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Estate and Elder Law News

It’s Time to Protect Our Elders Now

It’s Time to Protect Our Elders Now

I can still remember the gentle resistance to the clear drinking glass rim as I pressed it through the soft biscuit dough.  Then the hard "clack" as the glass struck the countertop.  The child I was knew the fledgling biscuit was cut, almost perfectly round. My...

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Who Will Help Me to Age in Place?

Who Will Help Me to Age in Place?

Elder and special needs, and estate planning attorney Vance Parker discusses why good elder caregiving begins in childhood, in his new opinion essay "Who Will Help Me to Age in Place," published on March 5, 2019 in the Winston-Salem Journal. To read Vance's essay in...

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Don’t Scam an FBI Man

Don’t Scam an FBI Man

WTOB FM/AM Radio in Winston-Salem, NC interviews elder, special needs, and estate planning attorney Vance Parker about how telephone scammers can hit anyone, even a retired FBI and CIA director and his wife.  Vance concludes with basic tips for senior telephone and...

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How to Protect Your Assets in North Carolina

How to Protect Your Assets in North Carolina

It’s not hard to imagine a white-bearded old-timer, somewhere up in the North Carolina mountains, up early one morning, barely visible through the mist as his spade turns up dirt.  He is burying an old WWII ammo can underneath a tree out back, filled with some jewelry he has collected over his lifetime, cash neatly double-wrapped in gallon Ziploc bags, and his collection of gold and silver coins.  He feels relieved when this job is done.

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Pet Trusts in North Carolina

Pet Trusts in North Carolina

WTOB FM/AM Radio in Winston-Salem, NC interviews elder, special needs, and estate planning attorney Vance Parker about why it may make sense to protect your pet with a pet trust.  Because animal shelters are facing a crisis of unwanted pets from incapacitated seniors...

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New Legislation to Benefit Veteran Caregivers

New Legislation to Benefit Veteran Caregivers

Lawmakers have approved reinforcing and expanding the VA Caregiver program, through the VA Mission Act, which expands caregiver support to benefit pre 9/11 veterans, in addition to post 9/11 veterans. The VA Mission Act, which authorizes $860 million in veterans’ caregiver support over the coming years, was signed into law on June 7, 2018.

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How to Choose the Right Special Needs Trust in North Carolina

How to Choose the Right Special Needs Trust in North Carolina

Elderly, special needs, and disabled persons may depend on public benefits programs such as Medicaid, Special Assistance, or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) to assist with healthcare, assisted living, skilled nursing care, support, and other needs.  These programs are “means tested,” meaning that they have strict asset, and/or income limits for applicants, and ongoing limits for beneficiaries supported by these programs.

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The Revocable Living Trust:  A Better Way To Manage An Aging Senior’s Assets in North Carolina

The Revocable Living Trust: A Better Way To Manage An Aging Senior’s Assets in North Carolina

As they age, some seniors become less and less able to manage their own assets.  Attorneys frequently use the phrase “incapacity planning” to indicate estate planning done for a client diagnosed with dementia, or with other mental or physical disabilities, who will require another responsible adult to eventually manage his financial (and legal) affairs.

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Smart Genes Make Autism More Likely

Smart Genes Make Autism More Likely

Researchers have found a surprising connection between intelligence and autism. On May 23, scientists announced the discovery of 40 new genes linked to human intelligence, and found that many people with the genes were also on the autism spectrum. The findings could one day help shed light on the condition’s origins.

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Using Right Of Survivorship Deeds to Protect Homes Against Medicaid Estate Recovery and Other Estate Creditors In North Carolina

Using Right Of Survivorship Deeds to Protect Homes Against Medicaid Estate Recovery and Other Estate Creditors In North Carolina

While putting a home or other real property into a Joint With Right of Survivorship (JTWROS) deed has been effective in protecting homes and other real property from Medicaid Estate Recovery claims following the owner’s death, key members of the North Carolina Elder Law bar believe that JTWROS deeds may protect real property against claims from all other general creditors (including all medical creditors), as well.

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How to Keep Your Car Out of Probate in North Carolina

How to Keep Your Car Out of Probate in North Carolina

In North Carolina, it’s best to keep car ownership in one name only for liability reasons. Although it may seem natural for couples to own a car jointly, if that vehicle is involved in an accident, the injured person’s attorney can sue both an at-fault driver and all owners of the car. When a couple instead owns their vehicles only in their own names, an at-fault driver does not imperil his spouse’s separate assets.

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10 Ways to Protect Your Assets Before Marriage in North Carolina

10 Ways to Protect Your Assets Before Marriage in North Carolina

Modern marriage can be a minefield for both estate planners and their clients. In 2016, a majority of marriages end in divorce, second, third, or fourth marriages are common, and blended families represent the norm. Frequently, the estate planner advises families where the husband brings in children from a prior marriage, the wife brings in kids from a prior marriage, and (if industrious enough) the new couple adds new kids of their own to the mix. And, unfortunately, divorce lawyers are more litigious and aggressive than ever.

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Estate Planning For LGBTQ Couples In North Carolina

Estate Planning For LGBTQ Couples In North Carolina

As North Carolina LGBT adults are aware, on October 10, 2014, the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina issued an order that struck down the ban on same sex marriage in North Carolina. The ruling allows LGBT couples to seek the rights and privileges of marriage in North Carolina.

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Estate Planning To Protect Client Digital Assets In North Carolina

Estate Planning To Protect Client Digital Assets In North Carolina

In the Internet age, it can be difficult to separate certain assets such as financial accounts from the computers, websites, and software used to operate, manage, manipulate, and convey information about those accounts. Without proper estate planning incorporating the client’s digital assets, a deceased client’s executor or trustees may not have the tools they need to perform their obligations.

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The Perils Of Dying Without A Will in North Carolina

The Perils Of Dying Without A Will in North Carolina

NFL Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair, age 36, was unexpectedly found murdered in a Nashville, TN hotel room on July 4, 2009. McNair had earned about $90 million during his NFL career, yet he died without a will, or intestate. Because he had done no estate planning, his family lost millions of dollars to taxes and legal fees.

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