Many older people who are concerned that they will someday be incapacitated protect themselves with a power of attorney. This document gives someone else the right to make decisions for you if you can’t make them yourself. But what if a person who can no longer make decisions doesn’t have a power of attorney – or the power of attorney isn’t enough to protect them for some reason?
A dog or a cat can be a member of the family, but what happens to this family member after you’re gone? How can you ensure that your dog, cat or other pet will be cared for? You can give directions in your will to leave your pet to a caretaker. But there is no guarantee that the caretaker will continue to care for the pet.
A retirement community can force one of its residents to move from a private apartment to a smaller assisted-living unit, a federal court has ruled. Sally Herriot, 90, is a resident of Channing House, a continuing care retirement community in Palo Alto, California. Like many such communities, Channing House provides three levels of care – independent living, assisted living, and skilled nursing. After moving to the facility with her now-deceased husband in 1991, Ms. Herriot lived
Picking a retirement plan beneficiary is a key step in estate planning. Every year we hear about people who lost out on enormous tax savings by picking the wrong beneficiary. So how do you decide whom to pick? Most married people will choose their spouse. This is usually a good idea because the spouse can take distributions from the plan if he or she needs the money. The spouse can also roll the account over into
With the stock market down significantly, some parents are looking at safer ways to save for a child’s college education. Prepaid 529 plans offer parents (and other family members) the opportunity to lock in tuition at today’s rates. Up until now, traditional 529 savings plans have been more popular. These traditional plans allow parents or other family members to invest money for a child’s education tax-free, usually in mutual funds. But prepaid plans are gaining ground
All of us are affected by the economic recession, but you should know that certain estate planning techniques become must more valuable when asset prices plunge – so this is a good time to take advantage of them. Some of the best estate planning ideas involve giving a partial interest in your assets to your heirs now, while retaining effective control over the assets. The idea is to get these interests out of your estate now
We all know we’re supposed to do estate planning, but not all of us get around to it. So what happens if you don’t have a will when you die? Your estate will be distributed according to state laws, which may or may not conform to the way you want your assets and possessions to be distributed. Each state has laws that determine what will happen if a person dies without a will. If you’re married,
Many older people are watching their grown children struggling through difficult times, facing unemployment, investment losses, difficulty in keeping up with a mortgage and other issues. These parents want to help their children financially – but they want to do so in a tax-smart way that’s consistent with their overall estate plan. Here are some ideas to consider: Annual gifts to children’s spouses: Suppose your daughter is doing well financially, but your son has lost his
The current economic downturn isn’t going to change the needs of seniors for help with the activities of daily living. However, it could have a big effect on how and where that help is provided – at home, in an assisted living facility, or in a nursing home. And it could affect who provides the care – family members or hired staff.
Can an employer adopt a grooming policy that requires male workers who have contact with customers to be clean-shaven and have trimmed hair? Maybe … but this might amount to religious discrimination, according to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. The worker in this case was a technician at a Jiffy Lube service station. He was a Rastafarian and his religion did not permit him to shave or cut his hair. The company told him that if
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