WOODSIDE LEGAL P.L.L.C.

SERVICES

APPELLATE

PRACTICE

& Parole Appeals

Real Estate, Tax Appeals, Planning & Zoning, and Municipal Law

Benefits of a “Lady Bird Deed”

The Enhanced Life Estate Deed has several benefits including:

(1) bypassing probate;

(2) it does not result in capital gains for the beneficiaries because they will not receive any value until client passes away. When she passes away, her beneficiaries take the home at a "stepped-up basis" - not client's original basis. A "stepped-up" basis is the value of the property on the day of  client's death;

(3) it does not open up the property to the beneficiaries' creditors during client's lifetime because the beneficiaries have no interest until client has passed away without selling the home;

(4) it allows client to sell her home at any time, compared to a regular life estate where she would not be legally entitled to sell her home.

It may avoid the "Estate Recovery" law, where the State of Michigan can make claims against assets of nursing home patients who start receiving Medicaid benefits after September 30, 2007.


PROBATE LAW & ESTATE PLANNING

Elder Law Lawyers here to Help YOU!

As Elder Law attorneys, we specialize in helping senior citizens and younger individuals who are planning for their future.  We take the fear out of estate planning.  Our practice concentrates on: (1) estate planning, including Trusts, Wills, Powers of Attorneys, and Deeds; (2) Medicare and Medicaid planning and advocacy; (3) Social Security benefits; VA benefits, and (4) probate, including decedents’ estates, guardianships, and conservatorships. We also review long-term care insurance policies to make sure our clients receive what they are paying for.

We are very concerned that some clients have been swindled by people who have put themselves in positions of trust for seniors. They can be family, friends, church members, or even caregivers. Some shady financial advisers have sold very inappropriate products to seniors. We can help you try to recover assets.

Woodside Legal PLLC is able to help you in estate planning for your family and future and accomplish Medicaid planning to receive government benefits to help pay for nursing home costs.  We receive many referrals in cases where people received either no advice or incorrect advice, and now have a problem with Medicaid eligibility or something related to their estate plan.  We are often able to help you correct errors in plans and help you get back on the path to a solid effective estate plan. We know the law and how to fix your plan to make it work for you. And sometimes we can fix the problem completely. Frequently we hear, "I wish we had known about you," or "I wish we had come to you first." Although it is always better to handle matters properly from the start, sometimes that does not happen, and we are happy to help assist you with any problems. And with the laws and deadlines for estate planning constantly changing, we can help you keep up  with changes in the law. The most important thing to remember with Medicaid planning is that if you come to us for planning you will not have to "spend-down" all of your assets. We can assist you in accomplishing Medicaid planning at any time, even after a loved one is already in a nursing home.

We believe in caring for our clients and treating them with respect and compassion.  Our goal is to give our clients true peace of mind. Once we are retained, we handle many of the issues that arise from entry into a nursing home, including: (1) working with the billing department at the nursing home; (2) handling all correspondence with the Michigan Department of Human Services; (3) making sure all financial transactions are completed; and (4) helping the family and fully answering questions.

BUSINESS CORPORATIONS

We are able to assist you in setting up corporations, LLCs, or PLLCS, and business succession plans, by-laws and all of your corporate needs. We have expertise in Contracts, UCC, commercial transactions,and all of your business requirements.