All posts by Janet Colliton
Does Your Executor Know Where Your Will Is?
After the time spent intently deciding who should receive the grandfather clock, your coin collection, and what specific percentage from the bank accounts and the proceeds of the sale of the house should be distributed to whom, one critical factor often ignored by will makers is that the person appointed as executor needs to know […]
Continue readingWhy senior planning is often crisis planning
It seems strange that, often when I meet with new clients seeking help in elder law issues, the circumstances are already in crisis. A family member may need immediate placement when his or her hospital stay is ending and it is not possible for him or her to return home. A parent who has lived […]
Continue readingBelieve it or not, government isn’t always clueless
Complaints about government at all levels have been around for many years. It is assumed that anything that government does could be done better, faster and less expensively in the private sector. This idea is then matched with the notion that, if only taxes were reduced, the private sector would take on everything that government […]
Continue readingRyan plan may be a bit too bold for American public
The federal budget plan proposed about a week ago by Rep. Paul Ryan, senior Republican on the House Budget Committee, has been called “daring” and “bold.” Although they might seem new, the ideas he advances have been around for years. The plan just takes them to a more extreme level. If adopted, even in watered-down […]
Continue readingWhat executors might do when an estate is ‘under water’
An elder law attorney friend of mine was known to advise parents on a fail-safe way to tell adult children that one of them was named as executor of the will. What they should say, he commented, is that there are three reasons why “John” was named as executor. The parents would allow the children […]
Continue readingLetters of intent explain wishes when writing a will
In December 2005 when a Missouri elder law attorney, Reginald Turnbull, presented on letters of intent to the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, I thought “what a great idea.” This absolutely should be used in connection with supplemental needs trusts for disabled children. I brought the idea back with me from the NAELA conference […]
Continue readingPaying for an elder law attorney an investment in the future
It may be best to state the obvious up front and be done with it. The statements in this column may be considered self-serving, but, recognizing that, they are correct. The issue is whether it is worth the expenditure to see an elder law attorney when dealing with the cost of long-term care. This is […]
Continue readingKnow when not to borrow against your parent’s house
When crisis strikes and your parent is hospitalized, there is no easy way to tell how long the triggering event will last and often you do not know when or even whether a mother or father will return home. Sometimes recovery is long and painfully slow. If this uncertainty is combined with lack of knowledge […]
Continue readingResources, advice available online for adult children
While researching other subjects, from time to time I stumble on an online reference or publication that can help readers dealing with senior subjects and long-term care. One such “find” recently is the website www.caring.com that I found while reading up on current interviews conducted with attorney Jeff Marshall. Marshall is the founding partner of […]
Continue readingHow to head off potential Medicaid mistakes
In last week’s column, I noted that Medicaid is still the primary payer for long-term care in nursing homes after private assets have been exhausted and that, unknowingly, families might make serious financial mistakes that could jeopardize those benefits even then. I also promised to describe how those mistakes might be handled. A word of […]
Continue readingMedicaid and nursing homes: an update for 2011
In the past few years — as more seniors seek the services of assisted living and at-home care, and the rules for Medicaid qualification for nursing homes have stiffened — you might get the false impression that nursing home care and Medicaid have taken a back seat in long-term care. While it is true there […]
Continue readingPrivate reverse mortgages become helpful tools
As seniors stay in their homes for longer periods, one of the continuing concerns is how to pay their regular bills, whether those bills come in the form of health insurance premiums, property taxes, utilities, home maintenance, gas or groceries. For those who have paid their mortgages, many still have significant value in their homes […]
Continue readingEliminating federal estate taxes for large estates
For the past few years, one of the more intriguing e-mail newsletters that has arrived at my computer is published by an outfit that focuses on high-asset estate planning. It offers advice on how assets can be structured to avoid estate taxes, especially federal estate taxes. You can also find estate planning lawyers from here, […]
Continue readingPa. court decides how long Medicare should pay
Sometimes legal disputes over words seem to have little relevance to daily life. One critical exception is in the field of long-term care, where every word and every category might decide whether, when, and how much care is provided and what is the source of payment. This fact was driven home recently in Pennsylvania when […]
Continue readingCelebrating ‘Planning Ahead’ column’s 15th birthday
It is difficult to believe but, 15 years ago this month, this column, “Planning Ahead,” appeared for the first time in the Daily Local News. Considering the changes all around us, 15 years seems an impressive time to keep any business venture going and our office thought that, especially with the winter season upon us, […]
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