Marathon Thoughts
My marathoning started in 2013 with a “one and done” running of the Boston marathon. I thought for my 50 year-old midlife crisis I would run one marathon and then stick to 5ks and half marathons. You might recall that 2013 was the year of the marathon bombing. I...
How to Engage with Your Demented Loved One
As their disease progresses, it can be hard to stay engaged with a demented loved one. Sometimes, due to cognitive or physical limitations, the ability to participate in previously enjoyed hobbies and activities is limited. It is easy to think that as the disease...
Avoiding Scams
Recently Valentine’s Day came around bringing with it new issues involving avoiding scams. Scammers never give up and never tire of trying new ways to reach personal and financial information. One reason they never give up is because their tricks work on many...
Why Choose an Elder Law Attorney?
You may wonder why you should choose an Elder Law Attorney. Many people, even those over 65, feel that all they need are estate planning documents. A typical husband and wife may have a few health issues but no real crisis. We definitely believe that everyone should...
Applying for Medicaid with an Income Trust
If you or a loved one needs long term care you might have to rely on the Medicaid program to pay for most of the cost of that care. Since nursing home care on average costs over $9000 per month in Florida, most people do not have enough income to pay that without...
Do I Need an Elder Law Attorney?
Some people ask us “What is an elder law attorney?” It’s not necessarily a very old lawyer. Instead it is an attorney who focusses on the special needs and concerns of those who are aging. Elder law attorneys may help with planning for disability, planning for...
Avoiding Probate in Florida
Probate can be slow, involves court costs and attorney’s fees, and will involve a court. For all these reasons, you might want to avoid probate. This article will cover some practical steps you can take in order to avoid probate. Of course there are some situations...
How to Choose Legal Representatives
When you are thinking about signing your estate planning documents you will need to make a series of choices...including naming a legal representative, someone else to act for you. You need to have someone in mind you can trust to help manage your financial affairs...
Planning for the High Cost of Nursing Home Care
Have you made a plan to deal with the high cost of nursing home care? If not, you need to look into how an Elder Care law firm can help you protect you and your family. We often hear about how important it is that we plan for the future. Whether it...
Planning for Legal Issues in a Blended Family
As elder lawyers we sometimes think of our clients as belonging to an “intact” family or a “blended” family. Blended families result where one or both spouses had children from a previous relationship. So some of the adult children are step-children. ...
Pride in Aging
We here at Burzynski Elder Law are proud supporters of the rights and concerns of the LGBTQ community and are happy to assist our clients seeking pride in aging. We treat all of our clients with equal dignity and concern regardless of race, gender, sexual...
Elder Law Guidance vs. Placement Services
We are lucky in Collier County to have many good assisted living facilities. You can choose facilities in North Naples, East Naples, and close to the central core of Naples. You can choose from buy-in facilities or straight rental situations. There are newer...
Florida Probate
What is a Florida probate, and how does probate work in Florida? Florida Probate is the process in which assets that were held in a decedent’s name alone are passed to his or her beneficiaries (if there is a will) or heirs at law (if there is no will.) Through the...
Failing to Make an Estate Plan
If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail”-Ben Franklin This quote from Ben Franklin applies to the estate planning world. In our practice we continually see clients who have never made an estate plan. These are smart, successful people retired from impressive...
Can I Disinherit an Adult Child?
Often we have clients who express that they are in close contact with most of their children, but feel they want to disinherit an adult child due to estrangement. They may not have spoken with this child in years. Sometimes our client is not even sure where their...
June is Pride Month
New to Florida-Do I Need New Legal Planning?
Many people are new to Florida and many have moved to Southwest Florida over the past year. Not exactly a new trend but preliminary numbers are showing an acceleration of that trend. Many immediately ask some variation of the question “Are my out-of-state documents...
What about a DIY Estate Plan?
Sometimes clients tell me they will not need to sign a Will. They believe they have taken care of asset transfers after death by adding their children to their bank accounts. They may even have added a child’s name to the title of their homestead by signing a...
What Are My Rights as a Will Beneficiary?
When you’ve been named as a beneficiary in a Florida will, you may be unsure about what is required of you and what rights you may have. Uncertainty can be stressful, particularly during a time when you’ve lost a loved one and family assets are being divided....
Veteran’s Pension vs. Veteran’s Compensation
If you have assets including real estate, savings, and investments and want to create an estate plan that will protect them and your family, our team can help. If you are a Veteran, you may be interested in exploring VA Pension or VA Compensation as part of your...
Too Many Meds
Have you ever looked at your pills and thought to yourself “Wow, I take too many meds” or “I’m not sure why I take this pill.” Well you are not alone. The use of multiple medications or more medications than are medically necessary is know as polypharmacy. In 2019,...
How to Cope with Dementia-Related Accusations
Dementia-related accusations are common but hurtful. Have you been accused of lying or stealing, even though you were just trying to help? As a person’s brain is changing, it can start to link facts and details in weird and unusual ways. This false-memory...
Challenging a Will
When a person dies with a will, their will lays out who receives their property (called “heirs”) and who will manage and distribute their estate (called the “personal representative”). For many reasons, potential beneficiaries can feel slighted by what they did...
Can I Change My Irrevocable Trust?
I recently had a client who wondered if he could make changes to his irrevocable trust. In Florida, the answer is “maybe”. People make irrevocable trust for many reasons, one mayor reason being tax and benefits planning. In order to make a completed gift for tax...