Divorce is never easy, but the divorce of a long-married couple can be especially hard, particularly when it comes to retirement and estate plans. Assets, including retirement accounts, can be hard to divide, and the presence of children—and possibly grandchildren—can require the wholesale revision of existing estate plans. If you’re divorcing or moving on to […]
Most adults have at least one account, investment, or other financial instrument that has a beneficiary designation. Common examples are: bank accounts, retirement accounts, and insurance policies. On the surface, this type of estate planning may seem simple–all you have to do is fill in the blank with a person or entity’s name. Perhaps due […]
What’s going to happen to your Facebook account when you die? Or all the songs you’ve downloaded from iTunes? According to a 2013 McAfee study, the average person has roughly $35,000 worth of assets stored on digital devices. That includes personal records such as photographs, videos, hobbies and career information, as well as purchased movies, […]
Long term care (LTC) covers a variety of services to support the medical and non-medical needs of individuals who are unable to care for themselves over an extended time period. It is a highly individualized care system that can be provided formally—by an institution—or informally. Institutions providing long term care are known by various names […]
More than 120 million Americans do not have proper estate plans in place. An estate plan, properly executed, can protect you as well as your family in the event of sickness, accidents or untimely death. With just a little advance planning, you can help your family avoid wasted dollars and unnecessary hardship. If you do […]
One of the greatest concerns for the elderly we serve and their families is that of long term care. Two-thirds of seniors will need care at some point in their life and many have not planned for this likelihood. It is an emotional and unpleasant topic to broach, but helping those we serve to plan […]
There may come a time when your parent is no longer safe living at home due to physical or emotional/social concerns. Instead of moving Mom or Dad to an assisted living or nursing home, in-home care can provide a solution that makes everyone happy— your parent can stay at home in familiar surroundings and you […]
Many clients are curious about the living trust as an estate planning tool. Often they have heard about it from friends and relatives, but don’t fully understand how it operates or whether it is right for them. The following article from Estate Planning.com summarizes the many advantages of the living trust over the traditional will, […]