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Attorney Mary Ann Thomas
 Promote Your Health or Elder Care Related Service Here Attorney Mary Ann Thomas is a lawyer specializing in elder law. Her office, located in N. Royalton Ohio serves seniors and their families in the greater Cleveland Ohio regions. Attorney Mary Ann is also active with Adult Guardianship Services recruiting caring individuals who would like to volunteer helping older adults that are typically alone and vulnerable. You may contact Attorney Thomas at 440-237-2800. Her office is located at 12800 York Road, Suite 2, N. Royalton OH 44133. EVERYBODY NEEDS ESTATE PLANNINGYou don’t need to be Donald Trump or LeBron James to do some estate planning. Everyone should have the three basic estate planning documents-
All clients get different advice and have different documents. Why? Because each case is different, each family is different, and each one’s goals are different. You may have a lot of assets so you have estate tax issues. You may be sickly so you have long term care issues. You may like your privacy so you have probate issues. You may own real estate in different states so you may have trust issues. You may have minor children so you have protection issues. You see, the list can go on for pages! Each decade of your life brings different issues. In your twenties, you want fun, clothes, cars, vacations, and entertainment. In your thirties, you may be looking to get married or buy a house. In your forties, you may be putting kids through college. In your fifties, you may have an eye toward retirement. In your sixties, you most likely will be retiring. Each decade has different estate planning needs so each must get different advice. And, the advice can change based upon the changing landscape of each client. For example, you are a healthy 50-something who gets diagnosed with MS and the prognosis is that you will require long-term care in the not too distant future. What now! We make adjustments to your estate plan to accommodate your new situation. My Story – How and Why I became an AttorneyMy working career began as a 4th grade school teacher. When my husband was accepted into law school, he would tell me different fact patterns from the cases he was studying. I always seemed to get the answer right but never really knew the reason why. He felt I had a good instinct about legal matters and encouraged me to apply to law school. Having two little girls, I was a bit apprehensive but decided to give it a try. After all, what chance did a married woman with children in the ‘70’s have of being accepted into law school.Well, guess what? I was accepted! I don’t think there was a more enthusiastic student than I. The classes were stimulating, the material was interesting, and I was learning concepts that I never knew existed. I particularly enjoyed my real property classes. My professor had us reading cases from the 1800’s from books in the law library. This was before computer research! Anyway, the books were old and the pages were yellowed. The books gave off that unmistakable aged odor. I was thoroughly enthralled. It was amazing that case law made in the 1800’s was still good law today. It surely is a testament to the judges of that era. Probate class was the same. I have always enjoyed genealogy and tried to trace my family tree as far as possible. Many issues in probate revolve around decedent’s relatives. Are you a blood relative? What if a person is you half-brother? Is that different from being a stepbrother? What about an adopted sibling? And then there was the litigating of words like “and”, “or”, “equally”, to name a few. It was truly amazing how far an heir would go to share in a decedent’s estate. Then there were classes that were just beyond my scope of interest. Did anyone really care about all those banking laws and the IRS Code? WOW! BORING!! But, then, that is what my friends thought about probate and real property. So, I guess, you don’t find the area of law you want to practice, it finds you. My PracticeIt just seemed natural that since probate and real property law “found” me, I needed to go in that direction. Because probate usually deals with the senior population, it was only logical that my first clients were the seniors. It was great for me because I love the senior population. I talk loudly so they are able to hear me on the phone and in my office. I laugh at their stories, cry with them during rough times, and encourage them when they are down.One of my first clients was a lady who still lived on some acreage in North Royalton where she maintained a chicken coop, complete with chickens, and quite a large vegetable garden. She didn’t have much money so she often would give me $5 which she thought was a fair price for the work I would do for her. Sometimes, when she really thought $5 was too low, she would bring me fresh eggs or a fresh chicken to make for dinner. How could you not think that was so heart warming! My clients bring me homemade candy. One makes her own marshmallow for chocolate covered marshmallow eggs. Another loves to bake but can’t eat it all so she stops by with cookies, cheesecake, bread…whatever she has baked that day. I guess it is easy for me to say that my clients become my family and when one of them passes, it is very emotional for me. That is why I cry with my clients during the rough times. COUNSELINGMore often than not, I am a counselor. I suppose attorneys discovered that years ago, hence the title, “Attorney and Counselor at Law”. Clients always need advice on how to handle their estate, children, their grief, etc. They oftentimes need validation on a decision they are about to make. I don’t always agree with my clients and tell them so and why I disagree. Sometimes, my advice is to wait, and at other times, I ask, “Why are you waiting?”The depression generation feels a great need to leave their children an inheritance. And, that inheritance has to be equal among all of their children. I often tell clients that “fair is not equal”, a phrase I have borrowed from my husband. Think about it for a moment. You have a child who is always attentive and helps you as much as possible, while another doesn’t even call regularly, send you a card for Mother’s/Father’s Day, and for Christmas will send a bouquet of flowers with a note written by the florist. The children don’t act fair, so should you? Of course you will be conflicted and choices are difficult. This is one way I help clients. I have clients of this generation with drug or alcohol addicted children. These children (the boomer generation) are in their 40’s or 50’s. Should addicted children be left $50,000 or more in an inheritance? Yet, disinheritance is so difficult, therefore, I try to find alternatives, like purchasing a pre-need funeral for such a child, or establishing a trust for the addicted child’s children (client’s grandchildren). Boomer clients are just the opposite. They do not feel the need to leave an inheritance for their children. “Whatever is left is theirs!” seems to be the boomer generation attitude. That generation feels that it did for their children and the boomers have made a conscious decision to enjoy their lives and spend their money. The boomers like to work and are hard-working people, often having very stressful occupations. They made and saved a lot of money. In addition, they are getting large inheritances from their parents who are oftentimes close to being millionaires! In retirement, the boomer philosophy seems to be to enjoy the fruits of their labor without an eye toward leaving that inheritance to their children. About MeThere are many attributes that I can use to describe me. Suffice it to say, I am honest and trustworthy, rare qualities found among my profession if you believe the TV. My clients think I am kind and caring, but my kids will tell you something different, so don’t ask them! I try to explain the course of action we are going to undertake. I believe that it is important that my clients understand the options and why certain options were chosen over others. It is never my practice to “sell” a client something he/she really doesn’t need. For example, if a client really does not need a trust, even though he/she has come into my office with that in mind, I will tell him why a Last Will & Testament would work just fine even though I can make more money drafting a trust.I can be kind and caring like I mentioned before. However, never confuse kindness with stupidity! I can be a real bulldog if the need arises. I have been told that I am no shrinking violet and can take on the best of them. I have had a few cases where the opposing attorney was from a large downtown law firm. Nevertheless, my clients prevailed. My office is in North Royalton but I service Cuyahoga, Medina and Summit Counties. I will do home, hospital, and nursing home visits, for those clients who are unable to come to my office. My practice encompasses the areas of Wills & Trusts, Estate Planning, Elder Law, Guardianship, Real Estate, Contracts, and Deeds.
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