A prepaid funeral contract is a legal agreement that allows a person to pay now for funeral services that will be needed sometime in the future. This contract may include the funeral, burial, cremation, and other related services. A prepaid funeral contract may be revocable or irrevocable. Irrevocable means the contract cannot be canceled. Only […]

Seniors are slowly taking advantage of the free preventive health screenings and tests provided under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA mandates expanded preventive health services for all Americans, including Medicare beneficiaries. Under the ACA rules, a free yearly wellness exam is available from doctors who participate in Medicare. The wellness exam supplements a […]

Recent study findings show that five major disorders— autism, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder and schizophrenia — may share common genetic risk factors.  These findings may help pave the way to a better understanding and more treatment options for these disorders in the future.  To look for common genetic markers, researchers […]

This week, March 3-9, is National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW), as proclaimed by President Obama in 2009.  Consumer education helps keep seniors and all Americans informed while providing them with resources to explain their rights and protections.  NCPW is the perfect time to talk about how you can protect yourself from Medicare fraud.  We also […]

Introducing the Farr Law Firm’s new LGBT website:  Visit and find:–  resources for careful and knowledgeable long-term care planning–  information about legal strategies, such as Advance Medical Directives, and–  details about how, with advance planning, same-sex couples can retain the benefit of the money,      income and assets it has taken a lifetime to accumulate! — […]

$85 billion in automatic across-the-board domestic and defense cuts are set to take effect today. President Obama met with congressional leaders this morning in a last-ditch attempt to resolve the Sequester.  Watch this video for more details on today’s meeting. In the days leading up to today’s deadline, there were few signs that either party […]

Q: I am the beneficiary on my father’s insurance policy. Does that give me the right to control his property? My father is 86 years old and has dementia. He never had a Will and there are seven children who would just like the house to stay in the family without any one owner. I […]

Medicare Advantage and Part D costs for seniors are going down, according to an announcement last week by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).“The Affordable Care Act (ACA) helps us strengthen Medicare Advantage and Part D,” said Jonathan Blum, CMS acting principal deputy administrator and director of the CMS’ Center for Medicare. “We […]

Siblings sometimes cease talking to one another or rarely do – and sometimes there are good reasons for this. For siblings who never got along as kids and have had little to do with each other as adults, being thrown together to make touchy decisions about long-term care for parents could prove to be disastrous. […]

What is Sequestration? When politicians and newscasters talk about sequestration, or “sequester cuts,” they are referring to a fiscal policy enacted by Congress to deal with the federal budget deficit. Sequestration first appeared in the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Deficit Reduction Act of 1985.  Simply defined, “sequestration” is the automatic cancellation of budgetary resources.  The Budget Control Act […]

Improving hearing is just like any other skill — it takes practice. A loud restaurant or party can make conversation difficult for anyone, but for the elderly, these settings can make hearing what others have to say nearly impossible.  Your hearing declines with age, but the latest research focuses on another part of the problem — […]

More than 70% of seniors will need some type of long-term care, and these costs, such as nursing home stays and home health aides, are not covered by Medicare. The average stay in a nursing home typically lasts about three years, so even the most financially prepared person will be challenged by $9,000 to12,000 per month (in Northern Virginia) for expenses such as […]

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, a day when we celebrate love. In a recent discussion, Gloria K., a client whose mother has Alzheimer’s, told us that although her mother doesn’t remember much, she could tell her mother is still happy to see her and her granddaughter. After our conversation and some research, I found studies that […]