A frequent question I get from clients who are considering putting their house into a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust is,“If my house is in the trust, can I sell it if I so choose in the future?”
If you are an agent under a healthcare proxy for a loved one, you may be faced with some difficult questions and issues from time-to-time.
When a person dies, his or her estate may need to go through probate. If the decedent leaves a will directing how his or her property should be distributed after death, the will must be submitted to the probate court so that it can be approved as a valid document. During this process, all of the parties that have the legal right to notice will be informed of this proceeding. This will give them a chance to accept or object to the approval of the will.
As the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Sandy approaches, it is important to remember the loss of life and brutal destruction that was left in the wake of its path—in order to be more prepared for the future.
Before the next devastating storm hits our shores, it is crucial to make sure we are ready to provide the appropriate relief to all residents, especially those within our most vulnerable populations, such as residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
Recently, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized a new rule establishing emergency preparedness requirements for healthcare providers participating in Medicare and Medicaid. The new rule is aimed at increasing patient safety during emergencies and establishing a more coordinated response to natural and man-made disasters.
Our practice produces many important documents for elderly clients. Clients may forget where these documents are located within their home, lose track of the documents’ location over the course of a move, or may pass on without sharing the actual documents (or their location) with their children, executor, or guardian.
There are a few smartphone apps that can assist individuals and families to keep track of important documents such as wills or advanced directives (healthcare proxy, etc.). This tool works in conjunction with the app’s ability to catalog the contents of entire homes. This umbrella function helps with ongoing organizational efforts as well as moving assistance.
In a previous article, we discussed 529 plans as a way to help contribute toward college tuition. In this article, we provide some food for thought before you help pay for your loved one’s educational costs.
Many seniors who want to help their children and grandchildren ask, “How can I help my grandkids pay for college?”
Helping pay for college can alleviate a lot of stress that a grandchild or the parents of a grandchild may be feeling. It also makes the grandchildren happy and gives them the educational tools to forge a career and support themselves for the rest of their lives. This gift is one that many grandparents are not only happy to give, but look forward to.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released its final fiduciary rule on April 6, greatly expanding the definition of fiduciary investment advice under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and creating new fiduciary standards for financial advisors regarding retirement investments.
This new rule is very significant for everyone with a retirement savings plan, such as a 401(k) and Individual Retirement Account (IRA) because it will increase the legal responsibility investment advisors have to their clients.
Sadly, each day, 22 men, women, and children die waiting to receive a life-saving organ transplant. Fortunately, over 650,000 lives have been saved since 1988 with the help of donors—many of them not biologically related to the recipient.
On this brand new episode of Family Comes First™, “Saving Lives,” we meet with Cindy Somma, who decided to give the gift of life to a relative and ended up saving the life of another.
Join us on Monday, September 19th at 1:30 pm on Telecare (Cablevision channels 29 and 137, Time Warner channels 106 (Manhattan), 471 (Queens) or Verizon FiOS TV channel 296) as Cindy shares with us her journey when choosing to donate her kidney—and how she unexpectedly ended up saving the life of a stranger.
Taxes are a part of life (and death) in the United States. If you earn sufficient income, then you must report that income and pay a tax on the income if it exceeds allowable deductions. One such deduction is a capital loss.
In the simplest sense, a capital loss occurs when you sell property (stock, personal property, real estate property, etc.) for less than it cost, or its basis. This loss can either offset capital gains in the year they are incurred or can be used as a deduction up to $3,000 against your ordinary income. If the capital loss is not used to offset your gains, and is greater than $3,000, then you can carry it over to the next year to either off-set gains derived in that year, or it can be used again as a deduction against your ordinary income up to $3,000.