Central Indiana Estate Planning & Elder Law

We recently visited with Home Instead Senior Care to talk about what makes them unique, this is what they had to say.

Home Instead Senior Care has been serving the Indianapolis area for over 19 years.  They have an amazing group of dedicated Caregivers who are changing the lives of their client's everyday by providing the assistance they need to stay at home.  

They can do everything for you, making it as if being taken care of by your Mother, so you can stay in your own home.  They offer meal preparation, medication reminders, grocery shopping, errands, light housekeeping, bathing, dressing, incontinence care/toileting, mobility assistance, transportation prescription pick-up, discharge assistance, help manage behaviors with Alzheimer's or Dementias patients, encourage engagement, along with assist with daily living. They offer affordable in-home care services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.  They accept the Medicaid Waiver, Private Pay and VA Aid & Attendance.

When you hire Home Instead Senior Care, you don't only get a Caregiver you get an entire team working for you.  The team consists of the Recruitment, Engagement & Training Team that screens, hires and engages the staff of Caregivers in order to provide the highest quality of service to the client.  The Client Care Team meet with potential clients and family members to create an individualized care plan and they continue to evaluate the plan through a series of ongoing communications and visits to ensure high quality care.  

The Service Team creates and maintains the client/Caregiver schedule creating high quality matches and excellent relationships. They also work closely with the Client Care team to ensure open and effective communication with the clients and family members.  The Home Instead Caregivers go through a comprehensive multi-phased training program, they provide a variety of home care services to the clients, and help clients and their families meet the challenges of aging with dignity, pride, care and compassion.

Thank you for visiting with us and sharing how unique your company is!

Are you getting married?

Are you getting married? Do you have a child or a loved one getting married? “Big life events” like marriage may have an impact on your estate plan. I often encourage individuals to utilize such events as a springboard to pull out the ol’ estate plan, take a look, and ensure that what you want to have happen will happen.

I get it, I get it – getting married is supposed to be happy, exciting, fun, full of smiles and laughter, … and here I am – bringing up something borderline morbid. Though, I do not suggest bringing up “estate planning” as a talking point on the Honeymoon – I do recommend, it go on the to-do list soon thereafter!

The following is a series of topics/considerations – marriage is the common denominator. Whether you are a future bride/groom; a newlywed; your child/loved one recently got married; or you have been married for decades – I hope you find this hodge-podge of information helpful.

1. What’s the deal with a “Pre-Nup” (aka Pre-Marital Agreement)? This term gets tossed around often when discussing a prospective marriage; though it is incorrectly assumed that it only comes into play in the event of a divorce. While it does deal with what happens to assets in the event of a divorce, it also is a way to control assets after you pass. In Indiana (and in most states), there is a little thing called Spousal Election, which essentially means you cannot totally “disinherit” your spouse. He/she is entitled to receive a portion of your estate unless a Pre-Marital Agreement is in place and binds the parties to not “take against each other’s Wills.” Another fun tidbit: Many do not realize that there is a little thing called a “Post-Nup” (aka Post-Marital Agreement) which is virtually the same as a Pre-Nup, but is done after the marriage!)
2. Taxes are a second consideration with marriage. In “our” estate planning world, we often get asked about estate taxes and gift taxes. The annual gift tax exemption (that is, how much you are allowed to gift per person, per year without tax reporting) is $15,000 while the lifetime gift tax exemption is $11.2 million (that is, how much you are allowed to give over a lifetime per person before there are tax implications). When you marry, you get double the amount – so double the fun! So, a married couple may gift $15,000 each (total $30,000) per year with no reporting requirements; a married couple may also gift $11.2 million each (total of $22M +) over their lifetime with no tax implications. Concerned about gift/estate taxes anymore? Yeah, me neither.
3. If a beneficiary predeceases you, does their share of your estate “have” to go to their surviving spouse? (The infamous, “Does that daughter-in-law/son-in-law get my stuff?!”) The quick answer: absolutely not. A well-drafted estate plan will accommodate such an unfortunate event and it usually either goes down to the beneficiary’s child(ren) or to the remaining listed beneficiaries. So, for example, if Child A, B, and C are the beneficiaries of your Will and Child A predeceases you, the most common distribution pattern is that either Child A’s child(ren) would inherit –or—Child B and C would inherit. Though, it does not “have” to go to anyone – not the predeceased beneficiary’s surviving spouse, not the predeceased beneficiary’s child(ren), not even the remaining beneficiaries – the beautiful thing about doing an estate plan is you get to choose! Want predeceased Child A’s share to go to the “Basset Hound Rescue of America” – go for it (just need to make sure it is specifically stated!).
4. Do you need to change beneficiaries on assets? What about your existing estate plan? Remember when you first started at your employer, they handed over some paperwork to fill out for their retirement program and/or life insurance? That paperwork likely included a form to designate beneficiaries. Or remember when you were wise beyond your years and created a Power of Attorney, Health Care Representative, and Last Will and Testament upon attaining the age of eighteen? Maybe you listed Dad and Mom as your Power of Attorney and Health Care Representative, and even your Will’s beneficiaries? If you get married, it is common that you’d want your new spouse to be your Power of Attorney, Health Care Representative, and/or beneficiary. It is vital that you get these documents updated appropriately to ensure that your new spouse is listed.

Getting married is certainly not the only “big life event” that could impact an estate plan – having children, your children having children, retiring, receiving an inheritance, a beneficiary predeceasing you, etc. etc. I could entertain you for hours with stories of individuals who did not update their estate plan when a “big life event” had occurred.

Unfortunately, it often does not end well for the family as the individual’s goals in their estate plan may not end up occurring. Therefore, it is vital to remember – if a “big life event” occurs, consider how it may impact your estate plan.

If you want to review your current estate plan and get it updated, or are considering starting the process, join us for a FREE workshop "Stop the Family Fight Before It Starts - just click here to find out more and RSVP.

Jennifer Rozelle, JD

A Tale of Three Banks

Online banking is a convenience that, to my mind, makes the internet worthwhile. I didn’t always feel that way. As a matter of fact, it was my father who ultimately convinced me to put away the checkbook and use the services that my bank was providing for free. At first, it’s a bit unsettling. Especially for those of us who learned banking before the internet. But over time, the convenience and simplicity make the process much more attractive. Thus, with some exceptions, I can be counted among the users of online bill-pay and other features.

Nevertheless, there are still some occasions on which a trip to the bank is necessary. After putting off several transactions that require such a trip for as long as possible, today became the day on which I needed to go to the bank. Several banks, actually.

The transactions required that I stop by three different banks in order to wrap up the day’s business, so I decided to make a “sweep” – all three in one trip to ease the pain.

Bank #1 on my excursion was an exercise in comfort. I’m met at the door by my personal banker (I’m pretty sure it was a coincidence that he was walking out as I was walking in, but he made it seem planned!). Being greeted with a smile and a hearty “Hello, Susan!” made me feel valued in their eyes. We chatted briefly, and he walked to the teller’s desk explaining that he wanted to introduce me to their team’s newest addition. This level of personal service in 2018 is on par with a clear digital photo of Bigfoot. That’s why I like this bank. They are always happy to see me (at least as far as they let me know), and they take their time to get things right without dragging the interaction on unnecessarily.

On to Bank #2 in my journey. Again, a greeting upon entry, this time from an unknown source behind the counter. In other words, someone hollered a “welcome” when the door opened. There was one other customer in the bank when I arrived. As we both prepared our paperwork for the bank representative, a customer in the drive through lane took the attention of the one and only teller on duty. The other customer and I chatted while we waited, and one of the bank managers came out of her office to say hello. Again, a friendly group, although not as warm as Bank #1, they were certainly making the effort to keep things light. The only issue with this bank is the lack of employees. It’s always like this at this particular branch – one or two employees are forced to handle every single customer, including a busy drive through. Again, not a bad experience (although had I been in a hurry, I might feel differently), but also not a prime example of rare customer service.

Then there was Bank #3. The absolute winner of the failure of service prize. At Bank #3, I was greeted and helped within a minute or two. The failure occurred when the young person who was helping me decided that another customer who came in was more important. While the other customer was at the next window being helped by another bank employee, the young person helping me jumped into their conversation and proceeded to leave my transaction laying at her station so that she could walk over to them. The issue was not something that required her attention – the customer was being helped by another employee – so I have no idea why she deemed it necessary to walk away from me to intervene elsewhere. I only know that she did.   Upon her return, I closed my account.

Customer service. That elusive animal …. It still exists. You just have to keep hunting.

If you want to join us for our FREE educational workshops on Thursday, May 10th at 2:00pm, where you can see first hand how much we enjoy working with our client families, just click here now to save yourself a seat.  

Susan Hunter, Esq.

 

We recently visited with Allisonville Meadows Assisted Living to talk about what makes them unique, this is what they had to say...

Allisonville Meadows has been 100% Deficiency-Free 4 out of 5 years.  The Indiana State Department of Health inspects licensed facilities to assess compliance with state standards of care, such as adequacy of staffing, quality of care and cleanliness of facilities.  

A deficiency-free score is the best score an assisted living facility can receive and is a distinction achieved by a low percentage of facilities in the state. They offer a continuum of care which is an advantage for couples that age at a difference pace, they facilitate daily visits so loved ones can visit each other daily, if they can't be in the same area of the facility.  

They offer Assisted Living and Memory Care, with their Skilled Nursing unit offered next door.  Allisonville Meadows Assisted Living accepts private pay and VA benefits.  They also, offer a discount to Veterans, as a way to say thank you for their service.

Allisonville Meadows has a Resident Council that meets with the Staff and discuss what they would like to eat along with what activities to offer.  They also discuss what they like and what they would like to see changed.  The Residents can enjoy a variety of activities such as daily exercise activities,

Bingo, musical guest, games, crafts, painting, and field trips. Transportation is available Monday and Wednesday's for Doctor Appointments.  They also offer trips to various banks, CVS, Wal-Mart, and Stein Mart.

Thank you for visiting with us and sharing how unique Allisonville Meadows Assisted Living is!