[See our Disclaimers page 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, […]

[See our Disclaimers page 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 […]

[See our Disclaimers page 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 […]

[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] 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 […]

[See our Disclaimers page 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 […]

[See our Disclaimers page 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 […]

[See our Disclaimers page 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, […]

[See our Disclaimers page 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 […]

[See our Disclaimers page 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 […]

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 reports that in 2014, Alzheimer’s disease afflicted about 14,000 Indiana residents […]