What does Estate Planning, or Medicaid planning, look like?

Our first step is listening to you and asking you about your goals and concerns around planning, what you want to accomplish in our work together. Then we discuss how we can help you reach those goals to find the peace that comes with completing a challenging task that has been done well.

We can help you understand the pieces of Estate Planning relevant to you and document your choices.

We provide guidance with:

Probate: Should you plan your estate specifically to avoid probate? Probate is the process where your estate, all of your ‘probatable’ assets, as well as your will or other testamentary instruments, are submitted to the Probate Court. The Court then takes into account all the relevant considerations in a process to distribute your estate. This can be a long and winding road for everyone involved. While there are a few ways to make sure your assets avoid probate, Colorado offers three levels of probate, offering smaller or simpler estates a shorter and less complicated process with possibly less Court involvement. It is definitely worth discussing the “to probate, or not to probate” question with us at your first client meeting.

Wills: Do you know who will inherit your assets after your passing? Those assets may include high-value items or items that carry particular sentimental value for you and your heirs. Making a will assures those assets go where you want them to go. It further identifies the person who will manage your estate after you pass away, known as a personal representative, and the person(s) you designate to act as guardian(s) for any minor children or dependents, if you have any. Any of your assets covered by your will, and not disposed of in another way, will most likely have to go through some form of probate proceeding in Colorado. Please see our Probate paragraph above for a better explanation of what is involved with a probate proceeding.

Trusts: A trust is a document that creates a relationship between someone you trust, a trustee, and those to whom you want to transfer assets or other benefits, your beneficiaries. Under the trust, the trustee would own the covered assets with the obligation to hold, operate or dispose of them for the benefit of the beneficiaries in accordance with the terms of the trust. Trusts may replace or supplement a will and may be valuable by avoiding probate proceedings for assets covered by the trust, depending on the nature of the trust.

Irrevocable Trusts: Irrevocable trusts are just that: you cannot change or terminate their terms as the settlor. Once you turn over the title of the assets to the trust, only the trustee can make certain changes if permitted by the terms of the trust and the Colorado Uniform Trust Code. There are advantages of irrevocable trusts that may appeal to you, however. Several advantages are that, since you no longer own the assets, they are not available to your creditors, and assets in an irrevocable trust avoid probate.

Powers of Attorney: You may want to appoint an agent who can step in and make decisions for you if you can’t. Your agent will be someone you trust and have chosen to make decisions for you. Financial Powers of Attorney and Medical Powers of Attorney give your agent decision-making power in certain circumstances.

Medical Power of Attorney: If you are unconscious, whom do you want making medical decisions for you? With a Medical Power of Attorney, you grant the authority to someone you trust, your agent, to make healthcare decisions on your behalf if you are unable to express what you want. Of course, it is necessary that you discuss with your agent your wishes regarding medical procedures and critical medical decisions. These powers can become effective immediately and/or at a time of incapacity –you decide.

Advance Directives: An Advance Directive may also be called a Living Will or a Healthcare Proxy. This document specifies your preferences for medical treatment if you are unresponsive and your agent is not available. You could also use this document to make clear end of life choices, sparing your agent from having to make agonizing decisions. An advance directive provides your medical instructions (what you want and do not want regarding medical treatment) to medical personnel. This document would complement the Medical Power of Attorney.

Medicaid Planning & Eligibility: We are all getting older, and with age comes the need for a higher level of medical care. Incredibly, the cost of long term care is over $9,000+ a month, a sum well beyond the ability of most families to pay, and you may want to obtain Medicaid benefits to pay some of those costs. We can demystify the processes and rules of Medicaid application and approval, including asset evaluation, exemptions, exclusions, and possible consequences for uncompensated transfers. We also create documents that can help prepare you for application and approval for Medicaid Long Term Care. If the need for care is distant, long-term Medicaid planning allows us to prepare an individual plan for you before the immediate necessity of applying for Medicaid exists. Without a long-term Medicaid plan, emergency or short-term Medicaid planning will be necessary when medical and financial need arises. We can also guide you through the process of applying for Medicaid on an emergency basis.