California Elder Law Attorneys Protecting You And Your Assets
Acknowledging that you are aging and becoming increasingly unable to do things you once did can be difficult. You may have an expanding family or family members with special needs, but find yourself unable to continue caring for everyone.
At Temmerman, Cilley, Kohlmann & Norcia, LLP., we provide full-service estate planning for elderly clients. From basic estate and incapacity planning to administering complex cases, we can protect both you and your assets from financial abuse as you age. We care about the best interests of both you and your family. We can investigate your estate and advise you on nursing care, estate plan modifications and powers of attorney. Even if you are several years away from considering retirement, we can advise you on how to plan for aging to protect you and your estate.
How We Can Assist With Your Estate Planning Needs
Our lawyers can help you prepare for aging. If you become incapacitated or require skilled and long-term nursing care, then we work with your Medi-Cal eligibility. This can help you with planning, share-of-cost reduction planning and estate recovery planning.
As leaders in the field of estate planning, our attorneys can help you with asset protection and wealth preservation. This includes protection of beneficiaries’ interests in the estate, while preserving Medi-Cal qualification. Our law firm uses tools such as trusts, spending down, immediate annuities and other estate planning instruments.
We additionally provide incapacity planning services using powers of attorney for financial matters. We also are experienced in using advance health care directives to avoid conservatorships, should you become incapacitated in your old age. In some cases, an elderly person may already be incapacitated, in which case a conservatorship is necessary. We assist family members and interested parties in establishing conservatorships for the protection of the conservatee and his or her estate.
Lastly, we can also monitor conservatorships and represent conservatees, conservators and other interested parties when the conservatorship is contested. With creativity and passion, our elder law attorneys represent conservatees by court appointment as private counsel in complex conservatorship cases.
What Is Financial Elder Abuse?
Financial elder abuse is defined as the illegal or improper use of an elderly person’s funds, property, assets or estate. This may include the abuse of conservatorships, powers of attorney, trusts or other fiduciary relationships. Generally, a wrongfully acquired interest of any other party may contribute to financial elder abuse. Unfortunately, financial elder abuse sometimes involves caregivers, who may try to influence their elderly charges into changing wills or trusts. When financial elder abuse happens, it creates financial and emotional stress for the entire family.
Often, these actions can devalue an estate or result in a wrongfully acquired interest. Our attorneys assist by monitoring estates. From start to finish, we monitor your assets and plan for their protection. We represent elderly clients in actions against fiduciaries and others whose wrongful or illegal actions cause harm. We can also provide representation for affected beneficiaries, including pursuing financial elder abuse actions on behalf of beneficiaries whose interests are detrimentally affected.
Elder law is complex and overlaps with many other areas of law. Do not diminish your legacy due to something preventable. Our law firm has the passion, experience and resources to help you blueprint your family’s future. We can help you establish or modify the ever-changing needs of your estate plan.
Consult With An Experienced Elder Law Attorney
Our elder law attorneys can help create certainty in an unknown future. We understand the questions and concerns you have, as well as how to protect the elderly and their beneficiaries. We can answer your questions about gift tax, inheritance tax, power of attorney, living trusts and other concerns. If you have an elder law issue, consult with our attorneys at our San Jose or Danville, California, offices. Call us at 408-780-1912 or email us through our online contact form.