Navigating the Nightmare of Probate: Understanding Tax Law and Estate Planning with Heidi Adair

EmpowHER by SYM Financial Advisors

Navigating the Nightmare of Probate: Understanding Tax Law and Estate Planning with Heidi Adair

Heidi Adair is a partner at Beers Mallers whose legal practice is focused in the areas of Estate Planning and Elder Law. She is certified as an Estate Planning & Administration Specialist by the Indiana State Bar Estate Planning and Administration Specialty Certification Board. Heidi regularly advises clients regarding the protection of assets through the use of advanced Estate Planning and Elder Law planning. She has counseled numerous families regarding wills, Revocable Living Trusts, and the funding of those trusts, Medicaid, and nursing home expense planning, Guardianships, Powers of Attorney, Living Wills, and the probate administration process. She is also an accredited attorney for the preparation, presentation, and prosecution of claims of Veterans Affairs Benefits before the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In her free time, Heidi enjoys reading, camping trips to national parks, and visiting with her grown children.

In this conversation, Heidi shares insights on estate planning, tax law, and probate. She explains the importance of having a durable power of attorney and how to choose the right attorney. She also highlights the difference between a power of attorney and a trust, and how trusts can be used to avoid probate and protect children's inheritances. Heidi emphasizes the need to plan for long-term care, joint title accounts, and diversify funds in different baskets. She also offers tips on basic will planning and how Indiana changed its probate rules. Finally, she advises people to avoid tax problems with their parent's estate and be careful when naming a trust.

"It's just important to get into a relationship of trust with somebody so that as life twists and turns, there's people ready to walk alongside you." - Heidi Adair

This week on The EmpowHER Podcast:

• What causes probate to be a nightmare?
• How much of what he does has to do with tax law?
• The difference between a power of attorney and a durable Power of attorney.
• How to choose an attorney.
• The importance of having a power of attorney.
• Using a trust to avoid probate.
• How long-term care can eat up your estate?
• The pros and cons of having a power of attorney.
• Advice for people who don’t have their finances in order.

Our Favorite Quotes:

• "I am still surprised how many people on a routine basis that have their families, their households all squared away, but don't have estate planning documents in place." - Michelle Hipskind
• "What is a power of attorney? So a power of attorney is a document that says who can handle, it's usually broken into two different types of activities, who can handle healthcare decisions for you, if you can't handle them for yourself, and who can handle your financial decisions if you can't handle them for yourself." - Heidi Adair
• "You need to pick somebody who's good, honorable, trustworthy, sure. And then just one person, I think it's best to have a backup." - Heidi Adair
• "So maybe we can help people get over a couple of hurdles and remove a couple of obstacles that allow people to put it off." - Michelle Hipskind

Connect with Heidi Adair:

• Beers Mallers Website
• Connect on LinkedIn
• Email: [e-mail]

About SYM Financial and The EmpowHER Podcast

The EmpowHER Podcast is a platform for women to come together to gain financial insight and strategies with a tribe of brilliant women. This show is brought to you by Financial Advisor Michelle Hipskind, CFP ®. Michelle educates on the many important aspects of financial planning and brings in additional professionals that provide advice in their areas of expertise, giving listeners access to the appropriate professionals that can help solve the problems many women face. In-person events are held in the Fort Wayne, Indiana area. In addition to the podcast, local events, webinars and blogs are available for all women who want to be part of the EmpowHER community.

Email Michell at [e-mail] with questions, comments, and to schedule a one-on-one conversation.

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