One of the questions I get in estate planning is whether an inheritance constitutes income for income tax purposes. And the answer to this question is no.

Inherited property does not constitute income for income tax purposes. It’s a gift. Somebody who is giving you property. It’s not income that you earned. 

Quick Question Corner is a video segment where we answer common questions about estate planning and elder law. If you have similar questions, leave them in the comment section and we can feature them in one of our videos in the future.

One of the questions I get is who should I choose to be my agent under a healthcare power of attorney?

Now, a healthcare power of attorney is a document where you can appoint someone to make health care decisions for you if you are no longer able to manage your day-to-day health care.

Typically, people will choose someone that they know and trust intimately to make those kinds of healthcare decisions. If a couple is married, the spouses will choose the other spouse. If a person has children, that person will typically choose the adult children to make those healthcare decisions.

But even if you don’t have a spouse or children, you probably have friends. And, if you have a close personal friend who you trust to make those kind of healthcare decisions for you, you can appoint that person to make those decisions.

If you don’t have anyone that you’re comfortable with appointing, you could always appoint a professional private fiduciary who is a licensed professional within the state of California, and that person will be able to make healthcare decisions for you if you appoint them. And that person will also be able to make financial decisions for you if you appoint them to make the financial decisions as well.

Quick Question Corner is a video segment where we answer common questions about estate planning and elder law. If you have similar questions, leave them in the comment section and we can feature them in one of our videos in the future.

One of the questions I get in estate planning is whether 30 years old is too young to do estate planning.

And the answer to this question is no, it’s not too young to do estate planning if you’re 30 years old. Now, doing estate planning is one of the core financial skill sets that’s important for every legal adult to have.

What this means is that once you reach the age of 18, you should have some type of estate planning in place. Even if it’s only a will and a powerof attorney and a healthcare directive, it’s still important to have those documents in place for you.

Once you become older and you start acquiring assets, maybe you purchase a home, maybe you have retirement or savings or investment accounts. It even becomes more important.

In fact, I recommend that everyone18 or older do estate planning.

Quick Question Corner is a video segment where we answer common questions about estate planning and elder law. If you have similar questions, leave them in the comment section and we can feature them in one of our videos in the future.

One of the questions I get is how will the elderly pay for long term care? Now there are three ways to pay for long term care generally.

The first is you pay out of pocket. The second is you have long term care insurance that is triggered or activated. The third is you qualify for a government program.

Now the most common government programs that we help people plan for are medical for long term care or VA aid and attendance.

So this is how people who are elderly can pay for long term care.

Quick Question Corner is a video segment where we answer common questions about estate planning and elder law. If you have similar questions, leave them in the comment section and we can feature them in one of our videos in the future.

Now, this is a bit of a philosophical question, but the reality is, in this country we do not have a good social safety net for our seniors and elders. What that means is that if a senior or elder or a family member or a lover, one requires long term care.

Typically, there are only three ways to pay for it. First, you could pay out of pocket. Second, if you have long term care insurance, you can use the long-term care insurance to pay for long term care. Or third, you could get qualified for certain government benefits such as medical or Veterans Administration aid and attendance.

So, this does not really address who should take care of the elderly in our society, but this addresses the issue of how will it be paid for?

Quick Question Corner is a video segment where we answer common questions about estate planning and elder law. If you have similar questions, leave them in the comment section and we can feature them in one of our videos in the future.