Shikuma Law Offices, PLLC in Seattle Washington is dedicated to providing personalized estate planning counsel and asset protection planning at a reasonable price. We can also assist you with medicaid planning, probate, trust administration, VA pension benefits planning, charity planning, pet trusts and much more. See our services and practice areas for more deatils.
“Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now.”
—Alan Lakein, American author and Time Management Expert
We plan to go on vacation. We plan to have dinner with friends. But when it comes to planning for how we will be taken care of as we advance in age, many of us prefer not to think about it, believing it will somehow all work out. Unfortunately, when it comes to long term care planning, including finding the appropriate care and figuring out how to pay for it, those who fail to plan are clearly the ones who risk losing the most.
Cotinue reading The Importance of Planning Early
There were many newsworthy events this year that affected or could affect many of the seniors and special needs clients we serve. This issue of the ElderCounselor looks at some of the top stories that made headlines this year
Cotinue reading The Top News Stories in 2011
There are over 9 million surviving spouses of veterans currently living in the United States. Many of these surviving spouses are receiving long term care or will need some type of long term care in the near future, and there are funds available from the Veterans Administration (“VA”) to help pay for that care. Unfortunately, many of those who are eligible have no idea that any benefits exist for them or that an attorney can help them become eligible.
Cotinue reading Long Term Care Benefits Available to Surviving Spouses of Wartime Veterans
In our March issue, we reported about the federal government’s efforts to decrease spending in 2011 by making sweeping cuts to numerous federally funded programs to avoid a government shutdown. Four months later, the focus on cutting Medicaid and Medicare benefits has gained momentum, despite documented evidence of the many benefits of Medicaid, as well as the huge detrimental impact cutting either program can have on individual states.
Cotinue reading The Future of Medicaid and Medicare
Our firm produces Estate Planning Advisors to provide a quick summary of estate and gift tax planning, elder law planning, asset protection planning, and other items we believe may be of interest to our financial and accounting professional colleagues. This Advisor deals with the concept of the Alter Ego Doctrine, and protecting assets held in a trust from, the creditors of the trust creator, termed the Settlor for purposes of this Advisor.
The impetus for this subject matter is the result of a recent case in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, essentially the far Western states, but the legal principles stated in the case are, for the most part, uniform among the states.
Cotinue reading Alter Ego Doctrine and Busting of a Protective Trust
The Importance of Planning Early
Alter Ego Doctrine and Busting of a Protective Trust
