Emerging Issues in North Carolina Elder Law for 2025

Emerging Issues in North Carolina Elder Law 2025

As we head into Spring, it’s a good time to evaluate the trends that affect elder law and estate planning in North Carolina. At McIntyre Elder Law, our attorneys and estate planning team are always evolving to address the unique needs of the aging population. This article discusses five of the top trends we are experiencing as elder law and estate planning attorneys in North Carolina.

Integration of Technology in Estate Planning

Legal professionals are increasingly adopting digital tools to streamline, secure and simplify the estate planning processes. This includes the use of powerful estate planning software, AI-assisted legal research tools, digital asset management, and secure online communication platforms to enhance efficiency and accessibility for clients.

At McIntyre Elder Law, our attorneys and estate planning drafters work closely with our clients to customize their estate planning documents to reflect their personal preferences. We provide our clients with hard copies of their estate planning documents in a secure and professional binder for safekeeping, and we also offer bank level encrypted eDocs access to our clients for their estate planning documents so that they are readily available on the go and in the event of an emergency.

McIntyre Elder Law also offers an annual review of your estate plan to make sure that we stay plugged in to your needs, and can offer legal advice when you need to amend or change your estate plan as your life circumstances change.

Emphasis on Long-Term Care Planning

With rising healthcare costs and the threats to social security funding, there’s a growing concern among our clients and community members on planning for long-term care. Our attorneys employ strategies to protect your assets from potential Long Term Care Medicaid spend-down requirements and help you gain access to quality care facilities.

At McIntyre Elder Law, we have an entire team within our firm that is solely dedicated to helping our clients and their family members apply for and retain Long Term Care Medicaid government benefits. You don’t have to give up everything you’ve worked for your entire life to qualify for long term care benefits provided by the federal government. We regularly provide advice and support to families in need of emergency placement into a care facility.

We have local relationships with referral partners who can help get individuals matched with the ideal facility and level of care. McIntyre Elder Law also has a litigation division that is poised to take on caretakers and/or facilities who engage in nursing home abuse and/or exploitation of elders.

Increased Use of Trusts for Asset Protection

To safeguard assets from potential creditors and to manage estate taxes, more individuals are utilizing various types of trusts, such as Revocable Living trusts, Irrevocable trusts, Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts, Discretionary Trusts, Special Needs Trusts and others. These trust instruments help in efficient asset distribution and protection – and keep your estate plan private.

We can match your individual situation and asset protection needs with the type of trust that will best protect your assets and provide the flexibility needed for you to qualify for long term care government benefits or other available programs that support elder care. McIntyre Elder Law attorneys work seamlessly with your financial advisor, medical providers, accountants, tax advisors and other professionals to craft an estate plan with a trust that is customized to your needs.

Focus on Guardianship Alternatives

There’s a trend toward exploring alternatives to traditional guardianship, such as powers of attorney and advance directives. These alternatives allow you to maintain more control over your affairs and reduce the need for court-appointed guardianships. In 2024, North Carolina revamped its guardianship statutes to include a “least restrictive means test” to limit the power of legal guardians and to allow the ward to retain control over their lifestyle and individual rights. However, avoiding the need for a legal guardianship is preferred and can be easily avoided with proper estate planning.

We strongly advise our clients to have appropriate power of attorney documents in place establishing comprehensive powers to your designated and trusted agent to avoid the need for a legal guardianship. The financial cost of a legal guardianship can easily be 10x the cost your would pay for power of attorney documents. Furthermore, having an agent (and successor agents) appointed under a power of attorney avoids the stress of having the Court involved in the process of deciding the competency of you or your loved ones and who is best suited to be your legal guardian.

If you don’t make a plan, the Court may appoint a total stranger who is a local attorney in your county to be your legal guardian. While these attorney guardians do a great job, it is not the same level of attention as a trust family member can provide. Guardianship proceedings can become very contentious and can result in catastrophic disagreement, unnecessary confusion and resentment within a family unit.

Planning for Digital Assets

As digital assets become more prevalent, estate planning now includes crafting provisions for online accounts, digital currencies (cryptocurrency or BitCoin), NFTs and intellectual property. Ensuring these assets are properly managed and transferred is becoming a critical component of comprehensive estate planning.

In 2016, North Carolina law was changed to better facilitate the transfer and management of digital assets. The Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA – N.C.G.S. §36F, et. seq.) gave individuals the power to designate a fiduciary who can gain access to your digital assets upon your death or incapacity. Those fiduciaries include executors, agents, trustees and guardians. The law applies only to personal accounts, not to employer-issued accounts. The reformed North Carolina law makes it easier to grant the Executor of your will and/or your agent(s) access to your digital assets. This new law puts the burden on individuals to direct who can access their digital assets, either through an online tool or in their legal documents.

As a compromise between estate planners, who wanted automatic access to all digital assets, and the digital providers requiring more privacy safeguards (and arguably protection for themselves), the law is not a complete cure for the problems with digital assets. Still, it greatly improves the situation surrounding digital assets and fiduciaries needing access to them.

Final Thoughts

Our attorneys at McIntyre Elder Law are cognizant of these emerging trends and are ready to work with you and your loved ones to create a customized estate plan to meet your unique needs.

Schedule a free consultation today by visiting mcelderlaw.com/scheduling or calling 1-888-999-6600.