It’s 2019, time to kick things off and make a plan. I have a lot of new resolutions, but really they’re just a tightening up of last year’s plans where I got a little loose with things at the end of the year. I’m using my planner more, because white space in a planner is the devil, idle hands and all that, so I want to keep moving throughout the day and always
towards a goal. Whether the goal is to spend more time with my family, work out regularly, take Sunday off as a complete rest day, work smarter not harder, it doesn’t matter as long as I am committed to that.
Now, not everyone is going to make resolutions, or make them and stick with them. You either plan or you don’t plan, but you must pick your course, you must choose the direction you want to head in, only you can do that.
Whether you plan or don’t plan as you head further into the new year doesn’t mean things will be different. Most people stick with resolutions for a week or a month and drop them like an old hat. That’s why I’m choosing more of a lifestyle change, but how are you going to get there?
What are you going to do to accomplish your goals for 2019? Remember, it’s already started, we’re already into the second week.
With estate planning in mind, one area you should focus on is educating yourself. My book ‘Saving the Farm,’ is a practical guide to the legal maze of aging in America and I believe this is one of a kind. I have not seen any other book like it out there. I wrote this book because I wanted to help seniors think about estate planning and elder law and bring it all
together, so they have a good comprehensive guide and clear understanding for how to have their best year ever with estate planning. This will give seniors asset protection and peace of mind. This book will give you that peace of mind.
My work as an elder law attorney is constantly being stretched by a statistic, seventy percent (70%) of seniors over sixty-five will, at some point, need some type of long-term care, either in-home, assisted living or nursing home care. Those are huge numbers. Here’s an illustrative example of this statistic regarding what people do with estate planning:
They gamble with their assets. If I said, if you go to Las Vegas there’s a seventy percent chance of losing your money to the house, would you still go?
I wouldn’t, but lots of people do. And they lose their money to the house.
Lots of seniors, because of a lack of estate planning, lose their money or their homes to the government because Medicaid had to come in and pay for long-term care. They can’t pass their assets the way they want to, they have to spend it all down to qualify for Medicaid. Their retirement is gone, their home is gone to pay for long-term care. That’s a frightening
situation to find yourself in.
I want to help you avoid that scenario which is why I wrote ‘Saving the Farm.’
I’m working on some e-courses, webinars, and seminars to bring the content in ‘Saving the Farm’ directly to you, so you can choose the easiest format possible for you. This is personal for me and is highlighted in the book through a story about my grandfather Worth McIntyre, who spent fourteen years in an assisted living facility here in town. It took everything
he had, and I mean everything.
In this book you will learn about:
- The foundations of elder law planning.
- The importance of having your four foundational documents in place.
- General Durable Power of Attorney
- Healthcare Power of Attorney
- Living Will.
- Will.
- All about long-term care, the facilities and how to pay for them.
- A special chapter on Alzheimer’s and dementia which includes an interview with world renowned dementia expert Teepa Snow.
- Medicaid Crisis Planning. How to plan for long-term care.
- All about Life Estate Deeds and Ladybird Deeds.
- Veteran’s Benefits.
- Estate Taxes.
- Selecting the right attorney and law firm.
- The role and benefit of technology in elder law.
We will be bringing a lot more innovative and educational tools about our services and products this year, which I am excited about.
You can buy ‘Saving the Farm’ on Amazon (print copy), or itunes for the audio version. You can call our office at 704-259-7040 to order a copy, or order it on our website, mcelderlaw.com/savingthefarm.
For anyone ordering the book through our office or website, we will also send you The Deed Planning Worksheet. This worksheet shows you a visual map of how estate planning works, how trusts, probate, deeds, beneficiary accounts and liens work within the estate planning process.
I’m Greg McIntyre of McIntyre elder law. Have a great 2019.
