If you have a child who is nearing age 18, there’s a good chance you’re still helping them with most of their healthcare and other planning decisions, especially if they live at home. But this big birthday is about more than someone being considered a legal adult....
Did you know that over 40% of people over age 65 in the United States will spend some time in a nursing home and/or need care at home? In many cases the action steps those approaching retirement try to take to minimize their risks can actually backfire. Many people...
Most people put off creating an end-of-life plan because it's uncomfortable to think about your own morbidity. But it can be even more uncomfortable for your heirs to be struggling to make these decisions on your behalf, or worse, going through court arguing with...
To put it plainly…one of the biggest mistakes you can make with your estate plan is to allow your estate planning documents to become outdated. I always tell my clients that an estate plan is a “living breathing thing” and should be reviewed at strategic times in...
History: In the past “pets” were treated as “chattel” or possessions under the law. This was because they were viewed as necessary to aid us in our lifestyles. They had to “work for a living.” Dogs herded sheep; cats kept the rat population down; and horses and...
Aesop, the ancient Greek writer of fables, lived between 620 BC and 564 BCE. He was a contemporary of Aristotle, Herodotus, and Plutarch— the “Greek Greats!” It is mostly philosophy and history majors who have actually read the Greek Greats. They are not always easy...
When people discuss their estate planning, they often focus on their Wills and Trusts. One thing that often gets overlooked is their beneficiary designations. A beneficiary designation will override the terms of your Will or Trust. If you have a Will or Trust that...
A Residential Tax Exemption is enabled by a city or town to drop the assessed value on homeowner real estate property values for a discount payment on residential taxes. There are no income or asset thresholds or requirements other than filing with the city or town....
February is a month to celebrate the love in your heart, and the health of your heart. Each February, American Heart Month reminds us that each year more than 600,000 Americans die from heart disease, and we should use this time to focus on our own cardiovascular...
My son is an avid wildlife photographer. We have a picture of a deer, swimming—yes, swimming away from a coyote. Observing this was a first for our entire family. A deer swimming—in a local salt-water pond? Once in a lifetime. But Sam says, “This is the rule of 10....
