After a three-year study a diverse group of experts has issued a report and recommendations for changing the long-term care policies of the U.S. Recently, the Convergence Center for Policy Resolution announced that the Long-Term Care Financing Collaborative has proposed changes to the way long-term nursing home care is financed in the U.S. at "LTCFC [...]
If you get a trust as part of your estate plan, then you need to fund that trust with your assets. However, you should not automatically put all of your assets in the trust. When you create an "irrevocable trust" for your estate plan, then you have only just begun the process. An irrevocable trust, [...]
One of the problems for estate planners is trying to craft a plan that does not give anyone a reason to challenge it. This can be difficult at times, but using a no contest clause can help. It is a simple fact of estate law that people who receive inheritances are not always satisfied with [...]
Perhaps no family battle can be as bitter as the battle over the estate of a loved one. Most of the time, it is possible to prevent family estate battles by following a few simple steps. One of the biggest priorities for people making plans for their estates is trying to avoid having their families [...]
A recent study found that almost 75% of Americans do not have any form of advanced medical directives. The most popular reason cited for not having one? They didn’t know what they really are. An advanced medical directive is a legal document you can execute to speak regarding your medical treatment wishes when you cannot [...]
Baby Boomers are getting older and starting to need assistance from their children as they get age. Children of the Boomers often waited until they were in their 30s and 40s to have children of their own. That leaves many of them sandwiched between having to provide care for their elderly parents and their young [...]
A non-profit group in Nashville seeks to reunite heirlooms with their families in a process they call heirloom archaeology. At an estate sale in the San Diego area an old family photo album was discovered. In it were the pictures of one family that dated back to the 1890s. The only problem is that other [...]
In an effort to handle intra-family disputes over elder law issues, people are increasingly turning to mediation. Mediation has long been a staple in family law cases. In many states courts will not hear custody disputes, for example, until after the parents attempt to resolve their differences through mediation. The belief is that the process [...]
For years attorneys have been trying to chip away at nursing home arbitration clauses. They are meeting with more and more success. Nursing home arbitration clauses have been in the news a lot lately. In state after state, courts have refused to enforce them in some cases. This is a big change from previous years [...]
The IRS has again extended the deadline for executors to file the basis for property distributed from an estate as required by Section 6035 of the tax code. When President Obama signed the Surface Transportation and Veteran’s Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015 into law last July it contained a provision completely unrelated to [...]