It seems to be a theme at the close of the year that for us, when others are wishing “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” and “Happy New Year,” we spend our time thinking about the clients we work with, and the people we care about, who are not feeling happy or merry.

A revocable trust is a legal document that allows the grantor (the person who creates the trust) to transfer their personal assets to the ownership of the trust during their lifetime, or upon their death.

In the interest of New Year’s resolutions for honesty and transparency, let’s talk about the things that were not wonderfully amazing in our legal practice this year.

Understanding the issues and rules takes special experience and so often, the original attorney handling your matter will refer you to a “special needs planning attorney” like Carol Wessels and Jessica Liebau in our office.

A nursing home facility can have someone agree to help make sure dad’s assets are used to pay dad’s nursing home bill each month and serve as a contact person, just like a power of attorney agent might do.

For some people, contemplating heady topics like death and disability needs to happen in very small increments. That is fine, just don’t die or become disabled until you have made your way through it.

The bills I wrote about last September have reared their ugly head again. Thankfully, the bills went nowhere last year. But they are on the table again. This is a refresh of my original article with updated bill numbers.

What we learned at Wessels & Liebau: At our office, the “pivot” helped us deliver services more effectively to our clients and we will continue many of these things forever.

The issues related to nursing home rights are many, and at some point a family might feel like they are desperately trying to hang onto a bucking bronco that they have never ridden before and didn’t want to be on in the first place.

In the Medicaid world, when I say “we need to get a snapshot,” I sometimes think my clients wonder where the camera is.

This article is about the basic misunderstanding most people have about wills. Here is how my average meeting starts when people schedule an appointment to talk about a will:

The most important documents you need to put in place are those that will help make sure things are handled correctly during your life.

This is true of most facilities that hold themselves out as “memory care” in Wisconsin, where my elder law firm is located. The level of care in a CBRF is one level below that which is required to be provided in a nursing home. My clients usually use these names interchangeably. Most of my families generically refer to the places they are looking at as “nursing homes” or “assisted living” without really understanding the differences.

A new rule has been published by the Veterans’ Administration that relates to veterans “pension” benefits.

Sigh. Another case of bad information by the nursing home social worker. The truth is that a person does not have to sell his or her home to qualify for Medicaid.

This weekend I placed signs in my yard. Signs for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s in our area. These amazing events are going on all throughout the country over the next month or so.

The Longest Day is an annual fundraising effort held on the summer solstice – the longest day of the year. The purpose of the event is to recognize the long journey that is traveled by individuals living with Alzheimer’s and their families, and also the long hours put in by caregivers.

With all the effort Prince went to over the years to retain control of his art and his image, I find this almost impossible to believe. It’s not just a Sign o’ the Times, it’s a sign something was very wrong.

Nobody really wants to spend time talking about death and dying. But inevitably we must. Usually, we don’t spend enough time on the subject.

I write this on June 21, 2015. Today is Father’s Day. It is also the day that the Team I created in memory of my mother, Velma ,is taking part in The Longest Day, a fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Association.