If you are the child of parents who are currently over the age of 65 you’ve probably given a little bit of thought to the day when one (or both) of your parents may need Long Term Care. Understandably, most adult children prefer not to think about the day when their parents may not be… Read More »
Blog Posts Page 28
Personal Care Contracts: The Hidden Solution to the Elder Care Dilemma
Caring for an aging relative is difficult—and often underappreciated—work. Many people who serve as caregivers often feel as if they have two jobs—their full-time day job at the office and the part-to-full-time job of caregiver at home. As their parents age and decline, most of these caregivers end up not only giving up more and… Read More »
With $5 Million Gift Tax Exclusion About to Expire, Is Now the Time to Give To Your Children or Grandchildren?
When legislation in 2010 raised the lifetime gift tax exclusion amount from $1 million to $5 million many wealthy families rejoiced, expecting that they would now be able to give large gifts to children or grandchildren and be able to save millions in taxes at the same time. But for all the rejoicing, the unsteady… Read More »
Mediation Helps Preserve Family Harmony
Q. My parents are aging and I find that they are in greater need of assistance for care, paying bills, shopping, and the like. The problem is that there are four of us children and we do not always agree on what is best for mom and dad. I am concerned that, as my parents’… Read More »
New Medi-Cal Protections For Same Sex Couples & RDP’s Coming
California has moved one step closer in treating same-sex couples and Registered Domestic Partners (“RDP’s”) the same as married couples in the context of Medi-Cal eligibility. The Medi-Cal Eligibility Division recently released a draft of instructions to California counties on how to implement legislation signed last year by Gov. Brown (AB 641, Feuer). This legislation proposes new rules… Read More »
Preserving Your Low Property Tax For Your Children
Q. My wife and I have owned our home, and a rental duplex, for approximately 20 years and have a low assessed value on each. We would like to preserve the low property tax rate for our son. If we pass it to him by gift or by inheritance, would either transfer trigger reassessment and… Read More »
The Presidential Campaign & The Estate Tax
Curiosity and excitement are always to be expected in an election year—especially curiosity about taxes. We all know that each presidential candidate has very different philosophies about where the tax burden lies, how much should be paid, and by whom; but all most of us really want to know is how the implementation of each… Read More »
Low Interest Rates Good for Borrowers, Bad for Retired Seniors
If you’re nearing retirement and looking forward to living off the interest of your retirement savings you may have to consider staying in the job market for another year or so. Interest rates have hit record lows recently; a turn of events which is good for homeowners and borrowers, but very bad for seniors hoping… Read More »
Supreme Court’s Ruling on Health Care Reform May Help Seniors
The recent Supreme Court ruling of the constitutionality of the new health care reforms has many seniors breathing a sigh of relief. The ruling has ensured that, at least for the time being, senior citizens will continue to receive their currently existing benefits from programs such as Medicaid and Medicare; but the ruling also paves… Read More »
The Ethical Will: Putting Your Values on Paper
Q: In connection with creating our estate planning documents, my husband and I would like to leave our children and grandchildren something more than just our money and assets. We would like to leave them a sense of our values. A friend mentioned something to us about an “Ethical Will”. Can you tell us anything… Read More »