Practice Areas
- Medicaid
- Living Trusts
- Estate Administration and Probate
- Asset Protection
- Veterans Benefits
- Special Needs Trust
Blog 
Medicaid
- Pennsylvania May Get Seventy Percent of Special Medicaid Funding
- 12 Strategies to Prevent Alzheimer's
Estate Administration and Probate
- Finding Tips On Estate Planning at the Theatre
- Update on the Status of Federal Estate Tax
- Michael Jackson Estate Makes Land Mark Estate Deal With Sony
- The Governator Says Health Reform Will "Beat Up" California
- When a will isn’t enough
Asset Protection
- "Do I Qualify For Financial Assistance For Nursing Home Care?"
- Free Asset Protection Seminar For Anyone Considering Long Term Care Planning
- Medicaid Compromise in Health Care Bill On the Chopping Block
- Medicaid and Caregiving: Who Are the Ones Taking the Lead?
- Avoid Pitfalls of Medicaid
Veterans Benefits
Special Needs Trust
- IMPORTANT REPORT EVERY SPECIAL NEEDS FAMILY MUST KNOW ABOUT ESTATE PLANNING
- Planning for your autistic child’s future can bring peace of mind
- Five estate planning mistakes made by parents with special needs children
- Could you benefit from a Special Needs Trust?
Caregivers
- Three Things To Consider When Hiring Private Caregivers For Someone With Alzheimer's Disease
- Ask These Ten Questions Before Going Into a Retirement Community
- Elder Independence: Developing Your Own Personal Health Care Goals
- Caregivers: Take Care Of Yourself First
- ELDER CARE, HEALTH CARE, AND CARING IN GENERAL
General
- 10 Ways To Ruin Your Retirement
- Secrets To Happy Retirement
- Free Webinar From Pennsylvania AARP
- 2010 Blizzard and the Ghosts of Winters Past
- ELDER CARE, HEALTH CARE, AND CARING IN GENERAL
News
- What Next For the Estate Tax?...
Posted on 8/5/2010 - Care Connection Offers Dementia Caregivers Weekly Phone Support...
Posted on 8/2/2010 - New Free Report! A Guide To Alzheimer's Care...
Posted on 7/27/2010 - How Britain Plans to Confront Its Long Term Care Crisis...
Posted on 7/20/2010 - Rendell Says States Unlikely To Get Extra Medicaid Funds...
Posted on 7/16/2010
Library
Medicaid
- Paying the Nursing Home: A Married Couple's Concerns, and What To Expect in the Medicaid Planning Process
- Home care is growing as a result of the increasing incidence of Alzheimer’s and other dementias, and is the world’s largest provider of non-medical in-home care and companionship services for seniors.
- "Why a 30-Minute Consultation? Do I Really Need One?"
- Are There Still Ways To Save the House? Transferring Property the Right Way ...
- Why Attend Our Seminar On Medicaid, Long Term Care, Vet Benefits and Estate Planning
Living Trusts
- Understanding Financial and Legal Planning Techniques: Management of a Family Business or Real Estate With a Trust
- What is the difference between a will and a trust?
- Lessons On Probate and the Benefit of a Trust From Michael Jackson's Estate Distribution
- Myths about Revocable Living Trusts, Lawyers and Estate Planning. You want the best Elder Law Attorney and Estate Planning Attorney on your side. Call us for a FREE consultation at (800) 879 0984
- Is your living trust complete?
Estate Administration and Probate
- When Pennsylvania Estate Recovery Can Take Place By Law
- Joint Bank Accounts - Risks and Benefits
- Guidelines for Gifts and Joint Accounts
- Intestacy Laws Of Pa: Dangers of Not Having a Current Living Will
- Drafting Wills That Protect Clients' Interests: Every situation is different, which is why we select vehicles that meets each client's needs
Asset Protection
- 10 Reasons to Consider Long-Term Care Insurance
- Solve Eligibility Problems Using the Personal Care Contract
- What Can Seniors and Their Families To Legally Protect Themselves In These Dire Times?
- Gift tax annual exclusion to remain unchanged in 2010. Contact us to see how this factors into your estate plan
- Gift tax annual exclusion to remain unchanged in 2010. Contact us to see how this factors into your estate plan
Veterans Benefits
Special Needs Trust
- Part 11 of 12 - Facts Every Special Needs Family Must Know About Estate Planning
- Part 12 of 12 - Facts Every Special Needs Family Must Know About Estate Planning
- Part 9 of 12 Facts Every Special Needs Family Must Know About Estate Planning
- Part 7 of 12 - Facts Every Special Needs Family Should Know About Estate Planning
- Part 8 of 12 - FACTS EVERY SPECIAL NEEDS FAMILY MUST KNOW
General
- Future of the Estate Tax: What's Next for Estate Tax? Because Congress hasn't replaced law that expired in 2009, uncertainty is the rule.
- Alzheimer Care: 6 Advantages to Hiring Home Health Aides Through Agency
- Feel overwhelmed about a loved one's Long Term Care Planning? Start by ordering one of our many FREE reports found below, and contact us for a FREE Initial Consultation
- 21 Tips For Adapting a Home For Senior Living
- Martha Stewart shares her cargiving experience as well as a plea for the Health Care Bill to include support for the growing elderly population
Shields and Boris Blog on Elder Care, Health Care, and Caring in General
Estate Administration and Probate
Managing your online accounts and passwords
Can you answer this question: how many online accounts do you have? If you’re like many people, you may have no idea. Think about the types of activities that you engage in online. You can monitor your investment accounts, send and receive email, upload photos, check on your savings plan, update your life insurance, and much more.
Having all of these online accounts is great when you are alive, but without a little planning this web of internet logins can create a real headache for your survivors. Think about it: if you died tomorrow, would anyone be able to track down all of your various online accounts – and the passwords that go along with them?
If your family knows about the accounts, there are hoops they can jump through to get access – but it could cost them time and money. What about accounts that nobody may know about, like a ‘secret’ savings account you were contributing to as a surprise, or other private online accounts? What will happen to them if you don’t note their existence somewhere?
To save your survivors and your estate executor from unnecessary frustration and expense, take some time to record all of this information somewhere, and either give it to a trusted friend or your attorney. You can also lock it up in a safety deposit box or your home safe – just make sure somebody knows how to get a key to either of those.
You can read more about this issue in our law library article “Estate administration and online accounts: logins, passwords, and big headaches”.
The importance of getting the right legal advice when administering an estate
A cautionary tale about the perils of accepting probate advice from someone other than a qualified attorney appeared in a Florida newspaper earlier this month. In the fictitious story, a man is named as successor trustee of his mother’s revocable trust and personal representative of the pour-over will.
After their mother’s death, the man and his sister want to avoid legal fees so they ask a friend of the sister’s son – a young man fresh out of law school who has not yet passed the bar exam – for help. To cut a long story short, the recently graduated unlicensed law school student does not give the correct legal advice for properly handling the mother’s estate.
As a result, a few years down the road the man is sued by his sister over his mishandling of the estate. The law school student – now an attorney – is named as a co-defendant.
The entire mess could have been avoided if the man had hired a competent, qualified probate attorney. As the fictional man learned, acting as a successor trustee, personal representative, or executor of a will is not as simple as selling all the assets, keeping a little for yourself, and divvying up the rest with your siblings.
You can read more about estate administration and probate in our law library and in our Frequently Asked Questions section.
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Elder Law Offices of Shields and Boris
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Wexford, PA 15090
Phone: (724) 934-5044
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Videos
General:
questions
Medicaid
Living Trusts
- What is "funding" my Living Trust?
- Do I lose control of my assets when I have a revocable living trust?
- Will a living trust make me ineligible for Medicaid?
Estate Administration and Probate
- When Can Estate Recovery Take Place By Law?
- Do witnesses have to actually witness the signing?
- What is a reasonable attorney fee for probating an Estate?
Asset Protection
- What Is Long Term Care?
- What are examples of services that can be included in a "Personal Care Contract"?
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What are the most commonly used approaches to managing and protecting assets through legal and financial asset protection?