estate planning

When Aged Parents Refuse to Discuss End-of-Life Care

Posted by Eric P. Rothenberg – No one likes to discuss their own death, as if talking about it will somehow hasten it, or not talking about it might prevent it from happening! By encouraging your parents to prepare for the end of their lives, you are not only acting as a responsible and loving child, but you are saving time, money, and heartache for yourself and the rest of your family. All parents want to leave their children as much as they can as a legacy, and that’s precisely why estate planning is beneficial to them as well. A short answer: if they become incapacitated before signing a durable power of attorney or their will, you are out of luck and their estate will pass under intestacy laws [when there’s no will]. In approaching your parents next time, it may be best to remind them that while making end-of-life

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Taking Full Advantage of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

Posted by Robert L. Arone – Key Points to Discuss With Your Clients Like all things, tax laws are constantly changing. An important part of serving your clients is responding quickly and strategically to new developments in the tax law landscape. But at the same time, a knee-jerk reaction is rarely the best course of action—often resulting in unforeseen complications in the future. The best decisions are made by professional teams working together to analyze all angles of a situation to come up with the best strategy in response to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), a historic amendment to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. The TCJA affects many Americans in a variety of areas of life, and your clients might not be aware of what its impact will be on their long-term financial plan.  Of course, this law is going on seven months old, but too many

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Tomorrow, June 15th, 2018 is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD).

  Posted by Gerald J. Turner – This day was launched by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the World Health Organization at the United Nations. Its purpose is to provide an opportunity for communities around the world to promote a better understanding of abuse and neglect of older persons by raising awareness of the cultural, social, economic and demographic processes affecting elders. Approximately 1 in 10 Americans aged 60+ have experienced some form of elder abuse. Some estimates range as high as 5 million elders who are abused each year. One study estimated that only 1 in 14 cases of abuse are reported to authorities. (NCOA) You may be wondering, what exactly is elder abuse? Elder abuse refers to intentional or negligent acts by a caregiver or trusted individual that causes harm to an older person. Elder abuse takes many forms, including: Neglect or Isolation Physical abuse Sexual abuse Financial abuse and

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Avoid estate planning horror stories: 2 ways that people fail to plan

  Posted by Gerald J. Turner – We take care of our loved ones our entire lives. But, one of the worst things you can do to them is dying without the right estate plan in place.Just like the old adage says: “when we fail to plan, we plan to fail.” People tend to make one of two common mistakes when it comes to planning for their affairs after they die: 1. They do nothing Doing nothing means leaving behind a huge, jumbled mess. Your family will have to deal with handling your affairs without any guidance. People who die without proper estate plans put their families at risk of strife caused by trying to figure out what you would have wanted. Or worse yet, they might misrepresent or disregard what you would have wanted, selfishly trying to gain more for themselves. 2. They go the DIY route with their

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