VIDEO CONFERENCING
Our legal team is prepared to assist you with your legal needs through video conferencing. Whether you are new to this form of communication, or it is a common experience, we are here to ease you through the process. We offer virtual face-to-face meetings through Zoom and FaceTime. Please contact our offices at 541-773-1222 to schedule your private, secure video conference.
ELDER LAW
Mr. Broesder is dedicated to solving problems for seniors and their families. Our Elder Law practice consists primarily of assisting with advanced planning for incapacity as well as Estate Planning such as Power of Attorney, Wills and Trusts. Our practice also includes Special Needs Trusts to assist with Medicaid and other Needs Based Benefits.
We also provide legal services for Guardianship and Conservatorship. These Protective Proceedings, when necessary, are court supervised proceedings that assist people with finances and other substituted decision making, including medical and care needs.
Family members and other interested persons may petition a court to become either a Guardian or a Conservator, or both. An example of this could be when an aging parent becomes unable to take care of himself or herself (feeding, medication, bathing, etc.). Concerned family members can petition the court to seek legal status to make decisions about the loved ones’ care as well as finances through a Guardianship and/or Conservatorship.
LONG-TERM CARE PLANNING (MEDICAID)
Long-term care planning describes the help needed by people who are having problems living independently because of medical or cognitive impairments. There are several ways that people pay for long-term care, including savings, reverse mortgages, long-term care insurance and if their needs and finances meet the requirement, Medicaid.
Medicaid is the joint state and federal program that assists with the cost of long-term care. Eligibility for Medicaid is based on financial need, so there are limits on the income and on the resources that one can have and qualify for assistance. Those limits change from time to time. In order to qualify for Medicaid assistance for long-term care services in Oregon, you have to undergo an evaluation of your care needs and your abilities to do the activities of daily living.
In addition to the eligibility requirements to qualify for Medicaid the State of Oregon also has a recovery claim against the assets of a Medicaid beneficiary as well as his/her spouse after they have both passed away. Eligibility for Medicaid and estate recovery can be a complicated matter and should be discussed with your specific situation in mind as small changes in circumstances can make a big difference from one individual or couple to another.
PROBATE
Probate is the court process used to administer the estate of a person after he or she dies. In a probate the court appoints a personal representative or administrator to take control of the estate, gather information about the decedent’s money or property, pay bills, file tax returns and distribute the estate to the heirs or beneficiaries of the estate.
Probate is generally needed in order to transfer legal title of assets to the beneficiaries of the estate. If a person who dies owns real estate, bank or brokerage accounts, stocks, bonds or automobiles generally a probate is required if no other person is a beneficiary or joint owner of the asset(s). Probate may not be necessary if the person who died owns very little or if the assets owned are held jointly or in survivorship with another.
If a person dies without a will, his or her estate is considered intestate and will likely require probate. If a person dies with a will, his or her estate is considered testate and will still likely require probate.
TRUST ADMINISTRATION
A trust is a legal devise used to hold and manage money and other assets for one or more people. A trust can be set up during a person’s lifetime and it can serve as a substitute for a will that may have the effect of avoiding probate upon the person’s death. This is generally referred to as a revocable living trust.
If a trust is properly established and funded (all necessary assets transferred to the trust) probate may not be necessary after the person establishing the trust dies. This means there will not likely be a court involved and attorney fees can be reduced or possibly eliminated altogether.
After the person who establishes the trust dies, the successor trustee must take control of trust assets, pay bills, file tax returns then distribute the trust estate according to the terms of the trust. This process can be less time-consuming and less expensive than probate, discussed above but the cost and time for Trust Administration is usually more dependent on the assets in the estate and the number and disposition of the beneficiaries than anything else.
BUSINESS
Mr. Broesder provides legal services for all small business and start-up companies, including LLC’s, LLP’s, Corporations, Partnerships and Sole Proprietorships. Our business practice focuses on small, emerging businesses and purchase of such businesses.