Illinois Elder Attorney Blog

by Tom Olofsson, Attorney at Law, www.MyTrustLawyer.com (773) 905-1193

An elder attorney works in the area of Elder Law. elder law is a broad category of legal practice. It includes many of the issues that are important to Seniors and to their families.

It touches upon several areas and combines them into a unified approach to the way a Senior interacts with his or her family, estate, government programs, with medical care providers, and with his or her community.

The main areas that we explore with our Senior clients include:

• Power of Attorney
• Last Will and Testament
• Living Trust
• Guardianship for Disabled Persons
  
• Nursing Home Questions and Problems
  
• Elder Abuse and Neglect
• Medicaid Planning Protecting wealth and property from high nursing home bills
  
• Preparing for Incapacity
• Passing Wealth and Property to children and loved ones

by Tom Olofsson, Attorney at Law, www.MyTrustLawyer.com (773) 905-1193

There are several important questions to consider when deciding whether the person you are considering is a good pick to be the agent under your power of attorney.

1. Will they do what I want them to do? If they will not carry out your wishes then do not pick them even if you may hurt their feelings.

2. Will they have the strength to do what needs to be done? If they are not able to deal with tough questions and tough people who will try to sway their minds then do not pick them.

3. Are they good with money? If they can not balance their own checkbook they are not likely to balance yours. If they do not keep good records then they will get themselves into trouble when they lose track of your money.

4. Will they consider the job to be a burden? If they look at this as a burden then they will not pay enough attention to your finances.

5. Will they give in to outside influences? If the porson you pick is married to someone you do not want involved in your affairs then do not pick them. You do not want them to choose between their duty to you and their spouse.

6. What happens when the person you pick becomes ill themselves? You must pick a back-up agent to serve if your first choice is not available.

If you have no one who fits all the requirements then you still have an option.

Pick the person who is closest to the ideal then pair them with a professional.

A trust company can lend expert advice to the person you believe has your best interest at heart. When a family works with a professional trustee they have the perfect reason defense against people who would ask them to do the wrong thing. “The trust company is in charge of that”, is the easy way for them to get out of tight situations.

In any case we recommend that a trust company be named as a back-up agent against the day when the person you have named is unable to perform the task.

by Tom Olofsson, Attorney at Law, www.MyTrustLawyer.com (773) 905-1193

I met with a very nice woman today. She is very worried about her future.

She told me that a family member had moved in with her to help with her ill husband. She was very happy to have the help and was so grateful that she had decided to leave her home to the helpful family member when she died.

She has since changed her mind about the gift. It turns out that the helpful famiiy member has helped herself to the nice lady’s assets.

A power of attorney was signed which gave the helpful family member the authority to go help the nice lady when she could not make it to the bank.

The nice lady’s husband died a couple of months later. The nice lady turned over a life insurance policy to pay for his funeral. The life insurance company called the nice lady to tell her that there was a problem.

The helpful family member had changed the beneficiary on the insurance policy on the life of the husband who had just passed away. After a little more investigation the nice lady found that the helpful family member had also cashed in an annuity contract.

The total stolen to this point is about $101,000.

Please consult an attorney before you sign papers which you do not fully understand or about which you have questions