A Special Trust in Los Angeles addresses and provides for the special needs of its beneficiary without jeopardizing the beneficiary’s government aid. For those who are concerned about an inheritance arriving without provisions for special needs, there are solutions. If a parent or grandparent forgot to create a special needs trust for a Los Angeles beneficiary, our specialist attorney can in most cases assist in setting up a special trust which receives the inheritance which qualifies as a special needs trust. First-party and third party trusts have designated uses for inheritances in the right circumstances. When a parent’s money is used during his/her life to create a trust, that type of special needs trust is usually called a third-party special needs trust. On the other hand, if the beneficiary’s money is used, or if the parent has died but left an unplanned inheritance to an SSI beneficiary, then that calls for a first-party special needs trust. First Party trusts are also used when the SSI beneficiary gets litigation proceeds. Read about how a special trust can help. To get the best advice about the type of special trust suitable and appropriate in Los Angeles for your particular Special Needs Trust, call Mina Sirkin at 818-340-4479. Email: Info@SirkinLaw.com.
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WOODLAND HILLS ELDER LAW | ATTORNEYS & LAWYERS | SIRKIN LAW
Caring for an elderly person in Woodland Hills can be complex. Woodland Hills elder law attorney, Mina Sirkin explains the details you need to know for a successful estate and elder wealth protection planning case.
What is Elder Law? Elder Law is the multidisciplinary area of law dedicated to providing legal services to persons above 65 years of age, which includes wealth and estate planning, creation of power of attorney documents, asset protection, and preparation of Advance Health Care Directives. Woodland Hills Elder Care Law attorneys at Sirkin Law Group have dedicated the last twenty five years to preparation for the future of our elderly clients in Woodland Hills Ca. We believe that with proper elder law planning, Conservatorships can be avoided for most of our clients with proper estate plans.
Before there is any medical emergency, we prepare our Woodland Hills elder clients and their children by making sure they have the right documents at hand. Below you will find a list of documents you should have ready for your parents.
1. Their Advance Health Care Directive or Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care, and a Hipaa Release;
2. A copy of their Driver’s license or senior identification card;
3. Their Medicare number (same as Social Security number) , or if on Medi-Cal, their Medi-Cal Card or number.
4. Their supplemental insurance information, and policy number.
5. A list of their medications and allergies.
6. A complete list of doctor’s and their telephone numbers.
7. If a Veteran, their military identification number.
8. Location of their estate planning documents and the name and phone number of the preparing attorney.
TOP 10 QUESTIONS TO HELP YOU KNOW WHEN A ELDER LAW HELO OR A CONSERVATORSHIP IS NEEDED FOR A LOVED ONE:
Clients in Woodland Hills often ask us whether they need conservatorship for an elderly or disabled parent, or a disabled child. Below is a checklist we have developed to help you make the decision:
1. Can he or she properly administer medication to himself or herself?
2. Can he or she understand the consequence of making a medical decision?
3. Can he or she provide food or shelter for himself?
4. Is he or she easily influenced by others to give away his or her money?
5. Are there signs that he or she cannot be safe when left alone at home?
6. Is he or she bathing himself or herself?
7. Does he or she wear clean clothes or wash his or her clothes?
8. Are there bills that are unpaid?
9. Is he or she forgetful of recent events?
10. Are there people who are trying to take financial advantage of him or her?
WHAT TO DO FIRST WHEN MOST OF THE ANSWERS TO THE ABOVE QUESTIONS ARE YES?
1. Call our attorneys at the Woodland Hills Conservatorship office at 818.340.4479 and ask for a call assessment regarding your case.
2. Ask us to give you a Capacity Declaration to be completed by a physician. If your loved one will not submit to a doctor’s examination, please call us.
3. Gather a list of medications and assets of your loved one
4. Set an in-person appointment to go over the Conservatorship Procedures in Los Angeles County.
Woodland Hills Attorney: Call Mina Sirkin, Woodland Hills Elder Law Attorney at 818.340.4479. Our Woodland Hills office serves the Woodland Hills, Calabasas, West Hills, Tarzana, Reseda, Agoura, Hidden Hills, Canoga Park, Winnetka, and Westlake Village areas. Elder Law Attorney Woodland Hills Ca. Caring for the elderly is our only business and we are very proud to serve your family in elder law.
How to handle repeated questions in trust and estate litigation by an Alzheimer’s affected elderly parent?
Loving answers: How to handle repeated questions in trust and estate litigation by an Alzheimer’s affected elderly parent?
How often does your parent ask you the same question? If you are handling a conservatorship, trust or estate, or are involved in trust litigation, or a contested conservatorship in litigation in court, you must feel frustrated with the repeated questions.
It is important that people with Alzheimer’s or dementia remember feelings and not facts. We read an interesting article in DailyCare.com which give you a number of ways to handle repeated questions:
“4 ways to respond when someone with Alzheimer’s repeats questions
1. Respond to the emotions, not the words
When your older adult starts to repeat a question over and over, try to guess what feelings might be causing the behavior. If they might be feeling anxious, giving a brief hug or hand squeeze while calmly answering the question may soothe them enough to stop their need to keep asking.
2. Keep your answers brief
It’s tempting to answer a question from a person with Alzheimer’s the same way you’d answer anybody else. But the shorter and simpler your answer, the better. It saves you time and energy and reduces your exasperation when you have to repeat it five more times.
3. Distract with an activity
Sometimes the only way to get your senior with dementia to stop repeating a question is to distract them with something they enjoy. Maybe that means offering a snack or favorite beverage.
Or, you could ask them a simple question to get them thinking about something else, like “The sky is blue today, isn’t it nice?” Another idea is to ask them to help you with a simple chore they’re still able to do, like folding laundry.
4. Escape for a few minutes
It’s tough to keep your cool and not snap at someone when you’ve been asked the same question for the twelfth time. Everyone’s patience runs out at some point, especially if this isn’t the first time it’s happened today.”
One way to help an elder remember, is to create a folder with copies of the elder’s information. This folder may include a bank statement, with the bank account number redacted, a list of doctors, list of family members’ phone numbers, medications, and caregiver information. Remind the elder that the folder is located on the dining room table, where he or she can get to it fast. Lists help elderly organize their thoughts.
Mina Sirkin, an elder law litigation attorney who handles trust and estate litigation, as well as conservatorship litigation and contested matters, can be contacted at 818.340.4479 or by email at MSirkin@SirkinLaw.com. We help clients in Los Angeles, San Fernando Valley, Woodland Hills, Tarzana, Van Nuys, Burbank, Northridge, Sherman Oaks, Glendale, and Pasadena areas.
How to Protect Your Estate From Caregivers and Greedy Family Members?
Mina Sirkin, Elder Law Attorney Protects the Future of Your Estate in Woodland Hills.
If you had the choice of picking among your greedy grandson, your daughter who does not get along with the rest of the family, a caregiver, or a professional fiduciary, as the person to manage your estate, who would you chose? It is not an easy decision.
GREEDY GRANDSON: In the most recent years, I have received many calls from grandmothers and grandfathers whose grandson or granddaughter has moved in, and has become financially dependent on the grandparents. In the olden days, children were pushed out of the house and sent to work. The new generation has less work-ethic than those who grew up in the 40s or 50. You should move grandchildren to independence by asking them to pay rent for their stay in your home. Yes, you may not need the income, but you are saying that the grandchild will be treated as a responsible adult, if staying at your home. You should create a rental agreement and enforce payment of rent. This protects your estate from litigation when the rest of your family come checking you and your estate.
THE CHILD THAT DOES NOT GET ALONG WITH THE REST OF THE FAMILY: This child may actually create litigation in your estate. You can protect your estate from costly conservatorship cases, by NOT naming this child as an agent under a power of attorney, or as a trustee. As a general rule, your trustee and executor must be able to manage his or her emotions with respect to other beneficiaries, and must not favor himself or herself.
SHOULD I MARRY MY CAREGIVER? Many of our customers call us with this question. We say NO!! Caregiver marriages usually end up in the estate being depleted. It is not to say that every caregiver is an abuser. Many people are good-hearted, but the profession lends itself to endearing the elderly which make our job of protecting the elder’s estate and assets difficult. In one sentence: Don’t do it!
Protecting your future financial well-being starts with making a financial transition plan which an include a professional fiduciary. A professional conservator, trustee, and executor are usually bonded and insured. Use these services to protect your estate from caregivers, and greedy family members. You should know that most estates need to be protected when an elder gets up in age.
At some point, children or caregivers will have access to your assets. This should encourage you to decide whether family or professionals should be in charge of management of your assets, and when that asset protection should go into effect.
LATE MARRIAGES CREATE RISKS IN ESTATE PROTECTION: When a caregiver attempts to abuse an elderly, he or she may attempt to marry the elder. Marriage gives the caregiver priority in a conservatorship proceeding under certain circumstances. You should be aware and worry about getting married late in life, and protect yourself from elder financial abuse.
Mina Sirkin is an estate protection advisor, and and an elder estate law attorney in Woodland Hills and Los Angeles. As a Los Angeles Estate Planning lawyer, Mina Sirkin is a legal advisor to seniors and elders, and frequently writes about how to protect your estate from financial abuse and greedy family members. For speaker information and lectures on matters involving estate planning for seniors in Woodland Hills, contact us. Contact Mina Sirkin at 818-340-4479 or by email: Info@SirkinLaw.com.
How to Prevent Elder Abuse or Elder Financial Fraud in Woodland Hills?
Woodland Hills Attorney Advises, How to Prevent Elder Abuse or Elder Financial Fraud in Woodland Hills? Mina Sirkin, Elder Law Attorney Protects the Future of Your Estate & Finances in Woodland Hills
Protecting your financial well-being starts with making a financial management plan. The basics of the decision to protect the assets revolve around who will manage your finances in the future, and how will the transition to financial management take place. Knowing that at some point, children or caregivers may have access to your assets, should encourage you to decide whether family or professionals should be in charge of management of your assets.
CAREGIVERS COME AND GO: Caregivers come and go in an elderly person’s life. The nature of the caregiving business is a changing or transient one. Often caregivers become involved or get close to an elderly person with the knowledge that there is a rift between the elder and a child. This poses a danger to the elder as the caregiver may through the use of affection, try to alienate the elder from family members. Caregivers who want to abuse an elderly create family rifts by creating negative and often false facts about the family.
DETERMINE TIMING OF CHANGE: Determining the time when management of assets should be shifted to a trusted family member or a professional fiduciary is the single most important decision you will make in saving your assets from elder abuse. In your estate planning documents, you choose the standard by which the shift in the management of your your assets will happen. For example, you may choose to have the shift, when one doctor deems you are incapacitate, or two doctors deep you incapacitated. The standard is up to you, so you can make it very flexible.
DON’T KEEP YOUR FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS OR ESTATE PLANNING DOCUMENTS IN YOUR HOME: Caregivers or others who want to pry into your business often want to see your estate planning documents. The may misuse these documents to try to figure out how to change them. Keep your documents in a safe, and only give access to to the box, to your trustee, executor, a child, or a professional fiduciary.
DON’T MARRY: When a caregiver attempts to abuse an elderly, he or she may attempt to marry the elder. Marriage gives the caregiver priority in a conservatorship proceeding under certain circumstances. You should be aware and worry about getting married late in life, and protect yourself from elder financial abuse, not to mention financial ruin.
Handling financial elder abuse cases, Mina Sirkin is a probate and elder law attorney in Woodland Hills and Los Angeles. As a Los Angeles Estate Planning lawyer, Mina Sirkin who advises the elderly, frequently writes about how to protect your estate from financial abuse, lectures on matters involving abuse of seniors and estate planning for seniors in Woodland Hills. In Woodland Hills and Los Angeles, contact attorney Mina Sirkin at 818-340-4479 or by email: Info@SirkinLaw.com.
LOS ANGELES CONSERVATORSHIP ATTORNEY | SIRKIN LAW GROUP | 818.340.4479 | LOS ANGELES CONSERVATOR
PROTECTING YOUR ELDERLY PARENT’S WEALTH MEANS RECOGNIZING SIGNS OF COGNITIVE DECLINE IN ELDERLY AS DESCRIBED BY CONSERVATORSHIP ATTORNEY IN LOS ANGELES
Conservatorship: Clients in Los Angeles often ask us whether they should become conservators for an elderly, disabled, aging parent, or a disabled child. Below is a checklist we have developed to help you see signs of cognitive decline to best determine whether it is time to consider a conservatorship for a relative in Los Angeles.
1. Can he or she properly administer medication to himself or herself? Does he/she order the medication timely?
2. Can he or she understand the consequence of making a medical decision?
3. Can he or she provide food or shelter for himself? Check to see of there is fresh food in the house.
4. Is he or she easily influenced by others to give away his or her money? Is someone close to your parent trying to befriend or marry your parent? Urgent requests for liquidation of assets often are done by caregivers who are attempting to abuse the elderly.
5. Are there signs that he or she cannot be safe when left alone at home?
6. Is he or she bathing himself or herself regularly?
7. Does he or she wear clean clothes or wash his or her clothes?
8. Are there bills that are unpaid? Are there piles of unopened mail?
9. Is he or she forgetful of recent events?
10. Are there people who are trying to take financial advantage of him or her?
11. Does he/she exercise poor judgment?
12. Does he/she try to drive, even though he/she has been told not to drive by a physician?
13. Does he/she drive despite his/her driver’s license having been revoked?
14. Is the house full of trash?
15. Has he/she been diagnosed with a illness?
WHAT TO DO NEXT:
1. Find out if there is an Advance Health Care Directive or Power of Attorney in place. If you question capacity, an opinion of a physician is always helpful.
2. Call our office at 818.340.4479 and ask for a call assessment regarding your case or to petition to appoint a conservator.
3. Ask us to give you a Capacity Declaration to be completed by a physician. If your loved one will not submit to a doctor’s examination, please call us.
4. Gather a list of medications and assets of your loved one.
5. Set an appointment to learn about Conservatorship Procedures in Los Angeles CA.
Call Mina Sirkin, Los Angeles Conservatorship Attorney at 818.340.4479. Our West Los Anglees, Ca office serves all of Los Angeles County and surrounding areas in Conservatorship and Guardianship matters. We can assist you in helping your loved ones and your aging parents by appointing a conservator in Los Angeles. Read more about Conservatorship Attorney Los Angeles.
Woodland Hills Office: 21550 Oxnard St. 300, Woodland Hills, Ca 91367
West Los Angeles Ca Office address: 11400 W. Olympic Blvd. Suite 200, CA 90064.
Conservatorships Attorney Los Angeles | Conservatorship Attorney in Los Angeles
June is Alzheimer’s Awareness Month
“June is Alzheimer’s awareness month and community members like Sharon Cooper are working to spread awareness.
Cooper, a Santa Monica resident works as a financial advisor at Edward Jones in Marina del Rey and Edward Jones is the National Presenting Sponsor for Alzheimer’s Association. She said the company believes it is their duty to help the health and wealth of families who are affected by Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer’s disease is the 5th leading cause of death in California, according to Alzheimer’s Association.
In 2017 there is an estimated 630,000 people living with Alzheimer. The number is expected to rise to 690,000 by 2020, and by 2025 it is estimated 840,000 people will be affected in California alone.
“This cause has been near and dear to my heart, as both of my parents had dementia,” said Cooper. “I have seen the impact it has on families and caregivers and it is important people are aware of the resources that are out there.”
As a financial advisor she makes it her goal to inform clients about the resources within the community.
The Alzheimer’s Association California Southland Chapter offers free, and local resources for those facing Alzheimer’s and their caregivers. On the first and third Thursday of each month they offer a support group from 10:30 a.m. through 12:00 p.m. at Welbrook Santa Monica. (1450 17th St.)
“I think the awareness is growing, and the importance of receiving resources is growing,” said Cooper. “However there is still a lot of work to be done.”
Cooper contributes much of her time to help coordinate multiple Alzheimer’s Association walks throughout the Westside region, on behalf of Edward Jones.
“In 2015 there were approximately 166,540 people 65 or older with Alzheimer’s disease in Los Angeles County,” said Alzheimer’s Association Communications Director, Allyson Laughlin.
With so many people affected by this disease Laughlin and Cooper are striving to make the upcoming Walk to End Alzheimer’s Santa Monica the best one yet.
“We are currently building the Walk committee-local volunteers who bring it all together and are searching for members,” said Laughlin. “The majority of the funds raised at the California Southland Chapter’s Walk remain local, serving the Southland.”
Last year Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s Santa Monica raised nearly $78,000 and they hope to raise the same amount or more this year.
The Alzheimer’s Association will host their annual Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s, Santa Monica on Sept. 24, and it will take place in Tongva Park.
To donate or for more information visit http://act.alz.org/site/TR/Walk2017/CACaliforniaSouthland?fr_id=10282&pg=entry.”
CREDIT http://smdp.com/
Be sure to review your power of attorney documents and estate plans. To find out more information about estate planning and Alzheimer’s disease, contact: Mina Sirkin, Estate Planning Attorney for Alzheimer’s patients, and Conservatorship Attorney in Los Angeles.
Can a conservator buy life insurance for a conservatee
A conservator is only allowed to purchase life insurance with the conservatorship assets, with a prior court order.
A California conservator needs a court order to purchase life insurance on the life of the conservatee, with the assets of the conservatorship estate. Because the purchase of such a life insurance is with the conservatee’s assets, the conservator has to show that the purchase would be a) desired by the conservatee; and b) would be reasonable, in light of the costs to the conservatee. For example, if a conservatee would normally be obligated to support a spouse or a minor child, the court may consider that as a legitimate reason for the conservator to apply to the court for such a purchase.
The designation of a beneficiary of a life insurance in conservatorships requires a Substituted Judgment Petition made to the court.
For more information on life insurance purchases in conservatorship cases, contact, Mina Sirkin, specialist conservatorship attorney in Los Angeles County. 818.340.4479, Woodland Hills, Glendale, & Los Angeles Conservatorship.
WHY IS A FREE IN-PERSON PROBATE CONSULTATION IMPORTANT?
Most Los Angeles lawyers offer a free probate consultation for several reasons:
1. Getting a feel for the skill of the lawyer cannot be observed through email, a website, or the phone.
2. Getting along with your lawyer is a function of two peoples’ energies and rapport.
3. Paying attention to your case is observable from the first meeting.
4. Compassion in will and trust cases is lost if your entire case is handled electronically.
Clients often need a free probate consultation regarding Wills, Probate and Estate matters in Los Angeles to evaluate, not just their needs, and budget, but also the entire economics of their case. Factual evaluations in probate cases take time and should be done in person. Our attorneys offer a free consultation for Los Angeles County related cases.
- A PERSONAL CONSULTATION IN PROBATE HELPS THE ATTORNEY AND CLIENT GET TO KNOW ONE ANOTHER’S STYLE
You should personally consult with our attorneys and lawyers in the following probate circumstances:
1. A family member, friend, or loved one has passed away, and has not left a will, or has left a will which you question.
2. You believe there was forgery or fraud involved in how a will was obtained.
3. You believe someone influenced the decedent to write a will or trust which he or she otherwise would not have signed. Your gut feeling tells you that the decedent would not have written the will this way if he or she was not talked into it.
4. There was any type of fraud involved in an estate. You were not given notice of a probate proceeding, and think you should have known about it.
5. An executor has not filed an accounting within a year from the start of probate. Don’t wait. Passage of time makes evidence disappear. You should call us to consult or advise you regarding your rights.
6. You have asked for an inventory from the Executor or Administrator, and he or she has not provided or filed an inventory.
7. You observed that the elderly decedent was abused during his or her lifetime.
8. There are assets which should belong to the estate but which someone else claims or owns.
9. Late in life transactions were pending, or decedent was selling or refinancing a home.
10. There is animosity among family members. People tend to group in “camps” in families before litigation ensues. If your brothers and sisters need a free probate consultation in Los Angeles, Ca, we are probate attorneys in LA who can help.
11. Before someone dies, if an elder or parent needs help in getting things done legally, there may be a need for a conservator to be appointed.
12. Sometimes, people with a power of attorney abuse their powers. Call our probate consultant, if a fiduciary, executor, administrator, trustee or agent under a power of attorney has not met his or her duties or responsibilities.
13. If someone dies or becomes incompetent, which they hold an asset of another person, and the asset needs to be returned to a person, estate or trust, our lawyer can assist.
Confer and consult with us by contacting Mina Sirkin, probate lawyer who is a Certified Specialist Attorney for a Free Probate Consultation. LosAngelesProbateLawyer
Call 818.340.4479.
DO ELDERLY RESIDENTS HAVE THE RIGHT TO LEAVE A NURSING HOME?
Yes, elderly persons generally have the right to leave the nursing home at anytime they wish, when there is no court order to keep them in a secured perimeter facility.
In reality, many nursing homes try to keep the residents safe, by having a bell that rings when someone attempts to leave. Often times, the elder is asked to sign a release, if he or she wants to leave. It is questionable, whether such a release will be effective.
Under California law, even a person with a power of attorney CANNOT prevent the elder from leaving the facility, without a prior court order. Nursing homes make errors. While they may have the best intentions, they sometimes confine people without an order. Residents of nursing homes should be aware of any restrictions to leave and should discuss this with their loved ones. If you need help, please call us at 818.340.4479.
There are sign-in and sign-out forms at every facility to insure that elders are safe, and that all vendors are identified. Ask about how your loved ones can leave and still remain safe.
For more information about rights of elderly in nursing homes in Los Angeles County California, call Mina Sirkin, Elder Law attorney in Woodland Hills. Call 818.340.4479