Medicare’s Open Enrollment Period, during which you can freely enroll in or switch plans, runs from October 15 to December 7. Now is the time to start shopping around to see whether your current choices are still the best ones for you. During this period you may...
No, there is no requirement that anyone take on the role of guardian. However, with no one available to make decisions for your mother, the nursing home may decide it has to seek guardianship on its own, in which case the court would appoint an independent person with...
More and more transactions are done digitally, but estate planning has lagged behind technology. That may be changing, though. Even before the coronavirus pandemic made social distancing necessary, electronic wills were gaining legitimacy. An electronic will (or...
The coronavirus pandemic has forced nursing homes to place a number of restrictions on their residents. These constraints are having the unintended consequence of making it more difficult for nursing home residents to vote. Hundreds of thousands of nursing home and...
She actually may need to involve lawyers in both states. She will need an attorney in New Jersey to make sure the real estate transfer is appropriate and there are no tax issues or other traps for the unwary. She will also need an attorney in California to make sure...
You can freely transfer your interest in your parents’ house to your brother without it affecting your parents’ potential eligibility for Medicaid. The five-year look-back period only applies to transfers by your parents, not by you. Transferring your interest in the...
The VA offers two disability programs. Disability compensation is available only for veterans with service-connected disabilities, while the disability pension benefit is available to anyone who served during wartime and has a disability. The disability does not have...
While the internet makes our lives more convenient, it also adds new complications. For example, what happens to all our online data and assets if we become disabled or die? Whether or not we spend half our lives responding to devices, we all transact a lot of our...
The Uniform Gifts to Minors Act (UGMA) and the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (UTMA) are sometimes called the “granddaddies” of college savings accounts. Both allow parents to establish custodial accounts for a minor child, and a grandparent can then make gifts to...
Social Security’s long-term financial situation: High unemployment rates mean Social Security shortfalls could begin earlier than projected. Social Security retirement benefits are financed primarily through dedicated payroll taxes paid by workers and their...
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