Taxation & Estate Planning

Living Wills for Children, or "I Want My Pepsi Now"

Posted on June 24, 2009
Many many years ago, before I was born, a beloved young cousin in my family was sick, and dying of leukemia. Towards the end of his life, there was a sign above his bed that said "nothing by mouth," meaning he should not have anything to eat or drink as he was getting his nutrition intravenously...

When Your Child With Special Needs Turns 18 - Guardianship is Not the Only Option

Posted on June 12, 2009
I often receive calls from parents who are challenged by their children?s mental health, emotional, or behavioral needs, and those children are turning 18 soon. "I need a guardianship over my son, he's turning 18." As I talk to the parents I find out that the son is in mainstream school, holds down a job and is getting his driver's license...

Estate Planning Before, During and After Divorce

Posted on June 02, 2009
I was recently a guest on Divorce Talk Radio, is a weekly live radio show hosted by Stephanie Watson the Divorce Editor on BellaOnline.com. I talked about protecting yourself during divorce by making sure you have a properly prepared estate plan. This includes making sure you have a valid health care proxy so that the person of your choice, and not your soon-to-be-ex, is making decisions about your health care if you are unable, and having a durable power of attorney that allows someone you select to handle your property if you become unable...

What to Do When You Can't Decide

Posted on May 26, 2009
I sometimes have clients who have trouble making decisions - they can't decide who should be guardian of their children, they can't decide who to appoint as agent under a power of attorney, and they can't decide exactly how to distribute their property when they pass away...

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Rethinking Your Estate Plan

Posted on May 20, 2009
I've posted before about how to keep your estate plan up-to-date even though your finances may be changing. And I was quoted in a recent Money Magazine article on the same subject. The article addresses some ways to deal with changing finances and talks about things to think about when deciding on how to distribute your property...

Passing On More Than Just Things - Leaving a Legacy Letter

Posted on May 18, 2009
When people think about their estate plan or their will, they commonly think about dividing up their things among the people who will survive them. How many people stop to consider what else they want to leave behind - memories, lessons, values and other priceless intangibles...

Finding the Right Living Situation for Your Aging Parents - It's Not All or Nothing

Posted on May 14, 2009
Today's post is written by Generational Coach Barbara Friesner of AgeWise Living. Barbara works with the family members of the aging person, not the elder themselves. I typically work with the family and the elder, but I consider the elder to be my client...

Beware of "Grandparent Scams"

Posted on April 20, 2009
Authorities are warning of new scams targeted at the elderly. The latest attempt to defraud seniors is a phone call from someone pretending to be a grandchild who is in trouble. ?Don?t tell anyone, but I need help. Send money.? The plea to keep things quiet from other family members can make the scam successful, since the grandparent wants to protect their grandchild and help them out of a bind...

Mistakes to Avoid When Choosing Guardians for Your Children - Cohasset Library May 28th.

Posted on April 18, 2009
Come and learn about the 6 mistakes parents make when choosing a guardian for their children, and how to avoid them. Find out about the 5 estate planning documents every parent needs, no matter the size of their estate. Get your questions answered about how to make sure that you, your children, and your property will be protected if something happens...

Elder Mediation - Another Resource to Help Families with Issues of Aging

Posted on April 16, 2009
Even in close families, issues can come up that need an outside party to help deal with them. Caring for an aging parent while dealing with siblings (and their spouses) can make a difficult task even harder. Inheriting property from parents that you now own jointly with several siblings can seem like an unwelcome gift when no one can agree on what to do with it...

Your Help Needed to Support New Legislation to Maintain Finanical Security for Seniors

Posted on April 08, 2009
I am a member of the Public Policy Committee of the Massachusetts Chapter of The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Below is some information about recent bills that have been filed by our chapter to help seniors and their families. You can click on the name of the person sponsoring the bill to be brought to a page with their contact information, or call your local senator or representative to ask them to support these bills...

Good Gifts Gone Bad - The Hidden Dangers of Giving Property to Your Children

Posted on February 25, 2009
I often have clients (or client's children) who ask me - "can't I just give my property to my child?" Or who say "My mom wants us to inherit her house, isn't the easiest way to just have her sign a life estate deed?" Sometimes it's "I'm allowed to give away $10,000...

How to Communicate Your Health Care Wishes

Posted on February 24, 2009
As part of the work I do with my clients, one of the things we always talk about at our first meeting is whether they have signed a health care proxy. A health care proxy is a legal document which appoints another person to make health care decisions for you in the event you are unable...

Siblings and Caregiving - Making it Work

Posted on February 13, 2009
We are lucky to have another guest post by Barbara Friesner of AgeWise Living, a generational coach who works with families around issues of aging, care-giving and helping siblings maintain or improve their relationships while one or more of them is caring for an aging parent...

Surviving Divorce, The Road Ahead. A Two-Night Workshop.

Posted on January 29, 2009
I will be speaking at this workshop on what you need to know and do about your estate plan before, during and after divorce. Surviving Divorce?The Road Ahead WorkshopLegal, Financial and Credit/Debt advice for people who are divorced, divorcing or contemplating divorceMarch 3 and March 10, 2009 atBraintree Public LibraryBraintree, MA When faced with divorce only one thing is certain: CHANGE...

The Dangers of Do It Yourself, A Cautionary Tale

Posted on January 13, 2009
A colleague recently had a new client come to see them. The man's father had passed away, and the son had found the Will...the Will that his father had purchased online and signed, thinking his wishes would then be honored. Sadly, they won't be. The form Will that the father had filled out had spaces for specific bequests - specific items that he wanted to go to certain people...

Is It Time to Be Concerned? Talking to Your Aging Parents

Posted on January 09, 2009
I am thrilled to have today's post written by Barbara Friesner, author of The Ultimate Caregiver's Survival Guide. Barbara is an expert on issues affecting Seniors and their families. She has been featured on NY1 TV's "Focus on Seniors", "Coping With Caregiving" and on radio shows across the country...

The Importance of Having Your Own Attorney When Refinancing Your Home

Posted on January 05, 2009
Today's post is written by my friend and colleague Stephen Silveri. __________________________________________________________________________With mortgage rates currently at historic lows, you or someone you know may be refinancing. If this is the case, I want to be sure that you are aware of the importance of hiring your own attorney to handle the closing...

More Questions to Ask Your Parents

Posted on December 29, 2008
I posted earlier about questions to ask your parents, and I'm noticing that more and more people are asking me that. You can review the categories on the right hand side of this site to get an idea of the things people should have in place, and below are some more questions that can get you started: Have you signed a Health Care Proxy so that someone will be able to make health care decisions for you if you are unable? Have you discussed your wishes for end of life care with that person? Have you given a copy of the Health Care Proxy to them and to your doctor? Have you signed a Durable Power of Attorney so that someone can manage your finances and property for you if you are unable? Does that person know where to find your important papers? Do you have a list somewhere of all your accounts, property, passwords, insurance policies, real estate and other important information? Have you updated your Will recently to make sure it still reflects your wishes? Are the people you appointed to serve as executor still available? Have you noticed any changes in Mom/Dad that worry you? If your parents, or you, are ready to get your plans in place and start 2009 off on the right foot, call my office for an appointment.

Local Tax Credit For Seniors

Posted on December 15, 2008
The Boston Globe has a recent article about the "circuit breaker" tax credit for seniors. The article points out that many people over 65 are not taking advantage of tax credit, which can be up to $930. Homeowners qualify for 2008 if their home was assessed at up to $793,000 - nearly double the 2008 state average of $403,687 - and if their property taxes, plus 50 percent of water and sewer bills, exceeded 10 percent of their income...

New Caregiving Website with Videos

Posted on December 12, 2008
Videocaregiving.org is a new visual education center for family caregivers. The videos are designed to be short, simple and direct, and are able to be accessed easily by the user at any hour of the day or night. Many of the videos follow a documentary format that uses real people and follows real situations...

More Men Taking Over the Caregiving Role

Posted on December 04, 2008
The image of a caregiver for an aging parent or relative is usually a woman in her 40's or 50's who is raising her own children, probably working outside the home, and then trying to care for her aging loved one at the same time. But according to a recent article in the New York Times, more men are serving as caregivers than ever before...

Information About Medical Scams

Posted on December 02, 2008
The Federal Trade Commission has a new website which provides information about medical scams which often target the elderly. Some of the things they advise are: protecting your health insurance information to avoid theft of your ID and improper use of your benefits...

Starting the Conversation About End of Life Care

Posted on December 01, 2008
Families are often hesitant to talk about end of life wishes. Maybe they are uncomfortable bringing it up, maybe they are afraid of the reaction of others, or maybe they think everyone would know what to do so there's no need to discuss it. But if it feels uncomfortable now - when there is no immediate crisis, everyone is well enough to express their wishes, and there is a lot of time to talk - imagine how much more uncomfortable it would be in an emergency, when people are stressed and the one person who knows for certain what they want is unable to communicate their wishes...

Will You Be Responsible to Pay for Your Parent's Care?

Posted on November 24, 2008
If a parent needs long term care - either at home or in a nursing facility, children may watch as their parent's savings dwindle to pay for the care, which can cost upwards of $5,000 - 10,000.00 per month. If the parent ends up meeting the eligibility criteria for Medicaid (called MassHealth in Massachusetts), then Medicaid will begin to pay for the care...

Do You Need to Change Your Will When Your Finances Change?

Posted on November 19, 2008
As you read about the state of finances in the world, and look at your own financial situation - you may be wondering if you need to change your Will or Trust to account for the change in your finances. As is often the answer, it depends. It depends on how the document is written, so you'll want to read over your Will or Trust, and it's a good idea to have your attorney review the documents as well...

How To Revoke a Power of Attorney

Posted on November 17, 2008
Whether you are signing a new power of attorney, or just want to revoke an old one, there are several things you should do in order to make sure that the old power of attorney is properly revoked. If you...

Letters of Intent for Parents of Children with Special Needs

Posted on November 14, 2008
I've written before about the importance of maintaining records for your children, and especially those children who have special needs, so that if a guardian is ever needed there will be complete records available for whoever will be taking over...

In the Nursing Home, by Jane Kenyon

Posted on October 30, 2008
In the Nursing HomeShe is like a horse grazinga hill pasture that someone makessmaller by coming every nightto pull the fences in and in.She has stopped running wide loops,stopped even the tight circles.She drops her head to feed; grassis dust,...

Carrier Alert Keeps Seniors Safe

Posted on October 28, 2008
When I was a child, and my Nana was still alive, we visited her often. When we walked up to her door, her mailbox was to the left, and it has a sticker on it that said "Carrier Alert." After...

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