Fees

If you have modest assets, no minor children or grandchildren, and a home, a Foundation Estate Plan may be just right for you. This level of planning includes:

• Last Will and Testament
• Financial Power of Attorney
• Health Care Power of Attorney
• Health Care Directive (Living Will)
• HIPAA Release
• Review of Beneficiary Designations

The Foundation Estate Plan includes many elder law enhancements typically only included in much higher levels of planning.  These additional features are proactive provisions meant to save you and your family time and money.

For example, your Financial Power of Attorney is designed to dovetail with many of the elder law and asset protection strategies we commonly use in long-term care planning so that your trusted agent will have the necessary tools needed to protect you, your spouse, your home, and plan for your care if you become incapacitated.

Your Living Will and Health Care Power of Attorney will have clear instructions and structure to support your surrogate decision-maker.

Your Last Will and Testament will include standby supplemental needs trust provisions to ensure no disabled beneficiaries are unexpectedly harmed by receiving an inheritance.

The Comprehensive Estate Plan is an option for clients who have minor children or more significant assets.   It is also appropriate for clients who are concerned with asset protection for beneficiaries.  This level of planning builds on our Foundational Estate Plan and your plan is customized for you and can include:

• Last Will and Testament with Testamentary Asset Protection Trusts for Adult Children or Trusts for Minor Children and/or Grandchildren
• Financial Power of Attorney
• Health Care Power of Attorney
• Health Care Directive (Living Will)
• HIPAA Release
• Review of Current Beneficiary Designations
• Customized Beneficiary Designations for Retirement Plans and Life Insurance
• Asset Listing and Recommendations on Titling
• Irrevocable Trust for real estate
• Deed Preparation (without benefit of title search)

For some clients, we may advise that you consider incorporating a Revocable Living Trust as part of your Foundation Estate Plan.  We will analyze your situation and advise whether this is the right option for you.   This type of planning generally includes:

• Pour-Over Will
• Revocable Living Trust
• Deed for your residence (no title examination)
• Trust Certificate
• Asset Listing and Guidance on Retitling
• All other important documents listed in the Foundation Estate Plan above.

On occasion, families will call us from hospitals and long-term care facilities when a loved one needs immediate Power of Attorney documentation to permit payment of bills and surrogate decision-making for health care.

In some cases, we offer expedited services related to the appointment of family members for these purposes.  Typically, this level of service is a first step to further elder law services. Inquiries for this service begins with an inquiry to our Client Service Director

If you are a parent, grandparent, or guardian of a special needs individual, we offer Special Needs Planning.   We will work with you to understand your goals as a caregiver for a special needs individual while providing tailored guidance on the intersection between your new estate plan and the individual’s current or future public benefit eligibility.  

As a courtesy to our special needs family members, if your special needs family member has legal capacity and is at least 18 years of age, Anderson Elder Law will also prepare Financial Power and Health Care Power of Attorney at no additional cost (separate engagement is required).  This is based on our belief that even those without perfect capacity, may have sufficient ability to execute important legal documents to capture their important instructions.

As part of our Third-Party Special Needs Planning, we typically include.

• Third Party Supplemental Needs Trust
• Trust Certificate
• Asset Spreadsheet with Client Instructions
• Custom Beneficiary Designations for Retirement Accounts and Life Insurance
• Letter to Trustee
• Letter to Family Members considering including your special needs family member in their own estate plans
• Letter of Intent for the care of your family member
• Guidance on using an ABLE account in conjunction with the Special Needs Trust.

We work with disabled clients who have a need to preserve crucial public benefits that could be jeopardized in the absence of proper planning.   We will meet with you to analyze your situation and help you to determine what kind of special needs planning is right for you to enhance your quality of life, preserve public benefits eligibility, and put into place mechanisms to allow for the effective management of your financial resources.

Estate Planning is at the core of the services we offer.  Other services include:

Elder Law

Our team will guide you through the challenging process of determining the right level of care for your loved one and put together a plan that encompasses care planning, asset protection planning, and estate planning.   Our goal is to support you through what can be a challenging process of moving through the continuum of care.  Whether you are an older adult concerned about the cost of long-term care, or a family member with a power of attorney trying to figure out the “next steps” for your loved one, we aim to provide you with solid advice to help you navigate the long-term care maze.

Estate and Trust Administration            

We are happy to serve as your trusted resource to guide you through the Estate Administration process.   We will assist you with sorting through all of the paperwork that can seem daunting following the death of a loved one, answer all of your questions, and expertly guide you through all of the steps needed to properly administer an estate from probate, to the preparation of the inheritance tax return, through to the final distribution of the estate.  

We also assist with the termination of trusts that may arise as a result of the settlement process and provide support to newly appointed trustees who want to make sure they get off to a good start. 

Non-Contested Guardianship           

Guardianship should be a tool of last resort.  However, in some cases, it is the tool available to be able to make decisions for a loved one who no longer has legal capacity.  We will meet with you to determine your options, and if needed, file an uncontested guardianship in the Orphans’ Court in Delaware, Montgomery, or Chester Counties.