Elder Law

If you’ve ever sat down to look at a draft of a Will or a Trust, you’ve probably felt like you were reading a different language. Between the "heretofore"s and the "witnesseth"s, there are a few Latin phrases that usually make people stop and scratch their heads. One of the most common: and most important: is per stirpes. It sounds like a complicated medical condition, doesn't it? But in reality, per stirpes is a simple concept that determines how your hard-earned assets travel down through your family tree if one of your children passes away before you do. In our ...

If you are a parent in Virginia, your "to-do" list is probably miles long. Between soccer practices, school plays, and trying to remember if it’s library book day, estate planning often ends up on the back burner. We get it. Thinking about what happens if you aren’t around is heavy. It’s much easier to focus on the next grocery run. But here is the reality we see every day at Don Shaw Law: estate planning isn't actually about you. It’s about them. It’s about making sure that if the unthinkable happens, your kids are cared for by the people you ...

You did it. You sat down, talked through the hard stuff, and signed your estate planning documents. You finally have a Revocable Living Trust (RLT) in place to protect your family and keep your private affairs out of the Virginia probate courts. You probably feel a huge sense of relief, and you should! But here’s the thing we often see at Don Shaw Law: a trust is only as good as the work you do after you sign it. We like to think of a Revocable Living Trust as a “box with no lid.” It’s a wonderful container designed to ...

If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’ve recently experienced one of those "oh man, I’m an adult now" moments. Maybe you just bought your first home in Northern Virginia, or perhaps you’re currently surviving on caffeine and three hours of sleep because a new baby just joined the family. First off, congratulations! Those are the best parts of life. But with those big milestones comes a nagging feeling in the back of your mind: What happens if I’m not here? We know, we know. Estate planning is about as fun as a root canal. Most young families think ...

Losing someone is hard enough without having to worry about court dates, filing fees, and the mountain of paperwork that usually follows. If you’ve just lost a loved one in Virginia, you’ve probably heard the word “probate” tossed around. It sounds intimidating, like something only a lawyer with a three-piece suit and a mahogany desk should touch. But here’s the truth: in Virginia, you aren’t legally required to hire a lawyer to handle probate. You can do it yourself. The real question is: should you? We talk to families every day who are standing at this exact crossroads. Some are ...

It usually starts with small things. Maybe your mom, who used to be the queen of balancing the checkbook, is suddenly missing utility payments. Or perhaps your dad is getting confused about his medications or wandering off during his afternoon walks. Watching a parent lose their independence is one of the hardest things any of us will go through. It’s emotional, it’s exhausting, and it’s often confusing. When it reaches a point where they can no longer make safe decisions for their health or their finances, you might find yourself looking for a legal way to step in and help. ...

Watching a loved one struggle to manage their daily life or finances is one of the hardest things a family can go through. Whether it’s due to a sudden medical emergency, a long-term illness, or the natural progression of aging, there often comes a point where "helping out" isn’t enough anymore. You might find yourself unable to pay their bills, manage their house, or talk to their bank because you don’t have the legal authority to do so. In Virginia, that’s where the roles of guardians and conservators come in. But before you dive into the court system, it’s important ...

When a loved one starts to struggle with daily life, maybe they're forgetting to pay the mortgage or they’re no longer making safe decisions about their healthcare, it's an incredibly heavy weight to carry. We see families in our Northern Virginia office every week who are trying to navigate this exact situation. They want to help, but they aren’t sure what legal "hat" they need to wear. In Virginia, if someone can no longer manage their own affairs, the court might need to step in and appoint a legal decision-maker. That person is usually a guardian, a conservator, or often ...

If you’re a young parent in Virginia, your "to-do" list probably feels like it's a mile long. Between soccer practices, daycare runs, and just trying to get dinner on the table, the last thing you want to think about is what happens if you’re not there. It’s heavy stuff, and honestly, it’s easy to push "estate planning" to the bottom of the pile. But here’s the thing: we often talk to families in Northern Virginia who think a Revocable Living Trust (RLT) is only for the ultra-wealthy or people getting ready to retire. In reality, for a young family with ...

Losing someone close to you is never easy. Between the emotional weight of saying goodbye and the sudden flood of logistics, it’s completely normal to feel a bit overwhelmed. One of the biggest questions we hear from families in Northern Virginia is: "Do I really need to hire a lawyer for probate, or is this something I can tackle on my own?" The short answer is that Virginia law doesn’t force you to hire an attorney to handle an estate. You are allowed to walk into the Circuit Court in Fairfax, Loudoun, or Prince William County and start the process ...