Signs of Alzheimers in Loved Ones

If you notice that a loved one has started to show signs of dementia, this is important from a care perspective a legal perspective. The sooner you can get them necessary help, the better you’ll understand treatment options as well as some of the things you can expect if the disease progresses.

Likewise, there are key planning steps that must be taken in the early stages of Alzheimers to protect that loved one’s needs and wishes. If the disease progresses and they are no longer able to speak up for themselves or be seen as legally competent to make their own decisions, this can create a cluster of legal issues around guardianship and their estate planning.

Although there are so many things to think about when you realize that a loved one has dementia, don’t let the planning fall by the wayside. If you suspect that you’ve seen signs of early dementia, this detection process is important because you can get a diagnosis and begin exploring treatment options sooner rather than later.

Here are some of the key symptoms that your family member might have dementia. As always, get these reviewed by a medical professional to confirm any diagnosis:

  • Memory loss that makes you concerned about their safety or is seen as a disruption to their everyday life
  • Your loved one has difficulty completing basic tasks or suffers from forgetting things often
  • Trouble understanding relationships
  • Confusion related to place or time

If your loved one is beginning to experience these issues, you want to take them seriously and decide to move forward with getting a healthcare professional’s insight as soon as possible.

If you need assistance with planning after someone in your family has been diagnosed with dementia, time is of the essence. Contact a dedicated estate planning lawyer now to learn more.

What Happens to a Beneficiary’s Share of the Estate If the Beneficiary Passes Away?

If parents create wills naming contingent beneficiaries as their two adult children, there is always the possibility that the adult children will pass away before the parents.

This can have implications for the contingent beneficiary’s share. Language of the created will impacts what happens with each beneficiary’s share. Some wills allow the surviving sibling to receive the entire estate with the remainder getting divided among any living children.

However, the more common strategy for accomplishing these planning goals is to use a per stirpes. This language in a will means that if a child passes away before the testator and this child has surviving descendants, that pre-deceased child’s share goes to the descendants.

If your assets are inside a trust or life insurance policy, then the naming of a contingent beneficiary ensures that there’s a plan to pass on those assets to someone else. Make sure you review your contingent beneficiaries and backup plans on a regular basis.

You can always discuss the specifics of your estate planning strategy directly with your lawyer to verify that this covers your intended goals and plans. If you don’t yet have a plan for what to do with your backup beneficiaries, an estate planning lawyer can give you the support you need.

Most Common Financial Challenges Of Widows And Widowers

Widows and widowers face unique financial challenges when approaching their future.  The sudden loss of a spouse can represent a distinct change in their life emotionally as well as financially.  When one spouse passes away, it is very common to see the division of an estate cause tension inside of family, and certain family members may even try to manipulate a surviving spouse into deviating from the plans previously established by the couple.  

Senior woman looking at dead husband’s picture

Widows are left to assist or support children, handle disputes, honor their spouses wishes and manage financial assets all on their own. Appropriate estate planning is necessary to minimize the opportunities for family members to take advantage of a surviving spouse.  Estate planning tools such as putting together a trust can help to ensure that the deceased spouse’s wishes are followed while maintaining a relationship as a friend or family member rather than as a bank or connection.

Couples can work together in advance of the loss of one or more person to figure out how to best avoid challenges down the road.  Conflicts that arise because of family members can often be avoided well in advance with the support of an experienced estate planning lawyer. Knowing the options at the outset and planning for the future can ease a lot of fear and pain in the process. 

Contingency Planning For Your Business

As the economy tip-toes back in the right correction, businesses must still be sure to implement contingency plans in the event of another economic recession. As a recent article in Forbes explains, a recession can cause a business not only sales and profits, but time as well.

The first step of contingency planning is to make a list of the major decision-making areas that will be subject to short-run change during any recession. Although all companies are different and will therefore create different lists, some areas that most companies will include are prices and terms, labor, materials and inventory, capital spending, and financing.

The next step in contingency planning is to create plans for each decision-making area for mild, moderate, and extreme economic downturn. In the area of prices and terms, for example, it is often wise to tighten credit terms during a mild recession. Although sales representatives may wish to offer eased credit terms to consumers during harsh economic times, it is important to ensure that your accounts payable do not turn into write-offs.

In a moderate recession, it may be necessary to lay off workers and cancel expensive projects. If the economic situation becomes extreme, your company must enter survival mode. In this final category, it is most important that the company survives. Often, extreme measures are necessary.

The advantage of having three levels of contingency plans in place is that, should there be an economic downturn, you will be able to act quickly to reduce losses.

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