The Dreaded Diagnosis – Part 1
In this week’s blog post I want to revisit a question that I am asked often when I tell people what I do. They ask, “when is the right time to plan for the possible need for long term care?” For most people I think the optimum
Required Minimum Distributions – Part 2
In last week’s blog post I covered the basics of how required minimum distribution (RMD) rules work for IRAs and other tax deferred retirement accounts. To summarize you must take out a minimum amount from your account each year. That’s RMD and it starts in the year you turn
Is There Any Government Benefit Program I Am Not Aware Of? (Part 2)
In last week’s post I related a common question about government benefits – “is there something out there in the way of benefits that we could get that we’re just not aware of”? Most recently, a son, whose dad is in a nursing home already receiving Medicaid benefits, asked
Is There Any Government Benefits I am Not Aware of? Part 1
In this week’s post I want to talk about a common question I get about government benefits. “Is there any benefit my family member can get that I am not aware of?” In other words, “am I missing anything”? I can certainly
Raising a Grandchild (Part 2)
In last week's post I focused on an increasingly common family arrangement in which -for several different reasons - grandparents who expected to retire and live a more leisurely lifestyle instead find themselves caring for their grandchildren. This often starts as a temporary solution but
Raising a Grandchild (Part 1)
It is estimated that 2.7 million grandparents are raising their minor grandchildren in their homes. The reasons for this are varied. The birth parents may be unable to care for their children because of physical or mental illness, substance abuse, incarceration, homelessness, poverty, or unemployment. In many
The Declining Pool of Caregivers
Another article, this time in the Wall Street Journal caught my eye the other day. It’s about how this country is running out of family caregivers at a time when the need for those caregivers is increasing. Some of my recent posts have included statistics showing the continued trend
Searching for a Support System (Part 3)
In last week’s blog post I explained some options for our hypothetical client, Jane Doe, who has a limited family and friend support system. Neighbors, friends from different walks of life and professionals both on the health care and legal/financial side can be alternatives. I have found
Searching for a Support System (Part 1)
I received a reader email a few weeks back asking me to write about aging seniors who have no family or friends to rely on. I wrote about this topic last January (see blog posts 1-2-17 and 1-9-17) but we are seeing the scenario with increasing frequency,
The Continuing Rise in Long Term Care Premiums
A few years ago I wrote about the number of clients calling our office who are getting notices of substantial rate increases on their long term care insurance policies. Since then it has been a problem that has only increased in frequency. An article this week in