Elder Law and Estate Planning: Preparing for Your Golden Years Estate Planning, Probate While it may be a risky mistake to fail to do any estate planning, it is never too late to start. Life moves fast, and sometimes we don’t think much about retirement until it’s almost there. You may have been contributing to retirement accounts for years. What about your estate planning? Can elder law and estate planning help you prepare for your golden years? Elder Law and Estate Planning Near Retirement Age As we age, we focus on different needs. Young professionals in their 20s and 30s will not have the same questions and concerns as someone in their 50s or 60s. Elder Law and Estate Planning Changes As you pass through various stages of life, goals change. People change. As someone nearing retirement, you might consult with your estate planning attorney about the following issues. Funding Retirement Work with financial advisers and an estate planning attorney to come up with a plan to fund your retirement. Property may be transferred to a charitable remainder trust, for example, which pays you, the retiree, an annuity. Business Succession Every business owner needs business succession plans. However, it becomes more critical as retirement approaches. Money for retirement is often tied to a business owner’s company. Under a buy-sell agreement, the business interest of a retiring owner may be bought out by the other owners. The business interest or shares may also be sold to a third-party. Some owners may use profit from the business to fund their retirement while maintaining some form of reduced role at the company. Incapacity and Long-Term Care Planning for disability, incapacity, and the need for long-term care ideally begins in early adulthood. However, it’s not too late to consider these issues when closer to retirement age. Having a durable power of attorney in place means you have named someone to act on your behalf. If, for example, you have a stroke, someone will need to step in to handle your financial affairs. That someone is the agent you named in your durable power of attorney. Trusts and long-term care insurance may help you with the burden of paying for long-term care. Law Offices of John Mangan, PA Palm City – Stuart, FL CALL: 1 (772) 218-0480 Do you question the need for attorney guidance with so many online resources? Because laws and regulations are complex, and because every person has a lot at risk, more people than ever are seeking professional guidance from an experienced, knowledgeable source. That helps explain the rapid growth of our firm. Whether you happened upon this website by accident or are one of the many referrals we receive from a nearly 15-year collection of satisfied clients, our staff can provide customized estate planning guidance for you. Call us. Our number: 1 (772) 218-0480 Written by: John Mangan, JD, MBA
