Elder Law is a specialized area of legal practice that focuses on the type of client served rather than on the specific legal question involved. An Elder Law Attorney has a practice centered around the issues that impact older adults and people with disabilities. Because the Elder Law Attorney is committed to a type of [...]
A new client, Allen, recently asked about holographic wills. Having come from a state where they are commonly accepted, he wondered whether his simple, handwritten document would be valid here in Missouri. He then asked whether they are advisable. The answer is a little complicated. Holographic wills are valid in Missouri, but only when they [...]
Will your family know what to do after you pass, or will it be a mystery? Don’t leave them with the frustration of being in the dark. When a loved one dies, no one wants to play hide and seek for critical documents and key information. Instead, leave a letter of instructions. Betty was recently [...]
Tom and Alice are a young couple who recently completed their estate planning documents with us. Alice reached out to our office, asking about a call they recently got from their financial advisor. The advisor was requesting that Tom and Alice each provide a Power of Attorney for his file. Alice wanted to know if [...]
Estate planning isn’t always straightforward. Some family situations present difficult questions that can’t be answered very easily. Such is the case when a couple (I’ll call them Bob and Marie) were in my office asking how to provide for Jenny, their special needs child. At the moment, they weren’t facing a legal challenge as much [...]
Developmental Disabilities on the Rise What kind of preparations are important to make for aging adults with developmental disabilities? Because we’re seeing more children in these situations, we also expect to see adults, and aging adults with special needs. With autism, for example, reported to be on the rise, it’s a good thing that more [...]
We're often asked about the many situations that arise related to estate blended families and estate planning. The number of different scenarios and needs that present themselves is almost innumerable. Clients describe their situation and then pose the question, “What should we do?” While I can’t tell them what to do, I can share whatever [...]
Stan is a client who came to my office and shared some great stories about an old friend who had passed away a couple years ago. We both got a chuckle over some of their high school antics. Stan went on to talk about how strange it was that he still got notices of his [...]
Kids sometimes ask the strangest things, especially after watching TV ads. Eight year old Sally was watching TV one lazy Sunday morning when an interview aired between a local estate planning attorney and a news reporter. The topic was the irrevocable trust, a term Sally had never heard before. So she asked the smartest person [...]
When Sam suddenly passed, his family found themselves with a real mess on their hands. Well liked by friends and associates, Sam was known to be the life of every party. But he was never keen on planning ahead. Because he'd never completed an estate plan, his family was forced to spend an inordinate amount [...]