What is Long-Term Care and Who Provides It?

Long-term care is the care you need if you can’t perform daily activities on your own for an extended period of time. There are a number of different ways that long-term care can be provided. Most long-term care involves assisting with basic personal needs rather than...

Key Elder Law Numbers for 2021: Our Annual Roundup

Below are figures for 2021 that are frequently used in the elder law practice or are of interest to clients. Medicaid Spousal Impoverishment Figures for 2021 The new minimum community spouse resource allowance (CSRA) is $26,076 and the maximum CSRA is $130,380. The...

Learn About Social Security’s Online Tools

With the aging population becoming increasingly tech savvy, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has moved a lot of services online. From applying for Social Security benefits to replacing a card, the SSA has online tools to help. To access most of the online...

Medicare Drug Cards May Be Sent Out in January

The federal government’s plan to send $200 drug-discount cards to Medicare beneficiaries has cleared one hurdle, but it isn’t certain that the administration will have enough time to actually get the cards in the mail. When the current administration announced...

Five Reasons to Have a Will

Your will is a legally-binding statement directing who will receive your property at your death. It also appoints a legal representative to carry out your wishes. However, the will covers only probate property. (Probate is the court process by which a deceased...

Credit Shelter Trusts Aren’t Just for the Super Wealthy

Credit shelter trusts are a way to take full advantage of state and federal estate tax exemptions. Although such trusts may appear needless unless you are a multi-millionaire, there are still reasons for those of more modest means to do this kind of planning, and one...

Using Life Insurance as Part of Your Estate Plan

Life insurance can play a few key roles in an estate plan, depending on your age and situation in life. There are two main types of life insurance: term and permanent. Term life insurance is the simplest: You buy a policy for a set number of years and you have...