Two things are of critical importance when it comes to wealth: how to build it and how to keep it. If you have a family, then at some point, you may wonder how to talk to your kids about the family's wealth and how it will affect them. If you are looking to make life easier for yourself, we are happy to help with the following list containing nine tips on how to prepare children for their inheritance.

Tip #1. Educate your children about finances from an early age.

It does not matter if you are one of the 8.5% of the richest world citizens who inherited all their wealth, one of the 25% who has combined inherited and self-made wealth, or if you one of the 75% whose wealth is completely self-made. What your children learn in school about finances (if anything) does little to nothing to help them cope with the sudden inheritance of money. All children need to know and understand the value of money, the value of philanthropy, and that money is just one implement in their survival toolbox that can help accomplish their goals.

Tip #2. Share information about the family's current net worth and anticipated changes.

Only you know when your child is ready to talk about the family's finances. General discussions about finances can start at an early age while discussions about the family's net worth, the changes in family status, and strategies to maintain the family's lifestyle are probably better left to the pre-teen years and later.  Keep your mind open: your pre-teenagers may surprise you with their introspection and insights. Even the little ones can gain insight from discussions about types of savings and what it means to invest in something. Whenever you decide to talk to your kids about finances, remember to keep the discussions factual and inspirational, not stressful or overly emotional. Remember: it's not a discussion about death. It's a more general discussion about handling money.

Medicaid often provides a necessary bridge between what private insurance, and/or Medicare pay for in terms of long-term care for seniors. What many people are unaware of is that once a senior accepts Medicaid payments, they are subject to estate recovery in Louisiana.

How Does Medicaid Estate Recovery Work in Louisiana?

Once a nursing home resident who is covered by Medicaid dies, the state has a right to reclaim the expenses which were paid under Medicaid for their care. These estate recoveries apply to any care the person received beginning at age 55 and continuing through their death. The expenses may include hospital care, prescription drug payments, and facility services received in a nursing home. Estate recovery by the state may be done in a number of ways including:

• Filing a claim against the recipient's estate
• Placing a lien on the family home (if one exists)

There are limitations as to when the state is able to place a lien on the family home. For example, if the home is owned by two spouses (tenants by entirety in Louisiana), as long as the other spouse remains alive and living in the home, the state has no recourse to the property. There are other exceptions to the state's ability to seek recovery as well including:

Regardless of how long you have been married, divorce is never easy. One of the more challenging aspects of a divorce is property division. Community property laws in Louisiana, complicate property division even further. When pension plans and other retirement benefits are part of an estate, it is important to understand how the community property statutes apply.

Retirement Benefits Prior to Marriage

In some cases, retirement benefits, particularly those related to work-based accounts may have been in place prior to a marriage. In these cases, the benefits earned prior to the marriage would be considered sole property of the person whom the account was set up to benefit. These benefits are not divided between spouses upon division of assets following a divorce. The same rule would apply for any benefits earned after the couple was legally separated.

Retirement Benefits Accrued During the Marriage

Because of the community property laws in Louisiana, any money the couple placed into retirement or pension plans during the marriage is considered owned equally by both spouses. This means these funds will be distributed evenly between the spouses as part of the property division. One complicating factor which you may encounter is the vesting schedule of the pension plan.

For most people, the single biggest asset they have aside from their home is the business they own. If you started your business before you were married, you may be surprised to learn that the business may become part of the marriage dissolution negotiations. That is possible even if you were the only person whose hard work, valuable time and treasure went into making the business successful.

When Should I Start Protecting My Business From Divorce Proceedings?

The short answer is from day one.

Louisiana divorce law recognizes both separate property and community property. How your property is titled does not determine whether it is separate property or community (marital) property. The default rule in Louisiana is that married couples own property as community property. Community property includes all property acquired during the marriage through the skill, efforts, and work of both or either spouse.  Separate property that loses its identity due to commingling becomes community property. The community property rules determine how assets are divided between the spouses when the community property terminates. Community property terminates upon divorce so that means that your spouse may have a right to at least a portion of the value of business assets that you own. Community property is valued at the time of the community property settlement, or at the time a judge partitions the property.

Deciding to place your loved one in a skilled nursing facility is never an easy one. There are some steps you should take to ensure their safety, and well-being. Above all else, the care of your loved one is imperative.

1. Make Sure They Have an Updated Will

Whether your loved one is entering a facility because they are no longer able to care for themselves at home, or they have suffered an accident which makes it impossible for you to care for them, you should carefully review their current will.

In some cases, your loved one may have a living will. If this is the case, you will want to review this with them and determine if their wishes have changed. While it is possible to modify a will after admission to a skilled nursing facility, it is generally preferable to make those changes before entering a nursing home.