We’ve all been learning a lot more lately about economics and investment practices than we ever thought we would… but do these lessons from the global economy transfer to the family circle? Studies have shown that most families have one person who takes care of all the finances: paying the bills, setting aside money for… Read More »
Blog Posts Page 51
In the News: What Does it Mean to Have a Health Care Directive?
There seems to be a lot of fear around President Obama’s proposed healthcare reforms, most of that fear centering on the end-of-life planning included in the proposal. As a firm that deals with elder law issues, it is important to us that our clients be informed about their health care and choices. As we regularly counsel… Read More »
Protect Your Child from Dangerous Guardians
Some of the clients who seek our estate planning advice are parents of small children whose primary goal in creating an estate plan is to protect their children. This includes providing for their immediate financial needs, ensuring they will have the means to receive an education, and so forth, but often the very first question these… Read More »
What is REALLY Behind a Contested Will?
Tolstoy said that “happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way,” but sometimes even the most stable and happy of families can turn angry and litigious when death and property are involved. It never ceases to be surprising how many seemingly strong family relationships devolve into backbiting and grudge-holding when… Read More »
A Daytime Solution for Working Caregivers
According to a study done by the AARP over 34 million people provide care to ill or disabled adults aged 50 or over, and with the aging baby boomer population (and their aging parents) that number is only likely to grow. This presents a growing problem, because providing care to aging parents or grandparents is… Read More »
Dad Died and I’m His Executor… Now What?
Dealing with the death of a family member—especially when that family member is a parent—can be fraught with confusion and emotion even under the best of circumstances. Being named as the executor of a family member’s estate (although often considered an honor) means that you have to have a clearer head and more patience than everyone else… Read More »
A Living Will Is Good For You, Good For The Country
President Obama’s pet project of health care reform seems to have a lot of people worried. His talk of living wills encouraging people to specify their end-of-life wishes in particular are the topics bandied about most often in tense (or downright frightened) conversations. Some people seem to think that the very act of specifying your… Read More »
Medi-Cal Budget Cuts Won’t Affect Nursing Home Residents
We have received many inquiries from clients and colleagues asking whether the California Budget, just signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on July 28, 2009, will adversely affect nursing home residents who rely upon Medi-Cal to help pay for care. The good news: No. Neither will it directly affect subsidies for ancillary services, such as dental and… Read More »
“Second Childishness and Mere Oblivion”
Shakespeare wrote about the seven ages of man, in which he describes the human journey from helpless child to adult and back to helpless child again: “…Infant, schoolboy, lover, soldier, justice, pantaloon, and second childhood, ‘sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything’”. Anyone who has had to watch as their parents age knows how… Read More »
Talking Taxes Now Brings Big Savings Next April
Everyone knows that March and April are tax season, when everybody scrambles to get their taxes done, mailed off, and out of mind for the rest of the year; but according to this article from Reuters the taxes you pay in April can be significantly lower if you take the time to think about them… Read More »