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Having a special needs child has many challenges. One of the toughest challenges faced by many parents is knowing how to best care for their special needs child as they reach adulthood. There are many areas that need consideration when planning for the transition of a special needs child to adult...

Assisted living rent can vary from $2,000 to $5,000 monthly. Depending on what type of care your loved one needs, assisted living can be the most affordable solution when compared to a nursing home ($5,000 to $10,000 or more per month) or long-term in-home care. If closely monitored medical super...

You wouldn't believe how often a Last Will and Testament goes missing. You also wouldn't believe what a mess that causes for the heirs. Most people think it is enough to keep their Will in a convenient place at home. However, that isn't enough security for so important a document. For instance, w...

The aging population of the United States is widely reported as the bulk of the baby boomer generation is already retired or nearing retirement. However, what has not been widely reported is how the rest of the nation will provide care for this large, aging population. According to a 2017 Merrill...

Choosing a nursing home for a loved one is an important decision and should be carefully considered. Below are some steps designed to assist families in choosing a nursing home. 1. Identify Nursing Homes in the Area The first step in choosing the right nursing home is to identify all the possi...

Have you ever thought about buying a business? If you do at some point your going to be asked to sign a purchase agreement. (You will bring it to an attorney for review, correct?) Often first time buyers or sellers are unfamiliar with what is covered in a typical purchase and sale agreement. For ...

The golden years are turning into bankruptcy red for many retired and aging Americans. While medical advances are keeping seniors alive longer, the associated healthcare costs in the quest for longevity are being off-loaded onto the older individual at a time when reduced income is a hallmark of ...

Receiving your social security benefits at an earlier age will not reduce the overall amount of your benefit over time. Because you will be taking it at a younger age, your monthly payment will be smaller than if you had waited but the aggregate payout overtime will be the same amount. To see how...

It is a given that all of us are going to grow old. After the age of 65, about 75 percent of us are going to require some form of long term care. So put away the list of excuses (It won't happen to me. The Medicaid will pay if I need LTC. I will always make my own decisions. And so many more…), b...

Your parent is getting on in age, but you don't have a clear idea if there is a plan in place for their care. It is a difficult topic to broach; no one wants to talk about death and the financial realities that come with aging. Instead of having a proactive conversation early in a parent's aging ...

A quitclaim deed (also known as a quick claim deed) is used transfer title on real property. People on their own use them all the time and almost always create future problems. Quitclaim deeds stink, first and foremost because the deed doesn't even say whether or not the person even owns the prop...

Yuck what a thought! But every estate plan should address this possibility. Most people plan to pass their assets on to the next generation … to their sons or daughters or grandchildren. However, sometimes the worst possible scenario can happen. The whole family, including the heirs to the estate...

Thinking about death is uncomfortable and thinking about our own death is something all of us tend to avoid with a passion. It also explains why so many people are reluctant to take on the task of estate planning. Still, there are some uncomfortable questions you do need to ask yourself before it...

Medicare and Medicaid have long been a mystery to many consumers. In fact, it can baffle and confuse even some of the smartest citizens. Like me, you might have thought, “I don't need to worry about this right now.” However, it is never too early to gain a little understanding and awareness that...

So you say all you need is a simple Will. Are you really sure about that? If your goal is simply to pass on your assets to your heirs, you might be right. On the other hand, if you wish to provide your loved ones with asset protection, tax protection, divorce protection or other benefits, that s...

A significant portion of Americans are saving nothing for retirement and very little in their day to day lives. While the unemployment rate is low and wages are seeing an increase the American worker is not saving enough of their income which will inevitably lead to short falls of operational cas...

Nursing home abuse or neglect is defined generally as any action or failure to act that causes unreasonable suffering, misery, or harm to the patient. It can include assault of a patient, but can also include withholding necessary food, medical attention, or physical care from the patient. It is ...

For those interested in information on Medicare, understand that applying for the benefit sometimes seems like a double-edged sword. On the one hand, Medicare is obviously a good resource because it provides medical benefits to seniors who are often on a fixed income. On the other hand, however, ...

The question of how to leave your assets to your beneficiaries deserves considerable thought. For instance, outright distribution to a child with special needs can interfere with government benefits your child may be receiving. What about a child you know is not financially responsible … should y...

Should you do it? Maybe. Not really. Historically, joint ownership of property has been a popular estate planning tool. Adding a partner, child or close friend as a joint owner on one or more of your assets does have advantages. The survivor automatically becomes the owner of the pr...

With the economy strong, more and more people are investing in real estate. I am getting plenty of questions about whether those properties should be held through a limited liability company — an LLC. So, should you own real estate through an LLC? Well, there are certainly plenty of advantages (a...

Reverse mortgages have come to the forefront of many retirees' minds in the past five years or so. Simply put, a reverse mortgage is a home equity loan. Unlike a conventional loan, the borrowed money can be received in a number of ways: a lump sum, a monthly payment amount, or a home equity line...

Naming the right beneficiary for your tax-deferred retirement accounts may be one of the most important decisions you make with regards to your estate plan. You want to continue the growth of those accounts for as long as possible, while still protecting the financial future of your beneficiary(s...

Ugly title. I know. No one wants to think about dying, especially when just starting up a new LLC, but succession planning (who gets the business once you die) should actually be part of the startup process. An interest in an LLC is an asset. Even if it is a service business only, over time t...

Do you want to create absolute chaos or extensive problems and expenses for your heirs? Sure, you do. Not! When we ask clients and their advisors whether client's beneficiary designations are current, we either get a “sure” answer or an “I think so?” response. Not good. What's a simple way you ca...