Proactive Planning

You never know when something can happen that affects your life and finances. Proactive planning is an area of law that encompasses estate planning, planning for long-term care later in life, and special needs planning for family members with disabilities.

At the Law Offices of Charles R. Frazier in Nashville, TN, our experienced proactive planning attorneys can help you plan ahead for dividing your assets for inheritances, protecting your assets from probate, and continuing to provide care for friends and family even after your death. Call us today at 615-267-0125 to schedule an appointment.

Aging and the Legal Planning Process

Many people don’t begin the planning process until they reach retirement age or older. However, if you have an estate plan in place, it will protect your assets even in instances of disability or incapacity prior to retirement.

Estate Planning

When you pass away, your assets will enter probate to pay your debts before your executor can distribute your remaining assets to your beneficiaries. You can protect your assets through trusts, which will prevent assets within the trust from entering probate.

Additionally, if you find yourself suddenly incapacitated, such as after a car accident, your durable power of attorney can represent you to make legal decisions in your best interests. Your healthcare power of attorney can also make medical decisions for your treatment while you’re unable to indicate your wishes.

During estate planning with an experienced estate planning attorney, consider drafting:

A last will and testament
A living will or advance directive
Trusts to protect your assets from probate
Durable and healthcare powers of attorney

Medicaid Planning in Tennessee

Medicaid in Tennessee is called TennCare. TennCare bases eligibility on income and assets, meaning that many people don’t qualify because they own too much value in assets.

TennCare is the most likely option to pay for long-term care in a nursing home or assisted living facility. However, the state can pursue repayment out of your assets in probate. Medicaid planning can help you qualify for TennCare while also protecting your assets from the state.

Medicaid planning often includes:

Establishing trusts to remove assets from the state’s Medicaid eligibility evaluation
Asset protection to protect your beneficiaries’ inheritances
Planning ahead by 60 months or more to fall outside the state’s “look-back” period

Special Needs Planning

If you care for someone with special needs who receives disability benefits, leaving your assets to them could disqualify them from their disability benefits.

Our proactive planning attorneys can help you set up a Special Needs Trust so that your beneficiary can receive your assets into the trust without interrupting their ability to collect disability benefits when you pass away.

A special needs trust attorney at the Law Offices of Charles R. Frazier can explain how a Special Needs Trust works to protect your assets for your special needs beneficiary.

Contact Us at the Tennessee Law Offices of Charles R. Frazier for Proactive Planning

At the Law Offices of Charles R. Frazier in Nashville, TN, we believe in protecting assets so you can leave an inheritance for friends and family. For proactive planning legal assistance, call us at 615-267-0125 to schedule an appointment.