Ohio Family Law Blog

MEDICAID TRUSTS-WHAT ARE THEY?

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A Medicaid Trust Protects Assets if you Have to Enter a Long Term Facility for an Extended Period of Time

There are a number of different trusts available to address different situations. Trusts can be testamentary trusts created out of a will or separate stand-alone trusts known as intervivos trusts or commonly called revocable living trusts. Some trusts are created to avoid the probate process. Others are created to provide estate tax savings. Still others are created to avoid special need beneficiaries from losing need based assistance benefits such as Medicaid or SSI. Another type of trust is commonly known as a Medicaid Trust to protect assets in case the maker has to permanently enter a long term care facility in the future. A short overview of such a trust follows.

AN OVERVIEW OF MEDICAID TRUSTS:

Medicaid is a federal need based program to provide financial long term care benefits to those who have exhausted all of their assets. Medicaid also currently has a “look back period” of five (5) years, which basically means that if you give anything away less than five years before you apply … Read More... “MEDICAID TRUSTS-WHAT ARE THEY?”

May is Mental Health Month – How Divorce can Affect Mental Health?

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Higher Conflict Divorces Lead To A Worse Decline In Mental Health Issues According To Study. Nearly 25% Of All Ohioans Impacted

For the last 70 years, the month of May has been observed as “Mental Health Month“, and according to the community-based non-profit, Mental Health America, nearly 25% of Ohioans have experienced mental health issues in the last few years.

“Mental Health Month provides an opportunity to increase awareness and understanding of mental illness, and to remind Ohioans that it’s OK not to be OK and it’s OK to ask for help,” said Aimee Shadwich, the RecoveryOhio Director in a press release by the state of Ohio on May 4th of this year.

“It is critical that access to timely and effective care is available to those who need it,” she continued.

Nationwide, about 1 in every 5 Americans will be diagnosed with a mental health condition in any given year, like depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, etc. These conditions can affect one’s “emotional, psychological and social well-being” according to Mentalhealth.gov.

Divorce Can Be Emotionally And Physically Taxing On Mental

Post-Divorce: Here Are Three Ways to Declutter Negative Thoughts After Recent Divorce. Is it Time for Some Spring Cleaning for Your Mind?

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Spring Cleaning for the Mind? How to Declutter Negative Thoughts After Divorce

The sight of blooming flower blossoms always prompts the itch to spring clean. While we may toss out our junk, scrub the floors, and dust the furniture, we often don’t take the time to declutter the negative thoughts that intrude in our minds daily. This is especially true for recently divorced individuals, who often experience loneliness, anxiety, guilt, and grief.

Here are three ways to declutter those negative thoughts just in time to welcome the change of the seasons!

Engage in Self-Care

Self-care is perhaps one of the easiest ways to start decluttering negative thoughts after a divorce. We hear often about doing self-care, but what exactly is self-care?

Self-care is generally defined as doing anything to improve one’s mental health. This can be done in a variety of ways. It can be as simple as reading a book for an hour, or as complicated as planning a trip to Europe! Going on a daily walk, starting a new hobby, journaling, or even volunteering are examples.

Doing something for yourself as you navigate this

ALERT: Our Law Firm is Going Paperless!

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Estate Planning Documents Due To Be Shredded At Our Law Firm

Unwanted Estate Planning Documents Will Be Destroyed In An Effort To Go Paperless. Please Contact Us To Retrieve Original Documents

Holzfaster, Cecil. McKnight & Mues is in the process of reducing the amount of files and paper stored at the firm. Therefore, as part of this process, we are shredding old files, some of which are 20+ years old!

Our primary focus now is reviewing all of our estate planning documents and files and returning the original documents to our clients for safekeeping. We are requesting that all clients who have asked us to hold their original estate planning documents to contact us. We want to make arrangements with clients to retrieve them, or authorize their destruction if they are outdated and newer documents have been executed.

What are estate planning documents? They include documents like your Last Will and Testament, Financial Power of Attorney, Power of Attorney for Health Care, Living Wills, and Trusts. If you had any of these documents prepared at HCM&M and asked us to retain the originals, we are asking … Read More... “ALERT: Our Law Firm is Going Paperless!”

Providing for a Pet in an Ohio Estate Plan

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Pet Trust Option Could Provide Care For Your Pet After One’s Death

Pet Trust Allows For Care Of Pet After Owner’s Death

When creating an estate plan, one indicates who should receive the remaining assets of the individual at the time of one’s death. However, at the time of death, what happens to one’s pets? Although most of us view our pets as beloved members of the family, in the eyes of the law, pets are considered personal property. Therefore, pets can be bequeathed in a will or trust just like any other personal property. How does one ensure that one’s pets are properly cared for? A couple of options may be considered.

If you have someone in mind that you trust to care for your pet or pets, a pet trust is an available option. Ohio Revised Code section 5804.08 allows for pet trusts in our state. It states the during an individual’s lifetime, he or she can set up a pet trust to provide for the care of a pet or pets and to terminate upon the death of the pet, or if more than … Read More... “Providing for a Pet in an Ohio Estate Plan”

New Study: Does Marrying After the Birth of a Child Affect Your Likelihood of Divorce?

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Entering marriage without children results in positive marital outcomes according to study

Divorce Study Reveals Surprsing Data on Couples who had a Child Before Getting Married

There is one factor that seems to stand out in divorce cases; in fact, it makes it twice as likelythat a married couple might choose to call it quits. That factor? Couples who had a child before getting married.

A study conducted in 2020 and published by the Journal of Family Psychology found that couples with who had a child prior to marriage got divorced at a rate of 19.1%, as compared to those who entered marriage without a child (9.5%). That’s almost double the rate of divorces!

With both marriage rates and divorce rates down, and with more couples in the United States entering marriages with a child together already, researchers with the American Psychology Association wanted to see how those relationships fared against newlyweds without children in the mix.

“Among couples who entered marriage with a shared biological child (premarital parents), satisfaction levels were lower and communication was less effective, less positive, and more negative than couples entering … Read More... “New Study: Does Marrying After the Birth of a Child Affect Your Likelihood of Divorce?”

Blast From The Past: Are Divorce Lawyers Just “Love Undertakers”? [A Rebuttal]

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Should Divorce Lawyers Engage In Mental Health?

PUBLISHER’S NOTE: This blog is as meaningful today as it was when we originally posted it on May 11, 2019! We have a ton of interesting articles in our archives of the Ohio Family Law Blog. Use our Search tool and enjoy a few oldie but goodies!

Divorce Lawyers Should Not Assist Clients With Mental Health Issues Says NYC Attorney

A well respected New York City divorce lawyer by the name of Val Kleyman recently sent out a newswire to divorce lawyers warning them “to be careful not to cross over into the role of personal therapist for clients. This is a common problem that does not get enough attention” Attorney Kleyman said. He added, “helping someone deal with their emotions, feelings and mental health is a very serious undertaking and must only be done by professionals who are trained and experienced doing this.”

While I agree with most of that, here is the point he made that hit me hard. “Divorce lawyers are the love undertakers. Unlike marriage counselors and therapists whose job it is to save relationships and … Read More... “Blast From The Past: Are Divorce Lawyers Just “Love Undertakers”? [A Rebuttal]”

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