The cause of the crash remains under investigation to determine if speed, driver distraction, or other factors played a role in this fatal crash. No matter what, it is always difficult to hear about the loss of a loved one in an auto accident. During this time, the last thing these families need is to be faced with legal and financial issues, but it is important to contact an experienced auto accident attorney to understand their rights. An attorney can help recover compensation for medical expenses, funeral expenses, and pain and suffering.

Wrongful death and serious injury accidents can often cause immediate and long-term financial problems. In order to avoid this situation, litigation funding may be an option.

Litigation funding is a valuable service that helps plaintiffs pay medical expenses, funeral and burial expenses, and ongoing monthly bills during the litigation process so they are not forced to settle their valuable case for less than it is worth. The application process is quick, easy, and free! Qualifying for funding is based on a strong case and attorney representation. If approved for funding, the lawsuit cash advance can be received within 24 – 48 hours. There is no need to worry about monthly payments because we are only paid once the case settles. If the case is lost, the repayment is completely waived.

Suffering injuries or the loss of a loved one is enough of a hardship; don’t succumb to a financial hardship as well. If you have been seriously injured or lost a loved one in an auto accident, do not resolve your case for less than full value because of pressing financial needs. Consult an attorney to protect your legal rights. Then, call Litigation Funding Corporation to ease your financial burden and give your attorney the time needed to obtain full value on your case.

Interacting
with horses may ease certain Alzheimer’s symptoms, including mood
problems, depression and anxiety, a recent study found.

The
Ohio State University study followed 16 people with Alzheimer’s
disease. 

Half of the group continued their usual activities at an
adult day care center, while the other half participated in equine
therapy. The equine therapy included grooming, feeding and walking
horses once a week for one month.

The
group that participated in equine therapy displayed marked ease of
symptoms, including improved behavior and increased physical
activity. The level of activity was higher at each subsequent equine
therapy session. The study’s authors believe that both the
interaction with the horses and the rural environment of the farm had
a beneficial effect for the group.

Past
studies have shown that interacting with and caring for animals of
all kinds can help individuals with Alzheimer’s disease, as well as
seniors in general.

To speak with an experienced Virginia Beach and Suffolk elder law and estate planning attorney, call 757-399-7506 or visit www.hooklawcenter.com. 

Trusts must have trustees, or managers. Many trust holders hire their estate planning attorneys as trustees, while families of more limited means often turn to a relative or close family friend with the applicable know-how. A pooled trust may be a good option for those who cannot come up with a logical choice for a trustee, or for those without enough assets to justify an individual trust.

Pooled trusts are run by nonprofit organizations for the benefit of multiple beneficiaries. Assets from multiple families are pooled and invested together, and the funds are spent for the benefit of the individuals in proportion to their share of the entire trust.

Pooled trusts vary widely in terms of fees, available services, and contracts. Some provide complete care of beneficiaries, while others provide only appropriate money management.

Managers of pooled trusts must be knowledgeable about laws governing public benefits, and directors usually have relatives with special needs and understand the community’s needs. Pooled trusts give you the benefits of special needs trusts even if you do not have a lot of money to leave to a loved one.

On the other hand, pooled trusts can be expensive, and it can be difficult or impossible to move assets from one pooled trust to another. Also, they are only as good as their managers, and the nonprofits that run them may decline in quality of service or even go out of business if they face financial problems or changes in management.

The attorneys at Hook Law Center can help you decide what kind of special needs trust best suits your family.

Hook Law Center assists Virginia families with with guardianships and conservatorships, long-term care planning, special needs planning, veterans benefits, and more. To contact a Virginia Beach special needs planning lawyer or to learn more, visit http://www.hooklawcenter.com/ or call 757-399-7506.

Many seniors use reverse mortgages to tap into their home equity in order to maintain their standard of living during retirement. Those who do so need to make sure their heirs are aware of the mortgage, because when the borrower dies, they will have to decide on a course of action quickly.

The heirs can keep the property, sell it, or turn it over to the lender. That decision is usually determined by whether there is equity left in the property.

Reverse mortgages are “nonrecourse” loans, which means that if the loan balance exceeds the home’s value, the lender cannot take possession of the estate’s or the heirs’ other assets.

After the lender is notified of the borrower’s death, an appraiser will determine the home’s market value. The amount due to the lender is the lesser of the loan balance or 95 percent of the home’s appraised value. (The remaining 5 percent is paid by government insurance.) The heirs may sell the house or keep it by paying off the loan with cash or other financing.

Heirs initially get six months to pay off the loan. While they work out the details, interest and monthly insurance premiums continue to accrue. Those who wish to keep or sell the home may request up to two extensions of 90 days each by showing they are actively trying to sell the home or to arrange financing to pay off the loan.

On the other hand, if the home has little or no potential equity, the heirs may choose to simply hand it over to the lender rather than go through the hassle of selling it. This is known as “deed in lieu of foreclosure.”

Hook Law Center assists Virginia families with with guardianships and conservatorships, long-term care planning, special needs planning, veterans benefits, and more. To contact a Virginia Beach special needs planning lawyer or to learn more, visit http://www.hooklawcenter.com/ or call 757-399-7506.

A third-party special needs trust is the most common type. The trust is created by a third party, using that person’s assets, and names the special needs individual as the beneficiary. These assets are commonly transferred into the trust upon the death of the trust’s creator, or grantor, through a will, life insurance or beneficiary designation.

Less widely known, but equally important, are first-party special needs trusts. Such a trust is created by the special needs individual, using his or her own assets for his or her own benefit. These assets could be the result of a personal injury award, a divorce settlement, a life insurance policy or other circumstances.

In both cases, the trustee — the individual in charge of administering the trust — uses the funds within the trust to support the person with special needs. The rules governing the trust’s expenditures must be followed closely, as any improper use of the funds could endanger government benefits. But the rules do allow a wide variety of life-enriching purchases, including personal services, hobbies, luxury items and vacations.

There are many different varieties of trusts. The help of an experienced special needs attorney is very important in properly creating and administering a special needs trust.

Hook Law Center assists Virginia families with with guardianships and conservatorships, long-term care planning, special needs planning, veterans benefits, and more. To contact a Virginia Beach special needs planning lawyer or to learn more, visit http://www.hooklawcenter.com/ or call 757-399-7506.

In 2013 alone, federal special education funding was reduced by $579 million as a result of budget sequestration — a process of automatic, across-the-board spending cuts that began in March 2013 as a result of the Budget Control Act of 2011.

Among those parents who reported changes, nearly one third reported an increase in class size, 27 percent said their child’s school had fewer service providers and some 30 percent said their child’s services decreased. Further, 13 percent blamed budget cuts for a change in their child’s school placement.

The survey was conducted by the National Center for Learning Disabilities. The group’s director of public policy, Lindsay Jones, said that service levels were changing based not on children’s needs, but on the availability of funds — and that such policies were contrary to the law.

Generally, previous polls concerning the effect of budget cuts have focused on the opinions of school administrators and other professionals. This survey is among the first to gauge parents’ perceptions.

Unless Congress intervenes to avert them, further across-the-board budget cuts are expected for 2014.

Hook Law Center assists Virginia families with with guardianships and conservatorships, long-term care planning, special needs planning, veterans benefits, and more. To contact a Virginia Beach special needs planning lawyer or to learn more, visit http://www.hooklawcenter.com/ or call 757-399-7506.

Debra Dear, 52, and her husband care for their 31-year-old daughter Lindsey, who has a chromosomal disorder, at their home in the Sandbridge area. Dear looked into housing options for Lindsey in anticipation of the day when she and her husband could no longer look after Lindsey. Finding the existing options lacking, she started a nonprofit organization in 2010 to build a development that met her vision of a safe and enabling environment for her daughter and others like her.

The initiative has received some $3 million in donations and secured a 75-acre plot of land near the intersection of Princess Anne and Sandbridge roads for the housing development, to be called Vanguard Landing. Later, in September, 2013, the city of Virginia Beach reached an informal agreement with the nonprofit to provide a $2.9 million loan at a favorable interest rate.

That agreement set off the controversy, because federal law requires publicly-funded programs for the disabled to provide their services in an integrated community setting whenever possible. Dear says the project, estimated to cost $32 to $40 million to build, will be privately funded and self-sustaining.

Virginia is in the midst of executing a settlement with the Justice Department requiring the state to close four of its five “training centers” – institutions for the developmentally and intellectually disabled – and move the residents to smaller facilities or regular homes. Some parents oppose the settlement, favoring the supervision and oversight of government-run facilities. Others argue that segregated and secluded settings offer less safety and opportunities for rehabilitation.

The elder law attorneys at Hook Law Center assist Virginia families with will preparation, trust & estate administration, guardianships and conservatorships, long-term care planning, special needs planning, veterans benefits, and more. To learn more, visit http://www.hooklawcenter.com/ or call 757-399-7506.