All indications are that Prince passed away without an estate plan. That mistake will be very costly for his estate. It is still possible that an estate plan for the late musician Prince might be found, although it is unlikely as friends and family do not know of one's existence. In the absence of an [...]
As Prince's siblings and half-siblings have begun the court process to stake their claim to the singer's estate, the Heir Hunters of Court TV fame claim that they have been contacted by a previously unknown child of the musician's. It appears that the musician Prince passed away without getting an estate plan. Not even a [...]
If you are about to sign a living will prepared for you by someone who told you that you needed one during a free seminar or dinner, the Minnesota Attorney General has some advice for you. The Minnesota Attorney General recently issued a very stark warning for consumers about living trust mills. They are a [...]
After a loved one passes away someone has to file a final tax return with the IRS. It is more complicated than filing your own returns. The IRS does not forgive any tax on the income a person makes during the final tax year of his or her life. Taxes are owned on all the [...]
Designating beneficiaries on your life insurance policies, retirement accounts and annuities should be handled with care. It is not as simple as just writing a name down on the form. Designating a beneficiary on your IRA might seem like a simple process of just writing down the name of your spouse or child. However, as [...]
In the estate tax dispute between the estate of Michael Jackson and the IRS the two sides are ridiculously far apart over how much tax is due. One reason is that the IRS has never before asked for estate taxes to be paid for the same type of property disputed in this case. The pending [...]
Doctors can now receive reimbursement from Medicare for talking to their patients about end of life medical care. The conversation should not be one-sided nor should it be the only end of life conversation people have. A recent article in the Washington Post, entitled "When a doctor and patient disagree about care at the end [...]
In an important step for senior citizens the Senate has passed the Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2015. The bipartisan bill now awaits the President's signature. Originally passed in 1965, the Older Americans Act provided key funding for important programs for the elderly. It including funding for healthcare programs, elder abuse prevention programs, programs [...]
The financial abuse of the elderly is an ongoing problem in the U.S. that seems to be getting worse as a greater percentage of Americans are retiring. You can help prevent it without too much effort. Every year in the months just before and just after tax day, scammers pretending to be IRS agents increase [...]
The U.S. is not the only country to have concerns about its elderly guardianship system. The Japanese government has also tried to address the situation. Like other developed nations Japan has an aging population and an increasing number of dementia cases. In 2000, Japan started a guardianship system to help with this issue. The idea [...]