Regulators move to halt abuse. However, fraud is still at $30 billion. Financial abuse of the elderly is high in the U.S., with estimates at $30 billion and that sum doesn’t include unreported cases, according to Consumer Reports in “3 Critical Ways to Prevent Elder Financial Abuse“. Some crimes remain unreported, because elderly people are […]

Benefits are available to ex-spouses, under certain circumstances. As retirement approaches and Social Security benefits become available, it is important for divorced people to be particularly aware of their entitlement rights, according to Yahoo! Finance in “3 Things to Know About Social Security if You’re Divorced“. If you are divorced after 10 years of marriage […]

Why is the revocable trust so appealing? You can change it whenever you’d like. You do not have to have a lot of money or assets in order to benefit from the use of trusts, according to Barron’s in “Why a Trust is a Great Estate Planning Tool – Even if You’re Not Rich“. Many […]

Check your estate plan for changes required to meet new requirements and opportunities. Changes imposed by the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act create a need to revisit your estate plan if you have not already done so, according to The Kansas City Star in “Talk to estate attorney about impacts of Tax […]

Passing away quietly at home without pain, is not a common occurrence. Increasing the chances of achieving a peaceful death requires some careful planning as well as conversations with loved ones, according to The Wall Street Journal in “Preparing For a Good End Of Life“. You will want to make sure your loved ones are […]

A good plan accomplishes your goals when you are gone and protects your loved ones. Most people realize that they need an estate plan, yet the vast majority of Americans do not have one, according to the Lockport Journal in “Senior Spotlight: Composing the ‘family love letter’“. One reason people don’t take care of this […]

The need for caregiving often comes about unexpectedly. People often think they should make arrangements for a Health Care Proxy or Power of Attorney but unfortunately the need arises suddenly resulting in a challenging situation, according to Expert Click in “How to Get Power of Attorney for Aging Parents“. A health care proxy permits another […]

Protect your assets from being mishandled. As you prepare an estate plan, consider creating trusts to protect assets through the generations, according to the Times Herald-Record in “Leaving inheritances to trusts puts you in control“. For many parents, the inheritance equation is simple. They leave their estate to their children “per stirpes,” which in Latin […]

The 65th birthday is key, when it comes to Medicare and the deadlines are taken seriously. Potential Medicare enrollees can face some pretty stiff late-enrollment penalties and they don’t end, according to The New York Times in “If You Do Medicare Sign-Up Wrong, It Will Cost You“. The mistakes are expensive and they are frequently […]

Social Security is likely to be very important to your retirement. But wait, the amount can vary. Just when to begin taking Social Security can be a real challenge because the time to begin filling your claim ranges from the age of 62 to 70, according to the Independent Record in “These 3 Factors Should […]