The Law Offices of Brandon S. Steele

08/28/2026

My health insurance is through my spouse’s employer. What happens if I file for divorce?

This is a real concern, especially when one spouse has relied on the other spouse’s employer-sponsored health insurance for years.

First, filing for divorce does not ordinarily mean your health insurance disappears that day. While you are still legally married, you will generally remain eligible for coverage under a spouse’s employer plan, subject to the terms of that particular plan and any court orders entered in the divorce.

The bigger issue is what happens when the divorce becomes final.

Once you are no longer legally married, you generally cannot remain covered as a spouse under your former spouse’s employer-sponsored health plan. That means health insurance needs to be part of the financial planning for the divorce—not something you start thinking about afterward.

Depending on the circumstances, options may include COBRA continuation coverage, coverage through your own employer, or purchasing coverage through the health insurance marketplace. Divorce also generally creates a special enrollment opportunity, so you may not have to wait for the normal open-enrollment period.

And don’t forget about the children. Your divorce and your children’s health insurance are separate issues. A parenting plan can address which parent maintains insurance for the children and how premiums, deductibles, copays, prescriptions, and other uncovered medical expenses are divided.

Divorce changes more than who lives in the house and who gets what property. There are practical financial consequences that need to be planned for before the final order is entered.

The Steele Firm, PLLC
Get Real. Call Steele.

08/28/2026

My child has a disability. Can an inheritance cause them to lose benefits?

Potentially, yes—and this is exactly why estate planning for a child with a disability requires more than simply writing a will.

Some government benefits available to people with disabilities are means-tested. Eligibility can depend upon the recipient having limited income and assets. An inheritance left directly to your child can potentially push them over those limits and jeopardize benefits they depend upon.

The solution often isn’t to leave them less.

It’s to leave it to them differently.

A properly structured Special Needs Trust can allow assets to be held and managed for your child’s benefit without simply placing the inheritance directly in their name. Those funds can then supplement qualifying government benefits and help provide for your child’s quality of life.

There may also be other planning tools worth considering, including an ABLE account, depending upon your child’s circumstances.

And this planning should go beyond your own will. Grandparents and other family members who intend to leave money directly to the child can unintentionally create the same problem. Your estate plan needs to coordinate with the people who may someday leave assets to your child.

For parents of a child with a disability, estate planning isn’t simply about deciding who gets your money.

It’s about making sure the money you spent a lifetime building actually helps your child without unintentionally taking something else away.

The Steele Firm, PLLC
Get Real. Call Steele.

08/27/2026

My child has special needs. How does that affect the parenting plan?

A parenting plan is supposed to fit the child. The child should not have to fit the parenting plan.

When a child has special needs, a court may have to consider things that simply aren’t issues in the average custody case: medical appointments, therapy, medications, school services, transportation, accessibility, behavioral needs, established routines, and each parent’s ability to understand and meet those needs.

That does not automatically mean one parent gets more time. It also doesn’t necessarily mean that a 50/50 schedule cannot work.

The question is still what arrangement serves the best interests of this particular child.

Sometimes consistency between households becomes especially important. Sometimes exchanges need to be structured differently. A child’s treatment schedule may affect parenting time. Parents may need much more detailed provisions about medical decisions, communication with providers, medications, therapy, or educational services.

The important part is recognizing that there is no one-size-fits-all parenting plan.

If your child has special needs, the goal shouldn’t be winning the most days on a calendar.

The goal should be building a parenting plan that works for your child.

The Steele Firm, PLLC
Get Real. Call Steele.

08/27/2026

You don’t need a Power of Attorney… until you need one.

And by then, it may be too late to make one.

A Power of Attorney is one of those documents people tend to put off. You’re healthy. You’re handling your own finances. You can sign your own documents. Why worry about it today?

Because the whole point is to have it before something happens.

An accident, sudden illness, hospitalization, or loss of capacity can leave your family trying to handle bills, property, banking, insurance, or other important matters without the legal authority to do it.

And here’s the problem: someone who no longer has the necessary capacity generally cannot simply sign a Power of Attorney after the fact.

At that point, what could have been handled with a relatively simple estate-planning document may require a court proceeding to establish a conservatorship or guardianship.

A good estate plan isn’t just about what happens when you die. It should also answer an equally important question:

Who can step in if you’re still here, but you can’t handle things yourself?

Don’t wait until you need a Power of Attorney to think about getting one.

The Steele Firm, PLLC
Get Real. Call Steele.

08/26/2026

“Can I stop my ex from bringing their new boyfriend or girlfriend around my kids?”

Usually, simply not liking the new person isn’t enough.

After a separation, one of the harder realities is accepting that you don’t control everything that happens during the other parent’s parenting time. That includes many decisions about who the children are around.

But that doesn’t mean a new relationship can never matter.

The real question in a custody case isn’t whether you approve of the new boyfriend or girlfriend. It’s whether there’s a legitimate concern affecting the child’s best interests.

A history of violence, drug abuse, dangerous behavior, inappropriate conduct around the children, or repeatedly exposing children to instability may be relevant. “I don’t like them” or “they started dating too soon” is something entirely different.

There’s also a lesson on the other side: use some judgment.

Your children don’t need to meet every person you date. They don’t need to be pulled into an adult relationship before you even know whether it’s going anywhere. Divorce and separation already bring enough change into a child’s life.

The court isn’t there to manage your ex’s dating life. It’s there to protect the best interests of the children.

Keep the focus there.

The Steele Firm, PLLC

Get Real. Call Steele.

General information only. This is not legal advice. Every case is different.

08/26/2026

Your home may be your biggest asset. Have you protected it?

For most families, the family home represents a significant part of everything they’ve spent a lifetime building. We insure it against fire, storms, and accidents — but rarely think about protecting it from other financial risks.

Judgments, medical creditors, liens, and other unexpected liabilities can threaten assets you’ve worked decades to accumulate.

That’s where asset protection and estate planning can overlap.

Certain trusts, including a Qualified Personal Residence Trust (QPRT) in the right circumstances, can be useful planning tools. A QPRT allows a homeowner to transfer a residence into an irrevocable trust while retaining the right to live in the home for a specified period. Properly structured and used prospectively, trust planning can provide estate-planning benefits and may also play a role in a broader asset-protection strategy.

But timing matters.

Asset protection generally needs to happen before the creditor, lawsuit, or financial crisis appears. Moving property after a claim arises can create serious problems, and a trust isn’t a magic eraser for existing debts or liens.

The time to build the fence isn’t after the horses are already out.

You’ve spent years paying for your home and building equity in it. Estate planning shouldn’t only answer who gets it when you die.

It should also ask: How do we protect it while you’re alive?

The Steele Firm, PLLC

Get Real. Call Steele.

General information only. Trust and asset-protection strategies depend heavily on individual circumstances and applicable law.

08/25/2026

“I have a will, so my family won’t have to deal with probate.”

Not necessarily.

A will does not automatically keep your estate out of probate. In fact, a will is generally the document that tells the probate process what you want done with property that passes through your estate.

The better question is: What actually passes under your will?

Some assets may pass outside of probate because they have a beneficiary designation, are jointly owned with survivorship rights, or are otherwise structured to transfer at death. Other property may still have to go through the estate.

That’s why good estate planning is more than signing a will and putting it in a drawer.

We look at the whole picture: your home, bank accounts, investments, retirement accounts, life insurance, vehicles, business interests, debts, and how each asset is actually titled.

A perfectly drafted will can’t fix an account that was titled or designated differently than you intended.

The documents matter. The details matter too.

The Steele Firm, PLLC

Get Real. Call Steele.

General information only. This is not legal advice. Every situation is different.

08/25/2026

“Can I date while I’m separated?”

Technically, you can.

But if you’re still married, dating during a separation can create issues you probably ought to think about before you update that relationship status.

West Virginia still recognizes adultery as a fault ground for divorce. Being separated is not the same thing as being divorced. Depending on the circumstances, a new relationship can become relevant to issues in the case.

Then there are the practical problems.

If you’re spending marital money on a new relationship, expect questions about it. If you’re immediately introducing a new boyfriend or girlfriend to the children, expect that decision to be scrutinized if it creates instability or conflict. And if your divorce is already contentious, putting your new relationship all over social media probably isn’t going to make negotiations any easier.

That doesn’t mean your former spouse gets to control your personal life. It means timing and judgment matter.

Separation feels like the end of the marriage.

Legally, it isn’t.

Before you complicate an already complicated situation, understand how a new relationship could affect your case.

Family Problems. Real Solutions.

The Steele Firm, PLLC

Get Real. Call Steele.

General information only. This is not legal advice. Every situation is different.

08/25/2026

“They’re not following the parenting plan, so why should I?”

Because their bad decision doesn’t need to become your bad decision.

One of the easiest traps to fall into during a custody case is treating the parenting plan like a contract between two people: You didn’t do what you were supposed to do, so I’m not doing what I’m supposed to do.

That may feel fair. It usually isn’t smart.

If the other parent is consistently late, interfering with your parenting time, refusing to communicate, or ignoring provisions of the court’s order, document it. Keep your messages civil. Keep showing up. Keep doing what the order requires you to do.

Then deal with the violation through the proper legal process.

Judges notice patterns. They also notice which parent can follow an order even when the other parent is making things difficult.

In a custody dispute, sometimes the strongest thing you can say is pretty simple:

“Judge, I did what the order told me to do.”

The Steele Firm, PLLC
Get Real. Call Steele.

08/24/2026

https://www.lootpress.com/one-of-west-virginias-best-kept-asset-protection-secrets-life-insurance-and-annuities-in-bankruptcy/

BECKLEY, WV (LOOTPRESS) - Most people think about life insurance for one reason: what happens when they die. They think about replacing income, paying off