By Brian Andrew Tully, JD, CELA

A comprehensive estate plan should encompass, at a minimum, the client’s legal, financial, and incapacity concerns. I believe, however, that most of us focus more on the legal and financial aspects of estate planning than on incapacity concerns. The realities of aging require that we give our clients greater attention and guidance about their long-term healthcare needs. The Alzheimer’s Association estimates that one in three seniors will die with cognitive decline resulting from Alzheimer’s disease or some form of dementia. The Family Caregiver Alliance reports that an additional one in three of us will have substantial long-term care needs, which means that we will need functional assistance with three or more activities of daily living.

From a Virginia federal district court’s determination that a judgment for attorney’s fees had priority over Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax liens, to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ issuance of a final rule requiring disclosure of ownership information for nursing facilities and a new Texas law providing charging order protection for single-member limited liability companies (LLCs), we have recently seen significant developments in estate planning, elder law, and business law. To ensure that you stay abreast of these legal changes, we have highlighted some noteworthy developments and analyzed how they may impact your estate planning, elder law, and business law practice.

The estate tax exemption amount has more than doubled since 2017. However, unless Congress takes further action, the exemption amount authorized by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) will revert to its previous levels at the end of 2025. As an estate planning attorney, you can help your clients by employing certain estate planning strategies over the next two years before the sunset of the higher exemption amount. Keep reading to learn how your clients may be affected and how you may be able to assist them.