As you reach an advanced age, certain potential health challenges loom. Unfortunately, some things are out of your control, but in other cases you can take precautions to keep yourself out of harm’s way. With this in mind, you should be aware of the danger connected with falling down when you are a senior citizen.

Because people of advanced age are often more frail than they once were, the consequences of a fall can be devastating. According to statistics provided by the National Council On Aging, someone in America dies as a result of injuries suffered from a fall virtually every half-hour. In all over 20,000 people pass away after falling down annually.

There are things that you can do to protect yourself if you act in a pragmatic and proactive manner. For one thing, it is important to be aware of the impact your medications may have on your equilibrium.

You could also make modifications to your home that make it less likely that you will suffer from a fall. This could include walk-in showers, handrails, grab bars and even step chairs or elevators.

When you work with a good Ashland, Kentucky elder law attorney you can also make sure your legal bases are covered as you look ahead toward your senior years. If you couple this legal protection with sound personal decision-making, you should be able to enjoy your golden years to the fullest.

The Potter Law Firm is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

A lot has been said about the meteoric rise of Facebook; and the founders of the company, Mark Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz, have become very wealthy as a result of their big idea. But extraordinary success comes with a price tag.

When you have more money than you’re going to be able to spend throughout your lifetime you have to consider asset transfers, and the IRS sits poised to pounce if you give gifts while you are alive or arrange for bequests to be made after you pass away. The rate of the estate/gift tax is 35% at the present time, and it is scheduled to rise to 55% at the end of this year.

As a result estate planning lawyers will recommend tax efficiency strategies to their clients who are faced with the prospect of paying the estate tax. One of these is the “zeroed out” GRAT strategy. According to a recent article in Forbes, the Facebook founders utilized this strategy to preserve a significant amount of wealth.

This course of action involves funding the trust with appreciating assets. In a case where you are holding highly sought after shares in a company that is going to be going public at some point in the future placing them in a grantor retained annuity trust can be highly beneficial. This was the case with the Facebook founders.

If you’re interested in crafting a legacy plan that is tailor-made to fit your unique situation, don’t hesitate to pick up the phone to arrange for a consultation with a good Ashland, Kentucky estate planning lawyer.

The Potter Law Firm is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

When you are planning your estate, you should be aware of the potential for asset erosion, and the biggest potential culprit is the federal estate tax. As of this writing the maximum rate of the federal estate tax is set to go to 55% next year, and the exclusion amount is $5.12 million. This means that the portion of your estate that exceeds $5,120,000 would be subject to a 55% federal levy.

A lot of people shake their heads with dismay when they consider the federal estate tax. They feel as though it is inherently unfair and often raise the following reasons:

For one thing, they say that the estate tax is an instance of double taxation. To provide a very simple example, let’s say that you save a certain percentage of every paycheck that you earned for 50 years. When you get your check it may represent $.70 of every dollar that you earned with the rest of it going to income and payroll taxes.

So this money that you are saving is coming out of the remainder that you have left over after paying taxes. Why should it be taxed at a high rate yet again after you pass away?

Another problem that many people have with the estate tax is that it is selectively imposed based on the ever-changing amount of the estate tax exclusion.

Regardless of how you feel about the fairness of the estate tax, it is a fact of life. The good news is that there are steps that you can take to reduce and sometimes even eliminate your estate tax exposure. If you would like to discuss the matter, simply take a moment to arrange for a consultation with a Northern Kentucky estate planning lawyer.

The Potter Law Firm is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

It is important to plan ahead with clear vision when you are making preparations for the future. Otherwise, you may find yourself in a difficult situation as your senior years start to come into focus.

A very high percentage of Americans fail to plan ahead for retirement, and one of the reasons why they don’t prioritize it is because they expect Social Security to be sufficient. If you are under this impression, you should understand the limitations of Social Security.

The average benefit will fluctuate somewhat, but the Social Security Administration reports that the average monthly benefit last year was $1,082. While you may receive more than this average, you can see that Social Security alone is not going to finance a comfortable retirement.

Another thing to consider is the possibility of incapacity, especially in light of the fact that approximately 50% of people who reach the age of 85 suffer from dementia. It is important to take action to name people of your choosing to make decisions for you should you become unable to make them for yourself.

Financing long-term care is another consideration. The majority of senior citizens will need long-term care eventually, and this care is quite expensive.

The key is to be aware of the possibilities that loom in the future and then plan ahead intelligently to address them. This is best accomplished with the assistance of an experienced northern KY estate planning attorney.

The Potter Law Firm is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Pragmatism is key if you want to be truly prepared for the eventualities of aging. Some contingencies are not especially pleasant, but they are realities all the same and you have to take appropriate action.

It may be difficult to envision a time when you cannot take care of all of your day-to-day needs on your own, and this can lead you to think that you need not concern yourself with the possibility of long-term care expenses.

In fact, the United States Department of Health and Human Services tells us that most people who live long enough to attain senior citizen status will in fact need long-term care eventually.

If you combine the average cost of residence in an assisted living community or a nursing home with the typical length of stay, the total expense may exceed $200,000. Most people need some advance preparation to be able to absorb such an expense comfortably.

Many people will do what is necessary to qualify for Medicaid to pay for long-term care, but this requires some careful planning. Others will purchase long-term care insurance. And of course, you may be fortunate enough to be able to pay for long-term care out-of-pocket if you plan ahead intelligently.

The best way to prepare yourself is to engage expert assistance. If you’re ready to get started, right now would be a good time to pick up the phone to arrange for a consultation with an Ashland, Kentucky elder law attorney.

The Potter Law Firm is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

You may have heard about using payable on death accounts to get assets into the hands of your loved ones after you pass away. These accounts are set up to allow the primary account holder to name a beneficiary or in some cases multiple beneficiaries.

Upon the death of the primary account holder, the beneficiary becomes owner of the funds that are remaining in the account. This asset transfer takes place quickly because it is not subject to the time-consuming process of probate.

This short explanation makes payable on death accounts sound like a good solution, but they have drawbacks. One of them is the fact that many institutions will require multiple beneficiaries to split the remainder equally. A lot of people have different ideas about how they want their assets distributed.  Some beneficiaries also may not be prepared to receive the inheritance immediately.

In addition, these accounts do nothing to protect the primary account holder in the event of the incapacity.  Funds placed into a payable on death or transfer on death account are also still a part of your estate for estate tax purposes.

Estate planning is something that requires great care. In many situations, it is not wise to simply put all of your money into payable on death accounts and hope for the best. To create an intelligently constructed estate plan that is tailor-made to fit your unique needs, make an appointment to speak with a licensed Ashland Kentucky estate planning lawyer.

The Potter Law Firm is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

In the process of estate planning you will inevitably hear the word “probate” so we would like to explain a little bit about it.

A lot of people think that a last will is a document that is just passed around among family members. But your will actually must be found valid by the probate court, and interested parties can step forward to challenge the will in court. During probate, creditors and claimants can also come forward seeking satisfaction.

Once a will is accepted by the court, the executor must inventory the assets and prepare them for distribution to the beneficiaries of the estate.

This has the potential to take a considerable amount of time. Exactly how long it will take depends on the complexity of the case, but in some cases it can take years.

Probate can also be expensive.  Court costs and various professional fees can come into play. In the end, probate expenses can potentially wind up consuming a considerable portion of your estate, and this is money that could have otherwise been put to good use by your loved ones.

Fortunately, there are strategies to avoid probate. If you would like to explore them in depth, take action to arrange for a consultation with a licensed Ashland, KY estate planning lawyer. Your attorney will gain an understanding of your wishes, evaluate your assets, and guide you in the right direction.

The Potter Law Firm is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Some people consider their health to be their doctor’s responsibility. This is one way to look at things, but some old sayings are still repeated because they contain a lot of truth.  One such saying is that an apple a day keeps the doctor away.

What we are suggesting is that positive lifestyle choices have everything to do with your health. If you do the right things throughout your life, you are much more likely to remain healthy once you reach middle age and on into your golden years.

On the other hand, if you are a smoker, do not consider the implications of what you put into your body, and never exercise, you are inviting health problems.

The biggest killers in the United States are chronic diseases, including stroke, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. In many instances chronic diseases are preventable through a healthy diet, exercise, controlling your weight, and not smoking.

In addition to the personal benefits of a health-conscious lifestyle, keeping the doctor away can also save you a great deal of money. Many people are very serious about budgeting for the future but never consider the concept of addition by subtraction. If those bills never come, you do not to have to worry about how to pay them.

Keeping yourself healthy is your responsibility, and mapping out an estate planning framework that protects your family and preserves your legacy is the responsibility of your attorney. If you are ready to take action, pick up the phone right now to arrange for a consultation with an Ashland, Kentucky estate planning attorney.

The Potter Law Firm is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

We live in the information age and this is something to consider when you are making preparations for after you’re gone. If you are like most people, you have online accounts and you are going to have to pass along information about them to your executor or the trustee who will be administering your estate.

This includes financial services since many people do their banking and stock trading online these days. Paperless billing has also become a widespread practice. You may receive your credit card bills online with no paper record at all, and this information will be important to the individual or entity that is left behind to pay your final bills.

You may also store information online that would be invaluable to your estate administrator such as electronic copies of important documents.

There is also the matter of social networking. For example, if you have a Facebook account, you don’t want it lingering in cyberspace as though you are alive and well forever. Facebook allows people to memorialize the account of loved ones who have passed away.

If your representative lets them know that you have passed away, Facebook will no longer allow access to the account. Your status updates will be removed but existing friends and family members will be able to post on your wall, and you will no longer be recommended as a friend to others.

It is important to cover all of your electronic bases when you are planning for the future. The best way of doing so is with the assistance of a northern Kentucky estate planning lawyer who is aware of the way that people use the Internet in the 21st-century.

The Potter Law Firm is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

A lot of people go through life living in the moment and they get into a routine. They keep themselves busy dealing with day-to-day matters and they move through the weeks and months with blinders on.

But every once in a while an event can get your attention. The untimely death of the singer Whitney Houston is one of these news pieces that can motivate you to take action.

Houston was a top-selling recording artist when she was at the pinnacle of her career and she actually set an industry record with seven consecutive number one records. She was also an actress, and she was honored by her peers in the entertainment industry with six Grammy awards and two Emmys.

Whitney Houston was just 48 years of age when she passed away. The details of any estate planning  she may have done have not yet emerged, but most observers expect her daughter Bobbi to be her primary heir.

Research tells us that a significant majority of people who are under the age of 50 do not have an estate plan in place. The average life expectancy in the United States is around 78 years so it is likely that you will live well beyond your 50th birthday.

However, as we can see from the case of Whitney Houston, nothing is certain and it is certainly better to be safe than to leave your loved ones to fend for themselves without any provisions having been made to provide for them.

If you are currently unprepared, take the first step and arrange for a consultation with an Ashland, Kentucky estate planning lawyer.

The Potter Law Firm is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.