It's uncomfortable to think about death, especially your own. Add to that the issue of what will happen to our assets after our deaths and it’s little wonder why so few people have created wills and other estate planning documents.…
This year, more than seventy million people who depend on Social Security benefits will experience critical changes. Inflation continues to increase daily living costs with higher costs for gasoline, food, utility, rent, and mortgages. Yet real wages have been stagnant…
Wills and trusts are usually associated with estate planning and passing assets to future generations. However, there is another part of estate planning that doesn’t get as much attention. It concerns advance health care planning. Have you thought about what…
According to US statistics, there are approximately 17.1 students with learning disabilities for every special education teacher. Yet, in the past decade, the percentage of available and competent teachers fell by 17 percent. Many federal and state government educational programs…
The living will is a legal document that describes your medical preferences if you can't make those decisions for yourself. Incapacity can happen for many reasons, including an accident, an illness rendering you too sick to communicate, dementia, anesthesia, a…
When your loved one dies without a will, known as intestate, what happens? According to your state’s intestacy laws, a probate court will oversee the distribution process of the decedent’s property. Also known as intestate succession, it has similarities to…
As banking and bill-paying become more challenging as one age, incapacitation by accident or sudden disease can occur to anyone at any age, creating the same difficulties. Incapacity is not just about mental cognition, accident, or illness. You may have…
People with disabilities can save money tax-free by creating a special needs trust (SNT) or an Achieving a Better Life Experience account (ABLE). Both options provide a mechanism for saving money and protecting resources that ensures the person with a…
Upon the death of a loved one, their will specifies what property should be distributed and the person responsible for settling their estate. For many reasons, beneficiaries can feel slighted by what they did or didn’t receive, and some individuals…
There are three distinct phases to living in a continuing care retirement community (CCRC). The first is independent living when a resident enters into the community with few if any disabilities requiring limited assistance. In this phase of independent living,…