One of the biggest fears that aging parents with little retirement saved is who will underwrite the cost of their care when they are elderly. Most parent don’t want to burden their children with the cost; this is where intelligent California estate planning comes in.

In this post-subprime mortgage crisis world, many people are starting all over, and plenty of those people borrowed from themselves, and restoring funds in 401(k)s, IRAs, and other sources like mutual funds may not be easy to do… but every penny counts. Anyone who can should continue to put in what they can into their retirement funds.

Another way to make sure your children won’t have to carry you financially is to defer the taxes of your IRA by using the stretch option. This will allow you to maintain what is already in your IRA without paying taxes on it until the funds are distributed to those listed in your will. You’ll want tot mention this idea to your California estate planning attorney so that he can guide you through the steps.

Last, you can create an irrevocable life insurance trust. This will obviously require proper Newport Beach estate planning lawyer. To do this, your attorney will help you set up a trust in which the life insurance policy will be held, and upon your passing, the insurance monies will be distributed in a manner suitable to handling the costs of your funeral and other proceedings. They will also help ensure that a surviving spouse and children have something to ensure their financial future.

2011 will be the first year that those who are officially considered Baby Boomers will turn into real senior citizens according to the US Census Bureau. Those who turn 65 after January 1, 2011 will be eligible for Medicare, and so the time between now and then should involve some planning in the areas of living wills and final wills, including estate planning in California.

According to www.aging.ca.gov, California’s population by 2011 will be comprised of approximately 25% Boomers — that means that one quarter of the population will be eligible for Medicare; but how many of them are preparing for this transition, aware that they are eligible, and how many will ultimately benefit from Medicare? Boomers can educate themselves about the ins and outs of Medicare and how it affects them and their medical needs by visiting www.ABabyBoomersGuide.com.

It’s important to know when and if you’re eligible for this and what it may mean for your living will in California — you should speak with your estate planning attorney to determine what kinds of preparations should be made for your medical power of attorney, including who this person should be, and what their responsibilities will be. It is important that your Newport Beach estate planner be able to explain to you and your medical power of attorney exactly what his or her responisibilites will be so that he or she is not competely blindsided when the time comes to kick it into gear.

If you have questions about planning your estate and how a living will can determine how your health will be handled by a medical power of attorney, contact Jeff Matsen today for a consultation.

It happens all the time, but no one sees it coming because they think they’re protected by their bulletproof will. Your house — which you have willed to your child or other family member — may never belong to them if your end-of-life care or nursing home bills exceed what was paid to the date of your passing.

Your California probate attorney can help you with this one, but listen closely.

When you will your home to a child, place it in the name of a trust, and NOT in your name.

If possible, place liquid assets in the amount of your home’s estimated worth in an offshore estate — this way your child(ren) can pay off the nursing home or other medical creditors without losing the home. You can also have your California asset protection lawyer discuss other types of trusts that you can put your home in to ensure that the property winds up in the hands you intended it to.

There are many types of revocable and irrevocable trusts that you can place real property in, using a person or banking entity as the trustee. Of course, the best way to ensure that this sort of thing doesn’t happen is to set aside enough money for your latter years in case you are not able to be part of the decision making process. Make sure you have enough set aside for a nursing home and/or in-home care. Your California estate planner can help you set a trust up, or design your will to ensure that all goes the way it should, and hopefully avoid probate in California.

When it comes to grieving families in pain after a loss, the rawness engendered by emotional stress can bring out the worst. When you add money and assets into the equation without a proper California estate plan in place, heated arguments and resentments are sure to boil over, potentially causing life-long discord for those who survive the deceased.

Think of how damaging it would be for a sister’s attorney to send her brother a letter regarding the estate that starts a fight for assets. These siblings will never mend ways completely. But these scenarios are imminently avoidable with estate planning and a final will and testament in California.

1. Call an experienced California estate planning lawyer
2. Make an appointment
3. Have a consultation
4. Begin to plan your estate and asset protection through a California trust
5. Follow up through completion and keep multiple copies of all necessary documentation, including your will, and make sure family members know where these documents can be found.

Follow up with your California estate planner and ask questions anytime — as the old adage says, there are no stupid questions — questions about estate planning and your will are no exception to this adage.

The best way you can protect your family after you die is to plan for them in a responsible way — estate planning is one of the most powerful ways this can be accomplished.

Point blank: anyone can die at any time and the only thing it takes to die is to be alive. No one wants to hear this or discuss it aloud, but when it comes to financial planning for your family after your passing, it’s a topic that needs to be tackled head-on.

You hear people remarking all the time how young they feel — it’s true, people are living longer, taking better care of themselves, exercising, eating right, and improved medical care and pharmaceuticals are adding on to our lifespans. But, no matter how well you are, life is filled with unexpected events. The last thing your family needs is to survive you and mourn you… and then have to wonder what kind of financial shape they’ll be in because you didn’t plan properly with the counsel of a California asset protection lawyer.

ConsumerAffairs.com discusses a scary truth in an April 2010 posting — 32 percent of married women over the age of 55 have been widowed. 55 is not old these days!

Jan Yager, Ph.D. writes, “You may think you need a will, and you do, but there might even be a better way. Every state is unique but the California lawyers I spoke with recommend a revocable trust as a way to save your survivors the time and money of going to probate court as well as providing some possible tax benefits.” Any California estate planner would wholeheartedly agree with Yager.

So what’s the lesson here? If you haven’t already looked into a California revocable trust for the well-being of your family’s future, get on it. There’s no time like the present to start planning for tomorrow!