Court Approves Use of Short-Term Annuities for Medicaid Planning
A federal appeals court has ruled that Medicaid officials must accept applicants’ short-term annuities, providing more certainty for Medicaid applicants’ use of this important planning tool.
Incentives to Keep Working While You Collect Social Security
If you are able to continue working while receiving Social Security benefits, you can increase your overall benefit. In addition, although your benefits may be reduced due to your work, you can recoup those lost benefits.
Woman’s Efforts to Change Will Without Professional Assistance Backfire
A recent court decision in Minnesota serves as a cautionary reminder to anyone thinking of changing their estate plan on their own.
Incentive Trusts: Ensuring That an Inheritance Will Be Well Spent
Some parents, fearful of how a large inheritance will affect their heirs, set up what are known as “incentive trusts” that ensure that the trust funds support positive behavior and discourage unproductive activities.
Georgia ElderLawAnswers Member Attorney Wins Fiction Writing Contest
ElderLawAnswers member attorney Kimberly Harris has won the State Bar of Georgia’s annual fiction writing contest.
How to Protect Your Deceased Loved Ones From Identity Theft
We’ve all been warned about protecting ourselves from identity theft, but one group of victims can’t take action to protect themselves—the dead. Fortunately, there are steps that you can take to discourage identity thieves from targeting a deceased loved one.
Whitney Houston’s Estate Plan Illustrates Use of Testamentary Trust
Whitney Houston’s tragic death provides an example of how a trust that takes effect upon death can work . . .
5 Estate Planning Tips for the Non-Traditional Family (Which Probably Means Yours)
Is your family of the “Leave It to Beaver” variety — opposite-gender parents, the first marriage for each, one or more kids, all healthy and thriving? If so, your estate plan will probably be pretty straightforward. But if not, it’s not as simple and you have a lot of company.
Why You Need to Plan for Long-Term Care
Thinking about a time when you will need help taking care of yourself is not fun. That is why most people put off discussing long-term care until it can’t be ignored.
How to Protect an IRA From Heirs’ Creditors
When a person declares bankruptcy, an individual retirement account (IRA) is one of the assets that is beyond the reach of creditors, but what about an IRA that has been inherited?
