estate-plan-checkups-you-probably-need-one/) **Published:** March 15, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![shutterstock_251284423](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/shutterstock_251284423-1024x1024.jpg "shutterstock_251284423 - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/shutterstock_251284423.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Planning for death or nursing home care unnerves some people so much that they never reconsider their plans or they avoid planning altogether. Many people assume (incorrectly) that their wills or trusts need no updates. Laws and family situations change enough that 5-year-old wills and trusts can be obsolete. Everyone needs an estate plan checkup periodically. **CARRIAGES, MOTELS & LIVING TRUSTS** When Henry Ford introduced the Model T, cars drove many carriage makers out of business (pun intended). You see several dilapidated or abandoned motels along U.S. 40 between Terre Haute and Indianapolis because Interstate 70 rerouted highway traffic several miles to the south and robbed the motel operators of their guests. This same this kind of shift can make wills and revocable trusts (often called “living trusts”) worthless. **SECOND MARRIAGE** Divorce and remarriage splices 2 families into 1 family. If an attorney doesn’t set up a premarital agreement before you walk down the aisle again, your new marriage may destroy your old estate plan. The surviving spouse of a deceased parent of children by a prior marriage gets $25,000, 25% of all real estate value, and 1/3 to 1/2 of everything else, regardless of the deceased person’s will or trust. If you share bank accounts, investments, or real estate with your groom or bride, your widower or widow could take your children’s inheritance and leave them with an unpaid funeral bill. **DEATH TAX** Modestly wealthy people planned their estates to avoid death tax in 1982 because the federal estate tax credit only protected $225,000 of wealth, the top tax rate was 70%, and the top Indiana inheritance tax exemption was only $10,000. The estate tax credit exemption rose to $625,000 in 1998, the top tax rate fell to 50%, and the top Indiana inheritance tax exemption rose to $100,000 in 1997. Today, the estate tax credit protects up to $5,430,000, the top estate tax rate has dropped to 40%, and the Indiana legislature repealed the Indiana inheritance tax in 2013. If your estate plan dealt with death taxes in the 1980s or 1990s, the plan is probably too burdensome for your family now. **NURSING HOME** The average Indiana nursing home stay cost less than $3,000 per month ($36,000 per year) in the 1990s, but the average was $5,733 per month ($68,796 per year) as of July 1, 2014. Old laws permitted people to protect wealth from those costs with living trusts. A living trust will no longer save a dime of wealth if a stroke or Alzheimer’s disease forces you or your spouse into a nursing home. If anyone tells you something different about living trusts, they are either ignorant of Medicaid law or they want to steal your money! Married couples can protect some of their wealth with special kinds of wills. If, for example, a stroke or other disability lands the husband in a nursing home, the wife’s will can shift the family wealth into a testamentary trust that provides benefits for the disabled husband’s lifetime, and distributes the wealth to the children after their father’s death. Couples may still have living trusts, but the wills should be rewritten to make this kind of plan possible. **GET AN ESTATE PLAN CHECKUP** This article only contains samples of the factors that may disrupt your estate plan. Only an estate and trust lawyer with elder law experience can spot the full array of estate planning issues. If you want your plan to achieve your goals, schedule a planning checkup with your estate planning lawyer. Find more information about mediation, estate and business planning, wills, trusts, and Medicaid issues for nursing home residents on this website, like our [Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC "Link to Hawkins Law PC Facebook page"), follow Jeff R. Hawkins on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC "Link to Jeff Hawkins' Twitter page"), or call us for an appointment at 812-268-8777. Jeff R. Hawkins and Jennifer J. Hawkins are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/ "link to Trust & Estate Specialty Board website") Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers. Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/default.asp "Link to ACTEC website") and the 2014-15 [Indiana State Bar Association](https://inbar.site-ym.com/ "Link to Indiana State Bar Association website") President . © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Alzheimer's, Estate, Estate Planning, Medicaid, Nursing home, Revocable Trust, Surviving spouse, Testamentary Trust, Trust **Tags:** Alzheimer's, estate, estate plan, estate tax, inheritance tax, last will and testament, living trust, nursing home --- ### [For How Long Should You Keep Records?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/how-long-should-you-keep-records/) **Published:** March 22, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** [![Keep those records](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/shutterstock_256406641-1024x680.jpg "Keep those records - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/shutterstock_256406641.jpg) \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Clients ask from time to time how long they should keep copies of their records. They often say that they have heard that you should keep records for 3 years or 7 years or 10 years. This article provides record retention guidelines for various purposes including income taxes, capital gains taxes, and some other non-tax purposes. The IRS can reopen tax returns up to 3 years after the return was due to address minor underpayment issues. That should tell you that the minimum time to keep tax records and receipts is 3 years for the normal examination period. The IRS gets 6 years to audit your records if you underreport your income by more than 25% of the gross income reported on the return. For example, if the taxpayer reported $100,000.00 of income, but actually earned $130,000.00 of income, the taxpayer would have understated income by 30% and the IRS would have 6 years to catch the error. Because some tax calculations can be subject to legal interpretation, we recommend keeping records for at least 6 years to defend against audits for substantial underpayment. The IRS has no limits on its ability to catch a crooked taxpayer. If the taxpayer misstated income fraudulently, the IRS could haul the taxpayer off to jail 30 years later for a fraudulently filed tax return. The capital gains tax is a percentage of the gain (same thing as profit) from sale of land, stock, or other “capital” assets. The IRS calculates gain by subtracting a seller’s investment in the property from the sale price. The investment in the property is referred to in the tax law as the person’s “basis.” If a farmer builds a building and then sells the property, the basis will include the original real estate purchase price plus the building construction cost (and minus any depreciation deductions on the building). Unfortunately, too many people build or remodel buildings without keeping construction receipts, so they cannot prove the value of their basis. These people often pay excessive capital gains taxes. It almost always pays to keep all records of real estate purchases and sales, and building construction and remodeling costs for as long as you own the property. Some people share their assets by investing in property together or holding joint bank accounts. These people should retain deposit records to show who contributed the assets to the shared ownership for as long as the shared ownership lasts. Otherwise, one owner’s creditors may try to take an entire jointly owned asset without giving credit to the other co-owner for that co-owner’s investment in the asset. Medicaid requires most nursing home residents to account for gifts and all real estate and financial transactions for at least 5 years. Medicaid also requires records if a married person has ever required hospital or rehabilitation facility care for more than 30 days, so the couple should keep all financial records for the first month of the hospitalized spouse’s admission for the rest of that person’s life. So how long should you keep records? You should keep records as long as you can because you never know which records may be important later. No honest person suffers harm from keeping all possible records, but many people suffer great hardship when they pitch records too soon. Better to be safe than sorry. Jeff R. Hawkins and Jennifer J. Hawkins are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/ "Trust & Estate Specialty Board weblink") Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/ "American College of Trust and Estate Counsel weblink"). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys "Indiana Roll of Attorneys weblink"), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp "Illinois find a lawyer weblink"). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch "Indiana civil mediator registry weblink") and the 2014-15 [President of the Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins "Indiana State Bar Association weblink"). Find more about these and other topics on this website, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC "weblink to Hawkins Law PC Facebook page"), follow Jeff Hawkins on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC "Weblink to Jeff Hawkins' Twitter page") or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Capital Gains Tax, IRS, Lookback period, Medicaid, Nursing home, Tax Planning **Tags:** audit, capital gains tax, hospitalization, income tax, lookback, Medicaid, nursing home, records retention, rehabilitation, tax basis, tax fraud --- ### [Social Media Safety Tips](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/social-media-safety-tips/) **Published:** March 28, 2015 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** ![shutterstock_193801097 (1)](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/shutterstock_193801097-1.jpg "Social media - Hawkins Elder Law PC") \[See our [Disclaimers page](http://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) about relying on this website’s contents.\] Social media applications like Skype, FaceTime, Foursquare, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Flickr, and Instagram have become valuable tools for businesses and nonprofit organizations to promote goods and services, for individuals to stay up-to-date on news and information, and for friends and family stay connected across great distances. As we increase our digital connectivity, we also increase our vulnerability to malicious intrusion by cyber criminals and embarrassment about our own poor judgment on the World Wide Web. Rookies and seasoned social media veterans alike can benefit from evaluating and revising their social media involvement from time to time. These are a few social media pointers: - Slow and steady is always a good social media engagement plan so that you can learn some of the do’s and don’ts. - Set up a separate email address for each social media account to keep it separate from your normal email in case something goes wrong with your social media account. - Study each social media application’s ever-changing privacy and notification tools thoroughly and periodically. - Hide all identifying information that the application will allow you to hide, such as your phone number, date of birth, street address, and email address so that you can control who has access to that information. - Set your privacy preferences conservatively to require your approval before anyone can post something on your wall or tag you in a photograph. - Add friends (or whatever else the application calls your connections) slowly. - Never post a photograph that includes identifiable images of children without the consent of the parents. - Set the obscenity and pornography filters very conservatively to screen out most objectionable content. - Be careful about adding anyone as a connection if you and the person share only one mutual connection because such people tend to promote malware and pornography. - When someone suggests a game or application, either hide the suggestion or check out the game or application independently on a reliable web application review site to make sure that it does not include malware. - Some applications allow people can add you to groups without your consent, so monitor your groups from time to time to make sure that you have not been added to a group that makes you uncomfortable or that you find objectionable. We invite people to share additional social media safety tips as comments to this blog. In this rapidly evolving digital age, ignorance is not an excuse for mistakes – it is an invitation to disaster. Jeff R. Hawkins and Jennifer J. Hawkins are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/ "Trust & Estate Specialty Board web link") Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers and Jeff is a Fellow of the [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/ "American College of Trust and Estate Counsel web link"). Both lawyers are admitted to practice law in [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys "Indiana Roll of Attorneys web link"), and Jeff Hawkins is admitted to practice law in [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp "Find an Illinois attorney web link"). Jeff is also a [registered civil mediator](https://courtapps.in.gov/mediatorsearch "Indiana Mediator Registry web link") and the 2014-15 [President of the Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/member/JeffRHawkins "Indiana State Bar Association web link"). Find more about these and other topics on this website, like us on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Hawkins.Law.PC "Hawkins Law PC Facebook page web link"), follow Jeff Hawkins on Twitter [@HawkinsLawPC](https://twitter.com/HawkinsLawPC "Jeff Hawkins' Twitter page web link") or call us at 812-268-8777. © Copyright 2015 Hawkins Law PC. All rights reserved. ![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18352931e67dbbd98c3dff76322fa5324788ca99e6460d417847ca86494375f1?s=300&d=mm&r=g) Jeff Hawkins [See Full Bio](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) [ ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/author/bu_administrator/) **Categories:** Cybercrime, Fraud & Theft, Internet Security, Theft **Tags:** cyber criminals, Facebook, FaceTime, Flickr, Foursquare, Instagram, Internet security, LinkedIn, malware, Privacy, Skype, Social media, Twitter, YouTube --- ## Pages ### [Home](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/) **Published:** October 6, 2014 **Author:** newdeal --- ### [E-Books, Definition Guides & Intake Forms](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/intake-forms/) **Published:** April 4, 2018 **Author:** newdeal **Content:** # E-Books We use E-books to help clients understand the issues they want us to help them address. Check back here for future opportunities to download copies of some of our E-books. # Definition Guides Some of the trust agreements and last wills and testaments we prepare for our clients use words we have defined in the following definition guides: [https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Will-Definitions-Guide-–-Indiana.pdf ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Will-Definitions-Guide-–-Indiana.pdf)– A PDF file containing the Guide to Last Will and Testament Definitions and Uses for Hawkins Elder Law Indiana Clients. [https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Will-Definitions-Guide-–-Illinois.pdf](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Will-Definitions-Guide-–-Illinois.pdf "Link to Will-Definitions-Guide – Illinois.pdf") – A PDF file containing the Guide to Last Will and Testament Definitions and Uses for Hawkins Elder Law Illinois Clients. [https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Trust-Agreement-Definitions-Guide-–-Indiana.pdf](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Trust-Agreement-Definitions-Guide-–-Indiana.pdf "Link to Trust-Agreement-Definitions-Guide – Indiana.pdf") – A PDF file containing the Guide to Trust Agreement Definitions and Uses for Hawkins Elder Law Indiana Clients. [https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Trust-Agreement-Definitions-Guide – Illinois.pdf](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Trust-Agreement-Definitions-Guide – Illinois.pdf "Link to Trust-Agreement-Definitions-Guide – Illinois.pdf") – A PDF file containing the Guide to Trust Agreement Definitions and Uses for Hawkins Elder Law Illinois Clients. [LLC Operating Agreement Guide to Definitions and Uses for Hawkins Elder Law Indiana Clients](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/LLC-Operating-Agreement-–-Indiana-–-Definitions-Guide.pdf) – A PDF file containing the Limited Liability Company Operating Agreement Guide to Definitions and Uses for Hawkins Elder Law Indiana Clients. [LLC Operating Agreement Guide to Definitions and Uses for Hawkins Elder Law Illinois Clients](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/LLC-Operating-Agreement-–-Illinois-–-Definitions-Guide.pdf) – A PDF file containing the Limited Liability Company Operating Agreement Guide to Definitions and Uses for Hawkins Elder Law Illinois Clients. # Intake Forms Hawkins Elder Law provides checklists and fillable questionnaires to help you prepare for your initial conference. Our preparation helps you and our attorneys focus on your concerns and objectives without wasting time discussing family members’ contact information and other miscellaneous details that our staff can manage before the initial conference. You can help us prepare for the initial conference by: 1. Downloading and saving a Checklist AND a Questionnaire to your computer or other device; 2. Completing and emailing the questionnaire to [**service@hawkinselderlaw.com;**](mailto:service@hawkinselderlaw.com) and 3. Emailing [**service@hawkinselderlaw.com**](mailto:service@hawkinselderlaw.com) or calling us at 812-268-8777 to discuss how to deliver the documents to us that are listed in the checklist ***before*** your initial conference. **Forms for First Nursing Home/Medicaid Meeting** [Checklist for 1st Nursing Home/Medicaid Planning Conference](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Medicaid-Client-Checklist.pdf) – A PDF file containing the Hawkins Elder Law Initial Nursing Home/Medicaid Conference Documents Checklist. [Questionnaire for 1st Medicaid Planning Conference](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Medicaid-Client-Questionnaire.pdf) – A fillable PDF file containing the Hawkins Elder Law Initial Nursing Home/Medicaid Conference Intake Questionnaire. **Forms for First Estate Planning** Meeting [Checklist for 1st Estate Planning Conference](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Estate-Plan-Document-Checklist-for-Initial-Conference.pdf) – A PDF file containing the Hawkins Elder Law Initial Estate Planning Conference Documents Checklist.[Intake Questionnaire for Couple’s Estate Plan](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Estate-Plan-Questionnaire-Couples.pdf) – A fillable PDF file containing the Hawkins Elder Law Initial Estate Planning Conference Questionnaire for a Married Couple. [Intake Questionnaire for Single Person’s Estate Plan](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Estate-Plan-Questionnaire-Single-Clients.pdf) – A fillable PDF file containing the Hawkins Elder Law Initial Estate Planning Conference Questionnaire for a Single Person. **Forms for Initial Nursing Estate/Trust Administration Conference** [Estate & Trust Administration Documents Checklist](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Estate-Trust-Administration-Documents-Checklist.pdf) – A PDF file containing the Hawkins Elder Law Estate & Trust Administration Documents Checklist. [Estate & Trust Administration Questionnaire](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Estate-Trust-Administration-Questionnaire.pdf) – A fillable PDF file containing the Hawkins Elder Law Estate & Trust Administration Questionnaire. Questions about the Intake Forms? Please call us at 812-268-8887 or e-mail us at [**service@hawkinselderlaw.com**](mailto:service@hawkinselderlaw.com). © Copyright 2026 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. --- ### [Privacy Policy, Engagement Requirements, & Disclaimer About Reliance on Website Content](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/disclaimers/) **Published:** December 29, 2016 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** ## **Please read these important statements about the Hawkins Elder Law privacy policy and Hawkins Elder Law engagement requirements before relying on information displayed on this website or contacting Hawkins Elder Law:** Hawkins Elder Law preserves and protects its clients’ privacy and confidential information in accordance with [Rule 1.6 of the Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct](https://www.in.gov/judiciary/rules/prof_conduct/index.html#_Toc461714661) and [Rule 1.6 of the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct](http://www.illinoiscourts.gov/SupremeCourt/Rules/Art_VIII/ArtVIII_NEW.htm#1.6), but visitors of this website should not assume that they are Hawkins Elder Law clients. This webpage provides information about attorney-client relationships and our privacy policy. Hawkins Elder Law provides information on this site for general informational purposes only, but it does not intend to provide legal advice through this website, and no person should consider the information to constitute legal advice. Hawkins Elder Law does not intend communication through this to create an attorney-client relationship, and your receipt of the information does not constitute the creation of an attorney-client relationship. You should not rely on the information displayed on this site, nor should you take action or refrain from taking any action on the basis of such information, without first seeking appropriate legal counsel or other professional advice. Hawkins Elder Law is not providing information on this site in the course of an attorney-client relationship, and the firm does not intend for the information to constitute legal advice or to substitute for obtaining legal advice from an attorney licensed in your state. You cannot create an attorney-client relationship with Hawkins Elder Law or its lawyers without an express agreement between you and the firm, and your email or other communication to the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship. Likewise, we encourage people to call us to schedule consultations, but the legal protections of an attorney-client relationship do not begin until a you and a lawyer discuss the terms and conditions of the attorney-client relationship and agree to begin the relationship under those terms and conditions. Please do not provide confidential information in any communication with Hawkins Elder Law through this website or by email. Communication with this firm through this website may not be treated as privileged or confidential. Also, communication with this firm by email over the Internet may not be secure, so you should avoid sending sensitive or confidential email messages unless the messages and attachments are adequately encrypted. Your decision to hire a lawyer is important, and you should not base that decision solely upon written information about an attorney’s qualifications and experience. Hawkins Elder Law provides links on this website to other resources on the internet as citations and aids to help this website’s users identify and locate other internet resources that may be of interest, but the firm does not intend for those links to state or imply that the firm sponsors, is affiliated or associated with, or is legally authorized to use any trade name, registered trademark, logo, legal or official seal, or copyrighted symbol that may be reflected in the links. Further, the websites hyperlinked from this website are not under the control of Hawkins Elder Law, and the firm is not responsible for the content located on or through the linked sites, or the availability of the linked sites. Hawkins Elder Law is not willing to assume representation of clients from states or jurisdictions in which this website does not comply with all laws and ethical rules of that state or jurisdiction. The firm does not intend to provide information on this website about the laws of any state or jurisdiction other than the states of Indiana and Illinois, because Jennifer Hawkins is only licensed to practice law in the state of Indiana, and Jeff Hawkins is only licensed to practice law in the states of Indiana and Illinois. If you have legal issues concerning the laws of any state other than Indiana or Illinois, you should engage a lawyer licensed to practice in the state where your issue is pending and you should not rely on any information on this website. The information on this website may not reflect the most current legal developments, statutes, administrative regulations and policies, trial court verdicts, appellate decisions, or settlements, and Hawkins Elder Law does not guarantee the information to be correct, complete, or up-to-date. Therefore, you should always consult directly with a reputable lawyer about legal matters to obtain the most current and accurate information. You should not consider the information on this website to be a promise or indication of future results. **SMS/Text Messaging.** If you choose to provide your mobile number and expressly consent, Hawkins Elder Law may send text messages related to your inquiry, appointment scheduling, or other communications about our services. Consent to receive text messages is not required to submit a website inquiry or obtain legal services. Mobile information will not be shared with third parties/affiliates for marketing/promotional purposes. By opting in, you agree to receive SMS messages from Hawkins Elder Law, including service updates, meeting reminders, and support. Message frequency varies based on your interactions with us. While most of our clients never receive SMS messages from us, some clients who want to communicate with us by SMS messages may expect up to 30 messages per week. Standard message and data rates may apply. To opt-out, reply STOP. For help, reply HELP or contact us through the “Contact Us” form at or call us at 812-268-8777. Hawkins Elder Law is an assumed business name of Hawkins Elder Law PC, an Indiana professional corporation, incorporated and operated under the laws of the State of Indiana in accordance with [Indiana Admission and Discipline Rule 27](https://www.in.gov/judiciary/rules/ad_dis/index.html#_Toc532979356). --- ### [How Can We Help You?](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/contact-us/) **Published:** October 6, 2014 **Author:** Jeff Hawkins **Content:** Tell us about your situation and how we can assist you. We help individuals and families navigate elder law and Medicaid planning decisions with clarity and confidence. Complete the contact form below to request a consultation and discuss your options. Prefer to speak with someone? Call 812-268-8777. Our receptionist will take a brief message, and our team will follow up promptly to discuss your situation and help you take the next steps. Your call is handled with care and confidentiality. --- ### [Jeff R. Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) **Published:** October 16, 2014 **Author:** newdeal **Content:** ![Jeff-Hawkins](https://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Jeff-Hawkins-256x300.png "Jeff-Hawkins - Hawkins Elder Law PC") [Download vCard ](https://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Jeff-R-Hawkins.vcf) [Lawyer Jeff Hawkins](http://www.avvo.com/attorneys/47882-in-jeff-hawkins-1901403.html?utm_campaign=avvo_rating&utm_content=1901403&utm_medium=avvo_badge&utm_source=avvo) | [Top Attorney Estate Planning](http://www.avvo.com/estate-planning-lawyer/in/sullivan.html?utm_campaign=avvo_rating&utm_content=1901403&utm_medium=avvo_badge&utm_source=avvo) ## Education - BS Business, 1988, [Kelley School of Business](http://kelley.iu.edu/ "Kelley School of Business website"), Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana - JD, 1992, [Louis D. Brandeis School of Law](http://www.law.louisville.edu/ "Louis D. Brandeis School of Law website"), University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky ## Bar Admissions - [Indiana](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys "Indiana Roll of Attorneys website") and United States District Court [Northern](http://www.innd.uscourts.gov/ "US District Court Northern Indiana website") & [Southern](http://www.insd.uscourts.gov/ "US District Court Southern Indiana website") Districts of Indiana, 1992; and [Illinois](https://www.iardc.org/lawyersearch.asp "Illinois Roll of Attorneys website"), 2012 ## Memberships - **[American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](http://www.actec.org/default.asp "American College of Trust and Estate Counsel website")[: (Fellow, 2011-present)](http://www.isba.org/ "Illinois State Bar Association website")** - **[Trust & Estate Specialty Board](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/2012-2013-board-members/ "TESB List of Past Board Members")[: (Past Co-Chair, 2010-13)](http://www.isba.org/ "Illinois State Bar Association website")** - **[National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](http://www.naela.org/ "National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys website")**, Indiana and Illinois Chapters - [Illinois State Bar Association](http://www.isba.org/ "Illinois State Bar Association website")**:** [Business Advice and Financial Planning Section](http://www.isba.org/sections/businessadvice "Business Advice and Financial Planning Section website"); [Elder Law Section](http://www.isba.org/sections/elderlaw "Elder Law Section website"); [Real Estate Law Section](http://www.isba.org/sections/realestate "Real Estate Law Section website"); [Trusts and Estates Section](http://www.isba.org/sections/trustsestates "Trusts and Estates Section website"); and [Alternative Dispute Resolution Section](https://www.isba.org/sections/adr). - [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/members/?id=29041994 "Indiana State Bar Association Profile")**:** [Probate, Trust, & Real Property Section](http://inbar.site-ym.com/members/group.aspx?id=134055 "Probate, Trust & Real Property Section website"), (Past Chair, 2009-10); [Elder Law Section](http://inbar.site-ym.com/members/group.aspx?id=134044 "Elder Law Section website"); [Business Law Section](http://inbar.site-ym.com/members/group.aspx?id=134040 "Business Law Section website"); [Agricultural Law Section](http://inbar.site-ym.com/members/group.aspx?id=134035 "Agricultural Law Section website"); [GP, Solo & Small Firm Section](http://inbar.site-ym.com/members/group.aspx?id=134048 "General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Section"); [Board of Governors](http://www.inbar.org/members/group.aspx?id=134062 "ISBA BOARD OF GOVERNORS website") (1996-98, 2006-10, and 2012-16); [House of Delegates](http://www.inbar.org/members/group.aspx?id=134063 "ISBA HOUSE OF DELEGATES website") (Past Chair, 2009-10); and [Past President](https://www.inbar.org/news/news.asp?id=197983&hhSearchTerms=%22Jeff+and+R+and+Hawkins%22 "ISBA president profile") (2014-15). - Sullivan County Bar Association - Terre Haute Bar Association ## Indiana Specialty Certification [Trust & Estate Specialty Board Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyer](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/jeff-r-hawkins/ "Jeff Hawkins' profile on the Trust & Estate Specialty Board website") ## Indiana Legislative Drafting Contributions - [2026 S.E.A 71, P.L. \_\_\_-2026](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/124/2026/senate/bills/SB0071/SB0071.05.ENRH.pdf), Section 12 (Excludes written property maintenance agreements made with a property owner’s family members and other personal care and service providers from the coverage of the statutory prohibition against residential real estate service agreements). - [2025 H.E.A. 1088, P.L. 50—2025, Section 5](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/124/2025/house/bills/HB1088/HB1088.05.ENRS.pdf), Section 5 (Defines “direct postmortem transfer” and clarifies the legal effects of the designation of a testamentary trust established under a decedent’s last will and testament as a beneficiary of the decedent’s life insurance, retirement plan, and other assets). - [2025 H.E.A. 1213, P.L. 6-2025](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/124/2025/house/bills/HB1213/HB1213.04.ENRS.pdf), (Requires an underwriter of a homeowners policy of casualty insurance to maintain insurance coverage of a deceased homeowner’s real estate that is subject to a transfer on death deed for 60 days after the homeowner’s death). - [2024 S.E.A. 18, P.L. *\_*-2024](https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2024/bills/senate/18/details "2024 S.E.A. 18, P.L. _-2024"), **Sections 2-6** (Clarification of consequences when an individual member of a single-member LLC dies without making a transfer on death designation or titling the membership in an inter vivos trust); **Section 9** (Provides that a claim of the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration’s Estate Recovery Unit barred if the Unit does not file a claim in a decedent’s estate within 120 days after the decedent’s death); **Section 18** (Clarifications reconciling terms used in the Uniform Power of Attorney Act with the Indiana Power of Attorney Act and examples of signature forms for an attorney-in-fact acting on behalf of a principal); **Section 19** (Requires the county auditor to endorse a deed establishing a beneficiary designation under Ind. Code §32-17-14-11); **Section 20** (Clarifies and expands Ind. Code §32-17-14-13 with an example of how to convey real property title with a beneficiary designation, the effectiveness of the deed to convey title if the grantee dies before the deed is recorded, and the requirement that the county auditor endorse the deed); **Section 21** (Clarifies that an attorney-in-fact may not use a power of attorney to convey a principal’s real property unless the power of attorney authorizes the conveyance); **Section 22** (Clarifies the requirements for a county recorder to cross-reference a document presented for recording to a previously recorded document) **Section 23** (Prohibits a county auditor from refusing to endorse a deed or other instrument made under the Indiana Transfer on Death Property Act (Ind. Code Chapter 32-17-14)); and **Section 24** (Prohibits a county recorder from refusing to record a deed or other instrument made under the Indiana Transfer on Death Property Act (Ind. Code Chapter 32-17-14)) - [2023 S.E.A. 287, P.L. 38-2023](https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2023/bills/senate/287/details "2023 S.E.A. 287, P.L. 38-2023"), Section 16 (Clarification of consequences when a settlor revokes a trust without transferring or distributing the trust property) - [2022 H.E.A. 1208, P.L.162-2022](https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2022/bills/house/1208/details "2022 H.E.A. 1208, P.L.162-2022"), Section 23 (Clarification for a power of attorney authenticated by a notary public or signed in the presence of witnesses) - [2021 H.E.A. 1056, P.L. 2-2021](http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2021/bills/house/1056), (Correction and Revision of Requirements for Recordation of Instruments in County Recorders’ Offices) - [2021 H.E.A. 1252, P.L. 184-2021](http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2021/bills/house/1252), Sections 1-8, and 10 (Probate Estate and Guardianship Claims, and Tenant Representatives) - [2021 H.E.A. 1255, P.L. 185-2021](http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2021/bills/house/1255), (Electronic Estate Plan Execution and Recordation) - [2020 S.E.A. 50, P.L. 56-2020](http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2020/bills/senate/50), Sections 1-6, 15 (Creditor Claims Against Decedents’ Probate and Nonprobate Property; and Passage of Decedents’ Real Estate Title) - [2019 S.E.A. 518, P.L. 231-2019](http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2019/bills/senate/518), Sections 4-5, 7-8, 10, 13-15, 17, 19, 40-47 (Creditor Claims Against Decedents’ Probate and Nonprobate Property; Passage of Decedents’ Real Estate Title; and Clarifications for Transfer on Death Deeds) - [2018 S.E.A. 247, P.L. 163-2018](http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2018/bills/senate/247), Sections 1-3, 5-10, 15-25 (Creditor Claims Against Decedents’ Probate and Nonprobate Property) - [2017 H.E.A. 1407, P.L. 194-2017](http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2017/bills/house/1407), Sections 6-9 and 11-12 (Nomination of Guardian or Custodian) - [2016 S.E.A. 371, P.L. 190-2016](http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2016/bills/senate/371), Section 1 (Property Tax Deductions) - [2015 S.E.A. 355, P.L. 81-2015](http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2015/bills/senate/355), Sections 1-2 (Transfer On Death Property Act Revisions), and 16 (Distinction of Nonprobate Asset Transfer from Asset Devolution through a Decedent’s Estate) - [2014 S.E.A. 59, P.L. 83-2014](http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2014/bills/senate/59), (Guardian’s Petition for Married Incapacitated Person’s Legal Separation, Marriage Dissolution, or Marriage Annulment) - [2014 S.E.A. 36, P.L. 51-2014](http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2014/bills/senate/36), Sections 1 (Mandatory Disclosure Representations For Notice Waivers and Consents in Estate Proceedings), 3-4 (Clarifications of Small Estate Affidavit Statutes), and 30 (Transfer On Death Property Act Revision) - 2013 H.E.A. 1056, P.L. 99-2013, Sections 4 (Statutory Override of *[FSSA v. Estate of Roy](https://public.courts.in.gov/mycase/#/vw/CaseSummary/eyJ2Ijp7IkNhc2VUb2tlbiI6IjdkX0I5TFhJNHoxejlxajVrZjY4WWt6VHI5Um1oYVZxLWJxUGloYnJtbk0xIiwiSGlkZVRvb2xiYXJzIjp0cnVlLCJQQUxvZ28iOmZhbHNlLCJTUkNUIjoidWpSNGVXeHdyUk9GaDJNT2ZLeTFSVEFXYlRDQWVhVFJhYy1aZzJsRk43UTEifX0= "FSSA v. Estate of Roy")*), 6 (Claims Classification in a Decedent’s Estate), and 10 (Matrimonial Trust Legislation Revisions) - 2012 H.E.A. 1258, P.L. 149-2012, Sections 1 (Property Tax Deductions), 3-5 (Prohibition of Medicaid Reimbursement Recovery against the Estate of a Medicaid Recipient’s Deceased Spouse), 8 (Claims Classification in a Decedent’s Estate), and 13-16 (Transfer On Death Property Act Revisions) - 2012 S.E.A. 156, P.L. 41-2012, (Land Partition Reform Enacting Legislation Counterproposal) - 2011 S.E.A. 169, P.L. 36-2011, Sections 1-2 (Transfer On Death Property Act Revisions), 9-16(Clarification of Matrimonial Trust Legislative Intent and Transfer On Death Property Act Corrections) - 2010 S.E.A. 65, P.L. 6-2010, Sections 4-5 (Transfer On Death Property Act Corrections), 7 (Mandatory Disclosure Representations For Notice Waivers and Consents in Estate Proceedings), 12 (Court Authorized Estate Planning in a Protected Person’s Guardianship), 18 (Establishment of Matrimonial Trusts with Tenancy by the Entireties Characteristics), 22 (Transfer On Death Property Act Corrections), and 25-35 (Transfer On Death Property Act Revisions) - 2009 H.E.A. 1287, P.L. 143-2009, Sections 3-4, 16, 29, 40, 41, 46, and 52 (Transfer On Death Property Act with Related Amendments and Repeals, Co-Authored with Subcommittee Chair and Principal Drafter James W. Martin, and Co-Drafter Suzanne E. Katt) - 2008 S.E.A. 78, P.L. 101-2008, Sections 1-3 (Property Tax Deductions) - 2007 H.E.A. 1508, P.L. 95-2007, Sections 1-2 (Property Tax Deductions), and 18-19 (Trust Certification and Title Insurance Coverage for Trust-Owned Real Estate) ## Legal Publications [*Henry’s Indiana Probate Law and Practice*](https://store.lexisnexis.com/products/henrys-indiana-probate-law-and-practice-skuSKU62794), Past Co-Author with John A. Cremer, Daniel R. Gordon, and James A. Martin, LexisNexis, 2021-22 ## Published Articles - *[2015 Annual Report of the President of the Indiana State Bar Association](https://isbaprez.wordpress.com/2015/10/09/2015-annual-report-of-the-president-of-the-indiana-state-bar-association/)*, ISBA Prez Blog, Indiana State Bar Association, 2015 - *[LegalZoom, Avvo, Other Companies: Friends or Foes? NCBP Panel Suggests a New View](https://isbaprez.wordpress.com/2015/09/29/legalzoom-avvo-other-companies-friends-or-foes-ncbp-panel-suggests-a-new-view/)*, ISBA Prez Blog, Indiana State Bar Association, 2015 - *[Entrepreneurial Leadership](https://issuu.com/res_gestae/docs/rg-09-15)*, Res Gestae, Indiana State Bar Association, 2015 - *[Partnership – It Can Be Bigger Than You Think](https://issuu.com/res_gestae/docs/rg_07-08.15)*, Res Gestae, Indiana State Bar Association, 2015 - *[TCBAB (Taking Care of Bar Association Business)](https://isbaprez.wordpress.com/2015/07/28/tcbab-taking-care-of-bar-association-business/)*, ISBA Prez Blog, Indiana State Bar Association, 2015 - *[Let’s Celebrate Independence](https://isbaprez.wordpress.com/2015/07/04/lets-celebrate-independence/)*, ISBA Prez Blog, Indiana State Bar Association, 2015 - *[Indiana Lawyers, United and Strong](https://issuu.com/res_gestae/docs/rg-06-15)*, Res Gestae, Indiana State Bar Association, 2015 - *[I Checked All 3 Boxes on My Online ISBA Membership Renewal](https://isbaprez.wordpress.com/2015/06/17/i-checked-all-3-boxes-on-my-online-isba-membership-renewal/)*, ISBA Prez Blog, Indiana State Bar Association, 2015 - *[Problems? Become Part of the Solution!](https://issuu.com/res_gestae/docs/rg-05-15)*, Res Gestae, Indiana State Bar Association, 2015 - *[LDA Class 4: Ready for the Baton](https://isbaprez.wordpress.com/2015/05/18/lda-class-4-ready-for-the-baton/)*, ISBA Prez Blog, Indiana State Bar Association, 2015 - *[Hilltop Experiences of a Hoosier Lawyer](https://isbaprez.wordpress.com/2015/04/19/hilltop-experiences-of-a-hoosier-lawyer/)*, ISBA Prez Blog, Indiana State Bar Association, 2015 - *[Professional Liability Insurance Coverage: Setting the Record Straight](https://issuu.com/res_gestae/docs/rg_04-15)*, Res Gestae, Indiana State Bar Association, 2015 - *[Indiana Lawyers: A High Standard of Professional Conduct](https://isbaprez.wordpress.com/2015/04/02/indiana-lawyers-a-high-standard-of-professional-conduct/)*, ISBA Prez Blog, Indiana State Bar Association, 2015 - *[Those Were the Days](https://issuu.com/res_gestae/docs/rg_03-15)*, Res Gestae, Indiana State Bar Association, 2015 - *[2015 Indiana Civic Health Index](https://isbaprez.wordpress.com/2015/03/24/2015-indiana-civic-health-index/)*, ISBA Prez Blog, Indiana State Bar Association, 2015 - *[Forums: How We Communicate Now]()*, ISBA Prez Blog, Indiana State Bar Association, 2015 - *[Engaging, Empowering & Launching Young Lawyers](https://isbaprez.wordpress.com/2015/02/11/engaging-empowering-launching-young-lawyers/)*, ISBA Prez Blog, Indiana State Bar Association, 2015 - *[Building Bridges](https://isbaprez.wordpress.com/2015/02/02/building-bridges/)*, ISBA Prez Blog, Indiana State Bar Association, 2015 - *[Let’s Keep the State of the Bench and Bar Sound](https://isbaprez.wordpress.com/2015/01/18/lets-keep-the-state-of-the-bench-and-bar-sound/)*, ISBA Prez Blog, Indiana State Bar Association, 2015 - *[Let’s Talk about Lawyer Mental Health](https://issuu.com/res_gestae/docs/rg-01-02-15)*, Res Gestae, Indiana State Bar Association, 2015 - *[A Holiday Wish for Peace and Joy](https://isbaprez.wordpress.com/2014/12/23/a-holiday-wish-for-peace-and-joy/)*, ISBA Prez Blog, Indiana State Bar Association, 2014 - *[A Force of One](https://issuu.com/res_gestae/docs/rg_12-14)*, Res Gestae, Indiana State Bar Association, 2014 - *[What Are We Defending, and from Whom?](https://isbaprez.wordpress.com/2014/12/18/what-are-we-defending-and-from-whom/)*, Prez Blog, Indiana State Bar Association, 2014 - *[Adapt & Overcome](https://issuu.com/res_gestae/docs/rg_11-4)*, Res Gestae, Indiana State Bar Association, 2014 - *[Own It](https://issuu.com/res_gestae/docs/rg_10-14)*, Res Gestae, Indiana State Bar Association, 2014 - *The Bar Presidency On-Ramp*, ABA Life of a Leader Blog, 2014 - *[The Bar Leadership Ride of a Lifetime: How it Began](https://www.americanbar.org/groups/bar_services/publications/bar_leader/2013-14/life_of_a_leader/bar_leadership_ride_lifetime_how_it_began//)*, ABA Life of a Leader Blog, 2014 - *Indiana Matrimonial Trusts: TBE Plus*, Res Gestae, Indiana State Bar Association, 2011 ## Continuing Education Articles & Presentations - *2026 Wired for Success: Ethical Use of Technology Tools and AI Essentials for Estate and Trust Attorneys*, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum, 2026 - *2025 Indiana Long-Term Care Asset Protection Planning*, Hoosier Hills Estate Planning Council, 2025 - *Ethics for Elder Law Attorneys, Scenes from a Law Office 2025*, Co-Presenter with Author Jennifer J. Hawkins, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum, 2025 - *2024 Indiana Long-Term Care Asset Protection Planning,* Evansville Bar Association, 2024 - *Ethics for Elder Law Attorneys, Scenes from a Law Office, Volume 2*, Co-Presenter with Author Jennifer J. Hawkins, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum, 2024 - *Indiana Real and Personal Property Title Passage and Creditors Rights*, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum, 2022 - *Indiana Real and Personal Property Title Passage and Creditors Rights*, Indiana State Bar Association, 2022 - *Creditors’ Claim Enforcement Against Decedents’ Property*, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum, 2022 - *Sign Here – Executing Estate Plan Documents*, Author and Co-Presenter with Elizabeth A. Homes and Mary A. Slade, Indiana State Bar Association, 2021 - *Execution, Recordation, and Creditor Issues in 2020 Real Estate and Other Asset Transfers*, Indianapolis Bar Association, 2020 - *2020 Title Passage & Creditors’ Rights against Decedents’ Assets*, Elkhart County Estate Planning Council, 2020 - *2019 Procedural Changes for Decedents’ Asset Transfers and Creditor Claims*, District 10 Pro Bono Project, 2019 - *Summary of Creditors’ Rights in Estate Recovery* – Co-Presenter with John S. Phillip, Indiana State Bar Association, 2019 - *2019 Indiana Probate Bill: New & Improved Systems to Transfer & Collect Decedents’ Assets*, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum, 2019 - *2019 Procedural Changes for Decedents’ Asset Transfers and Creditor Claims*, Indiana State Bar Association, 2019 - *2019 Procedural Changes for Decedents’ Asset Transfers and Creditor Claims*, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum, 2019 - *Collections Against Decedents’ Estates & Nonprobate Transferees After SEA 247*, Indianapolis Bar Association, 2018 - *Collections Against Decedents’ Estates & Nonprobate Transferees After SEA 247*, Indiana State Bar Association, 2018 - *Trust Issues and Guidelines For Indiana County Auditors, Assessors, and Recorders* – Co-Presenter with Jeffrey S. Dible, Indiana County Assessors’ Association, 2017 - *Tips from the GP Hall of Fame*, Indiana State Bar Association, 2016 - *Planning to Make Long-Term Care Less Critical*, Indiana State Bar Association, 2016 - *Zooming and Rocketing Toward LLLTs and Other Competitive Challenges*, Indiana State Bar Association, 2015 - *Estate Planning After Death of Death Taxes*, Ft. Wayne Estate Planning Council, 2014 - *Farm Family Conflict: Keeping it Together When Everyone is Losing It*, Midwest Women in Agriculture Conference, 2014 - *More Ethics Matters for Elder Law Attorneys* – Discussion with Jeff R. Hawkins and Jeffrey S. Dible, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum, 2013 - *Look Before You Leap*, Indiana State Bar Association, 2013 - *Estate Planning After Death of Death Taxes*, Indiana State Bar Association, 2013 - *Hot Tips in Estate Planning*, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum, 2012 - *Estate Planning After the Death of Death Taxes*, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum, 2012 - *Unification of Two Attorneys’ Practices* – Co-Presenter with Jennifer J. Hawkins, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum, 2012 - *Oil, Gas & CBM – Owning, Sharing & Leasing*, Indiana Farm Bureau, 2012 - *Hot Tips in Estate Planning*, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum, 2011 - *Personal Asset Protection*, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum, 2011 - *Medicaid Perspectives on Asset Ownership & Estate Recovery in Transition*, Indiana State Bar Association, 2011 - *Wealth Transfer Tips, Tricks & Taxes*, Indiana State Bar Association, 2011 - *Indiana Transfer on Death Act*, Estate Planning Council of Illiana, 2010 - *Indiana Transfer on Death Act*, Stock Yards Bank: 2010 Estate & Tax Seminar, 2010 - *Creative Non-Probate Strategies in Long-Term Care Planning*, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum, 2010 - *Indiana Transfer on Death Act*, Indianapolis Bar Association, 2010 - *Multiparty Accounts and Transfer on Death Property Act*, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum, 2009 - *Elder Law Ethics*, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum, 2008 - *2008 Ethics Review*, Sullivan County Bar Association, 2008 - *Guardianship Law*, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum, 2008 - *A Plumber’s Guide to Business Succession Planning*, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum, 2007 - *Law Firm Management*, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum, 2007 - *Guardianship Law*, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum, 2007 - *Elder Law Ethics* (Elder Law Institute), Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum, 2004 - *Elder Law Ethics* (Masters Series), Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum, 2003 - *Debate on Professional Liability Insurance*, Indiana State Bar Association, 2003 - *Estate Planning and Administration Update*, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum, 2002 - *Business Entity Formation*, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum, 2002 - *Estate Planning Update*, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum, 2001 - *Planning Your First Wealth Plan Under $675,000*, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum, 2001 - *If the Recorder’s Records Could Only Speak*, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum, 1997 - *Probate Administration and Guardianships*, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum, 1995 - *Estate Planning and Probate Administration*, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum, 1993-94 ## Pamphlets & Chart Publications *Starting & Managing a Law Practice in a Nutshell*, 2016 *Trust Issues and Guidelines for Indiana County Auditors, Assessors, and Recorders*, 2016 *Indiana Deed Recordation Process Comparison Chart by County*, 2007 ## Church Affiliation Elder, [Westside Church](https://westsidechurchfamily.com/), Sullivan, Indiana --- ### [Elder Law](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/elder-law/) **Published:** October 6, 2014 **Author:** newdeal **Content:** # Nursing Home Care is Expensive! [![Elder Law](https://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/dreamstimelarge_11308536-254x300.jpg "VA Aid & Attendance - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/dreamstimelarge_11308536.jpg) ### The Indiana Family & Social Services Administration (FSSA) reported that the state’s average monthly nursing home cost was $7,496 ($89,952 per year) as of July 1, 2023. Except for the period from January 1, 2019, to June 30, 2020, the cost increased at an average inflation rate of just under 5% per year for most of the preceding 20 years. Of course, actual nursing home, assisted living, and home healthcare costs vary by region and the kinds of services that patients require. # Medicare & Supplemental Insurance Fall Short ### Medicare pays up to the first 100 days in a nursing home. Medicare only covers nursing home care if the patient was transferred to the nursing home after inpatient admission to a hospital through 3 midnights. Supplemental insurance usually depends on Medicare coverage. # Medicaid Pays Nursing Home Costs When Residents Cannot Pay ### Medicaid is a state-administered federal healthcare payment system. FSSA manages Indiana’s Medicaid system. Medicaid helps older and disabled Hoosiers pay some of their healthcare expenses, but applicants must satisfy wealth and income requirements to qualify. Most Medicaid applicants must earn less gross income than $2,829 per month (in 2024), but special trust plans can help some high-income applicants qualify. Resource rules depend on the applicant’s marital status. # Resource (Wealth) Limits ### Generally, Medicaid pays an Indiana resident’s healthcare costs if the person owns “resources” worth less than $2,000. Resources are nonexempt assets like money, life insurance, investments, land, and vehicles. Medicaid exempts some assets from the resource definition like pre-paid funerals, income-producing real estate, and household goods and personal effects. # Special Rules for Married People ### Federal law protects a Medicaid applicant’s spouse (the “Community Spouse”) from impoverishment. The Community Spouse can keep the normal exempt assets, plus all real estate and one car as additional exempt assets. ### If the couples’ total resource value is below a certain minimum value ($30,828 in 2024), the spouse can keep all of the resources. ### If the couple’s total resource value is more than the minimum and less than double the maximum value ($308,208 in 2024), the Community Spouse can keep 1/2 of the resources. ### If the couple’s total resource value is more than double the maximum value, the Community Spouse can only keep the maximum value ($154,140 in 2024). ### The couple must either spend excess resources or invest them in exempt assets. The couple will trigger transfer penalties if they give assets away or sell them for less than fair market value. # Transfer (Gift) Penalties ### A transfer penalty is a Medicaid disqualification of an applicant for giving gifts or selling resources for bargain prices that took place within the preceding 5 years (the “Lookback Period”) before the application date. FSSA computes the penalty period by dividing the transfer value by Indiana’s average monthly nursing home cost. The scary thing about a transfer penalty is that it does not begin until the applicant needs nursing home care and has resources below the resource limit—yes, that’s right—sick, broke, and Medicaid disqualified! # We Can Help ### Medicaid eligibility rules have complex wealth and income requirements. An experienced elder law attorney can make the Medicaid puzzle less frustrating. We have planned estates for more than 3 decades to reduce or avoid taxes, protect disabled beneficiaries, and protect assets from business liability and healthcare expenses. We help wrangle our clients’ finances and Medicaid applications to help them qualify for critical nursing home and home healthcare services. # [Download Our Nursing Home/Medicaid Forms Intake Form](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/intake-forms) and [Contact Us](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/contact-us/) ### Download and complete a fillable PDF intake form from our [E-Books, Definition Guides & Intake Forms](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/intake-forms/) webpage, and then call us at 812-278-8777 or complete the Contact Us form at the bottom of this page to schedule an appointment. We will give you instructions for mailing or emailing the completed intake document and other supporting documents before the appointment. © Copyright 2024 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. --- ### [Jennifer Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) **Published:** October 18, 2014 **Author:** newdeal **Content:** ![Jennifer-Hawkins](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Jennifer-Hawkins-237x300.png "Jennifer-Hawkins - Hawkins Elder Law PC") [Download vCard ](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Jennifer-J-Hawkins.vcf) ## Education - BME, 1988, [Jacobs School of Music](http://www.music.indiana.edu/ "IU Jacobs School of Music website"), Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana - JD, 1992, [Louis D. Brandeis School of Law](http://www.law.louisville.edu/ "Louis D. Brandeis School of Law website"), University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky ## Bar Admissions - [Indiana State Bar](https://courtapps.in.gov/rollofattorneys "Indiana Roll of Attorneys website"), 1992 - [United States District Court, Northern District of Indiana](http://www.innd.uscourts.gov/ "United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana website"), 1992 - [United States District Court, Southern District of Indiana](http://www.insd.uscourts.gov/ "United States District Court, Southern District of Indiana website"), 1992 ## Memberships - [Indiana State Bar Association](http://www.inbar.org/members/?id=29041993 "Indiana State Bar Association website"): [Probate, Trust, & Real Property Section](http://inbar.site-ym.com/members/group.aspx?id=134055 "Probate, Trust, & Real Property Section website") [Elder Law Section](http://inbar.site-ym.com/members/group.aspx?id=134044 "Elder Law Section website") - [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Indiana Chapter](https://www.naela.org/Shared_Content/Directories/Profile.aspx?id=19988) - Sullivan County Bar Association: Treasurer - Terre Haute Bar Association ## Specialty Certification - [Trust & Estate Specialty Board Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyer](http://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/jennifer-j-hawkins/ "Jennifer Hawkins' TESB profile") (2010-present) ## Government Service - Greene County Deputy Prosecutor, 1993-94, and 1998 ## Community Service - Wabash Valley Community Foundation, Sullivan County Affiliate: Past Board Member ## Continuing Education Articles & Presentations - *Ethics for Elder Law Attorneys, Scenes from a Law Office, Volume 2*, Author and Co-Presenter with Jeff R. Hawkins, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum, 2024 - *Ethics for Elder Law Attorneys, Scenes from a Law Office*, Author and Co-Presenter with Jeff R. Hawkins, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum, 2022 - *Asset Protection Planning: Tips, Techniques & Tools*, Program Chair, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum, 2022 --- ### [Business Law](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/business-law/) **Published:** October 6, 2014 **Author:** newdeal **Content:** [![Business Law](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Business-1-300x300.jpg "Business Law - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Business-1.jpg) ## Start-Ups Much of the business world lives under the survival of the fittest rule. Many business start-ups fail because founders ask the wrong questions or overlook avoidable problems. Successful businesses solve problems that stump competitors and avoid mistakes that kill other ventures at the starting gate. A business lawyer’s job is to help the client live the dream and sidestep the nightmare. A good business lawyer must provide a balance of creative planning and wise counsel. ## Advice and Representation The global economy forces us to adapt quickly to all kinds of changes. Entrepreneurs are creative people, but business law often defies common logic. A good business lawyer educates business clients about important issues and helps them become more self-reliant. No lawyer has all of the answers, but an experienced business lawyer can cover a lot of ground and use referral networks to connect clients with experts in almost any subject outside his expertise. ## Planning Through Growth Eventually, every thriving business reaches a crossroads choice – invest in growth or scale back and operate more simply. Growing pains stir young business owners’ adrenaline and make older business owners consider retirement. The gray line between throttling up and winding down keeps many small business owners awake at night. A business lawyer with some miles in the saddle can help the business owner choose the right trail. ## Buying Market Share Buying an existing business may seem less risky than a startup, but it can be as risky as taking food from strangers. You have to study a company’s assets, debts, business records, and business practices carefully. An experienced business lawyer knows where to look for negotiation advantages and how to protect a buyer from crooks. ## Passing The Torch A family business legacy is part of the American dream. In reality, few businesses last beyond the founding generation. Non-business issues like treating family members fairly and minimizing estate, gift, and income taxes complicate the transition for some successful family businesses. A business lawyer with extensive training and experience in both business law and estate planning can offer creative solutions to help balance seemingly impossible choices. ## Business Associate Buyouts Business partners are like married couples. Their shared vision may carry them through the startup and honeymoon phases, but a burnout or a financial crunch can trigger a nasty divorce. Smart business partners hire experienced business lawyers to write ownership agreements (often called “buy-sell agreements”) at the beginning of their relationships that spell out what happens in the end. Detailed ownership agreements may address issues like a partner’s death, disability, divorce, bankruptcy, or simple desire to call it quits. ## Business Sales Many business owners relate to their businesses like their children. They conceived, nurtured, and lost sleep worrying about their fledgling companies until their work paid off and their creations succeeded. Selling a business can be an emotionally challenging and financially risky proposition. A seasoned business lawyer understands these factors and can help a retiring business owner exit the marketplace gracefully and profitably. The lawyer should know how to preserve trade secret confidentiality during negotiations and how to allocate asset values in the business sale agreement to minimize income and capital gains taxes for the seller. Perhaps more importantly, an old hand lawyer will truthfully tell his client what to expect about life after business ownership to spare the client disappointment and embarrassment. ## We Mean Business Business owners need experienced legal counsel to react to today’s rapidly evolving technologies and economic conditions. The Hawkins Elder Law attorneys have served small and family-owned businesses for more than two decades. We have served such diverse businesses as trucking companies, newspapers, child care centers, waste management companies, concrete companies, hair salons, medical practices, funeral homes, agricultural seed producers, construction companies, sand & gravel producers, insurance agencies, internet service providers, automotive sales and repair services, engineering firms, industrial consultants, grocers, and restaurants. ## We Know the Territory For over three decades, our attorneys have planned estates to reduce or avoid taxes, protect disabled beneficiaries, protect assets from business liability and healthcare expenses, and plan next-generation family business ownership transitions. [Jennifer Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) and [Jeff Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers](https://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/category/sullivan/). They teach trust, estate, business, and elder law courses to lawyers throughout Indiana. Both lawyers are licensed to practice law in Indiana, and Jeff Hawkins is also licensed to practice law in Illinois. Jeff is an Indiana Fellow of the prestigious [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC)](https://www.actec.org/), and he served as the [Indiana State Bar Association President from October 2014 to October 2015](https://www.inbar.org/news/news.asp?id=197983&hhSearchTerms=%22Jeff+and+R+and+Hawkins%22). ## Contact Us and Tell Us What You Want Your Estate Plan to Do We want to help you make an estate plan to avoid problems that concern you and accomplish what you want your estate plan to do. Please contact our office and schedule a meeting to discuss those concerns and objectives with us. Follow this **[Link to Our Intake Forms](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/intake-forms/)** for more information about scheduling an appointment. © Copyright 2024 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. --- ### [Estate Planning](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/estate-planning/) **Published:** October 6, 2014 **Author:** newdeal **Content:** ## [![Estate Planning](https://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Estate-Planning-4-300x200.jpg "Estate Planning - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](https://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Estate-Planning-4.jpg)**What is an Estate Plan?** An estate plan is a system that determines what will happen to you and your property if health issues disable you during your lifetime and who will receive your assets when you die. Everyone has an estate plan. If you do not make a will, trust, appointment of health care representative, or power of attorney, state law may decide those outcomes. If you want to decide the outcomes for yourself, you need to work with a trust and estate lawyer to make a plan. ## Who Needs an Estate Plan? Almost every adult needs a plan to choose health care decision makers, people to manage financial matters during severe illness, and how assets will be distributed after death. Wealthy people have different issues than people with more modest assets, but less wealth does not mean that a person has fewer planning needs. Complex family relationships often require detailed planning regardless of a person’s wealth. ## Why Plan? No one wants to get sick or die before old age, but we cannot control those events. All we can do is take care of our health, pray for God’s protection, and plan for our worst-case scenarios. Planning does not avoid crises, but a good plan can soften the blow. Here are some issues that an estate plan should address: - Appoint health care decision-makers for extreme disability or at end of life - Appoint financial and legal decision-makers to make important business decisions during your temporary or permanent disability - Plan to reduce federal estate taxes due after the death of someone with more wealth than the federal estate tax exemption amount ($13.61 million in 2024, which is scheduled to drop to about $7.1 million in 2026 – Indiana repealed its inheritance tax in 2013) - Plan to manage uninsured nursing home expenses during permanent disability (Note: few people buy nursing home insurance and Indiana nursing home care averaged $7,496 ($89,952 per year) as of July 1, 2023 - Plan asset and income distributions for the surviving spouse and the married couple’s children by previous relationships (this is often the most complicated estate planning issue) - Plan business ownership transition in advance for the death or disability of a business partner - Plan how to manage health, legal, and business issues for an unmarried couple (unmarried people have no legal rights to know or be involved in each other’s business and gifts between them can trigger harsh penalties if one needs nursing home care) - Provide tax-deductible charitable gifts to churches, schools, or other charitable organizations - Make protective trusts for beneficiaries whose physically or mentally disabled, financially distressed, or hopelessly irresponsible beneficiaries ## Plan While You Can Law changes often. Few people understand the law. Popular Internet tools that advertise on television mislead people because they offer mass-production plans that cannot consider or address most issues described in this brochure. Only lawyers with experience in estate planning, business law, and elder law can cover all the bases. We all will die someday and crisis strikes many of us before death. A wise person seeks expert advice before the drama begins. ## We Know the Territory For over three decades, our attorneys have planned estates to reduce or avoid taxes, protect disabled beneficiaries, protect assets from business liability and healthcare expenses, and plan next-generation family business ownership transitions. [Jennifer Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jennifer-hawkins/) and [Jeff Hawkins](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/jeff-hawkins/) are [Trust & Estate Specialty Board Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyers](https://indianatrustestatelawyers.org/category/sullivan/). They teach trust, estate, business, and elder law courses to lawyers throughout Indiana. Both lawyers are licensed to practice law in Indiana, and Jeff Hawkins is also licensed to practice law in Illinois. Jeff is an Indiana Fellow of the prestigious [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC)](https://www.actec.org/), and he served as the [Indiana State Bar Association President from October 2014 to October 2015](https://www.inbar.org/news/news.asp?id=197983&hhSearchTerms=%22Jeff+and+R+and+Hawkins%22). ## Contact Us and Tell Us What You Want Your Estate Plan to Do We want to help you make an estate plan to avoid problems that concern you and accomplish what you want your estate plan to do. Please contact our office and schedule a meeting to discuss those concerns and objectives with us. Follow this **[Link to Our Intake Forms](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/intake-forms/)** for more information about scheduling an appointment. © Copyright 2024 Hawkins Elder Law. All rights reserved. --- ### [History](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/about-us/) **Published:** October 6, 2014 **Author:** newdeal **Content:** [![Jennifer-and-Jeff-Hawkins-1151-reduced](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Jennifer-and-Jeff-Hawkins-1151-reduced-197x300.png "Jennifer-and-Jeff-Hawkins-1151-reduced - Hawkins Elder Law PC")](http://hawkinselderlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Jennifer-and-Jeff-Hawkins-1151-reduced.png)Hawkins Elder Law is the elder law practice of husband and wife lawyers Jeff R. Hawkins and Jennifer J. Hawkins that began more than two decades ago. They have built a boutique law firm that focuses primarily on four subjects in Indiana and Illinois: - **Elder Law** (advance planning to protect assets from the costs of nursing home care and representation of nursing home residents and their families in the Medicaid system) - **Estate and Trust Law** (estate planning with tools like wills, trusts, and powers of attorney; and representation in the administration of trusts, estates, and guardianships) - **Business Law** (new business startup consultations, formation of business entities such as LLCs and corporations, contract negotiation and preparation, and representation in the sale and purchase of businesses) - **Mediation** (business relationship consultation, coordination of organizational planning and policymaking processes, and participation as a neutral official in negotiated resolution of disputes and lawsuits) The couple began practicing law in 1992 as associates of the Rowe & Gregg law firm in Jasonville, Indiana. ROWE & GREGG added Jeff and Jennifer as partners in 1993 and renamed itself: Rowe, Gregg, Hawkins & Hawkins. Simultaneously, Jennifer commenced a part-time appointment as a Greene County Deputy Prosecutor. One of the partners left the firm for government employment and the firm reorganized as Rowe & Hawkins. Four years later, Rowe & Hawkins reorganized again as Rowe & Hawkins, LLC. Jeff and Jennifer moved their practice to Sullivan, Indiana, in January 2001. They acquired the Sevier dental office on old U.S. 41 North, across the street from Sullivan High School in Sullivan, Indiana, and formed the new law firm of Hawkins & Hawkins LLC. The firm reorganized in 2002 and 2003 to meet the growing needs of their probate and business clientele. The firm changed its name in the fall of 2003 to Hawkins Law PC as part of its streamlined practice development. Heavy investment in law practice technology enabled the husband and wife team to serve clients more dependably over a wide geographic region. Limiting the firm’s practice subjects enabled the firm to concentrate its energy and deliver more value to it clients. Hawkins Law PC changed its name to Hawkins Elder Law in May 2019 to emphasize its increased focus on the firm’s elder law practice segment. In June 2019, Hawkins Elder Law began airing television advertisements to promote awareness in the Wabash Valley community of the need for [asset protection planning to protect assets from future long term care costs](https://youtu.be/bU59-dB_smA) and [Medicaid eligibility representation when someone needs nursing home care or other long-term care very soon](https://youtu.be/4iB8P2uuT8I). --- ## Categories ### [Uncategorized](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/uncategorized/) --- ### [Estate Planning](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/) --- ### [Elder Law](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/) --- ### [Business](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/business/) --- ### [Mediation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/dispute-resolution/mediation/) --- ### [Farm Law](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/business/farm-law/) --- ### [Charitable Giving](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/charitable-giving/) --- ### [Tax Planning](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/tax-planning/) --- ### [Succession Planning](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/business/succession-planning/) --- ### [Last Will and Testament](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/last-will-and-testament/) --- ### [Power of Attorney](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/power-of-attorney/) --- ### [Estate](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/estate/) --- ### [Trust](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/trust/) --- ### [Deed](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/deed/) --- ### [TOD](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/tod/) --- ### [POD](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/pod/) --- ### [IRA](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/retirement-plan/ira/) **Description:** An individual retirement account (IRA) is a kind of retirement plan. --- ### [401(k)](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/retirement-plan/401k/) **Description:** A 401(k) is an employer-sponsored retirement plan established under Section 401(k) of the US Internal Revenue Code. Typically, an employer will pay some of an employee’s compensation into the 401(k) plan, and the employee direct the employer to provide additional sums of compensation through the 401(k) plan instead of paying the employee directly. Some employers match employee contributions to the 401(k) plan by some matching ratio. Assets invested in a 401(k) plan grow on a tax-deferred basis, but the employee must pay income taxes on all amounts withdrawn from the plan. Some employers offer Roth 401(k) plans, which have some of the same characteristics as Roth IRAs. See the Roth IRA category for more information. Usually, an employee will “rollover” a 401(k) into a traditional IRA account upon termination of the employee’s employment. --- ### [Roth IRA](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/retirement-plan/roth-ira/) **Description:** A Roth IRA is an IRA to which the owner contributes money on which the owner has already paid income taxes. By comparison, and owner contributes to a traditional IRA money on which the owner has not paid income taxes, either as through payroll withholdings by an employer or as IRA contribution income tax deductions. --- ### [403(b)](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/retirement-plan/403b/) **Description:** A 403(b) plan is a kind of employer-sponsored retirement plan in which the employer contributes part of the employee’s compensation into a qualified annuity. The contributed funds grow on a tax-deferred basis until the employee withdraws the contributions, and then the employee must pay income taxes on the withdrawals. --- ### [Retirement Plan](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/retirement-plan/) --- ### [Required Minimum Distributions](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/retirement-plan/required-minimum-distributions/) **Description:** Required minimum distributions (RMDs) are minimum withdrawals that federal tax law requires a retirement plan owner or the owner’s designated beneficiary to take after the required beginning date (RBD). The RBD for for a plan owner in 2019 is 70 1/2 years of age. The RMD is normally calculated to withdraw the retirement plan over the life expectancy of the person that is required to take RMDs. In some circumstances, the period for calculation of RMD is shorter than the person’s life expectancy. --- ### [Beneficiary Designation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/beneficiary-designation/) --- ### [Annuity](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/annuity/) --- ### [Life Insurance](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/life-insurance/) --- ### [Joint Bank Account](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/joint-bank-account/) --- ### [Probate](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/probate/) --- ### [Executor](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/executor/) --- ### [Trustee](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/trustee/) --- ### [Medicaid](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/medicaid/) --- ### [Guardianship](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/guardianship/) --- ### [Nursing home](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/nursing-home/) --- ### [Medicare](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/medicare/) --- ### [Social Security](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/social-security/) --- ### [Home healthcare](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/home-healthcare/) --- ### [Dementia](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/dementia/) --- ### [Elder abuse](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/elder-abuse/) --- ### [Alzheimer's](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/alzheimers/) --- ### [Parkinson's disease](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/parkinsons-disease/) --- ### [Assisted living](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/assisted-living/) --- ### [Feeding tube](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/feeding-tube/) --- ### [Long-term care](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/long-term-care/) --- ### [Long-term care insurance](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/long-term-care-insurance/) --- ### [Lookback period](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/lookback-period/) --- ### [Transfer penalty](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/transfer-penalty/) --- ### [Gift](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/gift/) --- ### [Miller trust](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/miller-trust/) --- ### [Special needs trust](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/special-needs-trust/) --- ### [Testamentary Trust](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/testamentary-trust/) --- ### [Irrevocable trust](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/irrevocable-trust/) --- ### [Life Prolonging Procedures](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/life-prolonging-procedures/) --- ### [Advance Directives](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/advance-directives/) --- ### [Physicians Orders for Scope of Treatment](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/physician-orders-for-scope-of-treatment/) --- ### [POST](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/post/) --- ### [POLST](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/polst/) --- ### [Stroke](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/stroke/) --- ### [529 plan](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/529-plan/) --- ### [Able Act](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/able-act/) --- ### [Disability](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/disability/) --- ### [Assistive technology](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/assistive-technology/) --- ### [Qualified disability expenses](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/qualified-disability-expenses/) --- ### [Tax-free Plan Distributions](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/retirement-plan/tax-free-plan-distributions/) **Description:** A Roth IRA owner may withdraw Roth IRA funds tax-free after age 59 1/2. The Roth IRA owner’s designated beneficiaries can also withdraw Roth IRA funds tax-free after the IRA owner’s death. Also, if a traditional IRA owner designates a charity is an IRA beneficiary or makes Qualified Charitable Distributions, the charity receives the distributions free of tax. --- ### [Personal support services](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/personal-support-services/) --- ### [Savings Plan](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/savings-plan/) --- ### [Deposit Insurance](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/banking/deposit-insurance/) --- ### [Qualified annuity](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/annuity/qualified-annuity/) --- ### [Trusts and Estates](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/trusts-and-estates/) --- ### [Will contest](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/trusts-and-estates/will-contest/) --- ### [Contested Estate](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/trusts-and-estates/contested-estate/) --- ### [Undue influence](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/trusts-and-estates/undue-influence/) --- ### [Executor](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/trusts-and-estates/executor-trusts-and-estates/) --- ### [Personal representative](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/trusts-and-estates/personal-representative/) --- ### [Disinherit](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/trusts-and-estates/disinherit/) --- ### [Spendthrift](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/trusts-and-estates/spendthrift/) --- ### [Probate court](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/trusts-and-estates/probate-court/) --- ### [Petition](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/trusts-and-estates/petition/) --- ### [Fiduciary](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/trusts-and-estates/fiduciary/) --- ### [Notice of administration](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/trusts-and-estates/notice-of-administration/) --- ### [Nonprobate transfers](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/trusts-and-estates/nonprobate-transfers/) --- ### [Foreign personal representative](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/trusts-and-estates/personal-representative/foreign-personal-representative/) --- ### [Community spouse](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/spousal-impoverishment/community-spouse/) --- ### [Surviving spouse](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/surviving-spouse/) --- ### [Remarriage](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/remarriage/) --- ### [Prenuptial Agreement](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/prenuptial-agreement/) --- ### [Postnuptial Agreement](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/postnuptial-agreement/) --- ### [Premarital Agreement](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/premarital-agreement/) --- ### [Settlement agreement](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/dispute-resolution/mediation/settlement-agreement/) --- ### [Win-win](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/dispute-resolution/mediation/win-win/) --- ### [Interests](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/dispute-resolution/mediation/interests/) --- ### [Positions](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/dispute-resolution/mediation/positions/) --- ### [Neutral](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/dispute-resolution/neutral/) --- ### [Pre-Suit Mediation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/dispute-resolution/mediation/pre-suit-mediation/) --- ### [Relationship Counseling](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/dispute-resolution/conciliation/relationship-counseling/) --- ### [Stepchildren](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/stepchildren/) --- ### [Quality of life](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/quality-of-life/) --- ### [Emergency care](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/emergency-care/) --- ### [Dispute Resolution](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/dispute-resolution/) --- ### [Arbitration](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/dispute-resolution/arbitration/) --- ### [Facilitated Meeting](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/dispute-resolution/facilitated-meeting-dispute-resolution/) --- ### [Stakeholders](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/dispute-resolution/facilitated-meeting-dispute-resolution/stakeholders/) --- ### [Arbitration agreement](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/dispute-resolution/arbitration/arbitration-agreement/) --- ### [Revocable Trust](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/revocable-trust/) --- ### [Inherit](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/trusts-and-estates/inherit/) --- ### [Intangible property](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/intangible-property/) --- ### [Cybercrime](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/fraud/cybercrime/) --- ### [Guardian](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/guardian/) --- ### [Attorney-in-Fact](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/attorney-in-fact/) --- ### [Theft](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/fraud/theft/) --- ### [Fraud & Theft](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/fraud/) --- ### [IRS](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/irs/) --- ### [Property Dispute](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/property-dispute/) --- ### [Capital Gains Tax](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/capital-gains-tax/) --- ### [Internet Security](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/fraud/internet-security/) --- ### [Social Security](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/social-security-2/) --- ### [Fraud](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/fraud/fraud-fraud/) --- ### [Scam](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/fraud/scam/) --- ### [Mortgage](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/mortgage/) --- ### [Real Estate](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/) --- ### [Property Tax](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/property-tax/) --- ### [Tax Sale](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/tax-sale/) --- ### [Title Insurance](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/title-insurance/) --- ### [Gift Tax](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/gift-tax/) --- ### [Elder Neglect](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/elder-neglect/) --- ### [Elder Exploitation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/elder-exploitation/) --- ### [Investments](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/investments/) --- ### [Banking](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/banking/) --- ### [Caregiver](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/caregiver/) --- ### [Conciliation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/dispute-resolution/conciliation/) --- ### [Reconcile](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/dispute-resolution/conciliation/reconcile/) --- ### [Relational Barriers](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/dispute-resolution/conciliation/relational-barriers/) --- ### [News Media](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/news-media/) --- ### [Internet](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/internet/) --- ### [Real Estate Closings](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/real-estate-closings/) --- ### [Abstract of Title](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/abstract-of-title/) --- ### [Title Opinion](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/title-opinion/) --- ### [Mortgage](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/mortgage-real-estate/) --- ### [Mortgage Foreclosure](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/mortgage-foreclosure/) --- ### [Real Estate Purchase Agreement](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/real-estate-purchase-agreement/) --- ### [Mortgage Loan Application](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/mortgage-loan-application/) --- ### [Realtor](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/realtor/) --- ### [Attorney document review](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/attorney-document-review/) --- ### [Investment Advisor](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/investment-advisor/) --- ### [Community Foundation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/community-foundation/) --- ### [Impaired Driving](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/impaired-driving/) --- ### [Independent Living](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/independent-living/) --- ### [Hospital](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/hospital/) --- ### [Health Insurance](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/health-insurance/) --- ### [Stretch IRA](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/retirement-plan/stretch-ira/) **Description:** A “stretch” IRA is simply an IRA that the designated beneficiary inherits, and from which the beneficiary withdraws the required minimum distribution (RMD) over the maximum allowable withdrawal period. --- ### [Property Ownership](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/property-ownership/) --- ### [Hunting and Fishing](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/hunting-and-fishing/) --- ### [Law and Justice](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/law-and-justice/) --- ### [Lawyers as Stewards of Justice](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/law-and-justice/lawyers-as-stewards-of-justice/) --- ### [Rule of Law](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/law-and-justice/rule-of-law/) --- ### [U.S. Constitution](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/law-and-justice/us-constitution/) --- ### [Area Agencies on Aging](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/area-agencies-on-aging/) --- ### [Indiana Long Term Care Partnership](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/long-term-care-insurance/indiana-long-term-care-partnership/) --- ### [Community Investment](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/community-investment/) --- ### [Our Father's Arms](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/community-investment/our-fathers-arms/) --- ### [Salvation Army](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/community-investment/salvation-army/) --- ### [Revive Sullivan](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/community-investment/revive-sullivan/) --- ### [Brown Bagger School Food Program](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/community-investment/brown-bagger-school-food-program/) --- ### [Christmas Forkids Sullivan](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/community-investment/christmas-forkids-sullivan/) --- ### [Christmas in the Park”](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/community-investment/christmas-in-the-park/) --- ### [Integrity](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/integrity/) --- ### [Family Resources](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/family-resources/) --- ### [Family Archives](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/family-resources/family-archives/) --- ### [Legacy](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/family-resources/legacy/) --- ### [Christmas](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/christmas/) --- ### [Health Savings Account](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/health-savings-account/) --- ### [Affordable Care Act](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/affordable-care-act/) --- ### [Section 179 Asset Purchases](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/business/section-179-asset-purchases/) --- ### [Income Tax](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/irs/income-tax/) --- ### [Charitable Tax Deduction](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/irs/charitable-tax-deduction/) --- ### [Income Tax Return](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/irs/income-tax-return/) --- ### [Healthcare Representative](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/healthcare-representative/) --- ### [Department of Veterans Affairs](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/department-of-veterans-affairs/) --- ### [Aid and Attendance](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/department-of-veterans-affairs/aid-and-attendance/) --- ### [Corporation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/business/corporation/) --- ### [Limited Liability Company](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/business/limited-liability-bompany/) --- ### [Asset Beneficiary Label](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/asset-beneficiary-label/) --- ### [QLAC](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/annuity/qlac/) --- ### [Real Estate Partition](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/real-estate-partition/) --- ### [Farm](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/farm/) --- ### [Family Farm](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/farm/family-farm/) --- ### [Farmland](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/farm/farmland/) --- ### [LLC](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/business/llc/) --- ### [Asset Protection](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/asset-protection/) --- ### [Grief and Loss](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/grief-and-loss/) --- ### [Grief Counseling](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/grief-and-loss/grief-counseling/) --- ### [5 Stages of Loss](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/grief-and-loss/5-stages-of-loss/) --- ### [Cancer](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/grief-and-loss/cancer/) --- ### [Negotiated Settlement](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/dispute-resolution/mediation/negotiated-settlement/) --- ### [Contract](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/business/contract/) --- ### [Contract litigation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/business/contract-litigation/) --- ### [Covenant not to compete](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/business/covenant-not-to-compete/) --- ### [Contract negotiation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/business/contract-negotiation/) --- ### [Child Care](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/child-care/) --- ### [Estate Tax](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/trusts-and-estates/estate-tax/) --- ### [Digital Assets](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/digital-assets/) --- ### [Economy](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/economy/) --- ### [European Union](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/economy/european-union/) --- ### [Federal Reserve](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/economy/federal-reserve/) --- ### [Brexit](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/economy/brexit/) --- ### [Great Recession](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/economy/great-recession/) --- ### [NOTICE Act](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/notice-act/) --- ### [physical rehabilitation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/physical-rehabilitation/) --- ### [CARE Act](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/care-act/) --- ### [Pour-Over Will](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/pour-over-will/) --- ### [Spousal Impoverishment](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/spousal-impoverishment/) --- ### [Corporate Stock](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/corporate-stock/) --- ### [US Savings Bonds](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/us-savings-bonds/) --- ### [Funeral Planning Declaration](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/funeral-planning-declaration/) --- ### [Living Will Declaration](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/living-will-declaration/) --- ### [Organ Donation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/organ-donation/) --- ### [Religious Rituals](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/culture-society/faith-religion/religious-rituals/) --- ### [Quality of Life](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/advance-directives/quality-of-life-advance-directives/) --- ### [End of Life Decisions](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/advance-directives/end-of-life-decisions/) --- ### [Spiritual Convictions](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/culture-society/faith-religion/spiritual-convictions/) --- ### [Veterans benefits](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/veterans-benefits/) --- ### [Social Security Disability](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/social-security-disability/) --- ### [SSI](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/ssi/) --- ### [Tax Return Filing Requirements](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/irs/tax-return-filing-requirements/) --- ### [Tax Evasion](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/irs/tax-evasion/) --- ### [Tax Fraud](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/irs/tax-fraud/) --- ### [Funeral Planning](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/funeral-planning/) --- ### [Buy-Sell Agreement](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/business/buy-sell-agreement/) --- ### [Aged and Disabled Waiver](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/aged-and-disabled-waiver/) --- ### [Assisted Living Waiver](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/assisted-living-waiver/) --- ### [Craftsmen Lawyers](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/law-and-justice/craftsmen-lawyers/) --- ### [Trust Protector](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/trust-protector/) --- ### [Attorney-Client Privilege](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/law-and-justice/attorney-client-privilege/) --- ### [Conflict of Interest](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/law-and-justice/conflict-of-interest/) --- ### [ABLE Act](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/able-act-elder-law/) --- ### [Attorney-Client Relationship](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/law-and-justice/attorney-client-relationship/) --- ### [Privacy](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/law-and-justice/privacy/) --- ### [Confidentiality](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/law-and-justice/confidentiality/) --- ### [Attorney Fee](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/law-and-justice/attorney-fee/) --- ### [Engagement Agreement](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/law-and-justice/engagement-agreement/) --- ### [Initial Attorney-Client Meeting](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/law-and-justice/initial-attorney-client-meeting/) --- ### [Electronic Estate Plan Signatures](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/electronic-estate-plan-signatures/) --- ### [Mental Capacity](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/mental-capacity/) --- ### [Encroachment](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/encroachment/) --- ### [Adverse Possession](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/adverse-possession/) --- ### [Boundary Dispute](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/boundary-dispute/) --- ### [Survey](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/survey/) --- ### [Boundary Location Agreement](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/boundary-location-agreement/) --- ### [Divorce](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/divorce/) --- ### [Indiana e-filing](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/law-and-justice/indiana-e-filing/) --- ### [Courts](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/law-and-justice/courts/) --- ### [Lawsuit](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/law-and-justice/lawsuit/) --- ### [Prepaid Funeral](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/prepaid-funeral/) --- ### [Obama Care](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/economy/obama-care/) --- ### [Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/health-savings-accounts-hsas/) --- ### [DD 214](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/veterans-benefits/dd-214/) --- ### [Health Records](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/health-records/) --- ### [Financial Records](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/financial-records/) --- ### [Reverse Mortgage](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/reverse-mortgage/) --- ### [Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/centers-for-medicare-medicaid-services-cms/) --- ### [Healthcare System](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/healthcare-system/) --- ### [Culture & Society](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/culture-society/) --- ### [Baby Boomer Generation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/culture-society/baby-boomer-generation/) --- ### [Generation X](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/culture-society/generation-x/) --- ### [Millennial Generation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/culture-society/millennial-generation/) --- ### [Political Party](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/culture-society/political-party/) --- ### [Faith & Religion](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/culture-society/faith-religion/) --- ### [Customer Service](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/business/customer-service/) --- ### [Marketing](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/business/marketing/) --- ### [Transaction Confirmation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/business/transaction-confirmation/) --- ### [Medicaid Planning Advice](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/medicaid-planning-advice/) --- ### [Pre-Transaction Document Examination](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/pre-transaction-document-examination/) --- ### [Advice of Elder Law Counsel](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/advice-of-elder-law-counsel/) --- ### [Protective Trust](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/trust/protective-trust/) --- ### [Senior Consumer](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/elder-exploitation/senior-consumer/) --- ### [Financial Exploitation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/elder-exploitation/financial-exploitation/) --- ### [Misrepresentation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/elder-exploitation/misrepresentation/) --- ### [Deception](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/elder-exploitation/deception/) --- ### [Intimidation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/elder-abuse/intimidation/) --- ### [Lead Paint Disclosure](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/lead-paint-disclosure/) --- ### [Seller's Residential Real Estate Sales Disclosure](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/sellers-residential-real-estate-sales-disclosure/) --- ### [Environmental Protection Agency](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/environmental-protection-agency/) --- ### [Title Company](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/title-company/) --- ### [Real Estate Closing](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/real-estate-closing/) --- ### [Offer to Purchase Real Estate](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/offer-to-purchase-real-estate/) --- ### [Counteroffer](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/counteroffer/) --- ### [Earnest Money](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/earnest-money/) --- ### [GIS](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/gis/) --- ### [Real Estate Appraiser](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/real-estate-appraiser/) --- ### [Home Inspection](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/home-inspection/) --- ### [Closing Costs](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/closing-costs/) --- ### [Bank Financing](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/bank-financing/) --- ### [Sales Disclosure Form](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/sales-disclosure-form/) --- ### [Settlement Statement](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/settlement-statement/) --- ### [Form 1099-S](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/form-1099-s/) --- ### [Property Tax Proration](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/property-tax-proration/) --- ### [Guardian of the Person](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/guardian-of-the-person/) --- ### [Fiduciary](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/fiduciary-estate-planning/) --- ### [#BabyBoomersRetire](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/babyboomersretire/) --- ### [#PlanningforLongevity](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/planningforlongevity/) --- ### [Indiana Secretary of State](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/business/indiana-secretary-of-state/) --- ### [Administrative Dissolution](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/business/administrative-dissolution/) --- ### [Entity Reinstatement](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/business/entity-reinstatement/) --- ### [Indiana Department of Revenue](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/business/indiana-department-of-revenue/) --- ### [Application for Reinstatement](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/business/application-for-reinstatement/) --- ### [Nonprofit Corporation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/business/nonprofit-corporation/) --- ### [Nonprofit LLC](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/business/nonprofit-llc/) --- ### [Registered Agent](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/business/registered-agent/) --- ### [Observation Status](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/hospital/observation-status/) --- ### [Inpatient Status](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/hospital/inpatient-status/) --- ### [Medicare supplemental insurance](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/medicare/medicare-supplemental-insurance/) --- ### [Admission](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/hospital/admission/) --- ### [100 days](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/medicare/100-days/) --- ### [Rehabilitation Facility](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/rehabilitation-facility/) --- ### [Appointment of Health Care Representative](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/advance-directives/appointment-of-health-care-representative/) --- ### [Living Will Declaration](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/advance-directives/living-will-declaration-advance-directives/) --- ### [Health Care Power of Attorney](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/advance-directives/health-care-power-of-attorney/) --- ### [Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/advance-directives/physician-orders-for-scope-of-treatment-advance-directives/) --- ### [POST](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/advance-directives/post-advance-directives/) --- ### [Anatomical Gifts](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/advance-directives/anatomical-gifts/) --- ### [Institutional Spouse](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/spousal-impoverishment/institutional-spouse/) **Description:** The institutional spouse is the spouse that applies for Medicaid if the other spouse does not need Medicaid. --- ### [Snapshot Date](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/spousal-impoverishment/snapshot-date/) **Description:** The snapshot date is the institutional spouse’s first day of a continuous 30-day period of in-patient care in one or more health care facilities. --- ### [Snapshot Value](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/spousal-impoverishment/snapshot-value/) **Description:** The snapshot value is the value of a married couple’s total countable resources on the institutional spouse’s snapshot date. --- ### [Resources](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/medicaid/resources/) **Description:** Medicaid resources are non-exempt assets that count toward a Medicaid applicant’s resource limit for Medicaid eligibility. --- ### [Institutional Spouse Resource Allowance](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/spousal-impoverishment/institutional-spouse-resource-allowance/) **Description:** The institutional spouse’s resource allowance is the maximum value of resources that the institutional spouse can have to qualify for Medicaid. --- ### [Community Spouse Resource Allowance](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/spousal-impoverishment/community-spouse-resource-allowance/) **Description:** The community spouse’s resource allowance is the maximum value of resources that the community spouse can own without disqualifying the institutional spouse for Medicaid benefits. The limit is the smaller value of 50% of the snapshot value or a maximum value that the US government adjust most years for the rising cost of living. --- ### [Family and Social Services Administration](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/family-and-social-services-administration/) **Description:** The Family and Social Services Administration administers Indiana’s Medicaid System. --- ### [Qualified Charitable Distribution](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/retirement-plan/qualified-charitable-distribution/) **Description:** A Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) is a direct transfer from a traditional IRA to a charitable beneficiary. A QCD qualifies for the IRA owner’s required minimum distribution and the charity receives the QCD free of tax. --- ### [Required Beginning Date](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/retirement-plan/required-beginning-date/) --- ### [RBD](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/retirement-plan/rbd/) --- ### [Designated Beneficiary](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/retirement-plan/designated-beneficiary/) --- ### [Health Care](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/health-care/) --- ### [disabled adult child](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/disabled-adult-child/) --- ### [ARC of Indiana](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/arc-of-indiana/) --- ### [Organ Transplant](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/organ-donation/organ-transplant/) --- ### [Indiana State Bar Association](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/law-and-justice/indiana-state-bar-association/) --- ### [Probate Trust & Real Property Section](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/law-and-justice/indiana-state-bar-association/probate-trust-real-property-section/) --- ### [Service Animal](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/service-animal/) --- ### [Assistance Animal](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/assistance-animal/) --- ### [Americans with Disabilities Act](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/americans-with-disabilities-act/) --- ### [Department of Justice](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/law-and-justice/department-of-justice/) --- ### [Department of Housing and Urban Development](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/department-of-housing-and-urban-development/) --- ### [DoJ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/law-and-justice/doj/) --- ### [HUD](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/hud/) --- ### [ADA](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/ada/) --- ### [Fair Housing Act](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/fair-housing-act/) --- ### [Department of Veterans Affairs](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/veterans-benefits/department-of-veterans-affairs-veterans-benefits/) --- ### [Emotional Support Animal](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/assistance-animal/emotional-support-animal/) --- ### [Allergy Detection Dogs](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/service-animal/allergy-detection-dogs/) --- ### [Seizure Dogs](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/service-animal/seizure-dogs/) --- ### [Fair Housing Act](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/law-and-justice/fair-housing-act-law-and-justice/) --- ### [Landlord](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/landlord/) --- ### [Tenant](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/real-estate/tenant/) --- ### [Advance Health Care Directive](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/advance-health-care-directive/) --- ### [Rights of Survivorship](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/rights-of-survivorship/) --- ### [Transfer on Death](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/transfer-on-death/) --- ### [Legal Separation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/legal-separation/) --- ### [Marriage Dissolution](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/marriage-dissolution/) --- ### [Congress](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/law-and-justice/congress/) --- ### [SECURE Act](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/retirement-plan/secure-act/) --- ### [Baby Boomer](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/economy/baby-boomer/) --- ### [Qualified Education Expense](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/529-plan/qualified-education-expense/) --- ### [COVID-19](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/culture-society/covid-19/) --- ### [Undo Influence](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/fraud/undo-influence/) --- ### [Indiana Supreme Court](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/law-and-justice/indiana-supreme-court/) --- ### [Coronavirus](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/culture-society/coronavirus/) --- ### [Electronic Estate Planning](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/electronic-estate-planning/) --- ### [Public Health](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/culture-society/public-health/) --- ### [Centers for Disease Control (CDC)](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/culture-society/centers-for-disease-control-cdc/) --- ### [Church Liability](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/culture-society/faith-religion/church-liability/) --- ### [Separation of Church and State](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/culture-society/faith-religion/separation-of-church-and-state/) --- ### [First Amendment](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/law-and-justice/first-amendment/) --- ### [Communities of Faith](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/culture-society/faith-religion/communities-of-faith/) --- ### [Medicaid Fraud](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/medicaid/medicaid-fraud/) --- ### [Personal Business Records](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/personal-business-records/) --- ### [Pay on Death](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/pay-on-death/) --- ### [JTEN](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/jten/) --- ### [Insurance](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/estate-planning/insurance/) --- ### [HCBS](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/hcbs/) --- ### [Home and Community-Based Services](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/hcbs/home-and-community-based-services/) --- ### [Pathways](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/category/elder-law/medicaid/pathways/) --- ## Tags ### [Congress](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/congress/) --- ### [ABLE Act](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/able-act/) --- ### [disability](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/disability/) --- ### [Medicaid](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/medicaid/) --- ### [Social Security](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/social-security/) --- ### [private insurance](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/private-insurance/) --- ### [section 529](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/section-529/) --- ### [college savings plan](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/college-savings-plan/) --- ### [qualified disability expenses](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/qualified-disability-expenses/) --- ### [designated beneficiary](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/designated-beneficiary/) --- ### [education](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/education/) --- ### [housing](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/housing/) --- ### [transportation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/transportation/) --- ### [employment training and support](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/employment-training-and-support/) --- ### [assistive technology and personal support services](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/assistive-technology-and-personal-support-services/) --- ### [health](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/health/) --- ### [prevention and wellness](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/prevention-and-wellness/) --- ### [financial management and administrative services](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/financial-management-and-administrative-services/) --- ### [legal fees](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/legal-fees/) --- ### [expenses for oversight and monitoring](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/expenses-for-oversight-and-monitoring/) --- ### [funeral and burial expenses](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/funeral-and-burial-expenses/) --- ### [estate plan](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/estate-plan/) --- ### [tax break](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/tax-break/) --- ### [beneficiaries](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/beneficiaries/) --- ### [Farmers](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/farmers/) --- ### [crop](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/crop/) --- ### [harvest](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/harvest/) --- ### [grain](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/grain/) --- ### [livestock](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/livestock/) --- ### [market prices](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/market-prices/) --- ### [input costs](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/input-costs/) --- ### [dollars](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/dollars/) --- ### [expenses](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/expenses/) --- ### [revenue](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/revenue/) --- ### [reduce expenses](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/reduce-expenses/) --- ### [avoid losses](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/avoid-losses/) --- ### [pests](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/pests/) --- ### [weeds](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/weeds/) --- ### [GPS-coordinated](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/gps-coordinated/) --- ### [precision farming](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/precision-farming/) --- ### [technology](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/technology/) --- ### [legal](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/legal/) --- ### [planning](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/planning/) --- ### [cost savings](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/cost-savings/) --- ### [loss prevention](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/loss-prevention/) --- ### [progressive](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/progressive/) --- ### [farm operation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/farm-operation/) --- ### [tillable](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/tillable/) --- ### [acres](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/acres/) --- ### [grain elevator](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/grain-elevator/) --- ### [grain checks](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/grain-checks/) --- ### [landowners](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/landowners/) --- ### [tenant farmers](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/tenant-farmers/) --- ### [elevator](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/elevator/) --- ### [cost of goods](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/cost-of-goods/) --- ### [crop payment](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/crop-payment/) --- ### [income tax](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/income-tax/) --- ### [rental income](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/rental-income/) --- ### [Medicare](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/medicare/) --- ### [insurance premiums](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/insurance-premiums/) --- ### [corporations](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/corporations/) --- ### [land ownership](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/land-ownership/) --- ### [IRS](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/irs/) --- ### [operating revenue](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/operating-revenue/) --- ### [farm revenue](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/farm-revenue/) --- ### [farm operator](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/farm-operator/) --- ### [gross revenue](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/gross-revenue/) --- ### [crop share](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/crop-share/) --- ### [holdings](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/holdings/) --- ### [corporate planning](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/corporate-planning/) --- ### [businesses](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/businesses/) --- ### [minimize losses](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/minimize-losses/) --- ### [farm implements](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/farm-implements/) --- ### [planting](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/planting/) --- ### [harvest season](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/harvest-season/) --- ### [seasonal workers](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/seasonal-workers/) --- ### [trained](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/trained/) --- ### [inexperienced](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/inexperienced/) --- ### [liability insurance](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/liability-insurance/) --- ### [defense](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/defense/) --- ### [accidents](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/accidents/) --- ### [equipment failures](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/equipment-failures/) --- ### [insurance coverage gaps](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/insurance-coverage-gaps/) --- ### [expose](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/expose/) --- ### [farm owners](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/farm-owners/) --- ### [asset seizure](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/asset-seizure/) --- ### [uninsured liability](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/uninsured-liability/) --- ### [personal asset](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/personal-asset/) --- ### [farm operation liability](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/farm-operation-liability/) --- ### [responsibility](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/responsibility/) --- ### [shareholders](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/shareholders/) --- ### [investments](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/investments/) --- ### [dissolve](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/dissolve/) --- ### [homes](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/homes/) --- ### [legal planning](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/legal-planning/) --- ### [management](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/management/) --- ### [exceptions](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/exceptions/) --- ### [reorganize](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/reorganize/) --- ### [bookkeeping](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/bookkeeping/) --- ### [coordination](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/coordination/) --- ### [tax advisors](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/tax-advisors/) --- ### [attorneys](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/attorneys/) --- ### [business owners](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/business-owners/) --- ### [tax savings](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/tax-savings/) --- ### [catastrophic losses](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/catastrophic-losses/) --- ### [mediation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/mediation/) --- ### [estate and business planning](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/estate-and-business-planning/) --- ### [wills](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/wills/) --- ### [trusts](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/trusts/) --- ### [nursing home](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/nursing-home/) --- ### [Gift-giving](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/gift-giving/) --- ### [holidays](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/holidays/) --- ### [opportunities](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/opportunities/) --- ### [taxable dollars](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/taxable-dollars/) --- ### [tax-exempt](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/tax-exempt/) --- ### [churches](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/churches/) --- ### [colleges](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/colleges/) --- ### [poverty relief](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/poverty-relief/) --- ### [organizations](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/organizations/) --- ### [estate planning](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/estate-planning/) --- ### [give money](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/give-money/) --- ### [charities](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/charities/) --- ### [tax benefits](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/tax-benefits/) --- ### [contributors](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/contributors/) --- ### [deduct](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/deduct/) --- ### [collection plate](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/collection-plate/) --- ### [tax bracket](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/tax-bracket/) --- ### [federal government](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/federal-government/) --- ### [taxpayer](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/taxpayer/) --- ### [charitable giving](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/charitable-giving/) --- ### [death tax](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/death-tax/) --- ### [accumulate](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/accumulate/) --- ### [estate tax](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/estate-tax/) --- ### [inheritance](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/inheritance/) --- ### [gift strategies](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/gift-strategies/) --- ### [wealthy](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/wealthy/) --- ### [Kennedy](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/kennedy/) --- ### [Rockefeller](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/rockefeller/) --- ### [Bill Gates](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/bill-gates/) --- ### [Donald Trump](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/donald-trump/) --- ### [sophisticated](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/sophisticated/) --- ### [yachts](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/yachts/) --- ### [private jet](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/private-jet/) --- ### [IRA](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/ira/) --- ### [Roth IRA](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/roth-ira/) --- ### [tax-free](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/tax-free/) --- ### [liquidation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/liquidation/) --- ### [individuals](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/individuals/) --- ### [community foundations](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/community-foundations/) --- ### [charitable organizations](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/charitable-organizations/) --- ### [supporters](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/supporters/) --- ### [public education](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/public-education/) --- ### [financial strength](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/financial-strength/) --- ### [Growing old](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/growing-old/) --- ### [dying](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/dying/) --- ### [end-of-life](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/end-of-life/) --- ### [participate](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/participate/) --- ### [final](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/final/) --- ### [healthcare choices](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/healthcare-choices/) --- ### [living wills](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/living-wills/) --- ### [appointments of healthcare representative](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/appointments-of-healthcare-representative/) --- ### [healthcare powers of attorney](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/healthcare-powers-of-attorney/) --- ### [do not resuscitate](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/do-not-resuscitate/) --- ### [DNR](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/dnr/) --- ### [patience](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/patience/) --- ### [Indiana physician orders for scope of treatment](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/indiana-physician-orders-for-scope-of-treatment/) --- ### [post](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/post/) --- ### [healthcare providers](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/healthcare-providers/) --- ### [statutory requirement](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/statutory-requirement/) --- ### [physician](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/physician/) --- ### [written certification](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/written-certification/) --- ### [incurable](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/incurable/) --- ### [injury](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/injury/) --- ### [disease](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/disease/) --- ### [illness](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/illness/) --- ### [death](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/death/) --- ### [life-prolonging procedures](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/life-prolonging-procedures/) --- ### [artificial](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/artificial/) --- ### [prolonging](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/prolonging/) --- ### [dying process](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/dying-process/) --- ### [hospital](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/hospital/) --- ### [empower](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/empower/) --- ### [family members](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/family-members/) --- ### [friends](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/friends/) --- ### [and-of-life](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/and-of-life/) --- ### [resuscitate](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/resuscitate/) --- ### [terminal](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/terminal/) --- ### [terminally ill](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/terminally-ill/) --- ### [chronically ill](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/chronically-ill/) --- ### [customized](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/customized/) --- ### [care plan](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/care-plan/) --- ### [doctors](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/doctors/) --- ### [pain management](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/pain-management/) --- ### [comfort care](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/comfort-care/) --- ### [medicine](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/medicine/) --- ### [appointed](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/appointed/) --- ### [form](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/form/) --- ### [accidentally](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/accidentally/) --- ### [terminate](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/terminate/) --- ### [intended](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/intended/) --- ### [decisions](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/decisions/) --- ### [advance care directives](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/advance-care-directives/) --- ### [Indiana State Department of Health](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/indiana-state-department-of-health/) --- ### [Probate](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/probate/) --- ### [estate](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/estate/) --- ### [deceased](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/deceased/) --- ### [wealth](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/wealth/) --- ### [Estates](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/estates/) --- ### [Hollywood](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/hollywood/) --- ### [drama](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/drama/) --- ### [disputes](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/disputes/) --- ### [inconsistent](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/inconsistent/) --- ### [statements](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/statements/) --- ### [intentions](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/intentions/) --- ### [life](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/life/) --- ### [ambiguity](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/ambiguity/) --- ### [confusion](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/confusion/) --- ### [bank accounts](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/bank-accounts/) --- ### [headaches](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/headaches/) --- ### [estate planning lawyer](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/estate-planning-lawyer/) --- ### [common problems](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/common-problems/) --- ### [checks](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/checks/) --- ### [ownership](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/ownership/) --- ### [party](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/party/) --- ### [withdraw](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/withdraw/) --- ### [funds](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/funds/) --- ### [Illinois](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/illinois/) --- ### [account owner](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/account-owner/) --- ### [lawsuit](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/lawsuit/) --- ### [original owner](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/original-owner/) --- ### [received](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/received/) --- ### [owner's death](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/owners-death/) --- ### [will](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/will/) --- ### [trust](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/trust/) --- ### [underfunded](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/underfunded/) --- ### [executor](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/executor/) --- ### [trustee](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/trustee/) --- ### [bills](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/bills/) --- ### [business](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/business/) --- ### [estate administration](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/estate-administration/) --- ### [hardship](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/hardship/) --- ### [disagreements](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/disagreements/) --- ### [divide](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/divide/) --- ### [families](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/families/) --- ### [tragically](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/tragically/) --- ### [well-organized plan](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/well-organized-plan/) --- ### [clear](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/clear/) --- ### [consistent](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/consistent/) --- ### [direction](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/direction/) --- ### [simple](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/simple/) --- ### [inexpensive](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/inexpensive/) --- ### [legal work](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/legal-work/) --- ### [estate plan attorney](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/estate-plan-attorney/) --- ### [estate planning lawyers](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/estate-planning-lawyers/) --- ### [tools](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/tools/) --- ### [asset transfers](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/asset-transfers/) --- ### [last will and testament](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/last-will-and-testament/) --- ### [asset ownership systems](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/asset-ownership-systems/) --- ### [POD](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/pod/) --- ### [TOD](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/tod/) --- ### [pay on death](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/pay-on-death/) --- ### [transfer on death](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/transfer-on-death/) --- ### [beneficiary designations](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/beneficiary-designations/) --- ### [goals](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/goals/) --- ### [job](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/job/) --- ### [achieve](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/achieve/) --- ### [Divorce](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/divorce/) --- ### [remarriage](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/remarriage/) --- ### [complications](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/complications/) --- ### [asset problems](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/asset-problems/) --- ### [remarried couples](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/remarried-couples/) --- ### [hardships](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/hardships/) --- ### [spouse](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/spouse/) --- ### [children](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/children/) --- ### [assets](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/assets/) --- ### [dyes](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/dyes/) --- ### [wants](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/wants/) --- ### [accomplishes](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/accomplishes/) --- ### [and outcome](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/and-outcome/) --- ### [explaining](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/explaining/) --- ### [adult children](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/adult-children/) --- ### [choices](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/choices/) --- ### [tension](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/tension/) --- ### [stress](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/stress/) --- ### [difficult conversation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/difficult-conversation/) --- ### [younger](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/younger/) --- ### [surviving spouse](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/surviving-spouse/) --- ### [stepchildren](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/stepchildren/) --- ### [second marriages](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/second-marriages/) --- ### [real estate](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/real-estate/) --- ### [mortgage](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/mortgage/) --- ### [bank](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/bank/) --- ### [transfer](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/transfer/) --- ### [partial ownership](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/partial-ownership/) --- ### [borrowers](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/borrowers/) --- ### [mortgage payments](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/mortgage-payments/) --- ### [ownership burdens](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/ownership-burdens/) --- ### [shared ownership](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/shared-ownership/) --- ### [equal](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/equal/) --- ### [decision-making](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/decision-making/) --- ### [business decisions](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/business-decisions/) --- ### [undermine](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/undermine/) --- ### [power of attorney](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/power-of-attorney/) --- ### [eliminate](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/eliminate/) --- ### [distrust](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/distrust/) --- ### [conflict](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/conflict/) --- ### [life support](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/life-support/) --- ### [volatile](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/volatile/) --- ### [emotionally](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/emotionally/) --- ### [roles](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/roles/) --- ### [healthcare decisions](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/healthcare-decisions/) --- ### [communicate](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/communicate/) --- ### [share information](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/share-information/) --- ### [eliminate surprises](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/eliminate-surprises/) --- ### [authority crisis](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/authority-crisis/) --- ### [decision authority](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/decision-authority/) --- ### [health decision](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/health-decision/) --- ### [careful](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/careful/) --- ### [prayer](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/prayer/) --- ### [experience](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/experience/) --- ### [custom-fit](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/custom-fit/) --- ### [circumstances](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/circumstances/) --- ### [split](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/split/) --- ### [older family member](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/older-family-member/) --- ### [natural part of life](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/natural-part-of-life/) --- ### [maintain](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/maintain/) --- ### [family unity](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/family-unity/) --- ### [disabled](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/disabled/) --- ### [divided](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/divided/) --- ### [grandchildren](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/grandchildren/) --- ### [bond](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/bond/) --- ### [and sister](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/and-sister/) --- ### [lifetime](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/lifetime/) --- ### [older person](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/older-person/) --- ### [glue](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/glue/) --- ### [family together](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/family-together/) --- ### [alive](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/alive/) --- ### [younger generations](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/younger-generations/) --- ### [behave](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/behave/) --- ### [reason](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/reason/) --- ### [honor](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/honor/) --- ### [matriarch](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/matriarch/) --- ### [patriarch](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/patriarch/) --- ### [family glue](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/family-glue/) --- ### [family meltdowns](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/family-meltdowns/) --- ### [Ealing](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/ealing/) --- ### [family members health](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/family-members-health/) --- ### [declining health](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/declining-health/) --- ### [stressful](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/stressful/) --- ### [strain](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/strain/) --- ### [family relationships](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/family-relationships/) --- ### [speaking plainly](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/speaking-plainly/) --- ### [wishes](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/wishes/) --- ### [crisis strikes](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/crisis-strikes/) --- ### [emergency care](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/emergency-care/) --- ### [hospital treatment](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/hospital-treatment/) --- ### [deeply personal](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/deeply-personal/) --- ### [communicate specifically](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/communicate-specifically/) --- ### [family heirlooms](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/family-heirlooms/) --- ### [memorabilia](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/memorabilia/) --- ### [passionate feelings](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/passionate-feelings/) --- ### [properly designed](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/properly-designed/) --- ### [specifying](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/specifying/) --- ### [process](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/process/) --- ### [assisted living](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/assisted-living/) --- ### [personal belongings](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/personal-belongings/) --- ### [future conflict](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/future-conflict/) --- ### [residence](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/residence/) --- ### [do-it-yourself](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/do-it-yourself/) --- ### [Dan Gookin](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/dan-gookin/) --- ### [brain surgery for dummies](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/brain-surgery-for-dummies/) --- ### [bypass surgery for dummies](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/bypass-surgery-for-dummies/) --- ### [self-help society](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/self-help-society/) --- ### [trends](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/trends/) --- ### [powers of attorney](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/powers-of-attorney/) --- ### [self-help aids](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/self-help-aids/) --- ### [statutes](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/statutes/) --- ### [regulations](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/regulations/) --- ### [court opinions](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/court-opinions/) --- ### [United States](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/united-states/) --- ### [State of Indiana](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/state-of-indiana/) --- ### [Court of Appeals](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/court-of-appeals/) --- ### [Indiana Supreme Court](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/indiana-supreme-court/) --- ### [property ownership](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/property-ownership/) --- ### [guardianships](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/guardianships/) --- ### [property taxes](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/property-taxes/) --- ### [Indiana probate Code](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/indiana-probate-code/) --- ### [rules](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/rules/) --- ### [dead people](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/dead-people/) --- ### [Indiana health coverage program policy manual](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/indiana-health-coverage-program-policy-manual/) --- ### [eligibility](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/eligibility/) --- ### [home healthcare](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/home-healthcare/) --- ### [Trust & Estate Specialty Board](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/trust-estate-specialty-board/) --- ### [Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyer](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/certified-indiana-trust-estate-lawyer/) --- ### [recertification review](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/recertification-review/) --- ### [software application](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/software-application/) --- ### [law changes](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/law-changes/) --- ### [poor planning](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/poor-planning/) --- ### [inherit](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/inherit/) --- ### [disqualify](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/disqualify/) --- ### [disabled beneficiary](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/disabled-beneficiary/) --- ### [public assistance](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/public-assistance/) --- ### [incomplete plan](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/incomplete-plan/) --- ### [long-term care](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/long-term-care/) --- ### [non-lawyer](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/non-lawyer/) --- ### [expensive](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/expensive/) --- ### [qualified lawyer](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/qualified-lawyer/) --- ### [license](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/license/) --- ### [Indiana attorney](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/indiana-attorney/) --- ### [class B misdemeanor](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/class-b-misdemeanor/) --- ### [imprisonment](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/imprisonment/) --- ### [misdemeanor](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/misdemeanor/) --- ### [crime](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/crime/) --- ### [traffic violation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/traffic-violation/) --- ### [illegal](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/illegal/) --- ### [infraction](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/infraction/) --- ### [traffic violations](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/traffic-violations/) --- ### [intoxicated](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/intoxicated/) --- ### [reckless driving](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/reckless-driving/) --- ### [risks](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/risks/) --- ### [fool for a client](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/fool-for-a-client/) --- ### [experienced lawyer](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/experienced-lawyer/) --- ### [nursing home residents](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/nursing-home-residents/) --- ### [Retirement](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/retirement/) --- ### [capital risk](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/capital-risk/) --- ### [rate of return](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/rate-of-return/) --- ### [liquidity risk](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/liquidity-risk/) --- ### [investment](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/investment/) --- ### [FDIC](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/fdic/) --- ### [government bonds](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/government-bonds/) --- ### [secure](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/secure/) --- ### [diversified investment](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/diversified-investment/) --- ### [money market](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/money-market/) --- ### [mutual fund](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/mutual-fund/) --- ### [food and drug administration](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/food-and-drug-administration/) --- ### [investment strategy](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/investment-strategy/) --- ### [investment pyramid](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/investment-pyramid/) --- ### [aggressive](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/aggressive/) --- ### [FINRA](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/finra/) --- ### [Great Recession](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/great-recession/) --- ### [Interest rates](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/interest-rates/) --- ### [Privacy](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/privacy/) --- ### [Revocable trust](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/revocable-trust/) --- ### [Paul William Walker IV](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/paul-william-walker-iv/) --- ### [Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/jacqueline-kennedy-onassis/) --- ### [Alzheimer's](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/alzheimers/) --- ### [elder law](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/elder-law/) --- ### [Intangible property](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/intangible-property/) --- ### [Internet](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/internet/) --- ### [Cybercriminals](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/cybercriminals/) --- ### [Passwords](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/passwords/) --- ### [Usernames](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/usernames/) --- ### [observation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/observation/) --- ### [hospitalization](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/hospitalization/) --- ### [health insurance](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/health-insurance/) --- ### [physical therapy](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/physical-therapy/) --- ### [supplemental insurance](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/supplemental-insurance/) --- ### [admission](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/admission/) --- ### [skilled care](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/skilled-care/) --- ### [patient](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/patient/) --- ### [guardian](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/guardian/) --- ### [elder law attorney](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/elder-law-attorney/) --- ### [settlement agreement](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/settlement-agreement/) --- ### [admission agreement](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/admission-agreement/) --- ### [personal property](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/personal-property/) --- ### [married](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/married/) --- ### [Family & Social Services Administration](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/family-social-services-administration/) --- ### [American College of Trust and Estate Counsel](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/american-college-of-trust-and-estate-counsel/) --- ### [Indiana State Bar Association](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/indiana-state-bar-association/) --- ### [Mediator](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/mediator/) --- ### [realtor](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/realtor/) --- ### [auctioneer](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/auctioneer/) --- ### [Fraud](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/fraud/) --- ### [theft](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/theft/) --- ### [Indiana Attorney General](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/indiana-attorney-general/) --- ### [Internet fraud](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/internet-fraud/) --- ### [hackers](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/hackers/) --- ### [credit card](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/credit-card/) --- ### [home improvement](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/home-improvement/) --- ### [inheritance tax](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/inheritance-tax/) --- ### [living trust](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/living-trust/) --- ### [capital gains tax](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/capital-gains-tax/) --- ### [records retention](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/records-retention/) --- ### [rehabilitation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/rehabilitation/) --- ### [lookback](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/lookback/) --- ### [tax fraud](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/tax-fraud/) --- ### [audit](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/audit/) --- ### [tax basis](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/tax-basis/) --- ### [Social media](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/social-media/) --- ### [Skype](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/skype/) --- ### [FaceTime](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/facetime/) --- ### [Foursquare](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/foursquare/) --- ### [YouTube](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/youtube/) --- ### [Facebook](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/facebook/) --- ### [Twitter](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/twitter/) --- ### [LinkedIn](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/linkedin/) --- ### [Flickr](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/flickr/) --- ### [Instagram](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/instagram/) --- ### [Internet security](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/internet-security/) --- ### [cyber criminals](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/cyber-criminals/) --- ### [malware](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/malware/) --- ### [stroke](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/stroke/) --- ### [funeral](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/funeral/) --- ### [financial affairs](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/financial-affairs/) --- ### [privacy laws](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/privacy-laws/) --- ### [probate court](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/probate-court/) --- ### [guardianship](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/guardianship/) --- ### [trust and estate lawyer](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/trust-and-estate-lawyer/) --- ### [trespass](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/trespass/) --- ### [paralegal](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/paralegal/) --- ### [accountant](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/accountant/) --- ### [safety deposit box](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/safety-deposit-box/) --- ### [utility bills](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/utility-bills/) --- ### [financial institution](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/financial-institution/) --- ### [authority](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/authority/) --- ### [court notice](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/court-notice/) --- ### [tax return](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/tax-return/) --- ### [joint accounts](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/joint-accounts/) --- ### [survivorship](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/survivorship/) --- ### [tenants in common](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/tenants-in-common/) --- ### [joit tenants with rights of suvivorship](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/joit-tenants-with-rights-of-suvivorship/) --- ### [tenants by the entirety](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/tenants-by-the-entirety/) --- ### [door-to-door sales](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/door-to-door-sales/) --- ### [con-artist](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/con-artist/) --- ### [Elder financial exploitation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/elder-financial-exploitation/) --- ### [Consumer protection](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/consumer-protection/) --- ### [home loan scam](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/home-loan-scam/) --- ### [Mortgage broker](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/mortgage-broker/) --- ### [Mortgage company](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/mortgage-company/) --- ### [Prepayment penalty](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/prepayment-penalty/) --- ### [Home improvement fraud](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/home-improvement-fraud/) --- ### [Home improvement scam](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/home-improvement-scam/) --- ### [Scam](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/scam/) --- ### [Life Alert](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/life-alert/) --- ### [Spoofcard.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/spoofcard-com/) --- ### [wire transfer](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/wire-transfer/) --- ### [Property tax](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/property-tax/) --- ### [Tax sale](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/tax-sale/) --- ### [Quiet title action](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/quiet-title-action/) --- ### [Title insurance](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/title-insurance/) --- ### [Notice tax sale](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/notice-tax-sale/) --- ### [Redeem](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/redeem/) --- ### [Tax sale certificate](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/tax-sale-certificate/) --- ### [Judgment](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/judgment/) --- ### [Lien](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/lien/) --- ### [Title company](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/title-company/) --- ### [Auction](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/auction/) --- ### [spendthrift](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/spendthrift/) --- ### [gift tax](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/gift-tax/) --- ### [penalty](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/penalty/) --- ### [National Center on Elder Abuse](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/national-center-on-elder-abuse/) --- ### [NCEA](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/ncea/) --- ### [elder abuse](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/elder-abuse/) --- ### [New York State Elder Abuse Prevalence Study](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/new-york-state-elder-abuse-prevalence-study/) --- ### [Adult Protective Services](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/adult-protective-services/) --- ### [abuse](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/abuse/) --- ### [neglect](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/neglect/) --- ### [exploitation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/exploitation/) --- ### [emotional abuse](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/emotional-abuse/) --- ### [physical abuse](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/physical-abuse/) --- ### [sexual abuse](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/sexual-abuse/) --- ### [SIPC](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/sipc/) --- ### [Deposit insurance](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/deposit-insurance/) --- ### [Bank account](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/bank-account/) --- ### [Securities dealer](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/securities-dealer/) --- ### [Securities](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/securities/) --- ### [Stock](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/stock/) --- ### [Bonds](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/bonds/) --- ### [Mutual funds](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/mutual-funds/) --- ### [Life insurance](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/life-insurance/) --- ### [Annuity](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/annuity/) --- ### [Municipal securities](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/municipal-securities/) --- ### [Treasury bills](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/treasury-bills/) --- ### [Treasury bonds](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/treasury-bonds/) --- ### [Treasury notes](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/treasury-notes/) --- ### [Retirement plan](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/retirement-plan/) --- ### [health crisis](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/health-crisis/) --- ### [responsible](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/responsible/) --- ### [attorney-in-fact](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/attorney-in-fact/) --- ### [nursing home bill](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/nursing-home-bill/) --- ### [conciliation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/conciliation/) --- ### [arbitration](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/arbitration/) --- ### [conciliator](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/conciliator/) --- ### [negotiated agreement](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/negotiated-agreement/) --- ### [problem-solving](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/problem-solving/) --- ### [disagreement](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/disagreement/) --- ### [dispute resolution](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/dispute-resolution/) --- ### [win-win](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/win-win/) --- ### [reconcile](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/reconcile/) --- ### [reconciliation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/reconciliation/) --- ### [news media](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/news-media/) --- ### [Abraham Lincoln](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/abraham-lincoln/) --- ### [Snopes.com](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/snopes-com/) --- ### [United States Supreme Court](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/united-states-supreme-court/) --- ### [Proverbs](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/proverbs/) --- ### [the Washington Post](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/the-washington-post/) --- ### [Christian financial advisors](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/christian-financial-advisors/) --- ### [abstract of title](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/abstract-of-title/) --- ### [title opinion](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/title-opinion/) --- ### [deed](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/deed/) --- ### [real estate closing](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/real-estate-closing/) --- ### [mortgage foreclosure](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/mortgage-foreclosure/) --- ### [mortgage loan](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/mortgage-loan/) --- ### [financing contingency](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/financing-contingency/) --- ### [Attorney document review](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/attorney-document-review/) --- ### [Investment advisor](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/investment-advisor/) --- ### [certification](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/certification/) --- ### [SEC](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/sec/) --- ### [securities and exchange commission](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/securities-and-exchange-commission/) --- ### [community foundation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/community-foundation/) --- ### [charitable gift](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/charitable-gift/) --- ### [philanthropy](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/philanthropy/) --- ### [Dementia](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/dementia/) --- ### [A&D Waiver](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/ad-waiver/) --- ### [Aged and Disabled Waiver](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/aged-and-disabled-waiver/) --- ### [Wavered services](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/wavered-services/) --- ### [Area Agency on Aging](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/area-agency-on-aging/) --- ### [Caregiver](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/caregiver/) --- ### [Chronic depression](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/chronic-depression/) --- ### [Adult Day services](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/adult-day-services/) --- ### [Attendant care](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/attendant-care/) --- ### [Homemaker](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/homemaker/) --- ### [Respite care](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/respite-care/) --- ### [Adult family care](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/adult-family-care/) --- ### [Community transition](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/community-transition/) --- ### [Environmental modifications](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/environmental-modifications/) --- ### [Elderly Drivers](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/elderly-drivers/) --- ### [Quality of Life](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/quality-of-life/) --- ### [Independent Living](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/independent-living/) --- ### [Average Age of Drivers](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/average-age-of-drivers/) --- ### [Bureau of Motor Vehicles](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/bureau-of-motor-vehicles/) --- ### [Baby Boom Generation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/baby-boom-generation/) --- ### [Full retirement age](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/full-retirement-age/) --- ### [Retirement benefits](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/retirement-benefits/) --- ### [Spousal benefits](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/spousal-benefits/) --- ### [Retirement income](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/retirement-income/) --- ### [Delayed retirement income strategy](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/delayed-retirement-income-strategy/) --- ### [Retirement estimator](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/retirement-estimator/) --- ### [Financial markets](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/financial-markets/) --- ### [Ronald Reagan](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/ronald-reagan/) --- ### [Mikhail Gorbachev](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/mikhail-gorbachev/) --- ### [disinherit](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/disinherit/) --- ### [irresponsible](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/irresponsible/) --- ### [stretch IRA](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/stretch-ira/) --- ### [special needs trust](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/special-needs-trust/) --- ### [multi-generational plan](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/multi-generational-plan/) --- ### [addiction](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/addiction/) --- ### [Private Property](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/private-property/) --- ### [Hunting](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/hunting/) --- ### [Fishing](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/fishing/) --- ### [Trespassing](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/trespassing/) --- ### [Landowner Permission](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/landowner-permission/) --- ### [Department of Natural Resources](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/department-of-natural-resources/) --- ### [Conservation Officer](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/conservation-officer/) --- ### [Bridge of Spies](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/bridge-of-spies/) --- ### [James B. Donovan](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/james-b-donovan/) --- ### [Francis Gary Powers](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/francis-gary-powers/) --- ### [Rudolf Abel](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/rudolf-abel/) --- ### [Union of Soviet Socialist Republics](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/union-of-soviet-socialist-republics/) --- ### [German Democratic Republic](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/german-democratic-republic/) --- ### [Berlin Wall](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/berlin-wall/) --- ### [CIA](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/cia/) --- ### [King George III](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/king-george-iii/) --- ### [Declaration of Independence](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/declaration-of-independence/) --- ### [John Adams](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/john-adams/) --- ### [Boston Massacre](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/boston-massacre/) --- ### [American lawyers](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/american-lawyers/) --- ### [stewards of justice](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/stewards-of-justice/) --- ### [rule of law](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/rule-of-law/) --- ### [Revolutionary War](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/revolutionary-war/) --- ### [Survey](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/survey/) --- ### [Financial records](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/financial-records/) --- ### [Indiana Long Term Care Partnership](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/indiana-long-term-care-partnership/) --- ### [Indiana Partnership plan](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/indiana-partnership-plan/) --- ### [Our Father’s Arms](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/our-fathers-arms/) --- ### [Christmas in the Park](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/christmas-in-the-park/) --- ### [Revive Sullivan](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/revive-sullivan/) --- ### [Brown Bagger School Food Program](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/brown-bagger-school-food-program/) --- ### [Christmas Forkids Sullivan](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/christmas-forkids-sullivan/) --- ### [Salvation Army](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/salvation-army/) --- ### [Black Friday](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/black-friday/) --- ### [Cyber Monday](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/cyber-monday/) --- ### [Christmas](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/christmas/) --- ### [Integrity](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/integrity/) --- ### [Character](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/character/) --- ### [Family Heritage](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/family-heritage/) --- ### [Family Archive](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/family-archive/) --- ### [Heirlooms](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/heirlooms/) --- ### [Legacy](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/legacy/) --- ### [Pfishing](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/pfishing/) --- ### [Health Savings Account](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/health-savings-account/) --- ### [401(k)](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/401k/) --- ### [Section 179](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/section-179/) --- ### [Obamacare](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/obamacare/) --- ### [Charitable tax deduction](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/charitable-tax-deduction/) --- ### [Cash](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/cash/) --- ### [Publication 1771](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/publication-1771/) --- ### [Appointment of healthcare representative](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/appointment-of-healthcare-representative/) --- ### [VA Aid and Attendance](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/va-aid-and-attendance/) --- ### [Transfer penalty](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/transfer-penalty/) --- ### [Unmarried couples](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/unmarried-couples/) --- ### [LLC](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/llc/) --- ### [Corporation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/corporation/) --- ### [Cyber security](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/cyber-security/) --- ### [cyber crime](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/cyber-crime/) --- ### [hacker](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/hacker/) --- ### [password](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/password/) --- ### [In-laws](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/in-laws/) --- ### [fiduciary](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/fiduciary/) --- ### [conciliatory mediation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/conciliatory-mediation/) --- ### [neutral](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/neutral/) --- ### [communication](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/communication/) --- ### [QLAC](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/qlac/) --- ### [Long-term care insurance](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/long-term-care-insurance/) --- ### [Family Farm](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/family-farm/) --- ### [Farmland](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/farmland/) --- ### [Partition](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/partition/) --- ### [Grief](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/grief/) --- ### [Loss](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/loss/) --- ### [Grief Counseling](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/grief-counseling/) --- ### [5 Stages of Loss](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/5-stages-of-loss/) --- ### [Cancer](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/cancer/) --- ### [Pre-Suit Mediation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/pre-suit-mediation/) --- ### [facilitated meeting](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/facilitated-meeting/) --- ### [litigation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/litigation/) --- ### [negotiated settlement](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/negotiated-settlement/) --- ### [Undue Influence](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/undue-influence/) --- ### [Estate Litigation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/estate-litigation/) --- ### [Mental Capacity](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/mental-capacity/) --- ### [Contract negotiation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/contract-negotiation/) --- ### [Contract litigation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/contract-litigation/) --- ### [Arbitration agreement](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/arbitration-agreement/) --- ### [Covenant not to compete](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/covenant-not-to-compete/) --- ### [Coal lease](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/coal-lease/) --- ### [Real estate sale](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/real-estate-sale/) --- ### [Child Care](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/child-care/) --- ### [Trust and Estate Attorney](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/trust-and-estate-attorney/) --- ### [Digital Assets](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/digital-assets/) --- ### [ADR](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/adr/) --- ### [Alternative Dispute Resolution](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/alternative-dispute-resolution/) --- ### [Private Judge](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/private-judge/) --- ### [Mini Trial](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/mini-trial/) --- ### [Summary Jury Trial](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/summary-jury-trial/) --- ### [Brexit](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/brexit/) --- ### [European Union](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/european-union/) --- ### [Federal Reserve](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/federal-reserve/) --- ### [Observation Status](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/observation-status/) --- ### [Inpatient Status](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/inpatient-status/) --- ### [NOTICE Act](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/notice-act/) --- ### [Physical Rehabilitation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/physical-rehabilitation/) --- ### [Hospital Admission](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/hospital-admission/) --- ### [President Obama](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/president-obama/) --- ### [CARE Act](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/care-act/) --- ### [Irrevocable Trust](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/irrevocable-trust/) --- ### [Testamentary Trust](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/testamentary-trust/) --- ### [Pour-Over Will](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/pour-over-will/) --- ### [generation-skipping transfer tax](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/generation-skipping-transfer-tax/) --- ### [Negotiation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/negotiation/) --- ### [Real estate partition](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/real-estate-partition/) --- ### [Home health care](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/home-health-care/) --- ### [Spousal Impoverishment](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/spousal-impoverishment/) --- ### [Resource Allowance](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/resource-allowance/) --- ### [Password Manager](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/password-manager/) --- ### [Account Management](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/account-management/) --- ### [Asset Management](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/asset-management/) --- ### [Stock Certificates](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/stock-certificates/) --- ### [Living Will Declaration](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/living-will-declaration/) --- ### [Appointment of Health Care Representative](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/appointment-of-health-care-representative/) --- ### [Health Care Power of Attorney](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/health-care-power-of-attorney/) --- ### [Funeral Planning Declaration](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/funeral-planning-declaration/) --- ### [Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/physician-orders-for-scope-of-treatment/) --- ### [Advance Directives](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/advance-directives/) --- ### [End of Life Decisions](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/end-of-life-decisions/) --- ### [Spiritual Convictions](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/spiritual-convictions/) --- ### [Retirement Plan Distributions](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/retirement-plan-distributions/) --- ### [Veterans benefits](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/veterans-benefits/) --- ### [SSI](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/ssi/) --- ### [Consumer Price Index (CPI)](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/consumer-price-index-cpi/) --- ### [Tax Evasion](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/tax-evasion/) --- ### [Income Tax Return Filing Requirements](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/income-tax-return-filing-requirements/) --- ### [Funeral Planning](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/funeral-planning/) --- ### [Buy-Sell Agreement](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/buy-sell-agreement/) --- ### [A & D Waiver](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/a-d-waiver/) --- ### [Assisted Living Waiver](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/assisted-living-waiver/) --- ### [Physicians Orders for Scope of Treatment](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/physicians-orders-for-scope-of-treatment/) --- ### [POLST](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/polst/) --- ### [Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/physician-orders-for-life-sustaining-treatment/) --- ### [Craftsmen Lawyers](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/craftsmen-lawyers/) --- ### [Terrorism](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/terrorism/) --- ### [Shakespeare](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/shakespeare/) --- ### [Kill all the lawyers](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/kill-all-the-lawyers/) --- ### [Eagles](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/eagles/) --- ### [Cybersecurity](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/cybersecurity/) --- ### [Globalization](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/globalization/) --- ### [Trust Protector](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/trust-protector/) --- ### [Conflict of Interest](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/conflict-of-interest/) --- ### [Attorney-Client Privilege](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/attorney-client-privilege/) --- ### [LegalZoom](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/legalzoom/) --- ### [Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE)](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/achieving-a-better-life-experience-able/) --- ### [Attorney-Client Relationship](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/attorney-client-relationship/) --- ### [Confidentiality](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/confidentiality/) --- ### [Engagement Agreement](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/engagement-agreement/) --- ### [Attorney Fee](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/attorney-fee/) --- ### [Initial Attorney-Client Meeting](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/initial-attorney-client-meeting/) --- ### [Initial Attorney-Client](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/initial-attorney-client/) --- ### [Electronic Estate Plan Signatures](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/electronic-estate-plan-signatures/) --- ### [Estate plan forms](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/estate-plan-forms/) --- ### [Adverse Possession](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/adverse-possession/) --- ### [Boundary Dispute](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/boundary-dispute/) --- ### [Encroachment](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/encroachment/) --- ### [Boundary Location Agreement](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/boundary-location-agreement/) --- ### [Prenuptial Agreement](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/prenuptial-agreement/) --- ### [FSSA](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/fssa/) --- ### [E-filing](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/e-filing/) --- ### [Indiana courts](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/indiana-courts/) --- ### [home rule](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/home-rule/) --- ### [case management](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/case-management/) --- ### [Obama Care](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/obama-care/) --- ### [Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/health-savings-accounts-hsas/) --- ### [Health Records](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/health-records/) --- ### [Reverse Mortgage](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/reverse-mortgage/) --- ### [Tom Selleck](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/tom-selleck/) --- ### [funeral preplanning](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/funeral-preplanning/) --- ### [funeral expenses](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/funeral-expenses/) --- ### [cremation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/cremation/) --- ### [Alex Trebek](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/alex-trebek/) --- ### [National Funeral Directors Association](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/national-funeral-directors-association/) --- ### [National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/national-academy-of-elder-law-attorneys/) --- ### [Healthcare System](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/healthcare-system/) --- ### [Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/centers-for-medicare-medicaid-services-cms/) --- ### [MAX Survey](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/max-survey/) --- ### [Trust & Estate Lawyers](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/trust-estate-lawyers/) --- ### [Baby Boomer Generation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/baby-boomer-generation/) --- ### [Generation X](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/generation-x/) --- ### [Millennial Generation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/millennial-generation/) --- ### [Political Party](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/political-party/) --- ### [Tradition](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/tradition/) --- ### [Heritage](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/heritage/) --- ### [Apostle Paul](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/apostle-paul/) --- ### [Marketing](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/marketing/) --- ### [Customer Service](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/customer-service/) --- ### [Document Examination](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/document-examination/) --- ### [Warranty](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/warranty/) --- ### [Contract](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/contract/) --- ### [Business Transaction](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/business-transaction/) --- ### [Protective Trusts](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/protective-trusts/) --- ### [Senior Consumer](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/senior-consumer/) --- ### [deception](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/deception/) --- ### [intimidation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/intimidation/) --- ### [ccaregiver](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/ccaregiver/) --- ### [misrepresentation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/misrepresentation/) --- ### [Environmental Protection Agency](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/environmental-protection-agency/) --- ### [EPA](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/epa/) --- ### [GIS](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/gis/) --- ### [Lead Paint Disclosure](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/lead-paint-disclosure/) --- ### [Seller’s Disclosure of Information](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/sellers-disclosure-of-information/) --- ### [Indiana Seller's Disclosure Form](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/indiana-sellers-disclosure-form/) --- ### [Bank Financing](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/bank-financing/) --- ### [Closing Costs](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/closing-costs/) --- ### [Counteroffer](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/counteroffer/) --- ### [Earnest Money](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/earnest-money/) --- ### [Home Inspection](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/home-inspection/) --- ### [Offer to Purchase Real Estate](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/offer-to-purchase-real-estate/) --- ### [Real Estate Purchase Agreement](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/real-estate-purchase-agreement/) --- ### [Form 1099-S](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/form-1099-s/) --- ### [Property Tax Proration](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/property-tax-proration/) --- ### [Sales Disclosure Form](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/sales-disclosure-form/) --- ### [Settlement Statement](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/settlement-statement/) --- ### [Guardian of the Person](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/guardian-of-the-person/) --- ### [Healthcare Representative](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/healthcare-representative/) --- ### [#BabyBoomersRetire](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/babyboomersretire/) --- ### [#PlanningforLongevity](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/planningforlongevity/) --- ### [Administrative Dissolution](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/administrative-dissolution/) --- ### [Application for Reinstatement](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/application-for-reinstatement/) --- ### [Entity Reinstatement](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/entity-reinstatement/) --- ### [Indiana Department of Revenue](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/indiana-department-of-revenue/) --- ### [Indiana Secretary of State](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/indiana-secretary-of-state/) --- ### [Limited Liability Company](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/limited-liability-company/) --- ### [Limited Partnership](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/limited-partnership/) --- ### [Limited Liability Partnership](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/limited-liability-partnership/) --- ### [Nonprofit Corporation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/nonprofit-corporation/) --- ### [Nonprofit LLC](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/nonprofit-llc/) --- ### [Registered Agent](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/registered-agent/) --- ### [asset protection](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/asset-protection/) --- ### [Medicare supplemental insurance](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/medicare-supplemental-insurance/) --- ### [100 days](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/100-days/) --- ### [rehabilitation facility](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/rehabilitation-facility/) --- ### [estate planning attorney](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/estate-planning-attorney/) --- ### [personal representative](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/personal-representative/) --- ### [do the right thing](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/do-the-right-thing/) --- ### [5-year lookback period](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/5-year-lookback-period/) --- ### [Indiana Family and Social Services Administration](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/indiana-family-and-social-services-administration/) --- ### [VA pension](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/va-pension/) --- ### [Social Security Disability](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/social-security-disability/) --- ### [Supplemental Security Income](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/supplemental-security-income/) --- ### [Department of Veterans Affairs](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/department-of-veterans-affairs/) --- ### [Net Worth](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/net-worth/) --- ### [Skilled nursing care](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/skilled-nursing-care/) --- ### [property settlement](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/property-settlement/) --- ### [small business](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/small-business/) --- ### [US savings bonds](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/us-savings-bonds/) --- ### [tax-deferred](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/tax-deferred/) --- ### [pension](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/pension/) --- ### [gift](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/gift/) --- ### [Health Care Advance Directive](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/health-care-advance-directive/) --- ### [Anatomical Gifts](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/anatomical-gifts/) --- ### [Community Spouse](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/community-spouse/) **Description:** The community spouse is the spouse that does not need Medicaid assistance to pay health care expenses. --- ### [Institutional Spouse](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/institutional-spouse/) **Description:** The institutional spouse is the spouse that need Medicaid assistance to pay medical expenses. --- ### [Snapshot Date](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/snapshot-date/) **Description:** The snapshot date is the institutional spouse’s first day of a continuous 30-day period of inpatient care in one or more health care facilities. --- ### [Snapshot Value](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/snapshot-value/) **Description:** The snapshot value is the total value of a remarried couples countable resources on the institutional spouse’s snapshot date. --- ### [Institutional Spouse Resource Allowance](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/institutional-spouse-resource-allowance/) **Description:** The institutional spouse’s resource allowance is the maximum value of resources that the institutional spouse can own and qualify for Medicaid. --- ### [Community Spouse Resource Allowance](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/community-spouse-resource-allowance/) **Description:** The community spouse resource allowance is the maximum value of resources that the community spouse can own without disqualifying the institutional spouse for Medicaid benefits. The community spouse resource allowance is the lesser value of 50% of the snapshot value or a maximum value that the US government adjusts sometimes with cost of living adjustments for inflation. --- ### [Spend down](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/spend-down/) **Description:** Spend down is the process of reducing countable resources until a Medicaid applicant reaches the resource allowance and qualified for Medicaid. Spend down occurs when a Medicaid applicant spends excess resources or reinvests the excess resources in assets that are exempt from being counted as resources. A married couple can spend down through the community spouse’s investments in exempt assets. --- ### [Qualified Charitable Distributions](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/qualified-charitable-distributions/) --- ### [Required Minimum Distributions](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/required-minimum-distributions/) --- ### [RMD](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/rmd/) --- ### [Retirement Savings](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/retirement-savings/) --- ### [Spousal Rollover](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/spousal-rollover/) --- ### [Required Beginning Date](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/required-beginning-date/) --- ### [RBD](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/rbd/) --- ### [SECURE Act](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/secure-act/) --- ### [U.S. Constitution](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/u-s-constitution/) --- ### [long-term health care](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/long-term-health-care/) --- ### [gifts](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/gifts/) --- ### [long-term health care costs](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/long-term-health-care-costs/) --- ### [disabled adult child](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/disabled-adult-child/) --- ### [annuities](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/annuities/) --- ### [impaired driving](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/impaired-driving/) --- ### [ARC of Indiana](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/arc-of-indiana/) --- ### [organ transplant](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/organ-transplant/) --- ### [Probate Trust & Real Property Section](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/probate-trust-real-property-section/) --- ### [Service Animals](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/service-animals/) --- ### [Assistance Animals](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/assistance-animals/) --- ### [Department of Justice](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/department-of-justice/) --- ### [Department of Housing and Urban Development](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/department-of-housing-and-urban-development/) --- ### [DOJ](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/doj/) --- ### [HUD](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/hud/) --- ### [emotional disorders](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/emotional-disorders/) --- ### [emotional support](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/emotional-support/) --- ### [Americans with Disabilities Act](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/americans-with-disabilities-act/) --- ### [ADA](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/ada/) --- ### [mental disability](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/mental-disability/) --- ### [psychiatric disability](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/psychiatric-disability/) --- ### [sensory disability](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/sensory-disability/) --- ### [physical disability](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/physical-disability/) --- ### [intellectual disability](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/intellectual-disability/) --- ### [boa constrictors](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/boa-constrictors/) --- ### [potbellied pigs](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/potbellied-pigs/) --- ### [ferrets](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/ferrets/) --- ### [parrots](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/parrots/) --- ### [allergy detection dogs](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/allergy-detection-dogs/) --- ### [seizure service dogs](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/seizure-service-dogs/) --- ### [Service Animal](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/service-animal/) --- ### [Assistance Animal](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/assistance-animal/) --- ### [Fair Housing Act](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/fair-housing-act/) --- ### [well-being](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/well-being/) --- ### [comfort](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/comfort/) --- ### [emotional support animal](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/emotional-support-animal/) --- ### [reasonable accommodations](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/reasonable-accommodations/) --- ### [housing provider](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/housing-provider/) --- ### [no-pets policy](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/no-pets-policy/) --- ### [pet deposit](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/pet-deposit/) --- ### [administrative burden](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/administrative-burden/) --- ### [miniature horses](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/miniature-horses/) --- ### [Martindale-Hubbell](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/martindale-hubbell/) --- ### [Family Law](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/family-law/) --- ### [Legal Separation](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/legal-separation/) --- ### [Marriage Dissolution](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/marriage-dissolution/) --- ### [financial issues](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/financial-issues/) --- ### [incapacitated](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/incapacitated/) --- ### [retirement assets](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/retirement-assets/) --- ### [tax liability](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/tax-liability/) --- ### [President Trump](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/president-trump/) --- ### [529 Plan](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/529-plan/) --- ### [Qualified Education Expense](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/qualified-education-expense/) --- ### [Governor Eric Holcomb](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/governor-eric-holcomb/) --- ### [Electronic Estate Planning](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/electronic-estate-planning/) --- ### [Electronic Signature](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/electronic-signature/) --- ### [Videoconferencing](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/videoconferencing/) --- ### [Healthcare](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/healthcare/) --- ### [COVID-19](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/covid-19/) --- ### [Coronavirus](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/coronavirus/) --- ### [Quarantine](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/quarantine/) --- ### [Social distancing](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/social-distancing/) --- ### [Nursing residents](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/nursing-residents/) --- ### [Indiana Governor](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/indiana-governor/) --- ### [Secretary of State](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/secretary-of-state/) --- ### [healthcare facilities](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/healthcare-facilities/) --- ### [anti-fraud](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/anti-fraud/) --- ### [witness](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/witness/) --- ### [signature](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/signature/) --- ### [Notary Public](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/notary-public/) --- ### [notarize](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/notarize/) --- ### [remote notarization](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/remote-notarization/) --- ### [remote electronic signature](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/remote-electronic-signature/) --- ### [emergency order](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/emergency-order/) --- ### [Executive Order](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/executive-order/) --- ### [infection](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/infection/) --- ### [Church Liability](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/church-liability/) --- ### [Separation of Church and State](https://www.hawkinselderlaw.com/tag/separation-of-church-and-state/) ---