The irony is that using a boilerplate will form not only frustrated Ms. Aldrich’s testamentary intent, but ultimately cost her estate far, far more than a simple consultation with an estate planning or elder law attorney would have.
An advance directive gives instructions on the kind of medical care you would like to receive should you become unable to express your wishes yourself, and it often designates someone to make medical decisions for you. But an important document like this won’t be of much use in an emergency if it’s tucked away in a safe deposit box or in a file cabinet somewhere.
As life circumstances change (births, marriages, divorces, and deaths), it may become necessary to make changes to your will. If an estate plan is not kept up-to-date, it can become useless.
One little-known Social Security retirement benefits rule is the so-called “do-over rule.” Under this rule, an individual 62 years or older can start collecting benefits but stop the benefits within 12 months of the start, repay the benefits collected, and then still be eligible for their higher benefit amount when they collect at full retirement age or older.
For many Medicaid applicants, individual retirement accounts (IRAs) are one of their biggest assets. If you do not plan properly, IRAs can count as an available asset and affect Medicaid eligibility.
Increasingly, several generations of American families are living together. According to a Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census data, more than 50 million Americans, or almost 17 percent of the population, live in households containing two adult generations. These multi-generational living arrangements present legal and financial challenges around home ownership.
In his 2014 State of the Union message, President Obama announced a new retirement savings program for people who do not currently have an employer-sponsored plan. The new investment product, called myRA, is a starter savings account aimed at low- and middle- income workers.
Sometimes Medicare will decide that a particular treatment or service is not covered and will deny a beneficiary’s claim. Many of these decisions are highly subjective and involve determining.
Today’s average cost for ‘Best’ coverage for a 60-year-old couple each purchasing $164,000 of immediate coverage that grows to a combined benefit pool of $730,000 ($365,000 each) at age 85, is $3,840-per-year.
The new rules are an effort to strengthen the federal Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program, which insures almost all reverse mortgages and which has seen default rates rise.