All posts by Janet Colliton

Medicare, Medicaid or Hospice for At-Home Care

Turning 65 - Clearing Up Confusion on Social Security and Medicare

If you are seeking at-home care assistance for a family member that is paid either in full or in part by the government you can find that the system is complicated and, unless your loved one fits within one of the designated categories, you may be limited to paying from your family member’s asset or […]

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Should You Decide On A Trust or a Will?

Sometimes we receive calls at the office requesting a Will with estate documents (Financial Power of Attorney, Health Care Power and Living Will also referred to as Advanced Directives). In that case a potential client might say “I don’t want anything complicated. Just the basics.” Sometimes, often after having heard a speaker either in person […]

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Do You Really Want To Handle Probating An Estate On Your Own?

Creative Use Of Real Estate

You might have a job or just have retired and you learn suddenly that your Great Aunt Lucy died and named you Executor of her Will. How hard could it be you ask to resolve an estate by yourself without professional advice or a competent professional beside you? You might decide to strike out on […]

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When Your Children Do Not Want What You Have

Michelle Singletary, a regular columnist with the Washington Post, recently penned a Personal Finance column comically titled “Our kids don’t want our paid-off house – or our ashes…” See Advice by Michelle Singletary, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/11/17/kids-sell-parents-inherited- house/ November 17, 2023. The gist of the article was, as might be imagined, the idea that some of the possessions […]

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What You Need To Know About Your Credit Score

Credit scores are mentally placed in a category both unknown and unknowable. This is pretty remarkable considering most average Americans can locate their credit score (or more properly their credit scores since there are many of them) through online searches. This can be accomplished either through an online service such as Credit Karma or by […]

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Your Estate Plan Does Not End With a Will

ruin estate plan

Last year I began the New Year with a column reminding readers that a Will is not the same as an Estate Plan. The thought was important enough – and still is – that I thought it worthwhile to repeat and add to it. When you chose to write a Will you have taken an […]

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What It Takes To Complete a 401(k) Beneficiary Form

Naming_Contingent_Beneficiary

A few years ago during a prior Congress and prior presidential administration a federal law known as the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement or SECURE Act, became effective on January 1, 2020. Generally speaking, it delayed the required minimum distribution (RMD) age to 72 for seniors and established a 10 year distribution rule […]

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What Do You Want To Do In Retirement?

An outgoing columnist with the Washington Post recently penned an article entitled “Individual Retirement Accounts: Readers Offer Post-Career Advice.” Washington Post, John Kelly, December 17. 2023. The title might have been misconstrued to indicate there was some tax planning involved but, far from it, the columnist broached a subject surprisingly not very often discussed. It […]

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Medical Costs Are Expensive Especially For the Uninsured

Medical Bills Are Out Of Control

If you ever wondered about medical bills and summaries you receive after a recent hospitalization or summaries received from your insurance carrier concerning recent medical expenses and then question the difference between the amount charged and the amount owed then this column might help. Note, however, first, that medical bills are mystifying to all of […]

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Social Security Benefits and Medicare Premiums Both Up For 2024

social security benefits

As the 2023 calendar year comes to an end the Social Security Administration and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services have both issued their figures for the new 2024 year. It would probably come as no surprise that both Social Security benefits and Medicare Part B Premiums and Deductibles are trending upward. The impact […]

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QCD Year End Tax Strategies Expanded

Charitable Giving

For taxpayers who stress over annual Required Minimum Distributions and are also inclined to charitable giving, Qualified Charitable Distributions or QCD’s have been a useful tool to accommodate both relief over federal income tax angst and the desire to donate. QCD’s can use the federal tax code to benefit taxpayers, mostly in the upper income […]

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Tax Considerations When You Own a Second Residence

When you own a home and, after your last vacation, are considering buying another residence it should come as no surprise that there are tax and financial consequences, both positive and otherwise to owning more than one property. You might have been smitten by the location or just decided you wanted a change without giving […]

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The Reason Why Financial Calculations Need To Consider Health

If you have worked with a financial planner, there is a good chance your planner used Monte Carlo simulations and frankly that is a good starting point to determine future financial needs. However, the simulation is only as good as the data input. Kathleen Coxwell in www.newretirement.com describes “Monte Carlo Simulations: A Sophisticated Way to […]

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How Old Is Old Depends On the Individual

Elder Law Attorneys and Financial Planners

As an elder law attorney the question inevitably arises in my practice “what is old?” Is old a specific age beyond which you can be expected to decline physically and mentally from then on out? If such an age exists what is that age? I have not defined it to date and have seen many […]

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It’s Pa. Election Time – How To Do It Right

Tuesday, November 7, 2023 is the date for general elections in Pennsylvania. Some local and county officials, school boards and several judges including statewide judicial races are on the ballot. If you have reached this date and have not voted by mail yet you might have some concern whether the mail to your local Voter […]

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