Frederick, MD 
301-663-9230Maryland is replacing the DNR form with MOLST.
David Wingate, Elder Law Attorney of the Elder Law Office of David Wingate presented to social workers, home help agencies and others, a seminar entitled Understanding MOLST.
David Wingate, Elder Law Attorney of the Elder Law Office of David Wingate presented to social workers, home help agencies and others, a seminar entitled Understanding MOLST.
With growing numbers of baby boomers entering retirement age and thousands of US, there is a mounting need for long-term planning for heath and continuing care benefits. Our clients depend on us to help them ease their tax burdens, preserve their assets and safeguard their futures. The cost of long-term care can consume a person’s assets if an effective estate and asset plan is not in place. Keeping up with critical developments in elder law and providing real solutions to the unique problems seniors face can be difficult. Through continuing education and experience, our Attorneys and staff offer an effective…
A mistake in elder-law estate planning is failure to regularly review the plan. At a minimum, each client's estate plan should be reviewed every three years to determine whether changes in the client's personal life, such as health, assets or family history (births, deaths, marriages, divorces, etc.) might require changes to the plan. Similarly, changes in the law may lead to changes in the plan. It is unrealistic to expect a plan established today to be effective 10, 20, 30 or more years in the future. Over time, clients may want to change their backup trustees or plan of distribution….
A diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease can be devastating for everyone involved, including the patient and all of their family members. Should you be facing this diagnosis, there are probably a million thoughts racing through your mind, from keeping your loved one safe to caring for them as the disease progresses. One thing you might not think about is the need for estate planning. As a recent article by Reuter’s explains, if you or someone you love has a family history of dementia, is showing symptoms of Alzheimer’s or is concerned about later-life planning, it’s time to get to work. You’ll…
Sometimes the biggest mistakes are also the most mundane, and those can make for an awful headache for even the best of us. The maxim proves itself once again in the case of Anthony Olivo, and Forbes’s recent re-telling of that story, where even a tax lawyer neglected proper record keeping of his services to his loved ones – both care-giving and estate-planning services – and the IRS had little sympathy. Anthony had been a tax lawyer for nearly two decades, even opening his own practice, until the needs of his aging parents grew too great. Anthony turned to become…
Over the next quarter century, the number of older Americans is projected to grow from 12 percent to 20 percent of the total population, and various estimates indicate that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered individuals will comprise 7–10 percent of that older population. By the year 2030, the LGBT community age 65 and above is expected to almost double, from 2.5 million to as many as 4.7 million. In honor of Gay and Lesbian Pride Month, AARP has launched a new portal within their website dedicated to LGBT elders. The portal is designed to accommodate and offer advice on the…
The Internal Revenue Service has a low-profile but sweeping effort under way to use state land-transfer records for evidence of omissions in reporting gifts of real estate to family members. New tax rules make big gifts to family members popular this year. If you made a gift of real estate (or are considering making one) be warned – the IRS is scrutinizing land-transfer records looking for folks who may have made a reporting error. As The Wall Street Journal reports, the IRS has begun requesting state land-transfer records and checking them against reports of the past few years to find…
Most individuals avoid planning for his or her funeral. Consequently, they leave the decisions to their beloved ones. Sadly, because of your loved ones emotions, after your death, paying for your funeral may be unnecessarily expensive. Funeral and burial costs can easily exceed $10,000. Therefore, to avoid the guilt of your loved one's spending money on your funeral, you can plan your own funeral. However, it is very important investigate the options and never let your self be pressured into buying goods you do not require. Consequently, you must learn to be an informed consumer. Purchasing a pre-paid funeral, unfortunately,…
According to recent research from The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, 70% of baby-boomer households will receive inheritances worth a total of $8.4 Trillion. With an average of $300,000 for most inheriting households, and an average of $1.5 million for the wealthiest inheritors, the better part of a generation is expected to see a nice bump in their assets. The question, then, is what to do about it. Ashlea Ebeling of Forbes recently approached the topic with a number of considerations, from warnings to ideas. Consider Keeping it Separate. The first thing to take stock of is how…
Most lawyers do not concentrate only elder care issues. Asking the right questions at a consultation can help you choose the right elder care attorney for your needs. What Elder Care Services Does The Firm Provide? Many law firms state they handle elder care cases. However, most firms do not have lawyers or staff who specifically work in the needs of the elderly. Therefore, ask about the firm's attorney and staff, what specifically do they do, Medicaid, Asset Protection, Life Care Planning, Care Advocacy, Veterans Benefits? The State of Maryland and the Federal Government has numerous laws affecting the elderly….
