Our Estate Planning Lawyers make it easy to create a trust.

Preparing an Estate Plan

Preparing an estate plan is crucial and the first step to getting your affairs in order.  However, once your estate plan is prepared, it’s not meant to sit and collect dust, only to be forgotten.  Your estate plan needs to be reviewed to ensure your desires are still aligned with your life and the law.

Estate planning documents aren’t enforceable until they’ve been signed.  Make sure all your documents have been properly executed, notarized, and witnessed, if applicable.  Out of date or unsigned documents are the same as having no documents at all.  Once they’re signed and up to date, put them in a safe place such as a fireproof safe, safe deposit box, or with a trusted attorney or advisor.  Make sure a family member or close friend knows the whereabouts of these important documents.

Medicaid look back period explained in simple terms with this inforgraphic.

Medicaid “Look Back” Period Explained

You cannot simply gift your assets to someone else to prepare for nursing home costs. The “look back” period is the five year time period wherein Medicaid will look at your financial records to see if you have made any transactions that would render you ineligible for benefits. If you find yourself facing a nursing home in the near future, you should understand your options. There are ways to spend your assets on items that do not trigger a penalty period for nursing home coverage. Your Medicaid caseworker may not always tell you your options, so it’s important you do your own research and understand the tools given to you.

Understanding Medicaid is easy with the help of one of our Oklahoma Medicaid Lawyer.

Understanding Medicaid

The average Nursing Home costs is around $5,000 each month. Most families cannot afford this cost and estates are quickly spent down to cover the cost of care. The truth is there are tools given to you to prevent this from happening. The first part of understanding Medicaid and nursing home costs is understanding the terminology. You have the right to educate yourself against spending all of your hard-earned assets.

Oklahoma has more startups happening everyday. Graft and Walraven want to help you succeed.

Are You Ready to Start the Big Race?

According to the US Small Business Administration, in the year 2018 Oklahoma had 347,165 small businesses accounting for 52% of Oklahoma employees. More and more people are becoming entrepreneurial and starting their own business. There are many benefits to owning your own company. Remember to visit with your business planning attorney to ensure proper legal structure of your business to protect your personal assets and reach your goals.