Lisa stared at the stranger standing on her doorstep, suspicious. “Good morning, ma’am,” the man said politely. “I noticed you’re in need of a new roof. If that’s not in your budget, I’d like to tell you about an important government program that will loan you the money. And they don’t even run a credit check. If you have some…
Sarah let herself into her father’s home, carrying several packages she had found in his mailbox. Her father asked, “What did you bring me?” Sarah frowned. “I found these in your mailbox. Have you been ordering from Sweepstakes, Inc? You know that stuff is junk, right?” Her father shook his head. “Nope, not me.” He pointed at a pile of…
It starts out innocently enough, you bank with Chase, but your new mortgage is through Bank of America, and they offer you a half a percent discount on your mortgage if you open a new account with them. Then a local credit union offers a great rate on a car loan, so you open an account with them and become…
When applying for Medi-Cal assistance for long-term care in a skilled nursing facility, our clients must disclose any transfers made in the prior 30 months to another person for less than fair market value. Because Medi-Cal is a program meant to help people with limited resources, Medi-Cal will presume that such transfers are made for the purpose of reducing resources…
The U.S. Congress is attempting to help future retirees get their financial houses in order. The government is reacting to a recent study that claims only 51 percent of all Americans are employed by companies with retirement plans and of those employees, only 40 percent actually participate. In addition, experts say one in three Americans have less than $5,000 in…
The days following the death of a spouse can be confusing. There are a lot of decisions to make and tasks to undertake. One area that must be dealt with quickly and competently is your finances. It is very important to get a clear picture of what steps you must take to secure your financial future. For example, it is…
Betsy slowly lowered herself into a kitchen chair and buried her head in her hands. Since her husband, Bill, had died three days ago, she had been swept up in a whirlwind of activity. Between planning a funeral, notifying relatives, and nonstop condolence calls, she hadn’t had any time to grieve, much less think. Her gaze swept the room and…
Something we see quite often with our older clients is a joint bank account – parent’s money, child added to the account for convenience of the parent. It really can be very convenient, so, despite the list of problems I’ll get to in a minute, for some families in some situations, adding a child to your bank account can be…