There is one thing I always tell clients about their estate planning – it is nice to have a Will but it is essential to have a Power of Attorney. There is one thing I always tell clients about their estate planning – it is nice to have a Will but it is essential to […]
House Reportedly Set to Vote on Estate Tax Bill Permanently Setting 2009 Levels
December 27, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Dow Jones Newswires is reporting that the U.S. House of Representatives will vote during the week of November 30 on a bill recently introduced by Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.) that would make permanent the 2009 estate tax rules. Last Updated: 11/27/2009 2:22:22 PM Dow Jones Newswires is reporting that the U.S. House of Representatives will […]
Filial Responsibility Cost Son
December 27, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Pennsylvania son liable under Filial Responsibility Laws elderlawanswers.com/resources/article.asp
Medical Assistance – Why You Need to Know How it Works
November 17, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Notwithstanding the fact that most elderly patients in Pennsylvania nursing homes are financed by Medical Assistance, most people do not know anything about the program. Since most seniors are not aware of the program or how it operates, they do not plan for it or avoid some pitfalls that would interfere with their qualification for it. […]
USING ANNUITIES WITH A NURSING HOME ADMISSION? BE CAREFUL.
October 17, 2012 by Leave a Comment
We have seen a significant increase in the use of annuities among our elderly clients. We have people in their late 80s coming to us with annuities that are less than a few years old and are still in “penalty” — meaning that getting access to these funds will result in a “surrender” charge which […]
The Foundations of Love
August 31, 2012 by Leave a Comment
As a lawyer who works with the elderly, I see my share of nursing homes and hospital rooms. Over the years, perhaps to enable me to continue to provide objective services to my clients, I tried to keep my emotional distance from all of the illness, death and dying. In the last two weeks alone, […]
Living Will – Part I
May 12, 2011 by Leave a Comment
[A wife in a coma at a local nursing home is visited by her husband each day from 7 am to 4 pm. This is his story] She laughs and asks him how he feels, her hair shining and eyes bright. He loves her eyes – they were the first thing he noticed about her. She actually […]
VA Benefits and Accreditation
March 20, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Accreditation Federal law dictates that no one may help a veteran in the preparation, presentation and prosecution of an initial claim for VA benefits unless that person is accredited. The only exception to this law is that any one person can help any veteran — one-time only — with a claim. To help any veteran a second […]
Passages
November 17, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Before I became a lawyer, I worked as a social worker in a drug treatment community. I know, sounds like fun Len! It was, but law school sounded like real fun. The only missing ingredient was talking about Afeelings.@ That is what we did in social work, we talked about feelings. Unfortunately, the salary for feelings was less than […]
The Price
January 22, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Every now and then I am reminded about what is essential in our elder law practice. I so often get lost in the technicalities of legal work that I sometimes forget what may be my most important role. That role I believe is to share my experiences with our clients about what other families have […]
