May has been designated as Elder Law Month by the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.  Both Peter E. Grosskopf and Aric D. Burch are members of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and invite you to learn more about the practice of Elder Law.  Elder Law has changed over the years.  It used to be thought of as simply dealing with preparation of documents for our seniors, such as Financial Powers of Attorney or Healthcare Powers of Attorney.  Since that time, it has become a larger part of the legal landscape.  At a time when Estate and Inheritance Taxes have become nonissues for a great many people across the country, the legal issues facing our elderly have increased many times over.  For example, “Elder Law” can include many such things, including:

• Planning for Medicare;
• Planning for Medicaid, which is that part of the government that can pay for long term care in nursing homes, assisted living, or even in home care;
• Estate Planning and Probate, and ways to avoid Probate;
• Guardianship or Conservatorship;
• Asset Management;
• Financial Powers of Attorney or Healthcare Directives;

Even with Financial Powers of Attorney and Healthcare Directives, for most situations, the simple, free documents that exist are simply inadequate to deal with the reality of planning or qualifying for Medicaid or end of life health issues or financial management.  Joint bank accounts can be a trap for the unwary, misinformation about “Medicaid Spend Down”, and Medicaid’s “Five Year Lookback” are found everywhere. 
That is why it is important to make sure that you are dealing with a qualified Elder Law Attorney such as the attorneys here at Grosskopf & Burch.  We look forward to meeting with you and assisting you with your needs, now and in the future.
For more information about the advantages of hiring an Elder Law Attorney, please see the article "Why Hire anwww.elderlawanswers.com/why-hire-an-elder-law-attorney-19642 Elder Law Attorney?"

Whether your spouse has just passed away or you have lost your mom or dad, the emotional trauma of losing a loved one often comes with a bewildering array of financial and legal issues demanding attention. It can be difficult enough for family members to handle the emotional trauma of a death, let alone taking the steps necessary to get these matters in order.

Often times, you must go through the probate process. If there is no estate because there is a trust, and you are named as the trustee, the process will be different based on the trust document's specific instructions. In that case, it is recommended you meet with an attorney to make sure you know your obligations and liabilities as trustee.

I want to focus on probate for this post. If you are the personal representative of the will, you first should secure the tangible personal property, meaning anything you can touch such as silverware, dishes, furniture or artwork. Then, take your time while bills need to be paid. They can usually wait a week or two without any real repercussions. It is more important that you and your family have time to grieve. 

When you are ready, you should meet with us to review the steps necessary to administer the will and go through probate, which may include

• File the will and petition in probate court in order to be appointed the personal representative.
• Collect the assets. This means that you need to find out about everything the deceased owned and file a list of inventory with the court.
• Pay the bills and taxes. If an estate tax return is due, it must be filed within nine months of the date of death.
• Distribute property to the heirs. Generally, personal representatives do not pay out all of the estate assets until the period for creditors to make claims runs out in order to make sure the estate has sufficient assets to pay all claims.
• Finally, you must file an account with the court listing any income to the estate since the date of death and all expenses and estate distributions.

If you are inclined to go through probate on your own, you can find helpful information at the Wisconsin Register in Probate web site (here) or on the Wisconsin Court System's self-help website (here).