"If you get a claim denial, always contact your doctor or hospital to see if they can help you through the appeal," said Shirley Whitenack, president of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and a partner with law firm Schenck, Price, Smith & King. Larry Tocco retired last year…
Portland attorney Victoria Blachly said people can avoid the personal, financial and in some cases legal headaches that come with losing access to their online accounts by creating a Virtual Asset Instruction Letter where they list their online accounts, the passwords they use to access each one, and instructions explaining…
In the absence of a well-crafted estate plan, women can be affected more often and more directly than men. According to www.forbes.com, women live longer than men, on average, and tend to marry older spouses; this makes women three times more likely as men to be widowed at age 65. …
A bar owner who never attended college has left $200,000 to the alma mater of her best customers. Ida F. Meyer of Lake Placid, Fla., died March 22 at 103 years of age. “I might as well give it back to the College,” she told her attorney Michael A. Rider,…
We have recently learned about an exciting new service that we believe may help assist clients in bridging the gap between the circles of care, as we noted in yesterday's blog. Marcia Levetown, M.D. has recently formed HealthCare Communication Associates[1]. Her mission is to lessen the confusion, anxiety and risks…
Why is getting older so difficult? No one expects to be impaired or disabled — we are a hopeful species! Why is it so difficult to get comprehensive advice about effective aging strategies to better protect yourself and your loved ones? In many cases, because the answers do not live…
See where boating accidents, law enforcement intervention, firearms and other unexpected events caused deaths at abnormally high rates. Lesson? Get your estate planning in order; you never know when your time will come to an end. Death can be unexpected and some Houston families can be caught unprepared following a…
Fran had just learned that her deceased husband Ed’s life insurance proceeds were going to be paid to his ex-wife Sally. As Fran found out from her lawyer, beneficiary designations can be the trump card of estate planning. You heard that right. The ex-wife Sally will get the life insurance…
The bill relaxes a rule that makes getting specialized care from local doctors difficult for some veterans in rural areas. The Associated Press investigated this new legislation in a recent article titled “Senate tweaks health law to boost specialized care.” If this bill is passed by the House and…
At some point, everyone needs to consider estate planning. It’s time to create an up-to-date estate plan when you experience one of these life events. Think estate planning isn’t for you? Think again! And it’s not just a one-time deal; changes in your life should result in changes to your…