For the last several decades, you’ve always made these kinds of decisions together. What can already be an emotional task of drafting a will is even more so after the loss of a lifelong partner. Even in the event of a terminal illness diagnosis with time to prepare in advance,…
In some parts of the U.S., like West Virginia, without a will, your estate is first distributed according to your marital status and children, including those of previous marriages. However, if you have no spouse or children, you may want to pull out your family tree to see who could…
Can you imagine not being notified if your parent had been injured, fell ill or had even passed away? With a recently increasing occurrence across the country, state representatives are proposing changes to ensure children have visitation rights to ailing parents. Fox News shared Catherine Falk’s story in an article…
Here are six suggestions to help prepare for some of the most common stressful situations that can occur during elder care. The role of an elder caregiver is not an easy one, and many Houston seniors find themselves taking on this role without any preparation. A recent Forbes article, “6…
"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…