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 […]

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 […]

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.

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) and Senate Enrolled Act 380 (SEA 380) at the Governor’s Residence. During the ceremony, the Governor recognized key legislators and advocates that had supported the pair […]

A “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 […]

This conclusion of our two-part series about Medicaid and prenuptial agreements explains how Medicaid treats prenuptial agreements.

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 […]

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 […]

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

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