Pennsylvania - South Central

This is the question that we get regularly in our law firm and before having our Life Care Planning program and Client Care Advocate, Meg Motter, a licensed clinical social worker on board, my answer was always that it is not something that you can plan for. I believed it to be a decision that was out of your hands. As I have embraced the Life Care Planning model of assisting clients and their families, Ive come to realize that those answers and beliefs were probably incorrect. Im learning through watching Megs work unfold that much can be done well in advance of crisis times to proactively plan for aging in place and avoid entering a skilled nursing facility for long-term care.Now, my answer would be to at least attend one of our monthly Life Care Planning Workshops, take advantage of the free one-on-one Life Care Planning vision meetings with Christine Oyler, and consider retaining the law firm for Megs services to assist you and your family in developing your very own Life Care Plan. There are ways to pay for in-home care and set up other situations that would certainly provide a much better chance of staying out of the nursing facility. Working closely with your Client Care Advocate through your one-year contract with Meg to determine your goals and wishes, research and secure services to assist you in remaining in the least restrictive setting of your choosing, and put those services in place is the answer. Planning is a necessity to avoid the nursing facility and starting early ensures the greatest success. Sure, we can help in the crisis, but starting your Life Care Planning journey before the crisis hits is all the better.If youd like to learn more about Life Care Planning and meet our Client Care Advocate, Meg Motter, LCSW, CDP consider attending one of our monthly Life Care Planning Workshops. Please reach out to the office at 717-208-4546 for more information.  

This is a question that we receive all of the time in our office. The answer is that you could have personal liability as an executor because there may be ways to avoid probate if you understand it and plan ahead.Probate is merely the Commonwealths rule book and the process that you must go through if there is an asset in a persons sole name at the time of their death. This excludes jointly held accounts and accounts with a beneficiary designation on the account. Probate is not good or bad. It is simply the process the Commonwealth requires us to follow in order to properly distribute assets to beneficiaries.A personal representative, also known as an executor (or executrix if they are female), if they are named in a Will, or an administrator if they are taking authority under the intestate succession under the statute, is personally liable to the beneficiaries and to the government to properly administer the estate, make certain all debts and expenses of the decedent are paid, pay all inheritance tax and other taxes owed and to distribute the remainder of the assets to the beneficiaries pursuant to the Will or the intestate statute. A personal representative must understand the entire process and all of the legal requirements that the Commonwealth imposes, such as notices to heirs, notices to creditors, advertising of the appointment of a personal representative and filing with the Orphans Court, Register of Wills certifications and notices as items are completed or when the estate is complete. There is also a requirement for a Pennsylvania inheritance tax to be prepared and filed and, in some cases, a fiduciary income tax return as well. If any of these steps are not properly completed and a beneficiary, a government entity, or a charity receives less money than what they were entitled to there can and will be personal liability imputed on the personal representative.It is essential to understand this liability to make a decision as to whether to hire an attorney to assist in the process. There is very little upside to not hiring a professional but a lot of potential downsides to not doing so, and therefore, typically, it is a much smarter decision to engage an attorney to assist you.Probate can be avoided by either making an asset jointly owned or designating a beneficiary for that asset. However, before somebody makes an asset jointly owned or designates a beneficiary for an asset they should understand the legal implications of doing so as there may be considerations beyond probate in doing so. Remember jointly owned assets or assets with designated beneficiaries dont avoid inheritance tax, only probate is avoided.If you have any questions concerning probate or whether you need to probate please call the office at (717) 844-9218 or visit our website at www.bellomoassociates.com

The short answer is no, they are not the same. A DNR stands for a DO NOT RESUSCITATE order.  A Living Will is a completely different document that is used during a very different time.A DNR should be entered into at your doctors office or in the hospital, not at your local estate planning and elder law attorneys office.Typical estate planning documents that an attorney will assist you with would include a financial and medical power of attorney as well as a Last Will and Testament and maybe a Trust of some type. The confusion often lies in the fact that in a medical power of attorney, you will often see a Living Will as a part of the document.This is collectively known as an Advance Healthcare Directive if medical power of attorney and living will are together in one document. The Living Will does not kick in until the individual is end-stage medical. While there is a very long medical definition for this term, I simply like to state it as when two qualified physicians put in writing that there is no realistic hope of recovery and that you will always remain vegetative, comatose, permanently unconscious, and terminally ill. A medical power of attorney, living will, or advanced health care directive are often documents that are obtained from your estate planning and elder law attorney and not from your health care provider.On the other hand, a DNR or DO NOT RESUSCITATE order is intended to let emergency and other medical professionals know whether or not they should resuscitate you. Methods often used for resuscitation would be things such as defibrillators, breathing tubes, ventilators, CPR, and other invasive techniques.The DO NOT RESUSCITATE order comes into play when the heart has stopped beating or the person has stopped breathing. The medical power of attorney, on the other hand, comes into play when the person simply cannot answer questions for themselves. That could be for numerous other reasons, such as being under sedation or incapacitated, unconscious due to an accident, or unable to speak.Certainly, it does not necessarily mean that the heart has stopped beating or that you have stopped breathing. The Living Will does not kick in until the end of life, but the heart is often beating, sometimes due to heroic and lifesaving measures, but the DNR will prevent those heroics if that is your wish.We truly believe that it is imperative for you to talk to your estate planning and elder law attorney about the estate planning documents as outlined above as well as discuss with your doctor about a DNR order. While you are discussing the DNR order, we would also recommend that you have a conversation with your healthcare professional about a POLST (Physicians Order of Life-Sustaining Treatment). These are documents that will be obtained directly from your doctor and they will be able to assist you with the nuances of how they work.We hope this article provided insight into the definition of a DO NOT RESUSCITATE order and the difference between a medical power of attorney and a Living Will. If you would like further information about these items, contact our office.  Wed be more than happy to assist you. Call us at (717) 845-5390.  

Selling your items is a big commitment, but you can get cash for your things. There are a lot of options out there, but this article will focus on three separate ways to get your possessions sold: Online sales Auction salesEstate sales Online SalesFrom Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist to Next Door and Ebay, there are a variety of ways you can sell everything from furniture to clothing. You have to do the work which includes posting your items with photos and a description, setting a price and dealing with questions from interested buyers. This takes some time and you should be cautious about who you are meeting if you agree to sell something to a stranger.  Auction SalesAuctions sales are an easy way for someone else to do the work for you. You can choose to have an auctioneer come to your home and hold a sale on your property if you have enough possessions. The advantage to using an auction house is that they have experience with what is popular and sells well. Plus, people follow certain auction houses which can bring an automatic audience for the sale.  Estate SalesEstate sales are a way to clear almost everything out of a home. Typically, estate sales are used when someone needs to move out quickly or after a death of the homeowner. Estate sale professionals can charge you several different ways such as one price for the entire sale or a portion of the proceeds. Make sure you understand all the terms upfront and look for someone who is bonded and insured since people will be on your property.  WayForth can help you or a family member with our comprehensive moving solutions including downsizing, space planning, packing and moving, and unpacking, and settling in your set-up in a new home, contact our moving professionals today at 817-697-4478 or go to our website to learn more!