July 2025 | Issue 53..............................................................Click to View Online | | Last Will & Testament Horror Story | | |
We have many employees who are not originally from Ohio and have families who live out of state. As much as we would like to write wills for our employees’ out-of-state family members, we are legally prohibited from doing so because our attorneys are licensed to practice law only in Ohio.
Just this past month, a situation occurred with an employee’s deceased family member’s will that was a case of a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) will gone horribly wrong. To save money, the relative of the employee decided to write his own will. In the 40 years of our practice, we have admitted a handful of DIY wills to the probate court upon a decedent’s death because the wills were self-canceling, which means that there is information in the will that negates what is written. On many occasions, the DIY will presented to us had to be set for hearing due to issues with the will that caused the court to question the validity of the will, like the infamous will that gave us the content for this story.
The will at the center of this story had language in it expressing the desire to give the decedent’s house and tangible personal property to the decedent. Yes, we said that. The person wrote in his will that when he died, he wanted his house and his household items to be given to himself. It goes without saying that giving a house to oneself is impossible.
Until the case involving this employee’s family member’s will, probably one of the craziest things we have seen was a DIY will that gave all the decedent’s “stuff” to a specific person. Yes, the word “stuff” was used in the will. In legal terms, the word “stuff” can have a lot of interpretations, and so that particular will caused a hearing at the probate court to determine the validity of the will.
Although we make light of these matters at our office, we realize that often the motivation behind a person writing his or her own will is saving money; however, in many cases, it costs more money to discern the meaning of the DIY will after a person’s death. That is why we do not encourage the act of taking the law into your own hands by producing a self-cancelling legal document that can have catastrophic consequences for the intended heirs of your estate, or you, if you make yourself your own beneficiary (wink, wink). To be blunt, a saying attributed to Abraham Lincoln is, "He who represents himself has a fool for a client."
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“Is my trust funded?” This is a question we were recently asked by a client with whom we hadn’t met in over 5 years. This client is highly educated, and yet she still asked a question that is akin to a person asking us “How much money do I have in my wallet?” Of course, it is very unlikely that we would know the answer to either of those questions because we don’t have access to our client’s “wallet,” figuratively and literally.
About once a year, we feel the need to remind our readers about the importance of funding their trusts. Many people mistakenly believe that simply obtaining a trust will enable their estates to avoid probate and save estate taxes. We are distressed that some of our clients sign their trust documents and then neglect to fund their trusts, or neglect to have regular estate plan review appointments with us to look over how their assets are titled to ensure that their estate planning goals are met.
Although we ask those who have signed trusts to schedule a follow-up meeting with us to show us proof of their trust funding, some clients decide to not do so. The result is that the assets not in the trust may be exposed to probate, asset collection efforts, and possibly estate taxes, which defeats several material reasons for setting up a trust.
Funding your trust is crucial because your trust controls only those assets actually owned by or payable on death (POD) or transferable on death (TOD) to the trustee.
Any assets not owned by, POD, or TOD to the trust may (1) need to be probated after your death, (2) be subject to statutory marital rights if you remarry, or (3) not be eligible for transfer to your trust after your death to regulate distributions to the beneficiaries (such as minor children), which may defeat your key reasons for setting up your trust. Therefore, you should carefully attend to this important step in your estate plan.
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A Hard Pill to Swallow
Lawyers are often the bearers of bad news, and as the saying goes, “The lawyer is the messenger who gets shot.” Unfortunately, our lawyers are often shot when telling stressed-out caregivers that their terminally ill parents or spouses' nursing home care is not covered by Medicare or health insurance. We repeat the same facts over and over: “You have three options for paying for the long-term nursing care for your spouse or parent: 1) Medicaid (You are broke and on welfare.); 2) Long-term care insurance policy; or 3) Private pay.” (We explain more about the options available through our Elder Law page on our website, which has helpful links to resources about various elder care topics. )
A resource that is a somewhat newer option for paying for a nursing facility or home care is a short-term extended care policy, which is an alternative option for paying for care costs. Our wonderful longtime client and friend, Ray Copenheaver, offered to write an article about this alternative hybrid insurance that may be of interest to people who can’t qualify or afford a traditional long-term care policy. Ray is a legend in the long-term care insurance arena and has a wealth of knowledge about this topic. Ray not only wrote this article for us to share, but he is also willing to speak to anyone who wants a better understanding of the different options available to pay for nursing home care.
Read the article that Ray wrote below to learn more:
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Cost Effective Planning for Extended Care in your Golden Years
by Ray Copenhaver, CLTC
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Our independence is so important, but the need for extra care often arrives in our golden years, and it impacts 65% of Americans. The extra care involves the need for very personal assistance beyond the doctor and hospital. This type of care is often referred to as long-term care or custodial care, which is very personal, so often the “care burden” is imposed on family who are responsible to be the caregivers.
While long-term care insurance plans are an option for covering caregiver costs, these plans are costly, and qualifying for a plan is often difficult. However, there is a new extended care insurance plan policy that is affordable and allows you to stay in your home and “age in place” while relieving your family of the care burden.
These affordable plans have a much lower premium cost than long-term care insurance policies and are available up to age 89. You get to choose where your care is provided, and many plans even cover care provided by your family or friends. The benefits include reimbursement for a facility or home care that is paid directly to you tax free. Plus, if the cash benefits exceed your costs, you keep the extra dollars for the future.
Because neither health insurance nor Medicare provides benefits for long-term care in your home and pays very limited amounts for a short period in a facility, you should consider one of these plans and relieve your family of the burden of care. Let your family care about you, not have to care for you, and provide peace of mind for you and to your loved ones.
If you would like to have a discussion about these new extended care insurance policies that are an alternative to traditional long-term care insurance, you may contact Ray at 937-545-9844 or rcopenheaver@ltcinsuranceagency.com and Ray will discuss the available options with you.
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Congratulations, Trisha!
We are celebrating the 15-year work anniversary of our wonderful Fiduciary Services Manager, Trisha Webb! Trisha has been the fearless leader of our Fiduciary Department since 2010, ensuring that all the clients for whom one of our attorneys serves as POA Agent or Guardian have an advocate for all their medical, financial, and personal needs. Trisha is the most caring and giving person at our office, and the clients for whom she serves consider Trisha a part of their extended family. Thank you, Trisha, for the past 15 years of your selfless acts of kindness while leading our fiduciary department; you are an integral part of our Roberson Law family.
Read more about Trisha here!
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Wealth Does Not Correlate to the Necessity of an Estate Plan! by Kristen Cochran, Attorney at Law
“I do not have a lot of money. Therefore, I do not need an estate plan.” The number of times that we attorneys hear a phrase similar to this is staggering. An idea has been propagated that wealth somehow dictates whether or not you need an estate plan. This line of thinking is dangerous for the reasons explained below. Whether you have $10,000,000 or $10 to your name, you need an estate plan.
Let’s start with the basics. What is an estate plan, anyway? At Roberson Law, we prepare comprehensive estate plans. This means that our clients have, at a minimum, a Will, General Durable Power of Attorney (financial power of attorney), a Health Care Power of Attorney and a Living Will, an Advanced Medical Directive, a HIPAA authorization, and a Right of Disposition of Remains. An estate plan is more than a Will. An estate plan not only manages your post-death affairs; an estate plan also benefits you now while you are living. For example, your General Durable Power of Attorney and Health Care Directives are crucial while you are living. Let’s say you are seriously injured in a car accident, and you are incapacitated. Your bills are still due, but you have no way to pay them. If you have a General Durable Power of Attorney in place, your agent can take care of those bills while you are unable to, so you don’t leave the hospital and come home to debt collectors at your door-step. Your Health Care Power of Attorney enables your agent to make medical decisions for you if you are incapacitated. If you do not have a Health Care Power of Attorney, no one will know your wishes, and someone you do not know may make your medical decisions for you. I doubt this is what most people would want if they were in this situation.
On the other hand, it is also important that everyone has a Will to manage his affairs after death. There seems to be confusion about what a Will actually does and why it is important. Any of your assets that are titled in your name, like your home, car, and financial accounts, must go through probate if you do not have beneficiaries listed on those assets. Assets that go through probate after you die will be distributed pursuant to your Will. Your Will tells the probate court to whom you want your assets to be distributed. If you do not have a Will, the assets will be distributed pursuant to the Ohio intestacy statute, which means that your assets will be distributed to your living next of kin, whether or not you want them to receive your estate. A Will allows you, and not the state, to decide to whom to leave your assets.
Wealth has no bearing on whether or not you should have an estate plan. These documents allow you to retain control over your affairs even if you are incapacitated or after you die. If you want to decide who will handle your financial, medical, and post-death affairs, and not let the state or someone you do not know make these decisions, you need an estate plan. We will be more than happy to assist you with preparing these documents.
Want to hear more about what Kristen Cochran has to say?
Kristen is our newest attorney, and she is trying to build her clientele. Kristen is meeting with clients for more basic planning, which includes the clients who don’t have complicated issues. She presently does not handle cases that involve long-term care asset protection planning, estate planning for blended families, or people with higher net worth. (Those types of appointments are matched with more experienced attorneys at our office.)
In order to help Kristen acquire new clients, we are offering $100.00 off initial consultations scheduled with Kristen for the month of July. While the other three attorneys are scheduling appointments 6 to 12 weeks out, Kristen has immediate openings for people who want to get their estate plan reviewed or the process started. If you would like to schedule an appointment with Kristen, please call our office at 937-643-2000 and mention this offer.
Meet Kristen by clicking here!
| | Twinning Part 1 with Megan and Kristen | |  | Twinning Part 2 with Kristina and Kaitlyn | | | Trisha and Nancy with a Client | | Linda at the Roberson Law booth for the Faith & Friends Radio event | | Mercedes's last day before baby Tommy arrives! | | | Tommy's visit to the office | | | | | |
Grief Support
Release Your Grief is the name of an article in a daily devotional book titled Open Doors by Rick Warren that can be purchased on Amazon. Grief can be a result of many different types of losses, such as the loss of someone or something due to death, divorce, or detachment. The article in Open Doors is a great reminder that if you don’t “release your grief” from your loss (whatever that loss is), then your grief will eventually be released, but in unhealthy ways that can boil over, fester, and result in self-destructive behavior.
One of the types of grief we often deal with in our office is grief over the death of a spouse or loved one. Nancy Roberson co-founded the Young Widows Support Group many years ago due to the grief that she experienced over the loss of her husband. Nancy was involved in that grief support group for over 30 years until Nancy and the group's co-founder, Pam Walker, passed the baton to others. The group is now named Young Widows of SW Ohio and is described in the image above for those who are interested in participating.
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Stay Tuned...
President Trump signed a bill into law on July 4, 2025, referred to as "The One Big Beautiful Bill." It is also known as the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act." We do not yet know the full impact on the areas of law in which we practice. Once new updates become available, however, we will advise you in future newsletters. We do know, however, that the Federal estate and gift tax exclusion amount will be increased in 2026 to $15 million per person, indexed for inflation.
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from Amy Cary, Business Manager
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