FAITH, FAMILY, AND THE FARM
GREAT THINGS ARE WORTH PROTECTING

Orange City Estate Planning Blog

101 Death Hacks [Part Four]

When you build a house, you want to do so efficiently. Pine 2x4s are cheaper than 1½” oak floor boards, so that’s what you use to frame the house. When you’re making your estate plan, you don’t want the family farm to wind up being sold to pay a tax bill, the costs of probate, or the medical expenses of your beneficiaries. Fortunately, with a little forethought and some organization, you can avoid those kinds of problems and make a plan to pay or even avoid those costs without jeopardizing your wishes. [Read More]

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The Shocking Truth About Iowa Estate Recovery

Many people believe that they’ve protected their house/retirement/savings by adding a child to the title or creating a life estate. If you’re planning ahead for the cost of your long-term care, the nursing home’s not the one you need to worry about. It’s not Medicaid, either. Not really. The monster in the closet, the creature under the bed is the state Estate Recovery Program. For many people – including most lawyers – Estate Recovery is something straight out of their financial nightmares. [Read More]

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Nursing Home Workers vs Medicaid Experts

At an average of $180 per day in Iowa, paying $60,000 per year for a nursing home is not only likely, but it’s almost guaranteed. Staring that number in the face can make your stress level rise pretty quickly. So, you ask the nursing home social worker for information about applying for Medicaid. Unfortunately, nursing homes are being put in a position where they simply can’t talk to their patients about Medicaid eligibility planning. As a result, there are a few things the nursing home social worker may not tell you. [Read More]

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How to Take Control of the High Cost of Nursing Home Care

Nursing homes are expensive. Whether you’re looking at long-term care insurance well in advance of needing care or you’re visiting with the nursing home admissions office to move your elderly mother into her room tomorrow, you know that the out-of-pocket costs for nursing home care can quickly reach five digits. Paying $60,000 per year is not only likely, but it’s almost guaranteed. In the face of numbers like this, it’s only natural to despair. But you don’t have to feel lost as you face down the looming nursing home crisis. [Read More]

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What Does a Probate Lawyer Do?

It is a great idea to hire a probate lawyer before you actually “need” his or her services so things can go as smoothly as possible when it comes to taking an estate through the probate process. Unfortunately, that’s not always how it works. Oftentimes, a person isn’t even aware of what a probate lawyer in Northwest Iowa does until he or she is in need of one. It’s very common to go looking for a probate lawyer in Northwest Iowa once a loved one has passed and help is needed immediately. [Read More]

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The Proper Approach to Trust Administration

There is a certain amount of responsibility that goes along with wills or trust administration in Iowa. For this reason, it is vital to choose someone very trustworthy to take on this important role. While some individuals will likely see it as an honor to be chosen, it can also be quite a burden, so it is highly recommended that the potential trustee be contacted in advance and asked if he or she is willing and able to take on the role.[Read More]

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FAQ: What is a Personal Representative?

The person whom Northwest Iowa trust and estates attorneys have long referred to as the “executor” when managing your estate also has an alternative name. Known as the “personal representative”, this person is appointed by either the person doing the estate planning or by the courts when there was no one named in a will. The personal representative has a very big job of finishing up the decedent’s business, such as taking care of taxes and keeping the bills paid; not to mention the much more commonly recognized job of making sure the decedent’s wishes are followed when it comes to distributing assets. [Read More]

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