Articles Posted in Elder Law

MP900442457As the executor of [my mom's] estate, I'm trying to help her decide what to do with the house. Let another family member live in it who couldn't pay rent but could help with upkeep? Rent it out for market value? Or sell?

If she hasn't already, an article in The LA Times titledConsider tax implications when downsizing, recommends that she needs to hire an experienced estate planning attorney who can help her evaluate her options.

If she sells, she could possibly be in for a shock because there might be a considerable capital gains tax on the sale. Federal law permits a set amount of capital gains on the sale of a primary residence ($250,000 per person) to be excluded from income. However, anything above that amount would be taxed heavily as a capital gain.

MP900289434 Three estate planning questions to ask your parents right now.

 Caring for aging parents poses many questions, some of which you want to get out of the way early on. A recent article in The Oprah Magazine,titledSanity-Saving Secrets For Caring For Your Aging Parents, suggests three questions to ask your parents right now.

 1.     Do you have a living will? There are about 72% of seniors who already have advance directives specifying end-of-life medical wishes, according to a recent study funded by the National Institute on Aging. That’s terrific, but make sure your parents are in that group. As long as you’re on the subject, see if their documents have been revised in the last five years and that you know its location.

GrandparentsAlthough nobody can be forced to participate as a caregiver, there are ways to approach the situation that are more likely to have a positive result.

Families encounter many issues when planning care for a loved one. A common issue is the unwillingness of siblings to “step up to the plate” and make a contribution to the caregiving tasks.

The (Carlisle, PA) Sentinel’s recent article, titled "Elder Care: Keeping family conflict to minimum," explains that even though no one can be forced to participate as a caregiver, there are some ways to approach the situation that may yield more positive results.

Auto accidents are the second leading cause of injury-related mortality among people 65 and older. “It is everyone’s responsibility to identify and assist a mentally impaired driver,” she said.

Another birthday coming up for an elderly loved one? It may be time to evaluate their driving skills, especially in Houston.

A recent article in the Claims Journal, titled Police, Doctors Receive Elder Driver Assessment Training,” describes an educational program called Training, Research and Education for Driving Safety (TREDS). The program is designed to reduce the number of fatalities involving older drivers and to extend the time seniors can drive safely.

MP900400665To prevent you and your family members from enduring more stress, misery or confusion than necessary, here are five estate-planning booboos to avoid …

Think you have the right ideas when it comes to your Houston estate? You may want to watch out for some common "don'ts" in the estate planning world.

The Financial Post's recent article, titled "‘Your grandfather’s dead. It’s my money now': Five estate-planning mistakes to avoid," discusses some typical estate planning mistakes.

Money in mousetrapThe woman Benny claims took advantage of him was his second wife. He says after he had a stroke, she threw him in a nursing home and never saw him again.

At one time, World War II veteran Benny Goo was very affluent with a gorgeous home in Hawaii. Now, Benny has nothing. He says that a woman named “Barbara” stole $2 million from him, which forced him to sell his home.

According to a KLAS TV(Las Vegas) news report posted on the station’s website, titled "Veteran claims elderly abuse by ex-wife," Benny believes that “Barbara”—the woman who took advantage of him—was his second wife. Mr. Goo said that when he had a stroke, Barbara placed him in a nursing home. He never saw her again. However, Barbara was busy cleaning out his bank account and switching his Social Security and pension checks to be deposited directly into her accounts.

CompassGiven the widespread health, legal, social and economic implications of elder abuse, the Elder Justice Roadmap Project sought the input of experts and stakeholders from across the country in order to develop a strategic resource — by the field and for the field — to combat elder abuse, neglect and financial exploitation.

Impacting about five million Americans each year, elder abuse is a crime that can include physical, sexual, and psychological abuse, neglect, abandonment, and financial exploitation. This abuse results in thousands of cases of illness, injury and suffering for elderly victims, their loved ones and their caregivers. It is tragic that so few cases are reported to the authorities. According to some statistics, only about one in 24 is reported. With Baby Boomers retiring and this widespread impact of elder abuse, the Elder Justice Roadmap Project was initiated to collect the thoughts of experts and stakeholders from across the nation. Their aim was to develop a strategic resource to fight elder abuse, neglect and financial exploitation. The project's report identifies and prioritizes actions that direct service providers, educators, and researchers can take to benefit older adults in this situation. And as its name implies, it provides a roadmap for strategic investment and engagement by policymakers in both the public and private sectors to advance these efforts to prevent and combat elder abuse.

The Elder Justice Roadmap Project’s publication came about after President Obama pledged to eliminate the victimization of older Americans. On June 11, he proclaimed World Elder Abuse Awareness Day and declared that the government must improve the criminal justice response and work harder to ensure all Americans have the “right to enjoy their retirement years with a basic sense of security.”

Past present and futureNot only can dementia lead to poor financial decision-making; it can also make sufferers susceptible to financial fraud.

You cannot predict whether or not you or your spouse will develop dementia later in life. But because dementia is such a real possibility to face for many Houston households, it is one better faced sooner rather than later. Proper planning can reduce the inevitable stress on all concerned.

The issue of dementia in planning was recently addressed by MarketWatch in article titled “Stunning study on dementia, couples and money.” The results of the study mentioned are multifaceted. However, there is one obvious data point upon which the article rotates – the vast majority of households turn over financial control to the unimpaired spouse once the original leader of family finances shows signs of dementia. Unfortunately, dementia doesn’t work that way; it’s far too subtle. This means that many households may have waited too long, and then the unimpaired spouse is left to learn all of the finances and pick up any broken pieces from a spouse who may be unable to fully account for it all. That is a glass half empty, unfortunately.

PassportOne of your first considerations should be where to keep your money. When you move abroad, you will most likely need to open a bank account in the new country in order to pay local bills.

An increasing number of people are retiring on foreign shores. If you’re thinking about retiring abroad, then there is much to dream about and also much to plan.

The romance of the move aside, retiring abroad has an appeal not limited to wanderlust. It can mean lower cost of living, more favorable healthcare costs, taxation benefits, and a whole new lifestyle. But since retiring abroad means planning to move internationally, planning your retirement and, yes, planning for your eventual estate, it’s no small step. You’ll very much need to look into your future home and the laws that exist there, and work with competent counsel to guide you back here in the States. To help you in thinking about the transition and the steps to take to make the dream a reality, there is a helpful recent exposition in ElderLawAnswers titled “Things to Consider Before Retiring Abroad.

Pill obxHow do I know what kind of caregiver my family member needs?How do I go about finding a home caregiver?What if I prefer to hire someone myself?

Choosing care for an elderly loved one can be challenging as it requires much research and thought. Their needs will determine the type of care, as well as the costs involved. Recently, The New York Times had some useful perspective and helpful tips on this issue with an article titled “Tips for Choosing Care for an Aging or Ailing Family Member.

The range of needs an elderly loved one can develop, and for which you might seek aid, can run the gamut from simple to life-threatening, medical to cosmetic, and everything in between. Just as there’s not just one need, there certainly isn’t just one option out there for care. For instance, you might need someone to do basic housekeeping like cooking and cleaning. A hired homemaker can take care of these chores with gusto so long as no personal or medical care is needed. For a bit more, a home health aide can help with trickier needs like dressing and bathing assistance, but not actual medical care. And then once you get into the home healthcare arena, there are even more shades of care and ways of paying for such services.

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