Now is the time to “Spring” into action after a long chilly winter!

No matter your age, this change of season offers us the perfect opportunity to get outdoors for a bit and take advantage of spring. The birds are signing, flowers are waking up and everything is starting to be bright again!

A favorite activity to welcome spring, is gardening. Here’s the dirt about it. Gardening is incredibly beneficial not only physically, but mentally too! Pulling weeds and planting seeds helps to improve range of motion, strength and endurance. Additionally, gardening can aid in relaxation, which will subsequently reduce stress, giving a sense of accomplishment that flat-out makes us happy.

Looking for some ideas? How about planting Daisies or Sweet Pea flowers? These are the two types of flowers that signify April, according to “The Old Farmer's Almanac.”

The Daisy is also known as “day’s eye,“ because its petals close at night to cover the...

Aloha!

I think we all can agree winter lingers a bit too long around here.  So, I was excited to chat with Nicole about her family’s recent island get-a-way. Until the day comes that I’m under the warm sun of Hawaii, I’m happy to hear about how special this place is and all that awaits us there.

Let’s get right to the good stuff, tell us about the FOOD!      

“One of the best parts of going there!”   “They offer such a variety of freshness you can’t get anywhere else. For example, a typical meal consists of the freshest seafood and tropical fruit. Like Hawaiian mango, which is one of the most delicious things I enjoyed while on the island, I couldn’t get enough of it.”  YUMMY!

What makes Kauai special to you?                                ...

As last summer slipped away, Family & Aging Law Center welcomed a very special person to our team ~ and we couldn’t be more excited!

Without further ado, we’d like to introduce our Relationship Management Director; Victoria Simcheck. Not only is Victoria an incredibly vibrant person with a giving heart, she’s also had some amazing experiences and she’s taught us some pretty cool stuff. We thought it would be great to share some of these with you!

The Land Down Under

Many of us move a time or two during our lives, but Victoria actually lived in Australia for two years. “Moving to Australia was the biggest impulse decision I’ve ever made. Within about four weeks, I found a job there; made living arrangements; quit my job at Walt Disney World; packed my suitcase and moved across the world!”

“Port Hedland, where I lived, is in the far Northwest corner in the state of Western Australia and it’s about an 18-hour drive north of...

150 gifts.  Dozens of donors.  7 facilities.  

One of the thing that happens as a result of being an elder law attorney is that I often see the "darker" side of being elderly in society today.

The truth is, our clients are often truly blessed people - because they have loved ones that care enough to come to us when things go wrong, and/or they take care of business so their kids don't have issues when bad things happen.

Yet, not everyone is in this position.  Many elderly people are alone, for many reasons - some within their control, but so often due to circumstances completely out of their control.  For these seniors, being "abandoned" in a nursing home is the writing on the wall.

I think we can all agree that that has to be one of the worst possible results we can imagine, at the end of life.

This Year, We Wanted To Brighten Up These Senior's Holiday Season 

I got the idea that we should make sure that every single senior in the...

...About Maintaining Control When It Comes To Estate Planning & Asset Protection

Listen as attorney, Nicole Wipp, discusses these three critical considerations when it comes to protecting yourself and your family.

1. The Law
2. The Issues
3. Your Options

You may also like: Last Will and Testament - The Facts

Questions? Need Help? Contact Us Today (248) 278-1511

The information in this video is not intended to be, nor should it be, construed as legal advice. It is for informational purposes only. For advice, specific to your situation, consult with a qualified attorney.

In today's video, I'm going to go over a little bit about trusts with you. I call this Trusts 101. The reason I'm doing this is because I know there's a lot of confusion about the types of trusts that are out there. I'm not going to get into real specifics about trusts, but I'm just going to give you this overview. So let's get started.

~Attorney Nicole Wipp

In this video we'll cover:

• What a trust is
• The two main types of trusts
• The two categories of living trusts and the different goals that each can accomplish
• What is meant by 'Funding' your trust

This is just a really quick Trusts 101. It's important to understand these concepts so that you make good legal decisions in the future.

Have Questions Or NEED Help?

Call us today! (248) 278-1511

Prefer to read this information? Below is the video transcript.

Hi everybody, attorney Nicole Wipp here with the Family & Aging Law Center. Today I'm going to go over a little bit with you about trusts. I call this Trusts 101....

Many People Believe That Probate Only Happens After Death....

Unfortunately, This Isn't Always the Case. 

In Part One, we covered what a guardianship is and why a guardianship is not the best solution for most people. Understanding how guardianships and powers of attorney really work is essential when a loved one is in rehabilitation, or in long term care,  – even if the loved one is competent to make their own decisions. As clients frequently note to me, it’s what you don’t know that can hurt you.

Part Two

Alternative to Guardianship – Medical Power of Attorney (POA) / Patient Advocate Designation

The benefits of pre-planning are numerous. Ultimately, having good powers of attorney in place is a cheaper and easier option that places the least amount of burden on the family and provides more options. Additionally:

• Powers of attorney are voluntary, PRIVATE agreements.
• They are cost effective – one of the most cost effective documents done in estate planning.
• The Court is not involved. No one has to pre-approve the signing of the DNR. No one has...

It's Hard to Think About the Unthinkable

Every day, we as parents make decision after decision about our kids, for our kids, because of our kids. Yet so many parents fail to make one of the most important decisions they need to make - what will happen to their kids if something happens to them.

Why Are You Delaying Estate Planning?

For many couples with young children, the expense of actually sitting down with an attorney may be the leading factor in delaying planning their estate. When you're trying to pay a mortgage, an estate plan may seem like a luxury you can put off until a later time. But consider the possibility that something does happen to you and/or your spouse. What would happen to your children? If you don't decide who will take care of your children and put that decision into an estate plan, the court (strangers to your family) will make the decision for you. 

And that may not be the best decision for your kids. 

Some parents delay estate...

Part Two

In our family estate planning & elder law office, we often find that people have misconceptions about estate planning that they get though the internet, their friends, and even other professionals.  There are various problems with the Part 2 topics below, but the most fundamental one is that believing any one of them may lead to bad decision-making. 

4. Talking about estate taxes is a waste of time.

For a majority of Americans, in the current tax year, estate taxes are not an issue – the exemption is currently at 5.49 million dollars. Every dollar above that exemption amount is taxed at a 40% tax rate for estate or “inheritance” taxes. So for those that have less, estate taxes aren’t an issue. This year.

That being said, Congress can change the estate tax exemption (they say they won’t – do you believe anything Congress says these days?). Unless you know that you will die in 2017, you can’t know...