This is a discussion about aging in America simply because the facts are fascinating, and should give you a reason to think about doing a bit of planning ahead.  Planning ahead may mean “right now” when it concerns the challenges of caring for elder and special needs relatives and friends. I’ve had personal, family challenges that help me identify with my clients, including having been an elder caregiver in my 20s.  I can look back and remember feeling both clueless, and powerless.  Fast forward to the present, and now these challenges are my passion.  This is the first part of what will be an ongoing presentation of information and ideas about the power of the great number of Americans who are not getting any younger, how government is addressing the challenges, and what the future holds.

The first quarter of 2011 has had everyone reviewing their estate plans to determine how to respond to the changes in law that took effect in late 2010. This discussion reviews just a few of the estate and gift tax changes that you should know about for 2011 and 2012, which is as far into the future as Congress dealt with at the very end of 2010.

The purpose of this discussion isn’t to scare you, but indeed there are simply some facts that you should know.  No one likes to think about the possibility of their own disability or the disability of a loved one, or, for that matter, the inexorable process of aging, or of becoming a caregiver to someone [...]

In the May 2010 blog entry, I addressed certain planning concerns for persons with special needs, notably the need for a team approach.  There are some fundamental misconceptions I encounter that inhibit families from addressing in-depth planning issues.  This month’s newsletter provides 7 tips to avoid the numerous misconceptions in this area that can result [...]

There are currently over 25 million veterans alive in the United States. There are over 9 million surviving spouses of veterans currently living in the United States. Many of these veterans and surviving spouses are receiving long term care or will need some type of long term care in the near future, and there are [...]