As we age, our needs and demands change. Senior Life Care Planning’s goal is to educate and assist you in achieving quality of life and peace of mind. Before the care journey becomes overwhelming, it's important to have trusted professionals guiding you on your path. Our philosophy is to provide a dedicated service and attention to our clients to make the aging process empowering and rewarding. We are often asked: How can I protect my assets to take care of my spouse, or to leave them to my children? Do I have to spend all of my money on the nursing…
The tax cut extension package does dramatically change the game for everyone – married couples and singles alike – in terms of estate tax planning. In fact, that tidbit is probably the most important thing you should remember about the new legislation – it made significant changes to the estate tax law. The very fact that things have changed (again) means your estate planning probably should be reviewed.The federal estate tax exemption is now $5 million, with a 35 percent applicable tax rate on the remainder. This means that if you are a single person with an estate of less…
Is your work, commitments, family demands and responsibilities now so great that you are not able to provide the desired level of advocacy, supervision and attention to your loved one’s issues?
If you file an appeal on behalf of a veteran regarding service connected injury, asserting that VA failed to fulfill its duty to assist the veteran when it failed to obtain complete disability records from a government agency i.e. Social Security Administration (SSA). The outcome is favorable, as long as a reasonable possibility exists that SSA and other medical records are relevant to the veteran’s claim, the VA is required to assist the veteran in obtaining the identified records. However, Congress has placed reasonable limits on the VA’s duty to assist. Consequently, the VA is not required to obtain records…
The number of unmarried couples is on the rise, and with them a myriad of legal snarls and entanglements. In fact, if you are not married to your partner, but have shared assets or living arrangements, the Wall Street Journal article says you may experience a sort of (un)marriage penalty. According to the Census Bureau, the number of opposite-sex unmarried couples living together in the U.S. jumped some 13% in 2010 from the previous year, to about 7.5 million. The bureau also estimates the number of same-sex couples living together rose roughly 30 percent, to about 620,000 this year from…
If you’re feeling charitable this holiday season, I certainly encourage you to follow those passions and make heart-felt charitable donations. However, while you certainly want to be cheerful giver, there’s no reason you shouldn’t also be a tax-savvy one! There are a number of ways to accomplish a strategy to both support worthy causes, and reduce your tax-bite at the same time. In fact, MarketWatch recently offered a concise list of five tax-savvy strategies: 1. Donor-Advised Funds: A donor-advised fund is like your own private foundation, without the onerous administrative costs or duties. Although you lose final say in the…
For many, bankruptcy carries a stigma of personal failure and shame. Still, filing for bankruptcy protection may be a viable option for a growing number of seniors who find their incomes shrinking while their bills – particularly medical bills – continue to rise. USA Today recently reported a study from the University of Michigan Law School showing that people age 65 and older are the fastest-growing segment of the population seeking bankruptcy protection. It’s a matter of simple math. Medical expenses, taxes and other costs keep going up, while Social Security hasn’t had a cost of living adjustment, pension and…
‘Tis the season – for Medicare fraud and scams, that is! Every year at about this time, the scammers come out from under whatever rocks they hide, taking advantage of the confusion and haste many seniors experience during the Open Enrollment period that lasts through the end of the year. According to the LA Times, we have the usual crop of potential identity thieves, calling seniors and trying to pry their personal financial information from them over the phone. Unfortunately, we also are seeing another type of scam this year: unscrupulous sales tactics by pushy sales agents. Some of these…
The new tax bill contains a little-known loophole that, if you act quickly, could save a big tax bite for those who want to make substantial gifts to grandchildren. The Generation Skipping Tax (GST), in place since 1986, is a second layer of tax applied to gifts that “skip” a generation – for example, gifts made to grandchildren if the parents are still alive. The loophole in the new tax bill not only confirms a 0% GST for all of 2010 (making the law more clear) but widens that loop hole substantially, albeit temporarily, through the end of this year,…
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