They addressed audiences of more than 100 elder law attorneys from around the country. Each three-hour Immersion Session demonstrated their leadership in the field of elder law. The subject of their presentations was “Advanced Elder Law, Tax and Estate Planning from Start to Finish.”
The session was designed to train and educate participants to more effectively advise their client communities. It taught them to develop sophisticated estate plans to coordinate tax and long-term care objectives along with retirement and financial planning. In addition, building on the Gilfix attorneys’ skills in identifying personality types, attendees learned how to utilize a variety of tools such as spreadsheets, flowcharts, software and written proposals to effectively communicate the plan to the client.
Michael Gilfix and Mark Gilfix engaged summit participants through the use of peer instruction in their sessions. In contrast to traditional lectures, peer instruction is an interactive, student-centric approach to teaching that focuses on the application of learning.
Pioneers of Elder Law – For over 30 years, Gilfix & La Poll Associates LLP has innovated creative legal solutions to help you manage and plan the future of your estate.
To contact an estate planning lawyer visit http://www.gilfix.com/ or call 800.244.9424.
They addressed audiences of more than 100 elder law attorneys from around the country. Each three-hour Immersion Session demonstrated their leadership in the field of elder law. The subject of their presentations was “Advanced Elder Law, Tax and Estate Planning from Start to Finish.”
The session was designed to train and educate participants to more effectively advise their client communities. It taught them to develop sophisticated estate plans to coordinate tax and long-term care objectives along with retirement and financial planning. In addition, building on the Gilfix attorneys’ skills in identifying personality types, attendees learned how to utilize a variety of tools such as spreadsheets, flowcharts, software and written proposals to effectively communicate the plan to the client.
Michael Gilfix and Mark Gilfix engaged summit participants through the use of peer instruction in their sessions. In contrast to traditional lectures, peer instruction is an interactive, student-centric approach to teaching that focuses on the application of learning.
Pioneers of Elder Law – For over 30 years, Gilfix & La Poll Associates LLP has innovated creative legal solutions to help you manage and plan the future of your estate.
To contact an estate planning lawyer visit http://www.gilfix.com/ or call 800.244.9424.
They addressed audiences of more than 100 elder law attorneys from around the country. Each three-hour Immersion Session demonstrated their leadership in the field of elder law. The subject of their presentations was “Advanced Elder Law, Tax and Estate Planning from Start to Finish.”
The session was designed to train and educate participants to more effectively advise their client communities. It taught them to develop sophisticated estate plans to coordinate tax and long-term care objectives along with retirement and financial planning. In addition, building on the Gilfix attorneys’ skills in identifying personality types, attendees learned how to utilize a variety of tools such as spreadsheets, flowcharts, software and written proposals to effectively communicate the plan to the client.
Michael Gilfix and Mark Gilfix engaged summit participants through the use of peer instruction in their sessions. In contrast to traditional lectures, peer instruction is an interactive, student-centric approach to teaching that focuses on the application of learning.
Pioneers of Elder Law – For over 30 years, Gilfix & La Poll Associates LLP has innovated creative legal solutions to help you manage and plan the future of your estate.
To contact an estate planning lawyer visit http://www.gilfix.com/ or call 800.244.9424.
About 11% of today’s 40 million Californians are 65 or older. By 2020, that population will be 15%. By 2030, it will be almost 20% and a staggering 22.3% by 2050. What are the implications of this?
A recent column by Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee warns about the aging of health care providers in California. The column astutely warns that we have an aging population that will present unprecedented demands for services and support from our medical and caregiving infrastructures. Even today there is a shortage of trained, capable caregivers through home care agencies, at assisted living facilities, and in skilled nursing facilities. It will only get worse in the future. It is a looming crisis for all who need long-term care facilities and services.
“To rise to this challenge,” suggests estate planning and elder law attorney Michael Gilfix of Palo Alto, California, “we need a new, coordinated, multigenerational approach.” His focus is on the need for more coordination of services and more tailored, focused use of limited family resources. Careful planning to preserve assets and qualify for Medi-Cal, the only program that can pay all or most of the cost of skilled nursing care, must be part of the planning. Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program, is needs-based. To qualify, assets must be limited and/or carefully organized.
This approach is necessary, Gilfix suggests, because there must always be a financial safety net. If all family assets are exhausted before Medi-Cal coverage is obtained, there are no funds available to pay for services that are not covered by the Medi-Cal program.
Children and grandchildren must be viewed as part of the planning and part of the solution. They must participate, coordinate resources, add counsel, and devote time and attention to the needs of their elders. It is self-evident that this is typically a win-win for everyone, but it is rarely done.
Such planning is more typically pursued by wealthier families through the use of “family offices,” but the need is no less critical for the middle class. Middle class families have the power to preserve their homes, their savings, and their legacies. But they must take steps to plan ahead of time.
Attorneys Michael Gilfix and Mark Gerson Gilfix recently co-authored an article entitled, “A New Paradigm: Truly Multigenerational Planning,” published in the September issue of Trusts & Estates magazine, that expands this concept in very practical ways. Gilfix & La Poll Associates, one of the nation’s leading estate planning firms, follows this approach with its clients. For multigenerational planning to be effective, it is critical that steps are taken before the crisis stage.
The Gilfix & La Poll Team
Pioneers of Elder Law – For over 30 years, Gilfix & La Poll Associates LLP has innovated creative legal solutions to help you manage and plan the future of your estate. To contact an estate planning lawyer visit www.gilfix.com or call 800.244.9424.
The post California’s Aging Population: Implications for Elders and Caregivers first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Attorney and radio personality Len Tillem has been invited to speak at the event as a special guest during the 2:30 to 4:30 pm session. There will also be a second session of the same seminar from 7 to 9 pm.
Gilfix, who has authored over 50 books and articles, will address a range of estate planning topics including how living trusts address your asset protection needs and how to protect the assets you leave for your children from divorce, litigation and estate tax exposure.
He will provide useful information on protecting your home and other assets in the face of long-term care for you or your parents. Gilfix will also discuss how special needs trusts can provide a lifelong safety net for your special needs child without losing out on public benefits.
Those interested in attending the seminar are encouraged to call 650-493-8070 or register online at www.gilfix.com.
The Gilfix & La Poll Team
Pioneers of Elder Law – For over 30 years, Gilfix & La Poll Associates LLP has innovated creative legal solutions to help you manage and plan the future of your estate. To contact an estate planning lawyer visit www.gilfix.com or call 800.244.9424.
The post Gilfix & La Poll to hold living trust seminar with special guest Len Tillem first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>Attorney and radio personality Len Tillem has been invited to speak at the event as a special guest during the 2:30 to 4:30 pm session. There will also be a second session of the same seminar from 7 to 9 pm.
Gilfix, who has authored over 50 books and articles, will address a range of estate planning topics including how living trusts address your asset protection needs and how to protect the assets you leave for your children from divorce, litigation and estate tax exposure.
He will provide useful information on protecting your home and other assets in the face of long-term care for you or your parents. Gilfix will also discuss how special needs trusts can provide a lifelong safety net for your special needs child without losing out on public benefits.
Those interested in attending the seminar are encouraged to call 650-493-8070 or register online at www.gilfix.com.
The Gilfix & La Poll Team
Pioneers of Elder Law – For over 30 years, Gilfix & La Poll Associates LLP has innovated creative legal solutions to help you manage and plan the future of your estate. To contact an estate planning lawyer visit www.gilfix.com or call 800.244.9424.
The post Gilfix & La Poll to hold living trust seminar with special guest Len Tillem first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>
On September 10, 2015, attorneys Michael Gilfix and Mark Gilfix of Gilfix & La Poll Associates presented a seminar on living trusts and asset protection in the face of long-term care.
The workshop was held in partnership with the Avenidas Senior Center in Palo Alto, California. Titled “Your Estate Planning and Long-Term Care Checkup – Do You Have a Plan?,” it provided up-to-date information about estate planning.
Attendees were encouraged to bring in questions about their living trusts. Estate planning attorneys Michael Gilfix and Mark Gilfix shared their expertise on how to protect inherited assets for divorce, litigation and estate taxes, as well as how to protect your home and other assets while qualifying for Medi-Cal. They also discussed the pros and cons of reverse mortgages.
The seminar covered a wide range of estate planning topics such as the basic estate planning documents that you need, the cost of skilled nursing care and the importance of multigenerational planning.
Michael Gilfix and Mark Gilfix are the co-authors of an article titled “A New Paradigm: Truly Multigenerational Planning” in the September 2015 issue of Trusts & Estates magazine. They have also co-authored “Facing the Reality of Long-Term Care,” a book explaining the nature and cost of long-term care.
For over 30 years, Gilfix & La Poll Associates LLP has innovated creative legal solutions to help you manage and plan the future of your estate.
Pioneers of Elder Law – For over 30 years, Gilfix & La Poll Associates LLP has innovated creative legal solutions to help you manage and plan the future of your estate.
To contact an estate planning lawyer visit http://www.gilfix.com/ or call 800.244.9424.
On September 10, 2015, attorneys Michael Gilfix and Mark Gilfix of Gilfix & La Poll Associates presented a seminar on living trusts and asset protection in the face of long-term care.
The workshop was held in partnership with the Avenidas Senior Center in Palo Alto, California. Titled “Your Estate Planning and Long-Term Care Checkup – Do You Have a Plan?,” it provided up-to-date information about estate planning.
Attendees were encouraged to bring in questions about their living trusts. Estate planning attorneys Michael Gilfix and Mark Gilfix shared their expertise on how to protect inherited assets for divorce, litigation and estate taxes, as well as how to protect your home and other assets while qualifying for Medi-Cal. They also discussed the pros and cons of reverse mortgages.
The seminar covered a wide range of estate planning topics such as the basic estate planning documents that you need, the cost of skilled nursing care and the importance of multigenerational planning.
Michael Gilfix and Mark Gilfix are the co-authors of an article titled “A New Paradigm: Truly Multigenerational Planning” in the September 2015 issue of Trusts & Estates magazine. They have also co-authored “Facing the Reality of Long-Term Care,” a book explaining the nature and cost of long-term care.
For over 30 years, Gilfix & La Poll Associates LLP has innovated creative legal solutions to help you manage and plan the future of your estate.
Pioneers of Elder Law – For over 30 years, Gilfix & La Poll Associates LLP has innovated creative legal solutions to help you manage and plan the future of your estate.
To contact an estate planning lawyer visit http://www.gilfix.com/ or call 800.244.9424.
A special needs trust can provide lifelong financial security for a special needs individual without disturbing eligibility for public benefits. As a vital supplement to public benefits, special needs trusts can pay for items and services that public benefits do not cover.
This well-attended seminar presents the most up-to-date information about special needs trusts, the ways in which special needs individuals can benefit, and how families can best approach creating and maintaining a trust for a special needs individual.
In addition, the seminar will cover the latest information about government benefits, housing, the recently-passed ABLE Act, and a number of other topics important to families of special needs individuals.
The seminar will be held at the Crowne Plaza Cabana in Palo Alto. Specific information and online registration can be found on the Gilfix & La Poll Events page.
The seminar is regularly co-sponsored by notable organizations including Autism Society San Francisco, Institute on Aging, Fremont Bank, Morgan Autism Center, Jewish Family and Children’s Services, Life Services Alternatives, and the Pacific Autism Center for Education (PACE). A number of these organizations will be in attendance and available to provide information about services at both sessions of the seminar.
Pioneers of Elder Law – For over 30 years, Gilfix & La Poll Associates LLP has innovated creative legal solutions to help you manage and plan the future of your estate.
To contact a special needs planning lawyer visit http://www.gilfix.com/ or call 800.244.9424.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates the average annual cost of U.S. nursing home care to be $74,820. But in California, the Department of Health Care Services estimates that cost to be $91,250.
Recently, public debate about long-term care insurance has intensified, with news outlets including the Los Angeles Times, CBS and USA Today and organizations such as the American Association of Retired People (AARP) and the SCAN Foundation weighing in on the subject.
Much of the debate centers on whether consumers can adequately understand the opportunities and risks that long-term care insurance offers.
One often-cited issue is inflation. Many long-term care insurance policies offer a fixed, daily benefit amount (often between $50 and $300). On average, a day of care in a California nursing home costs $250, according to the Department of Health Care Services. But, as AARP warns, the rising costs of health care may cause daily costs to rise significantly as well.
If that happens, the contractual policy benefits would cover a lower percentage of the cost of care in ten or twenty years, when the policy would be most needed.
AARP also notes that some insurers offer inflation protection at an extra cost.
Many states, including California, offer a state-sponsored partnership program that, in some situations, allows consumers to pay into a long-term care insurance plan that will provide later benefits without affecting eligibility for Medicaid (in California, Medi-Cal).
California Health Advocates, a non-profit advocacy group, recommends that anyone planning to purchase long-term care insurance consult with an accountant or elder law attorney before doing so.
For information and advice about planning – with long-term care insurance or by other means – contact Gilfix & La Poll Associates, LLP.
Pioneers of Elder Law – For over 30 years, Gilfix & La Poll Associates LLP has innovated creative legal solutions to help you manage and plan the future of your estate.
To contact an estate planning lawyer visit http://www.gilfix.com/ or call 800.244.9424.
Gifts given to many types of trusts do not satisfy this requirement. However, there is one means of employing the annual exclusion to fund trusts while meeting the “present interest” requirement. It is often called a “Crummey trust.”
First, gifts are made to an irrevocable Crummey trust. Children or other designated beneficiaries are given the right to withdraw the gifts from the trust for perhaps 30 to 60 days. Often, the beneficiaries do not withdraw the gifts, instead leaving them in the trust until reaching a (much older) designated distribution age. Crummey trusts can be a great planning tool when used in conjunction with life insurance policies and life insurance trusts.
Every year, trustees must send a notice to the beneficiaries to remind them of their right to withdraw their share of annual gifts made to the trust. That notice, called a Crummey notice, is named for the plaintiff in a 1968 Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals case that sanctioned the use of the process to circumvent the present interest requirement.
Because these trusts allow tax-avoiding gifts to trusts, the Obama administration has proposed their elimination as a way to increase tax revenue and help meet the government’s budget. But for the time being, Crummey trusts remain viable. Anyone considering a Crummey trust must consult with an experienced estate-planning attorney — like those at Gilfix & La Poll Associates.
Pioneers of Elder Law – For over 30 years, Gilfix & La Poll Associates LLP has innovated creative legal solutions to help you manage and plan the future of your estate.
To contact an estate planning lawyer visit http://www.gilfix.com/ or call 800.244.9424.
There are two basic irrevocable trusts that can achieve those goals: Charitable Lead Trusts (CLT) and Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRT). Depending on a person’s objectives, either can be highly beneficial to an estate.
With a CLT, assets are placed in the trust, and the designated charity receives an annual distribution for the term of the agreement. As such, CLTs permit a donor to see the charity benefit during his or her lifetime. At the conclusion of the term of agreement, which might be 10 or 15 years, the remaining assets are left to noncharitable beneficiaries that the client has designated (typically his or her children). As a bonus, the beneficiaries receive the post-trust assets free of gift tax and estate tax inclusion.
A CRT’s arrangement is basically set up in reverse. In a CLT, the designated charity obtains distributions first. Then, noncharitable beneficiaries get the remaining assets at the end of the trust’s term. During the term of agreement of a CRT, the donor or the donor’s beneficiaries receive income for life or for a fixed period not to exceed 20 years. At the conclusion of that term, the remaining assets are transferred to the designated charity.
CRTs are often utilized when significantly appreciated assets would generate huge capital gains tax exposure if sold. With a CRT, assets are sold after being transferred into the trust. No tax exposure results because the assets will ultimately go to a tax-exempt organization. The full net proceeds are then invested to provide the donor with decades of income.
CRTs offer two variations. One is a Charitable Remainder Unitrust, in which beneficiaries receive a fixed percentage of the trust each year during the trust’s term. The other is a Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust, in which, as the name suggests, a defined amount is distributed every year to beneficiaries during the term of the trust.
Experienced estate planning attorneys like those at Gilfix & La Poll Associates can help determine the best option and create the appropriate charitable trust for a donor.
Pioneers of Elder Law – For over 30 years, Gilfix & La Poll Associates LLP has innovated creative legal solutions to help you manage and plan the future of your estate.
To contact an estate planning attorney visit http://www.gilfix.com/ or call 800.244.9424.