When leaving a home to your children, you can avoid probate by using either joint ownership or a revocable trust, but which is the better method?If you add your child as a joint tenant on your house, you will each have an equal ownership interest in the property. If one joint tenant dies, his or […]
President Trump signed an executive order calling for a review of the so-called fiduciary rule, which was intended to prevent financial advisers from steering their clients to bad retirement investments by requiring advisers to act in the best interests of their clients. The order delays the rule, which was scheduled to go into effect in […]
Home Care Options Offered by the State of ConnecticutCountless older adults have voiced strong desires to remain living in their private homes for as long as possible. They dread the need to rely on supports offered at nursing homes or as they are more commonly known, “skilled nursing facilities” or “SNFs.” The State of Connecticut […]
Banks Refuse to Honor a Durable Power of Attorney Because of a Small Name Problem.A Durable Power of Attorney (“POA”) can be a useful tool in estate planning. In a POA, a person termed the “principal” gives legal authority to a different person, termed the “agent,” to take certain actions on the principal’s behalf. But […]
Emotions can run high at the death of a family member. If a family member is unhappy with the amount they received (or didn’t receive) under a will, he or she may contest the will. Will contests can drag out for years, keeping all the heirs from getting what they are entitled to. It may […]
Medicare Advantage plans are a popular alternative to regular Medicare because the plans often offer lower out-of-pocket costs, but buyers need to make sure they know what they are paying for. A government review of Medicare Advantage plans revealed that their provider directories were often riddled with errors, causing those plans to face serious fines.Medicare […]
Taxpayers with long-term care insurance policies can deduct some of their premiums from their income. Whether you can use the deduction requires comparing your medical expenses to your income in a complicated formula.Premiums for qualified long-term care insurance policies are tax deductible to the extent that they, along with other unreimbursed medical expenses (including Medicare […]
A new Medicare rule will promote earlier diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. Medicare will now reimburse primary care doctors who conduct an Alzheimer’s evaluation and offer information about care planning to elderly patients with cognitive impairment.According to the Alzheimer’s Association, more than 5 million Americans have the disease. In addition, more than 85 percent of Alzheimer’s […]
The Benefits of Adaptive Clothing Getting dressed and undressed is one of the essential activities of daily living (ADLs) that many of us can take for granted. Our daily lives require clothing adjustments during toileting, showering and attending medical appointments. Older adults living with chronic conditions such as arthritis and paralysis can face frustration with […]
The Estate of Philip Seymour HoffmanPhilip Seymour Hoffman was a talented actor who left an impressive body of work when he died in February 2014 at the age of 46. His cause of death was an accidental drug overdose. He left an estate of approximately 35 million dollars. As we have seen in a number […]