Everyone Has A Legacy
What is Legacy Care Planning in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Florida?
At Nugen Law, we refer to estate planning as Legacy Care Planning. We help people of all ages get their affairs in order by anticipating and arranging for the transfer of their estates, and deciding if going through probate or avoiding the probate is best for our clients.
Loved ones die, babies are born, relationships begin and end, and a health crisis can happen anytime; your estate plan should be an ever-evolving body of documents that continues to give you peace of mind throughout your lifetime. That’s why many of our clients participate in our Renewal Care Planning Program. Join our Renewal Care Planning after creating your Legacy and Life Care Plans, and our Legacy Care Planning attorneys ensure your plan is updated as your family, finances, and health change.
Our Services include:
- Preparing wills, trusts, advance medical directives, living wills, and durable powers of attorney
- Preparing HIPAA medical information releases
- Preparing for the transfer of wealth after death, minimizing the impact of estate taxes, and protecting estates from creditors and the creditors of the deceased’s children
- Avoiding expenses that deplete the value of the estate passed on to heirs
- Ensuring that property goes to the right heirs and inheritances are protected in the event of divorce
- Developing traditional and charitable gifting strategies
- Planning for life insurance payments, including irrevocable life insurance trusts
- Planning for marital deductions and exclusions
With the right Estate Planning, you can control the handling and distribution of your assets throughout your life and after death, reduce or eliminate taxes, avoid probate, and protect the assets of loved ones who have special needs or who may face the costs of nursing home care or assisted living facilities. The result is maximum preservation of wealth for a more significant legacy.
How to Get Started
Get help today. Find out how Nugen Law’s Estate Planning attorneys can benefit you and your loved ones in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Florida. Call 260 925-3738 or email us to schedule your consultation. Ask us about our Renewal Care Planning Program.
Protect Your Assets from In-Home, Assisted Living, and Nursing Home Costs, and Other Threats
What is Asset Protection in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Florida?
Asset protection planning through elder law principles uses wills, trusts, durable powers of attorney, gifting strategies, estate tax planning, and living wills to protect you and your assets while you’re living. Asset protection also ensures that your transfer of wealth happens the way you wish after passing away. Planning can also protect your beneficiaries from unnecessary taxation that drastically reduces their inheritance. Asset protection planning is achieved through Pre-Care Planning, Assisted Care Planning, and Crisis Care Planning.
Asset protection planning isn’t just for the rich. Anyone with a house, car, retirement account, and bank account should consider protecting assets from creditors, predators, the IRS, and the high cost of long-term care.
Nugen Law is more than a traditional estate planning and elder law firm. We are a long-established Life Care Planning law firm focusing on Legacy Care Planning, Pre-Care Planning, Assisted Care Planning, Crisis Care Planning, and Probate, with clients regularly participating in our annual Renewal Care Planning Program. Our team has over 30 years of experience as reputable and respected attorneys serving clients in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Florida. Call 260 925-3738 or email us to schedule your consultation. Ask us about our Renewal Care Planning Program.
Protecting Families for a Lifetime with Legal & Care Resources
A Legacy Care Plan created by the estate planning and elder law attorneys at Nugen Law is your path to peace of mind. Protecting assets now can benefit you and your loved ones tomorrow. Call 260 925-3738 or email us. Ask us about our Renewal Care Planning Program.
Frequently Asked Questions
Legacy Care Planning is Nugen Law’s term for estate planning, the legal process of protecting your home, assets, and loved ones through wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and related documents. The name reflects a deeper philosophy: your plan is not just about what happens after you die. It protects your life’s work and your family’s future while you are living, and it is updated regularly as your family and finances change.
A Legacy Care Plan typically includes a will or revocable living trust, a durable power of attorney for finances, a healthcare power of attorney, a living will or advance directive, and HIPAA medical information releases. Additional documents such as irrevocable trusts, life insurance trusts, and gifting strategies are added based on each client’s family structure, assets, and long-term care planning needs.
Most people benefit from both. A will names guardians for minor children and directs distribution of assets not held in a trust. A revocable living trust avoids probate, maintains privacy, and provides seamless management of assets if you become incapacitated. A pour-over will is typically used alongside a trust to capture any assets not transferred into the trust during your lifetime. An estate planning attorney can determine the right combination for your situation.
Asset protection strategies include irrevocable trusts, gifting programs, titling changes, beneficiary designation reviews, and Medicaid pre-planning. The right combination depends on your assets, age, health, and family situation. Protection from nursing home costs, which can exceed $90,000 per year in Indiana, requires planning at least five years in advance due to Medicaid’s look-back rules. Waiting until a crisis significantly limits your options.
Probate is the court-supervised process of distributing a deceased person’s assets. In Indiana, it typically takes nine to eighteen months, involves court fees, and is a matter of public record. The most effective way to avoid it is a properly funded revocable living trust combined with beneficiary designations on retirement accounts, life insurance, and bank accounts. Nugen Law reviews your full asset picture to recommend the right approach.
Dying without a will in Indiana, called dying intestate, means state law decides who receives your assets. Property may not go to the people you intended. Unmarried partners receive nothing. Minor children’s inheritances may be managed by a court-appointed guardian until age 18. Blended families and non-traditional relationships are especially vulnerable under Indiana’s default succession rules. Only a properly executed will or trust guarantees your wishes are honored.
Review your plan every three to five years, or after any major life event such as a marriage, divorce, birth, death, significant change in assets, or a move to a new state. Tax laws and Medicaid rules also change and can affect your plan’s effectiveness. Nugen Law’s Renewal Care Planning Program makes staying current simple by allowing clients to update their plans as often as needed.
Costs vary by complexity. A basic plan covering a will, power of attorney, and healthcare directive is more affordable than a comprehensive plan with trusts, tax planning, or Medicaid pre-planning. Nugen Law provides transparent pricing after an initial consultation. In nearly every case, the cost of proper estate planning is far less than the cost of probate, family disputes, or an unplanned Medicaid spend-down.