Coley Law Firm

At Coley Law Firm, we are a small firm with a passion for people. Our team is dedicated to providing personalized legal services to individuals and small businesses in our community. We understand that each person has a different story to tell with different priorities, and we know there is not a one-size-fits-all approach to estate planning. Our goal is to treat clients like our family, addressing their concerns as soon as possible and implementing creative solutions to meet their needs.

Areas of Practice

We specialize in several key areas of practice including Estate Planning, Probate, Business Law, and Long-Term Care Planning. In Estate Planning, we prepare Wills, Trusts, Healthcare Directives, and Powers of Attorney. We also advise on elder law matters including Medicaid planning. For small businesses, we assist with legal needs and succession planning.

Estate Planning

An estate plan typically includes at least three documents: Will, General Power of Attorney, and Advance Medical Directive. Trusts are additional documents that can be incorporated into an estate plan to meet a client's specific goals. Examples of such goals include asset protection, providing for a beneficiary who has special needs, leaving assets to minor beneficiaries, controlling when children can access their inheritance, providing creditor/divorce protection for assets left to children, ensuring that assets are available to provide for a spouse but ultimately pass to your children upon the spouse's death, avoiding probate, maintaining privacy for your family, generational planning, and minimizing taxes.

Why is Estate Planning So Important?

Although your estate plan provides a road map for the distribution of assets upon death, a good estate plan will also incorporate documents that address your incapacity and ensure that the appropriate individuals are authorized to make key decisions for you during your life if you are unable to make them yourself. If you do not have a General Power of Attorney and Advance Medical Directive in place, then it will be necessary to go through a court process to have you deemed incapacitated and to appoint a guardian and/or conservator for you in order for anyone (including your spouse) to have the authority to take certain actions on your behalf. This is an expensive process that can be avoided with a proper estate plan.

Probate

Probate is a court-supervised process that is typically required following a death unless you have taken the appropriate steps to avoid probate. Probate is an expensive and time-consuming process, even when an estate is relatively modest in size. If the estate includes valuable and/or complex assets, it can take years to conclude the probate of the estate. Most Executors retain the services of an estate planning attorney to usher them through the probate process to ensure estate assets are protected and the decedent's wishes are honored. Both the expense and hassle of probate can easily be avoided by having an appropriate estate plan in place.

Medicaid Planning

Medicaid planning is a part of long-term care planning. Many people age 65 and over will need long-term care at some point, and the costs of this type of care are very high. The good news is that Medicaid will help pay for long-term care in some cases. However, there are strict asset and income limitations. Medicaid planning involves preserving as many assets as possible while still qualifying for Medicaid.

Medicaid Eligibility in Virginia

Many people think that they will never be able to qualify for Medicaid. The asset limits for an individual are $2,000, so most people would easily exceed this threshold. Fortunately, not all assets are counted for the purposes of determining Medicaid eligibility. There are several categories of non-countable assets, as well as certain exemptions for different types of countable assets. If you are married, your spouse is also permitted to keep certain assets. Medicaid planning often requires considering the interest of both spouses. One spouse is trying to qualify for Medicaid to get his or her long-term care paid for, while the other spouse is still living at home and wants to maintain his or her lifestyle.

Avoid Medicaid Planning Mistakes

The rules involving Medicaid eligibility are complex. You cannot simply transfer all of your assets to a relative in order to qualify. There is a look-back period, and any transfers made during the look-back period may be subject to a penalty. The best way to develop a good Medicaid eligibility plan is to consult with an estate planning attorney before you need long-term care. You will have more options if you start early and plan ahead.