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.
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.
If a patient has been determined to lack capacity, then an agent under a Health Care Proxy can complete a Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) on their behalf.
Family Comes First™ co-hosts, Vincent J. Russo and Victoria Drogin, have an exciting announcement! Season 8 is now available—along with all previous seasons—to watch online via the Family Comes First™ website and YouTube channel. For those who may have missed…
Russo Law Group, P.C. is pleased to share this article on behalf of guest author Don Poole.
It is becoming more competitive to get access to the best long-term care providers, as 10,000 Baby Boomers turn age 65 every day. Statistics show that 70% or more of people over the age of 65 will require long-term care services. Today there are 10,000,000 people receiving long-term care in the United States. People with the ability to afford private pay care are typically given preferential access to the best care providers and locations; while those on Medicare and Medicaid are given little choice as to where they can go and will usually have to share a room with another person.
Tremendous pressure is being placed on tax payers to cover Medicare and Medicaid budgets because the demand for long-term care services is growing rapidly at the same time costs are rising every year. Courts and the government are doing more to push financial responsibility to cover their own care back on families. For example, the requirements to qualify for Medicare and Medicaid funded long-term care services continue to become more stringent; states have the right to pursue families in probate court to recover funds spent by Medicaid if they discover that assets were in fact available; and filial responsibility laws in the states will hold extended family members legally responsible to cover unpaid long-term care bills.
When I first meet with new clients, I ask them to bring any legal documents they may have, such as a power of attorney, so I can review them. I do this because, too often, the power of attorney is not properly executed or is outdated.
“How can it be outdated?” they might ask.
The scenarios below can be very frustrating if you hired an attorney to help you, and he or she is nowhere to be found:
On September 11, 2001, terrorists flew two planes into the World Trade Center. All eyes turned to New York City as the buildings burned and then fell. On that horrifying day, some people were saved by the heroic efforts of others whom we refer to as heroes. Welles Remy Crowther was one of those heroes.