All posts by Janet Colliton
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 […]
Continue readingHow Old Is Old Depends On the Individual
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 […]
Continue readingIt’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 […]
Continue readingLife Insurance Can Fill In Holes In Your Estate Plan
A recent article in the “AARP Bulletin,” titled “7 Things to Know About Term Life Insurance,” Tamara E. Holmes, October, 2023, brought to mind several ways in which life insurance, in this case term life insurance, can, among other things, plug up holes in an estate plan. Term life insurance, as the name implies, runs […]
Continue readingWhat Medicare Advantage Commercials Do Not Say
About this time most years I pull out my most recent information on Medicare Advantage plans, dust it off, and address that information in one of my columns. The reason is simple. During this time, between October 15 and December 7, Medicare recipients, primarily Medicare Advantage recipients, are given the opportunity to choose among several […]
Continue readingCLIO Conference Updates On Legal Technology
Although it is possible to continue to practice law without relearning legal technology on a regular basis I never thought that was a good idea. The end result is that at least once annually I travel to a lawyers’ technology conference, CLIO CON specifically, to update my knowledge and see what new practices and strategies […]
Continue readingCan A Pennsylvania Lawyer Practice Law While In Florida?
Some time ago I wrote a column regarding “Practicing Law Out of Place,” see March 29, 2022. Recently the Pennsylvania Bar News, a newspaper of the Pennsylvania Bar Association published a similar article titled “Staying Out of Trouble While Out of State,” October 9, 2023 edition, by Andrew M. Lamberton, Esq. and Paul C. Troy, […]
Continue readingHealth Insurance Approaching Retirement Can Be Complicated
If you are one of many Americans anticipating retirement one serious and often unanswered question is how your change in status might affect your health care coverage. It is not a casual question. Here are some issues and possibilities. Your employer, especially if you have worked for a major corporation, might have a retiree plan […]
Continue readingWhat Can Happen When the Law Meets Artificial Intelligence
It seems sometimes that everywhere you go and in every news media you consult a major subject of interest is Artificial Intelligence otherwise known as AI. What AI is and what it means for the future has been the subject of television interviews such as the one appearing on the popular television program “Sixty Minutes” […]
Continue readingIt’s Time To Go Back To School
Last weekend, while trying to set an appointment for a haircut I noticed every salon had at least a one hour wait or more. “Back to school” the hairdresser noted. She was right. Parents were getting their elementary and high school students ready to go back. While living in a “college town,” I could hardly […]
Continue readingThe Problems We Have Naming Contingent Beneficiaries
When planning your estate rarely will you experience difficulty naming your initial beneficiary or beneficiaries for your Will, IRA’s or life insurance. This observation is almost certain when it comes to designating your spouse if you have been in a long standing committed relationship. Also, when it comes to naming successor or contingent beneficiaries in […]
Continue readingThese Are Common Estate and Medicaid Myths
Since estate issues, one way or another, affect everyone over time (since death does) and since Medicaid planning has for many years been a topic of popular conversation – and popular misconceptions in the U.S., it is not unusual that both subjects have generated misunderstandings and, in some cases, folklore that has persisted. This continues […]
Continue readingWhen Is the Right Time for Hospice Care
Some time ago an excellent on-line publication, Next Avenue, dedicated to providing information for seniors, caregivers and those on their way to some day becoming seniors, published an article titled “When Is the Right Time for Hospice Care?” by John F. Wasik. The author had personal experience in that his father had been admitted and […]
Continue readingTwo Recent Supreme Court Consumer Cases Affect Seniors
In a rare demonstration of solidarity the Justices of the United States Supreme Court recently joined in a unanimous decision which ultimately favored an elderly woman regarding a tax sale of her property. The case was at least the second in the past few months that favored private rights under the U.S. Constitution and laws […]
Continue readingThese Are Considerations If Senior Community Is In Your Future
By now, if you are a senior, you have probably received marketing materials enticing you to move to a senior community whether in Pennsylvania or in another state – Florida, North Carolina, anyone? Especially if you live in an older home in a neighborhood undergoing multiple remodels these solicitations may come at the same time […]
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