Three Disasters You Don't Want To Experience

There are three major pitfalls no family wants to fall into. Most of the time these disasters are unseen and usually unknown to most heads of household. 

The first is...

Dying Intestate

When you die without leaving instructions you leave your family helpless and in a position of losing a major portion of what you have worked so hard to accumulate for your families financial security. There is no forgiveness in the law. If you neglect...you pay the price. I have witnessed tragic situations where stocks went through the floor while they were tied up in Probate and there was nothing the family could do but watch. More than 70% of Americans don’t even have a scrap of paper to say what is going to happen when they die. All of them will die Intestate unless they prepare a Will or a Living Trust. Remember though, a Will is a guaranteed trip through Probate...a Living Trust completely eliminates that risk.

Conservatorship

If you become mentally incompetent either from an illness like dementia or Alhzheimers or a sever accident, and two physicians say you are unable to make competent decisions for yourself, you will be declared incompetent and lose the legal right to make your own decisions requiring a Conservator. The Conservator has the legal right to make decisions for you, manage your money and report accountings to the Conservatorship Court, decide who you will live with or what institution you will be confined to, and generally dictate your entire life. If you are incompetent you don’t even get to have a say in who takes care of you...the Court does all the deciding. People petition the court to become your Conservator and the Court makes the decision...whether you agree with it or not. Even your spouse must petition the Court. This is not a situation you want to find yourself in. You can make the decision however, BEFORE you become incompetent. It’s called a “Nomination of Conservator” and you can decide who you want to be your Conservator. This takes the Conservatorship Court out of the picture...or at least tells the Court who you want as Conservator and the Court rarely goes against your wishes. A Living Trust provides the document for you to make the Conservatorship Nomination taking the decision out of your families hands and eliminating the intrusion of the Court into your life. A Will does not make this provision alone. In fact many attorneys write themselves into your Will as Conservator. That way they get to control your finances and make decisions regarding your welfare that may not be what you would want. This is a BIG pitfall...consider it carefully.

Medicaid

If you are disabled to the point that you need to be in a Long Term Care facility you will be required to spend all your savings on your own Long Term Care, essentially becoming a pauper in order to take advantage of the Medicaid entitlement. Long Term Care Insurance is often suggested but consider that solution carefully because it can cost a husband and wife as much as $25,000 a year for both of you or a quarter of a million dollars over 10 years. And you may never use the insurance even though you paid for it. It’s a lot less expensive to prepare the proper documents and avoid the problem altogether. The Living Trust is part of that solution. Save your life’s savings to enjoy and let us show you how this problem can be completely eliminated. 

You may think that you are not old enough to worry about these things but believe me the age at which they can happen is completely undetermined. Any of these things can happen when you are young, middle aged, or seniors. Just don’t take the chance. The dice you roll taking that chance can have life shattering consequences if you are wrong. 

You can learn more about these solutions by calling Heritage at 888-437-8778. The call is free and so is the consultation. Remember that Heritage is on Pacific Time and the office is closed on Fridays. 

888-437-8778

www.heritagelivingtrust.com