Posts by admin-seniorcitizenlawyer
Caring for the Caregivers
If you’re one of 43 million Americans caring for an aging relative, you know firsthand the physical and emotional pressures that accompany being the sole chauffer, cook, and physical therapist for an ailing person. A caretaker’s life can often revolve around medical appointments and medicine dosages. But what about the caretaker? Who takes care of…
Read MoreHow to Keep Your Wealth from Turning Your Children into Brats
Congratulations are in order—you have accumulated enough wealth to be concerned about eventually passing it along to your children and grandchildren in a manner that will encourage them to lead positive and productive lives. Like many, your objective is to allow your children to enjoy the rewards of wealth without becoming irresponsible, overindulgent or feeling…
Read MoreWhat to Do With Inherited IRAs
IRAs are usually among the largest assets inherited. These retirement accounts have been able to grow to such very large amounts because income taxes on the growth in the account are deferred until the owner begins to take distributions. (You may take distributions as early as age 59 1/2, but must take them at age…
Read MoreChanging Beneficiaries in a Revocable Trust After Death
Q: My mother’s Revocable Trust states that her estate must be divided between her four adult children. She has now died, and each should receive about $150,000. The problem is one of my brothers is now disabled and is receiving SSI and Medi-Cal. If he receives this inheritance, it will disqualify him from his benefits…
Read MoreWhen Can You Destroy Financial Records?
The IRS has three years from your tax return filing date to audit your return, if it suspects good faith errors. (For example, your 2013 taxes were due by April 15, 2014. The IRS has until April 15, 2017 to audit your return for good faith errors). However, the IRS has six years to challenge…
Read MoreMedicare and Skilled Nursing Care: When Will Medicare Pay?
Skilled nursing facilities (SNF), commonly called nursing homes or rehab centers, provide temporary and long-term care for those who need medical care while recuperating, or for those who need assistance with daily living on a permanent basis. Medicare will cover SNF care only if all of the following are true: 1. You have Medicare Part…
Read MoreBankruptcy and the Elderly – a Growing Demographic
It’s called your “golden years” but for many seniors and baby boomers, there is no gold and retirement savings are too often insufficient to maintain even basic living standards of retirees. In fact, a recent study by the University of Michigan found that baby boomers are the fastest growing age group filing for bankruptcy. And…
Read MoreChanging Uses for Bypass Trusts
Every year, each individual who dies in the U.S. can leave a certain amount of money to his or her heirs before facing any federal estate taxes. For example, in 2013, a person who died could leave $5.25 million to his or her heirs (or a charity) estate tax free, and everything over that amount…
Read MoreReasons to Engage in Estate Planning
When it comes to establishing wills and estate plans, older Americans outpace their younger counterparts. Still, a significant number — 19 percent of those over age 72 and 42 percent of those between 53 and 71, according to survey data — lack any type of estate plan. Although managing these details can seem daunting, and even depressing,…
Read MorePlan a Family Care Giving Meeting
A family caregiving meeting is an essential tool when dealing with the care of an aging loved one. These meetings are beneficial for helping to keep all family members abreast of decisions that need to be made along with changes in diagnosis or prognosis. They also help to ensure that all family members feel that…
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