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What are the pros and cons of having a life estate agreement for a parent who may have to enter a nursing home?
ConsA life estate can make it hard to sell property. There is the German who bought a rent controlled apartment from an old lady subject to a life estate. She has lived to be over 100 and he still hasn't gotten the apartment! If the property is left vacant, often the case when an aged parent goes into a nursing home, it tends to get run down and is not maintained well, reducing the resale value.ProsReserving a life estate allows the owner to sell the property, retain the right to use it for life and avoid it being part of their probate estate when they die. This could reduce the estate's taxable value. It also provides cash for the individual to pay for a nursing home or other needs.Being conveyed property by a parent who retains a life estate in property means that you have a fee interest in the property, while your parent is living, and the title will vest fully in your name when your parent dies. It also gives your parent rights to the use and possession of the property while he/she is living.The parties should discuss the situation with an attorney who can review the situation, explain the options and the consequences.ClarificationThe life estate can be drafted by an attorney so that in the event the parent can no longer live on the premises the life estate is extinguished. Any instrument that affects the title to real property should be drafted by an attorney who specializes in that area of law. Any deed or life estate can be made subject to certain conditions. Seek professional advice.
Online Paralegal Courses of Study?
A paralegal does much of what an attorney does. He drafts letters and pleadings, does deposition summaries and interviews clients. Paralegals also negotiate medical liens. In the field of civil litigation, a paralegal writes discovery documents, follows a trial checklist and prepares all pretrial documents. In the field of Workers' Compensation, a paralegal can also represent clients in court in the capacity of a hearing representative.Bachelor's DegreeA Bachelor's Degree in Paralegal Studies can be obtained online. Many four-year state colleges and universities offer this online major. There are a multitude of online private universities that offer this online degree, as well. The benefit of obtaining an online Bachelor's Degree in Paralegal Studies is that, if a paralegal eventually decides to become an attorney, his Bachelor's Degree will provide the easiest transition to law school. All the law school applicant needs is a qualifying score on the LSAT for law school entrance.Associate of Arts DegreeCommunity colleges offer an Associate's Degree of Paralegal Studies online. The largest portion of a paralegal's job is preparing court forms and pleadings. So an online paralegal course of study lends itself perfectly this particular major.Paralegal CertificateA paralegal certificate can be obtained online through a university's extension program or private online school. Usually this involves several very condensed core subjects and two or three areas of legal specialization, such as Probate Law, Civil Litigation or Family Law. In these specialties, the paralegal student undergoes a very intense course of study online.Pros and ConsA paralegal's salary is well under that of an attorney for doing much of the same work. Also, a paralegal must have a good eye for detail because legal filings are replete with dates, statutes and deadlines. A positive for obtaining a paralegal degree online is that it is a good stepping stone to law school. Many law firms will pay a paralegal's law school costs, in exchange for the paralegal's agreement to work for that firm for a set amount of time afterwards.
Special Needs Post-Secondary Education and Training?
College is an option for anyone willing to give it a go. If the option is not feasible due to personal circumstances, including special needs, your dreams can live on with alternative college paths. Vocational rehabilitation training will give you the same college benefits in many respects as traditional post-secondary education. For the thousands of special needs students who attend these schools annually, on and off-campus housing, socialization, career preparation, and desired course study are all attainable through vocational rehabilitation schools.Specific Educational GoalsA student navigating through the special education services provided in their school district will have be at least informed on vocational rehabilitation training services by the time they reach the end of high school. Schools start early on providing parents with bits of information on what is out there for their child once they leave high school. Federal law mandates when the student is 16 years old implementation of a transition plan into the world after graduation begins. Based on what the student’s goals are, college planning will take place or testing and acceptance into vocational rehabilitation program is given if other choices are unsuitable. In either direction the student may be going the educational team works together to make their particular goal a reality.Testing for College or Alternative PathsA counselor through the state rehabilitation department will perform a battery of tests to ascertain knowledge of the student’s achievements, abilities, and outlook. Her sole responsibility is to help disabled persons make a better life for themselves through education and employment, as rehabilitation involves learning in the classroom and by doing in the field. The best way for a vocational counselor to go about collecting all of the artifacts and data need is to find out how employable a student with interviews, past work examples, and diagnostic information. At the end of this series of events over a course of several weeks to months, the team will converge to work on a new plan of goals and objectives for the student to accomplish. Students have a large amount of input in this process and get the final say so on what kind of action they will take once the plan is shared with them. If they decided to proceed with the vocational rehabilitation, they can enroll in courses at the earliest term of their convenience.Study at Home or Abroad: Pros and ConsA positive point about vocational training is when students start attendance there, parents usually do not have to be concerned much about paying for it all. States allocate money for special populations and in most states a wheelchair bound student or a deaf student would qualify for assistance. Room and board, books, and transportation are all provided to students in these well-developed programs that have been in existence for several decades now. These schools hire some of the best educators and healthcare professionals to accommodate students that the state can acquire. However, there are less than positive aspects to consider with vocational rehabilitation training such as living away from home, which can be a major issue for a family not used to living apart. In lesser-populated states, services are commonly spread out across the state so that more citizens can take advantage of what is available. Sometimes this works out as planned but in many cases it does not. Families find themselves detached from each other due to lack of transportation or money to visit. Because of this issue, families must strongly debate the pros and cons on every level for the student.For most students, this and other alternatives to orthodox college learning could not be a better fit for their special needs. To counteract any fears about what could go wrong or what the student may miss at vocational school versus a junior college or university, a 5-year plan is suggested. Skeptics will say that this is unnecessary, as the student will only attend for several months to a couple of years. Personal needs should always outweigh the status quo for any student and this approach must be compounded for students with unique abilities. Long range planning is best when done in a broad scope as well as with a microscopic lens view. Both methods support the original plan, which is the student’s high school educational plan, drawn up and initiated in hopes to give the student a viable chance at success in spite of their lack of desire or ability to earn a college degree.
