APRIL 14, 2008 VOLUME 15, NUMBER 42 We see the same sad story time and again. Sometimes there are small variations, but it almost always starts the same way. Aging parents (or other relatives) need assistance with their finances and their care. As those needs increase, family members begin — often with the very best…
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APRIL 7, 2008 VOLUME 15, NUMBER 41 Quite often we see revocable living trusts fail because individuals do not understand the importance of changing ownership of assets to the trust. In most cases that means the unnecessary expense of a probate proceeding that could have been avoided. Sometimes the effects are more dramatic, as in…
APRIL 30, 2007 VOLUME 14, NUMBER 44 Several times over the past few years (most recently in Safety for the Older Driver: Is Skills Training the Answer?) we have reported on an issue of great concern to seniors—the effect of aging on the ability to drive. Now Congress has gotten interested in the topic, if a…
APRIL 23, 2007 VOLUME 14, NUMBER 43 Individuals with disabilities, confused and vulnerable seniors and patients recovering from medical procedures often end up staying in nursing homes for weeks, months or years. Quality of care in those facilities is obviously important, and yet difficult to monitor. The good news: since most nursing homes accept Medicare…
APRIL 16, 2007 VOLUME 14, NUMBER 42 Ironies abound as the leading edge of the “Baby Boom” generation heads into its 60s (and retirement). The generation that vowed never to trust anyone over 30 will shortly have to figure out minimum distribution rules from Individual Retirement Accounts, Medicare’s Part D coverage and its limitations, and…
APRIL 9, 2007 VOLUME 14, NUMBER 41 Mark Glasser and Suzanne Glasser Matthews, brother and sister, have spent the last two years battling for physical and financial control over their mother, Lillian Glasser. The 86-year-old Mrs. Glasser, who at one point had an estimated net worth of $25 million, has been the subject of proceedings…
APRIL 2, 2007 VOLUME 14, NUMBER 40 When Mary Brewton entered a Louisiana nursing home in January, 2003, her husband Marvin stayed in their family home. The value of the home was not considered in calculating her eligibility for Medicaid assistance with the nursing home costs, and so she qualified immediately. When her husband moved…
NOVEMBER 27, 2006 VOLUME 14, NUMBER 22 Laura Carnese had suffered a stroke, and (as it turned out) had only a few weeks to live. A friend and relative by marriage, Charles Carnese, happened to be a lawyer; he arranged for a former associate, attorney Anthony J. Barker, to visit with Ms. Carnese and help…
NOVEMBER 20, 2006 VOLUME 14, NUMBER 21 Medicare Part D (the prescription drug benefit plan begun last year) includes an annual “election period” from November 15 through the end of the calendar year. Seniors—many of whom struggled to understand the program a year ago and waded through reams of information to select the most promising…
NOVEMBER 13, 2006 VOLUME 14, NUMBER 20 Even as the recent national election was ramping up late last summer, Congress passed and the President signed the Pension Protection Act of 2006. Billed as a great boon to most workers, the Act may not have nearly the advertised effect—primarily because of a continuing shift away from…