Andrea Shoup

Married couples will usually make their estate plan together, especially if they hold most assets jointly and have the same goal to provide for their family’s future. In that case, the surviving spouse would receive the majority of assets as primary beneficiary and act as an executor of a will or co-trustee of a trust. […]

HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) is the national privacy law that protects patient confidential information while under medical care and treatment. Typically, a patient’s medical records and information are kept strictly confidential, and any health provider that divulges that information to third parties without permission is subject to penalties. Specific HIPAA Waivers for […]

There are many DIY estate planning tools and forms available for a small fee, and the companies that offer them will let you believe it is simple to draft your own will or trust without an attorney. While that may be true for some well-versed in estate planning and probate law, or those with few […]

Estate planning isn’t all about your Will. You might think that estate planning primarily concerns what happens to your property and money after you die. Yes, those are important considerations, but estate planning also encompasses decisions that will be made while you are still alive. In the event that you are incapacitated due to severe […]

However, if you are thinking about making an estate plan you might not know how life insurance will affect that plan or your choices. It is likely more people have life insurance policies than estate plans, so this is a frequent situation faced by those new to estate planning. Life Insurance Beneficiaries First, all life […]

The goal is to make sure that your estate plan is up to date and reflects the intentions and priorities of both spouses. Then, as your family grows, and asset values increase, you can easily amend it as needed. So, instead of an unpleasant task to be put off, making an estate plan together is […]

For that reason, it is good to know what the justifiable reasons are for involuntary discharge. Those are set out under Federal law and subject to review on patient appeal by an independent agency, so the facility cannot just make the decision arbitrarily on their own. The Six Reasons Justifying Discharge are: For the resident’s […]

Here are the top five reasons that people don’t have an estate plan: Procrastination This is the number one reason, and not too surprising. Making an estate plan is easy to put off (even if you think it is a good idea). Everyone has busy lives and the prospect of assembling all the information and […]

There are a number of ways to participate, and one of the easiest is to include your favorite charity in your estate plan. When you name a charity in your will or trust you can leave a legacy without affecting your current resources, and in some cases, there can be tax advantages. How to Make […]

The importance of this cannot be overstated, and there are well publicized cases where patients linger for years with no AHCD, and family or medical personnel have no ability to make extreme decisions. Because this may be an uncomfortable topic, some families will put it off, but it is really fairly simple for your attorney […]