Protect your family and avoid potential headaches

Historically, wealth is squandered within three generations because families deal with real-life issues such as lawsuits, divorce, bankruptcy, nursing home expenses and family disputes.

ries, a new set of pitfalls can arise that could have your hard-earned assets going to the new spouse instead of your children and future beneficiaries.

By CLIFFORD J. RICE Elder Law Attorney Granger

Any one of these occurrences can hit home and wipe out an entire inheritance in just one generation. Plan now for both the financial and non-financial components of passing your legacy to the next generation.

You and your surviving family members will have a number of burdens and fears put to rest if your legacy can be planned with some of these potential stumbling blocks in mind:

• If your surviving spouse gets remarried, your children’s inheritance can be lost and other common mistakes made with blended families. In the event your surviving spouse remar-

• How your beneficiaries can fall victim to divorces (“ex” in-laws), lawsuits or inexperienced financial decisions. Most people give their assets outright to their heirs when they and their spouse are gone. This is a huge mistake! This type of planning almost always fails to protect your loved ones from these real-life occurrences.

• How your family can be torn apart over something as seemingly minor as “who gets grandmother’s quilt.” The biggest fights in families aren’t about money, stocks or real estate. They are about the little things that hold memories and most traditional estate plans fail to protect and pass on these valuable items.

Most families also find it important to preserve the wisdom, life lessons and history of the family. Traditional estate planning does not address these non-financial assets. Having a proper estate plan will help you to avoid your own potential hidden headaches by helping you protect your family and your legacy.

Our goal is to make sure you have all the information you need to ensure that none of these life-wrenching events happen to you or your family. Since our practice focuses exclusively on elder law and estate planning, it is our priority to be on top of the continuous changes in the law and techniques we can make available to you. Learn more about the benefits and protections of an estate plan by attending our estate planning/ Medicaid planning seminar at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, 902 E. University Drive, Granger, at 6 p.m. Monday, May 22, or Tuesday, May 30. Reservations are required as seating is limited. Call now at (800) 303-7423 or visit www.riceandrice.com to register of for further information.

VISOR CARDS — The Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services, Indiana School for the Deaf and Indiana Committee for Communication Access collaborated and developed these visor cards for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, to use at a traffic stop. If the person, who is deaf or hard of hearing, has difficulty hearing or understanding the police officer, they can have the officer point to the offense they have been pulled over for.

To download a copy, visit in.gov/fssa/ddrs/rehabilitation-employment/deaf-and-hard-of-hearing.

Blue Collar Antiques — Valuating your antiques and collectibles

By MATT DANBURY Blue Collar Antiques

My company, Blue Collar Antiques, buys and sells a variety of antiques and collectibles. We also purchase entire estates. This time of year, a lot of people are spring cleaning and having garage sales. Make sure you are not throwing away anything that is worth good money. If you find anything weird or unusual, I would be happy to look at it for you. I am always looking for military items, comic books, baseball cards, antiques, old toys, advertising items, coins, jewelry and much more.

I have always enjoyed antiques and have a deep appreciation for history. I go to several auctions each week which helps me stay current with what people are buying and how much items are selling for. I also subscribe to many research sites. I am able to find the market value for almost any item you may have.

I have been in business for over 15 years. I believe in treating people fairly. Because of this, a big part of my business comes from referrals or repeat clients. Often when people call me to look at their collections or estates, they are pleasantly surprised to learn that items they considered worthless are actually very valuable. I would recommend to anyone that before items are discarded or given away, please give me the opportunity or someone with experience in antiques to take a look at it for valuation.

Since I have been in business for so long, I have established many contacts in the industry. Even if you have something that I do not buy, many times I can at least give you a value for it, put you in contact with someone who would buy it or tell you the best way to go about selling it. You can contact me at (219) 794-6500.