Regardless of the size of your estate, comprehensive estate planning can help you make the most of the assets you have worked hard to build. It is important to make sure that you take a thorough approach to estate planning in order to preserve as many assets as possible, and…
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Debt and Estate Planning
Debt is an all-too-common part of our everyday life. In fact, Marketwatch.com lists American personal debt – including homes, student loans, and auto loans – at approximately two billion dollars. This figure does not include credit card debt. However, as daunting as debt may seem, making sure to consider your…
Federal officials study how to cut drug prices for Medicare patients
In the wake of rising drug prices over years for Medicare patients, federal officials appear ready to finally take some kind of action to help with out of pocket costs many seniors and disabled persons struggle with. Recently, federal officials have begun to explore the possibility of achieving lower drug…
Exploring Medicaid Trusts
Long-term medical care is expensive, and there is no indication that trend will reverse itself anytime soon. That means you need to be proactive in considering the implications of long-term medical care costs when approaching comprehensive estate planning. Many people find themselves falling short of the funds needed to pay…
AARP filing lawsuits to stop illegal nursing home evictions
Lawyers for AARP recently took the unprecedented step of filing a lawsuit against a California nursing home chain claiming the defendant violates the civil rights of patients by evicting them without due cause. The group filed their suit on behalf of an 83-year old woman with alzheimers who became separated…
CBO: GOP tax bill would strip $25 billion from Medicare funding
According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the proposed GOP tax bill would strip an estimated $136 billion from mandatory spending in 2018, including $25 billion in Medicare cuts if Congress does not find away to offset the cuts. Under the so-called pay-go law, Medicare can only be cut a…
Medicare Part B premiums to increase 23 percent for many seniors
According to a recent report by CNBC, Medicare Part B premiums are expected to rise for millions of seniors across the country in 2018, putting even more financial strain on elders trying to enjoy their golden years while living on fixed incomes. The increased costs means many seniors should prepare…
Basic Steps in Creating a Trust: Part Two
In the first part of this post, we covered the initial basics in setting up a trust. Determining your purpose for creating the trust is certainly one of the most important steps, as are determining which individuals will be involved in the trust and how you want to go about…
Asset Transfers from Trusts Abroad
It is no secret that we live in an increasingly globalized world. That means it is becoming more and more common for individuals to find themselves abroad for any number of reasons that may include work, family, retirement, or even simply a desire to travel extensively. Whatever the reason for…
Understanding Survivor Benefits
An often-overlooked part of estate planning is social security. We often hear that social security is not enough for an individual to live on during retirement, especially given that people are living longer lives and often require additional medical care when reaching an advanced age. However, social security can actually…