To My Friends and Clients in the Northern Virginia area: If you’re a fan of the musical “Godspell,” I would like to invite you and your friends and family to attend a wonderful local youth production this weekend of this much-beloved classic Broadway show. Based on the Gospel of Matthew, the show combines comedy, drama, dance and […]
Be Prepared
In my last blog post, I mentioned I’d be spending a week and a half working as a member of the archery staff at the BSA National Scout Jamboree, helping the Boy Scouts of America celebrate its 100th Anniversary. Well, I’m happy to report that I made it back to work last week, safe and sound despite having […]
Happy 4th of July!
I hope everyone has had a wonderful 4th of July Celebration with family and friends. I have not written for quite a while because I’ve been swamped — both with work (helping so many elder law and estate planning clients that we’ve had to bring in 3 new staff members this summer) and with summer activities that […]
Survey Shows Some Nursing Homes May Bill For Services Not Provided
A recent Washington Post article concludes that many nursing homes have been “up-coding” billing for care of residents for years, meaning that some nursing homes sometimes bill a resident more than they should be billed by using a special billing category intended to be used only for the five percent of nursing home patients who need highly […]
Health Reform: Changes in Store for the Elderly
After a year of legislative wrangling and premature forecasts of death, historic legislation overhauling the nation’s health insurance system passed the Congress and has been signed into law by President Obama. Among some of the highlights, this legislation contains: The nation’s first publicly funded national long-term care insurance program, the Community Living Assistance Services and […]
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 work. Applicants for Social Security disability benefits often have to wait months, and sometimes years, for approval from the government, […]
How to Make the Best Nursing Home Placement for Your Loved One
Most nursing home admissions happen under extremely stressful circumstances. If you are faced with the overwhelming task of finding the best nursing home placement for a loved one, where do you begin? Although this is a job that no one wants, it can be done with forethought and confidence that the best decision was made for everyone involved.
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 excellent article was written by the “Mortgage Professor,” a Professor of Finance Emeritus at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (incdientally, my Alma Mater), and clears up much of the confusion and myths and fears surrounding the reverse mortgage. I encourage all of you to read it.
Evan Farr Teaches Course for Elder Law Attorneys Natonwide
~You Can Sign Up for a Similar Course for Consumers~ Last Thursday, Evan Farr conducted a national, attorney-only teleconference sponsored by the National Business Institute (NBI) on the topic of the Income Only Trust — an asset protection trust which, though very similar to a revocable living trust, when done properly protects assets transferred to […]
Update on Virginia Life Estate Law
In June of last year, I wrote that “in the near future, life estates will no longer be considered exempt assets when applying for Medicaid.” This was due to the fact that the Virginia General Assembly had recently passed legislation instructing DMAS (the Department of Medical Assistance Services, the agency that oversees the Virginia Medicaid […]
Aging is Not a Disease
It is natural that health care providers such as doctors, pharmacists and nurses will have the same attitude towards aging as other Americans. Without proper geriatric care training, these people can fall into the same trap of treating the elderly differently from younger people. According to the Alliance for Aging Research, “In recent years evidence […]
Withdrawing Your Early Social Security Benefit
Did you elect to take Social Security benefits before your full retirement age? If you did and are now looking for extra income, there may be an answer. Once you reach full retirement age, you can pay back the money you have received and reapply for full retirement benefits.Although you can collect Social Security benefits […]
Buffett backs Estate Tax
Billionaire Warren Buffett urged Congress to preserve the estate tax, saying that plans to repeal it would benefit a handful of the richest American families and turn the country into a “plutocracy.” Buffett, the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and the second-richest man in America testified before the Senate Finance Committee on Nov. 14, 2007. He […]
CCRC Resident Fights Move to Increased Level of Care
An 88-year-old California widow is challenging an attempt by her continuing care retirement community (CCRC) to move her from her private apartment to an assisted living unit. If she is successful, the outcome could set a legal precedent for more than 5 million Americans living in retirement communities, CCRCs, and assisted living facilities. In 1991, […]
Charitable Donations From an IRA Offer New Opportunity
For those wishing to make charitable donations from their IRA accounts, dealing with the resulting tax issues just got a lot easier. In August, Congress passed, and President Bush signed, the Pension Protection Act of 2006. Touted as the most significant overhaul of the pension system in the past 30 years, one provision of the […]