One way to avoid probate is to retitle real estate to make an heir a joint owner. However, that has risks that some people try to avoid by not registering the deeds until after the original owner passes away. These are known as "pocket deeds" and they carry their own risks. Joint ownership is one [...]
Tax obligations do not disappear when a person passes away. Executors need to know what forms should be filled out. One of the most important, if not the single most important, thing executors must do is handle the taxes of the deceased and the estate. Not doing so properly can result in personal liability for [...]
Elderly people need to be extra vigilant about who they give their money to as scammers often specifically target the elderly who they view as more vulnerable. One Australian man learned this lesson the hard way. As unconscionable as it might seem to most people, scammers and con artists often target elderly people with their [...]
The Obama administration is expected to sign off on a proposal to strengthen the standards for advisors concerning retirement accounts. The investment advice given by retirement planners has long been a source of contention for elder law advocates. Many advocates fear that, with little oversight of retirement advisors, those advisors often steer clients to risky [...]
Communicating with your children about the inheritance you plan to leave them is an important step in avoiding future battles over your estate. However, having the inheritance talk is not easy. If you want your family to fight over your estate after you pass away, the best way to make that happen is to make [...]
The Major Elder Law Issue Candidates Are Not Talking About Paying for long term care is a major crisis for many American elderly people and their families, so why are presidential candidates not mentioning it at all? For a long time, policy makers have known that the U.S. faces an impending crisis. People are living [...]
Congress has long pushed Medicare to pay doctors less for what tests they run and more for the quality of care that is provided. Medicare plans to do so, but is it even possible? There is no doubt that the sheer number of tests done by doctors and hospitals is a major source of health [...]
A recent study suggests that wealthy baby boomers are split about whether to leave their children with inheritances. It also shows that those who do not want to do so are not necessarily being selfish. A recent study by Hearts & Wallets found that Baby Boomer parents are split about whether they should leave inheritances [...]
Canadian widow Peggy Bush received a lot of attention because of the story that she could not get Apple to give up her husband's password. Apple apparently did not like the publicity. You might have heard the story of Peggy Bush, since a lot has been written about her. It is a rather odd tale [...]
An insurance scammer who preyed on elderly people in New York has pleaded guilty to a hate crime for his actions. Financial abuse of the elderly is a big problem in the United States. Scammers often take advantage of unsophisticated elderly people to rob them of their money. In a recent case out of New [...]