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To Kill a Mockingbird put author in the limelight, but she quickly stepped out of it and has remained out. When Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, died in 2016, there was considerable publicity as writers attempted to uncover all the details of her life. They met with little success. Lee’s will […]

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Medicaid is a possibility, if retirement money runs out.  However, the program is aimed at helping the poor. When many Americans consider the possibility of long-term care in a nursing home and look to insurance, they find that insurance is often difficult to obtain and afford. Medicaid is also a possibility but that needs planning, […]

extended family

Wills and trust often go hand-in-hand, when it comes to estate planning. Should you decide to use an online service instead of going to an estate planning attorney, you may find yourself with a trust but then learn you also need a will, according to the Lake County News in “The difference between a trust […]

human miniature standing over piled coins

As size of estates increase, so do the number of challenges. However, success isn’t easy to come by. As the number of wealthy estates increase, both the U.S. and Canada find themselves in challenges brought about by people who believe they didn’t get their fair share, according to The Globe and Mail in “Left out of […]

Doctor Examining an Elderly Patient

Since a plan is required when a Medicare patient leaves a hospital, it is best if the patient and family check into their potential options and the accuracy of information they have received. Medicare requires that a plan for care be developed with a social worker when a patient is about to be discharged and […]

Happy old couple

Hundreds of scammers face charges of defrauding elderly. Local law enforcement and elder law attorneys are sympathetic when they hear of scams aimed at the elderly, but they are often unable to do much. The government has a plan to bring the scammers to justice, according to a recent FBI announcement “Law Enforcement Action Aimed […]

extended family

A challenge can be created when one child is responsible, and others aren’t. Varying degrees of financial responsibility by children can be a challenge to creating an estate plan, according to Market Watch in “My son is responsible, my daughter is in debt — how do I split my estate?“. A common way to meet […]

Elderly Female Patient Wearing a Blood Pressure Gauge

You can’t necessarily prevent being incapacitated. However, you can make plans, just in case it should occur. There are no age requirements for disabling accidents or illnesses, so it would be wise for everyone to plan for what would happen if they were to be incapacitated. It is not difficult, according to TC Palm in “Be […]

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Create a second trust and the first is revoked? It doesn’t work that way. A common question was presented to a column about trusts, according to the NWI Times in “Can an individual establish more than one trust?“. The question was if a second trust wipes out the first trust. The confusion over trusts is […]

Senior woman contemplating

New scams continue to increase, as well as old scams. Among the most common scams aimed at the elderly, involve their grandchildren or the IRS, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune in “As senior population grows, so do scams targeting their money.” A common one is for an unknown person to call a grandparent and […]