We have just had our annual review with Ted Brown. As always, it was a pleasant experience. My parents have been with the firm for 20 years, and we always have a positive experience with the firm. They guided us patiently with our legal matters when my father died, and they have been gracious, efficient, and thorough in their dealings with my mother. They are prompt to return calls, always prepared for our meetings, and make us feel that they are genuinely concerned about us. As my mother's trustee, I appreciate their advice and direction. On a personal note, my mother has been hospitalized and has had several medical issues this past year. They have been the first to send a get well card several different times. A small thing, but we felt it was a very important gesture. We appreciate the great legal advice and wonderful treatment.
What We Didn't Know Life's Work-Estate Planning=Disaster
During the one hour ride to Centerburg she wanted me to school her on questions to ask. I gave her just one, "what are the benefits to and estate plan and why should I do it"? Let the attorney fill in the blanks and ask questions as they arise. Sixty-three months later, I can say without question the hour we spent that day was the most important event in this family's history. Wow, you might ask why I would say that, because of WHAT WE DIDN'T KNOW. WE DIDN'T KNOW THE FUTURE or what was in it, WE DIDN'T KNOW that doing nothing was putting three generations of work at risk.
Robert R. Mc Daniel
If your reading this what does the future hold for your family? Only God can answer that question and that is why the meeting we had with Keith 63 months ago is the most important financial event in our family's history.
Sixty three months ago my 82 year old mother-in-law ask if I would attend a meeting with an attorney who was going to introduce her and her husband to some kind of elder law estate planning. She has spent the last 45 years working to pay for the renovation of her childhood home.
We went to Cooper and Adel over a year ago and have been very pleased with their services. It's so nice to find people who are experts in elder law that can guide you and help protect your assets and they are only a phone call or email away when needed. We would highly recommend them!
Attorney Brown did an excellent job handling my parents estate and although the probate experience is never easy, his knowledge and experience made it a very smooth process. I highly recommend this firm.
Four years later it was apparent that my father-in-law was in failing health and was going to need assistance. WHAT WE DIDN'T KNOW, until Keith explained it, was a benefit called Aid and Attendance was available for my father-in-law because he was a Korean War veteran. We provided Keith with the necessary paperwork and he developed the strategy of how to frame up the Aid and Attendance request. A month later the VA approved the request with back benefits over $10,000. The following month my father-in-law started receiving and additional $1,700 a month until his death three weeks ago. That benefit allowed my wife and I to move him and my mother-in-law into a basement apartment we built 17 years ago hoping it would never be needed. WHAT WE DIDN'T KNOW was having the opportunity to take care of him at home in his final year would be priceless.
At the end of that meeting I firmly insisted that they allow the attorney to take charge of mapping out their financial future. The list of land mines that appeared to be in their future was now in the hands of a highly skilled professional, Keith Stevens. Over the nest several weeks we provided him with a portfolio of information on assets, income, and military service. It was a challenge to putt everything he needed together because WE DIDN'T KNOW, you get the picture.
We went back a month later to review the plan he mapped out for our family. The largest asset and the greatest risk was the third generation farm that he put into a trust. He also setup a second called the family trust which could be used for day to day activities. WHAT WE DIDN'T KNOW until he explained it was the administration of each trust and the risk of violating terms and condition of those requirements.
WHAT WE DIDN'T KNOW, until Keith explained it, was the greatest asset has to be in the trust for 60 months to be fully protected. In our case, the Aid and attendance money we received that allowed us to care for my father-in-law instead of going in a nursing home avoided that loss. A year in a nursing home would have cost between $75,000 and $100,000 depending on the level of care that would have been required.
Last week we met with Keith to review the trust and discuss mu mother-in-law's declining health. WHAT WE DIDN'T KNOW, until Keith explained, was that she may qualify for spousal Aid and Attendance. Keith is developing the plan and how to approach the VA to give us the best chance for benefit approval.
I am extremely satisfied with the services of Cooper, Adel and Associates. I am an attorney and I realize that most general practice attorneys try to help their clients in anyway that they can. It wasn’t until I met with Mr. Adel that I truly appreciated what working with an Elder Law Specialist means to a family. As one can imagine, being an attorney myself, I wanted to sit in the planning sessions with my parents so I could help them understand what was going to happen. Nothing made my mom happier than when Mr. Adel suggested I sit in on all the meetings. At the end, I felt comfortable that we were hiring the right firm. Truth is, I didn’t even have to be there, Mr. Adel was able to explain complex legal strategies in an easy to understand format. I would recommend his firm to anyone who needs assistance with estate planning and/or nursing home planning.
WHAT WE DID'T KNOW 63 months ago was what the future was going to hold for our family and what doing nothing would cost. Today WE KNOW; the farm that 3 generations worked to preserve would be gone. I can't write the final chapter of our family's story because I have no way of knowing the future. What I fill very confident in predicting is Keith Stevens will continue to put our minds at ease in regards to our financial future.
Cooper Adel Associates is a US Finance company based in Centerburg, Ohio. Cooper Adel Associates is located at 36 W Main St, Centerburg, OH 43011, USA.
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