How are estate planning, elder law and probate law related?
• Answer: They are indeed related, and are often synonymous descriptions of the same areas of law. • Traditional estate planning has two components: first, tax planning designed to preserve large estates while limiting taxation; second, common-sense planning through wills, trusts, powers of attorney and various directives for guardianship, end-of-life care decisions and burial. I only provide the second form of estate planning. • Meanwhile, elder law typically adds a component to estate planning focused upon preserving fairly modest estates in preparation for eventual dependent care (nursing home care). I dont provide such planning. Statistics reveal that most Americans need common sense estate planning. • Last, probate is the historic description given to the protection and settlement of the estates of the incapacitated and dead. The terms estate planning and elder law typically refer to events preceding incapacity or death (and thus, preceding Probate Court). If probate has a bad con
