Best Estate Planning Attorneys in Reading, PA

A living will and a durable health care power of attorney are two different documents that can be used to make decisions about your medical care in the event that you are unable to make decisions for yourself. A durable health care power of attorney, also known as a health care proxy or durable power of attorney for health care, is a document that allows you to appoint someone else, known as a "health care agent," to make health care decisions on your behalf if you are unable to do so. The health care power of attorney also allows your agent to manage your health care for you and discuss your care with providers without the need to sign HIPAA waivers. This document is utilized for positive care and positive treatment when you are not at end of life. A living will is a document that outlines your wishes for medical treatment in the event that you are in an end-state medical condition or permanently unconscious. It is a way for you to let your loved ones and health care providers know what types of treatment you do or do not want to receive when you are at end of life and unable to speak for yourself.

If you die without even a Will (intestate), the legislature of your state has already determined who will inherit your assets and when they will inherit them. You may not agree with their plan, but roughly 70 percent of Americans currently use it.

These allow you to appoint someone you know and trust to make your personal health care and financial decisions even when you cannot. If you are incapacitated without these legal documents, then you and your family will be involved in a probate proceeding known as a guardianship and conservatorship. This is the court proceeding where a judge determines who should make these decisions for you under the ongoing supervision of the court.

The look-back period for qualification for Medicaid in Pennsylvania is currently 60 months, or five years. This means that the Department of Human Services will review all financial transactions made by an applicant during the previous 60 months to determine if the applicant is eligible for Medicaid benefits. If the applicant has made any gifts or uncompensated transfers of assets during this period, he/she may be subject to a penalty period during which they will not be eligible for Medicaid benefits. The length of the penalty period will depend on the value of the gifts or transfers made during the look-back period.

Tenancy by the entireties is a form of ownership in Pennsylvania and other states by which a married couple holds property together as a single entity. This means that both spouses have an equal right to use and possess the property, and neither spouse can sell or transfer their interest in the property without the consent of the other. Tenancy by the entireties provides certain protections for the spouses, as their ownership interests in the property cannot be seized or attached by creditors of only one spouse. This means that if one spouse has debts or judgments against them, the creditor cannot take the couple's jointly owned property to satisfy those debts. Tenancy by the entireties is only available to married couples, and it is automatically created when a married couple acquires property together. It is not necessary for the couple to specifically declare that they are holding the property as tenants by the entireties, as this form of ownership is presumed under Pennsylvania law. When one spouse dies, the property is automatically considered the property of the surviving spouse by operation of law.