Recent Blog Posts
What Is So Important About Powers Of Attorney?
Powers of attorney can provide significant authority to another person, if you are unable to do so. These powers can include the right to access your bank accounts and to make decisions for you. AARP’s article from last October entitled, “Powers of Attorney: Crucial Documents for Caregiving, ” describes the different types of powers… Read More »
Your Estate Plan is a “Dynamic Document”
One of the most common mistakes people make about their estate planning is neglecting to coordinate all of the moving parts, reports the Dayton Business Journal’s article “Baird expert gives estate planning advice.” The second most common mistake is not thinking of your estate plan as a dynamic document. Many people believe that once… Read More »
Creating an End-of-Life Checklist
Spend the energy, effort, and time now to consider your wishes, collect information and, most importantly, get everything down on paper, says In Maricopa’s recent article entitled “Make an end-of-life checklist.” The article says that a list of all your assets and critical personal information is a guarantee that nothing is forgotten, missed, or… Read More »
What Do We Know about Early-Onset Dementia?
Rita Benezra Obeiter, 59, is a former pediatrician who was diagnosed several years ago with early-onset dementia, a rare form of the disease. When this occurs in people under age 65, the conditions cause additional and unique issues because they are so unexpected and because most of the potentially helpful programs and services are… Read More »
Planning for Long-Term Care Before It’s Too Late
Starting to plan for elder care should happen when you are in your 50s or 60s. By the time you are 70, it may be too late. With the national median annual cost of a private room in a nursing facility coming in at more than $100, 000, not having a plan can become… Read More »
How Bad Can a Do-It-Yourself Estate Plan Be? Very!
Here’s a real world example of why what seems like a good idea backfires, as reported in The National Law Review’s article “Unintended Consequences of a Do-It-Yourself Estate Plan.” Mrs. Ann Aldrich wrote her own will, using a preprinted legal form. She listed her property, including account numbers for her financial accounts. She left… Read More »
Will Your Estate Plan Work Now?
The demise of the stretch IRA is causing many IRA owners and their advisors to take a look at how their estate plans will work under the new law. An article from Financial Advisor titled “Navigating The New Estate Planning Realities” offers several different planning alternatives. Take larger IRA distributions during your lifetime. If… Read More »
How Can Long-Distance Caregivers Help Loved Ones?
A recent article noted that long-distance caregivers have the same concerns and pressures as local caregivers, perhaps even more. They spend about twice as much on caregiving as people caring for a loved one nearby, because they’re more likely to need to hire help, take uncompensated time off work and pay for travel. A… Read More »
How Can Siblings Work Together to Care for Dad?
Sibling rivalries can reappear when the family must pull together to help care for an aging parent. This is especially true, if one adult child is doing the bulk of the caregiving and there’s little support from siblings. The same is true when one sibling is paying for professional caregiving or medical expenses. There… Read More »
What Do I Need to Know about Medicare in 2020?
CNBC’s recent article entitled “Here’s what you need to know about your 2020 Medicare costs” reports that Medicare will have some higher costs this year that you may want to factor into your health-care budget. The Medicare program has about 61 million beneficiaries, most of whom are 65 or older. These people will see… Read More »