According to the Alzheimer’s Association, approximately 5.3 million Americans were living with Alzheimer’s disease in 2015. Women age 60 and over are considered at highest risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s is a progressive form of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking, and behavior. While estate planning is important for everyone, it is especially important to consider after a…
Here are some of the more popular questions people have about wills and trusts and other estate planning documents. Even people who already have their estate planning documents in order still wonder about these scenarios. Q: Should I Keep My Estate Planning Documents in a Safety Deposit Box? A: Yes – and no. You might keep an original of your…
Many people think estate planning is only necessary for the elderly and the wealthy. This is a very common misconception. Here are six reasons why estate planning should be on the radar for everyone in their 20’s or 30’s: 1) You Never Know What May Happen Think you are young and have plenty of time left to worry about estate…
The advance health care directive is one of the most crucial estate planning documents that you can create for yourself. This document gives someone you choose (“agent”) the power to manage your medical and health care affairs if you become incapacitated or mentally impaired. It is a position of maximum trust. If you plan to appoint someone as your agent,…
The power of attorney is one of the most important documents that you can create for yourself. It gives someone you choose (“agent”) the power to manage your financial affairs if you become incapacitated or mentally impaired. It is a position of highest trust and choosing your agent should be a very thought-out decision. It should be someone you that…
The recent mystery surrounding the disappearance of Malaysian Flight 370 and other recent airline disasters has raised any number of legal issues that may take years to resolve. First and foremost, you wonder how many passengers on that flight had any kind of estate documents – wills, trusts, etc. Some of the passengers were not of Malaysian descent so those…
Were you aware that there are about 75 million people in the United States with disabilities? That’s about 25% of the population! Did you know that 53% of disabled people are over the age of 50? The U.S. Census Bureau has labeled disabled Americans the country’s largest minority population. Consider this story from a recent New York Times article: According to…
If you are over the age of 50, chances are that someone in your family or friend has been struck by a debilitating disease. Some of the most debilitating diseases in the U.S. include rheumatoid arthritis, schizophrenia, muscular dystrophy, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis, Parkinson’s, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, Alzheimer’s and…
We live today in more of a ‘do-it-yourself’ world and that goes for legal topics as well. It started with an avalanche of self-help legal books. Then the law became much more ‘form driven’ whereby one plugs information into online forms and/or templates and prints them out for filing or files them online. Add to that the large number of…