In a situation where (in 2017) a couple has only one child, and there are no joint children, and one spouse earns about $15 an hour, or $2,600 per month (i.e. $31,200 per year), and the other spouse earns about $25 per hour, or about $4,330 per month (i.e.
There are several major kinds of trusts.
These include Special Needs Trusts and Supplemental Needs Trusts (sometimes called SNT Trusts).
They also include Revocable Living Trusts (which are perhaps the most common kinds of trusts).
There are many reasons to do a trust.
One reason is that it can simplify things if the person who does the trust ever becomes unable to manage their own affairs.
While either a husband or a wife can file a petition seeking legal separation in Oregon, in almost all cases, the other side can convert the case to a divorce case when they respond.
Having an up to date Will can be crucial to achieving your estate planning goals.
Having an up to date Will can be crucial to achieving your estate planning goals.
One of the most important things a Will can do is to name the person or persons who will raise your children if you die before your children turn 18.
In general terms, if a person has benefitted from a Qualified Partnership Plan Long Term Care Insurance policy, the person can keep extra amounts from Medicaid spend down that are equal to the benefits received from the Qualified Partnership Plan (QPP) Long Term Care Insurance policy.
While a lower income former spouse will often be awarded spousal support following an Oregon divorce, that support may be limited or reduced if the lower income former spouse has access to significant wealth or property.
Spousal support is a very complex area of law in Oregon.
A great many different arguments can be made as to whether support should be awarded after a divorce.
In Oregon there is (with rare exceptions) no such thing as community property.
However, property that is acquired during a marriage, unless it is acquired by inheritance, is generally subject to division upon a divorce.
Under Oregon law, upon reaching a certain age, a home owner can often defer real estate taxes.
There are limits to these deferrals.
As discussed in another article published on this web site, Long Term Care Qualified Partnership Plan (QPP) insurance policies can be one way to save extra resources from Medicaid.
Please see the earlier article for a more detailed discussion of this idea.
Long term care insurance can increase the amount of assets you can keep when you qualify for Medicaid.
Long term care insurance can also increase the amount you can protect from estate recovery after you die, if you have been on Medicaid.
Sometimes a person wants to draft a new will or trust, or make changes to their existing estate plan including their existing will or trust.
In most cases, this should not be a problem.
Sometimes people have a child that they want to help become established in a home.
In some cases, rather than giving the child a down payment, or the like, there is a desire to simply transfer a house that the parent already owns to the child.
A probate is conducted when a person has died, and has property or assets that need to be administered and transferred to the heirs and beneficiaries.
Some people mistakenly believe that once a Power of Attorney has been signed, the person who signed the Power of Attorney is protected against undue influence.
This is, quite simply, wrong.
What should one do if a Power of Attorney is rejected?
What CAN one do if a Power of Attorney is rejected?
It is not uncommon for a Power of Attorney to be presented to an entity, and to have that entity reject the power of attorney.
Sometimes even entities that should know better, such as health insurance companies, are confused by Powers of Attorney and Advance Directives for Health Care.
There is a rebuttable presumption of equal contribution in Oregon divorces.
Even though there can be tax benefits to deferring payouts from an IRA or a 401K, sometimes this benefit is a minor benefit when compared with the risks of having the asset distributed directly to someone who may have problems handling money.
The rules have changed over the years.
Inherited property, in Oregon, now, is generally not spilt equally among spouses when they divorce.
For tax reasons, it is often wise to pass IRAs, 401Ks, and other tax deferred assets outside of probate, by making sure the beneficiary designations on these assets name actual individuals.
As explained in other articles in this series, Oregon divorce courts are required to make an equitable division of assets when a couple is divorced.
In Oregon, there is a presumption of equitable division of property upon divorce.
In most cases, where there has been a long term marriage, this will mean a roughly equal division of assets.
One of the great income generators for lawyers can be, curiously enough, the do-it-yourself divorce.
If something is done incorrectly in your divorce, you may spend a great deal of money trying to fix the matter.
Many people hope to save on costs by entering into divorce mediation without having their own attorney.
Whether or not your spouse has an attorney, if you are contemplating a divorce, you should have your own divorce lawyer.
Advance Directives for Health Care, in contrast to POLSTs (Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment - see earlier article), are used to provide information and authority to substitute decision makers who are operating in a less urgent situation.
POLSTs (Physician’s Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment) and Advance Directives for Health Care are often confused.
In a story reported on October 23, 2012, by the New York Times, it was announced that a court settlement has been reached (pending approval of the judge).
This settlement will result in a very important change to how Medicare policy is implemented in the real world.
Something that seems to catch many lawyers and some clients unaware are the unexpected difficulties that people face later in life if they are ever the subject of a Family Abuse Prevention Act (FAPA) Abuse Prevention Order.
More and more people are living together without marriage. This includes senior citizens.
This can create special problems for Medicaid.
It is becoming more and more common for people to live together on a long term basis, without getting married.
One reason people give for not getting married is that they have been told that it is easier to split apart if they are not married. This is not usually true.
No document constructed by humans can perfectly resolve all future conflicts.
However, if you are living together, but are not married, a formal Domestic Partnership Agreement can give a great deal of predictability to the eventual dissolution of the relationship.
Small to medium sized businesses often produce more liability than their owners realize.
Often the risk comes from areas that the business owner does not immediately focus on.
A useful 21 page publication has recently been made available over the internet by the Oregon Department of Human Services.
This is titled Guidance for Successful Transitions in Oregon Assisted Living and
Residential Care Communities.
In Oregon there are potentially six kinds of protective proceedings.
This article will outline the three kinds of conservatorships that are available. An earlier article addressed the three kinds of conservatorships that are available.
In Oregon there are potentially six kinds of protective proceedings.
This article will outline the three kinds of guardianships that are available. A later article will address the three kinds of conservatorships that are available.
Often people go to great effort and considerable expense to prepare a trust.
One of the most common questions that divorced or divorcing parents ask is, “At what age do my children get to decide where they want to live, or who they want to live with?”
The short answer is, at age 18.