Preserving the “Self” though the Memory Dims
Kathy Greenlee, Director of the federal Administration for Community Living– http://www.acl.gov/Index.aspx — gave a marvelous speech last Wednesday at the 3rd World Congress on Adult Guardianship in Arlington VA. She said that “The loss of memory is not the same as the loss of self,” that people need to be recognized for their unique selves and everyone craves the...
World Guardianship Congress Debates Decision-Making
Over 300 people from 6 continents & 19 countries attended the 3rd World Congress on Adult Guardianship in Arlington, VA last week and spent three days discussing strategies to help people who have impaired decision-making ability. Elder law attorneys, professional guardians, professors and policy makers tackled issues such as: preserving autonomy and legal rights by use of limited...
World Guardianship Congress Conference
The World Congress on Adult Guardianship will have its 3rd biennial conference in Crystal City, Virginia May 28-30. Speakers from all over the world will be presenting on the different approaches to guardianship in their countries and the legal strategies they have developed towards implementing the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. You can...
Saving the stories of the Veterans in our Families
My father Walter Ershow was a 2nd Lieutenant Bombardier on a Flying Fortress B-17 in World War II, on Crew FH-009-AV 24, in the 20th Bomb Squadron, 2nd Bomb Group of the 15th Army Air Force. They flew 23 missions and miraculously, all survived. Forty years after the War — through great effort in those pre-internet days — the members of the crew found each other and had a great...
Preserve your open space land by charitable estate planning
Are you a nature lover who is the owner of acres of undeveloped land, looking for ways to preserve it and provide a community benefit? It could be property that you also live on, or land that you use just for recreation. Perhaps the idea of selling to a developer makes you unhappy. Even if you are planning to preserve the land for lifetime benefit of your heirs, there are ways you can preserve...
What is “Medicaid Planning” all about?
With costs of nursing home care skyrocketing, aging middle class couples who saved for their golden years find that their savings start to vanish when one spouse needs 24/7 care. The community spouse may have many years of good health ahead of her, but could face poverty and dependency if she does not plan things out for Medicaid to take over the cost of her beloved’s care. Careful...
If you stopped working due to illness, don’t delay iif you need Social Security Disability
If you are no longer able to work because you have developed a severe medical condition, there are important rules within the Social Security Disability program that you need to bear in mind. While you are working and Social Security taxes are being paid (FICA), you are acquiring work credits within the Social Security system. These are banked, and once you have acquired 40 calendar quarters...
When signing your Will, don’t forget about IRA beneficiary designations
When talking with your attorney about your new Will, be sure to find out if any of the assets is an IRA – an Individual Retirement Account — and be sure to check out your current beneficiary designations. Tax-deferred IRA accounts typically have beneficiaries designated by the account owner so that upon death of the IRA owner, the account will be transferred to one or more people...
Transferring the home? Consider ordering a Title Search
Deeds for real estate are recorded at the county clerk’s office to “put the world on notice” as to who owns the property. If you and your parents are talking about transferring the home, it would be a good idea to first order a title search through a Title Insurance Company to confirm the state of the title and the absence of liens.
Suppose that your great aunt owned a house...
Save your child’s medical & special education records
Do you have a son or daughter who is unable to work due to disabilities that began before age 22? Your young adult may have begun receiving SSI & Medicaid benefits when they turned 18. However, when you retire and are eligible to receive Social Security benefits, or if there comes a time that you can no longer work due to your own disabilities and you start receiving Social Security...