San Ramon Elder Law Attorney

Understanding Estate Planning

Elder law is a broad term used to describe areas of law important to senior citizens. The two main categories of elder law are estate planning and healthcare issues. Contrary to what some may believe, estate planning is not just for the wealthy. An estate is simply everything that you own. Regardless of the size of your estate, it is important to have a plan in place. Estate planning could drastically cut down on the confusion and conflict your family will face should you pass away. An estate plan could also help your family to avoid going through probate; the size of the estate will determine how thorough your plan will have to be.

The most common way that people plan their estate is by creating a will. Again, depending on the size of the estate, a will could be a simple one-page document or a huge volume. A trust could be a supplement to or a replacement of a will. There are different types of trusts, but they involve the trustor signing over their property to a trustee to manage until it is given to the beneficiary. If you need an attorney for an elder law case in Contra Costa County, the please contact our San Ramon elder law attorneys today!

Medicare & Medi-Cal Planning

Medicare and Medi-Cal are two very different things. Medi-Cal is a program set up by the federal government, which was designed to assist low-income families and individuals. Medicare, on the other hand, is designed specifically for senior citizens because of their increasing healthcare costs. Every U.S. senior citizen is entitled to Medicare, because they have been paying for it their whole lives through Social Security taxes.