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On April 5, 2019, Kathy Lee Gifford, the co-host of the fourth hour of the Today Show retired after 25-years working in daytime television. In an interview in AARP Magazine, she reflects on loss and loneliness. She states, “If you’re not careful, what you’ve lost in life can define you.…
Being left out of your parent’s will is a difficult pill to swallow. People are free to dispose of their property through a will as they see fit. Only spouses have some statutory protection against being cut-off from the other spouse’s will. If you are the child that has been…
Estate planning serves a valuable purpose. Done correctly, estate planning can include all of a person’s end of life goals. If mistakes are made during the estate planning process, however, an individual can end up facing countless obstacles including paying more taxes and uncertainties about beneficiaries. In an effort…
The AARP reports that 64 percent of Americans do not have estate planning documents. While “do it yourself” estate planning documents might seem attractive if you do not have an end of life plan, they are not without risks. The advantages of “do it yourself” estate planning are clear.…
At the end of March 2019, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court heard the case of Gavin v. Loeffelbein, which concerns the appointment of emergency guardians. In the case, the Superior Court held that an emergency guardianship order automatically expired after a period of thirty days. In addressing this case, the…
I recently went to the emergency room at my local hospital because I was experiencing severe flank pain. I thought it was my appendix, but instead I was diagnosed with kidney stones. That wasn’t the most unpleasant thing to occur to me on that very painful night. I arrived at…
End of life planning is very difficult. On the one hand, you must understand what your assets are and contemplate how to dispose of them after your death in a way that is meaningful to you and the people or organizations you gift. On the other hand, you must identify…
Families today, as always, come in all shapes and sizes. This includes sexual orientation. As gays, lesbians, bi-sexual, and transgender people (LGBT) age and move into retirement communities, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities, how welcome are they? An individual who has lived a good life at 85 wants to…
In a case that provides an important lesson about the role of charitable deductions, The Ninth Circuit recently affirmed a tax court’s decision to sustain a deficiency against an estate because the estate had overstated its amount of charitable deductions. In the case, Ahmanson Foundation v. United States, the Ninth…
Mental illness is hard to spot in people. This is especially true for seniors. Part of the difficulty with identifying who may be suffering from a mental illness is the social stigma associated with mental illnesses and treatment for mental illnesses. If you yourself are experiencing cognitive decline because of…