Review by Klark J. Perez, Orlando, Florida Book by Ernie J. Zielinski “The Joy of Not Working” is a must read in my opinion. It’s an easy enjoyable read that you may not want to put down once you start. At some point in life you may have been unemployed and you definitely should be…
ELDER LAW ISSUES
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JANUARY 21, 2013 VOLUME 20 NUMBER 3 Administering a “special needs” trust can be a challenge. The rules often seem vague, and they occasionally shift. What may seem like a simple question might actually involve layers of complexity. Sometimes an expenditure might be permissible under the rules of, say, the Social Security Administration, but not…
JANUARY 14, 2013 VOLUME 20 NUMBER 2 Congress acted (not just at the last minute, but after the last minute). The update to the estate tax provisions is permanent, or at least what passes for permanent in the world of taxes and politics. So does that mean you need to make changes to your estate…
JANUARY 7, 2013 VOLUME 20 NUMBER 1 A recent blog entry from the Special Needs Alliance (two of our lawyers are members) addressed the common problems encountered when family members seek guardianship over someone with a mental illness. The very same day we received a call from a prospective client, asking if he could secure…
DECEMBER 31, 2012 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 47 The distribution date for this week’s Elder Law Issues newsletter is New Year’s Eve. Although we have been publishing this (more-or-less) weekly newsletter for 19 years, that has only happened twice before — in 2007 and 2001. In both of those instances we passed up a chance to…
DECEMBER 17, 2012 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 45 Wouldn’t it be nice if you could find a place to live for the rest of your life? That is, a place that is comfortable for active and engaged seniors, but with an assisted living component and even a nursing home — so that as you (or your…
DECEMBER 10, 2012 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 45 This week we offer season-relevant advice from our friends in the Elder Consumer Protection Program at Stetson University College of Law’s Center for Excellence in Elder Law. We share this information with their permission: Top 5 Holiday Scams During the holiday season, fraudsters find their way onto the…
DECEMBER 3, 2012 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 44 One of the great advantages of a trust can be the ability to bypass court supervision and review. One of the great disadvantage of a trust can be that it bypasses court supervision and review. A recent California Court of Appeals decision highlights the problem nicely — and…
NOVEMBER 26, 2012 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 43 Many Arizona residents own vacation property in Mexico. Most Arizonans are at least somewhat familiar with Mexico’s land laws governing property ownership by U.S. citizens. The Mexican Federal Constitution of 1917 prohibits non-citizens (of Mexico, that is) from owning property within 100 kilometers of the border or 50…
NOVEMBER 19, 2012 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 42 Here’s the headline: the annual gift tax exclusion amount, which has been set at $13,000 per year since 2009, will increase next year by $1,000. That means you can give up to the higher figure ($14,000) to any one other person without having to file a federal gift…