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My mom and I recently went to see an elder care attorney because mom wanted to update her will, make me her POA, and set up a living will. Mom also asked about protecting assets and what was the best advice if she ever needed a nursing home (e.g. her pension would be too much, what to do, property owned, etc). Mom is 73, severly visually impaired and not in too good health (not critical but trouble getting around, arthritis, etc).
After getting all the other paperwork in order and setting up an appointment to sign documents, the attorney told mom that she can begin the process of transferring assets, etc. to protect herself from the nursing home taking everything and the fee is approx. $8,000 broken down in two installments.
This seems to be a very excessive legal fee to me. The will, POA and living will prices were in range but the other fees seem over the top. Is this a normal fee for this type of attorney speciality?
Also, while we were there, my husband and I asked about a will for us since we have an eight year old child. We were told it would run around $800 for everything and she also indicated that we would need to indicate who would receive custody of our child should something happen to us. Outside of my mom, there is no one. She sat back in disbelief saying we had to name someone and just couldn't believe we had no one in mind (I guess besides my mom). My FIL is pushing 90 and is in a nursing home dying, my dad is dead, my MIL is dead and I am an only child. My husband has a sister he never met and two brothers about as old as my parents who have either been in prison or have severe mental problems. His nieces and nephews are pretty much the same way. I have a couple of cousins but last saw/talk to them at any length at my dad's funeral about 7 years ago.
So, has anyone else been in this situation where the only person you would trust with your minor child is an elderly parent? I honestly think by the attorney's reaction, she will not accept us listing mom. Our family is so estranged or sorry that I wouldn't want our daughter with some of them (who would be after her inheritance or would abuse her). I'm at a loss of what to do on both fronts with this attorney and wonder if we should visit with another lawyer.

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Oh my goodness, $8,000 to transfer assets? I honestly have not had to do that yet but that to me is outrageous! Before I did anything I think I would see another attorney or two and see what they say should be done and obtain quotes. At this rate you won't have to worry about what to do with your mother's estate....the attorney will own it!

As far as your child is concerned, I am so sorry that you are having so many problems, I would suggest that you look at close friends or a minister and ask them if they would consider taking your child to care for them. Although this is not something that will most likely ever happen it is an eye opener. We all just think we will live forever but this situation has brought reality home.
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$8000 seems excessive to me too. I would be inclined to visit one or two more attorneys. It's good that you went to an Elder Care atty., and it sounds like he is on the right track, but curious - if he is transferring assets to a person instead of some kind of trust for your Mom, then I 'm not so sure. It's mainly the cost that is putting me off. It may well be the 'going rate' (hope not), but it certainly would not hurt to do some comparison shopping. You might also look under the Money & Legal tab on this website - it has lots of resources to educate yourself on these matters.

As far as your own family, does the $800 (each or all together?) include Wills, POA's and Health Care Proxies/Advance Care Directives for each of you? $800 was the lowest quote I got for one person with all 3 documents. $1200 was the highest quote.

As for the child custody question, I think the lawyer is looking for you to name someone as your child's Trustee and/or foster parent. Raven made a good suggestion regarding close friends or minister's family. It really is a tough issue - because that person will be entrusted not only for the loving care and raising of your child, but also in control of her inheritance money (I believe until she is 18). I would be concerned about setting up a very tight structure about how that money is to be managed, so that it goes mainly or solely for her benefit. I have no idea if there is any precedent or custom regarding an allowance for the family raising her. Something else to inquire about!
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You can do most of it yourself, office max has poa's, get all of them signed and notarized, you can do a quit claim deed for any propery, just make sure all the property description matches her deed and transfer all her money to a separate account in your name or a tax deferred insurance policy. office max also has wills, if her assets are extensive and you have siblings, you may to get this one done with an attorney but not for that much money.
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Call or visit your local senior center or look up adult senior services in your locale, they can give you a referral to a good attorney who specializes in elder law or estate law. They will most likely consult for free and give you some ballpark figures on handling the estate. If its valued a lot for the investments, savings, Ira, property etc, and complex, then the fee may be higher although $8K seems like a lot.

Get some advice on the estate piece before before you commit.

As far as guardian for your daughter, sounds like a tough spot. Do you interact with her friends and their parents? Is there a teacher or someone who would be wiling to act as guardian? If not, leave that part blank for now, and begin fostering some adult relationships. Although now grown, we set up a close friend from college to be the guardian and they were willing and able. Our estate at the time was designated for the children's and pets care.

You might talk to your local "family services" or free legal services who can explain what happens if you were to pass and your daughter orphaned. What you don't want it sounds like is to not have a designee and then they turn her over to a relative you don't want her raised with or you can't trust.
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DPAHC, durable power of attorney for healthcare, forms including wording for HIPPA requirements, can be obtain at hospitals in your area. You cancel them in your self and have them countersigned by witnesses.

GDPOA forms are available at stationery stores all the ones prepared individually by attorney or more specific to your needs. They need to be notarized.

Trusts are complicated and need to be prepared by an attorney. You can't use a quit claim deed to transfer real property into a trust and you don't want to quit claim property to anyone else because it changes the text structure both inheritance wise and property taxes when the quit claim is filed. In addition if the person in that meeting Medicaid, during the five-year look back, they don't want to see that you changed title on the house unless it was for value (money changes hands). So be careful what you do in that regard.

If you're going to do I trust anyway, the attorney should be able to prepare all those documents for you. The attorney we used was elderly himself and was in a financial position to charge lower rates for this service for seniors. He charged $1500 to do a full revocable living trust and both POAs including HIPPA regs. The usual fee for a non complicated situation is around $2500, certainly no more than $3000 unless there are a ton of properties or investments or unless you're related to the Kennedys of the Rockefellers. $8000 seems out of line.
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Joyce - Not sure if this will help, but we live in Texas and when my husband was diagnosed with dementia in June 2010, I contacted an attorney and he created a Living Trust, a Will for each of us, a Durable POA for each of us, a Medical POA for each of us, a HIPAA Authorization for each of us, and an Advance Directive for each of us. That's a total of nine documents, which cost a total of $1,200. He was very understanding and allowed us to pay $100/month until it was paid. The attorney you used waaayyy overcharged you and your Mom. What a shame - so sorry.
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RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!!!!! RACKET Everyone in this country is abusing the elderly & look at this attorney taking advantage of you! Report the SOB to the Bar!
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Sorry - I can't count. That's a total of 11 documents for $1,200. Very reasonable.
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Planning for your daughter is verrry important, if you don't select one or a few people to be guardian, your state will put her in foster care, so be sure to find someone, you can also change it if you find someone you like better next year.
But the $8, 000 sounds extremely high. I would never pay that much, sounds like a bill for a millionaire.
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Uh, something does not pass the smell test. Look-back periods are up to 10 years and transferring assets it very likely completely unfeasible here. This particular lawyer may be a total rip-off artist. I would for sure get another legal opinion, and the other option you might consider is an estate planner to sort through some of the options before getting more legal billing going on. I found a really good attorney where I am in Little Rock who did a thorough consultation for $300.00 that was very helpful to me; I found him by going online and picking out the firm with the best understanding of Medicaid in evidence on their web site. Whoever you work with should be able to talk knowledgeably about spend downs and Miller trusts and how they might or might not apply to your situation.
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