I recently met with a client who lost her husband not long ago. I will refer to this client as “Sally”. Unfortunately, Sally has had to move into a care center, due mainly to significant memory issues. While she is physically healthy, she is not able to handle her financial affairs, which involve significant assets. Sally’s daughter lives out of state and has been helping with her mother’s care as well as she can from a distance.
Upon sitting down with Sally, the first thing she showed me was a picture of her new boyfriend. She is quite tickled to have someone paying so much attention to her. I was instantly concerned. Unfortunately, we have seen too many instances where widows or widowers are preyed upon by unscrupulous individuals seeking to gain access to their funds. This is most common when there are significant funds for the taking. This is of additional concern when the widow or widower is not mentally capable of handling their affairs.
Thankfully, I happen to know that Sally’s assets are protected because she and her former husband had created a living trust with our firm. This ensures that she will not be subject to financial exploitation by those with less than honorable intentions. All of her husband’s portion of the trust assets are fully available for her support, and no one can take that portion from her. As to her half, her daughter is now the trustee and will apply the funds as needed for Sally’s care, once again ensuring that no one else, including the new boyfriend, can get to her assets.
We never know what situations we may face in life. It is vital to plan for the various possibilities that can occur. At MH, we plan our estates for the protection of surviving spouses, children and other beneficiaries. Our plans also protect the client themself from their own actions if they should reach a point at which they do not have sufficient capacity to make proper decisions. Many special provisions are drafted into our estate plans to give this protection.
Don’t put your future at risk! Call 888.222.1328 today to schedule a free consultation and discover how MH can help you and those you love!
Morris Hall Can Protect You in Today’s Litigious Society:
We live in a litigious society, where over 1 million lawsuits are filed every year in America alone. Financial predators are looking for ways to take funds from others and often use litigation as their means to do so. At Morris Hall we provide your assets and your loved ones with important protections that can prevent financial predators from taking advantage of you. We do this through proper and current estate planning techniques. With an MH living trust, we can also protect your property, assets and loved ones from probate, estate taxes, gift taxes, creditors, Medicaid spend-down, conservatorship or guardianship proceedings, ex-spouses and more. A living trust also keeps your asset and beneficiary information private and secure to avoid giving financial predators information to use against you and your family. Without a living trust, this information will be made public. For those living in Arizona, we serve the areas of Phoenix, Mesa, Gilbert, Fountain Hills, Scottsdale, Prescott, Flagstaff, Sedona, Tucson, Sonoita, Arrowhead, Avondale, Goodyear and Tempe. In we serve the areas of , , Rio Rancho, White Rock, Alamogordo, Truth or Consequences and more. Contact us today at 888.222.1328 to schedule an appointment with an attorney in your area!
Contributed by MH attorney Theron M Hall
This blog should be used for informational purposes only. It does not create an attorney-client relationship with any reader and should not be construed as legal advice. If you need legal advice, please contact an attorney in your community who can assess the specifics of your situation.
In fact, estate planning, asset preservation and probate law have been our only areas of practice. We are proud to have helped thousands of individuals of all levels of wealth and assets, people concerned about protecting their families from the devastating legal and financial effects of disability and death.
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