Exploitation of Vulnerable Senior Leads to Disinheritance
JANUARY 27, 2014 VOLUME 21 NUMBER 4 Arizona has a relatively strong statute dealing with exploitation of vulnerable adults. An exploiter can be charged criminally, and might receive a longer sentence or larger fine because of the victim’s vulnerability. But the strongest part of the Arizona law is probably the provision that lets the victim […]
Helping Care for Your Relative Provides Income Tax Benefits
APRIL 9, 2012 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 14 Federal and Arizona state income tax returns are due next week. It’s a good time to review tax deductions for one of the common situations we deal with: in-home (or, for that matter, institutional) caregiving for an infirm family member. We wrote about an individual case involving long-term […]
In-Home Caretaker Wages Deductible Based on Doctor’s Letter
SEPTEMBER 5, 2011 VOLUME 18 NUMBER 31 Queens (New York) resident Lillian Baral was in her early 90s. She lived at home, but she required full-time assistance with her care. In 2007 she paid two caretakers a total of $49,580 for live-in care (one lived with her for five weeks while the primary caretaker took […]
Improving Communication Between You and Your Doctor
AUGUST 2, 2010 VOLUME 17 NUMBER 24 Your doctor is busy. She is seeing dozens of patients every day, and their insurance plans force her to get those patients taken care of and out the door quickly. By default, she may limit her contact to the minimum necessary to diagnose and treat. But you want […]