After you retire, you may no longer wish to reside in California, instead opting for what may be considered a more “senior-friendly” environment. Where you move could have a significant impact on your estate plan. Therefore, it is important to consider the tax consequences of moving to a new state. If you choose to relocate to a western state—Arizona, Nevada,…
Mary slammed the cordless phone onto the receiver. Her husband, Tom, peered at her over the top of his newspaper, his eyebrows cocked in concern. “Now what was that about?” he asked. “That was Beth Willis. She says we can’t use Dad’s long-term care insurance for his home health care because he doesn’t meet the criteria of the policy.” Tom…
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…
Margo stormed into her diner, slapped a newspaper down in front of her sister, Irene, and exclaimed, “Look at this! This could happen to us!” Irene glanced at the paper and her face scrunched up in confusion. “What on earth do we have in common with Tom Petty?” She peered up at her sister. “He died, you know.” Margo glared…
We all know that when we turn 65 we are covered by Medicare. But many people don’t know that coverage is not automatic. We actually have to sign up for it. And we have to sign up during a specific time period or risk a penalty. Below is a quick lesson on when and how to do it. WHEN: Some…
Finn slapped the pile of envelopes on the kitchen table and grunted at his wife, Lola. She peered at him over her coffee mug and gestured toward the pile. “What’s this?” “Credit card bills. For Mom and Dad.” Lola frowned. “How is that possible? We have responsibility for their financial affairs. We pay all of their bills. They live in…
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…
There are so many ways for parents to leave inheritances to their children as you can imagine. These are a few of the common approaches that parents seems to like, each of which can be tailored to a given family. IF YOUR CHILDREN ARE MATURE ADULTS: Outright Distribution If your children are adults, and you have no concerns for their…
This is another installment in our series on Medi-Cal planning. We are focusing on the income requirements for Medi-Cal eligibility. In our last blog post we discussed income in the context of in-home care. Here we look at nursing home care. Nursing Home Medi-Cal The income calculation for nursing home Medi-Cal is slightly different from in-home Medi-Cal. There is almost…