Struggling to make sense of the status of health care reform in America? Don’t worry; neither can Congress, the White House, nor the Courts say with certainty whether The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the Act) will … [Read more...]
Three Keys To Planning For Long-Term Care
Baby-Boomers and Seniors 2011 Legal Report I want to dispel two huge myths that routinely produce false security for senior citizens and their adult children: First, a revocable living trust does not protect your assets from … [Read more...]
How expensive will nursing homes be in 2020?
The cost of growing old is a concept Baby Boomers are beginning to wrestle with as they contemplate long term care options for both themselves and their aging parents. But in today’s age of economic uncertainty and rising care … [Read more...]
A Mixed Bag in Virginia: Federal Law Prohibits 2011 Social Security Increases, but Federal Agency Grants Millions to Disadvantaged Groups
As Halloween approaches this year, I can't help but draw an analogy between the nights I spent meandering my neighborhood as a kid looking for handouts, and our current economic times. I recall my grade-school friends and I … [Read more...]
New Medical Conditions — Including Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease — Now Qualify for Automatic Disability Benefits
Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits are paid to individuals who, after having worked for many years, develop a disabling condition, prior to their normal retirement age, that is so severe that they are no longer able to … [Read more...]
Upcoming Seminars for Lawyers and Clients
I'm conducting two seminars this week on the topic of Income Only Trusts. The first one is a teleseminar for attorneys around the country who are members of the professional group ElderLawAnswers. Entitled Using Income Only … [Read more...]
Using a Reverse Mortgage to Pay for Home Care
Many of my clients ask me how I feel about reverse mortgages, and even more so this past week because of a favorable story that appeared in last week's Washington Post entitled "Reverse Mortgages are Not the Next Subprime." This … [Read more...]
Important Elder Law and Estate Planning Numbers for 2010
Under current law, there will be no cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in Social Security in 2010 — the first time that has happened since automatic cost-of-living adjustments began in 1975. Several bills before Congress would grant … [Read more...]