Recently I met with a local insurance agent who read my columns and suggested that I tell you what I do during a typical work day.  He remarked, and I agreed, that most people have no idea what “estate planning” is, let alone what an estate planning attorney does. So here it goes.  I usually get to the office each business day around 8:00 a.m.  I meet with my administrative assistant to go over the day’s upcoming activities and check on tasks we agreed we would get done during the work week. Then I start

For many years, I have drafted wills for people who want their estates distributed a certain way after they die.  A will is a legal document which, no matter how simple or complex, essentially tells the court who is supposed to inherit your estate, and who is supposed to administer your estate.  A will only goes into effect when you die through the court process known as probate.  Until then, it’s just a meaningless piece of paper. The problem with wills is no matter how successfully the attorney captures the

When I present seminars on the advantages of living trusts for purposes of avoiding probate and guardianship, I am often asked if living trusts are useful tools for protecting one’s assets in the event a spouse goes into a nursing home. While a typical revocable living trust does not shelter all assets from Medicaid spend down in the event a spouse needs long term care, one significant advantage of a living trust which I hear every time I go to an elder law continuing legal education conference in Wisconsin is that titling one’s personal residence in a living trust renders that asset immune to Medicaid liens. Let me explain.  When a husband and wife own a